Into March already. This makes me realize how important my so-called 'New Year's Resolution' actually is. Time escapes us so quickly.
The 'resolution' was to make a list of accomplishments I wanted to have for myself in the new year, so I did. On that list was the 'promise' that has made marked changes in who I am without a doubt already. I see things in my life that I thought I could never do or that I was 'afraid' of and I just do them. I don't complain or dwell on them (at least I try hard not to).
One of the things I have accomplished is running. Yes, the act of running. I wasn't afraid of running but more of how far can I run? I used to run a lot before I had the kids but never focused on how far but more on just doing enough to be healthy. Most people start slow and I did at first...and then, I just went for it. One day I went to the gym and just ran until I felt like I was pretty exhausted. That day I ran 3 miles without stopping. Then, I proceeded to run another mile and a half after a brief break. Then, I stayed with that sort of distance for a bit. Until one day, I ran with a group and managed 4.8 miles (with very brief breaks). That was unreal and I had so much fun. I hardly realized how cold and wet I was since it was snowing and slushy. Finally, Saturday March 6 came and I knew I was ready to run 4 miles...it was going to be my first race. I was not totally ready for the hills I would be enduring since most of the time, I run on a pretty flat track...BUT I did it. Once I did it, I knew I was hooked. I came home immediately and registered for the 10 mile Mountain Goat on May 2nd. I know that is quite a jump in mileage but my goal is to finish it and do the best that I can. Of course I will put pressure on myself regardless as I need to run, not walk.
The moral of the story is: life is flying by and everything you do needs to be worth it. Just going through life, no challenges...well, that just doesn't do it for me.
Chris is going through some of the toughest physical training known to the Army at the moment. We both are looking fear in the eye these days. I love that.
We are parents. I want my kids to look at obstacles in their lives and sorta shrug them off. Obstacles are just that...anyone can walk around them but walking through them, that is what living life is all about.
xo
Chris has been back from Afghanistan for about two months already. I honestly feel like I am still adjusting. However, the adjustment has little to do with Chris. It is all about me. I check in with myself often and I keep peeking in and thinking 'wow, i hope i am still OK in there'...'am i overwhelming Chris?', 'do the kids get enough of my attention now?'...sounds a little silly but you know, I realized this deployment brought a lot of change my way. Some of this happened almost overnight (like realizing i need to tackle things in life that take me out of my comfort zone) and some (like losing over 55lbs once I stopped eating instead of 'being') took a little while longer. The deployment allowed me to take a good hard look at myself and realize 'it's OK'...after all:
I love that I:
- like to read books about other people's lives rather than books about vampires.
- that I have weaknesses.
- have parenting skills that might seem a little 'out there'.
- am learning to take challenges in life that I never thought were possible and following them through.
- want to be a triathlete when I haven't swam in 10 years
- want to run marathons when I am still learning to run for 5 minutes at a steady pace without stopping.
- put myself first sometimes
- am different from everyone else.
- sing really loud in the car to Lady Gaga even though I am a total underground music junkie.
- can see the uniqueness in people to be the most attractive.
- can fall in love with my girlfriends when I see sides of them I never saw before. - am learning to compliment women instead of judging them.
- adore children more than adults most days
- have many many goals
- have a great marriage to a guy that tells me I am wonderful often and that I am very proud of.
- have TWO adorable kids that sometimes make me laugh so hard I cry but also make me so upset I cry.
- am always learning (school, books, people, etc)
- have friends and family I would fight for.
- have friends and family that would fight for me.
- have this outlet
This new year I created a vision board, I wear a promise ring to remind me of my goals, I started reading daily again, I have met incredible new people, I have rekindled a friendship that I felt might have been lost, I have found a training plan/way of eating that works for me, I went on an amazing date with my husband, realized I love being me. I love that I will change often and that I am unique.
More than anything: I love honesty. Not only between friends but also between me and myself.
xo.
Yes, we got lucky. Chris got home over a month early from this deployment. One week ago today we were welcoming him home and showing him 'our world'. Before going to pick him up from Ft Drum, I remember being so excited, but so nervous. I wanted to be sick. He had been away from us...our routine, and we almost just accepted him not being around. Him coming back home just overwhelmed me.
I was excited for the kids but then I kept thinking 'what if he has trouble adjusting?' 'what if i can't help him?' 'what if the kids have trouble adjusting?'...the 'what if's' were getting to me. I am so glad that once I got on post to pick him up, I saw good friends of ours (fellow Army whom had also returned early for one reason or another) and I just instantly...relaxed.
There is something to be said about the comraderie in the Army. I just adore my fellow Army wives and their husbands. I am so lucky to have such wonderful women to call if I need to and also how each of their husbands would literally take a bullet for mine.
The friendships we have acquired in the Army have been some of the most loyal. Again, something to be said about that, since nowadays loyalty amongst friends is few and far between.
