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I am currently using my mom's laptop from the balcony of the Manhattan Beach apartment she rented for the weekend overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It's cold here but at least it's sunny. It is grossly humid and storming in Florida all weekend and I'm glad I'm not there. I really miss California, but I sometimes wonder if you have to go live somewhere else before you can truly appreciate it here. I find this to be a recurring theme in my life.
Made a friend in first class yesterday. Not to be a snob, but first class is where I will actually talk to people on the plane. I usually just put my headphones on and tune out. He was a really rich dude and we had a lot in common and I think I made a good impression. He gave me his card and if I wasn't already committed for the next two years I wonder if he would've offered me a job.
Marathon on Monday morning! Watch for me on TV! I will be wearing all black. Think I might go get a massage Tuesday or maybe when I get back to Florida.
- Location:Manhattan Beach, CA
This year I actually participated in Mustache March at work. My mustache goes beyond the corners of my mouth and is therefore out of regs, but that's kind of the point:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_
Mustache March is about the only Air Force tradition that does NOT involve alcohol. I finally got rid of it today because I felt so damn creepy with it and also because I'm going on leave tomorrow and won't be back until after the competition is over (this coming Saturday).
It's sad that I won't even be able to compete after all this hard work. I definitely would've won the "thinnest" or "creepiest" category.
I barely even recognize myself without it.
I'm discovering lots of new stuff and buying albums from iTunes. My favorite station to listen to in the background while I'm cleaning dishes, doing laundry, or reading is my surf rock station. I am impressed with the music they have.
I am sick for St. Patty's day. Yesterday I thought I had the flu because I had a fever and body aches. I was up to 101.8 at one point. My bed was so soaked with sweat it was disgusting. It was the first sick day I've ever taken. Today I didn't feel much better but the fever was down to 99.0 so I went in to work around 10 and toughed it out.
I really wanted to go out for a single pint of Guinness tonight at my favorite little pub down the road here but I don't think I'm going to. I don't think it would kill me, I just think that if I was feeling bad enough to come in at 10 today and be miserable around everybody, I probably don't want to be caught at the bar.
Small wonder that I got sick, though. I think I've been overdoing it lately. Last week I probably worked 36 hours by Tuesday, then I ran a 9 miler Wednesday only to follow it up with some late night spring breaking with my buddy that same night. And then I was out until about 3 Friday night/Saturday morning spring breaking again. I should've known better.
Next week I am on vacation. Should be restful as I am going down to south Florida with my aunt and cousin and his family. They have a little kid and my aunt is in her late 50s so I don't foresee any late nights then. I plan on taking a lot of naps and getting some sun.
MOSCOW (AFP) – Russian media has been poking fun at US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she gave her Russian counterpart a "reset" button with an ironic misspelling.I kinda miss Condoleeza Rice.
Clinton's gift to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at their meeting in Geneva on Friday evening was meant to underscore the Obama administration's readiness to "to press the reset button" in ties with Moscow.
But instead of the Russian word for "reset" (perezagruzka) it featured a slightly different word meaning "overload" or "overcharged" (peregruzka).
Daily newspaper Kommersant put a prominent picture of the fake red button on its front page and declared: "Sergei Lavrov and Hillary Clinton pushed the wrong button."
Oh and I hear they are making a Where the Wild Things Are movie. I can't wait to see that and Quentin Tarantino's WWII film.
I have five movies at home this weekend. Netflix randomly decided to bump me up to the four-at-a-time service at no extra cost, and my friend Cole let me borrow Forgetting Sarah Marshall. All of these are tempting me to not go outside today, as it is perfect weather, but it's probably not enough to keep me off the beach. See ya.
Topic: Random stop-and-search procedures are necessary to preserve safety in modern urban neighborhoods.
Time limit: 45 minutes.
( I was dreading getting into the practice writing section but this one was kinda fun. )
A lot of people dip at my workplace. That's where I started. And my old friend Eric has been an on-and-off dipper since before I knew him. So when he came to visit me this summer I learned to enjoy it.
And then one day Rachel and I were about to go meet up with some of my friends for a canoeing trip, and she went into a gas station to use the restroom. She walked out with a tin for me as an apology for something. I don't know why she did that, as she definitely hated when I did it around her. I tried not to do that around her, but I would get edgy if I went a day without one.
