Photo Post

©2008 JP

I'm still sorting through my pictures, and I thought I'd share one or two on here.

When taking photographs over in Iraq, I wanted to have some connection with the famous war time photographs of WWII. I wanted the pictures to look 60+ years old, but be current. It was my silent rebellion against digital cameras. Using various techniques while taking the shot, I think I have succeeded. Please note, this is a direct scan of the negative. NO PHOTOSHOP MODIFICATIONS!!!

©2008 JP

I Shouldn't Have To Explain Myself...

But repeat comments from several people have shown it is needed.

This is for all the people that think I made(am making) a poor choice in buying and driving my car.

An Ode to the Cars of Yester-year

MG MG, oh how I enjoy thee
Just wheels and an engine, you're technology free
Oh how I love, these great cars of yore
The days before, driving was a bore
Todays cars aren't driving, their mearly directed
Computers control everything, your inputs corrected
Make a mistake, the car corrects you
Not so with the Midget, it's unforgiving, honest and true
The Midget has no air bags, no front wheel drive
It's just the skill of the driver, that keeps one alive
No traction control, no anti-lock brake
No power steering, a fun drive it does make
The Midget has no radio, but that's more than fine
The engine sings nicely, the tires keep time
The shifting is manual, two hands just to run
This means no texting *GASP*, until driving is done
The Midget demands a driver's attention, his mind is not free
Could this actually make it safer, than it lets on to be?
By day, the headlights, the do not run
Nor do they turn themselves on, when gone is the sun
Midget oh Midget, you hold a place in my heart
I beg and I plead, that you don't fall apart

No in addition to safety and practicality issues, i've gotten a lot of flak about driving a "collectable" car when it's likely to rust, be broken into or stolen. Sure, if that happens, it'd suck, but life will go on, and I'll always have the memories of the car to look back on. How can I say this, when I so clearly like the car so much? Easy, my treasure's in heaven.

Matthew 6:19
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "

I don't think God is telling us not to have nice things. I thing what God is saying here is that we are not to be so concerned with temporal things that they become the focus of our lives, and our purpose. Life is meant for living. Things are made for enjoying. Cars are made for driving, and MGs are no exception! So to all the neighsayers, I kindly remind them of the old Disney addage. "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all!"

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some driving to do.

JP Out!

LA!!!

Hangin in LA....it's pretty cool!

JP OUT!

A Rare Moment of Clarity

The Rubik's Cube.

Tonight, I've experienced a rare moment of clarity. Many things in life I didn't have an answer for finally were laid out in a way that I understood better than I thought possible.

It's like I've had a Rubik's Cube floating in my head for months, twisting and turning at it but achieving nothing more than perhaps a single side of solid color. Just enough progress to reminde me that it is possible.

Well, tonight, the twisting and turning suddenly connected it all together and I saw a 6 sided complete cube for a few moments before it began to rejumble itself. It was knowledge, perhaps to great for me. Understanding that I can't attribute to my own abilities.

It's given me much needed direction. Now, I must act!

JP OUT!

Life........is.......interesting

So I've mostly adjusted to life back home, but it's wierd how life can be sometimes. There's a part of me that actually wants to go back to that lifestyle, like the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt. It's not that life is bad here. To the contrary, it's quite good! It's just so easy for anything else to look better, be it the future, the past, or even the thought of what could be.

All we can do is live for today, trust God for tomorrow, and ask Him to forgive our past. Cause who knows? Each day could be our last, so why waste it?

JP OUT!

Title Change

So, since I'm no longer around the world, I changed the title of the blog to reflect that. I will continue to post, but it will consist of my current thoughts and musings. Read some, think about it some, add some comments. All in all, it's just for fun anymore!

Enjoy!

JP OUT!

I'm BACK!

Man, it feels good to be home!

Posts will likely be few and far between until I have settled in. Please be patient.

Thank you for all your support!

JP OUT!

Short Update

Hey everybody!

I've got limited internet access, but I'm ok with that, because I'm breathing crisp, clean, WI fall air! That's right, I'm currently at Fort McCoy, schedualed to return in a matter of days!

See ya soon!

JP OUT!

En Route

Hey, I have begone my stateward travels! Still several days left, but the process has begun and it is back on schedule, after a short delay due to weather. Be back before ya know it!

JP OUT!

Presented To......

Are words even needed?

See ya soon!

JP OUT!

Busy busy busy!!!

Wow! Things are crazy right about now. We're packing up (hint hint) but I can't give exact dates we're leaving. Here's another hint...don't send any more mail! Now, I very very much appreciate the mail I have recieved, but it's unlikely any mail sent now will get here in time.

Normally, at this point, things are supposed to be winding down and getting easier. Instead, due to unforseen issues, it's busier than ever! It's like trying to run 8 laps in a set amount of time, and you're comming around on your last lap and the official counting your laps says you got one more lap to go. So then you're comming around again and "One more lap". I'm on lap 15.

Many of you have probably noticed I haven't been communicating much lately. Please know, I'm ok, just busy (notice a pattern?)

Now, to respond to the comments:
Anna, I kinda need to lay off the brownies for awhile, so nothing too elaborate. Perhaps some chocolate chip cookies, cause then I won't feel compelled to finish the tray. :)

Beth, I don't recall second place. If it makes you feel any better, I finished the butterscotch brownies you sent in 2 days! I ate about 90% of em! (Hence why I need to lay off the brownies!)

Micah, after my experience with cameras, I might have to take you up on the offer! If this one breaks on me, I might just have to give up photography! Three strikes and you're out, right? O, and to clarify, I did the full 100.

Theresa, thank you soo much for your help with getting the bike! It made a huge difference! I was honestly a bit skeptical of the huge tires it had, but it proved to be a good choice! Name the trail and the time, I'll be there!

Ryan, I did time myself. I stopped to help some people with a flat, which took nearly 45min cause the air pump was leaking. My overall time including that was 9hrs and 20min. So, 8hrs and 35min estimated time.

Steve, no, I haven't been shot at since May. Course, you haven't called in a while! My phone won't call your area code, so I have to wait for you to call! What gives?

Caleb, thanks for forwarding that message! My facebook appears to be working now.

Ok, so that's about all.

JP OUT!

Finally, an update!!!

Whew! In the time that stress should be going down, it's only increasing. More on this later.

Anywho, first things first.

I found the info for the brownies. But not all the info, so the winner will have to claim their prize. The winner is the cheesecake brownies!

Next, the bike race.

So, 3 or 4 days before the race, I'm getting ready to leave work. I grab my camera bag without realizing the top is open. My new (to me) Nikon camera goes for a tumble onto the hard floor. No visible damage, but the shutter no longer works!!! No worries, I still got my digital camera. Now it's the morning of the race. I take out my digital camera to start snapping photos. "Memory card read error". Yes, that morning, the memory card in my camera decides to give up the ghost. Thus, I personally have no pictures of the event!!! However, not all is lost! Many others had cameras that day, and I should have pictures shortly.

So on to the results...there were 47 riders who signed up. Some for 25 miles, some for 50, some 75, and some 100. There were 8 from my unit (2 at 50 and 6 at 100). Of the 6, only myself and one other guy, SGT Zegarra finished the 100 miles. Of the 47 total riders, only 8 completed the 100 miles. I came in 3rd place (1st in my unit)! I owe a big part to my family, my 4-H leader, and Russells Cycle and Fitness! I was a little skeptical of the bike at first, when compared to the competition, because they all had road bikes with thin, fast tired. However, the mountain bike proved to be the better choice when I was one of the very few that never had a break down or a flat! Thank you!

Then moving on, like I said, it's getting more stressful. The new unit has arrived, so now there's a lot of people in a small space. This is just asking for problems. Also, there has been a huge influx of Ugandan guards at this base. For those that don't know, there is a huge contract for Ugandan security guards here in Iraq. Anywho, it's made for some stress because there's often a 1-1.5hr wait to use the computer, the shuttle buses are always packed to the gills with Ugandans, there's hardly any seats in the chow halls, and there are certain times of the day that it's pointless to try to use the gym.