So, Chris's first week was super busy, as one can imagine after being away for so long. We had a plethora of action items. Additionally, we got to spend a lot of time together. Colin tested his daddy quite a few times but after about a day or two, realized the 'nice guy' on the phone was left behind. Do not get me wrong, Colin adores Daddy as much as you can expect a 3.5 yr old to, but it is nice that I do not always have to be the tough cookie parent. Acting as mom and dad is so exhausting sometimes. Colin and Chris had a ton of time together and every outing or moment playing guitar or cars made both of their days.
Emma was a little more difficult to crack. She is pretty independent so it took Chris some time to realize that. She isn't as affectionate as Colin is (unless she feels like it). Emma finally warmed up to Chris maybe around Day 2. Then today, over a week after seeing him, she finally leaned in for a good night kiss. Love it.
Chris also got to try 9 new beers this week and ate red meat for about 6 of the days (more than once in any given day as well).
All in all, no real issues. He went to the mall on Saturday with no anxiety. I think he may be having some difficulties adjusting to driving (*wink* *wink*). I, on the other hand, have had to adjust. Goodness, falling in the toilet in the night is always a treat. Turning the water on for the shower and the cold water crashing down on me (he doesn't turn the shower knob off after a shower). 'Snot rockets' in the sink (no, he doesn't rinse them out)! He must have forgotten that you clean the lint trap out of the dryer...I was happy to have help with laundry so that didn't bug me so much. Although, getting used to his clothes all over the floor in the matter of 8 hrs of being home was a little tough...:)
Do not get me wrong, I feel very lucky for him to be home despite his male habits. I love cooking for him and I honestly don't think I had laughed so hard in months. So many hysterical moments. We have an awesome bond. Oh, and he was nice enough to help me recall half of the things above that I had to adjust to. ;)
So, here is to another great week. I hope my fellow Army friends will have all of their families back together for the holidays. Either way, I/We love you and you are all welcome in our home, anytime. I mean that.
Have an awesome week everyone. ;)
So, this will be my last post from this corner of the world. At least for this trip, anyways. Feels kinda weird that all of this is done. After a year, this becomes the reality and heading back to the real world is kinda scary. Hell, one of the guys I'm with here straight up said how scared he is to go home. I mean, a year is a LONG time. Long. And now you have to change your way of thinking, well your way of living actually. I've been cool with not showering for a weeks at a time, and I have a feeling Tammy won't like that. Sleeping on rock, hanging out in the freezing cold looking for bad guys, eating some of the worst food imaginable, and well, everything. That's all done. And now it's playing with kids and hanging out with Tammy. I've been waiting for this day for the last 12 months. It's kinda like High School. Let me explain; There's that one person you have this massive crush on. And then, after all school year, you guys are finally gonna go out on a date. And the date is tomorrow. Holy shit. Whattaya do? You had this night going through your head for the last year and now it's here. That's kinda what this is like. Can't sleep, can't do anything really. Just trying to not look at your watch and do anything that'll kill 10 minutes. But, I can't say it enough how excited I am about getting home. I've said it before, but just saying that I miss Tammy, Colin,and Emma just sells it short. it's so much more than that. These guys are my whole life and I miss them like MAD. And like I've said before, I've had to force myself to not think about them. I couldn't. Now, I'm gonna be home with them. It's awesome. Is there a word for something that's better than awesome? If there is, it's that word. Times 100.
Quick side note, when I was at Bagram, we had some Apache pilots in our tent. When we were chatting with them, we found out that they were the ones that had come to help us out a few times. It was awesome to be able to look at them at tell them thanks. And all Air Force F-15 pilots reading this, they didn't speak very kindly of you and your kind. I thought that was really funny. But I think it has more to do with Rules of Engagement than anything else. Still, it was very cool.
Oh, one more side note, when we went to get thanksgiving dinner last night, we were stopped before we went into the chow hall to be told that the Chief of Staff for the Air Force was in the there. As well as the Chief Master whatever the hell it is for the Air Force, meaning their highest ranking enlisted man. And the centcom commander and chief master whatever. I have no clue on Air Force rank. So, we walk in and they're standing there welcoming us to dinner. Weird. I have no idea what to call the enlisted chief guys and the general who runs the Air Force looks like he probably got beat up a lot in High School. So, I'm trying not laugh. Long story short, I though it was hysterical. So, Josh, there ya go.
So, this is it. Next one of these I write, I'll be home. Thanks for all the e-mails and letters through out the year. And on that note, I'm out.
C.
I apologize for little to no action from me on this blog.
I want to make sure I update everyone on what is going on with Chris at the moment.
He is currently on his way to Manus AFB and is scheduled to be at Ft Drum Saturday PM. The welcome home ceremony is supposed to be around 11PM on post.
