So I started writing this ridiculously long and detailed account of my current bout with the flu. Unfortunately I was so busy at work yesterday, I didn’t get to finish. The world is a lesser place because of it too.
But on the bright side, I am feeling much better (which is the opposite of how I was feeling two days ago: hating every waking moment).
I am going to be on a plane home in a week. As it keeps getting closer I keep losing more and more interest in this place. It is funny, less than two weeks ago I had no idea when my leave dates were. I might as well have been a 4th grader going to school everyday. This all changed drastically when I saw my name up on the big calendar.
The world I know went from bliss to bleh.
All of a sudden every waking moment, as well as half the unwaking ones, was spent thinking about how great it is to get back home. I started making little lists of all the restaurants and bars I wanted to hit up, little excursions to go on, and normal things from my old routine that I would do just for the hell of it. I can’t wait though. And now instead of thinking about all the great stuff ahead of me, all I can see is all this crap I am swimming in now.
I can’t imagine what the last day of leave is going to do to me. I’ll probably try to run off to Canada or something. Be a fugitive and stuff. Do you think they would send Jennifer Lopez or Tommy Lee Jones?
While I am on the subject, if I were a fugitive I would probably run off to France and “hide out” with Roman Polanski. Can you run from the law for any crime in France? Do they limit it to just the crimes committed at Jack Nicholson’s house? Or is it legal to rape children in France? Do the French at least try to catch French criminals?
Wouldn’t it be hysterical (and before you start writing your damnation of my sense of humor, by hysterical I mean 450 tons of irony) if some American celebrity, we’ll use William Shatner, raped a kid in France and fled to the states? France is screaming for justice, and George Bush replies from his ranch,
“I don’t know about your so called evidence and witness testimony, but you’re not makin’ freedom fries out of Captain Kirk!”
Now I used to be under the very false impression that Polanski had simply been in a consensual relationship with a near adult, and that they got married after she became of age. Then I realized I was confusing reality with Samuel L. Jackson movies.
Seriously though, isn’t an American studio aiding and abetting a fugitive by financing his movies?
Couldn't the US have tried a litle harder to snatch this guy back and let the boys in San Quentin repay the favor?
Sleep sound kids. Your heroes, the San Francisco Giants, beat those idiot Mets today and are in first place.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Hodge and Podge (if you click on the links they’ll work)
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Kids Write The Darndest Things...
I got a package in the mail yesterday. It had some Easter tidings from kids at my mom’s school. Oh my goodness some of those cards were so freaking awesome!!
This would be a top 5 list…
5. “Dear Charlie, How are you doing in the war? Hope you come back alive.”
This one stood out because it was the only one written specifically to me. All the others were written to everybody in the unit in general. So for ego massaging purposes, this one makes the Top 5.
4. “I feel bad for the people who don’t get letters.”
So sweet. I feel bad too.
3. This one had all of the normal pleasantries, but with a little extra touch: guns firing at each other. The only card that had any sort of weapons on it. I don’t know how it slipped through the cracks. There were other pictures of tanks and helicopters, but this was the only one with deadly force actually being applied. Finally, a child who gets it.
2. “Write your wife or girlfriend and kids and say I miss you or love you.”
I think this one was a plant. Mom’s subtle way of letting me know something. Terrible that she exploits a child though.
1. “Have you killed any people that are bad?”
Whoooooooooooooooaaaaaaa!!
This one was the run away winner.
Not even close.
Everyone loved this one.
I have to admit that it would be great if I could tell this little Patton that I was running around like Rambo. Alas, I have not gotten to kill any of the bad people.
It is hard when you are essentially a desk jockey. Hell I am not even allowed to carry my weapons when around the detainees.
This would be a top 5 list…
5. “Dear Charlie, How are you doing in the war? Hope you come back alive.”
This one stood out because it was the only one written specifically to me. All the others were written to everybody in the unit in general. So for ego massaging purposes, this one makes the Top 5.
4. “I feel bad for the people who don’t get letters.”
So sweet. I feel bad too.
3. This one had all of the normal pleasantries, but with a little extra touch: guns firing at each other. The only card that had any sort of weapons on it. I don’t know how it slipped through the cracks. There were other pictures of tanks and helicopters, but this was the only one with deadly force actually being applied. Finally, a child who gets it.
2. “Write your wife or girlfriend and kids and say I miss you or love you.”
I think this one was a plant. Mom’s subtle way of letting me know something. Terrible that she exploits a child though.
1. “Have you killed any people that are bad?”
Whoooooooooooooooaaaaaaa!!
This one was the run away winner.
Not even close.
Everyone loved this one.
I have to admit that it would be great if I could tell this little Patton that I was running around like Rambo. Alas, I have not gotten to kill any of the bad people.