Then, my hours at work have increased, but the workload has decreased. I can use the internet there, but more sites than not are blocked, like myspace, facebook, youtube and even my bank's website are blocked! It's like driving a car that has a max speed of 20mph on the highway! So then I finally get a chance to use the public computers, and due to Facebook updating their page, I can't even use Facebook there! The chow hall is out of milk, leaving soy milk. (BTW, I will be drinking a very tall glass of real fresh milk when I get home). And this is my first chance to be online since I last posted.

Sigh, I know it's little stuff. I know I should be thankful, considering I'm in a war zone, and not in danger. Yet, it's at the point where I just want to go home. I want to be able to drive a car without needing to take a second person with me, or wearing a helmet, or having someone guide me as I back up, or be able to walk around without a rifle on my back, or wear headphones while exercising. Like I said, little things. Sigh....it's almost over!

JP OUT!

It has arrived!

My new bicycle has arrived!!! Pictures to follow shortly.

JP OUT!

One Hundredth

Anywho, this is my 100th post!

Unfortunately, it's going to be only this long.

JP OUT!

All I Want To Do-oo-oo-ooo.......

......is get that song out of my head!!!!

Quick tidbit about the Army. There are exactly two genres of music that the average military personnel listen to......country and rap. Over here in Iraq, there are three English radio stations. One plays country, and two play rap. The rest are all Arabic. Thus, whenever I'm in a vehicle with a radio (not my vehicle, btw), it's country or rap, more often, country.

Those who know me, know that I don't like most country or rap. And even though all Arabic music sounds the same, there still manages to be more variety between songs than either of the English alternatives. Ok, my girlfriend has been educating me on country, and I'm actually starting to get country.....just a little bit.

But then, once I get to the point where I think not all hope is lost in country music, a song like this comes along. I kid you not, this is the chorus....

"All I want to do-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo, All I want to do-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo is love you"

The song is by Sugarland and it's currently the number one country hit. Sigh.......they just made the word DO 18 syllables long and take 20 seconds (yes, I timed it) to say something that really only takes 3-5 seconds to say. I mean, I understand.....the words are highly poetic, contain unique and intelligent words, and very original. *rolls eyes*. The verses aren't much better. This song embodies within itself, all that I hate in country music.......and it's the number 1 song! Country music fans, you're really hurting your stereotype in voting this song to be number 1!

In the mean time, I've heard a couple other songs that aren't half bad. I actually bought a Keith Urban cd, and liked it. I heard a song by Garth Brooks (I may be wrong on that) called "Just Put A Girl In It", talking about how sometimes life seems boring......ya just gotta put a girl in it.

Country music fans, there is hope! But someone's gotta teach Sugarland how to write songs!

JP OUT!

P.S. This song was NOT the source of my headache, which is gone now, btw!

Not much of an update.......

But, here's the latest.

I've been having a crazy schedule the last several days and some pretty intense training. I picked up a real bad headache yesterday, and it's still with me today. I had a shot today that took care of it for awhile, but it's back.

In any case, I'm off to church for the band practice.

Sorry this was so short.

JP OUT!

Please Re-direct Your Mail

I know I said my address wasn't going to change anymore, but.....I was wrong.

Please change the first line of all mail from:





"PFC Pittenger, Jason"


to


"SPC Pittenger, Jason"

JP OUT!

Hello from Iraq!

Hey, been awhile since I've posted pictures. So here's some pictures, and even a video!
At the shooting range



A lot has happened in a short period of time! First, the "dangerous, unnamed event" is over. Several of us flew over to another base to pick up some vehicles, and drove em back. As you may or may not know, roadside bombs continue to be a threat. While measures taken by the Army have significantly reduced the danger, there is still a chance of something going wrong. Thank you for your prayers.

Also this week was the Taji Idol. A talent show our unit's chaplin put together. I have the last 30 seconds of the song I performed. I got 4th place. There was no mike stand or music stand, so another soldier filled in.

Every Saturday, a few of us get together for a band practice for the following Sunday. The individual members often change from week to week. The first recording taken from the Sunday night service. Someone near the camera was practically tone deaf so don't mind the singing. (I'm playing bass).

The second video is after the service, showing the band members more closely. There are two people not seen in the first video. The guy in the gray Army T-Shirt plays the keys (though not on the song shown) and the black guy is playing the Djembe, but he's off to the right of the drums and out of the frame.

Today, the temperature in the sun hit an all time record (according to my personal records).

Extrapolating the temperature scale out to that point, I estimate it to be either 160F or -100F. Shade temperature usually hovers around 120F.

Lastly (pardon the language),

Army Uniform: $150

Pair of boots: $100

Two shotguns: $750

Looking like a badass on your own blog: Priceless!

I'd like to thank the following people for their support:

My 4-H club, the Clover Patch Kids, for their delicious brownies and snacks! (BTW, had they qualified for the contest, they probably would have won!)

My family, for their unending support and for being a voice back home (and the award winning brownies! *Hint hint)

My grandparents, for their support as well, and for some wonderful brownies! No one can beat my grandma's brownies! Unfortunately, they also did not qualify for the contest.

State Farm of Bloomington, IL. I just received three large care packages with enough goodies to make me fat again! Don't worry, I shared.

Saint Marks Lutheran Church of Washington, IL for their care package. This one, I'm keeping to myself! :)

Crosspoint Community Church of Eureka, IL. Specifically, this is a blanket thanks to the individual memebers who have sent me cards, letters and boxes. On Aug 24th, 2008, they celebrated their 5th year, and a church here in Iraq, celebrated with you!

My girlfriend, for being understanding when I can't always get back to her in a timely manner.

My friends, for keeping me updated on the social happenings, and for not forgetting about me.

And everyone else for your prayers!

Some upcoming events:

On September 11th, our whole unit is doing a 5k commemerative run. On September 28th, a few of us are doing a 100 mile bicycle ride as a satillite of the annual 100 mile ride done in HI. One of the units here is from HI and they're coordinating the event. This is where you all come in....we need sponsers. I have a bicycle, but it's a $60 PX special with a broken pedal and worn out shifters. In the next few days, I need to make a decision on bike purchase. I have an option to buy a new bike and have it shipped here, then ship it back home to use at NIU. I am strongly considering that. Several of us in the unit are also in need of a few add-ons such as a biking jerseys (to keep cool), new tires, water bottle holders. If you would like to sponser the race, rates start at $0.05 a mile, up to $5 a mile (hahah!). Otherwise, we could use a spokesperson back home to talk to the local bike shops to see if they're willing to donate/provide discounts in support of the troops.

Stay cool, ya'll

JP OUT!

Been Way Too Long!!!

So, I was going to post this past Sunday, when the internet went down, and it's been down from then till now! Thus, I'm only partly to blame for such a late post.

Anywho, news. Well, I got a letter from home saying there was 3 inches of snow on the ground. After a long confused thought process, I decided to check the date on the letter. Jan 22. It was sent to Ft Dix Jan 29th, returned to sender Aug 9th, and resent to me Aug 22nd. Ya, good job, FT Dix. Glad it wasn't an urgent letter!

My home church celebrated 5 years of services!!! WHOOOOT! The first anniversary that I wasn't able to make! Life goes on! I hear the service was great, being held at the Eureka Lake. The weather cooperated. I wish I could have been there. Yet here, on the other side of the world, I was at a church service on that day, and they gave us an oppertunity to share something about our home church. I got to share that my church was celebrating 5 years! Crosspoint, you have now been named in Iraq! And it didn't cost you a penny to send me over here! :)

I've been running a lot lately. The other day, I ran nearly 10 miles! (Keep in mind, 2 years ago, I couldn't run 1 mile continuously) I'm actually getting a bit addicted to it! It's a great stress relief, and a reminder to eat well, cause you'll feel it when it comes time to run!

