Weekend.

I'm finally starting to hear about our deployment to Afghanistan. Looks like we could possibly be leaving with the "torch" party before the end of November. So soon! that means I only have like two more long weekends to go. I need to go visit friends near DC, and then I really need to go to Boston. Time seems to be running out a bit.

Rain. Fitting.

Ugh. Today has been a crappy day. And outside it looks like crapola. Fits my mood. Today has been a crappy day at work. Why? The BS that I thought I left in my old unit craned its ugly head. Really a kick in the pants, if I had anything to kick.

I really wanted to go and walk Dixie today too, but I have a feeling if I did that, I'd get horribly rained on. Then again, with my luck, it won't rain at all.

A couple days ago I got a wake up call. A reminder that mistakes you make seem to keep coming back and back and back. And to think, Brad had the nerve to contact me again after I had told him never to contact me again. What the hell. I thought that I'd be able to move on with my life... but now I'm being dragged right back in. Its a very frustrating feeling. The stress that had finally subsided thanks to a certain somebody being out of my life and also out of that crappy-ass unit. Sigh. Insult on Injury, I have to get counseled.

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Isn't Tom adorable? For some reason he likes to make funny faces in pictures rather than show me that sexy smile of his. I'll get him to lighten up eventually and smile for pictures. Only because I think he looks so damn good. :)

I found my old blog too. Kind of rather a bit a lot embarrassing. Sigh. I'll let you indulge: http://www.blogger.com/profile/07317881766511352343

It's funny though really, 5 months ago I wasn't in such a good place. Hell 4 months ago I wasn't either, but things have started to look up. Time to myself without a certain manipulative lying SOB who I should have kicked to the curb two years ago when I met him, really did me a hell of a lot of good. I just wonder about some things. I really have never been in love before. I can say that pretty confidently at this point. If I thought I loved somebody, I was never at the same place with them. Either I'm in love and they're not or they're in love and I'm not. Or it was puppy love in like middle school. I shouldn't kid myself. Maybe things will change soon. I hope they do. I'm pulling for a particular brown-eyed boy to rock my world.... or wait.....

Some things I thought I should bring up... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/12/cute-girl-mimed-opening-c_n_118349.html Holy crap. Whats the deal with this girl China had lip sync because the girl really singing wasn't cute enough?! What in the world is with that? "The national interest requires that the girl should have good looks and a good grasp of the song and look good on screen" (From the site above). Now lets see... Since when has the way a little girls teeth look been in the interest of any nation? I mean, there are plenty of ugly people out there that we allow to be representatives of our gov't in real life. Not just a young kid that will probably grow out of anything that they're talking about. And really, who the hell cares? Seems like a cute kid to me. Although, I will admit, I have that syndrome where I think all Asian kids are cute no matter what. I think that was Tom that was telling me about that; all Korean kids looked cute as hell. My best friend is half Thai and when I look at pictures of us when we were kids, she was a way cuter kid than me. Hahaa... Her mom always had her in pig tails with that thick yarn in her hair. I always remember her dressed in yellow. Eh, anyway. I'll have to find some of those pics. Sal would looove that. Watch the video, that's funny stuff. Should you have stuck with the "ugly" girl and not had the other one look like a dork lip synchin'.

Next, I heard about people wanting to debate lowering the drinking age. Apparently, a bunch of college presidents signed on to opening a nation-wide debate about this. It is odd that of all countries that allow drinking, the US is the only country in the world that requires one to be 21 to enjoy a frothy brew, or whatever your drink of choice happens to be. The majority of all countries in the world think that 18 is a sufficent age for drinking. Why is the US so different? In my personal experience in college, I can remember the effects of "bar raids." I remember the conversation about Conrad's getting "raided," and subsequently shut down because of underage drinking. I remember most clearly what happened to college students that wouldn't go into bars. They'd get drunk behind closed doors in the apartment or frat house. And since if you're behind closed doors, you might as well just start smoking weed. And if you start smoking weed, you might as well start snorting coke... And they did. And they did worse. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that that's what happening... They can't drink since its illegal, and then why not do other things that are illegal? I remember thinking in college that it was rather sick that the cops were so proud of how many college students they caught underage drinking... in a town with a horrible crime rate. I know one of my sorority sisters got her Honda broken into 3 times. A guy from ROTC got a breifcase stolen out of his pickup. And bacon was worried about college students having a good time drinking beer in a bar(walking, not driving to the bars, I might add). And speaking of ROTC and serving your country... Responsible enough to join the Army, sign your life away, and not drink a beer? Old enough to die for your country (and there are those who have), and you can't have a beer during a redeployment party? What the hell is wrong with that picture? In a lot of places you can get legally married before being able to drink a beer. Messed up priorities? Yes. I think so. http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/1101839726.html

All right. That's enough for today. Our play "FOB" is supposed to get "attacked" soon. I happen to be out in the field training... but its late and I'm bored.

