I'm Home.

Well, after traveling for 26 hours, I finally made it home. The weekend has been good, all except for the jet lag thing. (Hopefully that will be over soon.) Just wanted everyone to know that I've made it ok. Still don't know if I will continue this thing, but like I said before, when I decide, I will let everyone know.

I'll see ya'll later.

One Last Time

I thought that yesterday would be my final entry from Korea, but, guess what? It wasn't. (Obviously.) "And why is that?" you ask. Well, someone in the barracks has a wireless router going, and its open for everyone to use. Damn, if I had known that, I would have saved some money, and helped pay for his internet. Anyway, I'm digressing.

Today has been a busy day, but busy at my pace. Yasterday I signed out of the unit and had a nice little chat with my CO. Well, it was civil at least. And that's all that I could really ask for. But today, I slept in and then started cleaning my room. Not a normal cleaning, but thourough. Basically so that the next person coming in doesn't have to do it himself. (Not that there will be a next one.) I also mailed off a few boxes to myself. And packed what I wasn't going to use before I get home. I left too much stuff to pack, way too much. Some of my stuff I have to just give away and buy new later. Both of my bags are about to burst they're so full. I hate it when I miscalculate stuff like that. But, oh well.

I didn't head out to the office today, like I had planned, to see Biz before I left. I jst don't want to say goodbye just yet. I think that I might run out to his place tonight and hang out one last time.

Well, tomorrow is going to be a long day. An extremely long day. But at the end, it'll all be worth it. Plus, as an international flight, drinks are free. So, after a few, (or more) I should be able to sleep pretty well. I just have to wait till after the stop in Japan. And I'll have a long time to think about the past year. The people I've met, and all of the good times I've had. Not to mention the places I got to go to. (Although, 2 of them, I never want to go back to.) This last year was a good one and I don't have any regrets. Well, I do have one, but that's not for you to know about. I'll keep that one to myself for now.

You know, as I sit here writing this, watching Firefly, I realize just how lucky I am. I'm in excelent health, other than the smoking, I have 3 great kids, a lot of friends, a few true friends, (If you don't know the difference, then I can't explain it to you.) I get to travel and I have a good life. All in all, the Army has been good to me for the past 18 years. Sure, I've had seperations from my family and been in places where people don't want us. (And I'm not talking about just the Middle East.) And I've lost friends, some of them good friends. I've also had some run ins with people I work with, most of them of a more recent nature. But I have no complaints. And that's all you can really ask for. Isn't it?

I'll see ya'll later.

Peace, I'm Out!

OMG. Its been a year already!?! I can't believe it, I really can't. It seems like I just got here last month. Its funny how time can seem to move so fast sometimes. When I first got here, it was like, "Damn, I have to be here for a whole year. This is going to seem like forever." And then, all of a sudden, today I final out. And Friday morning, I'm on the first plane out of Daegu, bound for the States. A few days ago, I didn't know what I really wanted to do, stay or go. Now, I'm sure. I want to stay. Dispite all of the problems I've had with the unit. (You guys don't know most of it.) Now, its more because I've met so many people that have become friends. I hate to leave them forever. And that's just what I'll be doing. I could say that I'll see them again, but that's not reasonable. About the only ones I have a chance of seeing again are Kid and may male Kiwi friend's girlfriend, because they're both from Cananda. I have offers to visit people on different continents, complete with places to stay. That right there shows how good of friends I think we are. You don't just invite someone you don't trust to your house for a visit.

Then, there's Biz. This man is a great person. Yes, he is a big mean looking MF. But, he is one of the best people I know. Even better than myself, I think. No, I know. He cares about people, even people he doesn't know. He'll do anything to help a friend. We've had lots of time to talk about things. He knows some stuff about me that most people will never know. Mother Bizkit, you should be proud, you did a good job. If it wasn't for him talking to someone yesterday, I would be leaving here owing at least a thousand dollars for bullshit stuff. But because it was him that did the talking (and not me) the idea was able to take hold. And this is right after he found out that he's not going to be able to stay here in Korea as long as he was supposed to. He needed to stay until September to be able to claim the year tax free. (Civilians get to claim tax free if they work outside of the US for at least 11 months of the year.) But, because of other things going on here (None with him, but with the unit.) he has to leave early. There's just nowhere they can have him work until Sep. Biz, you better keep in touch. I will as well.