The last week or so, I've had deja vu. Something in the environment triggered a memory from home so strongly, that I had to remind myself where I was at. Like one, there's a patch of well watered grass over here. I took off my shoes and walked across it. AHHH! Then later, I smelled something that reminded me of home. I gotta keep my head in the game just a little bit longer!

Once again, my camera is awesome! Been taking tons of pictures. I'm going to be poor after developing the rolls, but it'll be worth it.

On September 11th, it'll be a mixed emotion day for me. We're going to be doing a 10k (about 6mile) run that day, it's the 7th year anniversary of 9-11 (the reason I'm here), and it's my girlfriend's birthday (one of the reasons I miss home so much).

In any case, my time here is coming to a close. As much as I'd like to, I can't put dates/times on here. There are specific people that know back in the states. Contact them for more information.

Thanks, all, for reading!!

JP OUT!

Good News!

The vinyl records I ordered finally shipped. (To my house! I'm not dumb enough to bring a record player to Iraq! The records would melt in the mail!!!) I got a replacement tube for my amp, so it's working again, and my new film camera (complements of Ebay) has arrived! I am back in business! I gotta say, this camera is freaking sweet!

The Nikon F3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_F3

It's the best camera made before auto focus came out. It retailed for $1250 and sold on Ebay for $130. It's built like a tank, but moves like a sports car. Everything is so smooth and well made.....it's nice! It can use film from 6iso to 128000iso (common is 100-800iso). It has all sorts of great features. None of the fluff of modern cameras such as auto focus, auto winding (though I can add this later), built in flash. It's just a highly featured SLR camera, and perhaps the best I could possibly get! Now my lens arsenal are in need of upgrades, but that'll come later on. Well, gotta go shoot some pictures!

JP OUT!

Boo----Freakin-----YA!!!!

That's right, I passed the PT test!!!!

Ok, story time.

As you all know, I failed to pass the situp portion of the PT test. I had an oppertunity to take the test again on the 13th, so in the time between then, I focused almost exclusively on ab work. It paid off as I went from 46 situps to 53 situps. A gain of 6 in less than a week! However, the ordeal wasn't over. After the test, I was weight and hight measured. I weigh 184lbs, down from 189lbs in June, and my height is 69". At my height, the Army says I should weight 179lbs, so I have to be taped for fat percentage. In June, I measured in at 22% which is right at the allowable limit. After loosing 5lbs, and increasing my bench press 50%, I measure in at 23%!!!! Thus, I am now again temporarily barred from promotion!!! (The Army system is flawed, making this possible). So, for three days, I eat almost nothing, keep exercising, and on the day of the measuring, drink almost no water. In three days, I'm down to 180lbs and 20%! HAHA!!!

So now the bar is lifted and there's nothing holding me back!!!! HAHAHA!!! Soon, line one of my address will change. But like all things the government deals with, it's gonna take time.

Either way, now that that's taken care of, I'm going to get back to a reasonable eating/pt/sleeping schedual.

Topic 2: Observations.

The human body is incredibly capable of noticing relativity, but is a poor judgement of absolutism. What I mean is this....it takes little to no training to know if an instrument is out of tune, yet if I were to play a note by itself, only the best can determine if the note is sharp or flat. Or in the visual sense, I could show you two different red objects 20 min apart that were similar shade and they'd look the same. Yet, putting them next to each other, the difference would be pronounced.

In the same way, our souls are excellent judges of reletivity, and poor judgement of absolutes. In other words, we often compare ourselves to those around us, rather than the truth. O, I must be right, because I'm better than _____. Or, I'm a failure because I'm not as good as ______. When we were given the knowledge of good and evil, we were only given the basics to tell if something is more evil or more rightous than something else. To truely know how true something is requires years of careful training and exposure to the truth, just like people with perfect pitch train themselves.

I don't really have a main point to hammer home with this thought. It was just that, a thought. Chew on it for a bit. Spit it out, choke it down with some water, give it to the dog, sell it on Ebay, I don't care. It's food for thought.

JP Out!

Sometime's Life's a Game

I am a soldier in the United States Army. I am an example to those back home of strength and disiplain. I am a worrior in God's army. I am an example to those here of strength and disiplain. I am a tall tower among my peers. Or so I thought.

But I am just a game of Jenga. Growing ever taller, all the while, my foundation grows ever weaker. Slowly and almost unoticed, blocks that I stand on have been removed and replaced with nothing but air, while more and more is added on top, giving the illusion of growth. Then, seemingly without warning, the whole thing comes crashing down, as the devil shouts joyously, "Jenga!" He had succeeded.

The difference here is that God steps in to remake me into what I once was, rather than just packing up the broken pieces and putting it on the shelf next to Monopoly, Clue, Battleship and all the other classics. One thing about God, when he play's Jenga, he cheats. He adds to the top while reinforcing the base. He takes us from a stack of blocks into something useful that can stand up against anything! I just need to realize that I cannot make it on my own.

I want to take this time to thank all of you that have supported me thus far. I want to give a shout out to my 4-H club for the box of food that was sent! Darn good brownies! For my family, who also sent some great brownies, and have been there for me and supported me, especially my father who's helped me with a project back home. My grandparents (again, for some great brownies :) ) as well as their pride. My girlfriend for being understanding while I work out at the gym. My friends, for not forgetting me while I'm gone. My church for all the times I've just needed someone to talk to. And anyone else not specifically mentioned! I know I haven't gotten back to a lot of those that have sent me stuff, and I'll try. But let me at least give a general thank you!

I hope you all are staying cool in the nice 90+ degree weather! I gotta say one thing good about the weather here....it's rained 3 times since early Feb, and not once since May. Though it makes things incredibly dry, you never have to worry about leaving things out overnight, or rain changing your plans. The weather is borringly predicable....hot, hotter, less hot. Though I do miss green. And grass. (No, I really mean grass, not pot!)

Well, that's all for now!!!
JP OUT!

Rejoice With Me

For I have pasted 2/3rds of my PT test.

Huh? What? You failed? Technically, yes. But I am celebrating because A, I nearly passed all three, B, I made great progress in the last month, and C, the 2 I did pass, I passed with flying colors! My girlfriend can attest to how much time I've been putting in at the gym in prepration for this event, and it's paid off, mostly!

For those that don't know, the APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) consists of three events. Pushups, Situps and 2 mile run. Those of you that know me know that I am not an athletic person. The pushups and situps are both a measure of how many you can do in 2 minutes. At my age group, passing is 40 pushups, 50 situps and 2 mile run in 16:36. For the pushups, I reached 40 in 1 minute, did 10 more and quit early to save energy for later events. The situps, I hit 46, and couldn't do any more. The run, well, I had no need to save energy at this point, so I went all out......just about dieing in the process.......15:28! 13 seconds slower than my peak in AIT! I'm proud of myself, and my progress! Friday, I start training again for the next one. This one, I will pass!

Laters, yall!

JP OUT!

Does It Ever End?

Ok, so I told you about my camera. What I didn't tell you was I had a flat in my bike a little while ago, before the camera stopped working. So today, I went about fixing the flat. I turned on some Nora Jones and went to work. While working, my stereo started making some popping noises. I at first thought it was just electrical noise, but no, one of the tubes cracked! I turned it off, but it was too late.....a small trail of smoke came up from within!

So I unplugged it and flipped it over to take a look. Let's play a game called, find the burnt part. Ready? GO!

Any guesses? I'll give you a hint....that black mark wasn't there before.

Right above that black mark is the charred remains of a resistor. Fortunately, they cost under a dollar and are easy to replace. Unfortunately, shipping = $$$ and time. I'm without a stereo for at least a week!!! NOOO!!! But at least my bike is fixed!

