luuey15's Xanga

Monday, November 13, 2006

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 05:09:11 GMT

Well this is my last day in Afghanistan. Sad? Hardly. However, given the fact that ill be in Kuwait for around 2 weeks, id much rather be here than there. Kuwait just sucks. Ive already mentioned before why i hate that place, so ill spare you this time. But beware, if you wake up in the middle of the night in a cold hard sweat...its because Kuwait made it that way. You have any idea how much anxiety I'm going to have while I'm there? Remember when you were a kid and you would go to Six Flags and how excited you were? Well imagine your parents parking right outside the Water Park and not letting you get out of the car. Ya, its going to suck that bad. Home is so close, but yet soooo far away.

However, going to Kuwait means I'm just one step closer to being back home. I have just so much to do! With all of my friends and family visiting, apartment looking, automobile driving, video game playing, clothes trying on-ing, movie watching, food eating, and electronic gadgeteering activities i have to do I'm going to be one busy guy. I'm so pumped. For the first couple of months I'm home I'm going to be walking around with a smile on my face and a tent in my pants. But here i am again getting ahead of myself, again. I guess i should be focusing on getting the finishing touches on my packing together. Which is what ill start doing right about now.

This is a short post and i didn't say anything new, but oh well. Take care and see you shortly!

Wise men say, forgiveness is divine.

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 18:45:18 GMT

So whats the countdown at? I refuse to look at it. Its the mental weight that just reminds me how long the days are. Remove it? NEVER! Just knowing im almost done to want a countdown is good enough. I did manage to get some toys this week to help smother the flame of anxiety which included: two computer games and....

My iPod. Yesterday it arrived in the mail with my cool little case. The first thing i noticed was how small this thing is. Ive never seen a Nano and reviews werent exaggerating. I opened the box and held my breathe as not to blow it away. I did manage to drop it in the trash within the first 30 minutes of playing with it. I hope thats not an omen, but after it took me the rest of the evening to get it to work properly, im starting to believe its destined to end in the dump sooner than i want. The first hour of getting my new toy was like going on a date with Natalie Portman. Id be so super pumped, only to get annoyed half way through date and make me want to return her to Israel. To give you a quick rundown: When i connected the iPod it asked me if i wanted to create a playlist since all my songs wouldnt fit on 8 gigs. So i hit yes. Well later on i decided, "thats stupid, ill just check the ones i want to sync" and thus proceeded to delete the playlist from iTunes. DO NOT DO THIS. After i deleted the playlist i couldnt connect my iPod and I kept getting an error saying, "folder not found, the disk cannot be read or written to." Or something like that. As much as i saw that error youd think i would of memorized it. Anyways, i scoured the apple support site trying to find a way to fix this, all the while cursing to myself, "way to go asshole, you knew better, you did, and now look what happened." To make this story shorter, i got it working well enough to sync to. But its such a roundabout way of doing it, that its such a hassle. Besides that, this thing is cool.

This is a small little update, but there isnt a whole lot to talk about. Work has been the same ol' same ol' as usual. Supposedly our replacements should be getting here soon. This means we have to train them for a couple days, then sit around and let them do the work. OK with this guy. Its also been getting pretty cool here. The days are still warm, but the nights and mornings are starting to require long pants and shirts. Definitely a change from Kuwait where my skin would combust just thinking about going outside. But im out, take care, and dont delete the default playlist.

lucky number slevin - great movie.

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 10:55:44 GMT

Well my undying love for electronics this past two weeks has taken a hit. It seems that my 300 dollar iPod that i bought last September has decided to take a dive off of the operational status cliff. The error it keeps giving me is the 'sad face ipod' icon, which according to the iPod support website, means its a hardware problem. After reading exactly what hardware problem they are referring to from various websites, ive gathered that its more than likely a hard drive problem. That problem also costs between 100-200 dollars to repair after its all said and done. Coincidentally, my limited warranty through Apple is only a year long, which if you do the math, expired last month! Isn't that some shit. Since i do a lot of activities here, and at home, that require music on the go, i need another MP3 player.

Does anyone who reads this have any suggestions? I really dont want to support Apple since ive never been of fan of them, but i'm really in tight space on what to get. Since most my music is through iTunes, i dont feel like converting all 14 gigs of my songs into a format that can be used on a MP3 player other than iPod. So, it looks like im stuck with another POS Apple product. If i could, i want to get the Zune (http://www.zunescene.com/) when it comes out, but like i said, that requires converting all my songs. Also, since it will be the first generation of the Zune, its probably going to have problems. Any suggestions on any of that? Let me know if so.

