Pirates In The Chow Hall

Probably thought I would talk about the gig, but that would be too easy, wouldn't it? Keep 'em guessing I always say. Thing is there's just so much more to talk about...like...uhm...ah...that is to say...
I was gonna talk about something but, I think I have to wait wouldn't want to start a blog war. I was being very serious and sincere when I mentioned that other blog. I really do think it is great and thought that some of you out there in wherever you are land might like it, I read it every chance I get, as a matter of fact it is open right now. That and the Liverpool v Fulham game, which maybe I should be paying more attention to being as Fulham just scored to bring it 1 to 2. But I won't give up on Rafa and his Reds yet (or ever) there is still alot of time left and Liverpool are the better team. I don't want this to be some weird Twitter BS, you know where I tell you that I am doing nothing and then nobody ever reads again.
But it Halloween and the Number One costume so far seems to be "A Civilian" accept with those (did I mention there were too many) civilians, I saw some crap you never ever expect to see while at "War"...(wait for it)...(wait for it)...Pirates in the chow hall. I know right, need I say more? At first I had to a double take at the lady with pink hair, but then enter the Pirates...
End of today's blog, there just isn't anymore to say. Sorry I don't have pictures, you can't take them in the chow hall (I don't know that I could have taken and/or posted them anyway...it was just so wrong.)
Here's a pr
eview of maybe tomorrow's blog though...
Cheers,
g

Oh, Its "Those Guys"

Yep, look out, lock your doors, and stay away from the windows...live from Camp Liberty, it's Those Guys! Yeah what else were we going to call ourselves, it just kinda stuck (like the mud here, a story for another blog, coz "its only just begun") but what are you going to do about it? You might ask, or not (but I reckon I'm gonna tell you) seems like someone thought there was going to be a talent show at the Halloween Party, well turns out there wasn't but we went sorta balls to the wall and "burned the candle at both ends, and the middle" to try and get ready for it. Yep no time off and doing band practice at 2000 to whenever usually later that 2200-2330 or so. Still getting up, still working all day, and taking people who had only played a few times together and a couple that had never played together and slamming it all in PTs or ACUs and sometimes going without dinner (yeah RipIts, another story for another time, let me put it this way you know how Monsters, and RockStars come in those big ass cans? well RipIts are less than half that size and pack just as much, if not more caffeine...ah the Soldier's best friend) working it all out to try and put at least one song together for this talent show.
Well, the talent show wasn't a reality, but we decided to play at the compound...last Saturday night. Figured what the Hell, five days is plenty of time. We figured we'd kinda let the crowd decide which of the five songs we were learning we'd play at the Talent Show, Dave (the Manager/roadie/groupie) even invited the MWR guy, so even if there wasn't a talent show maybe we could get a gig somewhere down the line (I sure am glad someone believed in us the whole time, coz I pretty sure at one time or another we all doubted the Hell out of ourselves.)
So this is us in the Sentinel Chapel, sometime between eight o'clock pm and midnight practicing way. It was work, fun, sweaty, humourous, painful, and whatever else you might imagine. Oh yeah that and I broke a string every night every night (some people say I play like I'm angry, I just like to think of it as passionate.) More on the actual gig later, with maybe even a supriseMr. PAO can ever get to work. (just kidding Ken)
Cheers,
g

A Good Day

What is a good day here?
That, I guess is the real question. But I think that everyday equals a different answer, whatever it takes to keep going I guess. Somedays you just get slammed, last week we had one of those "Murphy Days" you know "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong" days it felt like all we could do was keep treading water. (You know every time I talk to one of the guys or whoever about treading water I think of the episode of Magnum P.I. where that is all he does is tread water waiting to be rescued, anyway you either know what I'm talking about or you don't...{more on that later maybe, remind me sometime}) and "Somedays that's the best you can do" but today despite all the crap that flew our way we actually made some head way (crazy, I know.)
I just want to say that I owe it all to the guys. I couldn't be surrounded by a better bunch of Soldiers (how unlike last time is that) and I just want to say thanks.
Arne told me I was deep, or that I must be because he often got lost in my writing. I said, "but I always thought I wrote a lot like I spoke"...d'oh! He also told me he was inspired and got a little deep too, so check out his foray into the world of bloggin at...

http://eastlund.tumblr.com/

Hopefully our competing blog sites don't cancel each other out. By the way good job buddy it does take a village, sometimes I just wish we could all see that and maybe act more like a village.

I know your probably wondering what the Hell is with the picture, I know it doesn't fit with the theme, but it did take me a lot of time to do so I thought I would throw it in. That's me and Jennifer in front of the Rocky statue in Philadelphia. Corny yes but who the Hell cares?
Cheers,
g

