The Life and Times of....... Me

2004-04-08T09:06:00.000-05:00

Well, thanks to B, for getting me back here... It would likely have been a long, LONG time before I reposted in this, and as she noted, it "seemed lonely"

Well, a lot has happened since Oct 10th. I'll try to break it down by month...

October was fun, I had a week of frenzied packing, preparing, and such, rushing here and there, trying to get everything in order. Most people get three months. I had 7 days.

I flew out at 6 in the morning on the 17th of October, a totally ungodly hour, and one that should be stricken from the clock forever. I arrived in Ft Stewart, Germany around 1 PM, ready to get to it! little did I know how much of a hassle Stewart would be.

In the first three weeks of my deployment, I walked at least three miles everyday, trying to get things done. It seemed like no one had a clue what was going on, and no one wanted one.

Oh well, thats in the past now. We went through rifle Qualification, I shot 29 out of 40. I would have done better, but it was about 40 degrees, pouring rain, and I didn't have any rain gear. I was literally soaked all the way through, it was great! 29 isn't bad, it's just not that great. Thats okay though, cause next year I'm shooting for mid 30's

The theatre-specific training sucked. They kept telling us all these things about Kosovo that didn't sound right after the things I heard from NGIC(National Ground Intelligence Center). I decided that they were just full of it. I've been in Kosovo for two months as I write this, and I was right. They really didn't know what they were talking about. Maybe the Army should consider having people who recently got back from theatre teach those classes...

The rest of the time in Georgia was rather dull. There was a bit of excitement right after we got back from Christams Vacation, but I'll talk about that later. Adieu, and see you all later!

2003-10-10T17:14:00.001-05:00

Hehe... It's official. Really, truly, completely official... I leave for Kosovo in ten days. Course, my journey to Kosovo is gonna take three months total, but the endstate is gonna be the same... Cool!

2003-10-10T17:14:00.000-05:00

2003-09-30T08:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm back. three long weeks after my last post, I return to you know, at the turn of the tide...

Okay, maybe not, but I am feeling a little goofy right now... It seems that this next job is still kinda questionable... And today is my last day of working here... Oh well, I'm sure something will work itself out...

So I just got back from Kearney, Nebraska.
Finally, I'm back to normal things.

The things I saw there would shock and horrify any sane human being (and as she reads this, Nikki has a look of apprehension on her face. She's probably thinking "How can he say that?")

I gotta admit, though, I had fun...

It's funny, I knew that Nebraska was flat, and brown, but I didn't realize HOW flat and brown it was until I got there... I missed the trees, the hills, the green stuff... but it's all good ; )

2003-09-11T12:19:00.000-05:00

September 11th, 2003.

I remember what happened two years ago, as if it happened yesterday.

I can still see the images, burning sharply in my mind, as if I were standing there again.

I still cry when I remember.

here is a post that I made aboard the Jade's Fire, one of the message boards I frequent:

Well, we come around to it again. Tomorrow is September 11th, and I just had a few words of note that I wanted to say.

I know that 9/11 threads are going to be beaten to death among the various message boards that we all attend, because everyone wants to have their say, whether American, British, French, German, or any of the host of nationalities out there. A lot of people argue that 9/11 has become nothing more than an excuse for America to become Imperialistic, invading countries at will in the guise of "anti-terrorism."

Some will complain that America just has a grudge against Arabs.

And some will remember the tragedies of what happened that fateful day two years ago.

I do not mean to downplay the terrorist attacks that have taken place around the world in the last twenty years. Every one of them was just as tragic, every one just as horrible. From Pan Am in Scotland to the many bombings in Israel. From the Embassy attacks in South Africa to the hostages taken in Indonesia. Every one of them has been a horrible act, acts that have shattered lives, acts that have ruined futures.

9/11 was a wake-up call. Never before had so many lives been lost in such a short amount of time. Three thousand people, with wives, husbands, children, and parents of there own, lost their lives. Three thousand people that didn’t have a problem with Afghanistan, or with Iraq. A majority of them didn’t even know what Al Qaeda was, or what the Taliban did. And very few could tell you the difference between the Baath separatists and the Shiite parties in Iraq. They were just normal people who wanted to make some more money so they could move up in the world, but they were not given a chance.

Now, two years after the day, this nation is still healing. I, for one, was shocked on that fateful day, and the scars still run deep in me. I have trouble overcoming my rage at the people who committed those acts, and the images of the towers collapsing still burn cleanly in my mind as if I was standing there, watching it happen all over again. My eyes tear up as I write these words, the horror of it all replaying graphically in my mind.

