june:
04th
IRIS' b-day
10th
RATHROMONY's b-day
14th
flag day
23rd
ALANA's b-day
25th
MARGARET's b-day
26th
REUBEN's b-day
27th
hiv testing day
30th
NORMI's b-day
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SUNDAY 29TH JUNE 2003
11:55-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
Once again I'm at the shop way, way past my bed time. Today was quite a day indeed. I finished the remainder of the physical pieces in the shop, all torque wrenches. So, in two (02) days I put out over eighty (80) pieces single handedly. I worked from 9:00 to the end of the day, with only as much time as it took to woof down a McArabia and two (02) big macs as lunch for a break. I'm finishing paperwork for the equipment now. I want to have it all completed by tomorrow morning. All I'll have to do is put fresh calibration labels on the wrenches when work begins tomorrow morning at 5:30.
SGT Newby is doing PT tomorrow and has decided to have us all go to the gym. He figured the best time to go would be around noon time. So, work is at 5:30 to about 10:00, then we'll go to the gym and do PT then at 1:00 we will all return to the shop and work. It will prove to be very interesting I'm sure. I'll not get any sleep as I want to finish this paperwork. I went to the room and now I'm back in a freshly ironed uniform prepared to have today flow into tomorrow as a result of me not going to sleep. I have no doubt I'll have to get right to sleep tomorrow after work. But such is my life right now and right here. I never really was too fond of sleeping anyway.
MARCO nava popped in today. MARCO and I again talked about our goal: To get back to Camp Humphreys together as Sergeants. Again, it is a long shot but we have not received a "no" yet so we are talking about it as if it will happen. And hey, who knows right? Right. It is a shame MARCO didn't stay a bit longer. He just missed PFC Lee making a fool of himself. Each time I see MARCO, I explain to him that Lee and Forgy are not exactly the cream of the crop when it comes to Soldiers. And it is not just because they are new at the game of calibration. What did MARCO miss? Lee not knowing how to calibrate a piece he had supposedly calibrated, labeled, and put in PC for SGT Kosby to return to a customer.
In the field of calibration we have these checks called "end items". The technician will pull a piece they have calibrated and go through the procedures and steps while being watched by a "grader" of sorts. It is no big deal. Basically what is being tested is a technicians ability to follow protocol dealing with properly doing the paperwork and filling out a label to put on the piece to signify the piece is calibrated and good until a certain date. It is not a check on whether or not a technician is able to calibrate an item. This is so because the technician is pulling a piece they have already calibrated and have already labeled as good. Well, SGT Newby discovered Lee had no idea what he was doing and became pretty upset. And of course Lee defended himself and then went to SSG Weber. But hey, he was busted, what was there to say? "SSG Weber, SGT Newby was stern with me because I lied about having calibrated a piece and in reality didn't know what I was doing." Hmm? ... I'd have been stern too. It does not make any sense. It is too easy to simply ask for help. I do it all the time. I'm no genius when it comes to electronics. When I do not understand something, I sit and think about it, try this and that out, read more, read even more, then if all else fails I'll ask SGT Newby. And nine (09) out of ten (10) times he will know the answer or he will collaborate with me and we will eventually figure something out. I'm too young to have kids. ... especially a twenty-five (25) year old and a twenty-three (23) year old. One (01) more month and then I'm back to Fort Drum. Then I'll not have to be involved with them so directly. That will be nice. And it is almost July, ... around thirty (30) days now. Wow!
Boy, I wonder what drama and surprises tomorrow will bring.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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FRIDAY 27TH JUNE 2003
8:02-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
Yes, I have been here all day long. PFC Lee showed up a few hours ago. He didn't know I was in here so he left, only to return a few minutes later to ask me how long I planned to stay here. I told him most likely a few hours more. He left. I haven't been to the shop to see if SGT Newby finally showed up. I figure I'll ask him to go to the shop tomorrow afternoon so that I may work. I have to follow the whole two (02) man rule and all since SSG Weber put it into official effect a month or so ago. Of course a few days ago SGT Kosby mentioned SSG Weber may give me a set of keys to PC and the shop so that I'd be the person who signed out the keys to Forgy or Lee if they came asking for them. I could find myself in the shop working at my leisure if I had keys. I worked some of my own hours at Camp Humphreys when I had keys to the shop. We shall see.
