4.26.2004

Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.


Contentment is being at peace with who you are. Happiness, ultimately is joy or pleasure in something outside outside of yourself. One could argue with my definitions, but none can argue that happiness brings contentment or that contentment brings happiness. Many things make people happy but few bring contentment. At the same time, contentment does not guarantee happiness - many people are content with less than happy circumstances. It is well known that all the joy and pleasure in the world cannot satisfy or bring contentment.
My life as it stands, makes me happy. I like my job. My coworkers are generally pleasant people. I enjoy my time off. I am further from being content than the heaven is from hell. I am searching for that something indefinable, something vague, something that makes me say "that's it!". Since I don't know what or who or where it is, I am in for a long search. I like being a medic, but I'd rather fly. I'd love to fly, but I want to be in special ops too. Special Ops would be cool, being a spy would be cooler. Speaking Spanish would be fun; Mandarin Chinese would be the icing on the cake. Being James Bond for a living would be great, but playing sports would be fun too. Playing sports would make me happy for a while, but not for long. Programming games for a living would be great, but I can't see doing it all my life. In the end it's all vanity. It's all transient, nothing really matters in the end. It's just like in the Bible: Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

4.23.2004

Pat Tillman Dead


For once, I am truly saddened by news of the death of a celebrity. Pat Tillman, a former NFL player who turned down a 3.6 million dollar contract to join the Army as a Ranger, died today.

4.22.2004

Boorish Healthcare Thought


More women would discover breast cancer early if they got their boyfriends involved in their weekly breast exams.

4.21.2004

Playboy lifestyle


I am spending entirely too much money on material goods. I just recieved my household goods, consisting mostly of books and clothes. I just threw away 6 trashbags full of clothes and books I no longer wanted and I still can't walk on the floor because of the clothes, books and shoes scattered in my room. The sad thing is that I just spent an astronomical amount of money on more clothes and shoes. I am going to be broke, but I am going to be well dressed by God. At this rate, I will be forced to find a second job to fund my lavish Playboy lifestyle.

4.20.2004

Spring in the land of the Morning Calm


It turns out spring around Camp Casey is picturesque too. I just got back from yet another field problem. The world hasn't changed much while I was away apparently.

4.11.2004

Horny, Hungry, and Hateful


For the average infantry soldier to be effective he must be horny, hungry, and hateful. Soldiers are much like guard dogs - too much petting spoils them. The shocking truth is that the average soldier is a powder keg of testosterone (male and female), physical energy, and unfocused malice. The idea is to not stand too close when we explode. The Army has known this for time immemorial but lately leadership seems to be taking a different tack.
I made a day trip to Seoul today (HAPPY EASTER everybody!) and visited Yongsan Army Garrison. I left in disgust. The soldiers there are fat, happy, and satiated. Cascades of pink blossoms showered soldiers driving (they had cars) down the tree lined avenues. I hope the North Koreans hit them first.

4.10.2004

Weapons of Mass Destruction


Even google can't seem to locate them.
This is what one would see if one were to type "weapons of mass destruction" into the google search box and click "I'm feeling lucky".

4.08.2004

Missing


I really miss some of the friends I made in basic training and AIT. I don't want to mention them by name, but I'd give the world to see them all again. That can't happen, so the best I can do is try to track them down myself. If they're reading I'd like to say: I miss you David, David, (there are two who don't know each other but both were great battle buddies) Katie (she's real chummy with the first David), Jennifer (how are my people in Georgia?), Deborah, Rachel, Kristin (I hear Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is coming out soon; want to go see it with me?), Paul, Jill, Jessica (Georgia again), and the OG (the important people know who the OG is).
There are more but I'll have to leave them out. They are not any less important but time and my need to sleep will not allow me to list them. I really, really miss them right now. I had a lot of fun training with them and I could have had a whole lot more fun if I'd realized what I was missing.

4.04.2004

I am the inevitable sum of my forebear's parts


I hate talking on the phone to my Dad. I love him beyond my capability to use hyperbole to describe, but talking to him on the telephone is a chore. Every conversation, since conversations between us are rare, must include a lecture lasting no less than twenty minutes on how I must take care off myself and how I must succeed by doing the right things and not trusting anyone. Dad does have a way of dropping interesting tidbits. I am very sad to report that my great-uncle died recently. I didn't know him, had never even heard his name mentioned until today. He lived comfortably in London but died alone. He had some spat with the rest of the family and had moved to London to separate himself. My Dad is currently making arrangements to retrieve the body. His death prompted my Dad to tell me that he thought I might not see him again before he died. Long separations seem to be a pattern in my family. My Dad was separated from his father 23 years and didn't see him again before he died. I confess that I didn't plan to visit very often.
Even more surprising was my father's query: "Who told you that your grandfather was a medic in the army?" My answer was "No one". I didn't know. Yet, now I am a medic in the Army. Everything I am, everything I do, down to the very way, I walk, I smell, I talk, I think, is only a recreation of what my Dad and his father are and have done before. It's as if my fate is inevitable. I could know my future by learning my father's past. I am so much like my Dad I'd almost swear that I am his clone. My mother could predict my Dad's taste by asking me first. I look so much like my Dad that people would see my Dad and swear it was me driving around only older.
I have some strange or maybe not so strange ideas about time. I believe that time is a math problem. The solution is difficult perhaps but inevitable. People are just variables moving irresistibly toward a solution that is not yet known. The implication is that the problem can be solved. I don't know if the solution is constant or variable but I know the solution exists. What this all means or matters I don't know, but I know the solution exists.
Wow that was such complete BS.

3.29.2004

Recent AIM Conversation


Here's a snippet from a recent instant message conversation with a friend:

me: but my life is busy busy
friend: savin the world and what not
me: actually yeah kind of
me: as part of a collective effort I actually do believe I am saving the world

Have you been reading this blog lately?


I haven't! I fear my writing output has been sporadic lately and I also haven't been editing very carefully. I can't get stats on who has been reading due to technical difficulties but I know readership has been down. What am I going to do to fix the problem? Nothing! I have other business to attend to.

Big Guns


So I got into a fight Sunday. Its not clear if there were any real winners or losers in this fight. The truth is that there never are, but in the court of public opinion I whupped some serious ass and looked cool doing it. My squad leader (? It's actually not clear what his professional relationship is to me, he's really just another NCO in the platoon) was leading the morning run and mentioned how he saw some "big guns go off Sunday. Some artillery rounds landed, but I didn't see any jabs... Throw some jabs". I replied with a "Hooah Sergeant!" I will next time.
I am actually angry at myself for being drawn into a fight, but the other party pretty clearly provoked me and everybody knows he doesn't like me, since I told them before. He doesn't have any real reason I can think of for not liking me; at least not any reasons I can think of that I can mention without opening a huge can of worms. I am willing and prepared to open the can though and I wish he knew that. I can make just as much trouble as him only I prefer to go about it in a different way.
I want desperately to ask him some questions. "Why for someone who is obviously not stupid are you so unswervingly belligerent?" "What good reason do you have to be angry with me?" I've done some things that could make a reasonable person angry, but I've also done everything I could to make them right. "Why don't any of your friends seem to be angry with me?" If I really was such a bad person someone else would probably come out and say so? I don't know maybe I am just a stellar politician. I do know that I am more popular than he is. I am hoping that no one is on his side, naturally.
I even went and knocked on his door today to give his roommate something. When he answered the door my natural reaction was to kill him but my entire life has been about suppressing my animal urges and my natural reactions. I believe in self-control. Even he showed some measure of self control and didn't try to strangle me.
In the meantime, I am a little sore but my pride is intact. I was already planning on taking martial arts classes, I'll just begin tomorrow. (Which is what I have been saying for weeks, but I mean it now. Seriously...)

3.22.2004

Brain Rot


I think the Army is making me stupid. Really. I may be losing the capability for independent thought and simple reasoning capacity. I don't think my brain rot is the fault of my superiors. I think it is due to the level of entertainment available to the average soldier. Pornography and video games have minimal brain growth potential. It also doesn't help that soldiers massacre their brain cells with massive doses of alcohol. Do I even have to mention, the soldiers favorite playmate, the drinky girl? It isn't anybody's fault that I can pinpoint really. The things I mentioned are just what is popular.
The second thing I want to touch on is sexual harassment. Not that I am getting sexually harassed, with as few women as there are in 2ID I rather welcome any and all sexual advances - at the very least I can laugh about them later. The Army has recently had some unwanted publicity involving sexual harassment, but the issue isn't anywhere near as simple as the headlines might lead you to believe. For instance, I believe there are far more women misbehaving than men simply because men are confused and scared by the issue. Honestly, if any woman had been treated by a man the way women have treated me, they would have likely filed sexual harassment cases with the Inspector General already. Granted, since I am male I tend to think that it is wonderful that women take an intense enough interest in me to pat my buttocks and touch my genitalia. Women are more likely to be offended when someone actually does touch them inappropriately. The biggest problem I have seen in cases of alleged sexual misconduct in the military is that inconsistent behavior by the woman makes it difficult to prosecute. The heart of the matter is that military women engage in sexual activity and don't want to look like sluts when many are, in fact, sluts (I mean this in the most salutary and benign way possible). Men in the military should know better but most are testosterone driven individuals who aren't about to let a little thing like good sense get in the way of great sex. And there lies the rub.

