Stupid politics.

From 17 February:

For the record, I don't like big government anymore than anyone else. I like freedom. I like a secular gov't that leaves faith out of the equation. I like states being able to write their own laws without interference from interest groups in completely different states. I like being able to live my life without being told how to live it, how to take care of my own body, and who to marry. That's why I can't get behind either political party. I cannot 100 percent agree with either side. Regardless of which party is in power, we will have too much gov't shoved down our throats. The end.

In case you're wondering, I'm looking for funny/cool/important stuff I've posted on FB over the past year that I want to be able to come back and look at. Scrolling through my blog is a lot less complicated than scrolling through my timeline.

DOMA sucks.

From 18 February:

I want to share this rant posted by a girl who was one of my best friends when I lived in Puerto Rico. We were in the JROTC together, and we both knew from a young age we wanted to serve our country. She is a member of the Air National Guard and mother of an adorable little boy. Miss you, Vilmar.
'D.O.M.A. Act sucks!!! R.O.M.A. Act should kick its ass!!! It really pisses me off how there is always...

something that segregates us gays and lesbians from just being normal. Who gives a flying fuck who I marry and makes me happy... And If I marry.. Shouldn't I have the same right as anyone else??? I do have a respected family of my own... If I wanted to serve my country, why would I have to marry a man in order to be considered eligible for active duty... I want a strong independent woman who makes me happy and would never leave my side.. But thanks to this D.O.M.A. Act... No, I can't... So no benefits for my wife... The woman who stands by me and supports me in battle... We are not recognized as "married" due to this act. Now congress passed the R.O.M.A. Soo hopefully this proceeds fairly quickly so this injustice ends... An it ends now... "vilmar ( Bill)"'

GOYA.

From February 29th:

During a late afternoon/early evening nap, I dreamt that I was in Florida heading to a concert with Jenelle and Ant when we stopped at a store. This store specialized in two things: Goya products and seafood. This store was selling lobster for $6.90 a pack!! Dee Dee was there, and we were in seafood heaven. Then [Fiance] was there, and I was excitedly telling him about the seafood deals...and then I woke up. I wish that store was real.

Giving thanks in 2012.

I am thankful for my mother, who gave me life; my father, who inspired me to serve my country; my sister, who isn't always a pain in my ass.
I am thankful for my boyfriend, Fjord, who is deployed for the next six months. I love him and I miss him, but I'm also proud of his service.
I am thankful for my friends, near and far; for my awesome roommates, the Ginger and her Princeling; for my Brother, who brought about the roommate situation; for my Redhead and all the others who have loved me and stood by me.
I am thankful for my relatively good health, my new job, my awesome new co-workers.
I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the country that has given me everything.
I am thankful for the freedoms afforded to me as a citizen of this nation; the freedom to practice my chose faith, the freedom of speech, the freedom to pursue my education regardless of my gender, and the right to elect my leaders.
Now I just wanna say something. If you're able to get on the internet and post statuses about how much your life sucks, guess what? Your life doesn't actually suck. If you can afford an internet connection, you're clearly doing much better than those who are living on the street and having to stand in line at a soup kitchen to eat today. We all have our gripes and complaints, but don't forget to take a moment once in a while and appreciate your good fortune.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Relocation.

In mid-June, I started a job.

At the end of September, they let me go.

Le sigh.

Today I had a phone interview with a company out in California. They like what they heard on the phone, they like my resume, and they said HR would be calling with an offer by the beginning of next week. I have a face-to-face interview on Friday in Kentucky; I'm still going to cover all my bases, but I prefer the California job because it pays more.

So after years of pissing and moaning about wanting to move, and recently deciding I was happy to stay, here I am. Forced to relocate. I guess...I guess I'm okay with it. At the age of 18, places like Texas, Mississippi, my current state in the Midwest, they all seemed so far away. Since then I've been to the Middle East and Asia. So the west coast is no biggie...right?

The worst part is leaving Fjord. He's deploying soon, so for six months it won't even matter where I live. But not being able to see him when he gets back is going to hurt. We'll make this work, but it's going to be hard.

National Anti-Bullying Month.

October is National Anti-Bullying Month. Way to stand up, Ms Livingston. Yes, obesity is a major health concern in our nation, but do you really think humiliating a complete stranger is gonna help? It only hurts, and your children will follow your cruel example, passing on the hurt to their peers who may not be able to handle it as well as this extraordinary woman.

Piecing this back together.

When you truly love someone, you never completely stop loving them. In the deepest part of your heart, the embers of that love still glow ever-so-faintly.

There's nothing wrong with that. It means that, once upon a time, you and that person were happy together, and it's the good memories that cause those embers to glow.

When I love someone, I give them my heart. I don't half-ass it, I go all in. The problem I have when reclaiming my heart, is allowing that person to hold on to a piece of it. That's no way to move on with one's life.

So this is me, reclaiming my heart and making it whole again. Stitching it back up, gluing the smaller pieces back on, and polishing it up...so that when I love again, I hand the whole thing over, not just the majority of it.

All of it. Every bit.

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...