I finally talked more than a few seconds to STEPHANIE. She was online after class. She's doing okay. I kind of caught her up on what I was up to and my plans for the next few months. She was of course supportive and encouraging. STEPHANIE is always so nice and she just a good friend. Ha, and she's not the only STEPHANIE that is near and dear to me. Maybe there's something about that name. No matter how you spell it. (Some people spell it very differently; "Ahem, you know who you are. But I still love ya'.") She is doing well and working hard. I'm proud of you STEPHANIE, you have come a very long way.
REUBEN is online and I'm talking to him. He gave me a run down of what he has been doing and into since our Med High graduation back in May of 2000. He is doing very well for himself indeed. I told him I was doing okay and that I was in a pretty good place in my life to make some key moves towards improving myself and my life in the future. He's working hard and a lot of good things are coming his way as a result of his honest hard work and his loyalty to self and his beliefs. That's really cool and I can tell he is proud of all he has accomplished.
I do not talk to my high school friends much at all and I certainly do not carry on the close friendships I'd like to be carrying on with a good many of them. But when I do hear from them or get to chat for a brief while it is really nice. It reminds me that I had friends all around me who cared then and who, even though they aren't around me, still do care. And sure, they are busy with their lives and meeting new people and trying new things, but the few times I "bump" into them via instant message or get a response to an email, ... well, it is just really, really nice. I hope it happens more frequently in the months and years to come and in fact I hope I can really bump into them from time to time and we can have a heart to heart and a face to face. That would be extremely nice. Indeed.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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THURSDAY 26TH JUNE 2003
5:11-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
Listening - "REBORN"-REBECCA st. james Transform
I've been at the shop now for about five (05) hours. I was actually able to accomplish some Sociology work when I first arrived here. SGT Newby was supposed to show up at the shop (a couple doors down) at 3:00 but I have walked over there twice and peeked through the crack in the door. It was dark inside both times. I was looking forward to getting some work accomplished in the shop. The list of everything we have in shop and the number of days it is been in shop doesn't please me at the moment. About 80% of it is easy stuffage. So I'm planning to get in there and calibrate several pieces of equipment once SGT Newby shows up. I can probably put out close to seventy (70) pieces all by myself if I'm able to get into the shop today and tomorrow. That will improve our weekly numbers. And I enjoy working with very few people in the shop. And I especially like working with Lee and Forgy absent from the shop. The shop is quiet and peaceful. SGT Newby and I do not talk much at all, we just work. I like that. I like to get work accomplished and not talk all day long. I'm not much of a talker anyway. So when he arrives I'll leave the PC (Production Control) room and make my way over to the shop to get into some work.
STEPHANIE just left me (disconnected with AIM) to head to her class. It seems all she does is go to school and work. And she is doing it all the time with the exception of some nights when she and her friends stay up and watch movies. I can identify with that. Well, not the "and friends" part, but I like to stay up and watch movies, or just stay up in general. Sure, the days are often packed with work and all but I like to have the night to myself and stay up and chat on the internet or write or something like that. Some mornings I'm dead tired but still, I think it is worth the peace I get from being up with the moon. There's just something about being up at night. Eh, go figure.