I found it definitely relaxing, and also a good way to kind of sharpen the mind for 10 minutes. I would usually come home from work every day and "throw one in," but I also would have one at work during high-stress situations like our live fire missions.
I know one guy at work who I've probably seen more with a dip in his lip than without one. He also swallows his own spit when he has one, and that's something even I find gross.
Then I found myself turning into a genuine addict. One day I came home from work and threw one in and I sat there feeling depressed. That's when I knew it was time to quit, as there was nothing enjoyable about it. And every time I get to thinking about how having one would feel good, I just think about that day.
Addict, yes. Victim, no. I knew very well what I was getting into when I chose to try it. I still am wary of people who consider themselves victims of tobacco companies, and also those who speak of alcoholism as if it were a disease.
- Location:30.1476,-85.6574
Today I followed up with him and he said there is "no way" he will let me go, that I have proven myself "too valuable." That's bittersweet as it's both a compliment and a disappointment at the same time. I remember how worthless I felt here during my first few months. Time flies.
In other news, I am again disappointed today by the fact that my new iPod did not arrive when Amazon said it would. They are usually pretty good about that. I really got my hopes up high about coming home and having a new toy when I got home. But oh well. Life ≠ material possessions.
Other stuff from this week:
- I bought my first 20 shares of stock on Monday. I am really not hurting too bad at all in this economy. In addition to investing, I would also like to donate more to charity as I feel bad for all the people getting laid off.
- I also took the poopy cat to the vet on Monday and got him some anti-diarrhea medicine, antibiotics, and a second litter box per advice of the vet. He hates taking his medicine as I have to shove a syringe into his mouth but I somehow have fun doing that. Maybe it's me getting even for all the poop I had to clean up. Oh and the key word in that last sentence is had. One of those three things seems to be working.
- Tomorrow I am going to be a male escort. Err, I'm actually just going to be an escort/usher/gopher at the Wing's fancy awards dinner at Eglin AFB in my little blue tuxedo. I only volunteered for this billet because it was an excuse to wear it. I was forced to buy it (for $300) last year due to the fanciful decision of a capricious Colonel and have only had to wear it once last January to what turned out to be one of the weirdest nights of my entire life; I truly think that man was insane, and I'm not alone in my opinion. My buddy who is out of town left me with the keys to his BMW Z3 convertible so I will be cruising out there in style.
- I also finally committed myself to taking the GRE by signing up for one in April. I think having a set deadline for being done with my prep has been good for me in terms of getting serious about studying my vocab. I have been a real slacker about it. And after the GRE I will prep for and take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam and hope to get my professional engineering license in five years.
- Work has been slow this week so I've been PT'ing early in the morning. I usually PT after work but I think I like this much better. I feel great.
- Music:Eric Burdon & War: "Spill The Wine"
He also has especially runny poo, hence my suspicion that he is sick. I need to take him to the vet. I think the one on base lets you leave them there for the day while you work. I will look into that tomorrow. It would suck if I have to take a day of leave to take the damn cat to the vet.
In other news, I filed my taxes already. Took me about 20 minutes. I highly recommend using the TurboTax Freefile method if you qualify for it. I can't believe how quick and painless it is.
I am lazy and have not changed my residency to Florida, where there is no state income tax. So this year I paid something like $775 in California income tax. However, I managed to get it all back through Freefile, which found me a form for California residents in the military.
I always used to file by mail and get my return in May like a sucker.
Speaking of May, I am officially registered for the marathon. My buddy Nate might fly out there and run it with me. That would be cool.
MSNBC was running a marathon of their show "Lock Up" and I found it somehow fascinating. I watched just about every episode and I think it made me an advocate of prison reform. Maybe I'll even go so far as to side with the people who advocate rehab.
I think the way our punitive system works is fundamentally flawed. I think there are a lot of people who are in prison now for non-violent crimes like drug dealing and grand theft who get turned into violent people just because of their circumstances while in prison.
And more profoundly, I think if I were in prison for such a non-violent crime, I could see myself able to kill a random person and risk a longer sentence in order to simply stay alive. That seems to be the code in a lot of the prisons they featured, and I no longer wonder why our prisons are suddenly becoming more crowded.
