Happy 65th, Air Force!

A message from the commander of US Transportation Command:

AIR FORCE BIRTHDAY MESSAGE

To the Men and Women of USTRANSCOM:

Sixty five years ago, in the settling smoke following America's victories of

WWII, President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947,

strengthening our role as a world superpower while defending our liberties

here at home.  Out of the smoke, the United States Air Force was born.  Due

to postwar demobilization, the Air Force began with only a fraction of the

personnel, aircraft and budget of the wartime Army Air Forces.  However, it

did not lack in purpose. 

During WWII, airpower proved itself significant with increased performance,

range and payload, greatly expanding its application as an instrument of

national power.  Airpower also quickly became the Nation's first line of

defense in the atomic age.  When the Cold War began, the Air Force met the

first direct challenge from the Soviet Union by forming a transportation

bridge in the Berlin Airlift of 1948-1949.  With incredible perseverance and

ingenuity and more than 200,000 cargo flights - airpower finally broke the

ground blockade. 

Our Airmen have shown generosity in times of peace and gallantry in times of

war.  They've shown tenacity in Korea's MiG Alley, endurance in Vietnam's

Rolling Thunder campaign, decisiveness over the skies of Baghdad during

Desert Storm and flexibility in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Now, sixty five years

after President Truman signed the momentous legislation while onboard Air

Force One, our Air Force stands as the strongest and most innovative in the

world.  

  

Our achievements were made possible because of the extraordinary men and

women who serve and their families who support them.  Your integrity, your

service before self and excellence in all you do have helped America master

the skies.  You've made the world a safer place.

September 18th, we celebrate your legacy of achievement.

-- Happy Birthday US Air Force!

Will Fraser

Email conversations on 9/12/2012.

Me: My thighs must not like these slacks, becauae they are trying their darndest to break free.
Ginger: Or your pants are allergic to Puerto Rican skin?
Me: We'll go with that.

Later, in reference to my empty coffee mug:

I am Puerto Rican. I do not have blood in my veins; rather, tis caffeine. I drink as much as I can, but we have secret monthly caffeine transfusion get-together to prevent our bodies from decaying into dust.

ALL WILL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR.

Quick, name that movie!

On Saturday night we went to a last Irish hoorah with the Brother before he moves away. He brought with him a blast from the past, the lovely Jenn K. I had not seen her in seven years, and she asked me if I remembered her. Later in the evening, I admitted that I thought SHE wouldn't remember ME. Her reaction?

"C'mon, you're THE Davi! You're famous, you're world-renowned!"

"Well," said I, "they DO read my blog in Slovakia."

You people frighten me.

So some link to a message on the website for the US Embassy in Cairo is going around the webz, and instead of clicking on the link to read the actual message, people are only reading the message above the link that accuses President Obama of apologizing to all Muslims for the 9/11 remembrances yesterday. So of course all the comments on this link are disparaging of our Commander-in-Chief; one woman even said he should be beheaded for his treason, while another said that all Obama supporters should drop dead. (I would be very put out if my parents did indeed drop dead.) Only one guy in the thread seems to have clicked on the link and read the message, and called everyone out for it; and he wasn’t even an Obama supporter! And how did the commenters after him respond? As if he’d never spoken at all.

I really don’t understand people sometimes, and I certainly don’t understand people who go to such extremes in their rhetoric. Drop dead? Really? And why, why, WHY wouldn't you take two minutes to click on the link and read the message that clearly does not apologize for the remembrances, and isn't even signed by the President?

Wizard's First Rule: "People are stupid. [...] They will believe a lie because they want to believe it is true, or because they are afraid it might be true."

What a lovely weekend!

I have had many lovely weekends over the past month or so. Going downtown, lounging around the house, trying to keep up with the Princeling; whatever we're doing, we have fun. Also, we're domestic as fuck.

I am very happy these days. So happy, I've put on some weight. Ugh! Today I'm starting a new diet/workout routine. Ginger and I have entered into a healthy-eating pact; she's dragging Sir Haggis along for the ride, and I have yet to inform Fjord of his new diet, haha!

