27 August 0940 EDT
But yeah...graduation, graduation, and then it was the drive home. I left a little after noon and ended up dropping off our S4 at the airport in Atlanta. That was a pretty quick little diversion before continuing the rest of the trip. Anyway, oversleeping that morning was probably a good thing because I have never been so energized for a 700-mile drive before. I took maybe three stops to pee and I was pretty much on auto-pilot for the rest of my trip. Highlights of the trip included watching fuel prices go up and down as I travelled up the coast, praying desperately for an exit as I almost peed myself outside of Raleigh, and finding a little gem on the new Fountains of Wayne CD (track three on disc two was ...Baby One More Time...yeah, that's right, a Britney remake).
Anyway, after all of that, I rolled in to my parents' place a little before 1:00 in the morning. They wanted me to talk to a lawyer friend of the family before I went to my own house. I thought that was a little bit excessive...plus I really wanted to go home. But in the end, they convinced me to stay over at their place for the night and I am about to go see the lawyer in a few minutes. I'll tell you how it goes.
25 August 2210 EDT
24 August 0127 EDT
So here I was in this situation where I knew he was going to bite me. Well, I was pretty sure he was going to bite me, but I couldn't kill him for something I thought he would do, right? So I started talking to him...like literally...out loud. And I said that I didn't want to hurt him but that I would kill him if he bit me. I know he didn't understand because he kept on trying to land on me and I kept on waving him off. Eventually, though, I forgot all about him and I think I was IMing with someone on the computer. Anyway, I feel a little something on my leg and my hand instinctively reaches for the spot and I end up with the mosquito on my finger, all squished up and everything.
So lets analyze this. I killed him. Does that make me bad? I gave him ample warning. Is he bad for biting me? No, he's just taking care of one of his needs, right? He wasn't trying to kill me or anything. If I didn't have people killing animals for me to give me steak and hamburgers, I would have to do the killing myself to survive. Killing isn't bad if you're doing it to survive or to defend yourself, right?
So yeah, the question of good and bad. I think everyone knows the difference between good and bad, but there's always the gray area...and for different people, the gray area takes a different form. Is it a chemical thing? Is it a product of genetics, environment, God? Maybe a little bit of each? I was having lunch with a few of my soldiers about a month ago back at Fort Bragg, and one of them started talking about cows and veal. In order for veal to come out the color that it does, they have to keep cows under certain conditions...mainly locked up in rooms where they don't see sunlight. They just get stuffed in a room where they get to eat all that they can (which is good), but at the same time, they don't ever see light and the room gets filled with excrement and is very not ideal except for the fact that they get to eat as much as they want. Is it wrong to treat cows like that? Am I wrong for eating veal? Or is everything fine and this is just how life is? I don't know.
Every once in a while, I think about the idea of predestination as opposed to free will, and I wonder why people choose to do bad things. Is it because they were predestined to do bad things? Sometimes, it feels better to believe that because then at least people didn't make the choice to do something bad. But if they were predestined to do that, then who chose that destiny for them? Is it God? Take Satan for example. Even God created him with the best of intentions. He was perfect, an angel. But under the right conditions, when he feels that he has to compete with Adam or Jesus, I can understand why he may have felt abandoned by God. I hope I'm not making an idiot of myself here. I don't know that much about Satan...just the little bit I've read and googled. But yeah, you're dad's favorite son and then he decides to make humans in his image. What does that make you? I can see my pride taking a big hit there...enough to act out against dad? I don't know. And that leads to another question...why doesn't God just get rid of Satan? I guess that would almost be admitting that he made a mistake in creating him, right? So if that's the case...that would mean that God did intend on making Satan. But that doesn't make any sense, does it? Unless there is room for redemption...that's another place where I am a little unsure of in Christianity. Can angels be redeemed just as humans are? If not, then I can really see where Satan's resentment comes from. That'd be like Jane being able to make all of the mistakes in the world and me not being able to make any...not that I'm calling Jane Jesus and Sonny Satan. And this has nothing to do with what's been going on with the roommate thing.
Well, it has a little to do with the roommate thing. I am still under the impression that people are inherently good. So when they do bad things, they are usually choosing the lesser of two evils...at least in their mind. What that other evil may be is for them to know...whether it's self-preservation, pride, or whatever else. I don't know. But no one would knowingly choose to do something bad, would they? Either way, who am I to judge, right?
