where am I? and why am I here?

Well, I made it in safe and sound this morning. This job does have some perks, most involving getting the short line at the airport. Customs was charming as usual. But the ATL station folk were most helpful in getting me to my car... and bypassing some issues.

As you may have noticed i put up some pictures. There are more on my photobucket.com site (search for mellodees). I plan to put some more up when I get them from the other sources (RYAN!). I will reiterate it was a fun little jaunt.

Next.. looks like i'm off to Cologne, Germany on the 10th. My annual familiarization ride (also known as a free 4 day vacation). SO thats should be fun. I'm really into the travel these days. I don't know why... but it is long overdue. Theres some options for trips coming up that look interesting. I'm holding out for Grace to go to China, and maybe theres a chance for a trip to Cairo early next year too. I think my goal for next year is to complete my visits to all the continents (except maybe Antartica.. that ones tough). I really only have Africa and South America to go.

Perhaps I shoul go get a yellow fever shot just incase. Ethiopia is looking like a trip for next summer :-).

I think we all know how much I like to get out and see the world.

I really don't have much else to say. I'm settling back into the humdrum of normal life. At least I've gotten a good bit of christmas shopping done. I hope no one is expecting anything expensive.

well, ack to pretending to work... AMF!

The crowd caught a whiff of that crazy Casbah jive, The shareef don't like it Rockin the Casbah

So, I'd say right now I'm about 100 miles into Iraqi airspace at around FL290 I think… but I'll have to check that later for validity.

I'm heading home form an Arabian Adventure and I thought I spend the time doing something productive… so I'll nap later. Bt right now. I thought I'd type up a blog entry for posting later. I have to say the most disappointing aspect of the trip was the lack of Kuwaiti culture encountered. Seriously it was like flying to Palm Springs. As we drove down Arabian Gulf road, we passed every dining option that's available in Newnan, GA. Johnny Corino's, Ruby Tuesday, Buffalo's, Chili's, and we had dinner at Applebee's.

Baghdad is right outside the window now….

Back to Kuwait City…. Its shockingly western. Especially for the alleged dislike for the infidels they harbor. I don't see it. Once again I found the local population to be most courteous… except when driving. OH my god, I thought Manhattan was a free for all. These people… Well… Lets say that the Kuwaiti police don't ticket Kuwaiti's, or Brits, or Americans, so Ryan Andretti here did 90 mph everywhere we went. Only the immigrant workers (Pakistanis and Filipinos mostly) seem to get in trouble. And if you hit a jingly… well, no big deal, there's more. Have a car wreck, they just leave the car where it dies.

Many asked why I would spend a weekend in Kuwait? Well, because "I can" really is the best answer. I was feeling the need to get out of the country as it was, and this worked well. Ryan was very gracious host. And I have thing for women in birkahs. That's it baby… pull that eye hole down, show me some cheekbone... that's hot.

Not all the women dress that way, not all the men where the headdress. Many more do here than did in Bahrain. I do stand by the previous opinion that middle eastern women can be freakin gorgeous. To bad you can't really look at them.

And people will ask if I felt safe, hell yes. Mainly because most the people in Kuwait are contractors for the military. And if the jinglies get caught stealing or speeding or jaywalking, they lose an appendage. It seems very effective in crime prevention. Kuwaitis don't seem to need to steal, they're all loaded.

SO, what did we do here? Well… we went sightseeing through downtown Kuwait city. Saw all the major sites… of which there was really one. But I'm ahead of myself. Once we were in country (unofficially) we went to Starbucks at the hotel. Cheesecake and coffee (the place is open 24/7) at 3 am was amusing. Then some sleep. The out around town most the day.

Everything is pretty much Beige. The ground, the buildings, the dresses worn by the locals. We spotted the new cars from Nissan and Toyota, the Jihad. You know how in all the news reports we get here you always see the mini trucks with the people in the back with machine guns and stuff (think Blackhawk Down). Those freakin trucks are everywhere… just waiting to get an AK and become Jihad ready.

