The Power of Fear

Well, unfortunately today could be judged a successful day for terrorism. Out of fear of a bombing alone, look how many people died in the bridge accident today. The terrorists didn't even have to lift a finger. *sigh* Wonder how long till all this is over.

As for the signing bonus, that's the word we're getting from the Army as far as how the taxation works.

Rachel, of course I remember you, silly! And I AM glad to hear from you. I'd been wondering how you'd been doing lately. I don't think I have your e-mail addy, but, I'm asking around so, expect a message from me if you don't e-mail me first! :-)

Anyhow, time to eat, work out, and then pass out! TeddY2K out!

(that was far too many "outs")

Mixed Blessings

Well, the abundance of free time that I've had lately and that some of you have noted and speculated on should now be over. I had a great wake-up at 4:30 this morning so I could ride with another guy over to the airport to pick someone up. Fortunately, we didn't go out today then, so I was able to take a 4 hour nap. I'll probably not be on AIM quite as much now for those of you who enjoy talking to me on there, as I'll need to start getting back to bed earlier, and that's always so hard when the conversations are rockin' on IM.

In good news, the second half of my signing bonus came in, so I netted a cool $3k. I should probably also get a bit more when I file my tax return, as the bonus should actually be more like $4k, but, taxes were taken out of it as its from a bonus I signed for state-side (any bonuses you sign for over here at tax-free, just like the pay here).

Well, I need to go study a little bit, and then rack out. TeddY2K out!

I'm a Dancing Fool

Well, I got up the courage last night to bust out my DDR pad in one of the TV rooms where there was space. Much to my surprise, I recieved no active ridicule, and my squad leader actually acknowledged familiarity with the game (some guy back at the base he's from apparently played it every night and lost a bunch of weight), although he declined to play. I'll probably bust it out again tonight, as I really need to do more cardio work, and I just don't feel like running in the heat. Maybe in another couple weeks or so I'll take the running back up.

I have uploaded a few more pics to the Random Stuff folder on my Yahoo! Photos account from varying dates and occasions. If you're wondering why I'm holding a light saber but am obviously not dressed like a Jedi in two of them, it's becuase it was Halloween, and I was at U of I with Matt (who was dressed as a Jedi) and some of the guys, and we decided to go over to the engineering quad and duel. I was attempting to dress as Kid Rock, by the way.

That's currently about it from here. TeddY2K out!

My Kingdom for a Beer

Not that I have a kingdom.. but I could go for a beer. Especially knowing that I missed all that sweet Irish Stout at Irish Fest by being over here! I meant to post last night, but my legs were abominably sore from doing lunges in the weight room, so I wasn't even motivated enough to check my e-mail. The soreness did lead me to learn however that "Biofreeze," a topical muscle pain-reliever similar to Bengay or Icy-Hot, absorbs much more easily through the skin on the backs of one's legs than it does through say, the chest and arms. This lead to several minutes of tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep.

Today was fairly uneventful... although we did get to do a major cleaning of the palace for approximately 2 1/2 hours as per the Sergeant Major's orders.

I continue making my school plans, etc. for when I get home, and I'm not sure right now what program or degree I want to pursue. Mom says the FBI needs scientists, so, perhaps I should look into that. In other plans, it looks like I already have a date for New Years (providing she's still single when I get home). From using Facebook I've been talking lately to a cute girl from Knox named Megan that I used to hang out with at band practice.

Well, off to shower and then sleep! TeddY2K out!

Brief Update and a pic...

Uploaded a few more pics to Yahoo! Photos tonight: a few more Army ones, and a couple from "back in the day," such as the blast from the past on the right here, taken during winter break of the 2000-2001 school year. That's a bottle of Voodoo Rain "Brain Brew" if anyone is wondering.

Still heating up during the day pretty good, but the mornings are getting cooler. Not sure what they are numbers wise, but they feel a lot nicer!

Rog is about done with Marine boot, and apparently can be seen in the video of platoon 3101 here. He's gotta be one tough cookie by now. I haven't watched the video yet myself, as the 15MB d/l size is a bit too much for our satellite feed. I mean, I could get it if I wanted to wait at least an hour, but, I'd rather not.

Off to mix some Kool-Aid now... TeddY2K out!

Mmmm, big screen....

So, having had a couple of easy days, I took the trouble of lugging my x-box into one of the "day rooms" here in the palace that have big screen TVs in them (there are 2). This was totally worth it, as it was condusive to playing Halo 2 in co-op mode, which I did for most of this afternoon and evening with my team leader. Now I just need to get other people playing.. :-)

Other than that, not too much new going on, besides Justin changing the name/appearance of his blog. Long time readers may notice this change in the links section to the right. Justin will be moving his European adventures from teaching English to outrageous French children, to studying historical preservation in Germany. Mmmm, Oktoberfest.... Have a good time buddy!

