A Snowy Blog

It snowed yesterday. About 8 inches. And today, the clouds parted and made for some good pictures. Not so much good picture taking though, because it was like 8 degrees and below zero with the wind chill. So here's a little Merry Christmas from New York.

Sackets Harbor Rocks!

Alright, last video for a while. I promise. My mom showed me this one. Suck on this Manhattan!

My New Girlfriend

I may not be very attractive, but she likes me just the way I am. We dance.

Dancing

Hey all,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's mainly because I can't stop dancing. A convenience store camera caught me doing this little number.

Relaxin' Jackson

Hey all!

I'm down here in beautiful Fort Jackson, South Carolina! I actually mean that, it's pretty nice down here. Much nicer than Fort Benning down in Georgia. Fort Jackson sits right next to Columbia, home of the Gamecocks! I'd like to see a game. I hear SEC football is crazy. One thing is for sure, they've got nothing on the PAC-10! Especially with a name like Gamecocks.

The Army is putting me to work! I work 6 day weeks and get just Sunday off. And the training I'm doing isn't traditional "military style" training. I actually am in a classroom for most of the day, which is alright with me, especially of late, because it has been raining alot. Plus, there is a tropical storm/hurricane headed this way. Florida and Georgia will most likely slow it down, but it will still bring rain and wind. Awesome.

The Army has put me up in a hotel here on post. It's just a regular, run of the mill hotel room. I get free cable and internet, clean towels, and everyday when I get back, my bed is made and my floor is vacuumed! It's like magic! Anyways, Myrtle Beach and Charleston are close by, so I might check one of those out one of these weekends. I really don't have any pictures of the area yet, but some are surely to come. That's all I got!

Back in P-Tizzle

So, I show up at Fort Jackson in South Carolina to report for training, and they tell me they have no rooms. This was Thursday. Thank goodness for Priceline. I bought a pretty cheap ticket and flew to Portland the next day. I didn't tell my parents I was coming. I just strolled up and knocked on the window. They were surprised. So I'm in old P-town until Saturday morning. So, if anybody is driving to the beach or wants to go, you may as well swing by my hoose and pick me up. That's about it.

Culmination Week

This past week at BOLC II was "Culmination Week". Simply put, it is a melding of all the tactics we had learned to that point. It was rough. I didn't get much sleep. I counted 12 hours of sleep for the 4 nights that we spent at the FOB. But it was all good training. The majority of my lack of sleep was due to the 10 mile ruck march that took place at 2am on Friday morning. I didn't actually sleep that night. But believe me, I slept Saturday morning. For like 12 hours. 12 awesome hours.

The best training that was conducted, in my opinion, was the night urban ops training. The McKenna Range was divided up and each platoon had 4 or 5 buildings that they had to clear. We had to use night vision devices in order to effectively clear the rooms. There was a constant barrage of artillery and grenade simulators being dropped and blank ammunition being fired. I swear I sort of saw my life flash before my eyes.

I actually could have slept on Thursday because it was my platoon's turn to provide OPFORs (opposing forces) as training aides for the other platoons. They only needed 6 and for some reason, I volunteered. It was actually really fun. I basically got to cause chaos while American forces tried desperately to destroy me. Good stuff.

Oh yeah, one more thing. One guy in my platoon, Frye, said that I should blog about blogging. I decided to take it a step farther and blog about the conversation that we had about blogging about blogging. So there it is. Here are some pics from the week:

Calm Before The Storm

This past week was a pretty chill week. The West Point Captain in charge of my platoon took the week off, so the training was run by some pretty chill Sergeants. The West Point Captain will be back next week for "culmination week". It's supposed to be the toughest week of this 7 week course. Bring it on. Once again, my platoon stayed in the FOB (forward operating base) this week, which is basically just a bunch of buildings and tents surrounded by a fence.

