Well in a flash of brilliance on Thursday night, I realized that I had the next 4 days off from work, and I could use that time wisely. I hopped onto every low price airfare site I knew of, and searched for tickets to Honolulu to see the g/f. I found one that was -reasonably- priced for being a short notice next day flight. After I ran the idea by her, the ticket was bought.

I realize now why last minute tickets are sometimes cheaper. They treat you like the bane of everyone's existence, and you WILL get a middle seat. That's a 6 hour flight, stuck between a fat old lady and an "I don't speak english very well" german chick whose face looked like it had a run in with a brick wall. Even with the poor seating and the hostile flight attendants, all my thoughts were close to "WOOOHOOOOO" the whole flight.

She picked me up when I landed, and we drove to our nice little townhouse. Our home. First impressions of the place were pretty good, I like it a lot. It will be very comfy living for the 3 of us *totally getting a puppy*. The next day we went shopping. We went to the NEX (Navy Exchange), but realized Costco would probably still be a better deal for starting out. Got the essentials like pots and pans, a microwave, all kinds of kitchen things really. Then we headed over to Walmart, which as it turns out, is a mere 4 miles from the house on a backroad. This is gonna be AWESOME, because traffic in Hawaii sucks all the time. I drove the whole time, so I could learn the area. Oh yeah, I took her out to a fancy Valentines Day breakfast at McDonalds, which we were too late for. So it turned into a fancy McDonalds lunch. After the shopping though, we decided to go downtown to a really nice Japanese Steakhouse, which was booked solid for the night. As luck would have it though, someone missed their reservation (guarantee they were stuck in traffic banging on the steering wheel) and we were seated almost immediately. Dinner was absolutely fantastic, I had Filet Mignon, scallops, lobster tail, and shrimp. Along will all the other tasty food you get there. She had the steak and lobster tail, because we are just that high class. Also met one of her friends there and got ice cream later on that night, so that was neat.

The next morning (yesterday), we drove out to the North Shore. Brought a couple of towels and other beachy things, and sprawled out for a few hours in the sand. It was really nice. I played in the water for a little bit, and earned a terrifying sunburn that I can feel pulsing even as I type this. Note to self: suncreen next time, retard. After the beach we did a little shopping up there, I got a sweet sweatshirt and hat. Then we went to a burger place that she has been telling me about for months now. Totally lived up to the hype, it was amazing. We split (she had like 3 bites) a HUGE bacon cheeseburger with avocado. I'm not talking like a slice, this was half of a freaking avocado. It was scrumtulescent though, so whatever. We headed home to shower and wash the beach off so we could go out. Went furniture shopping, and ended up getting a super comfy cal. king size bed, that will be delievered next weekend. Looked at couches and man-chairs too, but didn't find anything that really jumped out at us. Saw some that we liked, but if we can find it for a better price that's probably the way we'll go. Oh and we saw a ginormous 55" hdtv at costco that we're getting, but not till we have a way to get it home haha.

We went to dinner at a nice little pasta place, and headed home so I could pack up for my flight. I checked in online, and I will do this forever from now on if I can. I found out that I could use my miles to upgrade my seat to First class for the flight home, so I jumped on that opportunity. When I got to the airport, I got to check in, go through security, and board.... all in the 'special' line that was notably shorter. I slept the whole way back in my giant seat with tons of leg room, wincing every time I moved because of the burns. I don't think I'd have made it in coach.

Now I'm back, and here are a few countdowns for those following along:

Days left in the Army: 13
Days until the g/f flies out for vacation: 21
Days until I move to Hawai'i: 48

The lighter side

What do you do when you are in a town that flaunts it's rampant whoring and booze fueled entertainment, but you are in a loving relationship? Easy, you go to the mall.

I decided this morning that I wanted some video games to occupy me on the flight home from here, and there is only one place that I could go for that. The "SM". That stands for super-mall, as I'm sure you've already guessed. I went to the front desk to ask how long it would take to walk to the SM, and the girl behind the counter looked at me like I was a giraffe that got stuck in a tree. Bewildered and slightly amused. Apparently, I'm further from the mall than I thought. So instead of taking public transportation, I decided to hire a driver. It's kind of like getting a taxi, but nicer. I wait in the lobby for 10 relaxing minutes of feeling the breeze pass through, when a fairly new looking Lexus rolls up. Nice. 10 minutes into the drive, I realize that getting a driver was a good call. We get to the mall, and the driver gives me his cell phone number and tells me to text him when I want to go back to the hotel, so now I feel like James Bond or some shit.