Block Party

You've really got to make the most of your time here, finding the good somewhere in the bad. So that is where "Block Party" comes in. As you can see from the picture, we go all out around here. This from a Sunday Night, that's us drinking fake beer and watching NFL, first game comes on at 8 o'clock 'round here. And it really is the nicest time of year right now (it actually cools off some in the evenings) 'course it was probably still in the 90's when this picture was taken.
I don't understand why people would want to be cooped up in their rooms right now, soon it will be too rainy and miserable and then the next thing you know it will be too damn hot. So we take the time to sit around and pull electronics out into the dirty dust and sit on lawn chairs and the bench that someone made that we inherited (were thinking of adding a roof for the rainy season, won't be have football or movie night {yeah we did that too, we watched "The Hangover"}) and we all sit together and unwind. I could go into detail about fake beer, but that seems like a blog for "and the children come out to play" another day.
Now being who we are we also take the time and effort to get other to stop being hermits and join us by yelling, "Block Party!" everytime we even think that someone might be coming by. Sometimes they stop, sometimes they just laugh and keep walking, but it never gets our spirits down.
Like I said you've got to make the most of what you've got.
Cheer,
g

MTS: Missing Time Syndrome

The name says it all really, and it's not just me...Here we go let me try and explain. I guess that people who are "abducted" by aliens or whatever, they usually can't account for some amount of time. You know they get "back" and look at the clock and say, "What the heck last thing I remember it was three o'clock."
"Why does the clock on the wall now say it's five-thirty," they say. "I know it was three because Oprah was on and I wanted to kill myself, now it's five-thirty and my rear end hurts."
Or whatever, you get the idea. And that is what they call Missing Time Syndrome, and I'm not talking about "Got so drunk I blacked out" time. That is another blog for another day (or not.)
Well that's what it felt like hitting boots on ground here again. Like I fell asleep or whatever and dreamed all the things that have happened during the past 3-4 years of my life. And were not talking about little stuff here, you know getting back, getting married all that stuff all the days and hours just melted away and it was like I'd never left. Weird right (understatement) but I've talked to a lot of people who are returning, whether it is to this particular place or somewhere else in the country...that all feel the Missing Time Syndrome. It smells the same, it looks the same. The heat is the same, the "dirt/sand/?" (another blog for another day as well) everything seems just the same. I wish I had better words for it but...
Suffice it to say that at least my rear end doesn't hurt (no anal probing or other experimentation, mash potato sculptures, or revelations...just weirdness.
I thought I might have a picture that would sum it all up (but if you've seen one picture you've seen them all, they don't always speak a thousand words, sometimes its just one or two or three {sometimes it's just a grunt or sigh}) but I've got nothing. Guess I'll have to try and train my eye to see something here that doesn't look like a thousand other pictures (or what you see when you close your eyes, you know like when you stub your toe or whatever and are jumping around in circles, swearing...with your eyes closed so tight that it goes from darkness to a light that I can't explain...but you know.)
I'll try though.
Cheers,
g

Trust Me It Isn't Snow

Here is why pictures of Kuwait generally don't turn out well. Sure if this was winter in Vermont or whatever it might be a cool effect, but the fact that it is dust and not snow really puts a damper on the happy thoughts.
But hey this is a picture of night so it was better than the day where we found that we were the only ones walking around. Seriously it was like a ghost town (on the moon) everyone with any sense at all was safely hiding in their rooms, or tents, or wherever that was not outside. But there we were walking all the way across Post, and you know what I really can't remember what we were doing or why we were doing it.
That's life though "Walking on the Moon" or so I've always thought of Kuwait, but maybe Mercury or Venus are a more apropos (fancy word there smart guy) since it is generally hotter than...can I say Hell with out the blog police "the blog police are inside of my head" (from apropos to Cheap Trick, really?) coming down on me like a ton of bytes (now with the computer humor, Really?)?
Gotta check on the Liverpool Vs. Sunderland match, still haven't found a place or way to watch the match, but the year is young(oh that's real helpful try and think about how long the year is going to be, way to go Bummer-Man) right?
Cheers,
g

What Am I Trying To Say

"What are we working for," for that matter? Maybe I am just tired... wouldn't that be a shock?Toninght wasn't a bad night though (the day I guess that is just too hard to quantify, but in the end it wasn't horrible) we (well some of us) do the best we can to make it alright. "Some days that is the best you can do." I can't figure out why people want to hide in their rooms and whatever. More on what we do to make things not suck so much, I should really have pictures for that. Hopefully tomorrow, if I can just remember that damn camera.
Cheers,
g

My Dumb Side

Okay,
So it seems that I have forgotten how to think...I thought I would put up some pictures and stuff and brought my camera and usb cable, and then sat down and realized that my camera doesn't do that sort of thing.
So pictures are put off again until tomorrow but then again no one knows to read this yet so...I will remember to do so tomorrow and try and put out that email thing so that people can read and look at pictures and whatever else you are supposed to do on this thing.
When I was looking at my pictures I realized that I didn't have any (on the camera) of Ft. Dix, and maybe that is okay. Best left forgotten. I think that when people ask me, "Where did you mob out of?" I will just say, "I don't remember" or "I choose not to" (go Bartlby go) but eventually you will see some if only just for comparision.
Becasue in all actuality the same can probably be said for Kuwait too. After all it says it right in the name.
So sorry nothing fancy this time around but by the time anyone reads this or whatever, you probably won't even notice. And on that note I bid thee goodnight, coz it is night here.

Cheers,
G

Here is...just what you've been waiting for...

Welcome,

Not really gonna get much further than that right now, keep looking to the skies..."Aim for stars, and hit the sky"...for much, much more. But as time is pressing and I really don't have a lot to say or any pictures to post I just wanted you all to know that I am fine and will do better with the communication...eventually.
Cheers,
G