This week was definitely highlighted by the training that we did with sim rounds. The M4 was used to fire these rounds, but the upper receiver (the part with the barrel) was removed and replaced with a special upper for sim rounds. The sim rounds are basically bullets with a little paint tip on the end, but (of course) they don't go as fast...or else they would kill you. But they still hurt when they hit you and they usually broke the skin, as shown in the picture of my hand. The picture of the ammo shows a blank round and a fired sim round (no paint tip). The training was conducted at the world famous (apparently) McKenna Range at Ft. Benning. The range consisted of maybe 15 buildings, mostly without windows, used to conduct operations training. I'm just going to say, the training was sweet. The basic building clearing drill consisted of a squad of nine versus four enemies holed up in a building. The goal was to kill the enemies without being killed. It was fun to be the good guys, but it was also fun the be the enemies. The squad element had to use Army tactics, but the enemies could do whatever they wanted. It was like a big game of very painful paintball. Attached are some pictures.

I also participated in a volleyball-tournament/barbecue/swimming-session/rockband-playing-party today. That was fun. My team came in 2nd. I got a pretty nice sunburn. I also sang the songs "Say it aint so" and "Dani California" on rock band. If you get the chance, play that game. It is awesome. You can have the lead guitar, bass, drums and vocals all at once. No pics from today, sorry. But I can tell you it was a good time.

My Week + End

I had a pretty good week. I spent 4 days in the field and had a 3 day weekend. Thursday was land navigation (map, compass & 8 points complete with 8-digit grid coordinates). It wasn't that difficult, seeing as how the points were all 100 or more meters apart. I got up at 2:30 that morning. I began looking for my points at 4:30. So for about and hour and a half, there was darkness. Luckily, I found half of my points while it was still dark, making it easy to find the other 4 within my 5 hour time hack. I finished in 3:23 and was shocked to find that I was the second person back in the company. After some excruciatingly long classes on several US weapons systems, we were released for a 3 day weekend! I saw Hancock that evening and was not impressed. I still want to see Get Smart some time.

On the 4th, I drove up to Atlanta with some friends and saw the Braves play the Astros. The seats were sold out, so I had to buy standing room only tickets. Turner Field was impressively large and looked relatively new. We were able to snag a standing table directly behind the seats behind the batter. The Braves won. Fireworks must not be a big deal in Atlanta. The only fireworks that I saw were on the TV in the hotel room. We got the hotel room with the intentions of going to Six Flags the next day. Unfortunately, it started pouring the next morning, so we decided to go next weekend. We got back to Benning and I became rather hungry. It was 10 in the evening and nobody wanted to drive anywhere, so we ordered Chinese food. I need to make a habit of it. I had lo mein and it was was great.

Today for dinner, me and some friends went out for a nice dinner at Carrabba's. It was an Italian restaurant. Before the meal, they brought out freshly baked bread to be dipped into olive oil with spices. BTW, Thanks Bartlett for introducing me to such a tasty treat. If anybody gets the chance to eat at Carrabba's, eat there. Seriously. You won't regret it.

I find that these days, eating brings me enjoyment. But it is true that too much eating it not good for the body. I am still trying to find that balance between eating good food often and not eating too much. Here are some pics from this weekend:

A Little Update

Alright, it's been about a week, so here goes. This past week was spent mainly at several firing ranges. I successfully grouped, zeroed, and qualified with the M4 Carbine rifle. It took me a few tries at the pop-up range, but I qualified. We did some standing, quick reaction fire on Thursday, also. My platoon ran that range, so I spent most of the day stapling paper targets onto silhouettes. Friday was a day off, so me and 3 other guys drove down to Panama City, Florida. We spent 3 days and 2 nights there. Friday and Saturday were both absolutely beautiful days. We played frisbee, volleyball, whiffle ball, football, and swam in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. There are a surprising number of resorts and condos along the Panama City coast. We got back today at 3. Tomorrow, I and my platoon we head to the field where we will stay 4 days and 3 nights in a Forward Operating Base. I will participate in a squad live fire and land navigation qualification (for the thousandth time). I will be back to the barracks on Thursday. Still no plans for the 4th, but I'm sure I'll find something. That's about it. More to come. P.S. Here are some pics from Panama City:

Army and Church

Today, I went to church for the first time on a military post. I was apprehensive. It was different. Military and church are two areas of my life that have always been separate. I have always seen the military as a profession where people don't show much emotion or sing (outside of off-key cadences). That wasn't what I saw. I saw men and women (mostly men) singing We Want to See Jesus Lifted High at the tops of their lungs. The only differences were the in-shape people and the hair cuts. I still felt uncomfortable. I am comfortable in a church setting and a military setting, but I think it will take some time for me to grow accustomed to the mix of the two.