22 August 2007 EDT
Anyway, today just started off all wrong. I was tired as anything...probably having something to do with staying up until nearly 0300 doing homework in between a variety of procrastination techniques. When we broke for lunch in class, I ended up skipping it and just racked out there in the classroom in my chair. It was a very comfortable office chair, so I was out like a light. By the time I woke back up, the classroom was full again and we were ready to start. I had a vanilla yogurt powerbar to hold me over until real food later. So yeah...class class class for another four or five hours and then we were free to go. I puttered around for a little bit around the room and turned on fitTV again to get a little workout in before dinner. Of course, since I was heading off-post, I had to make the requisite stop at Wal-Mart before anything else. I've probably spent close to $200 there since getting down to Georgia. Anyway, in an attempt to save money, I decided not to get a cart so that I could only buy what I could carry in my hands. Number one on my list and the true purpose of the visit was a fingernail clipper. I honestly don't know what happened to the one I brought down here with me. It was a cool one too...with the little tray that catches all of the clippings instead of them shooting into other people's eyes. So yeah, that would be hard to replace, but I found two that I liked. One was a really sexy brushed steel fingernail clipper made by revlon. I ended up picking that one up along with my usual back-up one that I always buy. After that, I flipped through some CDs and DVDs to see if there was anything new. Yes, I know that I just bought some DVDs a few days ago, but that doesn't mean I can't look. Anyway, I didn't buy any DVDs on this trip, but I picked up a couple more albums for the trip home.
After that, I went back to a restaurant that I used to frequent when I was here back in 2002, El Vaquero. I'd forgotten how good the place was. I sit down and the chips and salsa are in front of me within about 20 seconds. They take my order and I start snacking...my water is there in another minute and then my food shows up maybe two minutes later. Just like that. And it's not like I had a small order. I ended up eating most of my taco, burrito, taquito, chile relleno, enchilada, chimichanga combo before giving up and asking for the check. And then it was back to the hotel room. Exciting, huh? Anyway, I'll quit writing and head back to my homework so that I'll maybe get some more sleep that I did last night. MTF
21 August 0157 EDT
20 August 1842 EDT
In other news, I got a go on my operations order brief today...which is good because I got approximately an hour of sleep last night because of it. By 0600 this morning, I still wasn't ready to present though, but it turns out that fate was on my side today. I didn't have to go first. So I got to sit through someone else's presentation and then had an hour break to add to mine before watching a second person present. After that, I had a two-hour break to add more and rehearse one more time before presenting myself. In the end, I stumbled a little bit, but I got a go....with room for improvement was how he prefaced it. I honestly don't know why I was so nervous. I've presented to captains and majors and colonels before. This shouldn't be any more stressful except for the fact that these people are strangers. I think it has something to do with my mild autism or asperger syndrome. My sister introduced that particular topic to me while I was at home last week and I just looked it up today to see if that described me. I don't know...it's kinda nice to blame my lack of social skills on something I don't have control over, but I'm not sure if that's the right diagnosis. Anyhoo...what was I talking about? Oh, room for improvement. That's what the instructor said. I'll take it. It kinda reminds me of that D- I got in one of my physics classes back in college. I'm really not doing that poorly though. You only have to get a go on one of the two OpOrder briefs and pass the rest of the tests and quizzes to graduate the course - so I'm already set. I'm not really concerned right now, and I'll probably start slacking a little if only to catch up on my sleep for the twelve-hour drive back next weekend.
Until then, I'll just be hanging out here with my free night and weekend minutes...*hint* *hint*
19 August 2123 EDT
So I had a list of three things that I needed when I left my hotel room today. There was Sin City, the new Better than Ezra album, and some industrial strength velcro. Yeah, that's right...velcro. Anyway, two hours, a hundred dollars, and a chinese buffet later, I am back here where I started. I have a big operations order brief I have to give in the morning at 0600. I am about 60 percent done and probably need to spend another 4-6 hours on it. So why the heck did I just go out on this little scavenger hunt? I don't know. I am very easily distracted. From class, I came back to my room around 1800 and went straight to the clippers. I had to have a nice haircut for my presentation, you know? So I did that and took a shower and then talked to my sisters about various things...including my new roommate. That'll be an interesting story, but I'll wait until I get back and meet her before I go into any story-telling. Anyway, after that, I was off. I got everything on my list from the Home Depot and Wal-Mart before heading next door to the chinese place I ate at earlier this week.