Friday is going to be a long day for me. I go to the airport here at about 6 AM (4 PM the day BEFORE at my destination.) and land in Nashville at 6 PM the same day, technicly. But to me it will be 8 AM Saturday. That's right, 26 hours of traveling and I get there the same day I left. But it will be worth it. My kids will be there. And I got a suprise the other day, one of my aunts, that I haven't seen in over ten years, is going to be there too!!!! Man, I hope I don't break down, but I think I will. Seeing my kids and my aunt will probably be too much for me, especiall after traveling for 28 hours straight. But they will make the whole ordeal worth it.

Then I'm on leave for 3 weeks. After leave, I go to the Replacement Center and the 101st. I have mixed feeling about this part. I love my unit, its one of the best I have ever been in, but the last two years it has been a chore, to say the least. Even though my commander here has put me out of the unit, I know that I could go there and get a place for myself. All I have to do is talk to a few people and I would be back in. But, there is really something to the fact that life goes in circles. And by going to the 101st, I would be completeing one. I started my carreer in the 101st, and something just seems right that I should complete it there. Besides, I'll be able to spend more time with my kids, something that I wouldn't be able to do in the other unit because I would be gone a lot more. I think that, even though the CO thought he was "kicking me in the nuts", he may actually have done me a favor. But don't tell him that, he'll try to get the orders changed.

I still haven't decided if I'm going to continue this blog. Right now, I'm leaning towards yes, but I won't know for sure till I get settled there. I will continue to post for a little while at least. And will announce what I decide before I completely stop. At any rate, this is my last post from Korea. I have to turn off my internet today. Next time I post, I will be back in the States, where I can read all of the signs.

God, that seems like a funny statement. "Where I can read all of the signs." I don't think that anyone who has not traveled to an Asian, or Middle Eastern, country can really apprechiate how much that simple thing can mean. Yes, European and Latin-American countries have different languages, but if you have a basic understanding of the language, you can peice together a basic meaning for the sign. The letters are pretty much the same. Here, I know how to pronounce some of the characters, I even know what the word for Daegu looks like, but there is no real way to compare it to anything I have in my brain. To me, its a bunch of squigles. And after a while, you don't even see them anymore. They become like white noise, its there, you just don't notice it.

For some reason, I find myself wanting to just ramble on and on. I know I shouldn't, reading my stuff when I do this is, is like listening to someone scratch a chalkboard. But I can't help it right now. I guess I don't want to let go. That seems like a normal thing, doesn't it? After all, most people don't like to change, or changes, at all. I didn't think that I was like that. I'm not, normally. I actually like changes. Well, good changes. I guess I'm trying to decide if this is going to be a good change or not. In my heart I know it is, but I'm leaving Biz to take up my slack after I'm gone. Granted, there shouldn't be that much work before its his time to leave, but I still feel bad about it. He's been there to help me through everything since October when he showed up. But there is the part that is coming up just before he leaves that will be very labor intensive. I think that this is where I have the problem with leaving. I hate to leave a job unfinished. And I feel that I'm doing that now, while leaving it for him to complete. I better stop writing now.

I'll see ya'll later. (From the States.)
One last memory, the last pool training that me and Biz did together. And the last one ever for the unit.

Ever Have One of Those Days

   Today just started out bad and continued from there.  First, Biz came by to take me to turn in some of my gear at a post about a 45 minute drive away.  (My command won’t allow us to use military vehicles to clear, because, to them, clearing is personal business, not military.  Of course, they’re all allowed to have cars.)  Well, we get just outside of the city, and I realize that, duh, I’ve forgotten my clearing papers.  So we have to go back and get them, wasting an hour in the process.  Great!  I call the place I was going to tell them that I’ll be a half hour late.  And they ask if I can come by tomorrow instead.  Ah, no!  That’s why I’m telling you I’m going to be late, hello!

