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.

Hey everybody

Here are some pics from my travels around Iraq
and some from around my base

I was in Baghdad for the new year
Baines,Me, LT Diangeli and Kobelski
ME in Balad and at work


take care

Hey everybody

Ok so it's been a while and lots has happened.
Let me try to catch you up.

So I went home for my two week R&R. IT WAS AMAZING!!!!
Went to my sisters in FL and saw my two new twin nephews.
Man I love kids but of course am not ready for my own.
My parents flew in along with my niece and of course my other nephew was there.
Needless to say not much sleep but it was all worth it!!

Then from there me and jen went to St. Augustine for 3days.
We stayed right on the inner coastal and had a great view....pictures will be on the way
as soon as I get them from Jen.
We did go to this pub called JP Henleys...it was great 50 different draft beers
As a beer connoisseur I was in heaven.

We then went to Savannah and ate out alot and relaxed for the last portion of my trip.
It has already been two weeks since I've been home and it feels like forever ago.
Alls I can say is the time is still going by and that is a good thing.

So the thing this time around that I appreciate back home is bathrooms.
Bathrooms that are inside the house. What I mean by this is not have to actually go outside
to use the bathroom instead gettin up from my bed and going into the next room to use the bathroom. I miss this and I really appreciated it while I was home.

I will post some pictures from some of my travels in Iraq real soon.
Take care and more will be coming.

Hey

So not to much has been going on since we last spoke.
I have still been working like crazy.

The weather is kinda weird right now.....very windy at times and it is starting to warm up.
With the wind I believe comes the sand storms so I am not looking forward to that.
I will of course try to get pictures of that but we'll see how that goes.

So I have celebrated another birthday overseas in uniform and I gotta tell ya....it sucks.
I worked that day of course and it was very busy.
So my word is to enjoy the birthdays that you have with friends and family or
just do nothing an enjoy a day off.

Lots of things we take for granted and don't realize it.
From now on each time that I write I am going to try to find one thing that I miss
that I would never think of if I was back home.

So today is SIDEWALKS.
I miss walking on them....here there is only sand and rocks.
Rocks everywhere!!! I really don't like walking on them everyday and can't
wait to walk down the street on a sidewalk.
So the next time you are walking on one think of me and feel lucky.

take care
chat soon

Here are some more pics

Hey

Well its been pretty good couple of days....let me fill you in

Yesterday I got promoted to Sergeant so that means more responsibility and more money
which is always nice.
I posted some pics for you to check out

Today me and my workout buddie Baines entered a Bench Press competition and won.
He took 1st and I took 2nd....and we got trophies

It was based on this theory
They took the weight that we did above our body weight and divided by our weight

So needless to say him being a solid 141lbs and benching 270lbs he had 191%
I weighed in at 170lbs and put up 320lbs leaving me with 188%

I was actually happier that he won since we've been working together towards it
So enjoy the pics from Iraq

Hey

I just wanted to update some more pics

I am gonna be headed back t the states for some much needed R&R in March
somtime....hopefully i will get to see some of you.

It's not to much longer but I am already getting anxious

These are more pics of Qatar

One is of the city and there are some from the plane ride back.

As you can see I was sitting on cargo nets on the side...not so comfy
I was flying in a C-130
And some views from the air...one is of Kuwait

enjoy
take care

Hey guys

Here are a few pics form my R&R in Qatar.
I got he chance to go golfing twice at a beautiful course...check it out http://www.dohagolfclub.com

I have plenty more but it only let me download a few at a time.
Anyways I got to spend a few days away from here and in civilian clothes....got it felt good

They had a Chillies on that base and I had a filet...it was the best meal I've had in 5 months.

I experianced a new place and new culture that I would've probably never have...so overall I loved it.

I flew home on xmas day and opened presents from the fam.
The New Year is here and it is the year I come home!!!
So hey you have to be excited about that.

This is the second time I have spent the holiday overseas in uniform and there is no
other feeling than the feeling of family during the holidays...so please cherish them.

Anyways holidays are gone and I expect the time to start flying by
I will post some more picks soon

Take care
and thanks for all the support