i feel the need to review my existence.......

          and take a hiking trip.

I LOVE BURRITOS!!!!!!!!!

does life ever just make u tired?
then i walk into starbucks and all is well.

"To be is to do"  - Socrates
"To do is to be"  - Jean-Paul Sartre
"Do be do be do"  - Frank Sinatra

this is getting old

so i'm trying to get my tuition assistance the govt. owes me.  I have to have an AARTS transcript to apply, it's like a college transcript but of all my military training. To get it i have to select my college from a list on their website to request it be sent to them so that i can request a copy of it from my college.  if it's not on the list, i have to send a form to my school requesting that they fill out a form requesting that their name be put on the list so that i can select their name from that list to request a copy be sent to them so that i can request a copy from the school so that i can send it to the education office requesting my tuition assistance. 
Does this make any sense to anyone??????!!!!!!!!!!
cause it sure doesn't to me.  i'm tired of jumping through hoops.


i heard mexico is nice this time of year...

man it's good to be home!

internet is leaving tomorrow.  this's the last communication from the far side of the world.  should be in the states this time next week. 

4 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally returned from a 4-day R&R pass in Qatar.  It's a small country on the Saudi side of the Persian Gulf.  It's okay, I didn't know where it was either.  Had a pretty good time, got to relax for a few days.  They had a few clubs and a band from Georgia that was actually really good, but like all cover bands, not so famous.  Tried to go deep sea fishing in the Gulf but they pushed it back until the day i flew out.  o well.  C-130's are not so smooth.  Went downtown to the mall in Doha and it was HUGE!!! like 6 stories!  overall a much nicer mall than any I've ever seen in the states.  Ice skaing rinks, swimming pools, waterfall and palm trees everywhere, and that's just inside the mall!


Most of the stuff they sold was the same kind of stuff you'd see in the states, excepting the novelty and tourist shops which were more culture oriented.  Best of all........coffee shops everywhere!!!!!  Being a true coffee junkie and having spent the better part of my life in coffee houses, I had to hit them all.  The Arabic blends are awesome, very dark and bold.  By the time we left I was bouncing off the walls from caffeind.  Three starbucks in the same mall!!!  I met these ombres at one of em.


They were pretty cool.  Very friendly and very, very polite.  The one on the right was Muhammed and the one on the left was Ali.  What are the odds?  Pretty good i guess cuz I've met quite alot of Muhammed's and Ali's.  Turns out Muhammed was actually going to study at Vanderbilt in Nashville but changed his mind and decided to stay in Qatar.  His loss, he seemed like a country music kinda guy.  Overall Qatar was much cleaner than Kuwait and the locals seemed to follow suit.
Well, gotta get some sleep.  Going to the port tomorrow.  It's time to put the equipment on the big boat for the ride home.  They offered me a job riding back w/ the equipment, but getting home in late March was not so appealing.

10 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did the final cleaning on my SAW today.  or at least attempted it at any rate  it's such a frustrating thing to do I can't even begin to scratch the surface here.  a two day ordeal.  hopefully i'll be able to get it finished tomorrow.  i actually had a really great night tho.  too much to explain plus i'm tired. 
friends are the greatest.  when you're placed in a trying situation with someone, or a bunch of people for that matter, and your relationship still flourishes, you can tell it's going to go far.
I'm so thankful for these friends i do receive.. ...to quote Tom Waits.

Took the last of the equipment down towards the port today, which means i am done operating equipment for this tour!  going home is so close i can taste it.  I'm going to kuwait city tomorrow which should be alright.  I've heard they have some really good restaurants.  I got to go once before but i really didn't get to do anything.  I was force protection for the guys going to the hospital and they don't really like it when the weapons guard takes off, at least i'm assuming so.  i really gotta get some sleep. today was looooooooong.  so long it ran into the next day and the sun's about to come up.  cracked a cpl ribs while packing a connex.  hurts like a son of a ......well, you know
despite all i remain in high spirits.  there's another 5k soon.  the Turkey Trot.  haha that's silly......   i may have to make an appearance.