3 days till my PT test!

JP OUT!

Been Awhile

But I'm still here!

Sorry for the delay. My section was reduced to 1 this week, while extra work was thrown on me. I didn't even get my one day off this week. Plus, I've been spending my free time in the gym in preperation for the PT test coming on the 6th of Aug. I think I'm ready. I'm spending the next few days doing only light PT to let my body recover and be ready for the test. I think I've got it this time!

In other news, I got in contact with Steve. His job puts him in an office throughout the day, so I was able to reach him on his office phone. Being military, it was a free call! He's just 1 hr behind me timewise so our work sheduals are pretty close. It was great hearing from him! I've also got his mailing address, and mail sent from one APO to another is free! Can't argue with that!

So anywho, life's still moving forward.....slowly. Days are counting down, and I wish I could keep a running count on here......but alas, it's not allowed. Just know that the day will come soon enough!

Well, I gotta jet for now.
Laters,
JP OUT!

CAMERA TRAGEDY!!!

My beloved film camera decided to go on leave. It's no longer working properly!!! About 2 years ago, the film counter stopped working, but it didn't bother me much....I just always cared a spare roll of film. Anywho, the camera has a "feature" that when you first load film into the camera, it resets the shutter speed to 125/sec and turns off the light meter for the first 2 pictures. (Manual load film cameras, the first two pictures are throw-aways anyway. After 2 pictures, the film counter would go to 1, and count up. The counter stopped working and was stuck at 20 something. Well, it slowly started moving again, and now it's stuck on those first 2 pictures, locking the shutter speed to 125/sec default! Technically, everything but the counter is working fine......it's just the "feature" is locking everything else down.

Thus, I'm on the lookout for another camera, unless I can figure out away to advance the counter manually.

Anyone have a Nikon film SLR camera they want to donate???? :)

JP OUT!

P.S. Sorry for the double post.

The Things We Learn From Cats

Translation: Nap Like An Egyption


Translation: LOL! You said butt!

Translation: Ahah! Now you have to rub my tummy!

Everyone knows that cat's can't spell or speak correctly, but they try their hardest!

All images from www.icanhascheezburger.com

JP OUT!

Heat Exhaustion

"If you experience heat exhaustion, you’ll feel weak, dizzy, tired, nauseated, and thirsty. You may have a headache or cramps. Your temperature will rise (to as high as 104 degrees). Stop whatever you are doing, get out of the sun or heat and get inside—preferably to an air-conditioned room, or sit or lie down in front of a fan. Drink a quart or more of water or an electrolyte-replacement sports drink until symptoms are relieved and urine flow is restored. Avoid strenuous physical activity."

It happened. As much as I tried to avoid it, it happened. Heat exhaustion is essentially where your body gets to hot, or too dehydrated or both and it's a warning sign of much worse if not treated. I suppose it couldn't have been too bad, because I was still standing, and I knew enough to get inside and drink, but man, it sucks! It was like a sugar crash, with a pounding headach, feeling like you're going to throw up, and that your skin is being bitten or burned. All the while, you feel drunk and pissed off. The worst part is I knew I hadn't drank enough water, but since I felt ok up to that point, I figured I was fine.

But the good news is, by the next day, I was feeling 90% of normal, and just a few hours after that, I felt good again. No lasting damage, thank God! It definately could have been much worse!

Thank you all for your continued prayers!!!

P.S. I have not bought that guitar, I'm just dreaming.

JP OUT!

I'm In Love!!!

The Beatles once sang, "Money can't buy me love", but I'm here to tell you that $1349.97 (plus tax and S/H) gets you really darn close!

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/closeup/ELCSNANH--Main

Someday, I will make her mine!

JP OUT!

I Have Arrived

So I've been intentionally ambiguous about my move date because times, dates and locations are potentially sensitive information. However, that doesn't stop me from saying that I have officially arrived at my new location, and it's a million times better!!!! Ok, so not a million, but a lot.

First off, this base is considerably biggger and there's more to do. There's even a pool, though I haven't been yet. The place where I work is a lot closer (5min walk instead of 30min) and the place to spend money is a lot farther (20min by bus instead of 20min walk). Yet, it's still available if I really need something. Work load isn't bad.

I've gotten all the parts for my guitar amp together and I'm able to play again! The guitar survived being locked in a metal container in this heat for a few weeks (which is quite a feat!). I played last night until my fingers were sore (20min cause I'm out of practice). It was wonderful.

I've got a PT test coming up on Aug 6th. If I pass, I SHOULD be elegible for a promotion! So it's kinda a big deal! I've got my work cut out for me.

Anywho, I will be posting the results for the brownie contest soon. Thank you, btw!

Laters,
JP OUT!

Shift Change and other pictures

Ok, movie buffs, what movie is this from??? I'll give you three hints.

1. It's a silent movie.

2. It's older that most people you know.

3. Superman lives in a city by the same name.

That's right, it's Metropolis. Made in 1927 at the height of the silent movie era, Metropolis is a movie that to this day, is still considered a work of art. It's a story of the clash between the rich ruling class and the poor working class. It's set in an undetermined future time span. It's a time when the world is a city run by machines deep within the bowels of the urban environment, all maintained by a working class that feels oppressed by those in charge.

*Spoiler Alert* In an effort to gain their independence, they riot and destroy the machines that they are a slave to. Yet, by destroying the machines, they come to realize that these very machines they are a slave to are also the very machines that keep their living area from flooding. It's a reminder that as much as you feel screwed by "the machine", it's often a necessary evil. It's a very influential and futuristic movie. The movie even portrays a video intercom system. Keep in mind, the movie was made in 1927 and TVs were invented in the early 30s and popular in the 50s. There are highways and skyscrapers that the late 20s could only dream of! The Matrix borrows heavily on many aspects of this movie. The whole part in The Matrix 2 where the old guy talks about how the machines need us and we need the machines.........almost plagerism. There's even a board where strange letters and characters continuously fall from the top of the board to the bottom. Like a Matrix screen before their were computers.

The cool thing about silent movies is because they don't have sounds, they have to tell the story entirely through visual means and a music soundtrack (which is really good). The acting is a bit over the top as a result, but it's like a cross between a play and a movie. It's a nice change of pace.

Well anywho, I watched this, 4 episodes of Prison Break, 1 Lost, and 1 The Office today. Things are boringly slow right now. If it wasn't for the fact that I'd run out of things to watch and read, I wouldn't mind if the rest of the deployment were like this. Alas, I'm expecting things to ramp up again in a week or two. It's still nice to have a break while it lasts.

A few days ago, we had a real bad sand storm. I set down a magazine outside and in 30 min, it had what looked like 30 years worth of dust on it. My uniform was just brown. No green showing through! It was bad! Check out this picture of me after spending all day ouside.

My nose was covered in dust! I was wearing sunglasses so it looks like a sunglass tan. Yup! So what does a sandstorm look like before it hits?

And during a sand storm?
Now, meet James the Cat.

And Junior the Mouse. We even drew a house for him! See him peeking through the doorway?

Well, that's about all. Pictures have been overdue, so I had to put a lot up to make up for all the posts without pictures.

Enjoy!

JP OUT!

Being A Nerd....Blessing AND a Curse!

So I am officially banned "until further notice" from the local internet cafe. This is kinda a funny story in retrospect.

So first off, when the cafe opened, I brought my laptop in so I could use one of their lines to connect my laptop. Some of the other cafes here allow you to so I figured I'd find out. I read the rules and it wasn't mentioned anywhere. So I proceeded to plug and play. I did this on several occasions (3-4 at least) and not only did the attendant NOT tell me I couldn't do it, he even asked me once if I could move to another spot because the computer in that other spot wasn't working but the line was....that way, I wasn't using up a computer that someone else could be using.