3.21.2004

Legalized Narcotics


You thought I was finished? When I write a political rant you can be sure I always have more to say. I just watched the movie "Traffic" on DVD and you know what pisses me off? It's all very well and good to criticize a government initiative as futile - i.e. the "War on Drugs" and the "War on Terrorism". Yet the critics answers as to what we should do instead border on ludicrous. The critics of the "War on Terror" suggest that we essentially just lay down and die. The critics of the "War on Drugs" suggest that we legalize narcotics.
Suppose for a minute that we did smoke crack and we were seriously considering legalizing popular controlled substances. Is there any realistic way the United States could effectively regulate production and sales? What are the unintended consequences? Alcohol and cigarettes are already legalized controlled substances sold in the United States and honestly the negative impact of both is significant. Are we prepared to treat the addicts if we allow cheap, easily available, and worst of all legal narcotics on the street? Who in good conscience sell these products? What are you thinking?

Why can't People See this?


Believe it or not, the fate of the free world hangs in the balance as we speak. Terrorism has touched our lives in ways we could never have imagined September 10th 2001. Terrorists have shown us that nothing is sacred and nothing is safe. Many have characterized the current situation as being "at war". Our enemy is amorphous and scattered. They have no formal chain of command - no head to cut off. The only intelligible communication they attempt to make is the language of violence - They open their mouths and mayhem pours out.
Given the situation, I amazed that their are people so foolish as to suggest we should capitulate to their demands. People who want to bring our troops back from Iraq, who want to blame the policies of the United States for inciting men to terrorism, who believe that there was no justification for military forces to attack Iraq, and who believe there is no reason for them to be there now. I'd like to ask: "What the f**k are you thinking?"
Whether are not Saddam Hussein had any connection with terrorists before his regime was toppled like so many stacks of so many cards, there are terrorists in Iraq now and they want us gone. What we are doing to them is effective. The US Army is hitting them where it hurts. Really. Leaving would allow them to declare victory just like they did in Mogadishu, Somalia. Leaving now would cost innocent lives (their is no more cliche phrase than the phrase "innocent lives" but well for lack of a better one) in the future. The election of a government in Spain that does not support the war in Iraq is dangerous. It's capitulation. People will die.
Why can't people see this?

3.20.2004

Friday Night in the Barracks


I can't decide if I am socially inept or just lazy. When do normal people make plans to go out on Friday or Saturday nights? I make plans like 5 minutes before. Is there something wrong with that? I think my problem is due to irregular circadian rhythms. No really, just bear with me - I am most active around noon and late at night. When other people are busily planning their weekend activities I am struggling to stay awake. Around 2200 hrs when I am finally awake and raring to go everybody has already made their plans and left without me. That's my best guess anyway.
The truth is that I like to have a crew or really one very good friend with whom I hang out with all the time. Somebody smart and different - someone like me (only I am not that smart). I've been in country 4 months and I have yet to find a kindred spirit. This important too, a kindred spirit (mine at least) must be male since...
I'll finish this later my roommate just got back and I have to go out.

3.15.2004

2nd Brigade Late Night Taxi Service


Have I ever mentioned what a huger sucker I am? I just got screwed like a prostitute at a bachelor party. My battalion just got back from the field and everybody is tired and badly in need of a day off. Our acting platoon sergeant needed someone to take brigade staff duty driver, a job which consists of shuttling an officer around base and running various errands for 24 hours. I volunteered, eager beaver-like. In return for helping out, my platoon sergeant offered me a day off while he remained in charge - two weeks. After filling me in on the details of what he needed from me he casually mentioned that no one should go to Seoul this weekend.
Of course, I discovered that the South Korean Parliament had voted to impeach President Roh (pronounced "Noh" incidentally) and because of the ensuing protests throughout South Korea, all soldiers were restricted from entering Seoul except for official business. Realizing that partying in Itaewon most likely was not official business, I could see my plans for a three day weekend in Seoul were most likely have to go on hold.
Meanwhile, the rest of 2nd ID was busily drinking like sailors on leave, or in this case like soldiers who just came back from nearly 30 days of field time. I was privileged to witness the carnage firsthand, since I had to shuttle drunken soldiers and their harried first sergeants back and forth from the MP station. At one point, I made three consecutive trips to the MP station to pick up various law breakers and one soldier who was stranded after she came home on leave. I started stopping and offering random people I saw on the road rides since it began to seem that they were all on their cell phones begging staff duty to pick their drunken selves up.
I am still a little annoyed, mostly since I've barely slept since then and I was awoken at 6:30 by a thunderous banging on my door. Yeah I think I am going to sleep since I am getting angry at the memory.

3.06.2004

Sudden Insight


I had an epiphany while sitting in a tent in a field the other day. One has a lot of time to sit and think in the field, since when infantry soldiers aren't wreaking havoc or preparing to wreak havoc, infantry soldiers relax. It is a liberating concept and lifestyle. Getting back to my illuminating insight, I made an important self-discovery. I am sucker for a smart girl. No really! I could never date an unintelligent woman. Dumb girls leave me cold. Any time I think there is even the least spark of intelligence in a woman's eyes I am intrigued. I could be perfectly happy with smart girl with average looks. Wow... I can't believe I just said that. Maybe I should join MENSA to find a date. Not that they would accept me since I am as dumb as a brick.

3.04.2004

Movement to Daylight


I just returned from the latest leg of 2ID's (2nd Infantry Division) field exercise, and we did something called a "movement to daylight". The idea is that instead of sleeping at night a rifle platoon stays up walking till the sun comes up or engaging the enemy. We did both. My platoon is populated by young American super men so we crushed the enemy everywhere we saw him. I am completely serious. One young man single-handedly destroyed 6 enemy tanks. Especially remarkable, since he is considered to be the weakest member of the platoon. Granted, he cannot even carry his weapon, the Javelin missile launcher, into battle; but once there he is deadly.
To be perfectly honest, I haven't been myself lately. I feel as if I have been ill since I set foot in Korea and my body is showing signs of wear and tear. Walking for eight hours in sub-freezing weather and not sleeping was a particularly cruel thing to do my body. My body returned the favor by giving me excruciating cramps in both my inner thighs. I was nearly completely debilitated since I could not extend my legs and thus could not rise off the ground. Believing myself to be dehydrated, I ripped my shirt off and administered an IV to myself with the help of three NCO's in my rifle platoon. After some consideration, I realized that dehydration wasn't likely since I'd been guzzling fluids all day. The pain was just from disuse and not stretching my muscles at all. Fun.

2.29.2004

Dispatch From the Field


There are few things more fearsome or effective than an American soldier arrayed in full battle uniform, humanity obscured by various gadgets and weapons, vaguely futuristic in appearance, and bristling with anonymous malevolence. Living with the infantry in the field reveals that the soldiers behind the intimidating facade are barely more than teenagers. The younger soldiers' superiors, the non-commissioned officers, are usually sophomoric 20-somethings who derive enormous amounts entertainment from the antics of the 19 year olds they supervise. I estimate that 95% of infantry soldiers below the E-4 pay grade cannot drink legally in America. Even the senior enlisted soldiers tend to be in their early to mid-thirties or younger. I even lost some of my awe of the company XO when I realized he was younger than I was.
By no means does the youth of my colleagues make me feel superior in any way. I know next to nothing about the military, about the infantry, and especially medicine. Lately, I haven't even been able to initiate IV's, in my opinion one of the most important skills a medic needs to get the confidence of the soldiers he works with. I am really overwhelmed by the amount of responsibility given to me and how little I really know about what I am doing.
I had fun getting dirty with the "Joes" this field problem. I even participated in several raids, much to the discomfort of a nearby aviation brigade. I test fired a 50 caliber machine gun before a mission that involved loading the gun on the back of a civilian cargo truck and unleashing the weapon "A-Team" style on the hapless gate guards. I assure you that the expressions on their faces were priceless.
I am going to cut this post short as I need to clean my gear and sleep.

2.18.2004

What Do I want to Be When I Grow Up?


I was standing in line behind a captain who happened to be an Army helicopter pilot. We struck up a conversation about his job and he gave me some career advice. The incident made me think. I will be a citizen soon and thus eligible for a wide range of opportunities in the Army. I could go to Ranger school, Special Forces Selection, Officer Candidate School, Green to Gold (commissioned officer program for college grads), or Warrant Officer School. I am eligible for a security clearance so I could conceivable get involved in the intelligence community. Really, I could do almost anything. The two most compelling choices to me seem to be Green to Gold (most likely resulting in becoming an infantry officer), and Warrant Officer School to become a helicopter pilot. Being a helicopter pilot seems like it would be the most fun, but being an Infantry officer is most likely to advance me to other things I want to do.
So what do I want to be when I grow up?

2.11.2004

Searching for Something


There is a song, a fragment of which keeps repeating in my head because it strikes a chord within me:
"All my life I've been searching for something..." The song continues: "...Done, done and on to the next one! Done, done and on to the next one!" It's silly how powerful those words are to me. I have a goal. I know that. I have a dream. I have a plan. Sometimes, though I feel like I am looking for something and I don't quite know what. I have lots of intermediate goals, big plans, important things I want do with my life. Yet if you asked me what is the single most important thing I want to do "when I grow up", the only thing I could tell you is "Succeed!" The thing that gives me focus, the thing that keeps me awake at night in bed, that thing which gives me the drive to succeed, is that I know I must.
So I am "done, done and on to the next one!"

