mychai's Diaryland Diary

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I'm baaaaack! With pictures, opinions... the works!

Hey, guys!

Sorry it has been so long since I have written. I pulled a six-day special duty assignment all last week, and I never got an extended chance to get to a computer and update you guys on the goings on in my life.

I'm sure you have all been gnashing at your teeth and been turning blue with sadness and despair that I haven't updated twice a day. Regardless of the fact that I usually only update once a day � at best. Still, I understand your pain.

I've had the past few days completely alone. Christina is in far eastern Germany, right on the border of the Czech Republic, doing Army support for a few days. She called yesterday and said she got to go on a ride-around in a cool Army helicopter while doing weather operations. Yeah, I'm a little jealous. But then again, I get the place all to myself for a week. Sa-weet.

On Saturday, Chris and I went to watch Napoleon Dynamite on base. It was pretty funny, though pointless. Christina turned to me half-way through and said, "So, is this movie completely without plot?" Yeah. But it's still funny to watch an old man euthanize a cow with a shotgun in front of a passing school bus full of elementary kids. I see it turning into a drinking game when it comes out on DVD. "Whenever a boom mike is visible, take a shot."

After the movie, we met up with some friends at the house of a guy who works here in the weather building but isn't military. He moonlights as a portrait photographer. We opened up five or six bottles of wine, turned on some music, and took over three hundred pictures.

Here are some of the better ones. I tried sorting out the ones that most represent the personalities of my buddies. The whole lot of us usually ends up in one of our rooms playing poker and drinking beer when we don't have anything else going on. We're a good group of friends, I suppose.

Tell me what you think, will ya?

I've been kind of out of touch with the news since last week. Catching up, here are my thoughts:

• The NBA fight isn't exactly shocking. Here's the formula as far as I see it: Take a group of tall, strong athletes who show no prior evidence of self control and are, in fact, praised for lack of self control by removing any kind of reprimand for their actions. Encourage their reckless actions by suspending punishments and taking away any kind of accountability. Then, put them in front of thousands of people who watch them, idolize them, want to be them, and try to act like them. Have one of the idolized push another while at their job in a way that any normal person would be fired. A cup gets thrown, and insanity ensues. It's not really shocking at all. I'm surprised that it doesn't happen more. When you take away someone's accountability, they have no reason not to act in any way they want. I think the NBA's punishment for this infraction is nearing fair, but I would like to see more done. I also think the fans who went on the offensive should be held accountable as well. They went well beyond their roles as spectators, as did the players go well beyond their bounds as spectatees.
  
• O'l Dirty Bastard died last week. Great loss of talent and human worth there� </sarcasm> When you show up on national television in your limo and go in to get food stamps just to prove to the country that we are a bunch of idiots and he is basically stealing our money in front of our faces, you deserve to die an early death just after getting out of prison. He who laughs last laughs best.
  
• Umm� that's all of the news that I remember from last week. Mention a news story, and I'll comment on it. Maybe.

I'm on a bowling league on the flight I am on at work. I currently have the third-highest bowling average on the whole flight, and my team is currently in fourth place.

How cool is that?

Last week, I bowled a 170. I was aiming for 175, but alas, I missed that by five pins.

For those of you who can't count.

Just call me The Dude and mix me a White Russian.

I have a weekload of stuff to write about this week.

I go talk to a bunch of 3rd Graders tomorrow about hurricanes. That should be a lot of fun. I look forward to answering questions on why hurricanes blew Little Jimmy's grandma's trailer away in Florida. "Because you cry too much, probably," I'll tell him. Poor little bastards.

Thursday is Thanksgiving. I'll have to write about things I'm thankful for. I'm sure porn and masturbation will make the list. Girls named Roach will not.

Friday is, well, Friday. Hooray.

And I just got December's work schedule. I work 12 days for the whole month. I've had harder jobs than the military.

12:38 p.m. - Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2004

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