Epididymitis....

it may be a tongue twister, but that's what the ER Doc says that i have. i went to the emergency room on thursday night, because the family jewels were in excruciating pain. two short hours later, an ultra-sound, and quick check for hernia, and i was on my way out of the ER with scrips for vicodin and doxycycline. Thank you Moldy-Mary, doing much better now. i still feel like i got a quick kick in the junk, but i am getting better.

it was a big week for me. lots of preparation. we are getting ready for weapons qualification, and there is a lot of work for the training room whenever this happens. nothing like putting cold hard lead downrange.

looking forward to jamboree!

all for now.

And the Army goes rolling along!

Back in the loop, and sorry for the absence. i have no adequate excuse, so i will spare you the typical Private banter.
I am thoroughly excited at the prospect of next month. after a twenty month long ordeal, all of the problems with my promotion packet are fixed, and i am eagerly awaiting the publishing of the cutoff score for april. perhaps, perhaps, perhaps i will be a sergeant on the first. give or take thirty days. (this is a government agency).
Quarterly training brief is finally over. (that was one of the lame excuses that i had to offer, but decided to store) and i am finally getting home before seven at night. quite the hassle for me, but at least i had plenty of company and the staff in the office was much more prepared this time around.
I was watching the news, and caught a story about how the Air Force is struggling with the extension of their long and arduous tours in iraq (currently four months long), and came to the realization that the secretary of the Air Force must have had a little fuzz in his ears when President Bush declared a "War on Terror" and must have understood it to be a "War on Tourism" the Air Force certainly has us protected at the most popular tourist destinations worldwide (while the Marines(currently performing 8 month tours) and the Army (currently serving 15 month tours) are carrying the brunt of the war upon their tattered shoulders.) Off we go, into the wild blue yonder!

We have seen a lot of new faces around the company as the rotation begins letting the old go and the new come. stop loss is over, and its nice to have new people to talk to....i was begining to think that if i heard the same lame joke one more time i would snap....funny....the same joke just sounds so much different when it comes from a new persons mouth.

all for now.....i hope you are a little satisfied with this installment, i promise more are to come!

what a week-oh, wait it hasnt started yet

what a crazy week i have ahead of me. i will be off the radar for the whole week, and that really doesnt change my posting schedule much. i seem to not find any time during the week to post-i am working on that.

my company commander, and all of my supervisors have decided that they can no longer wait on Department of the Army to fix the issues resulting from the roll out of the new promotion points system and will be promoting me to corporal on monday. it is exciting for me, because 1.) i will now be considered a non-commissioned officer, but 2.) i will also start getting rated for the work that i am already doing in my current position.

an added benefit is that i can also start making more jokes about the movie major payne.

things continue to heat up around the world, and this concerns me. as much as i would like to visit macedonia, i would prefer to do that as a civilian tourist. pray that there will be a steady decrease in violence worldwide, and that cooler minds will prevail over the heated call to violence.

wow-has it really been that long?

i did not realize that i had not posted in such a long time. a thousand apologies. at any rate-here is the latest.
Lent started two weeks ago, and i gave up alcohol. I am using this time to reflect on what is important to me, and how drinking on any basis is taking away from that. sort of an act of self-discipline. things are going well on that front, i only think about it occasionally and that is because i bought beer on the monday before lent. so i have a full 12 pack sitting on the counter. in the mouth of temptation and sticking true to my goal.
i am excited about NC, but apprehensive of the feasability. i will keep you posted.
things are going well at work, and i am busier than i think i have ever been. there is a lot of training that needs to be completed prior to our next deployment. no one knows when that is, so we are training like mad-as if we were leaving next month...it is an effort to always remain prepared. it is our responsibility to the taxpayers. (and being one myself, i want the most out of my money)
i think i will close this post out and take a nap...taxpayer money hard at work...

Thomas Jefferson

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."

The State of the Union is fragile at best...

Now-the long awaited thoughts on the state of the union address. although i thought most of the speech was the typical political rhetoric that we expect from an address of this type, there were a few points that i thought were particularly effective in communicating a clear political message. His talk about the War on Terror will largely be ignored, because he is the source of the informations, however true it may be.