Also, my pair of "Logitech wireless headphones for PC" decided to die on me too. Yes, the pair of headphones i bought a month ago. No, i dont have a warranty on them. Apparently, the USB piece that transmits the signal doesnt feel like working anymore. I reinstalled all the drivers and even through it against the wall in a fit of anger and nope, still not working. Normally they are anywhere between 90-175 dollars, but i bought them out of the box from Buy.com for only 35 dollars. Since i didn't pay full price for them, i'm not too terribly upset, but now i have to go back to using wired headphones and i hate being limited on my freedom.

Also! to make this an even longer post. I'm reading a book called "Inside Delta Force." Two words to describe this book: Bad. Ass. Its an autobiography about a guy who was one of the founding members of Delta in 1978. He talks about his training through delta force and eventually goes into some missions he's done. I've only read about 100 pages of it so far, but as of now its a great book and i've heard nothing but good things about it. Definitely worth a read.

But i'm out, take care and support missile defense systems.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 13:37:13 GMT

Here it is, my first post of October. I have to tell you, saying October sounds so nice. Soon ill be saying November and then ill be saying 'Home.' Sucks though ill be missing one of my most favorite holidays: Halloween. Looks like i wont be able to dress up as a complete badass...aka: A Ninja. Thats my default costume thats gauranteed to be awesome. But next halloween ill have to spice things up a bit. Ive always wanted to dress up with Carl and Jordan and go as characters from Top Gun. Carl - Maverick, Jordan - Iceman, and Me - Goose. "Goose!? He dies and wasnt even a pilot!" Well, this may be true, but he was still a complete BAMF (Bad Ass Mother F*cker). It also doesnt help that i resemble him the most out of any of the other Top Gunners. This plan would actually be easy to pull off. Just go to a Army Navy store and get a flight jacket, some HUGE aviator sunglasses, hair gel, and some bubble gum. But, looks like ill have to keep that idea for another halloween, as i wont be attending this one.

Its hard to believe ive been away from home for 16 months. Im getting to the end of the road! Of course, leave it to some officer to ruin my excitment. The other day i went to breakfast by myself. A Captain, that ive never met before, sat with me and we began having a small talk session. We talked about the usual things like home, what our job was, and all that fun stuff. During the end of the convo i mentioned how i was looking forward to going home which he then asked me how much longer i had in the Army. "3 1/2 years," I replied. He gave a pretty hefty laugh and then stated, "Well dont get too comfortable at home, youll probably be back over here within a couple years, thats assured" WTF sir! Dont rain on my parade! Talk about a real swift kick in the nutsack. The worst thing about it was the fact that he is with some intelligence company and he would know something like that. I wonder if that made him feel better. I hope so, because he definitely took my energy and put it somewhere.

100% BAMF

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 11:28:07 GMT

Its that time again where i try to make an entertaining weblog and end up failing miserably. I don't know what my problem is, but lately i've been getting some horrible heart burn everytime i try to lay down. Actually, when i think about it, i know exactly what the problem is. Its from eating this mass produced pig gruel that the Army likes to call breakfast, lunch, and dinner. As i was telling some friends last night, the first thing i'm going to do when i get home is eat a home cooked meal. Regardless if the meal is overcooked, nasty, and gives me the bubble guts for the rest of the day. At least it was home cooked and will still bring a smile to my callous face. This morning i went to breakfast and prepared to indulge in my most cherished meal of all: ham, cheese, tomato, and onion omelet, hash browns, bacon, biscuit, and assorted fruits. Only to take a few bites and get utterly disgusted and stop eating it after i took a bite and realized my eggs were still runny. I then attempt to cut my biscuit in half only to have my plastic knife nearly break. The food here is just getting really old. After 10 months of eating assembly line food i'm just sick of it. Id just really love to eat a meal that was made with pride and compassion....and a beer, that would be nice too.

As far as work is concerned, its been really slow this week. Although i cant really complain about that, but from what i hear we have a huge job coming up and i'm not looking forward to that at all. The weather here is definitely changing and its more than welcome. Our highs have been around the 90s while the lows have been in the mid to low 50's. Thats a pretty drastic change in temp. Last i looked, Indianas highs were around 70 and the lows around 60. Id much rather prefer that. But i'm gonna jet. I'm gonna try to post some random pictures that i find on the internet at the end of my posts from now on, just for shits and giggles. Did i mention i only have 2 months left?

Ironically, Bobby never wanted tea ever again.

A personal favorite of mine. LOL

More to come.....