Being an advocate of reform doesn't mean I have a suggestion for a solution, though. I just think we need to try something else. It's up to people who didn't study stuff like engineering in college to figure out, and I think I have more respect for those kinds of studies, despite my sense of elitism for going the technical/hard science route.
More selfishly, I hope we figure it out before I pay more taxes than I already do.
I named him Rev because he purrs so loud and so constantly it's as though he has a motor inside him.
The shaggy haired one is still unnamed.
May they always be so entertained by string.
Rev is a little attention whore but more neurotic than the other one. The other one is not quite as social but is a lot mellower.
Things are going well with them. They are well house broken and even though they are fascinated by the wires on my computer, they haven't destroyed anything yet. They keep each other entertained and roughhouse constantly, but they still wear themselves down and last night and tonight we were able to all have a quiet moment on the couch together.
I just adopted these two lolcats from the pound today! They are only two months old and very skittish, as I expected them to be for the first few days in their new home.
The original plan was just to get a single lolcat, but they showed me these two brothers in the same cage and I didn't have the heart to separate them. Also, I think it might be better for them socially for days when I work long hours, as they are destined to be indoor lolcats.
And when I go on business trips, I work with some civilians who don't go with us but are total animal lovers and already told me they'd help me out with that.
No names yet. Once they come out from hiding and I get to know their personalities, I'll name them and take/post more pictures!
- Location:Cove, Panama City, FL
- A Craftsman cordless drill and bit set. This will help because I can now utilize wall anchors.
- A Swiffer vacuum thingy that should come in handy with my all-hardwood new place.
- A half-pound gummi bear on a stick.
- A bunch of dimmer switches. I am crazy about mood lighting.
- Three nerdy t-shirts from Jinx.com.
- A serape blanket. For beach use. I asked for a large one so that there might be space for some future hunny to lay next to me.
- A Blue Ant earpiece for my cell phone. I AM BORG! Thing works pretty well. Really helped me tonight while shaking down the Washington Mutual people about the check they claim to have sent me in July that I still haven't received.
- The Hungry Scientist Handbook.
- No Reservations, The Nasty Bits, and Kitchen Confidential by Tony Bourdain.
- A new Nalgene water bottle to replace the one I left on the plane on the flight out.
- A 30-minute recipe cookbook.
- Some t-shirts from a surf shop in Orange County my uncle used to go to.
- $100 from my grandma.
- A Barnes & Noble gift card that I already used to buy American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Col. Bud Day. I recently tried to get myself off of non-fiction by picking up a copy of the complete short stories of Ernest Hemingway, but I now regret it completely as those stories suck. I liked A Farewell to Arms but that's about enough Hemingway for me for a while. Maybe Hemingway doesn't suck--it could just be that I am a non-fiction guy by nature.
- A bottle of 12-year Jameson. Aged to perfection.
- A bottle of fine tequila from a gift exchange at Eric's girlfriend's family.
- Music:See previous entry.
A few months ago this town got a Jack FM clone station and it really helps both at work and while driving, especially for those of us who've had our iPods stolen. The radio here definitely sucked before that.
- Music:L.A. Jack FM on internet radio
I also actually had a good time on New Year's Eve, too. Some buddies and I went to a club and there were pretty girls but none wanted anything to do with me. Then this other girl asked me to dance and we did for a couple of hours and because I didn't want to be bored or be one of those people that stands on the side and watches other people dance. Her friends were better looking and I got them to dance with my friends immediately so that turned out well too. I was a great wingman.
What's funny is that she had a bunch of stuff in her bra that she said was bugging her, so I told her I would hold it in my pockets. One of the items was an active duty US Army ID card, and it said "SGT" on it so I told her us officers aren't supposed to pal around too close with enlisted, and that is my excuse for not answering her phone calls.
So that was the second NYE where I had fun, and the last one, curiously, was last year.
But anyway, Christmas was awesome. So was Las Vegas, even though I had my pants pulled down by the casinos. It actually snowed on us while we were there.
Snow at an In-N-Out Burger! Now I've seen it all. I ate there three times during my week in Vegas because I miss Inny in FL.