New! From Nissan, the Jihad turbo with 4-wheel drive… for when u need the extra power to mow down all the Infidels!

In all seriousness though, I never felt unsafe. The Kuwaitis seemed nice people and the jinglies other than being annoying were over eager to serve. Although, the Kuwaitis do have an overdeveloped sense of self importance sometimes.

Anyway, back to what we did… we went to the one sightseeing spot, the towers on the shore. The symbol of Kuwait and their resitance to the barbarian invaders. They kinda looked tacky up close.

You know I expected Iraq to be a lot less well lit than it is. I suppose I really should take my own advice and totally ignore American news reports from here. Sky News, BBC world, and even AL Jazeera do a better job than Fox and CNN in my opinion.

After tourng the city and catching the Abdul Al Majene Mohammed Aziz Bin AL Saleem Dirka Dirka Suada highway (or something like that, its hard to read Squiggly). And every road was named either a number (and not like 10^th street, more like Road No 105) or some unbelievably long Arabic name. I would hate to give directions.

Back the hotel, we had to relinquish the car, apparently they needed it for work. And we kinda chilled on the beach till dark. It was a little cold for swimming, but it was beautiful there. I can see this place becoming a tourist place if tensions calmed and alcohol was allowed. Both are hopefully happening soon. Give it time.

There were surrealistic moments.. like who would have thought I'd be chillingt here in Kuwait at a Starbucks looking out over the marina, or walking the Soukh (marketplace), or walking in the Persian gulf. Or the best, meandering around the ramp of the military side of Kuwait Int'l Airport. I'm very lucky.

And now, some of you have heard me point out some of the, um, faults of Whiskey Oscar Alfa… but I have to say we do good work out on the line. The crews really treat the troops the best we can. And Its sort of surreal at time watching kids… and I mean kids, get of the planes carrying M-16's and side arms all with that serious "I'm a bad ass American War Machine", But u can see some of the hesitation and uncertainty. I really commend them all for the sacrifices they have made. And its good to be part of something bigger than yourself. It's so rewarding bringing them home.

If you ever get the chance, come over. It's a nice place to visit. You're not going to be car bombed. You're not going have Jihad declared on you. Everything in the city is in English, and most of it is American in origin. Now, I'm going to either sleep or watch a movie. I have about 13 hours left of flying. I may write more, I may crash. You know crash probably isn't the right word to be using at the moment.

Dinner is here time to munch. Any questions??

The Tryptophsn is kicking in... and i wanna go to sleep

So, my loyal readers... did we all have an enjoyable thanxgiving? I slept most the day and have been eating since I woke up. Mom once again delivered a feast with enough food to feed an army.

I did make arrangements to come late to work to join the gathering, and at points I was thinking about not doing that. I feel guilty skipping out of work alot. But then again, its only once a year right? But then I had a call from a friend this morning, and it made me want to see Mom that much more. I do feel I isolate myself sometimes... its my nature I think.

But anyways. I do hope that all made the best of their day, where ever you may have been. I'm off to Kuwait on Saturday night. I'm very much looking forward to the trip (well, except the plane rides). It should be interesting at least.

I'm thinking of decorating the homestead for Christmas this year. Usually I resist just because I don't like seeing a Christmas tree with no gifts under it, makes me a little sad. I suppose i could actually shop earlier than Christmas Eve and put those under it. I might do that. For the last few years I haven't been feeling festive... maybe this year i can go Clark W Griswald on my apartment (a la Christmas Vacation) and blind all my neighbors while causing brown outs in the PTC area... that would at least be amusing.

I'm not getting long winded tonight like I did last night... I kinda went of the deep end there. But I was on a roll. Hope everyone is well and Seasons Greetings to all!

Fate is just the weight of circumstances, that's the way that lady luck dances, Roll the bones!

Fate is just the weight of circumstances, that's the way that lady luck dances, Roll the bones!
Current mood: contemplative

So I had to fill out a form today and one of the questions on it was "religion?".. and I really didn't know how to answer. I asked why it matters, and apparently it's there in the event I'm killed in a war zone the proper buriel rights will be administered. That's comforting. I thought about putting different things just to see if the Department of Defense would go with it.. Zoroastrian, Scientoligist, Jewish-Aborigine, Jedi... but they don't have much of a sense of humor in the Pentagon so I just went with Christian.