   Anyway, I get there, and right at 30 minutes late, like I told them.  And I clear this place, easy, no problems.  Only a few things left to do, and one big one.  My hand receipt.  (A list of all of the unit equipment I am responsible for maintaining.)  Well, there are things missing that I didn’t know were missing.  Not vital equipment, but some chairs and bookcases.  I didn’t know about this stuff, but that’s not an excuse.  That’s ok.  What kills me about it is that I gave my commander an excuse to really give me the shaft.  Every other piece of equipment that I had in my possession is accounted for and present.  And I have a lot to keep track of, including stuff that other people use that I can’t know where its at at all times.  But, I think I did pretty good for accountability.  I just hope that he hurries up with everything so I can still final out on Wednesday, and leave on Friday.

   Tomorrow, I have a few more things to clear, and then me and Biz are going to search the entire compound to see if we can find this stuff.  If we can’t, I’ll have to pay for it.  Like I said, I just want it done quickly.  I’m ready to go.

   Tonight I’m heading over to Biz’s for some dinner.  Which is good, as I really don’t have much left in my room to eat.  But I only need to go a few more days.  (Fingers crossed.)    At any rate, I’m done for today.

    I’ll see ya’ll later.

Last Weekend; Part II

Well, Saturday wasn't as good of a night as Friday was, but I still had a good time. As you know, Biz decided to stay in because he's going on a paragliding trip today. Something about not being too tired when he's hanging a good distance in the air. I stopped by his place on the way out just to bullshit for a few minutes and then I headed out. When I got to the Crew, I entered the weekly pool tourny. (Which, as usual, I didn't win. But it was the last time I get to play in it.) And, again, I was takeing pictures. Oh, one little note, after how much I drank on Friday, and, more importantly, how I felt when I woke up, I decided that I was going to take it easy with the drinking. And, it turned out later that that was a good thing. Alright, on to the pics.

First up, one of the very few flight guys that I get along with, Ditty.

Next up, is Momma's son again and Momma's oldest daughter. She came down from Seoul where she is an assistant movie producer. I'm glad that I got to say Goodbye to her. I hadn't seen her since February.

A little later in the night, some of the guys started an impromtu (Don't know if I spelled that one right.) arm wrestling contest. This is Crutch and the Cuban at the start oftheir match.

And this is the end. The Cuban lost.

This is LJ just chilling out. But, dude. I just have to ask. What's up with that suit? I heard it before I saw you.

Cuban playing in the tourny. I think his team lost this game.

This is DJ and Crutch.

Here we have Goody (In front) giving his usual greeting and Angry Joe watching a pool game.

This is the team that knocked my team out of the tourny, Flip (right) and Tubby.

I had a couple of pics of Ronin in my last post. But now he's blonde. Funny story behind that too. Well, when me and Biz left the Crew at 6 AM Sat., Ronin was passed out on one of the benches. I woke him up and he was walking around when we left. So, I fgured he was good to go. But, he passed out again and Momma's son had to get him going. And it took him a while to do it. Anyway, the son decided Ronin needed a little hair treatment and took him to a hair stylist he knows. Ronin said that he thought they had gone someplace to eat, sat in the chair, and passed out. When he woke up, he was blonde. Ronin leaves this week too.

Here we have a trio of pretty good guys. From left to right, Jesus, The Scott and Bob. Jesus is from Chicago, The Scott is from Scotland (Go figure), and Bob is another Canadian. Scott was my partner for the tourny.

While this isn't a good picture of her, this is Helen, the Saturday night bartender. She had been out partying pretty good before she came by.

And finally we get to the only other Aussie I have met here, Ter. She's a great girl, but is kind of going through a rough patch right now. I had originally planned to go home before curfew, but she showed up and needed someone to talk to. We sat and talked for hours, finally going home at around 7 AM. But it was worth it. I hope she starts feeling better soon.

All in all, I had a pretty good weekend. I only had one problem, and that was Friday night/Saturday morning. And it was with another American. Me, Biz, Scott and Aussie work talking among ourselves about Iraq. Well, not really about Iraq, but about the terrorists that are causing all of these problems. Scott made a comment that made it sound like it was a religious thing. And we got to discussing that. Well, this American (Ponytail) asks what we're talking about so we tell him that its about Muslims. Which, it was, kind of. Well, he gets pissed off. So I ask him what the problem was. And he just says, why does it have to be about them being Muslim? I tell him that its not about the fact that they're Muslim, they could be Jedi Knights for all I care. Its the people using the religion for their own personal gain. And the fact that most of these people that they lure in are ignorant. Not by choice, but because of other factors. If they were educated, the terrorists wouldn't be able to recruit as easily.