Snow on Fremont Street! On the left is Stephanie. She's the one I had a work-crush on a while back, but I smartly let go of that because she's just a good friend and every other dude there likes her too. On the right is a guy we call Chalupa. He is the poster-boy for Air Force nerds, and he can be awkward as hell to interact with, but I love him nonetheless.
( The rest of my trip in photos. )
- Location:Cove, Panama City, FL
I was all set to run my 10 miles today but kinda lost my sense of urgency. I ran eight miles Friday evening.
I have adopted a new official strategy for bringing my time down on this marathon. I am simply going to stick to a 10 min/mile pace until mile 22 or so, at which point I will just run as fast as I can. Part of my problem in '07 was that I ran the first half way too fast (I think I did the first 15 miles in 1:50) and then hit the wall. It's all about pacing and now that I've already got one under my belt, the excitement that led me to running too fast last time should be manageable.
I haven't asked the waitress out yet. I may not even go to the Christmas party due to us postponing Wednesday's mission to tomorrow. I will probably even have to work Saturday and plan on staying up late Saturday night after work just to pack.
An additional lingering thought in the back of my mind was that if it went well with her, I won't be back in town for over two weeks to follow up, so this might be a bad time to try. But try I shall.
- Location:Cove, Panama City, FL
- Music:The Legendary Shack Shakers: "CB Song"
Keep in mind only a few of them are from movies that revolve around Christmas. The rest just happen to have Christmas scenes in them.
Try your luck. It's also not too late for recommendations. I have some good sources for screencaps at
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dj_capslock if you think anything else might be good on here.
A Christmas Story
2.
Castaway
3.
A Muppet Christmas Carol
( Comments are screened until I give the answers in a couple days. )
I am also in charge of the booze for the party this year. That's because I have been the squadron bar manager for the past six months, and also because I probably got drunker than anybody else at the party last year. But it was all in good fun, and I think the number of people who knew me by name tripled after last year's, which is good. I will probably tone it down this time.
And also,
Red-nosed Reindeer = Intolerable religious brainwash
I miss my friends and family dearly, but spending two whole days of leave just getting there and back isn't really worth it when you are going to spend another two days going there and back for Christmas. That amounts to two more days of leave spent not with family, just traveling. It's kind of a bad deal.
But I am taking about three more days of leave at Christmas this year compared to last year. I feel like I've kinda drifted from my dad's side of the family so I'll be in Orange County with them for a few days after Christmas.
Tonight I attempted to Christmas shop at the upscale mega franchise outdoor mall called Pier Park. It was a great failure. I bought one gift for my brother-in-law, then proceeded to spend another $100 on CDs (Soundtrack from A Charlie Brown Christmas, Bob Dylan's Highway 61, and Do or Die by Dropkick Murphys), books (Child of God by Cormac McCarthy, and the complete short stories of Ernest Hemingway), and running shoes. All for me.
I plan on spending Thanksgiving day brainstorming ideas for stuff to buy online since I am still somewhat unfamiliar with this area. Then Friday I might drive up to Columbus AFB, Mississippi, to visit some old friends and go with them to the Auburn v. Alabama football game. Never been to a college football game. Looking forward to it, though.
If that falls through I will probably split my time between some good PT and getting my ass back on track with the GRE studying.
- Music:Bob Dylan: "Ballad of a Thin Man"
My "apartment" is really just a third of an old house. A while ago, somebody walled off this place and turned it into three apartments. I think mine is the best of the three because it's on the side with the yard with the giant oak tree.
I love this yard and the big oak tree in it. I sat in this tree reading my book this weekend.
My little laundry room and kitchen.
"This is where the magic happens." I got the idea for the fake stained glass from Max. Note the baseball bat by the door. It's for protection from Bad Man until I get my 12-gauge.
There's a big window behind the curtain. Lots of natural light in this place during the day.
View from my desk.
My nerd mags. I subscribe to all of these.
I am right on the water. Took this one block away from my house.
It's nice to be settled in. Had some buddies over Friday night and we walked to a nice restaurant/bar and a pool hall downtown so it's a pretty awesome area, too. I'm so glad I didn't move into one of the overpriced cookie cutter places like everyone else.
- Location:Cove, Panama City, FL