After a lot of thought I have decided not to bring the kids with me for the ceremony. The kids (well, at least Colin) are not the happiest when you mess with their sleep. Therefore, my mom oh-so-graciously volunteered to come up from PA to watch the kids for us. Yay for moms. ;)
We are VERY excited for Chris's return home! I will write some more as I know more or if anything changes. Otherwise...it might be awhile again! :) xo
He makes me smile. Big amounts from ear to ear. His voice has made me swoon more than once. The mAn is a firecracker. T-minus 18 days and I get to tell him how gigantic he makes me feel inside. In person. He ought to know how silly he makes me get. He has no clue since I get to play 'super cool' over the phone and on instant messanger. Slick.
He also has no ideA how much Colin adores him. Colin prayed for him before dinner tonight. For his safety. He loves his Daddy. He says so atleast 10 times a day lately. It's sweet and heartbreAking all at once.
Anyway, my heart is with you chris and man oh man, I need the both of you back for goodness sake. Soon!
I.love.you.
-Tammy normally proof reads these for me, but I'm being a rebel and just typing away. We'll see what happens........-
So, last night as I was trying to fall asleep, I found myself thinking about home. Playing with Colin and cashing him around, hanging out with Emma, and just being with Tammy. But, I quickly realized, I was having a hard time pulling up memories. I know that sounds weird. But, because I miss Tammy, Colin , and Emma so much, I try not to think about them. If I do, everything sort of becomes too real. That I am this far away and that I have however much time left until I get home. I think I have been thinking that way for so long, that now it's difficult to remember certain things. Which sucks. Completely sucks. All of this is wrapping up for me. My time here will be over shortly. I have to start allowing my self to be a normal person again. I can acknowledge how much I really and truly miss my family. I know I say I miss them in every post. And I do. but, it's hard to explain how much I do. Tammy, Colin, and Emma are my whole life now. I love my family. It's funny how many people from way back when have found me on facebook and say they're amazed I'm a family guy now. But I am, and I love it. They really are my whole world. And just to say that I miss them kinda sells the whole thing short. That's why I try not to think about them too much. Makes all this harder and it's tough for me to shake off. And I know, I always say how hard this job is, and it is, and I know I chose it. When i say it, it's not for sympathy or for you guys to feel soooooo bad for Tammy and I that we're going through this. It's just a fact. Doing this, at times, kinda sucks. And last night, not being able to remember some things, really surprised me. I was amazed how much I had turned my self off from all of that. Hopefully, over the next few weeks, things will change and I can sort of start returning to normal. Which isn't easy either. I know I've said it before, but the real world can be quite scary when you haven't been in it for a while. I have to get ready for the sensory overload that's gonna be. I also have to get myself to be ready to be around my family again. It's gonna be kinda weird. You're gone for so long, and then poof! Your home. The moment you've been waiting for is finally here. But, after of having a year away and to think about stuff, your mind goes sorta squirrely, and you kinda get expectations or scenario's that just aren't possible. Gotta expect it. Gotta not have it bring me down. Last time I got home, Tammy and I had a weird time adjusting. Well, it was mostly me. And I didn't talk about it, and I really should have. Tammy is Partner in crime. I can tell her anything. But, I figured I could deal with it on my own and I couldn't it. I had a really tough time readjusting last time. but, I kept my mouth shut. I'm not gonna do that this time. I gotta make sure I tell her how I feel. And if any of you think this makes me a pussy, you go through this. Tammy will tell you, I normally keep a lot of shit inside. But, on this one, I gotta work it out with her. I know this time will be easier to readjust to the regular world. I'm looking forward to catching up with them, hanging out, having some naughty time with Tammy, real food, and some good beer. I don't know how many more of these I'm gonna write before I get home. I'll try to do a few more, but I can't promise it. To kind of wrap this up, I'll say thanks now for all the e-mails and packages I got over the year. it was very cool of you guys. And, don't take this personally, but I will probably not tell any of you that I'm home for the first few days. No offense, but I don't want to talk to you. I'll tell my folks. But, the rest of you can wait. OK, that's it for now. Laters.