2.04.2004

I am never Looking


How did Janet Jackson flash her breasts on television and get away with it? How did I miss this event? Easy, I never watch the Super Bowl. Before, I was usually at church, and now I wasn't interested in either team. It's ok though. I am sure enough innocent 6 yr olds were watching to make up for me not seeing it.
What have I been doing lately? I am not sure, but whatever it was has been important enough to keep me off the internet.

1.31.2004

Call me Doc


That's what my line company calls me. I think I like it. I may or may not deserve it, but they think I do and I am disinclined to argue. Being a line medic for an infantry platoon is everything I thought it would be and I am pleased I got the chance. I do admit to spending a lot of time laughing at the "joes" I serve; but they laugh too so I am really laughing with them.
I don't know were to start describing my week. I spent the majority of the week covering A Co.'s squad competition and I actually participated in many of the events. When they marched I marched. When they shot, I shot. When they wrestled, I stood to the side and giggled like a school girl. (I am medic because I am prudent. I long ago decided that my brains were a better asset than my brawn) When they did pugil bouts I again stood to the side, but this time I cringed. Pugil bouts are kind of like boxing but with pugil sticks - approximately rifle length padded sticks. Despite the pads, pugil bouts tend to draw a lot of blood. At least they do when you have men with inhuman blood lust in their hearts beating each other like rented mules. The officers and senior NCO's officiated and laughed at the antics of the junior enlisted men battling like gladiators in a ring constructed of plywood, rope, and sandbags. I did my best to deal with the wounded. I try to make the joes think I know what I am talking about. At the same time, I am usually desperately consulting the other medics about what I should do next. It makes my job interesting.

1.26.2004

Whoa...


I am doing something wrong. This query brings up my blog: "my brother walked in on me shaving pubic".

1.25.2004

Something Undeniably clever but now forgotten


One day I will learn and overcome Blogger's habit of losing posts. Until then I will suffer the ignominy of writing posts twice. Damn Blogger...
I just got back from a two day field problem which was as I am told it always is in Korea this time of year. I would like to thank God that I am a medic because my job was to sit in a warm FLA (Field Line Ambulance) and treat soldiers for cold weather injuries, rather than run around in the weather and develop cold weather injuries.
I have no stories about soldiers enthusiastically trading body fluids this week so I will leave you with this, a forwarded email I found in my inbox this morning. Once again I would like to thank all those people out in Georgia for the following material. (I love North Carolina and Kansas too but I haven't heard from them in a while.)

From: Jane Doe
To: Idahosa Edokpayi
Cc: Janet Doe
Subject: FW: MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THIS SATURDAY ... Important Date



MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THIS SATURDAY

AS YOU MAY ALREADY KNOW, IT IS A SIN FOR A TALIBAN MALE TO SEE ANY WOMAN
OTHER THAN HIS WIFE NAKED, AND THAT HE MUST COMMIT SUICIDE IF HE DOES.

SO THIS SATURDAY AT 4 P.M. EASTERN TIME ALL AMERICAN WOMEN ARE ASKED TO WALK
OUT OF THEIR HOUSE COMPLETELY NAKED TO HELP WEED OUT ANY NEIGHBORHOOD
TERRORISTS.

CIRCLING YOUR BLOCK FOR ONE HOUR IS RECOMMENDED FOR THIS ANTI-TERRORIST
EFFORT.

ALL MEN ARE TO POSITION THEMSELVES IN LAWN CHAIRS IN FRONT OF THEIR HOUSE TO
PROVE THEY ARE NOT TALIBAN, AND TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY THINK ITS OKAY TO
SEE NUDE WOMEN OTHER THAN THEIR WIFE AND TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR ALL AMERICAN
WOMEN.

AND SINCE THE TALIBAN ALSO DOES NOT APPROVE OF ALCOHOL, A COLD 6-PACK AT
YOUR SIDE IS FURTHER PROOF OF YOUR ANTI-TALIBAN SENTIMENT.

THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT APPRECIATES YOUR EFFORTS TO ROOT OUT TERRORISTS AND
APPLAUDS YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS ANTI-TERRORIST ACTIVITY.

GOD BLESS AMERICA.

IT IS YOUR PATRIOTIC DUTY TO PASS THIS ON.


God Bless America indeed.

Just for kicks, here's the story of a former Royal Marine hiking through Britain in the nude.

1.21.2004

Negative Twenty-two degrees Farenheit


The most important thing you need to know about my day is the temperature. It was low. I was out and about in the elements regardless, because I am a soldier. "Soldier" is a noun describing and individual who is too stupid to get inside out of the weather. Soldier's choose places with the most inhospitable weather conditions possible to shoot and kill people they don't know, in places they don't who, where people speak languages the soldiers don't know.
The wind chill factor this morning was such that our company commander (hereafter referred to as the CO) took pity on us and instructed the platoons to conduct PT indoors and run later in the afternoon. The medical platoon did and I did not see anybody else doing it. Why am I always the one who HAS to do the right thing? Gotta go!

1.18.2004

Have You ever wished you had a Bible Handy?


There's a verse in the Bible about knowing to do good and not doing it being a sin. Something like, "He who knoweth to do good and doth it not sins". Those words haunt me every day. I wonder often whether I really know good or not. What is wrong and what is right and blah blah blah blah. I wonder often whether the uncertainty is just an excuse. If you don't know how can anyone expect you to do anything? Morals are funny things, you know. If I could just get rid of the damn things maybe I could enjoy life.
And you know what I hate in blogs? People waxing philosophical in their blogs. What did I just do? Wax philosophical! I got freaking existential and all that jazz. One might think I am a tortured soUL from reading that stuff.
Hey, on a lighter note, I am always happy when I get mail from people who read the blog and I'd just like to give a shout out to all my folks in Georgia! How are ya?

1.16.2004

4 Days Later...


So when I say to stay away from the "drinky" girls don't listen to me because I am an awful example. I am a hapless fool with a weakness for tall skinny Korean girls. I am not sure why, but there seems to be an abundance of them in Tongduchon. I can only survey the damages and weep. Luckily, I am not broke. These women have reduced the art of separating men from their money to a science. I think what does it to me is the fact that I feel sorry for the girls. I should feel sorry for myself. However, I must say that the sensation of having two tongues in either ear was new.
In other news, I managed to qualify with both the M9 and M4 this week. The sad thing is that should I ever have enemy targets within my effective range the situation will have gotten very BAD. The good news is that I will most likely hit what I shoot at.
To those who know me, I'd like to apologize for the constant references to movies I have been making lately. I have watched an enormous amount of footage in a short time and I really like movies. Even the title of this post is a reference to a movie by Danny Boyle.

1.12.2004

Winter Wonderland


The title is a cliche but cliche's are useful. I am willing to be 5 dollars that you knew instantly what I was talking about. I would be shocked if there was a single English speaking American reading this page (you could stop there and the statement would still be true) who did not know that it is snowing where I am right now. The mountains near Camp Casey are beautiful in the snow, like a Hallmark card. I could go on, but we would all be embarassed.
You know, I had some important and meaningful to say but I am tired, I have hall cleanup duty, and my roommate and I still plan to watch "Ronin" tonight.

1.10.2004

24/7


You don't often think about the Army being a 24/7 operation till your chain of command ask you to stay up 24 hours pulling CQ (Charge of Quarters) duty. It was all right though. I got a little reading in, studied some EFMB (Expert Field Medical Badge) material, and watched movies - awful movies. "28 Days Later" looked cool in the previews, always a bad sign you know, and someone from the Slate Movie Club just loved it; so of course I hated it. I don't think it was necessarily a bad movie, it just wasn't to my taste. The movie started off badly for me, I got anxious waiting for the dude to run into living people and I hated the ragged way he looked. I think the problem was that the movie was shot with British tastes in mind. The story takes place in London, the lead character speaks with a sometimes unintelligible British (I'd say cockney but I am not sure) accent, and the filmmaker was British (Danny Boyle, director of "Trainspotting".) If it had been an American movie the lead would have been brawny action-hero type or perhaps even a pretty girl. The violence would have been more spectacular and the colors brighter. I would have been entertained but most likely it would have destroyed everything the filmmaker was trying to achieve. The other movie I saw was "Time Machine" and really it was just a muddle. The action didn't do anything for me and I was wonder when Samantha Mumba was going to stop teasing us and either get naked or just cover up. I couldn't concentrate to watch the other movies so I'll reserve judgment.
If you want to cure somebody of hero worship I have just the pictures for you. Scary...
It's ironic that I'd see a headline about monkeys attacking children right after watching "28 Days Later".
I was trying to think of blogs to nominate for the Bloggies, when I realized that I don't read blogs anymore. Too time consuming.

1.07.2004

Kuma Range


Today was the first time I have ever attempted to qualify on paper targets and I pray it was the last. I like pop-up targets and detest paper targets. I had a very bad day at the range. I won't go into it as my bedtime is fast approaching but I'll give you the stats. I needed to shoot 26 of 40. I hit 15 of 40 by my own very generous count. I am done now, my butt hurts from sitting down.

1.06.2004

New Horizons Day


Today was "New Horizon's day" at Camp Casey, which means that I dozed through several hours of classes and sat puzzled trying to ascertain what exactly I was supposed to learn from the Army training video "Every Drive Counts". I think I was supposed to learn driving safety, which is great since I can't drive. The video did have good moments, like when the perky, but tough airborne female soldier from Brooklyn walked onto the screen (in slow motion!) in a pink dress. The video's producers obviously knew what they were doing. A girl in a pink dress may not seem like a big deal, but when you are in an all male battalion, in a place that can have 50 women out of 1,200 soldiers on a base, a pretty girl in a pink dress is a big deal.
I think I am going to the qualifying range tomorrow, so tune in tomorrow for stories about how I shoot big guns.
By the way, Britney isn't married anymore.