I forgot what malls were like, and why I hate them. This time was different however, I decided to start my mall journey with some motherfucking cheeseburgers. Yes, good old McDonalds. It was tasty, so I was optimistic about my visit. Next I went in search of the video game stores, which -to my surprise- were all conveniently grouped together in one section. (Take notes, America.) It turns out only one of the stores had PSP games, and that store only had 4 to choose from. Luckily, two of those looked pretty awesome, so I bought them. After my quest was complete, I decided that I wasn't quite ready to go back just yet so I wandered aimlessly around. Walked by the movie theater, and quickly noted that I had no idea what any of the movies playing were. Some looked alright, but I still have no idea.

Then comes the awesome part of my mall visit. They had a big Bingo room (where a store would be, but a place to play bingo.) I figured I should give it a shot, because I was bored and tired of walking already. I played 4 games, and even won 1000 pesos (roughly $20) on the third game. I was pretty stoked, so I went in search of something to blow it on. I ended up getting a decent pair of Columbia sunglasses for a good price, they were 50% off. I called up Arther (my driver) and headed outside to wait for him. I am noticing that my tattoos make me very attractive to the gay community, because I keep getting hit on by guys. One guy last night told me I have nice eyes. That's cool man, but if you touch my weiner I will punch you right in the nose.

On the drive back, Arther mentioned that I am going to have a new President tomorrow, something that I had forgotten all about. Apparently the Filipino's are excited about Obama and his bucket of hope. They have been having massive layoffs over here too, which actually shocked me a little bit. I guess it really is a "global" crisis. At least gas prices went down, from what I hear.

Now its time for a short nap before I go lounge around all night. Maybe they'll have live music again tonight, that was pretty swell.

Remembering

4 years ago today, one of my friends...one of my brothers, was taken from me. His name is Jeremy Wright, and he was one of the finest human beings I have ever known. Never selfish, always friendly to everyone, he wouldn't blink twice at the opportunity to help someone.

He was killed when a roadside bomb detonated under his vehicle. The blast was so large that everyone else in the vehicle was ejected in the explosion. They all survived, all with permanent scars to remind them of the danger in this profession.

I'll never forget the disbelief, and then the extraordinary grief that I felt on the other side of the radio, trying to get them the hell out of there. I'd done a few missions and a lot of training with Jeremy, and I know full well that it could have just as easily been me.

So today, I'll pause a minute, and thank him for what he is, and what he stands for. Here's to you, Jeremy



Here's an article written about him in Running Times Magazine for those interested. He was truly a great man.
http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=4347

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New Year Update

Well it's 2009. A brand new year, full of possibilities. This is shaping up to be the most exciting year of my life so far. Here's a list of things that I'm looking forward to in the next 365 days:

- Leaving this craptastical island. I've hit the peak of my tolerance for blatant ass-baggery. I have two weeks left here, before I make the trip back to the magical land of McDonalds, Safeway, and loads of pizza. I hear gas prices have dropped, that's something else to look forward to.

- Moving on from this job. I don't get treated like I think I should, and the institution itself even refuses to promote me. Sure, that's partly on me... but the ratio is off. I have a grand total of 9 weeks left, of which I'll do maybe two weeks or actual work. Most people are nervous or scared when they don't have anything solid lined up for work, but I think going to school is gonna be perfect for me.

-A vacation. I'm in desperate need of one, so my friends and I (and hopefully the GF) are going to head up to the mountains of Canada and hit the slopes. It's looking like there will be a decent turnout, so I'm pretty happy about that.

- Going home to see the family for a week or so at the end of March. Haven't seen everyone in quite a while, so that should be nice.

- MOVING TO HAWAII. I'm more excited about this one than everything else combined. It's a dramatic move, sure... but my gut tells me that it's completely the right decision. Things are going extremely well with the girlfriend, and I can't wait to see how far we will go. I feel like I have found the perfect compliment to my life in her, and I am very hopeful. No one has ever just let me be me before, and it makes me happy. Really happy. [Everything from this point in my plans involves her, and that is a comfortable feeling.]

-Meeting the GF's parents sometime this summer. Her brother is getting married, so we are flying to California for all the hooplah. I think that I'll get along well with them, so I'm looking forward to meeting them.

- School starts this fall, really stoked about that. Electrical Engineering should be pretty simple (ha!).

- If everything falls into place the way it should, we should be flying her parents AND my parents to Hawaii for Thanksgiving. That should be interesting, and fun.

- If she can get a little bit of leave for Christmas I'm gonna drag her to Maryland so she can meet my family and friends, which will be nice too.

That's an entire year's worth of things to be completely excited about, along with all the little things that will happen in between. Needless to say, I am looking forward to 2009.

Last but not least, my New Year's Resolution: Continue to be pretty fucking awesome.