Then one night, I was using their computers because I didn't feel like grabbing my laptop. They were having trouble with the internet. (warning, geek speak to follow). I pulled up command prompt and ran ipconfig. It's a tool to show you if your computer is connecting properly or not. I noticed an issue with the numbers relating to the settings they were configuring. I pulled up internet explorer and logged into the router they were configuring (still on default password...lol) and confirmed that the setting were infact set incorrectly. I told informed them that the settings should be changed....but forgot to close the window before they looked over. They thought I had logged in and changed them in order to screw things up. It's like being found in a bank vault with a gun and trying to explain to the police that you forgot you had the gun on you and got lost looking for the bathroom. As true as it may be, circumstantial evidence makes you guilty. Thus, I got kicked out for "using command prompt and plugging in your own laptop".

I'll take the punishment for poking around where I shouldn't have, but the part about bringing my own computer, they should have informed me first! I was told that there's now a sign posted in there that bringing your own computer is not authorized. HAHA! That sign's for me! It's like a memorial to my former presence! In the mean time, I found another place that I can use my own computer. I can finally download podcasts and windows updates. Hooah!

Laters,
JP Out!

Lessons learned from 88 keys

Did you know that there are currently over 20 recognized different ways to tune a standard piano? Each tuning emphasizes certain characteristics or keys. Some sound brighter, some sound duller, some sound great in major keys but not in minor etc. Did you know that from the days of Chopin until the recent past, it was common to request a particular tuning for your piano? Did you know that in the last 20 years or so, most pianos have been tuned to the mathmatically "perfect" tuning?

To understand my point, I need to explain tuning and pianos a bit. Each key on the piano is one semitone apart. A, Bb, B, C, C# etc. Each semitone is further divided into cents. There are 100 cents between C and C#. Mathematically perfect tuning has all notes on the piano tuned exactly 100 cents apart from the lowest note to the highest note. This looks good on paper, but sounds mediocre at best. Think of it as a multi-purpose tuning that works like a sledge hammer on tac nails when trying to play the classical pieces.

Some of the other tunings put individual notes in the scale slightly sharp or flat depending on the tuning. Some notes are up to 10 cents off of mathematically perfect tuning. Most of the other tunings have the lowest notes tuned slightly sharp and the highest notes tuned slightly flat. (See below for technical explanation). Some of the more radical tunings have the lowest notes 25 cents flat and the highest notes 25 cents sharp. Combine both and you have some notes as far as 35+ cents off from mathematically perfect tuning.

Artists would often favor one tuning over another and write songs that work best in that tuning. Playing the song in any other tuning would still get the point across, but it'd be like an out of focus picture or hearing a symphony on a pocket radio.

This right here is an example of an overall change in the American society. No longer do you see the dedication to a skill that you used to. Instead of mechanics by trade or shop keeper by trade, you have mechanics and shop keepers by job title only. That's what they do until they can find a better paying job. No longer do people strive to be the best ______ they can be, but they move from job to job all through their careers, always trying to move up. What we're left with is an all purpose person with no real skills. They dedicated their career to learning a little about everything, rather than everything about a little. This has very real consequences.

There's a semi-retired car mechanic in my home town. He is truly dedicated to his work. With the exception of the most recent cars, you could give him make model year and brief description of the problem and he can tell you from memory what's wrong with the car, how long it'd take to fix and the likelihood of it breaking down again. There's no $100 service fee for him to take a look at the car, cause he didn't have to. $100 saved right there! In a more general sence, the quality of manufacturing has taken a nose dive in the last 20-30 years. I know, I'm only 23, but all of my stereo (with exception of my cd player) is all pre-1980s. My guitar amps are all 1950-1970s. My car (when it's finished) will date from 1967-1982 (it's a mutt of a car). My camera is from 1983. I know what manufacturing was like before I was born.

Take another example. It the heyday of film, you could buy at least 4 different kinds of black and white film, each with a choice of film speed, from Kodak alone. There's many other makers of black and white film. In color film, the numbers are even higher! Digital cameras, however, you've got many manufacturers, but the sensors are multi-speed, multi-purpose, technically perfect, but (in my opinion) mediocre at best.

If this trend continues, we'll transition from a bunch of unique individuals to a blob of mindless persons that think alike and do everything the same way and pretend to know everything about everything but in reality, know very little. Gone are creativity and innovation that birthed this nation. Forward progress will be stifled because no one is allowed to think differently. People will become more concerned with keeping others in line than encouraging the new. Art and innovation as we know it, will die.



If any of you have done a study on the hierarchy of needs, you'd know that I'm no longer nearly as busy as I used to be if I have time to write things like this. :)



Now for the technical explanation. When a string is played (be it plucked, struck or whatever), you hear a combination of notes. You hear the fundamental, which is the overwhelming tone. You also hear at a lower volume, a tone one octave higher. At a still lower volume, a tone 1 1/3 octaves higher, and still lower, 2 octaves higher. These are called harmonics. The one 1 octave higher is the 2nd harmonic, followed by the 3rd, 4th etc. This continues up to the limits of human hearing but is usually so low in volume that not much is heard after the 6th harmonic. Harmonics are easier for guitar players to understand. When you place your finger lightly on the string at the 12th fret, you isolate the 2nd harmonic. 7th fret is the 3rd harmonic and 5th fret is the 4th harmonic.
When the string is played, especially hard, it vibrates. When the middle of the string swings back and forth, the string stretches slightly. This raises the pitch of the harmonics, more so the higher the harmonic. If tuned mathematically perfect, the lowest notes of the piano will sound slightly sharp when compared to notes near middle C. The highest notes will sound flat because of the harmonics of the notes near middle C. Thus, as you go down from middle C, the strings are tuned progressively flatter to offset this and progressively sharper as you go higher. By adjusting within the scale, you align the harmonics of different notes so that particular combination sound good together, at the expense of other combination. Or, you can purposely detune some notes for a fuller, chorus effect. This is also easier for guitar players to try. On a 12 string guitar, tune the guitar to a tuner and try playing. Then, take one of the high B strings and one of the high E strings and tweak it slightly. It adds fullness. When done to the extreme, it sounds like a honky tonk piano.

JP OUT!

Mail and Fee Mail

The above title is what you get when the author of the blog is sleep deprived

Anywho, I suppose it's time to start using the new address. Which, it has changed from the one I gave out a week or two ago. I have not called it home yet, but plan to in the next 24 hours.

As for the brownie contest, I've only received entries from one person so far. I doubt anything sent at this point will make it by the cutoff date. I will still accept entries up to the end date. Best of luck, and may the best person win.

JP OUT!

Nothing Ever Changes

Nothing ever stays the same.

That's my philisophical quote for today.

Before I continue, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! I want to give a shout out to all fathers out there. I personally think they should rename it to Dad's day, because anyone can be a father, but it takes a great man can be a dad. Dad, you didn't have to physically be there when I was born, but you choose to. You could have walked out, but you remained committed. You could have buried yourself in your work, or drowned yourself in alcohol, but I thank God that you didn't! Instead, you were there to teach me, to play with me, to correct me, and mostly, to love me. You not only showed me what it is to be a man, but to be a husband and a father. I know that if my kids (one day) turn out to be even half as perfect as me (HA!), that I can tell them it was you who taught me to be who I am. Thank you, dad! I love you!

To all the fathers that abandon their children, I hope you get hit by a bus.

Now back to regular scheduled programming.

Ever seem like your life is so routine, that every day is like the next? It seems like nothing ever changes. Then one day, you notice how different life is now from even a month ago. It feels like the movie Groundhog Day over here. Each day starting like the last and each night ending the same way. Yet, looking back to a month ago, almost everything has changed. One of the workers in my section, she went home permanently due to medical issues. The person in charge of us is no longer our boss. It's about 20 degrees hotter than before. And I'm that much closer to going home.

It's wierd how when you don't take time to notice change, it goes by undetected until one day it hits you just how different things are. I know I'm being ambigous but I can't say much in the way of details. But anywho...