1.05.2004

R.I.P. Day 1


I took my umpteenth APFT this morning as part of R.I.P. My raw scores weren't great but my performance on the 2 mi. Run is improving and I am learning to pace myself better. I actually finished strong which is a rarity for me. Typically I sprint to start and nearly crawl in to finish. I am a hare.
Later that morning, all the new soldiers received briefings from the battalion commander and command sergeant major. I fought sleep the entirety of LTC Gubler's briefing. For some reason, CSM Thompson's briefing kept me wide awake the entire time. I think it may have been fear, but that is only a conjecture. The Command Sergeant Major is an interesting man. He desires to teach school after leaving the Army. He wants to teach history, ROTC, and Physical Education. He said commenting on his prospective teaching career, "The children of America will suffer!" I have little doubt of that. He seems to be an all right guy once you get to know him.
R.I.P. seems like it could actually be very cool. We go to the DMZ Friday I think.

1.04.2004

Rock Indoctrination Program


I start R.I.P tomorrow. Wish me luck but I can assure you I won't need it. R.I.P., the Rock Indoctrination Program if the title didn't clue you in, is essentially a summarized basic training program. I think it was designed to insure that all soldiers processing into 1-503rd, a.k.a the Rock (hence the "Rock" in R.IP.) have all the basic competencies a soldier should have. In practice nobody fails so I am not sure if that is possible.
It's nearing 2100 hrs in South Korea so my bedtime is near but here are two quick items to keep you busy while I sleep. Britney got married!
I recently got paid a small sum of money with which I am going to pay some bills and start saving some, but I want you to tell me, what should I do with my enlistment bonus? I think I have around $1,000 to spend. (Which I probably won't have tomorrow since someone will read my website come to my room and jack me for it since I have stuffed the entire sum under my mattress.)

P.S. I am moving to the ZULU time zone permanently because I am going to move around a lot and it was easier to find than the South Korean time zone. :) For those who don't know, ZULU time zone is the base from which all time zones are offset. Time zones are denoted like this: GMT+ 09:00 hrs. (South Korean Time). Central Standard time is GMT- 06:00 hrs, 15 hrs behind Korean time. So there ya go.

12.31.2003

Spending New Year's Eve in Toko-RI


I am writing this a second time only I am first editing spell checking it first in WordPerfect because the Blogger didn’t respond last time and I lost the post in Never-never land.
Trying to remember what I wrote the first time while sitting in the hallway in the barracks listening to soldiers coming home belligerent from too much alcohol and too little female involvement. (“female involvement” is a euphemism for p*ssy) It’s sad too because the last post was an example of some of my better writing and reproducing it might not be possible with the shortened battery life in my laptop.
New Year’s Eve was one of my better days in Korea. I performed well on the previous day's APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test), passed the written driving exam, discovered that I had hawk-like 20-10 vision, and got paid. The NCO in charge refused to record my vision as anything other than 20-20 saying that I would have to undergo an eye exam if he wrote down 20-10. (SO!? I like being tested.) I was in a particular giddy mood since the Army came through with my enlistment bonus and my adjusted wages, and by “adjusted” I mean adjusted like a WonderBra (TM) “adjusts” cleavage. I decided to soothe my natural instinct to blow all the money at once on booze, loose women, and flashy clothing by blowing a small portion of the money on booze, loose women, and flashy clothing tonight.
There is no better place to find booze and loose women then Toko-Ri, or at least that is what I have been told since I was a starry-eyed “soldier-medic” in AIT (Advanced Individual Training). One female soldier in particular insisted that anyone going to Camp Casey had to visit Toko-Ri if only to visit the Filipino lady who could smoke cigarettes through her vagina. As a combat medic, I decided that it was my duty to ascertain whether she was developing cervical cancer from her nicotine intake, by careful assessment of the patient. Two of my brother medics agreed, eyes alight at the prospect of spending my enlistment bonus on beer and loose women. (By the way, I apologize if children are reading this blog. I have been gradually including more adult content without considering possible consequences. If you are under the age of 21 please close your browser window or visit a more “family friendly” site, like Barney the Purple Dinosaur. In no way should this aside be seen as a cynical ploy to draw in young impressionable readers by telling them not to read this blog, despite the fact that readership spikes 50% when I mention sex or nudity in the blog.)
I started my evening by filling the requirement for flashy clothing - I bought a brown lambskin jacket with a brown and tan toboggan to keep my newly shaven head from developing into a chocolate-colored brain-popsicle. After failing to resist the siren call of “buy me a drink”(I tend to have less willpower when the girl puts her hand directly in my pants) my merry medics and I made our way to Toko-Ri (which I have referred to before as the Dark Side.) We arrived, eyes bright and blood coursing (mostly in our lower bodies) and left sadder, poorer, and unsatisfied. The climax of the whole debacle was when all four of us (we picked up another medic along the way) paid an exorbitant fee for what eventually became a lap dance because we all thought that everybody else was going to do it. We all thought it was more than a lap dance and it would have been had MP’s not been swarming like angry brown and green hornets. We left, our faces smudged with cheap lipstick. As soon as I finish writing this, I am going to swab my face with alcohol since kissing a “juicy” girl is like rubbing one’s face with Herpes Simplex virus. Don’t do it.
We eventually trudged home wishing all and sundry a “Happy F*cking New Year!”

12.30.2003

The Real Army is NOT Like This


How many times did I hear the words "the real Army is not like this"? DOH! I am hearing stories of people I know working in hospitals in Hawaii getting four day weekends and spending the day on the beach while I am spending my four day weekend in bed and working through the holidays.
The only thing keeping me going is that I get up every day planning how I am going leave behind wretched enlisted life. I am going to go somewhere where I can't be assigned to motor pool, where I don't develop hypothermia every morning, and where the girls know how to say something other than "buy me drinky!" I don't hate Korea and I plan on enjoying some of the tourist destinations in and around Korea, but I don' want to stay longer than I have to.

12.27.2003

All I want for Christmas


All I want for Christmas is to be well, and score a 300 on my upcoming APFT. Getting either one appears unlikely at this point. I went out Christmas Eve and caroused like a sailor on leave, because soldiers party regardless of whether they are on leave or not. If you are in Tongduchon, South Korea and want to party, you will definitely have options. Not options you would feel comfortable discussing with your mother but options nevertheless. I found out that the majority of the hot spots downtown are little more than strip clubs. I knew that their would be girls in skimpy outfits, demanding drinks but somehow I missed the memo that detailed how the girls would bare their shaved pubic regions inches from my face and grind their crotches on my lap and nose. Five dollars will take you to a part of town known as the "Dark Side". The girls there take the display a step further. The presence of MPS keeps the "Ville" somewhat under control in that girls dare not due more than briefly pull down their panties. On the "Dark Side" it is no holds barred sexual entertainment.
I am proud to say that I resisted the temptation to spend money on the "drinky" girls. It was mostly because I had no money but still it was an accomplishment.
Christmas day I went to the gym to catch the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders USO show. I failed to bring home any autographs but mostly because I didn't care. The cheerleaders gave me a small autographed poster but I promptly lost it in the gym. I did take several photographs with the cheerleaders which I will be sure to share at some point in the future should I ever get my copy from my NCO. It was entertaining enough.
Influenza has become my favorite virus in the past two months. The first time I have ever used the influenza vaccine is also the first time I have ever contracted the "flu" twice in a year. "Ironic" does not begin to explain the situation.
Attentive acquaintances of mine have reported seeing my recent appearance on CNN lately. I am told the segment was aired on the 16th and again on Christmas day. Drop me a line if you know when and the name of the program that I appeared on. I haven't seen the segment and can't locate anything about it on CNN's website.

12.25.2003

Merry Christmas


Really I mean it. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I am going to do my best to do the same. (with the help of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders who arrive at 1500 hrs at the Carey gym in Camp Casey.)
Maybe if you're really nice I'll tell you about how naughty I was last night. (but probably night)

12.23.2003

One more Shopping Day until Christmas


Christmas is coming late for me this year. I feel bad because I haven't bought anything for anybody but I have spent nearly my entire paycheck on getting settled in Korea and various bills. So I promise if I normally buy you something then I'lll buy you something from the after-Christmas sales. Short of a miracle you won't be getting anything material from me Christmas day.
I on the other hand will be celebrating Christmas by curling into a fetal position on my bed and sleeping an extra four hours. Merry Christmas or Bah Humbug, chose whichever sentiment suits your disposition and situation.

Straight From The Horse's Mouth


Here's a blog by a soldier involved in the mission that captured Saddam Hussein. Read about Operation: Red Dawn from a soldier's perspective.

Stay Away!


Never ever have sex with someone who has this website bookmarked.

12.22.2003

Machiavellian Counter-Terrorism measures


Have you ever read anything that made you say "Holy SHIT!" I just did. It was just a comment on a post at another blog but wow. I am going to include the entire comment here for your benefit. The comment was in response to what should be done to fight terror in the United States.
Some commenters keep asking: "What would YOU do about these almost continual on-off threats of terrorist attacks on US soil?"

So here is what I would do, specifically.