I suppose I'll finish my Sociology and keep going to see if SGT Newby has arrived. Sooner or later I'm going to become too hungry to sit here and I'll have to make the trek across post to seek out food.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SATURDAY 21ST JUNE 2003
5:33-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
"Prone To Wonder"
CHRIS rice
On the surface not a ripple
Undercurrent wages war
Quiet in the sanctuary
Sin is crouching at my door
How can I be so prone to wander
So prone to leave you
So prone to die
And how can you be so full of mercy
You race to meet me and bring me back to life
I wake to find my soul in fragments
Given to a thousand loves
But only One will have no rival
Hangs to heal me, spills his blood
How can I be so prone to wander
So prone to leave you
So prone to die
And how can you be so full of mercy
You race to meet me and bring me back to life
Curse-reversing day of JESUS
When You finally seize my soul
Freedom from myself will be
The sweetest rest I've ever known
How can I be so prone to wander
So prone to leave you
So prone to die
And how can you be so full of mercy
You race to meet me and bring me back to life
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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THURSDAY 19TH JUNE 2003
8:20-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
I spent the remainder of my day here in the room, mostly laid out with my eyes closed in a very deep slumber. I'm giving my uniforms a starch bath so I suppose that is something productive I have begun for the day. Oh, I watched Daddy Day Care about four hours ago. Now if watching movies isn't productive I don't know what is. So okay, I have not done anything productive all day. I figure I deserve a day full of nothing. I'm in a good place right now: work in the shop is under control, the vehicles are being checked on a regular basis now, I finished my Sociology mid-term examination and a paper. And I have a course in Children's Literature and a course called Language in Social Contexts to look forward to on the first of September. So yes, I'm deserving of a day to just be lazy.
SGT Kosby walked in with a couple of bags of Oreo Double Stuff cookies so I'll add the consumption of a good number of cookies to my lazy day before it ends. The PX had not had the cookies for about a month so it will be a nice reunion with the chocolate cookies filled with cream. No big deal, my body watches my weight for me. I do not need to regulate it by eating specific foods. Fortunately, I may eat whatever I want. So one (01) cookie or an entire bag, I do not feel a difference. Well, maybe only a slight tummy ache. Lucky me, I love food.
I am really looking forward to leaving. I'm not really excited about being back in upstate New York, at Fort Drum, during the next few winter months but it is time to get back to the United States and well, I'm getting a bit tired of having to deal with these two (02) privates in such close proximity. All I have to do is travel back to Fort Drum with them and then, once we arrive, I'll be able to get my things, get my room up again and have my room to escape too without ever having to deal with them in the same manner again. Apparently there are approximately twenty (20) Soldiers assigned at Fort Drum. We gained a few new Soldiers since I left in early February. And of course come August SHAMAL, Parrett, and Lambert will return along with SSG McManus. I have spoken to SHAMAL a few times over the phone here. It has been great to hear a familiar voice. It grounded me. We are planning to get to Red Lobster very soon after he returns a month or so after I do.
We are losing two (02) about the time I return. Their days in the Army will have come to an end. And CINDY parrett is heading to Hawaii to be with BRANDON, her husband. That will lighten the team's load a bit. I do not much like the idea of a large team. And if all goes well, MARCO nava and I'll both be heading back to Camp Humphreys come April or so. I have been emailing SFC Eiler, who taught me at Redstone in AIT and who I met again a few weeks before I left Korea. He is one (01) of the team chiefs over there. I asked him what he thought about me making inquiries regarding MARCO and I getting back to Camp Humphreys. He said it would not be a sure thing but it was worth us trying. So, I'm going to try. It would never happen if I didn't. Who knows, I could get the surprise of my life by being able to work with MARCO again where, for us, it all started.
But right now I have about a month more here. I have to finish things and get back to the States before I'll be able to leave again for any destination overseas. And this fall season will prove very busy for me indeed. With a promotion board hopefully coming my way this fall once I get back and two (02) more eArmyU courses beginning in September. One (01) is a sure thing and the other I'm still waiting for confirmation as to whether I have a seat or not. And of course a slot for PLDC may open up that I'd be eligible for too. But I'll go in depth about my plans between now and the start of next year soon. Right now it is definitely time for an Oreo or two (02), or four (04), or more.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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WEDNESDAY 18TH JUNE 2003
11:55-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
I just arrived here at the shop. SGT Kosby just left so I have some privacy and internet access. I have to log onto the eArmyU website and check out my course status. Since I finished a paper and my mid term examination I have some "time off" so to speak since the next week's assignment is not due for another six (06) days or so.