Well, he still thinks I'm slamming someone because of their religion. So he's still pissed. I tell him my name and ask him his, trying to shake his hand. He blows me off and tells me his name's not important. I ask if I can buy him a drink to show there are no hard feelings. He flat out says no. Oh, he also had a problem with the fact that I'm a soldier. And he leaves.

A little later he comes back to the table where we're talking and asks for a cigarette. I'm the only one there with some so I offer one to him. He fucking ignors me! And continues to ask everyone else individually, and only took one from me when he found out no one else had any. Then, he doesn't even say thank you. At this point, Biz and Aussie were doing Rock, Paper, Scissors to see which one of them got to break Ponytail's jaw. But I wouldn't let them do it. Then Aussie says "Ok. But, I'm going to go over there and tell him he has 2 minutes to apologize to you for being disrespectful, or I'm going to throw him out the window." I couldn't let him do that, so I told Aussie, "Don't mess with him. He has the right to be like this. And I've protected his right to do that for 17 years. Leave him be." Aussie just looked at me and said "Fair enough."

Well, me and Ponytail did come to an arrangement of sorts. We ran into each other at the bar, and I offered to buy him another drink to show that there were no hard feelings. Again he said no. So I said to him, "You're an American. I'm an American. At least we can respect each other for that." He looked at me, nodded his head and said, "I can respect that." I offered my hand and this time we shook hands. Of course, if he had disrepected me there again, I think I would have let Biz and Aussie tear him apart. Well, at least I would have entertained the idea.

That's all I have for now. My next three days are going to be kind of busy. I have to finish clearing and mail off what I don't need anymore. I'll try to update as I can, but starting Tuesday, I'll no longer have internet in my room. So, pdates may be delayed till I get internet back in the States. Oh, and my shirt this time said, "Try not to letyour mind wander, its much to small to out on its own."

I'll see ya'll later.

Last Weekend; Part I

As all of my readers (What, all 4 of you.) know, I leave this coming Friday morning. So, this is my final weekend in Korea. And I plan(ed) on making it a good one. So far it has been.

Last night (Friday), my unit had a Hail and Farewell that I had to go to. (Obviously, because I was getting Farewelled.) It started at 6 PM and was to continue until whenever. Biz showed up thankfully, because I would have been bored out of my mind if he hadn't. (I hate doing unit functions. After all, I see these guys all day, everyday, why would I want to be around them after work. There are a few exceptions.) And had to wait until I was called to be farewelled and then wait for all of them to be done before I could leave. Well, we finally get down to it and I'm called up. My Platoon Sergeant, the Big L, gives his little speech about how much help I've been to the unit, how he's enjoyed working with me,blah, blah, blah. And he actually sounded almost sincere. And he hands me the box that my statue is in. (Everyone else has been handed the statue, not the box.) I open the box and pull out the statue, or rather, I pull out the horse part. It seems that mine is broken. (Hmm. I'm not saying it was done on purpose, but....) Anyway, at least it saved me from making a speech that probably wouldn't have gone over too well. Here's a pic of it:

As you can see, its a pretty nice statue. And no, its not fixed yet, I'll have to wait until I get back to the States before I'll be able to do that. But, the plaque reads:

SSG Geoffrey R. Wood
E Co. 160th SOAR(A)
June 2005-June 2006
"Hooker"

Everyone gets a nickname on their plaque, and I have Biz to thank for mine. Funny thing is that no one else in the unit knows what it really about. They think they do. After all, Biz is the only one that calls me that. And it only has to do with this site, nothing else.

Back to the story. We wait till everyone is done and leave at around 9 PM. We were supposed to meet NB at Biz's place at 8:30 and were obviously running late. We finally get there at a little after 9:15. Do a little pregame drinking and listening to music. I hadn't seen NB for a few months, and man, has she lost weight. She was thin before, but now she's too thin. She asked me how I thought she looked and I had to tell her that she looked sickly. She looked a little hurt until I told her that she knew better than to ask me a question like that because she knew I would tell her exactly what I thought. Just to show you how bad she's gotten here's a few pics of her and Biz at Biz's place:

This is the serious pic. The next one you can see Biz isn't takeing it too seriously.