It is hard when you are essentially a desk jockey. Hell I am not even allowed to carry my weapons when around the detainees.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Just something I was thinking about at work today...
At what point will "American" become its own nationality/race?
Interactive Fun (The link works now; I promise)
Click on the link and read the article. Then please leave a comment which will explain to me how the in the blue hell this is newsworthy. Seems to me that the first three paragraphs were written only to provide an excuse to write the fourth.
Detainee Dies At Abu Ghraib
Detainee Dies At Abu Ghraib
Time Flies When It Has No Choice...
It’s been a while. Though, circumstances led to my absence; the internet in my room has down (again!!!) for over a week now; I have been filling in for the shift leader over a week now, and so I don’t get all the idle time at work I once did; there was an ordered blackout of all communication from the base for two days.
I’m back now though, that counts right?
Anyways, I have discovered the key to being happy here. It involves going to work, and then going right to bed. I swear, my mood has improved exponentially since I stopped trying to go to the gym and started sleeping 8-10 hours a day. It is really great. I go back to my room after work and read a book or magazine, or maybe watch a movie in bed. Sure I won’t look like your stereotypically chiseled veteran when I get home, but I will be a jolly old fat man, like Santa…
So, any of you that have talked to me know that I am looking at becoming a homeowner when I return from abroad. Quick side note, I was watching the amazingly cool HBO show Rome last week. In it, Julius Caesar gives al of his returning vets their own plots of land. Sure the land was out in the middle of nowhere, but it got me thinking. Dubya should give all of us returning vets our own plots of land in like Oklahoma or Texas or something. I have no idea what I would do with a plot of land out in the middle of nowhere, but it is an interesting idea. Or maybe they could give out government repossessed homes for those of us that like the city.
Back to reality, or at least my latest version. Like I said, I want to take all this money I will have saved when I return and buy a house. A friend of the family who is a realtor has been sending all the different listings so I can see what is out there. All I see though, is that any area of Sacramento that I would actually like to live in is out of my price range; and it isn’t even close. California is just too damned expensive. I am not the kind of person who would want to buy a home somewhere I would hate living just for the sake of owning a home. I don’t like the suburbs. I don’t want to live somewhere that requires driving everywhere. I want to live in the downtown area. I want to be near all the action. I am thinking about moving to Cincinnati. I really liked my visit there over the summer and I think it would be a good place for me. It reminded me a lot of Sacramento, but with snow and a horrible baseball team. It had an awesome river area and a good downtown. A home would also cost half as much as in Sacramento. It has me seriously thinking about relocating…
It’s been so long since I have had real salsa that I enjoy Pace Picante sauce…
I’m back now though, that counts right?
Anyways, I have discovered the key to being happy here. It involves going to work, and then going right to bed. I swear, my mood has improved exponentially since I stopped trying to go to the gym and started sleeping 8-10 hours a day. It is really great. I go back to my room after work and read a book or magazine, or maybe watch a movie in bed. Sure I won’t look like your stereotypically chiseled veteran when I get home, but I will be a jolly old fat man, like Santa…
So, any of you that have talked to me know that I am looking at becoming a homeowner when I return from abroad. Quick side note, I was watching the amazingly cool HBO show Rome last week. In it, Julius Caesar gives al of his returning vets their own plots of land. Sure the land was out in the middle of nowhere, but it got me thinking. Dubya should give all of us returning vets our own plots of land in like Oklahoma or Texas or something. I have no idea what I would do with a plot of land out in the middle of nowhere, but it is an interesting idea. Or maybe they could give out government repossessed homes for those of us that like the city.
Back to reality, or at least my latest version. Like I said, I want to take all this money I will have saved when I return and buy a house. A friend of the family who is a realtor has been sending all the different listings so I can see what is out there. All I see though, is that any area of Sacramento that I would actually like to live in is out of my price range; and it isn’t even close. California is just too damned expensive. I am not the kind of person who would want to buy a home somewhere I would hate living just for the sake of owning a home. I don’t like the suburbs. I don’t want to live somewhere that requires driving everywhere. I want to live in the downtown area. I want to be near all the action. I am thinking about moving to Cincinnati. I really liked my visit there over the summer and I think it would be a good place for me. It reminded me a lot of Sacramento, but with snow and a horrible baseball team. It had an awesome river area and a good downtown. A home would also cost half as much as in Sacramento. It has me seriously thinking about relocating…
It’s been so long since I have had real salsa that I enjoy Pace Picante sauce…
Sunday, April 02, 2006
The Day The Music Died
The Epic Music Wars ended before there was really a chance for bloodshed.
"Management" informed us that we were no longer allowed to have music playing at anytime.
Huh?
Dude that sucks.
Vengeance was never mine.