TeddY2K out!

Who IS the G-man?

So, having today off as well, I decided to sit down and beat Half-Life 2: the sweet looking PC game that is the sequel to the orignal Half-Life, which I believe was "game of the year" according to umpteen gaming magazines and web-sites in 2000. Its graphics engine is really good, allowing stellar graphics on the relatively low-range mobile-graphics card in my laptop. Anyhow, beat it I did! However, as with many books,movies, or games, I had more questions at the end about the story line than when I began! Looking online for answers has led me to only mediocre results, and I still don't know who the mysterious "g-man" who appears throughout the two games is or works for. This of course, will undoubtedly lead me to purchase and play any and all sequels/expansions that are created. I have realized what it is that drives me most in my interest in books, movies, and games; I'm a story junkie. I'm driven more by wanting to find out what happens and why as opposed to say, geting the highest level, or obtaining the most gold, or beating a game on every difficulty setting. Heck, I have even read the books that go along with Magic the Gathering and Halo to get the story line! Oh well.. I am resigned to my fate, and have declared "gaming" as my official hobby. Fortunately, this is more socially acceptable than it was in the 80's!

Today I also bought the movie "Sin City," based on the graphic novel series by comic book legend, Frank Miller. It's supposed to be pretty good, and has such big names in it as Bruce Willis and Ellijah Wood. I'm pretty sure my movie collection has doubled since I've been over here; I'm running out of room on the little entertainment center I purchased. I think I'll have to move my movies (I already moved the X-box games) to a CD/DVD binder and just mail home the cases.

Other than that, not too much to report. Weather staying hot at approximately 117 daily; looking forward to October... TeddY2K out!

Day 2 of the New Empire

Joy of all joys, I got today off; which means I can continue my reign of terror in the blogging world unabated! As you can see, somehow the uploading function for pics to here now appears to be in working order. This is a pic of me a few days ago during a most heinous dust storm. I'm still at the palace, which is why I'm just wearing a hat and no goggles; I put those on for the mission of course.

Due to various reasons, it looks like I may not get my promotion to sergeant until I get back to the states and slots open up as people get out of Guard. We will be doing an active Army type promotion board in late September as an attempt to get some of us promoted, but there is no guarantee state will budge. I am considering Officer School as another option in order to get promoted.

It looks like they have an upgrade planned for the SAPI (Small Arms Protective Insert) plates in our Interceptor Body Armor. Wonder how long till those get fielded? I also wonder if they'll ever switch to using Dragon-Skin body armor. It's more expensive, but I'm sure if mass produced for military, that would drive individual cost down. I also wonder how long till Shear Thickening Fluid gets fielded, and whether or not they can combine that with Dragon-Skin... Of course, I'll probably be out of the military by the time they get the full Land Warrior program with full-head helmets with heads up displays and color changing camoflauge into action.

In bizarre news, apparently something in the juice from the bloodroot flower causes tissue death.. and to think I used to put that stuff on my face and hands! Although, I'm sure it's probably so dilute in nature as to not cause any real effects.

That's it from here for now... back to uploadin' pics! TeddY2K out!

Here I Go Again

Well folks, I'm trying to get back into the action... well, the Blog action that is. I still haven't even gotten into action in the first place over here; which is fine by me! As for this blog, it has a few features that are new to me, although a "links" section appears to be lacking; maybe I'll find it eventually. If I'm displeased with this service however, I can always go to another. There is much competition these days between blogging services and other online services like dating services and even those things where you just keep track of all your friends like myspace.com or classmates.com, and some even offer a combination of blogging/friend-tracking/dating assistance. How's a guy to choose?!?!? I have been hearing bad rumors about soldiers blogs getting shut down for varying reasons, hopefully all of which I'll manage to avoid. It's not like I'm leaking classified information...

In any event, not too much of import has really happened lately, although it is starting to cool down a bit. It is no longer 120+ on a daily basis. We're now suffering (or even moderately enjoying!) temps of more around 115! Car bombings and IED's seem to generally be down around here lately, and from reports it appears the Iraqi constitution may actually be done ahead! of schedule.

In addition to re-joining the Blog community, I am attempting to use Yahoo! photos to put some pics online, however, when using satellite internet upload speeds are abysmal, so, I'm not sure I'll be able to pull it off, as it currently appears to be stalled while attempting to upload a mere 3 photos.

I will now finish with a request to you all to spread the word of my new page to those you know (or suspect!) try to keep up with me over here, as well as anyone else you think might be interested. I don't think my Blog is quite book-signing material (although some guys sent over here have pulled it off), but, call me selfish, I do like to have a decent following and good comments sections... :-)

TeddY2K, out!
(oh... I got the pics to upload, and figured out the links thing... I tried to put a pic on here, but to here it says it is uploaded, but then doesn't show the pic in the post anyways.... will continue to experiment...)