I got a free donut, so I think I'll go back next week.

REI Garage Sale - Atlanta Edition

So last night, I decided to go onto the REI website and see if there is a store anywhere around here, because I wanted to buy a frisbee. Not only was there a store in Atlanta, but it was having its Garage Sale or "Scratch and Dent" sale, as they called it, this morning! I couldn't find any other Lieutenants who wanted to go with me, so I made the trek by myself. The website said no camping, so I decided to get up early this morning. I woke up at 7, but was still tired, so I went back to sleep. I dragged myself out of bed at 9, got ready, and was out by 9:45. There was alot of construction, so I got to REI at about noon. The sale had opened at 10, but there was still quite a bit. I tossed around the idea of getting a bike, of which there were quite a few, but I ended up just getting a pair of snowboarding gloves. I still saved like $45 on the gloves, so I didn't make out too bad. People are the same wherever you go - crazy about sales. Even after 2 hours of the sale being open, people were rushing around, grabbing things, and just generally intense. Oh, PS, I didn't find a frisbee...just a bunch of frisbee golf discs. But Atlanta is a cool city. Might check out a Braves game next weekend. More to come.

Big News in the Computer Gaming Sector!

So I was checking out Gamespot.com like I always do, and there it was! Bam! It was like God was answering all of my prayers at once. A new Colonization game by Sid Meier! And this one will have the Civ IV graphics engine! I have seriously been waiting 10 years for this. I remember playing the original Colonization back in 1996 on my HP 133mhz Pentium I with 16mb of ram. This is revolutionary. I really haven't played any computer games since I deleted Civ IV from my computer 3 or 4 months ago! I think I will make an exception for this one.

Georgia is Hot

I just reported to Fort Benning, Georgia on June 8th. It has been very hot and humid. There has not been a day yet that has seen a high of less than 90 degrees. Humidity has been pretty high too, up at 50 or 60 percent. There is supposed to be rain and thunder tonight, which is strange to me, considering the high temperatures. Today, like yesterday, consisted of a lot of sitting in long briefings and waiting in long lines. Sadly, my platoon got the West Point Captain and it showed during PT. He ran us into the ground. He will probably do the same tomorrow morning. It's a tough life. I got a pretty cool roommate. He is also branching AG and we went and played basketball and threw a football around a little while ago. Here at BOLC II, we get nights off usually after 5 pm and we get weekends off. It's nice. Although, it sucks equally because we have to get up at 5 every morning (excluding weekends). Since the 4th of July is a Friday, we get a 3 day weekend. I think I will find a Georgia beach and surf or go down to Florida and chill. Funny story about basketball. Me and my roommate were the only white guys there. I felt a little out of place. They were all pretty cool, but one guy called me a stupid white boy. But I'm pretty sure I outranked him, so it was ok. Oh, PS, me and my very white roommate got schooled. That's all for now. More later.

A 30 Hour Birthday!

We trained from Florence to Interlaken, Switzrland. Rented Bikes and found a pond. Swung into it from a rope swing. Ate mexican food. Trained to Paris. Stayed in a tiny hotel. Saw the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc De triumphe and Notre Dame. Got pictures. Sweet ones. Trained up to Luxembourg. Not much there. Then went to Amsterdam. Was only supposed to stay for 2 nights, but decided to skip Brussels. Is awesome. Tomorrow I'm flying home out of Brussels. My birthday is also tomorrow. My birthday will be 30 hours long. Awesome.