Ok, so we're listening to the music when this one song comes on. I can't remember the name, but it it says I would walk 500 miles. I hink you know what one I'm talking about. Well, these two appearently have a dance that they do to it. Its, well, here, just take a look:


Its ammusing to watch, at least. Anyway, we leave for the Crew at around 10 PM. When we get there, there are a few people about. We make our rounds, get drinks and settle in at one of the tables. Helen is there. (That's not her name, I didn't remember it right. So I'll continue to call her that. But she does have an English name, not Korean. Her parents are Christian and wanted her to have an Enlish name.) And she made my drink strong, just how I like it. (I think she wants to get me drunk. Lucky me.) And just to show how good looking this girl is, Biz was even admiring her. And he doesn't even look once at Korean women. I went around with my camera getting pics with all of the friends I will probably never see again. Here they are:

This is Weasle and his Fiancee.

This is me and J. She left this morning to get married to another of my friends, Snuffy.
Good luck, and best wishes to the both of you.

Of course, Weasle had to get a pic with J.

Me with Momma (Right, owner of Crew) and her youngest daughter.

Me and Kiwi

This is me and Aussie. Its kind of hard to tell just how big this guy really is, just glad that the second time we met that we didn't actually get into that fight against each other.

Me and Kid
The only Kiwi guy I know and his Canadian girlfriend

These next two were to just get a pic of Ronin (The guy in the middle with the red shirt.) An Irish guy. But several others had to jump into the pics. Some of which, I actually know by name.


The Korean guy in the blue and grey shirt is Momma's son. The Korean girl is the Saturday bartender. (I'll call her Sat.) The girl on the left, I don't know, seen around, but never met. ANd the other Korean guy, is a regular, but don't remember his name.

Sat didn't like the first pic, and wanted another one. (Who am I to argue with a beautiful girl?) And another guy jumped in.

And the final pic of the night, me and Sat.

All in all, a very fun night. I didn't get to see all of my friends, and I hope to see them tonight. But I did have a good time with the ones I did get to see. There were a few problems. And I didn't get back home until 6 AM, but it was worth it. Oh, and in case you're wondering, my shirt says, "Stupid people have feelings, they're just too dumb to know it." I'll have more pics from tonight. Unfortunately, I'll be heading out solo. The Biz is going Paragliding on Sunday, and for some reason, doesnt want to be extremely tired when he does it.

I'll see ya'll later.

MEMEs

I didn't really have anything to write about today, but didn't feel right not posting. So, I went to blogthings and did a few of their memes. (What the hell does that stand for?) Here are my results and what I thought of them.

You Are 90% Evil

You're the most evil person you know. The devil is even a little scared of you!

How Evil Are You?

This is kind of supriseing to me. I always thought I was one of the good guys. I know I'm one of the good guys. I'm too nice to be evil. (Insert evil laugh here.)

You are 80% Pisces

How much do you match your zodiac sign?

Well, at least I'm close here. Nothing else to add to this one.

You are Agnostic

You're not sure if God exists, and you don't care. For you, there's no true way to figure out the divine. You rather focus on what you can control - your own life. And you tend to resent when others "sell" religion to you.

What's Your Religious Philosophy?

I had to look up agnostic. It means, basically, that I don't believe there is any way to prove the existance of God. Which is true, but also, not true. I do believe its impossible to prove that there is a Higher Power. But I also have a true belief that there is a God. Sounds like an impossible situation, but it works for me.

You Are a Natural Flirt

Believe it or not, you're a really effective flirt. And you're so good, you hardly notice that you're flirting. Your attitude and confidence make you a natural flirt. And the fact that you don't know it is just that more attractive!

What Kind of Flirt Are You?

I'm a natural. See, I am good at something! But seriously, I have been told this about me (That doesn't sound quite right.) by other people before.

You Are Elmo

Sweet and innocent, you expect everyone to adore you. And they usually do! You are usually feeling: Talkative. You've got tons of stories to tell. And when you aren't talking, you're laughing. You are famous for: Being popular, though no one knows why. Middle aged women especially like you. How you live your life: With an open heart. "Elmo loves you!"

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Just shoot me. 'Nuff said.

I'll see ya'll later