But I have to print check out the remainder of my assignment since I'm going to have to finish the course out in advance due to my leaving. I do not want any gaps in my ability to complete all of my work. It looks like I'll have two (02) papers to do and three (03) or four (04) discussions to contribute to via the class forum. So I'm handling things in that regard well. I still don't know what my grade is, somehow I can not figure out how to view it. I'm not too worried though. I'm confident I did well on my mid term examination and the reports I have written for the course are pretty solid. It has been challenging working on the course while at the same time doing my job and handling the Army aspect of what I do day in and day out. But as I stated before, I'm handling things well.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SUNDAY 15TH JUNE 2003
9:33-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
I just finished my Sociology paper. Earlier today SSG Weber took me to Federal Express to mail off my mid-term examination when we went on the mail run this morning. So I should be good until week eight (08) begins in eight (08) days. I need to do the assignment however and also work from week twelve (12) back so I do not miss any assignment due to my traveling back to Fort Drum, New York. I do not anticipate any long lags but I want to be on the safe side.
PFC Lee turned twenty-three (23) today. SSG Weber and I brought pizza back to the shop after the mail room. We had done the same thing on PFC Forgy's birthday. It was perfect timing since I was hungry all morning due to eating cake for dinner last night. So I stuffed my face with pizza and quickly became satisfied and rather tired. SHERMAN and I watched the guys play basketball during lunch. it is a pretty regular thing now. Lee thought he could hit anything from anywhere since it was his birthday. He can shoot though, I'll give him that. SGT Newby slept during lunch. I think he was pretty exhausted from his late night last night. I didn't see if he was still around when I left the shop at midnight. He wanted help with his marketing homework. I could not do much to help him at all. I don't know a thing about marketing and well, I had other things on my mind, like my own coursework. I wrote some notes out for him though.
I slipped away and popped on AIM. QUENNIE was online. For the past few days it is become a habit of mine to head to the shop at night and stay there into the next morning to talk via AIM. QUENNIE is usually online. I enjoy talking to her. Last night though she needed a nap so I talked to her sister MISSY. I had never met her face to face, but I do remember talking to her once or twice online. She's a sweetheart. She was going through some tough stuffage so I was trying to give her some words of comfort. I hope I helped a little bit.
SGT Newby and SGT Kosby were pretty angry at the end of the day. SGT Newby told us to quickly sweep and mop the shop floor. When he showed up after his meeting with SSG Weber (the daily "end of day meeting") he saw that I was the only person mopping. He wasn't pleased. PFC Forgy did sweep but when SGT Newby arrived they (Lee and Forgy) were both just standing around doing their own thing. I'm in big time opposition of the higher enlisted doing things like mopping and such when lower enlisted personnel are just doing nothing. I believe in equality of course but at the same time the military is not a democracy. In my mind it is not right to stand by while a higher enlisted person does a job a lower enlisted person is perfectly capable of doing. But hey, you can not force people to think that way, politely like that. I refused to give SGT Newby the mop when he asked for it. It just does not seem right to me. What are lower enlisted personnel supposed to do? The details. It is the way it is. But hey, I do not have enough rank to make any changes. I'll in a few months though. And I'm hoping that by this time next year I'll be making those changes alongside MARCO nava, my friend, in Korea, again at Camp Humphreys.
I have fourteen (14) days to study for and take a Humanities CLEP test. I think I'll read a little bit of the study guide each day after work and take the test the last day I'm able. I need to visit the education center and sign up for the very last date possible. I figure it is worth a shot. A good enough score could get me some college credit with Thomas Edison but if nothing else it will earn me some promotion points so I'll have more going into the promotion board. I hope to go in September or October. It is a tough test, but I'll see what I'm able to pull off.