I have no words to describe how great life is right now.

The endless road.

I don't go east of my town. Everything that is relevant to me is west of here. But today I needed to visit the DMV for a new license, and for once I did not want the hassle that accompanies a visit to the usual office. So I went to one that is 26 miles east of here. Smaller office, smaller crowd, less sass.

I was driving east on the highway, sipping my coffee and enjoying the beautiful morning. Suddenly I asked myself, What if I just keep going? Keep driving east, until I reach the coast. And keep going, never looking back.

I used to have devastatingly strong urges to run away from here. I wanted to disappear and start fresh somewhere else. I wanted to do this with...him. One of the things that made me angry was about the break-up was that it occurred only weeks after I started my new job. I asked myself, Why couldn't this happen beforehand, when I had nothing else to keep me here? I could have moved to live with my parents on the east coast. I could have started over somewhere else.

After all the upheaval in my life, however, it turns out that I no longer want to run away. I'd rather wait patiently to see what happens next. I'm rather excited at the prospect.

Not what I expected.

My life is nothing close to what I thought it would be 10 years ago, when I left the longest relationship I'd been in to date and looked ahead to a future that was dark with uncertainty but bright with hope. The cycle repeats itself, and a series of chance happenings have come together to make my life very interesting right now.
Where would I be right now if I hadn't take Brother hostage one afternoon after an IHOP trip, rather than letting him go home to be productive? That led to us making an unannounced visit to the Ginger, where without warning Brother asked her, "Do you want a roommate?"
What would I be doing right now if I hadn't been listening when Sir Haggis said one night early last month, "Don't be a stranger!"? I was leaving a mutual friend's going away, where I really spoke to Fjord for the first time. I suddenly had people to hang out with again.
Now Ginger and Sir Haggis are an item. Sir Haggis is crazy about the princeling; it is awesome to see him play with Haggis and Fjord and Apple-cheeks. As for Fjord and myself...the future is dark with uncertainty, but o so very bright with hope.
Clearly I was wrong 10 years ago where my path was leading me. So I will not presume to guess again. But wherever I'm headed...bring it on, baby.

Children are tasty.

Had a text conversation with Sister today. Here's how it went down halfway through:

Me: I'll bug you later. Have a good day!
Sister: Nah nah tell me
Me: [Haggis takes over for the texting] Hang on i'm driving and i'm a goofball and my friend is texting you right now [Thanks, Haggis.]
Sister: Hmm why aren't you at work!?
Me: Heading to lunch where we will feast like kings
Sister: Lol what will you be eating?
I told Haggis to tell her I was gonna eat a delicious sammich.
Me: I will be eating little children [Thanks again, Haggis.]
Sister: I like that.
Me: What condiments do you use? Im torn between cholula and horseradish
[I have excellent spelling and grammar. Remember, this is Haggis texting on my behalf.]
Sister: I usually dribble some leftover placenta on there, that'll take it up a notch.
[I take over the texting again.]
Me: Oooh, gotcha. Now, do you steam or fry the umbilical cord??
Sister: I usually don't eat that
Me: Whaaaat, that has so much protein!!
Sister: Meh, don't like the texture
Me:  Dude, bread it and fry it. AMAZING.
Sister: Ok I'm done with this conversation, im actually going to eat a normal lunch now

And you thought I only had disturbing conversations with the Brother. Soon I'll post a bad one between myself and Apple-cheeks.

New characaters:
Ginger, aka Ginger Pirate Queen: My new roommate! I met her through Brother, they went to high school together. She brings into this domestic partnership a 6-year-old boy and a black shiztsu (sp?) that thinks it's a cat.
Ginger Pirate Prince, aka The Princeling: My other new roommate! He brings into this domestic partnership his sass and love of pirates.
Fjord: He sings, he dances, he plays guitar, he charms the ladies, and accepts my verbal abuse like a gentleman.
Sir Haggis: He and Fjord harmonize well together, and he likes to fill my fridge with alcohol. He has a pet gun named Violet. Also, he looks like Russell from the movie Up.
Apple-cheeks: He looks like he's 12, but is in the fact the oldest of this trio of men that formed a unique, homoerotic bond right out of basic military training. He has many nicknames: Bumblebee, Apple-bottom, Apple-tits, Beezy, etc...