*posted a few days late, sorry!*
Well, it's the end of the first week in October. Nice. Time is stillmoving quickly, but at the same time I find myself thinking more abouthome and how I want to get the hell out of this country. Which, inturn, kinda makes time slow down. I changed jobs this week, which isinteresting. I am now what's called a FOB Mayor. Which means any andeverything going on inside our camp is now my business. Which is ashectic as it sounds. Plus, our Operations SGT went on leave this week.So, I'm doing that too. I really, really busy. Like crazy busy.There's always something, some one, or a phone call I gotta take careof. I'm NOT used to it yet. So, I'm stressed out by it. In a few moredays, I should be fine. But right now, it really sucks. But, thestress has gotten me back in the gym. It's either that or throw a chairthrew a wall. And that probably wouldn't go over too well. But, thethought has crossed my mind. A couple of times. And just to make itworse, I wanna take a second and call out our replacements, the 173rdAirborne Brigade. Apparently, they are all boo boo lipped and butt hurt(one of my favorite Army sayings) over the fact they're having todeploy. Again. Like the rest of us. So, they drug their feet ongetting anything done or packed at their home station in Italy and havepushed our redeployment home by a few weeks. Thanks guys. You're all abunch of assholes. For my question this week, Tammy asked me for my version of her"commandments" post she did last week. My little twist is gonna be mydeployment commandments. The real world doesn't have too affect on meright now, so this seems to make more sense to me. So, hold on to yourhelmets! Here we go!-This job is really stressful over here. So, don't make it any worsethan it has to be. No one gets a break, so if you don't have to make itworse, don't. Not everyone gets that, but I do. I hate extra stress,so if I don't have to add any, I won't. -Yes, the locals are frustrating. I know that. But, treat them fairlyand with respect. It's the only way we're ever gonna leave thiscountry. The same goes for the ANP and ANA-All the people that sit behind desks on the bigger bases make stupidrules. And they're totally out of touch with what happens out here. Iknow if you didn't shave today that we haven't lost the war. But, theydon't see it that way. So, try to play along the best you can.-As for the people that sit behind desks, I have no problem treating theidiots like idiots. If you're stupid, I'm gonna let you know. I haveno time for it. If you're retarded, chances are I've told you. Becauseyes, I'm smarter than you and have a clue. Get over it.-Be nice with everyone until it's time to be violent. Then, fight likeit's end of the world. Remember what the evil guy in the Karate Kidsaid, No mercy. They'll kill you if they had the chance. Don't give itto them.So, that's really it. Everything else kinda falls into one of thoserules. I know it's not much, but most of the time, it's pretty cut anddry out here. Ok folks. I think that'll do it for this week. Not one of my longerposts, but oh well. Enjoy, and until next week..... Slan,Chris
I know it has been a long time since I have written. I think most of that has to do with how busy my brain is. I can not think of one thought long enough to post on this blog about it. I have so many thoughts coming and going.
I am so happy though and that is what is most important anyway. I have this life that went from one extreme to another. I think the reason I have been able to transform my emotions has a lot to do with how I have allowed myself to react. I have a lot more self-control and piece of mind in who I am.
The past few months have been me, the kids and the most amazing humans surrounding me. I have had nothing but positivity around me. Or perhaps everything is the same as it always has been but I am just more secure in myself.
Amber, you said it best the other day.;)
I have realized in the past months that perhaps the secret to happiness is:
1. take chances, 2. learn how to let go of the people and things that keep you down/ let you down and 3.keep those who never do as close to your heart as possible.
These have been my commandments and it has not failed me.
I am so lucky in love, and that never hurts either. :)
xo
Well, I'm doing this a bit late this week. It's the 30th of Sept when I write this. That's awesome by the way. Tomorrow is October. Damn, sounds good. Tomorrow I can say our replacements show up next month. That's gonna be awesome to say. Not as awesome as when they get here, but baby steps. The light at the end of the tunnel is there and we can start to see it, which is fantastic. In just about a month, we start sending the first guys back.
Ok, enough on that. I could keep talking and talking about heading home. Gotta cut myself off. This week was actually kinda boring. We did a few missions, but that was just to give the Jordanians the scenic tour of this area. We did one mission with ODA, which was pretty cool. Got a Black Hawk ride out of that one, which is always fun. But, that's pretty much it. The Jordanian missions were kinda boring, and obviously I can't talk about SF missions, so that's pretty much it.
So, for Tammy's question this week, she asked me about how we, the Soldiers/ feel about Obama. Well, honestly I am kind of out of it Politics wise, so anything he;s done in the States, I can't really say. But, out here, it's clear that he's trying to make up for this place being forgotten about, which it was. It's funny, all the guys who came this time who were recent Iraq vets couldn't believe how shitty it was here. I mean in Iraq they all had single or double rooms with TV and internet and what not. Then, they got here and it's tents. Still. 8 years later,we still live in tents. And not just out in the boonies where I am now. Even on the big bases, they still live in tents. Iraq got everything. From equipment, to parts to fix our vehicles, to ammo. Yes, Ammo. We've been kinda out here fending for ourselves. Last time, it was really bad. This time, it's better with getting stuff, but it still takes forever to get anything. The last administration really did the minimum out here. And it shows. I mean, I used to it. We're living about the same as last time, so this is no big deal. but, if you saw how things were in Iraq, you would be floored. But, since Obama came in office, the budget to build and fix things up went through the roof. Which is fantastic. We're seeing the start of it, but our replacements will be have it pretty good. It's just strange that for as long as we've been here, and so much of this feels like step 1. But, for the last 8 years, we've done what we could with what we had. Which isn't much. And yeah, things here have gotten worse. That would take way too long to explain why the T-ban is making a come back, but it's definitely happening. Up until we got extended last deployment, the whole eastern side of Afghanistan had 3500 troops. Baghdad had that many for one section of it. We had that many to basically cover an area the size of Oregon. Which is crazy. It just wasn't enough. But, since we left last time, they've upped the number of soldiers here by a few. Instead of one Brigade, there's now 4. Which is a big help. The two provinces we, as a BDE, cover now had a platoon in one last time and a compnay in the other. That's about 120 soldiers working an area that now has 3500. Crazy. But, that's how it was set up. Like I said we worked with what we had. As for how the Afghani's see it, that hasn't changed. It's hit or miss. And as I've said before, it's village by village. You can't really trust the locals or believe 90% of what they tell you. And that's the friendly ones. But, we'll keep sluggin away. This place has been the same for the last 2000 years. And they have no desire to change. Even the locals who hate the T-ban and want them gone still won't tell where they are or who they are. And they know. Every one has a family member who is T-ban. It's like that one weird family member you don't talk about and when they show up Thanksgiving is weird, but you still don't want anything to happen to them? That's how it is here with the T-ban. But, we'll keep slugging away at it. If Obama sends more troops, that's fine. They're needed if we're ever gonna get outta here. Plus, the Afghan Army and Police need to get better at what they do.