1) I would ban all entry to this country of persons from Arab or moslem countries, except for those whom our national security agencies could prescreen, to the same level any American is prescreened by the Federal Bureau of Investigation before being permitted to purchase and take possession of automatic weapons (class III fireams). This was a process that includes fingerprinting, investigations that take 3-5 months, and a prepayment on my part of $200 per automatic weapon, to the US Treasury Department.

2) I would investigate for any and all subversive activities on the part of all Arabs and moslems already in this country, including those possessing citizenship. Any sign of disloyalty, and their residency status would be revoked and they would immediately be deported. I would change the US laws to terminate the citizenship of any such person involved in terrorism, and either deport them or incarcerate them in concentration camps such as the one we maintain at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

3) I would permit no entry of any item by air, ship or ground transport that had not been inspected at the port of entry. This process would include opening and inspecting any cargo container and inspecting any foreign ship allowed into a US harbor, any foreign aircraft allowed to land at a US airport, or any land transport vehicle allowed to pass onto a US road.

4) I would utilize the United States Army to guard the land borders of this country, in place of the US Border Patrol. This rule would be applied most rigorously to the long southern border with Mexico. The army would establish a floodlighted zone of death between parallel lines of razor barbed wire fences. The zone of death would be seeded with land mines and covered by machine gun nests arranged for interlocking fire lanes designed to kill any human being who ventured into the zone.

5) I would try and imprison any American citizen not specifically subject to the draconian rules described above, who gave any material comfort to terrorists, their families, illegal immigrants or those engaged in bringing these persons into our country. I would make certain that the terms of their imprisonment would be impartial and as unpleasant as possible under whatever emergency decrees that would be passed under the legislation needed to effectuate this status.

6) I would move immediately to utilize replacements for petroleum produced in any Arab or moslem states except for those under strict American domination, such as Iraq shall be for a long time. There would be no restrictions of any kind on seeking out and developing sources of fuel in the United States or in friendly countries. I would dig up national wildlife refuges in Alaska if necessary to get the oil there, or even cherished cemeteries, because I do not serve the dead in the face of a national emergency.

7) I would do everything feasible to break the power of international islam. This would include subverting their various social cultures, teaching their peoples the same kind and the same degree of self-hatred as a few generations of liberals have been systematically doing in the school systems of the United States and througout our society at large. Above all, I would break the pride of their men by teaching their women to disrespect them and even to despise them as backward, cowardly and powerless in the face of the overwhelming force of the United States. Exactly what our forefathers did in enslaving the Africans they brought here for labor or in destroying the spirit of the Indian tribes whose lands they stole from one side of the continent to the other.

8) If, in spite of all such precautions, an Arab or islamic largescale terrorist attack occured again on the soil of this country, I would retaliate by means of two mechanisms designed to act as a needle that would pierce the heart of the enemy religion and cultures. First, I would encourage the government of Israel to expel the entire remaining Arab population of the lands they presently occupy and to destroy their great temples in Jerusalem. Second, I would destroy the center of their religion in and around Mecca, with thermonuclear detonations designed to keep all life from that place for whatever is the half-life of the radioactive materials and the bomb coatings.

9) I would order our secret services to kidnap relatives of the chief terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, and hold them as hostages until such time as their master plotter were brought into US incarceration. If killing were required, I would begin with the first-born Arab males, inasmuch as in their culture this is the most important inheritor of the family name and birthright.

The nature of power, Stalin is said to have told one of his key henchmen, is that it is the one thing in the world that you cannot fake. You either have it or you don't. The other characteristic of power is it must occasionally be exercized in order to remind those who do not have it what happens if they try to overthrow that order. Sometimes this process requires gross unpleasantness, which, if not applied, leaves potential challengers further down the chain with the idea they can unseat you and take your power.

I am a citizen of the United States. I want this country to maintain its wealth, its power, and its level of inequality with the rest of the population of this planet. Forever, if possible. And by whatever means required. Because I have no other loyalties and no other concerns than the greatness and the power of our great commonwealth. If that power is to be challenged, than let us respond with terror of our own, a level of terror that has not truly been unleashed since the days of majesty that ended in the utter ferocity of the attacks we mounted against our enemies in Europe and the Pacific in 1945.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

Scary... What was worse, is that I found myself agreeing. Fear can make you do some evil things. Here is the original blog post.

I am the Person of the Year!


I am really... Along with 1.4 million other soldiers. Time Magazine chose the "American Soldier" as the person/people of the year for the Army's role in the pacification of Iraq.
I was going to pontificate about how great it is to be a soldier and how we are living in a important moment in history that would make or break many people's careers but I won't. Bottom line: I think I can take advantage of the current situation to make a career in the Army. I think I can change the world. That's just me though.
You know why I spend hours posting to this blog? It's entertaining. I even read my own blog even though I wrote the words myself. It's not that I am extremely funny or that my life is hugely entertaining. Somehow, remembering events I record here is like taking a snapshot of my life. Even better when I can see other people's response to the blog. Even the people who don't send me email in response to my writing give me feedback in other ways. It's always hilarious to track how people find my blog. Searching for "marry Christmas George", "Paris Hilton airhead", or even "nudity in the classroom" brings up this blog. I look at the search terms, do the search myself and comment. It makes for an amusing feedback loop. Of course this blog is the number one response in most search engines when my name is entered. I just never thought anybody would actually type my name into a search engine other than me. But someone has. Don't get me wrong. There is no "Idahosa Edokpayi" fan clubs. (Actually, there is but we have only one member. Privacy laws prevent me from revealing his name but his initials are IIOE) But posting to this blog gives me an extra pick me up.

Nudity on Campus?


More proof that college aged males spend a lot of time fantasizing about nudity. An article by an aspiring nudist at the University of Evansville arguing that everybody should be naked all the time. If he'd restrict nudity to a select umm 20% of the female population I'd agree wholeheartedly.

12.20.2003

Turtle Walk


One of my NCO's gave me and the other new medic, my AIT (Advanced Individual Training) buddy our "turtle walk" tonight. It was interesting. It turns out there is much to see "down range" but what there is to see is very lively. I saw "drinky" girls, cheap suits, knockoff designer clothes, electronics, drunken soldiers, roadside vendors hawking barbecued chicken, and the ominous "Courtesy Patrol" - the MP's more polite little brother. It was a good time.
Did I say something about not having a roommate yesterday? Did anyone ever say something about not counting your chickens before they hatch? Not five minutes after I wrote about liking the fact that I had no roommate my new roommate walks up and introduces himself. The upside is that he's a good guy with no overtly annnoying habits. (yet)
Well I'm off for late night burgers and fries.

12.19.2003

Feeling Strangely Fine


I missed dinner chow to post; essentially, to talk to myself since recent research has revealed that this blog has exactly one reader, me. I suppose I could attribute the upswing in my mental status to the onset of the weekend but in reality there is no accounting for my moods. I just feel good or bad and I deal with it.
I seriously need to put some time in the gym because we had a diagnostic APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) and I have slipped. My push-ups improved but my sit-ups and my run time slipped. I improved to 82 push-ups, but I lost 18 sit-ups, 42 seconds on my run for shocking raw scores of 70 sit-ups and 14:52 2 mi. run. I have never been this slow. I see quality time with a treadmill in my future.
I am actually looking forward to our next field problem in February despite the promise of weather colder than the frozen reaches of space. I am going to be a medic in a line company, which is what I always wanted. When I signed my name on the dotted line is with the hope that I would be a combat medic - a line medic. When I joined the Army I was hoping for a job with risk in it, something I could be proud about doing, something that would make people say "wow that's cool". Something to get me play with the ladies...
I just moved into my own room. The good news is that I have no roommate. The bad news is that my toilet leaks when flushed and the shower doesn't drain. You win some you lose some.
Oh by the way, have I told you about how cold it is in South Korea lately? We had a class on sling loading HUMMV's today and finally I begged my section sergeant to let me go thaw in the snack bar. We had the class because the 1/503rd is an air assault/airborne unit and everyone has to be high-speed, run 10 miles for PT, max PT tests, fast rope out of helicopters, have Expert Infantry or Expert Field Medical badges, have Air Assault Badges, and know how to sling load their vehicle. Sling loading a HUMMMV consists mostly of taping all the glass, plastic, and any protruding objects down so they don't break or catch the ropes used to suspend them from the Blackhawk or Chinook taking them to the next destination. And we do this all in frickin' freezin' weather. Fun!
In the big news there is a nasty rumor that my unit is going to play in the sandbox. I don't believe it and it would be weird but the upside is that I would be going somewhere warm.

12.17.2003

The Dark Side


If sometimes I act erratically or become angry for no reason, please realize that I have a dark side to my personality. I think at times I don't do a good job of communicating when I am tired, lonely, and a little depressed. I have violent urges occasionally even. (I did join the Army with the aim of killing people) If I come across as being innocuous I want to explain that the obvious impression of me is exactly wrong. I don't claim to eat nails for breakfast or club baby seals to death for amusement; (although I might do something that irrational and destructive in a fit of pique) I am just surprised when people get the impression they can walk all over me or that I am not prone to anger just like any normal human being.
If it sounds like I want my readers to feel sorry for me, I am doing something right because I do. I sometimes think I force myself to be upbeat and even-tempered so often that when I tire of the effort (which has been more often lately) I get depressed. No one pressures me to do this; I do it to myself. No one thinks I need to be superhuman; I want desperately to be Superman. I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders and the world doesn't give a damn.