I will never forget, and I know many others will not.

Take what you will out of this post. It is not to be inflammatory, nor is it meant to be sad. It is merely my thoughts on the subject.

That pretty much sums it up...

2003-09-10T11:20:00.000-05:00

It's amazing what you can do when you're bored. For what, three weeks now, I've been meaning to clean my room.

Last night I was bored

This morning my room is clean.

Is there any other news? yeah, probably. Do I remember it all? Are you kidding me? I can't even remember what I was sposed to do today...

Well, Tim is gettin the Cadian Boxed Army. This is a good thing. My Tau can't be effective below 1000 points, and aren't very effective below 1500 points. Tim doesn't yet have 1000 points. Until Tim gets 1500 points, I have a hard time fighting against him, because I can't fight effectively and lose valuable parts of my army.

My knee feels better, so thats a good thing...

The more time goes by, the more it drives me nuts that Nikki is so far away... pfft... Guess thats what I deserve... (love ya hun)

Well, I'm off to work. See ya'll later...

2003-09-08T10:07:00.000-05:00

I absolutely hate being called in on my day off. On Saturday, I found out (at 5 in the morning) that I was sposed to work. Now, normally this isn't much of an issue, but 1-it was Saturday. 2-I didn't know about it beforehand. 3-I really coulda used the day off.

I'll use one of Prin's old formats for the rest of today... the good/bad one...

Good-I helped put out a fire that threatened to burn half the field behind the rifle ranges
Bad-I tore my knee up real good

Good-I had Sunday off
Bad-I hd nothing to do

Good-I pretty much had the weekend to myself
Bad-I pretty much had the weekend to myself

well... here's hoping this week turns out better... and that next weekend is even better than this one... (not likely)

2003-09-02T13:38:00.000-05:00

Wow... It's been a while since I posted... oops...

Well, I'm back on a (semi) normal schedule. Work, eat, nothing, sleep, wash, rinse, repeat... Job ends in a month, hopefully I'll get something else lined up soon, otherwise I might end up back to doing nothing but looking for work all day long, and I really don't need that... Nikki's doin good, but thats usual for her... Sis is doin okay, but I don't think she realizes that she needs to lighten up and not take everything so personal. She'd be a lot happier if she just did that. That and not get upset over little things. (I swear, you really aren't sposed to take them down escelators.)

My two armies haven't been worked on much for a while. I base-coated the DA special characters, and the Terminators, but thats about it.

Tim's doin pretty good. He's having a hard time with life in general, but overall he seems okay.

Trevor is, well, Trevor.

Everyone else is doing just fine, it seems...

Except for me.

I hate being unsure, and it seems thats all I've been over the past few weeks. Is my employment going to continue? Will I be able to keep this lifestyle I've grown accustomed to? Should I talk to my parents more?

Just things like that... Oh well... Hopefully everything works out in the end...

2003-08-25T14:37:00.000-05:00

hmm... my life seems to be boring... Nothing exciting ever happens anymore... *shrug*

I got to drive a general around last week, that was kinda cool... especially since I got out of work to just sit around and wait for him, more or less... And I finally got my movies from my sis... : D Watched Knockaround Guys last night, cool movie... : D

My Dark Angels Army is coming along nicely... should be finished with the variant army lists by the end of the week, hopefully I'll have it all painted by the end of September(it's a lot to paint, and I've been lazy lately...)

My Tau army is mostly complete also. I think I finally have a very successful army list, for standard sized games... I've taken all the lessons I've learned, and can now say that I know how to fight anyone with them. Tim, those Guardsmen are going down... ; P

Well, in the words of the soon-to-be governor of California...

I'll be back

2003-08-18T12:04:00.000-05:00

Wow, my Dark Angels army came early... I was expecting it on Wednesday, and it came today. I'm happy... : D

The pieces look impressive, It's a great spot to start from, now I have a good example of what to paint the rest of my army... : D

Nikkie's back off to school... Another year for her to knock out, another year that I'm putting school off... Oh well...

Got in trouble this weekend... But it wasn't completely my fault. I was sposed to have the weekend off, just because I was living across the parking lot doesn't meant that they should have the right to walk over and get me. Would they like it if we drove to their houses and got them if we needes something? I don't think so...

Oh well...

2003-08-15T09:47:00.000-05:00

Well, the war in Iraq finally hit home. A member of my battalion, someone that I knew, died the other day from heat exhaustion. Not only that, but an MP that I knew from 186 MP company was severely injured, losing both legs in an attack. Don't get me wrong, I still want to go, but now it just seems so much closer. Especially since these guys aren't Infantry, they aren't combat arms, they're truck drivers and fuelers. Rear echelon units, support personnel.