Alive and Well in Florance

I am alive. Me and Andrew drove all the way across the United States. Nampa to Atlanta. Then we flew to London. Saw the guys in the goofy hats. Then we flew to Palermo, Sicily. We hitchhiked across Sicily and saw some sweet little towns and beaches including Cefalu! Almost forgot my underwear in the trunk of an Italian lady's car. When we got to the boot of Italy, we trained up through Tropea, Lamezia, Salerno, and eventually, Rome! Rome was awesome. Lots of old buildings. Andrew just set off the alarm in the building we are in. We are in Florance. I think we have to leave. No, we're good. False alarm. I am looking for a hostel in Interlaken, Switzerland. Good stuff.

Saying Goodbye...

I've never really had to say goodbye for real. I didn't have any really close friends in high school, so it really didn't bother me when I left. And moving from Portland to Nampa is only like a 7 hour drive, so I didn't really say goodbye to any close friends or family when I left for college because I know that I would see them again. But now, for the first time in my life, I have to come to terms with the fact that I may not see some close friends or family for a long time.

Here in college, I have developed closer relationships than ever before, I have learned to love deeper, and I have found friendships in people whom I would have never previously thought to befriend. Let me tell you: if you have never truly had to say goodbye to somebody, it isn't easy. Some were tougher than others.

All this sacrifice is done with the idea that there is something better off on the horizon. Maybe I will find a house that is homier than 3403 NE 76th or 316 E Sheridan. Maybe I will develop closer friendships and deeper relationships. Maybe I will learn more somewhere in the east than I ever could have hoped to learn out here in the west. Maybe I will find something or someone that makes me happy. I will continue to work hard, have fun, and seek God, and maybe, just maybe, I'll find that thing, place, or person that I will not have to say goodbye to. That's it for now.

Packing

The time has come, the walrus said, to pack up many things. My books and socks in boxes brown and instruments with strings. All right, now I have that out my system. I spent about an hour today sorting through old papers and keepsakes. It took time, but I think I am done with the paper portion. Now I just have to drop things in boxes. I realized that I really don't need most of what I have. I need my Army stuff and I need my phone, but most everything else is just junk that will probably end up in some trunk. Word. I will probably take off from Nampa on Wednesday or Thursday. Me and Andrew are driving over to West Virginia to see Josh Ritter and then down to Georgia. I'll drop my car there and fly to Europe and see the sights there for a few weeks. I hope my car makes it that far. It'll be a good trip. But first I have to pack.

Life?

Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him - for this is his lot.

Hope

Sometimes, when I think that I've lost all hope, I watch this and it makes me feel something, if only for a few moments.

Live

I went on a rant about an hour ago. I'm sorry for whoever had to hear it. Actually, I'm not sorry. The words that were said had to be said.

Here's what it comes down to:
1. Christ tells us not to worry about what we will eat or drink, etc.
2. Josh Ritter asks us which is better: to have love at the immediate expense of the world around us, or to lose that love.
3. Paul Simon tells us that we are all Slip Slidin' Away.
4. T.S. Eliot reminds us that words crack and break under the burden of defining time. He tells us that what is important is "Quick, now, here, now always-"

So what does all this mean? Quit worrying about what will happen to you tomorrow. Don't be afraid to love! If you blink, you will miss the real meaning of life. What matters is here. Now. Stop reading my blog! Go out and make a difference. Make friendships! Fall in love! Smell the most fragrant flower! Eat the spiciest spaghetti! Live life and have fun doing it! That is all!

Plans Change

I wouldn't say that I changed my plans, per say. I would say that they were changed for me. The Army decided that February 2009 was too long, so now I am off to the Basic Officer Course on June 8th of this year. Quite a change. Now there isn't enough time! I have about a month to do something. I don't yet know what that something is, but it will be epic. Maybe. Or maybe I'll just kick around Nampa and watch the NBA playoffs. Who really knows? Because I sure don't.

