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.