His emphasis on the individual in the political machine was particularly strong. unlike hillary's claim that it takes a village, the president insists that it takes an individual. similar to the founding father's ideal that the individual is the key to political justice.

"In the work ahead, we must be guided by the philosophy that made our nation great. As Americans, we believe in the power of individuals to determine their destiny and shape the course of history. We believe that the most reliable guide for our country is the collective wisdom of ordinary citizens. And so in all we do, we must trust in the ability of free peoples to make wise decisions, and empower them to improve their lives for their futures. "

it takes an individual to control the machine, it takes an individual to stand up to injustice, it takes an individual to prevent 1984.

i particularly liked how the president differentiated between a peace-keeping operation and the true definition of the battle in which we are currently on the front lines.

"We are engaged in the defining ideological struggle of the 21st century. The terrorists oppose every principle of humanity and decency that we hold dear. Yet in this war on terror, there is one thing we and our enemies agree on: In the long run, men and women who are free to determine their own destinies will reject terror and refuse to live in tyranny. And that is why the terrorists are fighting to deny this choice to the people in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Palestinian Territories. And that is why, for the security of America and the peace of the world, we are spreading the hope of freedom.

it is essential that we continue to fight on the front lines of tyranny and injustice, regardless of the monetary cost, regardless of the lost family time, regardless of the economic struggle. "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -Thomas Jefferson

By trusting the people, our Founders wagered that a great and noble nation could be built on the liberty that resides in the hearts of all men and women. By trusting the people, succeeding generations transformed our fragile young democracy into the most powerful nation on Earth and a beacon of hope for millions. And so long as we continue to trust the people, our nation will prosper, our liberty will be secure, and the state of our Union will remain strong.
So tonight, with confidence in freedom's power, and trust in the people, let us set forth to do their business. God bless America.

Baby you can drive my car

Baby you can drive my car!! yes, when i am driving in my new car, i do feel like a star. this is the latest addition to my life. a 2006 chevy impala (don't worry, it's not the SS edition). i got a great deal on it, and i am looking forward to driving it for the next few years.

i just thought you might like to see some pictures so that you would be able to see what i am rolling around in. the car is in great shape, clean, and runs great. i cannot wait to drive down to charlotte to visit the fam while they are in town.

let me know what you think of the car, and anything else you want to know.

State of the Union

i am really excited for the state of the union address. i will post my thoughts after the address.

Benevolent taxpayers...

just to answer your question MO...the benevolent taxpayers of this fine nation pay the salaries of myself and those in command over me. those in command over me enjoyed the many days off over the holiday season, and wanted to carry that on through the new year.
but dont worry, it was also those wise taxpayers that purcheased the software that compiles the training database and allows me to log in while i am at home. so, even when i am at the house, i am still doing work from the office that i was unable to finish while at work.
i was hoping, however, to get a shout out for the title of my last post.

Working For The Weekend
by Loverboy

i mean doesn't anyone else feel like this?

Everybody's working for the weekend...

i am really glad that the weekend is finally here. next day of work is 4 feb.

8 hours

eight hours. tomorrow i get eight, uninterupted, dedicated hours to work. i don't think that i have ever been this excited. what kind of a nerd am i. the biggest excitement in my life is getting to work.
as i recall, i said appearent. i did not call it suicide. but L i agree. in the end the result is the same. but the end doesnt justify the means. when in rome. (i guess i just dont really understand the saying.)

what a day...

i dont think that i had 5 minutes of down time at all today. four day weekends are just too much time away from work...maybe i shouldnt tell you taxpayers that.

it seems to me that my life wasnt the only one that was busy. dow jones, the fed, and hollywood were all really busy. Today was the worst opening for the Dow Jones industrial average in quite some time; the federal reserve bank announced an early, and unexpected interest rate drop-to stave off an impending recession; and Heath Ledger's, in an appearent suicide, was found dead of an appearent drug overdose. what a day what a day. if this was the beginning of my week i can only imagine what can be expected of the end of the week. i have a full agenda all week, and another long weekend ahead of me. then i am off to learn how to tie knots and certify loads for sling-load transport. i am really excited about that.

hope that everyone is well, and i look forward to more posts from all of you. Mo-you might try to get uncle gil to start blogging, i think that he would really enjoy the routine.