Wow, I have my homework finished and I'm here in my room at 2150. That's a change. PT tomorrow morning. And our Quality Assurance (QA) inspection begins tomorrow. I wonder if I'll have to calibrate something while being assessed by SSG Weber. That is always fun. Ha! I hope he will take it easy on us. I have been under a lot of stress with my class and midterm and shop responsibilities. And I know SGT Newby has been under the gun with his studies. PFC Lee and PFC Forgy really are not picking up enough slack but they are working so that is a good thing. I should not complain. I need to pick up the pace again and get a lot of equipment out of the shop.
SGT Newby is working hard to take care of two (02) tough classes and the Privates are being their regular selves. it is up to me to again show that I can and do make a huge impact. I need to do some overtime so to speak and tighten things up around the shop. I think I'm off to a good start by getting my homework finished tonight. I have less to worry about so I'll be able to put a serious dent in the amount of equipment we have in the shop. Most of it is easy stuffage, it has just been sitting around too long and it is not being taken care of with much efficiency. So hey, I have to step up. I'm used to it. And besides, I do not have much more time here, so I have to go out with a bang.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SATURDAY 14TH JUNE 2003
10:25-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
Listening - "YOU'RE MY GOD"-JACI velasquez Unspoken
The Holy Bible
New International Version
Then JESUS said:
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.
Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet GOD feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
If that is how GOD clothes the grass in the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.
But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
Sell your possessions and give to the poor.
Provide purses for yourself that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
LUKE 12:22-29 & 31-34
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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THURSDAY 12TH JUNE 2003
9:30-AM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
I'm fresh from the shower. I have shaved and brushed my teeth and I'm all prepared to take on a day that will prove to be just packed. In about a half hour I'll finish getting dressed and head over to the mail room to collect the unit is mail.
Okay, I'm back. It's a quarter to 1:00 now. Okay, so I had a couple more errands to run besides going to pick up the mail. No mail by the way. So, after I left the mail room I headed over to the food court to try to get some Kuwaiti Dinar out of the ATM. There was a line at the machine. I watched as some people walked away with Kuwaiti Dinar (KD) and some people walked away after their card had been refused. I reasoned there was no United States dollars in the machine and that the ATM was being picky about taking certain debit and credit cards. It didn't take my card. Plan B was to go to the Post Exchange (PX) and cash a check for USD$200.00, then go to the finance office and exchange the US dollars for KD.
Since the cashier's cage at the PX wasn't open yet I had to wait about fifteen (15) minutes or so. When I did finally get to the cage the man behind the bars told me the "system" was down and he would only be able to cash a USD$100.00 check. So I stepped aside, let the person behind me take care of his business, quickly wrote out another check for USD$200.00 less, and slipped back in line after the man who was behind me left. I had about USD$80.00 in my wallet but that would not equal KD70.00. I could only think of one (01) other way to get more cash before I headed over to the cashier's cage at finance to get my US dollars exchanged for KD, I had to purchase something with my debit card and get USD$50.00 cash back. So I grabbed two (02) jars of orange tang and stepped into line. The wait would be at the least a half hour.
About forty-five (45) minutes later I headed to the finance department with my cash. I didn't quite have enough to get KD70.00 so I asked the Soldier behind the bars if I could cash a check to cover the rest.
"Yes, that's what we do here," He said.
So I guess I could have just went to the finance cashier cage from the get go. Oh well. But hey, I walked out of there with KD70.00. Now why do I need KD70.00 (approximately USD$240.00)? Well, what can I say, I'm preparing to slip back into my role as an EBayer once I get back to Fort Drum in upstate New York. I made a lot of money back in January before I came here and I was looking to purchase merchandise over here to ship back and auction off. I didn't realize we would be confined to the post. I have a civilian connection here that is going to hook me up with some nice merchandise I'll be able to buy for about USD$3.00. And I'm rather certain I can sell it for approximately USD$15.00 to USD$20.00 apiece.I'll be looking at paying around USD$240.00 for them. So selling it all for USD$15.00 apiece. So I'll make USD$12.00 on each of the items. Fifteen (15) times eighty (80) means I'll take in about USD$1,200.00 if I sell it all; that is a profit of USD$1000.00. That is a "best case" scenario estimate of course.