One last thing before I get outta here. SFC Jared Monti was awarded the Medal of Honor last week. He was killed when we were here last time. My friend, SSG Patrick Lybert was killed that day as well. if you didn't hear about it, here's the link:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Presentation-of-the-Medal-of-Honor-to-Sergeant-First-Class-Jared-C-Monti/
He is second MOH awarded to a soldier in the 10th Mountain. Ever, Take a minute and read about this guy. True hero and some one to admire.
Ok folks, until next time....
Slan,
Chris.
p.s.- (from tammy: the link is worth reading and got me all choked up)
Well, as I write this, it's like 3 AM on 22 Sept. So, I guess I'm a year older and wiser. Ok, older at least. This is the first birthday I've had in a long time where I'm not happy about getting older. How am I 32? When did that happen? I don't feel it or act it, so I got that going for me at least. Enough on that for now. But, we'll come back to it.
Ok, so, Ramadan is officially over. It ended on Sunday and now everyone around here is celebrating Eid. It's like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Arbor Day all rolled up into one. It's gonna last for a few more days, and then it's back to life as usual in scenic Afghanistan. But, September is wrapping up. Which is awesome. A few more days and it'll be October. I like how that sounds, man. October. This deployment is moving right along. Our replacements will start showing up in a few more weeks. We still have like 2 1/2 months to go or so, but at the rate we're moving it'll be here in no time. I mean, we've been out where we're at now for almost 4 months. Doesn't feel like it. The other big news of the week is now the Jordanian Army is out here with us. Which, honestly, kinda sucks. GEN Petraius basically promised them anything they want as long as they show up. So, our higher ups are doing some ass kissing on a galactic level, just to keep them happy. And they are too man. They are spoiled rotten. And, just to make it worse, the Afghani Army guys we have with us are pissed over the level of treatment they're getting and the fact that it's their own country and they don't get all of crap we're giving the JA from us. Try explaining that one. But, in all fairness, the locals here love the Jordanians. I thought there would be issues since Arab's look down on tribal people. Plus, there's the Sh'ia/Sunni split. But, it's been pretty smooth so far. And since the general public will never know about our frustrations about having to kiss the ass of an army that doesn't hold a candle to us or deserve what we're giving them, GEN Petraius will look like a genius. Again. Since I don't know who all might stumble across this blog, I'm gonna hold the rest of my thoughts on all of this. Don't wanna get in trouble for bad mouthing some people.
Nothing really big on the horizon for us for this week. Just kind of the same old same old. We're starting to pack up now, which is cool. I even mailed my first package of stuff back home this week. That's always a good sign.
So, Tammy gave me kind of an easy question for this week. She asked about having a birthday when you're deployed and about some of the other birthdays I've had while I've "oot and aboot". Honestly, I normally don't make a stink about my birthday. Plus, after you turn 10, I just don't think the world should stop because of your birthday. Now, My first bunch after I joined the Army, I always somewhere; 20-flying to Kuwait. 21-National Training Center. 22-In the Field at FT. Carson. 25-Kosovo. 29-Afghanistan. And now, 32-Afghanistan. Again. My birthday when I was here last time sucked. A buddy of mine had gotten blown up by an RPG and I led the convoy out to get him. He's still alive, by the way. But, he lost a few fingers and uses a cane to get around. And the Medic chocked and didn't give him an IV or morphine. But, that's another story for another day. Now, my first birthday in the Army, when I turned 20, I thought was crap. I was sitting on an airfield followed by getting on a plane to go to Kuwait. But, I didn't know any better. That special days, in the big picture, don't really matter. Everyone who does this works on their birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and any other "days" you can think of. That's just part of doing this. And no one really cares. You don't get anything special. All and all, it's like any other day. Which is fine. I love it when I'm home for my birthday because Tammy spoils me more than she normally does. I get a big steak cooked just how I like it, a huge potato, and a few pints of beer to wash it down. Awesome. And last year, she got me a suit of Armor. No really, she did. It's in our dining room. How can you top that? That's how awesome my wife is by the way. And that's why, at least in my eyes, she's better than your wife. Yep, I said it. But, to get back on track here, birthdays are like any other day around here. Since we're gone for a year, everyone will have one while we're gone. So, you can't work the sympathy vote. Because there isn't one. It really is like any other day.