Anyway, the evening has gone well so far. The only disappointing thing was that the new single off of the Better than Ezra album is the same as track five on their last album, Closer. What the crap is that? Can they even do that? I don't know. Anyway, I think I will take an hourlong nap or so and then all of my distractions will be taken care of. Then I will be able to work freely on my presentation...no TV, no instant messenger, no nothing. Just work. I should be able to catch up on a bunch of stuff tomorrow afternoon after my presentation though. It's been pretty hectic here, but hey...just one more week left and I'm home free. I can't wait.
19 August 0324 EDT
The first few hours were spent doing more arts and crafts type stuff to be honest. I wanted to make my presentation pretty, so I actually went shopping yesterday. I got a big roll of 90MPH tape (basically green duct tape), a couple of sheets of white board, a couple of sheets of plexiglass, and a bunch of sheet protectors, transparency paper. Oh, and I bought a printer/scanner combo too...hehe. Yeah, I bounced around a lot yesterday, going from the Home Depot to Office Depot to Frank's and then Lowes before finally getting everything. The whole scavenger hunt took maybe four or five hours yesterday, culminating with dinner by myself at Ruby's. I was just feeling like salad, so when I saw the KFC, Hooters, and Ruby's as I walked out into the Lowes parking lot, it was a pretty easy call.
Anyway, that just shows how much I've been squandering my time around here. Like right now, I should probably be asleep, but I decided to blog since I haven't done so in a few days and since there is about fifteen minutes left in Batman. I still haven't seen the new Batman movie yet though. Hopefully, it'll come out on DVD soon. I saw that Sin City came out the other day. I've been buying DVDs like crazy these last few weeks...probably getting close to 400 dollars by now. Unfortunately, my DVD drive on my computer is acting up...won't really play much of anything. So until I get home, I won't be able to play anything...though that's probably a good thing. I should be doing homework and sleeping here - not watching movies.
Anyway, the Joker is about to fall off a helicopter and that means I should be in bed soon. Hopefully, I'll have something more interesting to write about tomorrow. Good night, alll.
16 August 2146 EDT
Dinner tonight was chips and salsa. It was raining really hard outside, so I wasn't really in the mood for leaving my hotel room. I have six inches of a subway club stashed away in my fridge just in case I get hungry, but I am hoping to use that as lunch tomorrow.
Classes have been keeping me pretty busy though. I'd forgotten what it was like to be a full-time student. I mean, the classes themselves have been pretty challenging and relevant, but that doesn't keep me from looking forward to lunch or the release. On average, we've been going from 0700 until about 1700 with an hour+ break for lunch. That's not too bad. But we've also had a few hours of homework every night. That's enough to make you want to skip PT. Since I've been down here, PT has consisted of the one PT test and random shadow-boxing sessions in front of the mirror with a couple of one-pound weights Ben lent me. I think he's trying to butter me up so that he can kick the crap out of me. He wants to set me up with this female friend of his too. He sent me a picture of her in her Tae Kwon Do uniform, black belt and all. She's pretty good-looking, but it's a little scary knowing that she could probably beat me up.
Anyway, there were a couple of things that I forgot to write about the last few days, so let me catch up. High speed internet here is a watered down DSL line. I can't even get on AIM or upload to my site because of some restrictions. So I have to dial up for the majority of the time I'm online here. That's like living in the dark ages, you know? But hey, still better than Afghanistan, so I will stop complaining.
Let's see...what else? I clicked on a couple of news links from my RSS ticker. I wonder if my parents were around for this chaos. Oh, and I will have a new roommate in a few days...though I she'll be living in my house for over a week before I actually get back from Georgia. She won my scholarship so she'll be there for the semester probably. We'll see how that works out. Hopefully well.
15 August 1945 EDT
In all honesty, there are only a few requirements for passing this class. The PT test and correspondence portions are the two that I've already done. There are two quizzes as well, the first one being tomorrow. We have to have an average of 75%, so I don't see that as being too difficult. There is one test at the end and two presentations as well. You have to get a go on one of the two and a 75% on the test. Again, that shouldn't be bad. Other than that, the hardest part will be staying awake in class. I'll go to bed earlier tonight. Maybe that'll help me out tomorrow. They gave us a big lunch break today and I was able to squeeze in about a 20 minute nap. I've got a bunch of snacks hidden away in my bag too. That's been helping a little bit these last few days.
I don't know...I should probably spend less time online so that I can get more sleep too. But hey, you've gotta have a little bit of fun, right?
