Hey Everybody

Sorry I haven't been on in a while but things, as you can imagine have been busy.
I will give you the low down real quick for those of you that don't know.

I have been back from Iraq since Sept. now and have started my 1st quarter back at SCAD for my masters degree in animation. I am a bit rusty having not used any of my skills in Iraq for a year or so. I also started here as a graduate assistant working with the coaches of the girls softball team here at SCAD, again busy.

I had a few months off when I first came home and looking back I needed it more than I thought I did. I just enjoyed friends and family and a little time off. I know everyone is just as busy and if I could give everyone else some time off I would.

That is the short and skinny of the last few months. Now I am back to living a civilian life and yesterday just received my official honorable discharge certificate from the military!!!! It's finally over!!! I can say this: Looking back the military has done many things for me and my life. It is somehow contributed to shaping the person I am today and I imagine who I will be in the future. Not all has been great experiences but in life who really has all great experiences. A quote I picked up, "Sweet is not so sweet without the sour."

So....now I am enjoying being a civilian again and this time actually stopping to understand what are important things in life. It's easy to fall back into the daily routine of things but this time around I am defiantly going to try to be conscious and thankful for everyday and all the great experiences that come with our lives. OK done preaching.

I will try to keep up with the the blog here and I really wanted to thank all my friends and family for their prayers and support over the last yr and a half. It's been and incredible journey and I couldn't have made it without you guys. SO THANKS!!

I'm gonna try to post some pics.
One of my last day in Iraq
One of my Bday
Take care
Chat soon

Hey everybody

Its been a little while and things have been gliding along.
Not fast enough of course but at a good pace.

Not too many things have changed.....it is still hot as hell over here and only getting hotter.
We are starting to wind things down...doesn't seem that way but you'll have that.

I am ready to start my civilian life and hang up my uniform for good. These experiences have made me a stronger person in some senses but I think that I do not know or appreciate how just yet. I think that it could take months even years before the impact of this journey will effect me as a person.

Of course there are instant impacts like things I take for granted everyday that will seem amazing or like I have been reborn....but that is all part of my re-incursion into my civilian life.

There are two halves of me right now because the soldier part of you has to separate itself from the civilian you....if that makes sense.
As I make my way back the two sides will merge as it has in the past to make me a stronger and better person. But for the times that I am here it is a soldier that is living and a soldier life in combat and away from everything that he loves and cherishes is a life that is not envied.

Today I miss a nice morning in the park with my girlfriend. Maybe some breakfast and coffee. Some time to enjoy each others company.
So today enjoy the company of someone you care about.

Here are some pics for the ride.
This is of our Combat Patch Ceremony.
We had it at this Ancient Temple called the UR check ot the site.


Take Care

HELLO

I know it's been a while but I have been very busy.

The heat has been unbearable........it never gets below 100 degrees now.
I know sounds great right.

It's breaking 120 on a regular basis now and is projected to get at least 140 in July.
But on a good note, the time is really ticking away.

For all that didn't know I have officially applied for grad school at SCAD.
I feel being away for a year has got me a little rusty in the animation department
and I really haven't had anytime to animate.
So the 1yr program will help me hone my skills as an animator and get an MA in the process.

I have finally been able to receive my pics from my two weeks at home now that I have bought my new desktop for my apartment from HP.
That was another ordeal that I don't need to blab about but just lets say some seriously bad customer service.

So enjoy the pictures and I will try to keep you informed of my progress to come home.

And today I will say that what I miss believe it or not are families.
I don't really get to see children here or families interacting and doing family things.
There is little interaction of that sort and I miss seeing people happy and enjoying life.
So today enjoy your family.

The pics are manly of my time in St. Augustine, FL. If you get a chance go!!!

OK

So here is the infamous camel spider.
This one is not that big compared to some that you've seen on the internet.

Now I don't like being around these never mind something that big.
So I don't believe they are poisonous but they are very ugly, hairy and have 10 legs.
How bout waking up to one of those in the morning.

So here ya go.

Hey

So things have been heating up here.
I have encountered my first sandstorm......and man it sucked.

I gotta say with every season that passes I'm not really sure why anyone would live here.
Each season something is just as bad if not worse than the last. Not fun.

So these pics are from that storm......mind you its 3pm. It only got worse.
And when i got up in the morning there was at least an inch of dirt covering everything.

I also came in contact with my first camel spider....yes they do exist.
I will post the pics on the next post.

There is no trickery here this is really what it looked like..there is even no flash on the camera.
I read somewhere that soldiers come home with about 1lb of sand in there system and now I know how.

So this time.....is the weekend...knowing what day it actually is and being able to enjoy the weekend is something i took for granted all the time....so enjoy your weekends.

post again soon
take care

Hey

Here are some more pics....one from the training mission
A couple are on the border and the one with good ol St. Nick
is when i was in Qatar...man that seems like a long time ago.

Ok so I was thinking about this one the other day...It is a great thing when you can pick and
choose what you want on a menu or even what restaurant you want to go to.
So next time you sit down at a great restaurant..have a bite for me.

Take care

Hey

Here are some pictures of the last two weeks that I spent in Kuwait training some new troops.

Enjoy

The thought of this post is just being able to use a phone for as long as you want without a time limit.
When my 30 minutes is up some guy yells over a speaker or taps me on the shoulder and tells me I have to get off.
So then if I have to I get back in line which is usually about 20-30min wait so I can go through it wall over again and get this I have to pay for them.
So next time you are talking long and great conversations just thin of me and then your time is up.