Huge discovery #2: I found out what my permanent duty station is going to be! Drum roll please...(no pun intended)...It's Fort Drum, New York. Fort Drum is in the northern part of New York and is located between Syracuse and Ottawa, near the Canadian border. It is situated near the thriving metropolis of Watertown, NY. Watertown is right on lake Ontario. Sweet. I have never actually been to the northeast, so this will be a good chance for me to see what all the fuss is about. People keep telling me there will be a lot of snow. I say "bring it on". That's all for today. Expect a big Mexico post very soon.

Sacrifice

Sacrifice...it's what makes life worth living.

It makes you healthier...in time.
It makes you happier...in time.
It hurts.

It makes you love deeper...in time.
It makes you smile broader...in time.
It hurts.

It makes you feel better...in time
It makes others better off...in time.
It hurts.

It has to...or it isn't sacrifice.

- Inspired by true events that took place today.

Waiting...

So I just learned some interesting news. It turns out that I won't be going to BOLC II until February of 2009. What this basically means is that after I graduate, I will have nothing to do for 9 months. No job, no place to live, no school to go to, and most of all, no military commitments. I'm not going to enroll in a grad school for one semester and then stop. That would not be beneficial. Plus, when I actually do commission into the Army (next February), I will have the GI Bill at my disposal, which means that I can go to grad school for free. So paying for grad school makes no sense. So what should I do with myself for 9 months? Maybe I will become like Chris McCandless and just travel around for a while. Maybe I will go work on a fishing boat up in Alaska or fight some fires. Maybe I will get a work visa and just go to another country and work for a while. Who really knows? Because I sure don't.

Lent is here

Lent is here. Everybody knows what that means. It's time for Catholics and non-Catholics across the world to give up those unnecessary habits in favor of spending more time praying, reading the Bible, and meditating on the things of God. It is a remembrance of the 40 days that Christ spent in the desert in prayer and fasting, all the while being tempted by the Devil.

What does this mean to me? Well, I thought about giving up cookies or pizza. But seriously, cookies and pizza? Am I going to spend the time that I would have spent eating cookies and pizza meditating on God? Probably not. So what shall I do? Nothing? That is always a viable option. Maybe I'll go to a Catholic church and see what that is all about. Maybe I will go out to the wilderness and just soak in all that jazz. I know: I'll give up the internet. Except for school-related work. And maybe to update my blog and check in on my fantasy team. I've got it: 30 minutes of non school-related internet usage per day. I'll do it.

I'll do it. But I can't do it for the sake of doing it. That won't work. I should do this to better myself. No, not even that. I should do it as a sacrifice to Christ, who sacrificed everything for me. I will have to fill my life with spiritual things then, I guess. I will pray and read the Bible in this time. And I will write Christian music. Not explicitly Christian music, either. No FFH garbage. Not just that. I will try to be a kinder and more sincere person. Good stuff. This is a big undertaking. Anyone else in?

Passion? What for?

So, I have not posted in a long time. In order to write, I need to feel passionately about something and the Blazers is the last topic about which I harbored that sort of passion (not really, I was just bored enough to blog). Lately, however, I have been feeling passion again. This passion is did not stem from anything that I can put my finger on and I’m not sure that I am channeling it into anything productive. Well, at least not until today. Today, me Andrew and Alex dropped some clothes off at the Nampa Lighthouse Mission and filled out applications to volunteer. I have to say that it is good to have roommates who are interested in helping people. Not just the kind of “help” that leads to a work and witness trip every few years and a leaf-raking each fall, but the kind that actually desires to better the lives of other people. That’s what I’m after, at least.

I’m actually not sure if I feel passionately about working at the Lighthouse Mission or not, but it is something that will push me out of my normal routine. Also, I hope that I can make this a habit so that when I get out into the real world, I will still have the desire to help others. I can’t imagine a life devoted to myself. It seems so pointless.

I have not yet found that thing that I feel intensely passionate about. It’s not working, not learning, not going to church or reading the Bible, not having fun or hanging with friends, not love (not like I’ve experienced it or anything), not music, not family, and not doing nothing. Maybe passion is learned; hmmm…interesting concept. Who really knows? All I know is that I want to develop some good habits and I hope that it will start at the Lighthouse Mission.