Ok folks. That's it for this week. Hope you all have a great week. There is one last thing before I go; there were two movies I forgot to add to my list from last week. The first is the Prestige with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. It's about two magicians in the late 1800's/early 1900's who try to one up each other. SOOO much better than how it sounds right there. The ending of it will floor you. And Christopher Nolan did it. You guys probably know him as the guy who does the new Batman movies. It came out a few years ago and I saw it when we were here last time. I just watched it again and forgot what an amazing movie it is. And I saw this movie last night, In Bruges. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are two mobsters who are sent to this old postcard type town in Belgium after a hit goes wrong. Very twisted and dark humor. Hysterical though. And Marlon, it's got a midget. And he's a main character. So, he's in there a lot. Definitely check out In Bruges and the Prestige. Awesome awesome movies.
Until next week everybody.....
Slan,
Chris
Movies, Music and Happy Birthday Sherida: From SSgt Egan
Word. Egan Ninjas Labels: Chris, deployment, Music** I didn't have a chance to proofread or edit this for Chris but here it is nonetheless **
So here we are folks. 15-Sep. I want to start off my post this week by saying sorry to Sherida for not sending her an e-mail on her birthday. So, happy birthday man! Hope it was a good one. Well, another busy week down. We're not so much busy as doing busy work. We're still doing missions, but we're also entering there-deployment phase. So, we're making sure the unit that replaces us isas squared away as possible. The funny thing, this is the same unitthat replaced us when we finally left last time. Or, as we always called them, our re-replacements, since we were already replaced once last time. Hopefully that doesn't happen again this time. Got myfingers crossed. All and all though, a fairly normal week with nothing crazy to report. Sorry folks, but not every week can be full blown mayhem! So, for this week's question, Tammy asked me to kind of look back on themusic, movies, books, etc that have been favorites of mine. Which is avery cool question. There's nothing more I love then talking aboutmusic. Hopefully I don't go on and on and forget about the other stuff.Actually, I'll do them first so I make sure I get to them.Books: Well, believe it or not, I read quite a bit this deployment.Before I left NY, I picked up a book called The Catholics of Ulster.Which was amazing. Gave me insight into the history of NorthernIreland. And of course, it was written by an Irish Catholic fromBelfast. So, you can kind of guess the point of view it had. But, thatgot me on an Irish History kick. I read 3 or 4 books just on Belfastitself. Plus another one that was only on Bobby Sands and the hungerstrikers. Then, I read a bunch of Brendan Behan. Followed by the IRAbook I mentioned a few months ago. That was the last thing I read onall that. Now, I'm re-working my way through the Interview with aVampire series. Good stuff, if you've never read it.Movies: Wow. Well, this is the number 1 time killer here. I'vewatched more movies than I care to mention. But, there are a fewstandouts I want to mention. The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke.Unbelievably good. Holy shit it was awesome. Highly, highlyrecommended. G.I. Joe. Of course I watched this. If I was 10 yearsold, this would have been the greatest movie of all time. But, being31, it was still AWESOME. It's exactly what you think it is, and it'sgreat. August Rush. Wow. If you love music, you need to watch this.Fanboys. The story of a bunch of Star Wars nuts that try to break intoSkywalker Ranch before Episode 1 came out. Some of the lines make thismovie. "Wow man, I haven't seen you in a parsek." Classic. RocknRolla.Guy Richie's newest. I really dug it. If you liked his other stuff,you'll enjoy this one too. And, the new Star Trek. I know I talkedabout this when it came out in May, but still, it was awesome.T.V. Shows. Yep, we buy seasons of TV series out here. Gotta love acountry with zero Copyright laws. The Sopranos. I watched this rightafter we got here from Start to finish. I LOVE this show. One of thebest TV shows. Ever. Deadwood. Now, this one was set in North Dakotaduring the gold rush era. Really gritty and brutal. Weeds. Suburbanmom sells dope to get by after her husband dies. So much better thanyou think it would be. Plus, it has Kevin Nealon. True Blood.Vampires come out into the public and try to adjust. Really coolconcept and very, very cool. Dexter. A serial killer who works forCSI. Twisted, but a riot to watch. The Tudors. Wow. The story ofKing Henry the VIII as he destroys England, marries and divorceseveryone, separates from the Holy Catholic Church, and is just, well,King Henry the VIII. Not sure how historically accurate it is, but it'sa lot of fun to watch. And, you can never go wrong with either RobotChicken or Family Guy. Now music. I'll try to keep this short, but we'll see how it goes. With a year being here, naturally I've kind of gone through phases whereI listen to some stuff more than others. But, in the mix is always agod healthy dose of Punk. Has to be there. When I was younger, allthat the punk I listened to had to be was fast and angry. I still likeit that way, but I find that I like the stuff that is actually