I'm still very very busy. I was working until 9pm the last two days and I was starting at 6am and 4am on those days. I pretended to be dehydrated/sick today just to get a couple hours of sleep. Course, you'all can't feel too bad for me cause now I'm here typing this instead of sleeping. (I actually got off around 6:30p today!)

Well, I suppose that's all for now.

JP OUT!

*Insert Cliche Title Here*

Long time, no post

Recently, I've been busier than you could imagin. My schedule consists of starting work at 0600 or 0630 and I get off between 2100 and 2200. I usually sneak in an hour nap after lunch just to make it through the day. Things should be settling down in about a month, but you never know.

The brownie contest, as of today, 11Jun08, I've only received one package of brownies. There were approximately 7 types in that one box. I'm still waiting on more, or that one person will take 1st and 2nd prize by default! Not quite a contest....

Once things settle down again, I should have better access to the internet too!

Gotta run!

JP OUT!

False Alarm!

Sort of.

I've given my new address to "the contact personnel" for all those wanting it. However, the old address is still valid for a little bit longer. There's actually a danger that using the new address too soon will result in "return to sender"s so continue to use the old address until I give the word.

I know, you all are getting mad with this whole address ordeal. Blame President Bush. Watch the news enough and you realize that everything is his fault. Except global warming. Al Gore invented that.

The past few weeks and the next several weeks are going to be quite busy for me which is why I haven't been posting a lot and I won't be able to post often.

Laters!
JP Out!

HOLD THE MAIL!!!

Hey y'all! I've got a new address! Well, I haven't had a chance to relay it over the phone yet, but I will shortly. I will let you know asap when the address has been delivered. So please hold all mail until then. Anything already sent will be automatically forwarded. I will extend the contest another week.

You all know who to contact when the address is sent, right?

Laters!

JP OUT!

Contest Update.

Ok, so I gave it some thought, and I realized, with current gas prices, $20 bearly covers the trip to the post office. Much less, driving back home afterwards! So I'm going to increase the prizes. I haven't decided what yet, but it's going to be an item from one of the gift stores over here. There's another word I want to use to discribe this item, but I can't spell the French word that begins with an S that sums it up. I figure why try?

I will inform all of the winner, and give the winner some choice in the matter. I know that my idea of cool is not always someone elses idea of cool.

Anywho, it's been getting really hot over here. Average 110-115 in the shade. When you hear on the weather report, heat index of 110, that's what it feels like here. The humidity is rather low, so it's not super bad yet. I hear rumors of 140s in July!

I've successfully put together my guitar amplifier! I've been waiting on the mail for my speaker to arrive. In the mean time, I'm using it as an acoustic amplifer using my stereo speakers.

Shooot, times up. Gotta go!

Contest! Winner Receives $$$!!!

Ok y'all. Time for a little fun. I'm calling on all of my readers to participate! I'm in need of supplies and I figured I'd have some fun requesting it. Thus, I will hold a contest. Make that two contests!

Contest 1: Chocolate covered coffee beans
When the days get long, I need a little boost of caffine to keep me going. I'm not a fan of most energy drinks, soda dehydrates you, and coffee takes to long to make in the middle of the day. Thus, chocolate covered coffee beans is a perfect alternative. Some possibilities, spread coffee beans out on a cookie sheet and pour melted chocolate over it. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, bold coffee, flavored coffee, blended coffee, ground coffee. Creativity is encouraged.

Contest 2: Brownies
Everybody knows how to make brownies, but only a few make brownies so good, you swear God himself made them! Creativity is encouraged! Just please leave the nuts out of em. This will lower your score in the first catigory.

The rules:
Both items will be judged in five equal catigories, each worth 20 points:

Taste (Personal opinion)
Order of arrival (First one to arrive gets the maximum 25 points in this catigory.)
Popularity (I will conduct a survey with a small panel of judges carefully selected from my peers.)
Packaging (How well preserved they are. Please note, excessive packaging can cause a loss of points. If it requires a knife and a welding torch to open, you will receive a 0 in this catigory. Use judgement here)
Amount (Too small of amount will make the popularity test invalid. Too large of amount will cause decay before they can be consumed. I don't want to have to bring any of these brownies home with me! Again, use judgement here)

The winner of each contest will receive a check in the mail for $20.
If there are more than 5 participants, 2nd place will recieve $10.

Please note, store bought, pre-packaged items are only eligible for $10 ($5 if 2nd place).

This contest begins on May 22nd and lasts until June 21st. Including one week for shipping time, that gives you just over 3 weeks to prepare some thing and send it in the mail.

Winners will be announced on June 25th.

This contest is open to all readers of this blog, that have my address. If you know me in real life, then you know how to contact my church or my parents for my address. All others are ineligible to participate.

May the best cook win!

It's Been Awhile...

What's up, my readers? I've been quite busy the past several days and so I haven't had a chance to post. I didn't really come prepared either, so this post is going to be off the top of my head. Beware!

First off, I want to give a shout out to all mothers out there! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! None of us would be here, literally, if it weren't for you!

In other news, my former boss is being very passive agressive and just trying to make life difficult. Although it's been less overall stress, it's still a large source of unneeded stress in my life. The temptation to retaliate is growing ever stronger. Oddly enough, I've been reading Hubakkuk lately and my summary of the book is Hubakkuk saying, "Why is there so much injustice?" and God replies, "Just wait, they'll get what's coming to them!". I take hope in this. :)

Moving on.....my shedule changed again, moved forward by 2 hours. I've yet to reestablish a reutine, I'm still working on that. I'm going to sit down in about an hour and write out a schedule. I've found that when working 12hrs a day and sleeping 8, the remaining 4hrs goes by quick! Those that know me know that I enjoy spontanuity, but with the amount of things that must get done in those 4 hours, I don't have such a luxary. I've even scheduled out the tv shows I watch (which are all on my computer). Each night, there's a different show "on". Thus, I make sure to watch all I've wanted to without keeping myself up watching 4 or 5 in a row.

So far here, the weather hasn't gotten much hotter. It's pretty consistant 100s now. It reached 113 before I left so if anything, it's slightly cooler. The other day, a sandstorm moved in. I had the pleasure of watching it roll in. It was like a storm cloud, but brownish orange. It engulfed the nearby landscape and cast a dark shadow. It looked like a giant hand or maybe a 3000ft wave of sand moving in. I got pictures, but unfortunately, it's quite difficult to post them on my blog anymore. Also, I've started taking pictures with my film camera again. There's no where around here to develope the film, so I'll just keep it in the frig and develope it all when I get back. I bought several different types of film, from slide film, to 25 speed B/W to 3200 speed B/W to 160 speed natural color film and 1600 speed color film. Just a wide range of film to try out. I can't wait to use it all up!

Well, gotta go for now. Quick item of prayer, I've had some struggle getting into the word on a daily basis. It's been draining, and I need to get back to it. Well, I suppose that's all!

Laters!
JP OUT!

Quick Post

For a quick audience!

In case you missed it, I am now a biological uncle! I say biological because I "inherited" a nephew in March, but a niece was born in May!

In other news, I have overthrown my "evil" boss. Ok, not evil, but very hard to work with boss. It was determined by his higher ups that we would work more effeciently if we didn't report to him. HAHA! That's a HUGE stress relief! Thank God!

JP OUT!

A Double Post! O My!!!

Quick note. I have made it to my base! It's business as usual. My boss is still his, "I wanna strangle this guy" self. I'm really limited on internet access right now so posts will be kinda sparse for now.

JP Out!

Now here's the post you've been waiting for!!!