14 August 2030 EDT
Oh, I almost forgot. We had our heights and weights taken this morning. I had a feeling I was going to be cutting it close. At my height/age (68"/25), the Army says that I'm allowed to be 174 pounds before they have to check my body fat. I weighed in just a pound under at 173. If this were a week earlier, I would have been over. That's kinda funny to me. We put on our BDUs after that. It was the first time I'd worn those since we traded them in for the desert camou over a year ago. The uniform and the boots don't quite feel the same any more, but I'm sure I'll get used to them again after these next two weeks. Oh, and there's a PT test tomorrow morning. I've never really been afraid of PT tests, but I've always liked to perform well on them. I'd been lifting a lot of weights these last few months, but I haven't really been doing army PT. It'll be interesting to see how I do tomorrow.
But yeah...I've got an hour or two to do some reading before going to bed. Hopefully, I'll have more free time tomorrow.
14 August 0001 EDT
Memories. They are fun. It's amazing how the mind works, you know? On my trip down, I ended up stopping at all of these familar places...the gas station/dunkin donuts off of I-66 in Front Royal, the IHOP just south of Atlanta off of I-75 when you accidentally miss the turn-off to stay on 85, the random Circuit City in Georgia about 20 minutes south of Atlanta. It's not like I went to all of these places on purpose. I just ended up there...just like how I've randomly ended up at these places years ago. It's a really neat feeling stumbling upon places with these random connections to your past.
When I drove through Atlanta, I saw these signs for the MARTA...that's their public transit here. I don't know what it stands for. Anyway, it sounded so familiar - I knew I must've used it before. But then I went through all of my Georgia memories and couldn't remember a time that I would have. I remembered a scene in my mind though. It was a bright day and I was waiting in between the two sets of tracks for the metro to show up. I started to doubt myself. Was that scene from France? I know I had a heavy bag with me, but that's about it. I was talking to people maybe. Was I talking in English or French. I had to go through my Atlanta visits systematically now. The first time I was actually in Atlanta, I was flying up for Josh's wedding in Ohio. I didn't use the MARTA then. I drove my car. And every other time I visited Atlanta, I drove up from Benning. But then I remembered the trip that I took down to Atlanta for school. There was that IB convention there. I flew down from National. I didn't have a car, so I had to take the metro thing from the Airport to the hotel. That was it.
And then I remembered a bunch of other stuff. I'd spent en evening at a Starbucks during that trip. There was a boy there taking some SAT prep classes from a KAPLAN instructor. Another memory...Roo was going through something at Benning..maybe IOBC. Anyway, he drove up to Atlanta and we hung out one night. He gave me a tour of how he met his then-girlfriend. Then there was the flight home. I sat next to this very attractive brunette named Stacy. I asked her to play scrabble with me. Then at the end of the flight, I asked her to go to homecoming with me. She declined. *laugh*
Memories are nice. My first alarm goes off in five hours. I should go to sleep.
13 August 1644 EDT
Other than that, everything has actually been going relatively smoothly. I spent last night just outside of Atlanta. I hung out with Sandy. I hadn't seen her in a long time. Anyway, we did some really cool stuff together, like go grocery shopping at Kroger, play Skip-Bo, and watch stuff on tv like the Simpsons and Iron Chef. Okay, so it wasn't the most exciting night...but I was pretty tired from the drive and I am kind of a boring guy. It was nice catching up though. Oh, and in the morning, I let her listen to my new Shatner CD.
You see, I picked up about a half-dozen CDs the day before I left to keep me company during the drive. The first one I stuck in was a Better than Ezra greatest hits album that Ben picked out for me at B&N. That was really good, but Shatner blew everything out of the water. Yes, I'm talking about the one and only William Shatner. He and Ben Folds put together this awesome album with some guest appearances by Henry Rollins, Aimee Mann, and Brad Paisley to name a few. Anyway, I found myself listening to that one over and over again on the trip. I covered about 650 miles on the first day and left about 150 for the second day. No, it wasn't Shatner the whole time. I had Jimmy Eat World, the Wallflowers, Rancid, the Rolling Stones, and IZ keeping me company as well. Anyway, I would talk more about all of that, but I need to get going to find an electronics store to get a power cable for my computer before it gets too late. MTF
12 August 0038 EDT
Anyway, I spent most of today packing and getting some last-minute stuff together. This is probably the least prepared that I've ever been heading into a military school. But considering the circumstances, I don't think too many people would blame me. I just went online to check out the driving directions. Yahoo says to take 66 to 495 and head south on 95. Google says to take 66 west to 81 and go south that way. Last time I went down to Benning, I left from my parents' house in Fairfax, so 95 was a lot closer. This time, I think I'll take Google's advice and start by heading West. The best part about that is that it'll be against traffic for the morning and I can get up later.