I actually had a  good day today.  I got up early and went for a 5k Veterans Day Run.  We had a pretty big turnout for it, a couple hundred at least.  It's amazing what a little exercise can do!  It really gave my day an awesome start.  Not a bad way to start my birthday.  The big 22. 
Looks like I'll be pulling into Chattanooga around the 13th or 14th of Dec.
Which puts me at.....um........32 DAYS!!
Our ship-out date is an elusive little creature.  I never can seem to catch up w/ it.   Soon enough!

Listening to  David Gray :  A New Day at Midnight

If there's one thing I do like about this place, it's the sunsets.
Everyday they're amazing, today's inparticular.

had a pretty good night i guess.
went and saw Drowning Pool.  They're doing a tour for the military I guess cuz they had a concert here at Camp Buehring tonight. 
now I'm pumped and can't go to sleep.

finally got one of the pics loaded. in the end it wasn't worth the trouble. 
we must be close to getting out of here cuz everybody's taking pics like crazy.  action photography at it's finest.  this is my platoon on the D9.
i'm second from the left inside the blade. 

this dozer was fun for all of 10 min.  after that you're sweating profusely due to the enclosed cab.  the sweat and the sand in the air mix and make a kind of muddy paste.  might be fun in a cooler climate.

i've given up trying to load any pics.  i'm fed up i tell you

i've been trying to load a picture for like 3 days now and i just can't get it to take.  it's very frustrating.  how long should take for a pic to load? it normally takes like an hour but eventually it does load.  this one's a toughie tho. o well.  i'll get it eventually.  finally got a date on when i'm heading home.  i don't think i can say cuz they're a real stickler about that kinda stuff but i can say it's in the 2nd wk of december and i'll be home for christmas.  i can't wait.  just got my reacceptance letter from tenn tech and they're going to let me sign up for classes online from here which is awesome.  i have like 2 classes to finish my required freshman agenda.  22 year old freshman.....super.  i have almost 50 hrs. but i'm still a freshman.  how does that work?  who knows.  they're very picky about what transferred classes they accept.  too picky in fact.  as long as i'm back in school tho i'm happy.  enough for now.  i'll get that pic sometime.
listening to Flogging Molly: Drunken Lullabies
awesome album......if you're into irish rock stuff

If i had a boat
  I'd go out on the ocean
  If i had a pony
  I'd ride hime on my boat
  We could all together
  Go out on the ocean
  Me upon my pony on my boat

why do i write these?

finally feeling better. that's always a plus.  the newest thing on the table is a possible thru-hike of the appalachian trail.  next summer maybe?  me and a a couple other guys had a backpacking trip across europe planned so i'm guessing one or the other will have to be pushed off until the next summer.
doesn't make much difference i guess since it's the same group of guys on both trips. it's all up in the air but i'm definitely up for both.  i think a hike through austria would be amazing.  definitely on my to-do list.  i really never took advantage of living in the free world.  i'm gonna have to make up lost time.  can't wait to get outta here.  i feel like i say that alot. i'm sure everyone around me feels the same way.  soon enough. 
45 days! ........roughly   
not sure how to end this one.........  

another day of duty w/ a runny nose. i hate being sick. i hate working while i'm sick even more.

nothing new
went to the firing range today. they pulled my M16 and issued me a SAW (squad automatic weapon). i'm not sure why, but i'm not altogether happy about it. more firepower is always a bonus but it's like lugging aroung a sack of bricks. when something happens next i'm sure i'll be glad i got it. qualified sharpshooter at the range if that means anything to anyone reading this. kind of disappointing becuz i've always qualified expert but of course that was w/ a different weapon.
this must be so boring for somebody to read. it's hard not being able to relate to society. i fear any shred of social skills i once had have gone from me completely. now i'm just rambling. after i got back i found out i had 12 hours of guard duty which i just finished so i guess it's normal to ramble some after being up for that long. i'm gonna cut it short here and do us all a favor. i wish all of you the best. i'll wish u double the best if u send me an email. they're few and far between these days.

hmm

it always seems like the people I depend on the most end up letting me down the most. but are they really?
or do i just take more notice of it because they are in fact the ones I depend on the most?

i love fall