And I'm 85% sure I can unload these items. They just look as though they are worth USD$20.00 easily. My only concern now is going to be boxing them up and shipping them to Fort Drum. I trust shipping will not cost too much. Eh, I doubt it, maybe USD$70.00 or so. Maybe I'll let you in on my auction once it is posted on EBay. Maybe you would like to purchase said merchandise. Of course you would probably hesitate knowing I'd be making so much profit! Ha!
When I came back to the room SGT Kosby said SGT Newby came by looking for me. I have no doubt he wants me to check out the case study he is to do and give him some input on it. There is no way I'll write it all for him or anything like that. But sure, I suppose I'll give him my two (02) cents. And in a little while I have to track down SSG Weber so he can proctor my Sociology mid-term examination. So yes, I have a lot of work to do. And I need to write a paper as this weeks assignment. So on with the day and on with the work that I have to fill the hours with.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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WEDNESDAY 11TH JUNE 2003
10:50-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
Short day today. From the start things in the shop weren't exactly comfortable. The members of the Fort Carson team had spent the night and were there in the morning. I do not have a problem with anyone on the team I just do not like a lot of people in a shop moving around me. Maybe it is because I do not exactly have a very social personality. I'm not too excited about heading back to Fort Drum and working alongside more than a few people. Apparently there are twenty (20) persons assigned as calibrators are Fort Drum. Three (03) are here in Kuwait, three (03) are deployed in Afghanistan. While we were away three (03) others came back from a deployment and around four (04) or five (05) new Soldiers arrived. And in the two (02) months after I get back we will lose three (03). So, we will still have a good amount of people. But hey, I suppose I'll manage dealing with all of the faces and personalities; after all, a few of them I like.
I finally received my eArmyU laptop in the mail. I didn't plug it in. I just opened it up and checked it out a little bit. Then I put it back in it is box and taped it all up. Well, I didn't tape it all up. Boxes are to be left open so they may be inspected at the post office. Yes, I'm mailing it right back to Fort Drum. It will be the fourth box I have mailed back to upstate New York ahead of me. I gave instructions to have my mail held until I returned and not to forward the packages I mail from here to Fort Drum. I'll have at the least two (02) more boxes to pack and mail off. I trust all my stuffage arrives in the same condition it was in when I boxed it all up.
The shop's quality assurance inspection begins this week. SSG Weber will be in the shop looking around. I'm not sure how thorough he will be but an inspection is an inspection so we have to prepare as if it is any other official inspection. And I have a Sociology mid term examination to complete. I'll probably take it tomorrow. SSG Weber will be my proctor. I studied. I'm pretty sure I'll do okay. And of course I have t paper to write for that course this weekend too. And SGT Newby wants me to help him with a case study he has for a marketing course he is taking. And since PFC Lee heard SGT Newby ask me for assistance he figured he would ask me to write a paper on suicide for his composition course. I'm known in 95th Maintenance as a rather smart cookie who has a talent for writing. Shucks, if I can get what I have to finish accomplished I'll help them both out. I'm not going to write an entire paper for Lee but I did help him revise a previous paper so I don't see the harm in helping him revise another one (01); yes, he'll be doing the writing, I'll just look at the rough draft.