But such are the hazards of war.

Drill this weekend, an excercise in futility, much like most of the drill weekends that I have to attend. But such is life in the National Guard.

On a good note, I getta call Nikkie again tonight... : D Something to be happy about... And... umm... I think thats mostly it...

I bought a pre-painted Dark Angels Army, it should be here around Tuesday or Wed, hopefully...

2003-08-14T14:32:00.000-05:00

hehehe... life is fun... Got some new pics up on my web page, did a little more work there and all...

I got no ideas for today, cause my brain is mostly dead... Work has totally fried it, although the lack of sleep probably didn't help all that much...

Well, I'll be back... : D

2003-08-13T13:31:00.000-05:00

Man, I'm tired...

I dunno why, but I just am... Guess I shouldn't stay up real late all that often.

2003-08-12T12:53:00.000-05:00

Fractals are fun. Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Physics are even more fun. Time Theory, Chaos Theory, and how it relates to Quantum/classical Physics is the most fun of all.

I have a headache...

Now, most of you are probably wondering what I'm talking about when I mention the three big topics up there. Well, genius me, I decided that I wanted to know more about the subjects that I listed, so I started looking these things up on the Net, as that is the best way to get more info about them. And I gotta admit, it is very interesting. I've just recently been able to wrap my brain around the fact that Time is not a function of itself, but rather a function of the probability that an event will happen.

How does time really work?

Like I said before... mind-bending stuff...

Other than that, life is good... I'm generally having fun with things, gettin into trouble, etc...

Well, I best be back to work. Be sure to visit my webpage here, tell me what ya think... It's kinda messy, but it's under construction, and hopefully soon I'll have it all good to go...

2003-08-09T21:22:00.000-05:00

geh... I got nothing new to add... It sucks... All this creativity, and not a damn thing can come of it...

I might be writing a book(if I can get off my lazy butt and actually start writing it...)

I got a girlfriend, sorta... Mostly... something like that...

I almost got into a fight...

And I think thats it for today...

2003-08-08T17:46:00.000-05:00

Hey all... I'm back... : D Life is good, etc...

I really don't have anything new to write, finished Combat Lifesaver Course today, had a successful IV stick... I almost passed out after sticking the guy cause the blood was spurting out everywhere... But I made it, and now I'm Qualified...

2003-08-05T08:14:00.000-05:00

Another day, another dollar... Or something like that... doesn't really apply to me, cause I got paid for yesterday, even though I didn't work. I'm still annoyed about Chicago, but oh well, things happen. We're going to Dallas, the two day tourney there should be a blast... I know I'll do well at this one...

A for other news, umm, I don't think there is any other news... Oh well...

2003-08-02T23:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I lost. And not by just a little, which should have happened.

I lost bad.

The first game was really bad. I had to play Eldar, and I really just suck against them. It really didn't help when he made my tank drift off the table at the beginning of turn one. But he deserved that win. He played well, and beat me fairly, even if out of pure luck.

The second game should have been mine, but the guy argued a rule that I knew was right, I finally gave up on it. I should have kept pressing and stood my ground, cause I would have won then, but thats what I get for being nice. As it was, the game ended up a tie.

The third game was a joke. I played orcs, one of the few creatures I can just kill outright. Turn one, I slaughtered two of his squads. Turn two, I had a commanding lead, and was ahead. Turn three, I let him slide on a rule that I shouldn't have. I'll learn one of these days, don't let those turds get by on any rules violations. That one point there cost me the game, I have no doubt about it.

Oh well, you live and learn...

2003-08-01T12:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm off. Off to the Windy City, to gain my fortune or to go down in flames. Okay, so maybe it's not that dramatic, but still... ; )

I got bad news today, Kay has a bladder infection... She goes in to see if she's gonna need surgery... Here's hoping... *crosses fingers*

Well, my ride is here, so I'm gonna take off... Talk to ya'll later!

2003-07-31T08:17:00.000-05:00

Thanks Kaelis... I probably woulda taken a week at least to figure out that comments link part... So when does my link go up on your site? ; )

Well, I was watching MTV this morning, and I happened to make a few observations. Jewel is, umm... Rather attractive... As is Michelle Branch and Christina. P Diddy is everywhere... Good Charlotte has some problems. Have you seen their video for Girls and Boys? A little odd...

Well, my last day of work this week. Finally. And two days til I find out just how good I really am...(as if I didn't think I was the best already) I'm really excited about that part. Will I get any work done today? I hope so, but probably not.