Robert F. Kennedy's Statement on Dr. King's Death - Montage

I have a dream...

here's to dreaming...

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
dream /drim/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[dreem] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, dreamed or dreamt, dream·ing, adjective
–noun
1.
a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.
2.
the sleeping state in which this occurs.
3.
an object seen in a dream.
4.
an involuntary vision occurring to a person when awake.
5.
a vision voluntarily indulged in while awake; daydream; reverie.
6.
an aspiration; goal; aim: A trip to Europe is his dream.
7.
a wild or vain fancy.
8.
something of an unreal beauty, charm, or excellence. –verb (used without object)
9.
to have a dream.
10.
to indulge in daydreams or reveries: He dreamed about vacation plans when he should have been working.
11.
to think or conceive of something in a very remote way (usually fol. by of): I wouldn't dream of asking them. –verb (used with object)
12.
to see or imagine in sleep or in a vision.
13.
to imagine as if in a dream; fancy; suppose.
14.
to pass or spend (time) in dreaming (often fol. by away): to dream away the afternoon. –adjective
15.
most desirable; ideal: a dream vacation. —Verb phrase
16.
dream up, to form in the imagination; devise: They dreamed up the most impossible plan.
[Origin: 1200–50; ME dreem, OE dréam joy, mirth, gladness, c. OS drōm mirth, dream, ON draumr, OHG troum dream; modern sense first recorded in ME but presumably also current in OE, as in OS] —Related forms
dreamful, adjective
dream·ful·ly, adverb
dream·ful·ness, noun
dream·ing·ly, adverb
dreamlike, adjective
—Synonyms 1. Dream, nightmare, and vision refer to the kinds of mental images that form during sleep. Dream is the general term for any such succession of images. A nightmare is a dream that brings fear or anxiety: frightened by a nightmare. Vision refers to a series of images of unusual vividness, clarity, order, and significance, sometimes seen in a dream.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

i love lamp...

i think i am finished with a painting. it was inspired by an experience that i once had. the title of the painting is Al Hillah. it is oil on canvas. this week has been a tough one mentally, but the good news is that i am a government employee that is on a four day weekend. sometimes i get really tired of my job, and then others i cannot see me doing anything else. i ruined another painting experimenting with a technique. it was unsuccessful, so i will have to start over. oh well, there is no shortage of oil paint, and it will give me some more time to work on the entire series. i was rushing the painting a little bit.L-as per your request, i have included another pic of jack. he was a little tired, and wanted me to go to bed, but i had a post to put up. you can see my new painting on the wall behind jack. i dont think he understands the importance of his location. he is in the center of my studio/bedroom/gallery. he should feel really important.

i played the new video on your blog L, and jack perked up and looked sideways at the computer screen wondering how you were inside the little black box. i thought noah was adorable. i love you.

short work week ahead of me, and next week i will be in school all week. learning how to tie nots and certify loads for sling operations. ILY IMY SWAK

in·ex·tri·ca·ble
play_w("I0124300")
(n-kstr-k-bl, nk-strk-bl)
adj.
1.
a. So intricate or entangled as to make escape impossible: an inextricable maze; an inextricable web of deceit.
b. Difficult or impossible to disentangle or untie: an inextricable tangle of threads.
c. Too involved or complicated to solve: an inextricable problem.
2. Unavoidable; inescapable: bound together by an inextricable fate.

Logon...

i think it really aggravates me that i have to log on. i have one log on for my blog, one for my computer at work, one for my email, another for my work email, one for my yahoo, one for my xbox live, one for my credit card, one for my bank account, one for my other bank account, it seems like every place that i go they give me a new log on. don't they know that i have like fifty already.

I'm done logging on. this is crap.

OK so that is not really practical, but you get the point. when did our lives become so inextricably attached to technology, and why can't Microsoft, copyright, do some thing about this.

i think I'm getting carpel tunnel syndrome just from logging in to all of my accounts once a day.

Department of the army will be publishing the promotion point cutoff scores for the month of February this week, we are hoping for a drop to around 622, this is possible, and my points are higher than that. right now the points are at 798, and have been for the last 3 months. there are 725 soldiers in my job specialty that are eligible, and i want to be selected.

keep your fingers crossed, but no promises.