050628

Howdy,
I am finally done with my AT (annual training for those of you who are unfamiliar with military acronyms). I have one RIDT to do on Thursday and then I will be flying to Belgium on Sunday at 1100.
I haven’t bloged in nine days but not much happened here besides go to work, run, twiddle thumbs, have day ruined by some other idiot’s poor performance of duty, go home, do it all over again. Evan and I figured out that if we were allowed to shoot all the idiots, the Marine Corps would be dangerously under-strength.
I didn’t have any cool nightmares recently although mobsters were coming dangerously close to killing me the other night and I kept waking up. Part of me knew that I could change the outcome by giving myself a weapon but I didn’t seem to have enough control on the dream to do that. I think the setting – my grandpa’s vacation home – isn’t a place where I am likely to be packing and so my brain was refusing to bend that rule.
Mr. Bush will be giving a speech at Fort Bragg tonight in an attempt to shore up waning support for the war. Recent polls indicate that the American public may be regretting choices it made nine months ago. This does not indicate a moral awakening of my fellow citizens. This change in opinion is akin to switching team after half time because home team can’t win and you don’t want to be on the losing side. Call me cynical.
On unrelated business I went rock climbing today. I am getting quite comfortable with soloing although I need to add that no later than last week my tush got stuck halfway up a climb with no way of going down or up. I had just fed the rope through my reverso when I realized that the next move was going to require a better climber than me. I spent the next 15 minutes balancing on my left foot, trying to get some slack in the rope so that I could switch carabineers and rappel down. Hence my decision today, to rappel down when I was still ahead. I also attempted a couple bouldering problems. Rocky Butte is not a good spot for that. There are several large pointy rocks waiting to break your back under the overhang.
(whispers) “Slip. Your left hand isn’t going to hang on to that corner…”
(thoughts) “I can do it. I just need to get a little higher. Push on my feet. Ooooh shiiiiiit.”

050619

I had horrible nightmares last night, during the first part of which Bob was being chopped to pieces. More accurately his right leg had been chopped off with a tool akin to a light saber a while ago when, suddenly, his right arm was being chopped off too. (While driving his SUV with me as the passenger, nonetheless.) The plot line at this point is a bit confused. Sometime after that latest development I had to start running away from a mob of college kids. For those of you who have ever played football I was bear running. At some point during the chase I jumped from a cliff into a forest and landed into a tree. (A safe spot as I recall because the pursuers never looked up after they arrived in the forest, which wasn't down from a cliff anymore after I landed in the tree.) Then lo and behold Dwip was there with the hooded rabbit cult. Shortly afterwards the light (and my fear of being late for work) woke me up at 0522. I did turn around and went back to sleep for another 45 minutes. No dreams that I can recall.

050607

As our friend Dwip noted we are having some of the shittest weather in recent memory this spring. On another note, yet another car load of crap was taken to Mary Beth's house. She has been kind enough to let me store my stuff there for the summer so that I woulnd't have to pay rent. Less than a month before vacation.

050607

6 weeks after starting this blog I am finally deciding to share the address. I am moving out in a week. I still don't know what I am doing for AT since the Marine Corps seems to be incapable of planning anything more than a day in advance. Weather has been extremely shitty here. It's raining cats and dogs. Looking out of the laundry's window you would swear it's december. Brrrr.