Anyway, it's late and I should be in bed. I can blog about the rest when I get there. Oh, I'll probably stop by to visit a few friends in Atlanta along the way. That'll be fun. But after that, it'll be all business...you know, mixed in with pleasure and all. Plus I still need to find a school to teach at. Somehow I think that may be a little harder to do while in Georgia. Oh well. Good night.
11 August 0037 EDT
So I ran into one of the B Co guys just before I went on a little shopping spree. It was really nice seeing him again. We probably spoke only two or three times over there in Afghanistan, but it was still nice to see another familiar face. Anyway, he talked about what he'd been up to...the fancy new plasma screen tv he bought and the trip he'll be taking to Hawaii in a little bit. It kinda made me feel a little better about the money that I was spending too. But yeah, it was nice to talk...finding out how the other guys are dealing with being back...the boredom...women...etc.
Anyway, that was that. I bought a whole bunch of movies and CDs before heading off to Wegman's for some milk. I'd been trying to visit since my sisters keep blogging about it. Plus I had all of this cereal I got at Trader Joe's that I couldn't eat without milk. So anyway, I'm a little disappointed. The Wegman's in New Jersey had cobblestone aisles while this one just had your typical grocery store tiles. Other than that, though, it was nice. I picked up some milk and grapefruit juice. That'd been missing from the house, but now everything is right. Anyway, I'm off to do stuff since I'm not playing online poker any more. What to do with all of this time...
08 August 1047 EDT
My aunt and uncle got me an awesome present too. My grandfather was in the Army a long time ago, and the family got a flag from the Army for the funeral...that was the present. I was too young to remember much about my grandfather; and for that, I am sad. But it feels good to at least have this piece of him.
What else? The crowd kinda thinned out early into the evening and we just started talking and then playing kokology there in the living room. I always enjoy playing that game, but it's hard to get the right crowd over to play. I mean, you need people with moderate attention spans who will be able to listen with decent comprehension while someone reads a page from a book. Plus, you need people who'll be somewhat honest and not just try to think of something funny in response to every question. I mean, humor is good...but just not all the time. Anyway, I learned a lot about myself and my friends/family. I'll share with you the questions that ended it all though. It was a scenario about surfing. So you're surfing, and you're out on the water and you fall off a bit and then you look back at the beach and you see that someone has been watching you the whole time. Who is it? That was the question and I answered, "Ben" trying to be as honest as possible. Anyway, the book says that the ocean represents sex or something like that and the person watching you is supposed to be the subject of intense sexual interest or something along those lines. Yeah, it was an awkward moment there for Ben and me with all of our friends and family there. I was fine with it though. I mean, I enjoy psychology, but I try not to read too much into stuff, you know? Anyway, interestingly enough, we ended up following that event with a game of strip poker involving four guys and no girls...but that's a story for another day. Hehe
07 August 1049 EDT
It's funny...I was talking to someone the other day about dads and how they seem to know everything...you know, how to fix things around the house, how to do taxes, who to go to when your car/plumbing/air conditioning is on the fritz. I mean, in and of themselves, these things are relatively simple; but dads (and moms) seem to have this encyclopedia of all of this stuff that they know. And it's not that moms and dads are smarter...I would think that most kids probably think they're smarter than their parents. But at the same time, most of them would concede that their parents just know so much more stuff. It's interesting how that works, isn't it? Anyway, I picked up a bunch of do-it-yourself guides the other day while I was at the bookstore, so hopefully that'll accelerate my gethering of knowledge and experience for when I finally do become a dad. (no, I didn't get anyone pregnant...just thinking about it...about being a dad, not getting someone pregnant. Geez, give me a break here.)
Anyway, last night was pretty cool too. I saw Brett and Meg for the first time in over a year. He turned 30 and had a little party last night. The party also served as a going away party as he is heading into the home stretch before deploying to Iraq in October. I made plans to see him again in a day or two so we could chat and catch up in a cozier setting. It was really nice seeing him again, along with his sister and all of their friends. Anyway, that's it for now. I need to shave and clean and get all pretty before company shows up. Until later...