Drinking age to 18? It's about damn time.

Serving in the Army has always been unique. We can serve our country, get sent into a war zone and even die for our country. But have a beer in celebration of a redeployment? Oh, sorry, no can do, Soldier. On a side note, for reporting purposes, Soldiers are not allowed to deploy if they are not 18.

At Syracuse University where I graduated in 2005, the effects of underage drinking crackdowns were students going and doing things inside behind closed doors, either drinking or worse. Most of my sorority sisters and other women I know went to first weed, snorting crack and worse.

In addition, at 18 we are able to vote. According to the Gov't we are responsible enough to chose our nations leader, but not have a glass of champagne at a election party.

I know that the shock of switching over would be big, but... Eventually, it would make a hell of a lot more sense.

All I'm trying to say is that some things just don't make sense. Why not change them?

Todays another... Blah.

I've started this blog thing once already and couldn't keep with it much. Although, I am believing that I want to make some money off of all the shenanigans that is my life as of now. I've been in the Army for just over three years and by the time I get out in 201o, I'll have spent half my career in a combat zone. At this point, I see us deploying to Afghanistan in the end of 2008, beginning 2009. Although I admit, I'm not completely devastated about going over again. Most women my age are either getting married or are about to or at least have a serious boyfriend. I got out of a horrible relationship about well, 5 months ago now, and have just recently started seeing somebody who has really surprised me, in a good way (Tom). I guess we'll just see how far that progresses. Good men are few and far between. Lauren seems to think we're "serious," and told an E6 named Noah I met last weekend that was trying to hit on me. Nice. Oh, Tom was there too. Not that I was interested in an E6 in any capacity, but... I'm actually missing him right now, another welcome surprise. And that makes me happy. :)

The debacle of my life has been progressing rather well lately, though my job keeps me busy.

Right now I'm torn because my dog is being boarded at Watertown Animal Hospital. I guess I just worry about that little ball of fur. She is too much fun really. I can't wait to pick her up on Friday, at least I hope that I can pick her up then. I've been missing her like crazy. She's my alarm clock and most importantly, she makes sure I get up in the morning. She's been so good too. I've started leaving her in a (large) crate during the day while I'm at work, like my Mom did with her (which I of course feel guilty about as well). I hope the WAH at least takes her outside a couple of times. My Mom said that when she took her to get boarded, one of the women there fell in love with her.

I really am not thrilled with having to go to the bathroom in a porta john again. After living a year in Kuwait, I pretty much had my fill of port-a-johns. Reminds me of SGT Kraft calling the blue stuff in them "porta-juice." And then some jokes about there oddly being a difference between a nasty and nice porta john. Most people I don't think can distinguish between any port-a-john... Did you know there are whole blogs and such devoted to all the nonsense that Soldiers write in porta johns? http://midnight.hushedcasket.com/2006/05/16/port-a-john-graffiti/ The guy on this page apparently is a master blogger. I guess he'll be my inspiration. A saying found on his page: A man’s ambition is mighty small when he writes his books on the outhouse wall.

I'm not thrilled with sleeping in a tent again either. Living in a tent for half a year was not my cup of tea, although its odd how used to it I got. All the sand. The flies, man they were everywhere... The sound a tent makes during a sand storm... Remember when you were a kid in PE and were playing with a parachute? When everybody shook it really hard to make the chute go every which direction? The wind here is not nearly that bad of course.

What my home in Kuwait looked like is up at the top. Yeah. I know, my arms are freaks of nature. On the plus side, at that point I had managed to find a bed (and a foot locker and ply wood shelf, which was, I might add, totally illegal too). No telling what sort of festering cooties were in it, but it was a mattress all the same.

Sometimes I wonder how I haven't gotten pretty sick in the Army. Apart from the mystery desert grunge, nothing has really ever happened to me from all the questionable water, hand "washing" stations, and general filth of being in the service. I'm not sure if I ever have children what sort of mother I'd be if I let my kids eat skittles off the ground once they drop them... God knows I've dropped a whole box and eaten every one. As I look up in the TOC, I see mold on the insides of the tent we're in. I know that can't be good. On the AC vent at that.... Maybe that's why my nose is stuffy... oh well. At least its not the black rock buggers you get over seas (Anybody who's been knows about it). Every single person gets sick when they deploy to the Middle East. You might as well just bring a big tub of petrol um jelly and continue to shove it up your nose while you're there. I know when I didn't my nose would bleed because of how dry it was. Dirt is better than hurting and bleeding.

Maybe I should do some work. Maybe. Workin' for the Weekend is a sad existence.