Where have our brains gone?

Shit's been...shitty...around here. Some humor to lighten the mood.

A written conversation between myself and Le Brother that occured yesterday morning. It started with my Facebook status.

If you've tried to call me in the last 12 hours, sorry. My phone and I had a fight, and it decided to take off before saying anything it might regret. It spent the night at a friend's house to cool off and gain some perspective on our relationship. We both feel it was a silly fight and not worth destroying our relationship, so I'll be going to pick it up at lunchtime so that we can cuddle and make up.

Then came this e-mail conversation originating from my military account, as I am on orders this week.

Me: Still on orders.

Bro: Must be a hint to email you here instead if I feel like lunch.

Me: True story.

Bro: Well, then.

Me: Indeed.

Bro: But you're going to a friend's for lunch to meet u with your estranged cell phone.

Me: This is true. But I otherwise have no plans.

Bro: Which friend? And close to lunch places?

Me: [withheld for privacy]

Bro: Alright, wanna come snag me?

Me: Sure. [I regret this later.]

Bro: K. Tiem?

Me: I guess I'll go get the key from him around 11, and then come get you. He's at the [maintenance] building there by the firehouse, so from there it'll be a few minutes before I pull up to [your workplace].

Here's where it gets interesting.

Bro: Alright. I guest text when you leave the firehouse.

Me: o_O

Bro: Er, MXS building. Whatever. That's what I get for reading too quickly.

Me: o_O

Bro: Fuck. Third read. Makes sense now. Text when you leave [your workcenter].

Me: >_<

Bro: Stop with the faces.

Me: [Brother's first name]. What did I write on Facebook?

The e-mail conversation ends there. Then I see this gem on Facebook two minutes later.

fuck my brain. fuck it in its stupid...everywhere.

Ugh. Let's get this over with.

We broke up on Monday night. I guess henceforth I shall refer to him as...well, I dunno. "Ex" was always used to refer to the ex-husband. I'll come up with something another time. Right now, I'm not ready.

I'm not ready for anything.

Biggest nerdgasm since the first trailer for the Deathly Hallows.

A couple of weeks ago, Fiance, who hates going to the movie theatre, went with his friend Jay to see Wrath of the Titans on a whim. I was furious; I bought him Clash of the Titans on Blu-ray for Christmas a year-and-a-half ago, which he has not watched (I saw it on the flight to Korea), and I wanted to go see Wrath. And then he drops a bomb; he saw the trailer for The Hobbit in 3D!! So the next time I was at my laptop, I pulled it up on iMDB. When Thorin and Company began to sing, I got chills.

Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
The pines were roaring on the height
The winds were moaning in the night
The fire was red, it flaming spread
The trees like torches blazed with light...

I recently started re-reading The Lord of the Rings. I've only ever read it the whole way through once, though I've pored over the appendices more times than I can count. (Which is why I can't understand these so-called Tolkien purists bitching about Galadriel and Saruman appearing in The Hobbit. There is an explanation for that in the appendices.) Seeing the trailer just sort of sent me over the threshold of nerdy madness. So I also finally started reading Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth to satisfy my Tolkien urges, and re-watched LotR (for the first time on Blu-ray, extended editions!). I also want to read some more of the Silmarillion, and I wanted to re-read The Hobbit (only read once). But most of my books are in the shed, thanks to Fiance (god. damn. it.), and being an arachnophobe, I can't bring myself to go digging in there for this or that book. (The first four Harry Potter books are in there, while the last three are on my bookcase; it's maddening, I tell you.) So I did what any bibliophobe would do; bought an e-book version of a book I already physically own. That's right, I bought the Hobbit for my Nook app on Tuesday evening, and finished it up Thursday morning. I'm tempted to do the same with the Silmarillion, but I'm doing some spring cleaning in the house, and I'm hoping to convince Fiance to bring some of my books back into the house.

I can't believe I have to wait until December!!

On a final note, the actor portraying Kili is HOT.