05 August 1917 EDT
Other than that, I continue to get eaten alive by these North American mosquitos. Something must've happened to me while I was overseas because they can't seem to resist me over here. Today, I wasn't in my backyard for more than thirty seconds, but I wound up getting hit three times before I had a chance to step back inside. That's craziness. Anyway, that quick trip outside was to check on my A/C unit which is still down. Until that gets fixed, I'll just clean up what I can around the house in preparation for the little welcome home get-together on Sunday. It's starting to look pretty good upstairs and the basement is starting to come along now that garbage collection day has passed. I'm getting a little better at throwing things out, but there's still room to grow. Enough talk though...back to cleaning. Until next time...
05 August 0138 EDT
My air conditioning unit is on the fritz right now. The basement of my house is probably in the 70s while the rest of my house is in the 80s. It almost makes me wish that I didn't leave my air conditioner in the barracks down at Bragg. The day we left, I wrote on the front of my unit with a sharpie, "from the soldiers of 3-116 IN, Virginia Army National Guard." I hope it brings a little bit of comfort to the soldiers who follow us. I don't think I truly appreciated air conditioning and heating until this last year when I didn't really have any. I can't even imagine how the 82nd Airborne guys survived it in Afghanistan years earlier with less than we had. Rumor is that there was a lot of spooning, but don't ask, don't tell, right?
Anyway, life is good, but it'll take me some time to adjust. The hardest thing is coming up with stuff to talk about, I think. I can talk about army stuff for hours on end. But if you veer from that topic, I'm at a loss for words. It's not that I'm not interested in talking. I really want to talk, but I just can't think of much to say. It's kinda sad. I'm hoping that'll fade with time.
03 August 2026 EDT
Fast forward about ten minutes and there is a puddle of about two gallons of water on my kitchen floor. I hear something that sounds like dripping, but it can't be my water cooler. It's brand new. There can't possibly be a leak. I rush to cut it off and continue to figure out some way to get the bottle off of the cooler without spilling any more water. Next up...after action review. Here's what I learned. The next time you have an extra piece that doesn't seem to fit, don't just assume that it was a bonus item thrown in by the manufacturer. I mean, how was I supposed to know that the cooler had an overflow valve and that the extra piece that came with my bottle was actually a float valve to cut off the water when the cooler was full? What am I, a hydrologist?
Anyway, before that little debacle, I was supposed to head over to go for a run with Ben. That's all but shot now, but I'm going to head out anyway. I'll share some more fun stories when I get back.
02 August 1803 EDT
02 August 0212 EDT
The rest of the afternoon was more pleasure than business. I spent some time online and clipping coupons before heading over to the Sports Authority and Office Depot in the Fair Lakes area on my way over to Ben's. I just picked up some workout clothes to replace my PTs I'd been using for the last year. Then I ran a little over two miles on the little path they have in Ben's neighborhood. That was kinda fun. Sat around and played online poker there for a little bit before showering and going to the local Giant to pick out tonight's dinner, which consisted of turkey burgers and chips with salsa. By the time we got back, Thuy showed up and we watched Napoleon Dynamite. Good flick...I found myself laughing through a majority of the film.
When I rolled back in around 0130 this morning, I came back on AIM of course. There, I have my homework assignment for tomorrow. I am supposed to come up with a list of characteristics/qualities I am looking for in a woman. I've thought about it over the years, but just never put it to paper. This looks to be promising.
31 July 2005 2353 EDT
I got up around 0500 this morning and took my time showering and getting ready for our one-day drill in Winchester. I did all of my usual rituals just like I used to before I went overseas. I had one last glass of water before heading out the door. I took Route 29 all the way past Manassas battlefield before jumping onto I-66. And then I stopped at the Sheetz on Route 50 for a schmuffin and a scratcher before driving on to the armory. Then after spending about eight hours there, we were released and it was back home for a little bit. I loitered around online for a little bit and showered again before heading over to the parents for some quality time. We just chatted, talking about real estate, finances, and weddings as my siblings filtered in. I was supposed to hang out with Ben for a little bit tonight, but I ended up chatting with the fam until just a little after eleven. It was fun...relaxing.
I'm hoping tomorrow will be relaxing too...though busy. I have a lot of things on my list, but I want to maintain a relatively leisurely pace if possible. I'll probably start with the post office to pick up my 100+ pounds of stuff I sent from Afghanistan in two foot lockers. Then I'll head over to human resources to get my job back before going over to GMU to register for a fall class or two. Then after that, it'll probably be some random shopping followed by a meal or two with some old friends. Beyond that, I don't have much else planned...kinda taking things one day at a time for the next week or so. We'll see how that goes.