New connection: 17:59:48

localBlog Entry: 0065

Date: 04252008

Time: 18:01:39

LocalTopic: Summary of leave

Author: JP

I just spent 15 days in my home town. It was, perhaps, the longest 15 days I've ever had. Not that the days dragged on. Not at all! It was more a factor of how much I was able to get done in that amount of time. I went through between 5 and 6 tanks of gas (at 300-400 miles each tank), I took a trip to Chicago, Kankakee, Eidenburgh IN, Bloomington, and countless trips to Eureka. I saw the Art Museum with my best friend, saw one of my favorite bands in concert, ate sushi (yum!) with my pastor, celebrated 4 birthdays including my own, got to see my other best
friend who's in training for deployment, went to my small group bible study (which is full of awesome people), got ALMOST drunk (notice the almost) at beerfest, constructed a guitar amp that I'm shipping to myself, played guitar at church, visted my uncle at his job (his office is really cool!), spent a few hours with my cusin, introduced my lil brother to Calvin and Hobbes (best comic ever) and I now have a girlfriend! Sometimes, I just have to stop and thank God for what I have! A military briefing about leave warned us that leave may actually be a depressing time because either we'll be completely overwhelmed, super busy, and stressed out (which did happen in the first few days), or feel ignored because while we're on break, everyone else is still in normal life. God has definatly blessed me with great friends and family! I think I paid for only 3 or 4 lunches the whole time I was back! (THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!)

It's all too easy to look at the negative sometimes. But I've found that if you can't see the glass half full, at least for a nanosecond from time to time, then life quickly becomes meaningless.In some ways, I feel like I'm still in training. This time however, I'm not learning military stuff, but life stuff. As good as homeschooling has been, there's been some things that it fails to teach. (Anyone considering homeschooling should consider the pros AND cons). I don't regret my up-bringing. However, the military was a culture shock that brought new (to me) circumstances before me that are old news for most people. I've learned a lot, but I feel my "training" is not over yet. This period of leave was like a test to see what I've learned. I'm not there
yet, but definately closer to where I want to be. I've taken mental notes and I'm looking for learning oppertunities. God's not through with me yet!

Now I suppose there are some of you that saw "dating" and freaked, wanting to know more. Then there's some that are reading this and going, "He said dating? Where?". Yes, it's true! Dating is not really the correct term, but I say it so you're not completely lost. I have a significant other. I don't like putting names on the blog so you'll have to find out who through other means. :) I gotta warn you all, she's just as sarcastic as me, if not more so! I think really awesome! We get along very well! Well (ya I know, a hole in the ground :) ), I don't want to put her whole life out here. That's all I'll say for now. Except that she's really cool. Ok, done.

So ya, I just gotta shout out a great big THANKS to all y'all back home! Thank you for your prayers and support as well! You've given me the moral boost I need to go back and face another month of this. Too bad I've more than that left! j/k on the first part. I know I've got support which is enough to keep me going! Support and cookies! *hint hint* lol.
I'll see ya all when I'm done over here!

JP out
Transmission status: Received

Spell check: Hopeful

Transmission: Complete

Connection Terminated: 18:47:38 local

*Insert Clever Title Here*

I'm still stuck here. Word has it that the sand storms will continue until the 1st of May. Days here are just dragging. Partly because of the wierd schedule I'm forced to keep. I sleep from about midnight or 1 until 6, then from 8 until noon or 2. Thus, it makes it seem like two days have past, when only one has. From 6pm until midnight, we wait around to find out we're not going anywhere. It's eat, sleep, watch movies. I only wish it were good food and a comfortable bed. O, and a change of clothes.

If you're the type that hates being unproductive (hint, I am), then imagine knowing that you're doing nothing for 5 days straight. O well, "This too shall pass!" (Bonus points to whoever can tell me where that's found in the Bible).

Well, time to go eat again. Laters!

JP Out!

Travels........sigh

So, I feel like I'm in Pergatory. Not at home, but not at my base. I'm completely separated from most of my things, minus laptop and 1 change of clothes. I've been waiting for a flight out for 3 days now and they have all been canceled. As odd as it sounds, I can't wait to get back to my room. At least there I can shower! Right now, the screen is beginning to melt from my stench. Be happy you can't smell it from there!

But beyond that, I've been sleeping, eating, and watching the movies I've downloaded onto my computer. I've watched Blade Runner, The Green Mile, Who Killed The Electric Car, 2 Fast 2 Furious, August Rush and I Am Legend (Alternate ending version). I've watched 4 episodes of Family Guy and 3 episodes of The Office. Of all the movies, I Am Legend was the best, followed by The Green Mile. Blade Runner was wierd. August Rush had some good music in it, but the story was a little sappy for my taste. 2 Fast 2 Furious was an action movie, nothing more. Who Killed The Electric Car was a documentary, and was rather interesting.

I've got a long post that I typed up on the plane from Germany but I can't post it until I get back. It's a summary of my time on leave and I don't want to write everything twice, so I guess y'all have to wait until I get back for that one. Sucks to be you! :) Just to play it up a bit, I had an excellent time and some wonderful things happened during the two weeks! I can't wait to share it with you!

Well, that's enough for now. Enjoy (and wait impatiently for the best blog post ever!)

JP OUT!

I'm Leavin'......on a Jet Plane

......Don't know when I'll be back again.

Ok, I do know, but can't say here.

I've had a wonderful time back in the states, and I apologize to anyone I did not get out to see. I'll go in to much greater details about the past couple weeks, but later. I've still got some packing to do!

Thank you to everyone who was so kind and for all the free meals! I'm truely blessed to have such a large network of friends and family! May God bless you as he has blessed me!

Stay tuned, as I've got some exciting news!

JP Out!

I'm Home (for a bit)!!!!

Need I say more?

JP Out!

Good News!

Apperently people didn't find my late April Fools joke very funny! At least I told you I was kidding! Imagine if I told you I was coming home a few weeks later or not at all, then suddenly showed up at the house after being in town a day or two? That would be crule! I can't imagine anyone getting home and not telling anyone!!! Who would do such a thing?

Anywho, this is an "official" notice. I have begun my travels. As usual, I cannot give out many details. I can say that I have left my residence and have begun the long trip home. At this point, there are still uncertanties in the travel that can cause up to multiple day delays so even if I could tell you, I don't have an exact date that I'll be home. Please be praying for safety in transit and that there will not be any unnecessary delays. I will keep you posted as much as possible. If I cannot get to a computer, I will be calling home with updates as well so the most current information will come from my parents. See you all soon!

JP out!

!!!!!!

So I've got bad news........I was just informed that due to a shortage of people, the military is canceling all leave!!! As it turns out, someone screwed up the numbers and now none of us get to go home!!!!
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Ok, even online, I can't keep a straight face! LATE APRIL FOOLS! See ya all soon!

P.S. I have recovered my USB drive. YAY!

It's Hot

See what I mean?

Time for Another Post

So, I lost my USB drive. This is highly unfortunate, because I now do not have a way of putting pictures online! I will be buying another one shortly, but it probably won't happen before I get back on leave. Well, you all have made it this long without pictures....what's another couple weeks?

Anywho, life here has been interesting. I'm working night shift now, 2200 - 1000. It's kinda nice because I'm able to use the computers and phones, plus, I'm up when people back home are up! The hours suck but the perks are good. I'm begining to like it because I wake up, go to supper, come back and chill with people that are getting back from work, go off to work as they're going to sleep. Get off work and get to sleep by 1100. Sleep during the hottest part of the day, and then wake up for supper. It's like the ultimate lazyman's shift! Now don't get me wrong, I've still got a lot of work to do during those hours, but like I said, the perks are nice.

Sometime, probably while traveling, I'm going to put together a slide presentation of everything I've seen to date. I'll have a lot of sorting to do because I'm up to 1500 pictures already!!! However, I can show you pictures that I can't post online due to security issues. I've even got some videos to throw in!