writtenwell. I'm not going to go on a name dropping tangent on this whichbands still do it for me. It'd take waaaaay too long. My latest phaseshas been Hardcore. I've been listening to Death Before Dishonor quite abit. Now, some of you met my buddy Lenny at Colin and Emma's baptism.Well, you might not have known that he sang in band a couple of yearsago called Earth Mover. He played me some songs and I dug them. So, Itracked down one of their albums and it was really, really good. But,if you're gonna listen to Hardcore, you have to mention Agnostic Front,Sick of it All, Sheer Terror, Blood for Blood, and Gorilla Biscuits.They've been getting a lot of play too. I was going through a dudes hard drive and he had a couple songs fromthis band called Cradle of Filth. Now, I normally don't listen to musicthis gothic or metal, but it was really good. So, I checked out somemore of their stuff, and for the genre that they play, there's a reasontheir considered one of the best. Not for everyone, but it did thetrick for me. The same dude also had, and yeah, I'm gonna admit tothis, some Third Eye Blind. Now, they were very pop. No Doubt. But,they did some classic songs that were never on the radio. MotorcycleDrive By, God of Wine, and Background are very pretty flowing songs. Ifyou never checked out the stuff they did that wasn't on MTV, you should.The funny thing about them too is, they got a lot of radio play buttheir lyrics were very dirty and perverse. Which I think is funny. Ispent some time rocking out to Against Me! Anrcho-punks that playfolks, new-wavey kinda stuff. Stormwatch too. And they're about as abig a bunch of Hooligans that you can imagine. Great stuff. But,tragically out of print now. Same with Oxblood. I almost got in afight with their singer at the Pipeline in Newark once, but that'sanother story. Great stuff but hard to track down. Now, both ofthose bands are Oi!, and that genre is always getting a lot of play too.You can't go wrong with The Last Resort, Cockney Rejects, The Oppressed,The Business, The Bruisers, The Anti-Heroes, or the Templars. Allgreat stuff. I actually find that I like Oi! more on a lot of levelsthan I do punk. Now that I'm older and working, I agree with more ofwhat Oi! says then punk. But, don't get me wrong. The 17 year old inme that had the Mohawk and stuck his middle finger up to everything isstill there. And the music really brings that side of me out. Ok, moving on from talking about punk and Oi!. I could keep going andI'm going to stop myself. Now, to sounds art-sy and like a music snobfor a minute, I bought Tom Waits first album. Really good. Makes mewant to get drunk and just enjoy the songs. For the record, almostevery song on that album is about being drunk. But, it's such greatmusic. I mean it hits your soul type good. I ripped Born to Run fromBruce Springsteen of a dudes hard drive, and that's a great album too.So, that was the snob part of this.Sean introduced me to a great Irish band called Lunasa. Now, I don'tknow why they named themselves August in Gaelic, but whatever. It'sstraight up Trad and it's light years above a lot of other guys. Reallygood. Everyone reading this should check them out, actually. While I'mtalking about Irish stuff, I gotta mention The Pogues (obviously), TheTossers, Larkin, and Sharky Doyle's. Plus, you can't talk about Irishstuff without mentioning The Dubliners or the Wolfe Tones. If you checkany of those guys, you won't be let down. Especially the Tossers. Theyare probably the best American Irish band out there. They don't thisnew Irish-Punk trend, either. The only play Trad stuff, 90% of it areoriginals, and they simply kill at what they do. T. Duggins doesn't gethis due as the song writer that he is. Before I wrap up the music bit, I cleaned out a lot of stuff on my iPodthat I didn't really listen to. Tammy and I see eye to eye on a lot ofstuff musically, but she likes some stuff I don't and vice versa. But,I left a lot of Colin's music on there. And it's really cool to have myiPod on shuffle and Yo Gabba Gabba or the Backyardigans come on. Itputs a big smile on my face every time. I'm stopping myself now. I could keep going, but I think I've boredmost you guys with me rambling on and on and on. So, one more week downand one more week closer to going home. Again, happy birthday Sheridaand I hope everyone has an awesome week. Slan,Chris
Yes, I am one of those moms. I could go on and on about my children and how happy they make me. And, you know what? I am just fine with that. I am beside myself with how much love I have inside of me since becoming a mom. I love it so much. I notice that I forgive more easily...I listen more often... I judge less...I have more patience...and I love them even more every single day.
Emma is loveable and silly. She is super sweet and just appears content in just about every situation. She is changing everyday (as they do) and becoming so toddler-like. I feel lucky to have not missed one defining moment...
Colin is super honest and opinionated. He is extremely high energy and needs to constantly be engaged, but only on his terms. You get the picture. He is of course in an age group where I never knew what a challenging moment was until we arrived here. Yikes. Patience is key with him as well as soft tones versus the yelling that is going on in my brain. He is a good person and is learning so much so quickly. He has the most contagious laugh. I adore him.