So, random things. Walking through the casinos of sin city I was thinking about the random chances of me puting $5 in slot machine and leaving with a few million. Of course I probably wouldn't leave, I'd get a bigger room, a lot of Grey Goose, and the 2 hookers I saw in the lobby of my hotel (who asked me if i would like company... they were model hot). I assume $1 Million will pay for a lot of VD treatments, so what the hell.

But even when the slots would roll up a winning combination, and I walked with away $80 more than I came with, or when I was up $100 ona roulette game.. and then proceeded to lose it all. (I only started with $20 so its not like it hurt me alot)... I got wondering, what is this thing called "luck". Is it just some extra-sensory power certain people project that alters the randomness of the universe?? Or is it just a bunch of crap? There are entire discplines of mathematics that have been created to explain the randomness of events, most with the hope of predicting them. I took some of these classes in college, but I thought there were such nonsense.

But then again, lets say theres some order to the universe and we'll find some magic math equation to predict, say, how many times 13 black comes up on the roulette wheel. Of course, I could save the genius in the basement of the Math Building at Tech some trouble, and just tell them 13 black comes up exactly when I stop putting money on it.

While I do believe there is some order to the chaos around us, I don't want to think my future is predetermined, which a certain level of order would imply. There's too much evidence in physics and mathematics to say everything around us is the result of a random reaction or energy and matter, too much elegance and symmetry in the way the universe is put together. (I would cite specific examples but I haven't reading a lot of physics and math books lately... but I remember they're out there). So, that in itself would almost logically provide for the existance of something that controlled and created what's around us... God, Allah, Yahweh, whatever name you want to use.

And this is for JR, we won't get into the whole proof that God exists negates the existance of God argument... I will not be responsible for God's disapperance in a puff of logic.

So now that we've established that there's order to the universe... how do we explain the Chaos around us?? In the way that the Devil is the opposite of God, is chaos the opposite or order? I can't say i believe that, though some seem to praise God (or whatever supreme being they subscribe to) for positive random results and reactions while blaming Satan (or whatever ultimate evil being they may subscribe to) for the negative results and reactions. I for one don't buy it... you would saying God created the perfect ordered universe then Satan came and introduced Chaos and screwed it all up. But then God created Satan... thus order creates its own chaos. In a given time, the entire universe would eventually lose all order... and thats no fun.

So, lets go with this... the free will of the beings in the universe bring chaos to the order. For example... the universe has been created perfectly in harmony... and then I walk up and kill a bug... which was suppose to fertilize a flower, and now the flower fails to reproduce. That flower had a specific gen combination that would have led to a mutation that would eventually reesult in secretion of a chemical that would cure the common cold. And there you go, I'm responsible for billions of people having the sniffles. Yay me! I could have left the poor bug alone, but I decided to smash for no other reason then I just don't like bugs. My decision.

So those of you who have read this far are probably wondering what the hell is he smoking. Lets say I'm at work, theres nothing going on and I'm bored. The whole randomness thing came into my mind watching the dice roll and the roullette wheels spin. And then, while sitting at the airport in Denver (some place i never planned nor wanted to go, but decided to in hopes of making it home quicker - and did make home quicker proving the shortest disance between 2 points is not always a straight line), I ran into a girl who is one of the regular waitresses at the Taco Mac here in Peachtree City. How random is that?

Scary how my mind works sometimes. After proofreaidng the above, i could probably find some points to argue on.. but arguing with myself is no fun, though I always win. But if anyone wants to discussed the nature of life, the universe, and everything, feel free to stop by. But I know the answer already... it's 42.

That's it, I've typed enough for today. Happy Thanxgiving to all those out there celebrating. And let the mad rush to Christmas begin!