Friday, September 22, 2006

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 18:26:24 GMT

Well its day 3. What is 'day 3' you ask? Its the number of days that i've gone without being able to take a shower. Gross? of course. Do i smell just a little bit rank of BO? More than likely. Is there a darn thing i can do about it? Nope. About a week or so ago the water heater in our bathroom started to take a dive. The water never really got cold, but the water was on the uncomfortable side for sure. So we finally decided to call the repair man. What does he do? COMPLETELY disable our heater because we need a new part. Why he didn't just leave it how it was while he ordered the part is beyond me. At least it was bearable. I tried to take a shower about 3 days ago and it was freezing . It was basically me sticking my head under the shower head and dabbling a little bit of water on my private parts. To make matters worse, the past 2 days the water has been turned off all over base for some reason, making it impossible to just walk next door and take a shower there. Thanks a lot Uncle Sam. At least its the weekend and i wont be working...hopefully. However, it looks like i'm going to have to resort to baby wipes again if something doesn't get fixed soon.

In other news, i heard a rumor that we wont be getting home till mid-decemeber instead of the beginning. Man i hope not. I have A LOT to do before school starts and if The Man tries to stick it to me even more than he already has, he's going to have one highly pissed off guy named Nick on his hands. And he doesn't want that! Let me assure you. If that rumor is true, that will only leave me a month to: See my Dad in GA which i want to spend at LEAST a week with him, get an apartment whether with or without Carl (because i'm gonna need one within a week of getting back), a Car because i currently don't have any mode of transportation besides my motorcycle and i'm not riding that mid-december, get classes scheduled, get details ironed out with the police academy, and of course a bunch of little odds and ends done such as shopping with Kate and whooping Jordans ass in any game he deems necessary. So its going to be a hectic month to say the least. Even if i get home when i hope to, i'm still going to be hurting for time. But at least ill be home, and in the ends thats all i really care about. But this update has come to a conclusion, take care and watch our for the spinach.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 17:18:55 GMT

Well its another day and another dollar in the life of Nick Lewis. Have i mentioned that i only have about 72 days left till im home in good ol' b-town getting on with my lifes journey? To say that im pumped would be an understatement.

But enough with my boring life, I guess the Pope is having a real fun time lately. If you thought making a joke (a not even funny or offensive joke) about Muhammad was bad, you should see what reading the beliefs of a dead emperor of Rome can do. The Popes statement that has angered the muslim population read something about Muhammad "being evil and inhumane" and teaching the word of Islam "by the sword." This belief by a dead guy has been around for how long? So why are Muslims getting mad now? The Pope even apologized and stated that it didnt reflect his beliefs. But it gets better. To top it off on how ignorant and stupid this is, check this statement out that some head Al-Qaeda leader gave. According to the News he said the Pope is "the worshipper of the cross" (Duh) and further stating that "you and the West are doomed as you can see from the defeat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and elsewhere. ... We will break up the cross, spill the liquor and impose head tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or (killed by) the sword." Is it just me...or did that guy just affirm EVERYTHING that the dead Emperor of Rome believed about being inhumane and forcing Islam on people by 'the sword.' That statement also came from a guy who allows suicide bombings, mass murders, and intimidation on his own fellow Muslims. This whole 'Holy War' that these Muslim extremists are trying to start just makes absolutely no sense to me. That statement just makes me mad in so many ways. Not only is it a direct threat to me and the West as a whole, but its also completely detrimental to Religions cause. I always thought religion taught faithfulness, acceptance, forgiveness, kindness, and most importantly, furthering yourself. It just annoys the crap out of me that ANY war can be based off of religion. I guess this is just the fate of Man to turn something Holy and conform it to their liking. But thats my rant for the day, im gonna hit the sack. Take care.

Star Date 1523

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:39:53 GMT

Well its about that time to update considering its been a good 10 days since my last one. However, not a whole lot has gone on that is worth mentioning. Which is a pity to be honest. Most people when they write in their blogs it has to do with cool and juicy events like parties, the personal love life, what going on with school and friends, family, etc. I get to write about the monotonous chronicles of Nick Lewis. Which brings me to my first topic: Work. If you didnt know, there is a 'strike' going on with the civilian contractors i work with. Supposedly their contract isnt getting renewed so why should they bust their ass when they dont even know if they are going to have a job? I cant blame them really, but it kinda sucks for us. If for some reason their contract DOESNT get renewed, say hello to a lot more work and stress for us military folk. The civilians do some stuff that im not real sure how to do and if they just up-and-leave....its going to be a real pain in the ass. Luckily, its looking pretty good that they will get another contract, but i dont want to be too optimistic since last time i did that i ended up getting deployed overseas for 18 months. Im just really looking forward to get home in case non of you knew already. I just feel that ive missed out on soo much being gone from home for so long. But alas! All i have to do is just look in my bank account and all my frowns turn upside down in an expression that others tell me is called a 'smile.' It hurts my face! Im still looking at the Scion tC but its starting to get overpowered by a Chevy S10 ZR2 or a Ford Ranger FX4. So youll have a better idea of what i want, here are 2 pictures of each truck.