12.16.2003

Colder than a Witch's Tit in a Brass Bra in December


I feel significantly better after sleeping and washing away the tremendous ass funk that accumulates when one sleeps in a tent outside without showering for several days. It took several days for me to adjust to the December cold and by the time I had adjusted it was time to go home.
I should buy a camera and webspace so I can show ya'll what I am seeing because the view is always amazing. I have never been anywhere as mountainous as Korea and looking out the window and seeing hills and helicopters sweeping through the air with HUMMV's swinging from chains like tonka toys is something one doesn't see very often in life. We had a light dusting of snow last night but not enough to cap the hills with white.
Formation isn't until 1000 hrs this morning since we didn't go to bed until 2400 hrs (midnight)last and I doubt that we'll have PT today but today won't be an easy day since we have to finish cleaning up gear and washing (BRRR!) trucks. Oh! And I have to finish in-processing into the 503rd. So I am going to be busy today.

Back From the Field


So I am back from the field. I am tired, dirty, and I am in dire need of a shower. The field problem (Army terminology for training outside off-post) was uneventful save for what happened while we were gone. The US Army caught your favorite arch-villain and mine Saddam Hussein. I am sure that 2nd ID would congratulate our brothers in the 4th ID for showing considerable restraint in not beating Saddam to death when they found him. I would have.
I have yet to fully in-process into the unit yet but I am already forming firm opinions about evertything and everybody here. I am in the medical platoon but I am going to have a lot of interaction with the infantry units and considerable interaction with the other medics. My impression of the Korean countryside is that it sucks. The air is heavy with the smell of sewage, which they use to fertilize the ground in the rice patties and everything (during the winter anyway) is a depressing sandy brown. The best thing about the whole trip was that our unit had an all male perimeter so there was no need to go all the way to the porta-potties at night. Also, we could tell raunchy jokes without asking permission. They weren't that funny but we had the option at least. Field exercises in the winter stink... Literally.

12.14.2003

Camp Casey: Day 3


Because of my stubborn refusal to deny posession of cold weather gear I am being sent to the field to join the rest of my unit in the frigid weather. You know maybe I should have listened, especially when I check the weather and the forecast says "too damn cold". I never learn...

12.12.2003

2nd Infantry Division 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry


I am "in-processing" into my new unit in Korea and I have gotten my wish - I am going to get some work as combat medic in a line unit in a light infantry unit. The way it works is that medics rotate from the troop medical clinic, to infantry platoons, and in the evacuation unit. So I hope that I'll be working with the "Joes" at least a third of a time. In-processing is going painfully slow but I suppose it could be worse, I almost went to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry who I was told like to stay in the field - a cook said that what I heard about staying in the field no more than 90 days a year was "bullshit. 2-9th goes to the field 6 months out of the year!" Also, I am in Camp Casey, the center of activity in 2 ID.
So now to the interesting part, the gossip! I'll start with everybody's favorite topic, sex. I'll also finish with sex since I don't have anything else I am interested in saying. Males are at a sexual disadvantage in South Korea since the majority of women want to be paid. There are the "juicy girls", pretty girls who work in bars and won't give you the time of day until you buy them a drink - a very expensive drink. Then there are the conventional prostitutes from various locales - Korea, the Philippines, China, Russia, and Australia! The Australian women are there because of a lack of Australian men - the ratio is ten to one - and Australian men tend to treat women poorly. So Australian women work as whores in South Korea to meet American G.I.'s.
Just because a woman doesn't demand money up front doesn't mean she doesn't expect something in return. Korean women hook up with soldiers all the time in hopes of scoring that magical ticket to America along with citizenship and benefits that go along with being an Army wife. And that still leaves the Army women... There is a saying in Korea that male soldiers use with females about being a "queen for a year". If they used the words "ho' for a year" they might be telling the truth. So the story is that everyone is having sex in Korea and getting in trouble for it. (except me!) The quickest way to become an E-5 in Korea is to come as an E-6. The army is cracking down on prostitution and has always looked askance at NCO's and officers having carnal relations with privates. Yet soldiers risk demotion and public humiliation for sex with a lower ranking soldier. Natural human folly I suppose.
Those of you in the audience concerned about my innocence and the corrupting influence of desperate Korean women selling their bodies rest assured - I refuse to have sex with a woman who does not speak English as her first language.

12.09.2003

12.06.2003

One More Time...


I say goodbye so often that you'd think the word would be permanently formed on my lips. I should be packing to leave for San Antonio, but obviously I am not since I am posting here.
I went out again last night, just for the hell of it. I am becoming something of a party animal, at least when I am home in Dallas. My childhood friend Philip was there and he's still the same as he ever was - All the girls flow to him like bees to honey, but somehow were blind to my charms. I didn't care, girls tell me not to meet women in dance clubs. Which brings the question to my mind, where SHOULD I go to meet women? Certainly not the Army.
I missed the parade my recruiter arranged for me to be in but it wasn't my fault. Lack of information kept me away. At least that is my excuse, I was told to be in McKinney for a parade at 5 pm but where in McKinney?
What is a little weird is that this is it. Sometime tonight, I will buy a bus ticket and go for the last time from the place I call home. I'll be back eventually, I am sure, despite what I have said; but it will never be the same. I plan on spending my time on leave in local military installations in guest quarters till I can afford to buy a house somewhere nice (South Padre Island baby!) where I'll spend time on leave and rent the house out when I am gone. So, Goodbye....

12.04.2003

What happened last night?


I was there and I can barely answer the question myself. What did happen was expensive and tiring. The night began innocently enough with a planned trip to Fort Worth. I eventually scuttled the trip after missing the last train to Fort Worth. I recovered by getting a hotel room at the Best Western in the Market Center District. (Never believe their claims of having unlimited internet access!) I left my room almost immediately to hang out at Have A Nice Day Cafe. MTV was their recruiting college age people for new reality shows - clubs are great places to meet vacuous people who want to be on TV and don't mind debasing themselves on camera.
After that the night just went downhill. I hated to end the party so soon - I'd only gotten to the club at midnight having trekked for two hours trying to find my hotel. My hotel was just down the road from Harry Hines BLVD, the center of Dallas' red light district. Between the cabbies and Harry Hines I am a much poorer man than I was yesterday.

12.03.2003

Scandalous Whores


Apparently searching for the phrase "scandalous whores" brings up this blog on Google. I imagine there are going to be a few perplexed and disappointed perverts. This is the post that Google grabs the text from in the search.

Homosexuals in the military


The Army is the worst place to be if you are homosexual. From my experience in my short military career, even the suspicion of homosexuality is detrimental to your career advancement. The funny thing is that didn't stop apparently gay people from joining the military. I have a friend who is a linguist in the Navy and his roommate told him of his homosexuality the first day he was in the Defense Language Institute. There were a large number of gays at the DLI, and they all knew each other. I happened to read this article this morning about how the Army separated 37 linguist for being gay.

Why does the Left Hate and Fear President Bush?


Orson Scott Card, famous Sci Fi author and prominent Democrat, indicts the Democrats and the media's portrayal of President Bush's handling of the war on terror in this article.

Prologue to Goodbye


In four short days, I am going to leave everything I have ever known, everybody I have ever known, and everything I have ever loved to go far away. I am excited and nervous. I probably should be scared but I don't know enough to be scared.
Dallas is home, has always home but there comes a time when you leave home. To put it plainly: I am not coming back to Dallas. I love Dallas. I feel as if Dallas loves me, but I am not coming back. I've already wiped one local town off my personal map (Mesquite) but I am not forsaking Dallas, I've just worn it out. There is nothing for me here and I need to start fresh somewhere else. If I am seen in town, it will only be fleeting glimpses. You are more likely to see me on television then you are in Dallas.

12.02.2003

This post is made possible by Wi Fi


So I went to my local Fry's Electronics and bought a 80211g compatible wireless networking card yesterday. Now I can make posts from Starbucks. Powerful technology to enable the mundane.

11.30.2003

Living Dead


A lot of dead people walking around in India...

KKK member shot During Initiation Ritual


Serves him right.

Own an IPOD?


You might find this link funny or not. Dig the funky old school jam from Dre Dre and Ice Cube in the video. You will also be thankful for this link.

Israel Too Harsh on Palestine?


MSNBC has a bit up about how the chief of staff of Israel's armed forces thinks that Israel's tactics are too harsh.

I'm Just Another Soldier


Are you reading Just Another Soldier? You should be if only for quotes like this one:
Hell, Ray even has a friggin' tomahawk. "It's so I can split niggaz skulls open if I have to.", he told me completely deadpan and genuinely.
read that post here.

11.29.2003

Freaky time Travel Stuff


Read this and try to keep your brain from twisting in knots at the possibilities.

Rolling Stone Does Paris


I've met girls like Paris Hilton, only these girls had already undergone psychological treatment for their ailments. Rolling Stone reveals in an exclusive article that Paris Hilton is a rich airhead. Wow! Who'd a thunk it?

I'm a Combat Medic


I just found this story of how a Army medic was able to save casualities from bleeding to death with nothing but cardboard and an old hair dryer.