The bigger picture though, is that now we are stuck in a windowless room for 12 hours without even the small luxury of a soundtrack.
Un-freaking-fair!!!
The detainees have radios and TV's in the camps. Yet I can't listen to music at work.
Should I be surprised though? I think in every job I have had, silly rules have been made by people who really aren't there enough to be making them.
It was the guy with the assigned parking spot at the mall who said employees have to take the shuttle bus from the offsite parking.
It was the district manager who had never actually worked in a stock room, who made us where shirt and tie, yet wouldn't reimburse us if they were damaged.
It is someone working an 8 hour shift in an office who tells the people working 12 hours outside that they can't send people home when they are not needed.
It is someone who doesn't even work in the building and comes in only a couple times a week for a few minutes at a time, who tells a grouped of people stuck in a room for 12 hours a day that they can't listen to any music.
All I can say is that happy soldiers are motivated soldiers. This is the sort of thing that causes undue stress.
Why piss everybody off?
Why punish us for nothing?
Who did the music hurt?
Why can't they just let us run our shift?
Why can't the Giants or the Kings win a championship?
Seriously. It is starting to get frustrating watching my teams fail to put it all together. I work with a lot of Bay Area folks so I have others who feel my pain. I remember every let down like it was yesterday...
In 1989 the Earthquake let the A's reset their rotation and Stewart and Moore kicked the Giants' tails twice.
In 1993, the combination of the fucking Padres giving Fred Mcgriff to the Braves for nothing and Solomon Torres getting shelled on the last day of the season kept a 103 win team out of the playoffs.
In the late 90's they kept losing in the first round of the playoffs to teams they had better records than; losses to the Marlins and Mets are prime examples of this.
Then there was 2001. Oh the humanity!! The Giants are on the verge of a historic World Series Title. Bonds is hitting home runs. JT Snow grabs the baby bat boy as he crosses home plate. Less than 9 outs from the title. Then Dusty out thinks himself. Brings in a reliever who gets absolutely shelled. Giants lose game 6. Everyone in America knew they didn't have a chance in Game 7. That was devastating man. So close.
Don't even get me started on the Kings. The might bring me to tears.
Speaking of tears. I am in a dead silent room. All I can hear is the whirr of the fan, the buzz of the lights, and the sound of the detainees in the other room watching the Incredibles.
"Management" informed us that we were no longer allowed to have music playing at anytime.
Huh?
Dude that sucks.
Vengeance was never mine.
The bigger picture though, is that now we are stuck in a windowless room for 12 hours without even the small luxury of a soundtrack.
Un-freaking-fair!!!
The detainees have radios and TV's in the camps. Yet I can't listen to music at work.
Should I be surprised though? I think in every job I have had, silly rules have been made by people who really aren't there enough to be making them.
It was the guy with the assigned parking spot at the mall who said employees have to take the shuttle bus from the offsite parking.
It was the district manager who had never actually worked in a stock room, who made us where shirt and tie, yet wouldn't reimburse us if they were damaged.
It is someone working an 8 hour shift in an office who tells the people working 12 hours outside that they can't send people home when they are not needed.
It is someone who doesn't even work in the building and comes in only a couple times a week for a few minutes at a time, who tells a grouped of people stuck in a room for 12 hours a day that they can't listen to any music.
All I can say is that happy soldiers are motivated soldiers. This is the sort of thing that causes undue stress.
Why piss everybody off?
Why punish us for nothing?
Who did the music hurt?
Why can't they just let us run our shift?
Why can't the Giants or the Kings win a championship?
Seriously. It is starting to get frustrating watching my teams fail to put it all together. I work with a lot of Bay Area folks so I have others who feel my pain. I remember every let down like it was yesterday...
In 1989 the Earthquake let the A's reset their rotation and Stewart and Moore kicked the Giants' tails twice.
In 1993, the combination of the fucking Padres giving Fred Mcgriff to the Braves for nothing and Solomon Torres getting shelled on the last day of the season kept a 103 win team out of the playoffs.
In the late 90's they kept losing in the first round of the playoffs to teams they had better records than; losses to the Marlins and Mets are prime examples of this.
Then there was 2001. Oh the humanity!! The Giants are on the verge of a historic World Series Title. Bonds is hitting home runs. JT Snow grabs the baby bat boy as he crosses home plate. Less than 9 outs from the title. Then Dusty out thinks himself. Brings in a reliever who gets absolutely shelled. Giants lose game 6. Everyone in America knew they didn't have a chance in Game 7. That was devastating man. So close.
Don't even get me started on the Kings. The might bring me to tears.
Speaking of tears. I am in a dead silent room. All I can hear is the whirr of the fan, the buzz of the lights, and the sound of the detainees in the other room watching the Incredibles.
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