We had our first worship practice this past Thursday. It was a practice/planning/see what we need to make this successful meeting. We realized that we're in dire need of guitar music, as the music we have is for piano, with the guitar chords written in size 2.5 font. All of the chords are B#mb7/G9 and FmajSus11/E13 and A7b9/F and other super complicated chords when B, F and A would work just fine. I've gotta make sure I grab my music book when I come back from leave. That, and there's a shortage of picks. The PX here gives out these cardboard "coins" for 5, 10 and 25 cents that I've been cutting into pick shapes. 25 cents is about what I pay for picks back home. However, these usually last only one jam session. They sound about right though. Just a bit flimsier than I prefer but almost right. I'll also grab about 6 packs of strings. Haven't broken one yet, but then again, I don't have any more if I were to break one!

Speaking of guitar (non guitar players and especially non musical people might get lost in this paragraph), I've been playing some slide guitar. I tuned the guitar so it's a D chord without fretting the strings and used a slide to change the pitch. Now most slide players use a glass bottle top (excecpt for Blind Willie Johnson who used a pocket knife) but glass bottles are hard to come by. So I used the next best thing, a tube from my stereo! There's a picture of one at the link below. It's just about the perfect size and it's glass so it gets the same tone. Sitting outside, in the evening air, playin the blues with a non-alcoholic beer......I could almost forget where I'm at for a few minutes!

Well, I'll see ya'll soon!

JP Out

Link: http://www.vacuumtube.com/el84.jpg

Where I've Been (Sleeping)

So, it's time for a long overdue picture blog. This post will let the words do most of the talking. The topic for this picture blog is all the places I've slept since leaving home. The first three are state side. Then one on the plane ride, which took 23.5 hrs. The last 6 are overseas, including my room now, which takes two pictures to show, cause it's that awesome! Enjoy!






























*Hint, behind the two standing and talking*


























Waiting on the plane

















































*Not the same as above*

Back on the Blog

Hey everybody! Sorry I've been away on the blog for so long! I had to check to see if I was allowed to access the blog from work. Turns out I can so I'll be able to post slightly more often! Right now, I've just got time for a quick summary.

A few days after all the mud, we had a dust storm. Since then, it's been pretty clear. My typical schedule is:
Wakeup @ 0500
Leave for work @ 0530
Arrive at work @ 0600
E-mail and blog until 0630
Work on computer and radio equipment (ie setting up and maintaining the equipment) until 1630
Lunch break @ 1230-1330
After I'm off work, I either go back to my room or hang out around the chow hall until it opens at 1730
Then back to my room where I chill to some music, watch a movie, or just hang out with some army friends.
In bed @ ~ 2130
Then it starts all over again in the morning.

I work 6 days with 1 day off, which will be Thursdays.

Lastly, I've been hearing that some people don't know when I am coming back on leave. I have told my family, who has also told my church. If you want to know, please contact either of them.

O, and thank you for all the packages I've received to date! My grandma sent me a box of cookies....I offered some cookies to some of my friends and they were skeptical. I told them they were grandma cookies and they were like, "Heck Ya"! If you're reading this, grandma, I don't know what the thin wafer like stuff in the paper bag was, but they loved it!

O, with Easter coming up very soon, I need someone back home to stock up on Cadburrie Cream Eggs and Mini Eggs for me. I wouldn't mind chocolate bunny or two either. Thanks!

Ok, gotta go!
Jason

P.S. My birthday, dispite being so far from home, went very well. I'll try to post more about it in the next post.

The Answer is: Mud....mud....and more mud.

What is the question?

What you get when you have dirt everywhere you look, and it rains?

That is correct!

We are entering the rainy season here. It wouldn't be so bad if there was grass.....but no, just dirt! I can't say yet that I'll never complain about mowing the lawn again, but I do have a whole new appreciation for grass!

I'm still looking for more permanant internet. Nothing yet. Also, my supervisor is driving me nuts! Such is life, I suppose. As long as I have things to regain my sanity at the end of the night, I think I'll be ok.

Thank you for anyone who has sent packages! BTW, if you send me a phone card, I'll use the minutes to call you back! The rate is about 1/5 of a minute. (ie, a 500 min card is good for about 100 min call home.) Please use AT&T cards because that's the phone service available here.

Well, I'm running out of time so I gotta close this out.

JP Out!

P.S. I will be home for leave soon. Please check with my parents for the dates.

Hey, Mail!

For convienence, I thought I'd type up a short list of things I would like to receive in the mail.

Cookies.

Thanks!

j/k

Actually, what I really need, and is hard to get, is canned air, (for cleaning dust and sand out of things). I don't know if this can be mailed or not. I will also accept cookies! :)

I'll post more as I think of em.

JP out!

I'm Back!

It's been a really hectic few days. As the army is famous for, "Hurry up and wait!" There were many days where we waited around a few hours, then had 8hrs worth of stuff to do in the remaining 5 hrs. It's wonderful........



We've finally made it into real beds. The first time since leaving IL, I've slept in a bed in a room that had proper heat and air. I've been able to unpack for the long haul. I'll get back with pictures once I've established a regular internet connection.



So far, the worst living conditions I've experienced on this whole deployment is the FOB at Fort Dix, NJ. Even the overflow housing is better than the junk we were living in there! The food is better, the shopping is better, it really did suck back in NJ.

So anywho, I gotta go. Time is short and the days are long. (Is that a famous saying? It sounds like it should be.....hmmm)

Oh, I almost forgot, my address was changed one last time. I gave it to my parents about 2 days ago. I was given an incorrect address. So, send away! BTW, the deadline for packages to reach me before my birthday (hint, 19th) is basically today. However, I will be home for leave in early April! Ya, you read me right. So if you want to hold on to em and give em to me in person, that would be fine too. :)

Well, laters!

The Com-bat Show-er

First things first. I'm going to be extremely busy over the next week or so. I may not have time to blog or anything. Just be patient.....be patient....don't be in such a hurry! (sing with me)

Anywho, The Combat Shower. Imagine if you will, a number of shower stalls installed into a single wide trailer with a 500 gallon water tank attached to it and two little water heaters on the inside. When you work out the numbers, there is about 15 gallons per person, per day. That's not a lot of water for a shower. The official instructions are, get in, get wet, turn off the water. Lather up, rinse off, turn off water. This would be bad enough if the water were warm.

However, the previous 20 people decided they were sick of combat showers and drained the little water heaters 5 minutes before you stepped in. When the shower's made of stainless steel and stays a constant 37 degrees, and you're already naked, the ice cold water just makes it even worse! After several days of this, I wondered if the army just leaves the heaters off so that you'll conserve water. Rinsing off is even worse, cause now you're dripping wet on the 37 degree floor. You almost wanna skip the rinsing off phase, it's so cold!

So next time you're in the shower, shut off the hot water first and think of me! :)

JP out

Quick Note On My Address

I was given incomplete information!!! My address has changed in the last 24 hrs due to more info.

I gave out a three line address in the form of:

Rank, Last, First name
Unit
APO #

The correct address is in the form of:

Rank, Last, First name
Unit
Location
APO #

Considering it's 3am back home right now, I haven't had a chance to correct it with my parents. In a few hours, they'll have the correct address. I apologize for any inconvinence this may have caused.

JP out.

I Have An Address!!!!

They finally gave me a shipping address! This means that the buckets of cookie dough you have saved up in your freezer can now be baked, packaged and sent! Don't worry, I'll share......maybe.

If you would like my address, please contact my family or my church. I ask that you do not post it online anywhere, including e-mail. (See my post on Operational Security)

In other news, I found out that bad habits have an effective range of over 10,000 miles! I thought that by removing myself from my environment, I'd have a better handle over my bad habits, but one of them reared it's ugly head. I stayed up too late, which resulted in me being late to work. On the civilian side of things, it's bad enough, but on the army side, that's a big deal. The margin for error is a lot smaller. I need prayer to conquer this. I can't be screwing myself out of sleep or showing up late. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!

JP Out

Viewing the Sunset from the Balcony...

...of Sadaam's Palace

So, what did you do today?

Out.