11.28.2003

The Ghastly Citizens of Tinseltown


The best thing about Awful Plastic Surgery.com is that the average person can see how ugly celebrities are without the benefit of makeup, lighting, and flattering camera angles. In the relentless pursuit of youth, these people transform themselves into unnatural, alien creatures. Thank God for good genes. :)

11.27.2003

28 Shopping Days Left Before Christmas


Retailer's have obliterated Thanksgiving from the calendar with early Christmas displays. Now everytime I go to the mall I feel off-kilter wondering which holiday comes next.
Have you heard there's a nasty flu bug going around? I heard directly from the source - i.e. I was flat on my back with chills, body aches, fever, headaches, productive cough, runny nose, etc the first day I got home from leave. Whatever it is will do a number on you and flu shots are not helping due to a phenomenon known as drift - the shot doesn't work and the virus kicks your ass like a cheap soccer ball. (According to an article by MSNBC, drift is a slight change in the virus over time. Virii mutate quite a bit.) The flu this year has been serious enough to kill four children in Colorado. Texas has also had a serious outbreak too. That figures. :(
If you haven't already and you use AIM or ICQ you should check out SmarterChild. It can be entertaining if you don't have anybody else to talk to.
By the way, Happy Thanskgiving.

11.25.2003

Music library management issues


Yeah, I have got a problem. I've got a significant number of legal mp3's (in case the RIAA is reading) that I transferred to my laptop from an older computer. The problem is that I have a large number of duplicates and missing files. Nothing I can do about the missing files but the duplicates now are a tricky issue. I could just live with it, but I have a significant amount of hard drive space tied up in unnecessary MP3's and no easy method for tracking down which songs I can be rid of. If anybody knows of any handy file utilities I can use or Windows commands I can use I'd be much obliged.

Holy Matrimony


As I sit waiting for the air to warm to comfortable runnning weather (That's my excuse anyhow), I read this article about gay marriage in Slate.com. I personally don't think that letting gay people get married will make much of a difference. Marriage to me isn't a religious issue since marriage itself is a civil procedure. A justice of the peace can marry a couple. Whether or not two men can marry or two women can marry isn't a moral issue. Whether they can have sex now...

11.23.2003

Just Another Soldier


A must read for anybody in the armed forces, especially if they are in the National Guard. It's a blog by a National Guard soldier deployed to Iraq.

11.22.2003

Staying at the Hilton


I have been desperately trying to get my hands on a copy of the Paris Hilton sex tape just like every other pervert in America and I've been unsuccessful. I did find this hilarious quote from Heidi Fleiss, the former Holywood madam:
“... My problem is that she should be charging. I see her and I think, Oh, I’d be making an awful lot of money.”

You can read the original quote and several others on the New York Metro's website.

Fort Sam Anecdotes


Just a little something I just realized about Fort Sam. I only twice saw a woman once retreat to the bathroom to change clothes in a hotel room. In crowded hotel room situations with multiple people using the bathroom girls would often just change out in the open, often admonishing gawking male soldiers to turn their heads. I remember once being in a hotel room when a female returned to the room drunk. She informed us "You might want to turn your head if you don't want to see my ass." I confess that my gaze didn't budge an inch (otherwise I couldn't tell this story). She turned her back and stripped off her shirt first as I and another dude (who I have no idea where he came from or who he was) looked on. A third guy who I knew was a soldier from my company sat with his eyes closed directly behind her. She unhooked her bra and without looking threw her bra over her shoulder. It landed squarely on the dude behind her and one of the bra cups fell down over his closed eyes. The three people in the room with their eyes open (topless girl, dude I didn't know, and I) burst out laughing as the other guy sat with his eyes closed and a bra on his head. He removed the bra and she put on a shirt and then a pair of shorts. I've never understood the logic behind the thinking that if a girl changes her top separately from her bottoms it's more modest then if she took off everything at once. Half-assed attempts at modesty when I've already seen everything anyway only puzzle me. Of course, if she stripped down to her thong first I would be talking about how shocked I was.

11.21.2003

Thank God For Blogger


I was just about to put the laptop down and commence to sweating profusely (yes you have a very dirty mind) when I ran into these links.
I have known about this website for maybe five minutes and I am already enthralled. I can't but help but stare in fascination when the caption describes PoshSpice as looking as if she has cantaloupes stuffed in her chest. Good times!
Also everyone must visit Popdex and note just how unpopular I am.

Useless Drivel with Which to Fill Your Empty Mind


How long has Blogger had spellcheck?
I could have used this advice long time ago. Only my mom never surfs the web and it was people in my church I should have kept off my blog but that's neither here nor there.
Bad Juju man! Who would ever want to do something like that? "Hey baby, lets jump in the sack because I only shoot blanks!" I suppose it's only fair since women have been using birth control forever.
Finally, an article from MSNBC about finding an interesting Biblical archeological find.

More Links


You can tell when I am substituting links for having a life - like I am doing now. Here's an interesting link I snagged off MSN.com. I am going to use it as an excuse to stare, mouth partially open, at women's chests. I am genetically hardwired to "zone out" (stare at women's bodies). All the soldiers from Fort Benning should use it as an excuse when they graduate from boot camp and haven't seen women in nine weeks. "Dude I am just zoning out!"

11.20.2003

Recommended Daily Reading


Ok, so when I said I would resume linking other sites I meant that I would put up links to Slate.com like I was doing before. Sue me.
This why all liberals are paranoid. Democrats would still be paranoid even if Jack Kennedy hadn't been shot but that is their excuse now.
I am trying to avoid being like this guy, who got fired from his job at Microsoft for posting sensitive information to his blog. (As I type this I am throwing away all the papers I brought home that have classified stamped across the top)
That show about the meglomaniacal (means he had designs on world domination) toddler, The Family Guy, might be on Fox again soon. Fox decided to air more episodes after noticing unusually high volume of DVD sales.
How do I stay so slim and trim? I eat like a pig and I work out like crazy. It's good for you.
Another fun article from Slate.com about how the current hysteria about Barry Bonds using pharmaceuticals to pump himself is absolute crap. I love how the author ridicules Dick Pound for being named "Dick Pound". Just like the dude in A co. at Fort Sam whose last name was "Dick". The drill sergeant once told another soldier named "Lowas" (usually pronounced "Low Ass") to stay away from Dick. Fun Stuff.

Gay's Can Get Married!

Gays Can Get Married!


Good news for a few people I know from A co. Gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts.

11.19.2003

Another Message to My Battle Buddies from Fort Sam Houston


I really miss you!
I think I even miss Rinard. On second thought, I don't miss him. The sight of him strutting round the bay in a women's thong (Damn you Murphy! Why did you give it to him?) has forever scarred my consciousness.

Combat Medic Weekend Report Vol 1.


My apologies for not actually reporting what I did this weekend, but the problem is that I didn't do anything so there is nothing to report. I miss the whoring, drunkness, and debauchery that used to go on in Fort Sam. It gave spice to my life.
Credit cards are evil - Satan invented them so that the children of the earth would never get out of debt. Take that for what it's worth.
Dallas isn't boring, I am. I need to get out and do something. I suppose I could go out alone, just call a cab and go but for whatever reason I don't want to. I have few contemporaries left in town who are young single and fancy free like me and none of them are calling.
I visited UTD today and saw a few familiar faces. Unfortunately, I couldn't attach names to those faces so I mostly kept my own counsel. UTD is so different than when I attended ("attended" means slept in) classes there. New buildings, new people, (where were these girls when I was there?) and new social activities.
I've been corresponding with someone who actually reads this blog. I thought I was the only one - and I write the damn thing. She even has friends who read! Who would have thought...
Has anyone noticed the disturbing lack of hyperlinks in this site recently? Well, guess what? It's because I had better things to do than surf the web endlessly. Hyperlinks have returned because I am bored. But not today.

Message to my Battle Buddies From Fort Sam Houston


I miss you!

11.18.2003

AM I HOT?


Eighty Five anonymous strangers certainly think so. I am currently number one amongst all users at Amihot.com. The picture was taken in a studio during a modeling shoot I did before I joined the military. I'd say more but the picture speaks for itself.

The Picture in question.


UPDATE

Ok I was number one for all of 2 minutes. Sorry.

11.13.2003

Home Again


Who was it that said you can never go home again? Thinking about it now, even though I have returned to the location I call home I have not and cannot return to the place. Home is more than a location - it's a place, a time, and a feeling. Those things can never be fully recaptured. The people who made the home have dispersed and changed and so one can never return to his home again. I realize now that I am an adult - I must be an adult because I have no childhood left me. Everything is serious business now. I am in the business of killing people in defense of my country. Yes, I am a medic and my obvious purpose is to begin step one of the healing process, but only so that they can go and wreak havoc on the bodies of others. No children here.
Even my family has grown up. My sister has her own car, goes to college; My youngest brother just hit puberty and has grown leaps and bounds since I saw him last; and my middle brother is beginning to think about life after college. The location hasn't changed, the house is the same, Dallas is still familiar, but it isn't the home I knew as a child. I can feel time slowly sliding by, it's scary and strange and powerful. I am feeling a distinct urge to maximize every moment, to cram in everything I can to every second of the day. I think I'll start with sleep though. I am bushed.

11.12.2003

Marrying for The Money


You know the danger of writing posts early in the day is that interesting things always happen right after you write them. Sunday, after my last post I jokingly proposed marriage. The object of my jesting affection told me that seriously she would.
I was flabbergasted, but the agreement would have been perversely expedient. The logic behind the proposed union was that I needed help getting citizenship and marrying a citizen is one way to obtain citizenship; she was getting chaptered out of the Army and needed benefits due to injuries sustained in the Army and her inability to find employment. We would both get what we needed and she even threw in performance of "wifely duties". She's even attractive.
It would have been wrong. Word on the street is that the girl is of less than stellar character (she's a good friend of mine so I'd like not to believe it but then she is in the Army and Army women are not well known for their chastity) So I did the safe thing. I hate doing the safe thing, but you know there are times that the alternatives just are not worth the payoff.