I know it has been awhile since I have written here but I am so mentally exhausted at the end of most days (especially with school as well).
I do feel that the start of this deployment for me was some of the most difficult months in my life. I have learned how important it is to lean on those around you in those insane moments. I have also learned a great deal about strength, friendship and love in the past 10 months or so.
Chris, you are just supreme. I love you, buster. times ten. xo
So, here we are. 6-Sep-09. We're now at about the 90 day mark. It's awesome. Not that things are slowing down here, but we're getting close. This week was kind of the same old same old. Did some guard, went to some villages, and whatever else. I gotta say though, all of these villages are the same. I'm seriously tempted to call GENM McChrystal, who is charge of US Forces here, if the next village we go to says they have no idea who or where the Taliban are. Every village will tell you that. Which, on some levels is right, but on others is total crap. It's actually kind of frustrating, but it's turned into a joke between all of us. After each sit down with the elders, we all kind of look at each other and go." Lemme guess. No Taliban. We love Karzi. We love America. We need-insert school, water well, road, orpower." And that's about it. All part of the fun, right? But, with 90 days left in country, give-er-take, I have to start preparing myself for the return home. It's a big change coming back. This time shouldn't be as bad as last time. Last time I was 13 months straight after leave before redeployment. Still, you have to start thinking about being around normal people again. Driving. Stop signs. Shopping. Grass. Paved roads. Not carrying a weapon. Not worrying about getting shot. Playing with the kids. Hell, being around my kids. Being with Tammy. Basically, everything. I remember after I got backlast time, being at the store so I could get some jeans and having apanic attack. All those people, all the stuff being sold, I mean everything was just too much. It was sensory overload. The real world can be scary when you've been away from it for so long. I mean, your whole way of thinking has to change when you're here. And It's hard to switch back. Last time, I really shut myself off from Tammy. I was having a very hard time read justing to the real world. But, I didn't know how to talk to her or tell her. Plus, I was out of the Army pretty much as soon as we got back. So, I couldn't talk to anyone around me about what I was going through. Tammy and I have talked about it, and I gotta be better about it this time. I know Colin is dying for me to get home. But, for most his life I haven't been around. I'm really just a memory(Tammy: this statement is not true). And I gotta admit it, at times I'm jealous of Josh. I have no clue how during the last 8 years of war, he has been on one deployment for 3 short little months, while I have been on 4 for a total of 40 months. And that doesn't include months for training or schools. Howdoes that work? He gets to be around his family most of the time. I don't get it. I hope that Emma remembers me, but I'm expecting her to be stand-offish to me when I get back. But, we'll work through it. Plus, Tammy and I are, on some level, gonna have to get to know eachother again. And, she has her routine and way of doing things around the house. I know I just can't jump in the mix and expect to take over. Doesn't work that way. I am excited that this deployment is wrapping up. It'll be great to be home again. The first morning back will be like heaven. I'll get to wake up next to my gorgeous awesome wife, have some coffee while playing with Colin and Emma, and have some normal food for breakfast. It's gonna be heaven. Can't wait. But, until then, I still have work to do.... Slan, Chris
So, here we are. 30-AUG-09. Wow. 2 more days and it'll be September. This deployment(at least on my end) has kinda flown by. I know I say that most weeks, but it's true. We're down to about 100 days. Give-er-take. A month from now, the packing starts. Awesome.Totally awesome. So, this week had us being pretty busy. We did some patrols and wentaround. It wasn't too bad. But, one of the patrols was a dismounted(fancy Army term for walking) down into a river valley to check out a village. It was actually kinda cool. It was kinda narrow and the river ran right through the middle. It actually reminded me of walking the narrows at Zion National park. Just not nearly as fun. The walk out though, was about 400 meters of going straight up. Not fun. Every once and a while I get a reminder that I'm turning 32 in a few weeks. Thiswas one of them. It's not like I fell out and stopped or gave up. It just means I was a little more sore than normal the next day. Oh well.That's life I guess.So, for this week's question, I asked Tammy for something a little more light hearted. She asked me to tell some funny stories about the guys Iwork with. That's actually kinda hard, since most of them you would have had to have been there for them to be funny. Instead, I'll talk abou tour sense of humor. See, we joke a lot. I mean a lot. Helps us staysane. A lot of our jokes are gay jokes. About each other being gay.You know how they say about Fireman and Cops being so many that everything they do is secretly, well, gay? Same thing for us. I mean anything and everything could be gay. See, we're not politically correct. On any level. We're not racist or anything horrible like that. We just think d*ck and fart jokes are really funny. That's onething I love about this job, is I've never really had to grow up. We'reall 18 at heart, and that's just how it goes. I'm sure this isn't whata lot of you planned on reading, but it's the truth. We all rip on eachother and just about anything is fair game. It's good times.Well, this week's post is a lot shorter than the last few weeks. But,that's ok. Well, enjoy. The next one of these I write will be in early September. Until then..... Slan, Chris