Never fear though, I will be back...

Later:

Well, it's official. I'm a horrible worker. I got two maps updated, and thats all I did today. In fact, I didn't get much more done in the last several days. I guess that means that I need some time off. Or maybe I really am just lazy this week... *shrugs* Oh well...

Hey, Beth... I was checking out that site you sent me... www.bored.com... You know, the one with the pick-up lines... ; ) Anyway, I looked at the link to "Why the Chicken Crossed the Road." Hilarious stuff... I never knew that chickens were such a diverse lot...

Anyway, I'm off again. I think It's nearly time to go home... I'm certainly not feeling useful here

BTW, I won't be updating this til either Monday or Tuesday, as I will be in Chicago til then...

2003-07-30T08:35:00.000-05:00

I did it!!! I finally figured out the tagboard thing... Course, I had to look at both K's and Prin's and compare them, but... ; )

Well, I only got two days of work left... today and tomorrow, and I'm sposed to get a bunch of stuff done, so *shrug* Hopefully I do... Otherwise I'll get scolded again... Oh well...

And thats all for now...

Later that day:

I should feel bad. I haven't gotten anything done. Well, I shouldn't say anything, I got the river history map finished, but thats about it. This hasn't been a real productive week for me, and I really don't think it's going to get any more productive as the week goes on, but I've got a lot of things to think about...

I heard from Beth again, finally... : P And I also got emails from people that I haven't talked to for such a long time... I'm gonna try to email them back, but things happen and... *shrug*

Well, back to another attempt at real work... *sigh*

2003-07-29T08:13:00.000-05:00

It's done! I finally finished painting my army! (with the exception of two gun drones and the Kroot Shaper) I'm excited for Gamesday, less than a week away now, but terrified at the same time. I've only played six games, am I really ready? I sure hope so, cause it's done...

In other news, Gabe is sitting on his own now... I can't wait to see him again, from what I hear he should be crawling soon... He's getting up on his knees, and lifting his leg like he wants to go forward, but he doesn't yet...

And... I'll be back, if I can ever figure out this damn comments tag crap... >: |

Later that day:
I'm just gonna leave the comments tag the way it is. I don't want to hassle with it anymore, plus, it's giving me a headache... I need to remind myself, though, to tell others about this place, otherwise all my work is for naught...

And even later:
Well, I don't know about a few things...

Nikkie is cool, and I like her, but she's a state away. Do distance relationships work? I know it's not that far, but still...
My army is cool... I think I did a great job, and I also think I'm pretty good at the game... But am I truly? I guess I'll find this one out this weekend...
I really want to transfer to Second Brigade, the opportunities for me would be so much greater. But am I ready for it? Am I ready for the oppurtunities? Do I really want to leave all the other people that I already know and who already know me?

I guess I'll just have to wonder about it for a while... But that really sucks... I absolutely hate not knowing...

2003-07-28T13:24:00.000-05:00

Lunch was great. Food... finally... : D

Course, I found out another unfortunate fact. My bank pulled a second car payment out of my account. Good for me cause it's one less payment I have to make. Bad for me cause now I only have $20 til Friday. Oh well, I'll live. I just can't help but wonder, though, does everyone have this much trouble with their banks? Or am I just a convenient target?

In other news... well, I guess there isn't any other real news. I should email a few people... But I'm gonna procrastinate... again...

2003-07-28T11:34:00.000-05:00

Well, I did it. I actually created a blog. *sigh* Oh well, now I can chronicle these important events in my life.

Like this weekend. I found out that I can truly go for 48 hours(or more) without any substantial amount of food. I discovered that my ATM card doesn't work, on Saturday afternoon, at 11:30. I was at least an hours walk from my closest bank branch, so there was no getting cash for me. Which sucked, as I had $2 in my pocket. Oh well, I learned my lesson. First thing in the morning I called the bank and ordered a new ATM card. This time a debit card, so I can use it at POS.

I lost for the first time in Warhammer. That was kinda disappointing, but I knew it had to happen sometime. I've got that tourney coming up, and I'm worried. I've only been playing the game for about a month now, and I really think I'm good enough to try to tourney? Well, I'm already signed up for it and paid for, so it's all or nothing now.

Well, I guess I should get some real work done. The boss wouldn't be to happy if he knew that I was "wasting" time on something like this, even though I do a great job on all my other projects.

Never fear though, I'll be back...

mikey

I emailed Kaelis... Maybe he can help me with making this look better than it does... I like that comments thing he has... hmm...

; )