I guess it is to bed with me now. I have a rather busy day tomorrow.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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TUESDAY 10TH JUNE 2003
1:52-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
The novelty of this deployment has worn off. It is hot, the temperature outside reaches well into the hundreds each and every day. One hundred and twelve (112) means it is "cooling off". I know about the time I'll be heading back now. This week we should be making flight arrangements at travel. I really want to leave.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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MONDAY 09TH JUNE 2003
10:43-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
I saw MARCO nava and JESUS santiago today. They are out of Iraq. They are due to get back to Fort Stewart with more of the Third infantry Division within a month or so. MARCO and JESUS and I talked about the times we had in Korea. It was great. MARCO and I want to go back in fact. I do not want to be at Fort Drum and MARCO does not want to be at Fort Stewart. The plan is to get the points we need and make the next rank so we can go back to Camp Humphreys in Korea as Sergeants. Now we aren't sure if it is going to work but we figure it is worth a shot. And I have time left. I'm contracted until March of 2006. I'd not mind at all going back to Korea from maybe March 2004 to March of 2005. The I'll come up on orders to go back to the states. From there I'd put in for Fort Hood so as to get back to Texas. If I could not get Fort Hood I'd most likely put in for another six (06) months in Korea. So when I get back to Fort Drum I'm going to write emails and make connections and ask if two (02) Sergeants may be needed at Camp Humphreys in Korea. The plan is to get there together. MARCO nava and TED A. Mueller. Sergeants. That would be sweet. We'd be back in our old stomping grounds where we both were introduced to the "regular Army" from training. It'd be nice if it all works out.
So they are both here in Kuwait. They are not staying here with me but further north. They will probably return to the states before I do. But that is good. They went into Iraq with the Third Infantry Division so they have been there a long, long time. I was worried about them. it is nice to know two (02) of the small handful of people I met in the Army whom I call friends are safe and are going home.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SUNDAY 08TH JUNE 2003
12:13-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
Lunch. Here I'm in the shop after a morning of the usual stuffage. But yesterday wasn't a day of usual stuffage. Well, okay, it was a day of usual stuffage. A few things did happen though. I ran a lap with SGT Newby instead of walking it as we were instructed to do by SSG Weber. He didn't like it too much. I didn't think it was a big deal but SSG Weber insisted we were in the wrong for not following directions. I knew I was told to walk the first lap as a warm up. I didn't see the harm in running though. If we had walked a lap we were to run I could understand a bit more where he was coming from. No biggie though. I think SSG Weber has relaxed about it. And well, it is just water off my back now.
Anyway, that was the petty stupid stuffage that gets in the way of our mission some of the time. The mail run was great today. I can write with a pen again. I was having to make due writing with Pilot G2 07 pens with blue ink. Yesterday my pens from PenCity.com arrived: A box of Pilot G2 07 pens with black in k in them along with a box of black ink cartridges. Not only did I receive the pens I had been waiting a couple of weeks to get but the first two (02) seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street arrived too. The first episode of Homicide aired on the last day of January of nineteen ninety-three (1993). I watched it last night for probably the fiftieth time. I used to record reruns of the show from television when they ran on Court Television or the Arts & Entertainment channel. I had a lot of them recorded. They weren't in order of course. Now they are being put out in order by NBC and A&E. That is a good thing indeed!
I watched four (04) more episodes before going to sleep. The show, genius. I remembered why I loved it. I still love it. I haven't watched the entire four (04) disc set but I'm already craving the seasons after these first two (02). So much changes but the good stuffage stays the same. You may not appreciate what I'm talking about. You may have never seen it before. But watch it, maybe you'll appreciate it too. I know my brother has this set and I know that if REUBEN's seen the set is out, he's probably scooped it up too.