11.09.2003

Soldier Medic Weekend Report Vol. 2: Everything that has a Beginning has an End


I am stealing a cheesy line from a cheesy (but profitable) movie, but the line is the truth. I am leaving Fort Sam Houston. I may never hear from some of my peers again. For the most part, this is a good thing. In the end, I discovered that I could do without the majority of the people who took the 91W (proounced "ninety-one whiskey") course. Many, if not most, of the females are scandalous whores; many of the males (and no doubt females too) are convicted felons and slackers who joined the Army with the aim of salvaging their worthless, wicked lives. The remainder I will miss desperately.
Since my last post I have been interviewed by CNN for a documnetary scheduled to air in early December; recieved a coin of excellence from the Command Sergeant Major of Medcom, the highest ranking enlisted medical soldier in the Army; won Junior Leader of the Cycle (by some miracle); and I had a very good reading at a casting call for a feature film (don't ask me which one or with who because I don't know).
I feel lonely, but I am beginning to believe that my loneliness is my own fault. I don't know how to choose or where to look for friends. I am sure there are plenty of people who would hang out with me but I probably snubbed them all. I also often present an air of uncertainty which probably is a little off-putting too. (But not lately, recent events have made me just a little more confident in my own abilities and probably much more arrogant. I walk with quite a bit of swager now.) I need a regular crew though - a group of friends to hang out with. I also am willing to bet that I won't have that for a long time either.
Despite my complaints of loneliness, I do have a great time. If only just from listening to the stories I hear from other soldiers. Like this girl I know who is geting chaptered out of the Army due to health problems. She realized that she will be without any benefits or employment so she is trying to get married to someone for the health benefits! It will happen to because she is an attractive girl. I was tempted myself - if only for the chance to demand that she do her "wifely" duties.
The sum total of it all, is that it all must end; and it does, in three days.

10.19.2003

Soldier Medic Weekend Report Vol. 1


I go out every weekend hoping to party as if there is no tomorrow; I always wake up disappointed the next morning because tomorrow actually did come. Don't get me wrong, I have a good time; but there's a part of my brain that won't let me completely enjoy partying. I don't hook up with girls at clubs, I don't get drunk off my gourd (ok well I do, but not to the point of unconsciousness like some people do and I sober up fast), and I get the feeling I don't quite fit in or belong. And then you have stuff like what happened last night. I was dancing with a girl in my company who was sloshed - I mean veeeeeeery drunk - and she got a little out of hand. She was a terrible dancer and she kept trying to kiss me and even copped a feel of my groin while we were dancing. That wasn't even the part that got to me. I can blow that kind of behavior off - she won't remember in the morning and I'll forget eventually - but it is what she was said: "I thought you were too cool to dance with me." It is flattering to be thought of as a "cool kid" but it honestly hurts me when I get the impression that other people feel like I am to high and mighty to stoop to their level. Here's a guy who can't get girls to dance with him at the club (at least not the girls he wants), and who is still really insecure about a lot of things. Hearing things like that makes me feel awkward. So far the Army for me is like High School for a lot of people - confusing and a little awkward. I have fun - I am one of the "cool kids" after all - but it's strange.
Oh and that is only half of the story. I fell asleep on the floor of a swank room in the Marriot hotel in downtown San Antonio waiting for five professional strippers to show up while an amateur stripper (who works as a professional soldier during the week) did her thing in the bedroom. The insanity never ends here.
Well, actually it does. On Nov 12, everybody goes home; except for those soldier medics (thats what they call us here: soldiers first, medics second) who partied a little too hard on the weekends and are pending UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) action or are already serving Article 15 suspensions; also, all the people who are unable to meet the physical fitness requirements go to G Co. (pronounced "Golf Company". It's only the Army's own special brand of purgatory) There are also a few brave souls who go on to Airborne school and on to Ranger school to become special ops maniacs. All the relationships break up (I am assuming. It was only sex after all); all the married people go back to their cuckolded spouses; boyfriends and girlfriends reunite (or separate, depending on how quickly word of infidelity travels home); very little gets left behind. Looking back, it just feels a little empty. I remember every moment, and there aren't any moments I can point to as being bright shining moments. I didn't waste the time but...
I still haven't found what I am looking for.

10.13.2003

Hell Week


The weekend is mostly over and stories of the wild things that people did over the weekend (or for that matter the wild people that people did over the weekend) are just beginning to filter back to the company. I for one am hearing stories of how I am "gorgeous" and hot. Blah! A lot of good it does me.
I saw the movie Kill Bill this weekend and honestly, I was a little traumatized. I have never seend so much gore in one movie. Uma Thurman hacks and slices so many non-descript extras that I am sure that Quentin Tarantino killed many of them twice. The movie is bloody, profane, and stylish as hell. Quentin Tarantino hasn't been doing a lot of work since 1997 and Jackie Brown (In fact, he didn't do anything) and it's kinda cool to see him come back so forcefully. The movie is a homage to the 1970's style chopsocky flicks and is filled with noticeable references to past films, including a short guest appearance by Sonny Chiba - who if you didn't know appeared in a lot of '70's era martial arts films. So the long and short of it is that the film is cool; go see it.

10.12.2003

Fish Out of Water


Never ever let your friends drag you to a country bar. At least not unprepared. I went to this place last night that the majority of the company congregates at on Saturday nights because I heard it was a good time - "They only play country music at first, as the night goes on they play rap." I believed them because this is Texas and the only people in Texas who listen to country music exclusively live in towns called Hickville, TX. Even in trailer parks where the most country people live Eminem is more popular than Garth Brooks. So as we're riding in the taxi to go to this place I continued to question them: "Will there be black people there"?
"Yes."
"I mean actual black people."
And there were black people at Cowboys/Far West (You know thinking back looking at the names I should have just known better). The black man at Far West worked in the bathroom handing out paper towels and mints.
I wasn't miserable - I just felt odd. I immediately regreted my choice of black slacks and black and white saddle shoes. If you are in San Antonio and plan on visiting Far West, wear a cowboy hat, jeans, and boots. You will be much more comfortable (well you'll fit in but you won't be comfortable. Tight fitting Wranglers can wreak havoc on male genitalia.) I loosened up over time and had a good time. So it was all good.

Four Day Weekend Baby!


I am constantly getting the feeling that I am doing a poor job of telling the story of my life. I often think that I am to vague, too specific, that I forget the interesting details, etc. Guess what, though? I am the only person here to tell the story so I am stuck. The number one most interesting thing I am trying to do now is trying to get into Westpoint. The second is trying to find something to do on this four day weekend.
I could tell you the story of who's sleeping with who; who's married and sleeping with who; who's cheating on their boyfriend/girlfriend/life companion; who walked around in the bay in a thong; (only interesting because it's a male the females walk around naked or in underwear all the time - no big deal); which female is reputed to be a lesbian (I don't think she is but even I'll admit that she fits the stereotype); which females who would probably be lesbians given enough alcohol and a receptive audience (50% of the females here); who is on extra duty; who recently got Article 15's; who has the most interesting sexual history in the past 3 months; etc. But I won't. You'll have to wait for the book. I played that game once before and I didn't even use anybody's name and I was up to my eyes in shit. Those people possibly could still be reading my blog. Not likely but it's possible. I'd liek to apologize quickly for using profanity, but as somebody told me today it's hard to change who you are. The most important thing is to not let other people influence who you are in a negative way and keep you from enjoying the moment. You have to live each moment so that it is the finest moment in your life because life isin short supply.
Interesting things did happen this week. My instruction team had a practical exercise necessitating the separation of males and females. I wish I had some pictures to post because the hilarity ensued once our instructor kicked the females out was high quality. I doubt the females had as good a time as we did but they did get to lounge around a classroom in sports bras. We were doing EKG's and really you should have no shirt or bra on at all (especially if you are male) but there are people who couldn't be professional (me) or confortable (90% of the females) with partial nudity in the classroom. Even shirtless men would probably be to much for most people to handle in a mixed sex environment.
I got a ring to commemorate graduation from the 91W course and to replace the cheap one I bought at Basic Combat Training. It's pretty cool. Not like out of this world but pretty cool nevertheless.
We are coming up to our second (and I hope) final Hell week. We have our record PT test (this one actually counts as it goes on our permanent record), 3 test in 4 days and the end of classroom instruction. All of this coming off a four day weekend. I swear that they give us just enough rope to hang ourselves.
Well I am gonna go out and take advantage of my privileges. Later folks.

10.05.2003

Thirty-Eight days and Counting


You know it's not that I am not enjoying Fort Sam Houston but I miss home. I am going to be here another 38 days but I only have 13 days more of classroom instruction. (give or take a couple of days) My training as a medic is approaching the home stretch. Traditionally this is the part of the course that students lose their focus. I am struggling to buck that trend but I am finding that things are dividing my time - like flag football for instance.
Did I mention that Army women are aggressive and take charge individuals? That's all I am going to say.
My cellular phone finally decided to make an appearance, and I must say life is much easier since. I hear my laptop may becoming to visit also.
I've been avoiding hotels lately for the sake of my bank account and instead I find that I am spending the money on taxi's. So next weekend I am going to get a hotel room. :-p
That's all folks.