As you can tell my taste in trucks, and vehicles in general, is extremely awesome. I just really want a truck for some reason, eh, dont ask why because ill end up giving you stupid answers like, "i can go to drive in movies and sit in the back...and haul stuff! You know, all the things that i have that need hauling....." I think its more of a factor that i get a cool manly truck. The 4X4 capabilities will more than come in handy. Plus im sure the bed of my truck will show many more uses when i actually have one to use. But, im done with the posting and need to begin on my sleeping. Take care.

Bad day for Heroes

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 14:51:01 GMT

Today was a pretty exciting day in the news. Unfortunately, an exciting day in the news pretty much means a lot of things didnt go well for someone. First, everyones favorite "Crocodile Hunter", Steve Irwin, was killed while filming a sealife documentary today. Of all things to get killed by, he got killed by a stingray, which from knowing a decent amount about Marine Biology, are not a dangerous animal and RARELY attack anyone, let alone kill them. I'm not sure exactly how it all happened, but i guess he got a Barb (part of the tail on a stingray) impaled through his chest (picture of barb below.)

According to the news, getting stung by the barb of a stingray is like getting stabbed by a 'rusty knife' and judging by that picture, uh ya, im well aware of that fact. That had to of been painful, but hopefully it didnt last long. Poor guy, even though i liked to poke fun at the man, i respect him for what he's done for the promotion of wildlife. Secondly, the State Trooper who was shot in the leg by the infamous escape convict "Bucky" died today in a New York hospital. He was initially shot by a high powered rifle to the leg, which severed his femoral artery, which intern made doctors amputate his leg in an attempt to save his life. I guess complications arose and the officer died today due to the injuries. The second officer who was shot, is making a recovery. Lastly, lets hope, was earlier today an American A-10 Warthog (american attack jet) accidentally fired upon a platoon of Canadians. Supposedly around 5 were killed, and a 'good number' were injured. "Good number" from what i hear, is in the 40 range. However, those numbers are hearsay and I haven't been able to find it on the news, at least as far as the internet is concerned. However, i'm sure it will be plastered on the CNN.com front page in about a day or so since Liberal CNN just loves posting stuff bad about the war. I really dislike CNN for their strong liberal opinions, but they are a good news agency, bias opinions aside. But thats a rant best left for another day. Regardless, today was a bad day for the average guys Hero.

On a lighter note, Windows Vista (the new microsoft operating system that is going to replace Windows XP) is still set for release in November. Not that Vista is a big deal, but the video encoding DX10 certainly is. DX10 means better looking video games, which means new video cards, which means my $2,300 dollar computer i plan on building when i get back will be ever more awesome. I'm sure you could care less, but i'm pretty pumped to make that behemoth when i get home. I'm almost as excited in making my computer as i am buying my new car, home entertainment system, and going clothes shopping with Kate, my very own personal fashion diva. I'm not a big fan of shopping, but she says she can turn me into the HOTTEST GUY UHLIVE! Who could not get excited about that???? Don't worry Mom and Dad, i still plan on saving at least 10-15 thousand and investing it into mutual funds and Roth IRAs. Not sure how im going to do that, but it will be done.

But its dinner time and this animal needs some food. Take care everyone

(Edit: The News report just came out, only 1 canadian killed and 5 injured. Talk about what i heard being an exxageration.)

Fluent in over 10,000,000 foreign languages

Sat, 02 Sep 2006 03:01:54 GMT

Well i awoke this morning pretty put out that i had to get up and take a physical fitness test for the army. Not only was it 5:00 in the morning, but i HATE taking PT tests. I passed the thing, but oh boy, was it not pretty. For those of you who dont know what a PT test conists of, let me enlighten you. I have to meet the standard of: 42 push ups and 53 sit ups in 2 minutes, and run 2 miles in under 16:36. The push ups and sit ups are a piece of cake, no problem in those categories, but the run, oh yes, that run. The longest 16 minutes of my entire life. If you are sitting here reading this thinking to yourself, "I could run that and still have time to play Monopoly©" then you just need to shut your damn mouth. Like i said, i passed, but im pretty sure i looked like a drunken monkey with a shotgun wound to the chest about the time i crossed the finish line. But out of celebration, i think ill go spend some money at the bizarre today since im not able to get hammered off my ass here. The bizarre? Its basically a traveling afghani market where a bunch of afghani merchants try to sell 'quality' items. Quality is used very loosely in this sense since most of it, especially the electronics, is nothing but imitation garbage with a price tag. Want a good analogy? Remember in the first Star Wars where the Jawas would travel around in their sandcrawler looking for junk, and ended up finding and selling C3PO and R2D2 to Luke Skywalker? Well its just like that, Jawas and all, with the exception of the sandcrawler and cool robots. But im out, time to take a shower and possibly take a quick nap. Till next time....