And well, my new shoes. Wonderful. it is like I'm walking on bubbles or air or something. I walked to the PX to buy some drinks last night. They're great. They have all kinds of vents and mesh and neat stuffage like that. Adidas. I purchased them on the internet on Eastbay.com. Yes, my first purchase of footwear via the internet. I wear a ten (10) and one (01) half size shoe as far as Adidas running shoes are concerned. And to think I was cramming my foot into a nine (09) and one (01) half for months and months. The shoe are great.So I suppose mail was the highlight of my day. I put down about seven (07) pieces of equipment today too. I'm pretty sure I was the only one (01) of us four (04) to put equipment down. That's cool I suppose. Yes, that's cool. Well, it is time to get back to work for today.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SATURDAY 07TH JUNE 2003
10:15-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
Saturday. We all know what that means:
"My Heart Is Set On You"
Point of Grace
My heart is set on You
Oh, my heart is set on You
No other love will do
Oh, my heart is set on You
I am placing my life safely
In Your keeping
Knowing Your love is here to stay
I am holding on to You no matter
what I'm feeling
Ever always
My heart is set on You
Oh, my heart is set on You
No other love will do
Oh, my heart is set on You
When I'm alone, I know You're
There beside me
Feeding me on for all my days
Whenever I go I know Your hand
will guide me
Ever always
Nothing else will do Your love is better
My heart's set on You forever and ever
Nothing else will do cause our love is better
My heart's set on You forever and ever
My heart is set on You
Oh, my heart is set on You
No other love will do
Oh, my heart is set on You
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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WEDNESDAY 04TH JUNE 2003
8:55-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
How about now?
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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TUESDAY 03RD JUNE 2003
10:37-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
Is it time to leave Kuwait yet?!
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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MONDAY 02ND JUNE 2003
4:32-AM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
It's almost time to get back to the other side of post for PT. What am I doing though? I'm talking on the phone with REBEKAH. We have been talking for quite some time now. I was never really a phone person but it's nice to be able to hear a familiar voice this far away. I've been overseas the better part of two (02) years now. I don't exactly run into my friends on the streets or in the mall. There are no "fancy-seeing-you-here" meetings. So to actually be able to hear a friend's voice is a real treat. Needless to say I'm not too thrilled about hanging the phone up and walking across post to change clothes and make it to the area we assemble in for PT at 5:30. No, I'd much rather sit here and talk with my friend.
I phoned CHRIS a while ago. We had a chance to catch up too. So far things with his girlfriend are going very well. I don't talk to him as much as I'd like to. The distance isn't really a factor since electronic mail and just good ole fashion ink and paper letters can be written and mailed off.
I've been here, awake, all night long. I almost finished my paper too. I realized about a half hour ago that I have time to finish it tomorrow morning considering my time zone is ahead of the United States' eastern time zone. Of course, that would be the case, me being able to finish and turn it in tomorrow morning when I have stayed up late working at it. But hey, I talked to two (02) dear friends; it wasn't a waste of time. But now it's time to make the trek across post for PT. And afterwards the work day will begin at 9:00. Now I just have to hang up with REBEKAH. Ha, wouldn't you know, she does not like to hang up first either. I guess after about ten (10) minutes more we'll have to institute the "on three (03) hang up" rule. Anyway, I can sign off here right now. Good morning.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SUNDAY 01ST JUNE 2003
11:37-PM-(UTC/GMT +3 Hours)
Listening - "I'M ALIVE"-JACI velasquez Unspoken
Well, it is late and I'm still here at the shop. I have work to do. Sociology. I'd have begun my paper a few hours ago but SGT Newby and PFC Forgy kept me talking for about three (03) hours or so. We had a lot of laughs though so it was time well spent. Well, maybe not time well spent but we had a lot of laughs. But anyway, on to my paper.
It should not take very long but the longer I put it off, the longer it will take to finish. That's rather obvious. Then why haven't I begun my paper? Why have I sat here for an hour not working on my paper? Hm, very interesting questions. I can write down what I'll do in the next few hours right now, and I can write with much confidence that in the next couple of hours I'll not work on my paper for even a minute. Here's what I'll do. I'll finish this entry, maybe work on another section of the site, access the internet, talk to whomever logs on, talk to them as long as possible, disconnect, make a few phone calls, and then about four (04) hours later I'll tiredly pound the keyboard until I have a three (03) page paper finished for my class.
I really need to break cycles like that. I can predict the fact I'll procrastinate. There's something wrong with doing that and actually following through with it as if it is "the plan". I need to motivate myself to do things, to follow thru, and to not put things off. Learning how to do these things will improve my life immensely. So okay, it is time to work on my paper.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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