What happens in Vegas... I'll tell u all about it.

here's so much to say, and I don't know where to start. Vegas.. hrrrmmm... to all you guys who backed out on going, Y'all Suck!! But that being said, I did get some good research done for future expeditions... and I expect every one to show up...

So... those of us who did adventure out had a good time (I think),though it sometimes hard to tell. I got out friday on the second attempt, and I got the primo back row middle seat on an Airtran 737. Now,I know I'm not a small man, but these seats are made for children or something... it was rediculous. Didn't sleep the night before so when I got, met MB and checked in... took nap (i'm old, deal with it)... Hung around the casino for a bit after that until Grace arrived. And if by chance Grace's parentals are reading this, she was a perfect angel and often would lead me from temptation.

The rest of us know better... and I led them to a bar in TI that is my absolute favorite place. There was music and dancing and free shots and scantily clad women... all the things that make life worth living. I did get a compliment from some young lady on my dancing skills (hahahaha). JR and Ray remember the days of heading to Friday's and ordering by color?? I revived that tradition (and it hurt the next day, but oh well). I was introduced to a girl who I can only refer as A3, because... well.. she reminded me of A... same sort of boisterous drunk personality. However, this one cost me nothing and her breasts were bigger, and real. I checked.

We closed the bar (well, Grace and I... mb turned in early .. a habit she got into). Made back to the hotel just in time to pass out. Apparently Grace left sometime the next morning... and apparently I was dead cause i didn't move for hours and hours after repeated attempts at waking.

Saturday and sunday went about the same, mostly lounged around all day then would randomly go to casinos and eat and I would end up staying out till the we hours... Coyote Ugly has improved a little... the piano bar in NY-NY is the shit.

I must say there are things I like and don't like about vegas...
Likes: Sluttily dressed women, free booze while you gamble, sluttily dressed women, almost everone is in a mood to have a good time and shed whatever hang ups they would have back home...
Dis-likes: Sluttily dressed women who shouldn't (leopard prints abound!!!), the booze in the bars you have to pay for is ridiculous $6 Miller Lites... come on!, Lots of the sluttily dressed women are selling something... themselves... its hard to tell the difference in women who dress like ho's and ones who actually are ho's.

The real downer of the trip was coming home.. from 9 am Vegas time until about 1 am Atlanta time I was trying to get home. I do have to say that both LAS and DEN have some great concessions. I would like to give a big thanx to Frontier for getting me home... and if Elise is reading this (because she never calls or writes me back I have no idea if shes still living), Airtran owes me $27.50... get that for me would ya.

Now some of you might think I'm leaving out details... and you would be correct. Come talk to me and we'll get more details. As much as I can remember anyways.

Now all thats left is to let the dust settle form the bills.... my ATM card is smoking from over use... and I honestly did better budgeting than I thought... but in the end I had to shell out more for others. But its a temporary situation until I can cash the check. So, by Friday I should have everything back in line. That makes me happy.

So there's no great wisdom imparted from reading this one, other than maybe don't drink based on colors... nah.. do it... it's fun. This week is busy, Thanxgiving, family, work, Kuwait on saturday.. all good times!

The world is my oyster, and its a real bottom feeder

I am in a very aggrevated mood tonight. I can't point to one particular event n the last few days to get me here, but a culmination of stupid questions, bitchy co-workers, a head cold, lack of sleep, and just some general diappointments.

So, I'm 3 days into being 30. And really its not all bad. Then everyone asks you if you had any goals set and if they were achieved? Well, I'm still alive so one was acheived. The rest, well... mostly no, but then again, I did achieve alot of things that weren't planned that were good. There are some elt downs, but i feel the ups outway them.

next time I try to work 6 days in a row some one shoot me, especially if its overnight shifts. I hate sleeping all day, I lived the vampire life for years and it got old, i really don't want to go back. Plus at night we get stuck with all the crap the management types "forgot" to do... and u find out 5 hours before the plane is to depart you don't have permission to fly over... Krygyzstan or the Maldives. And the person responsible for getting permits.. "what do you want me to do from home?"

Ugh.. i'm gonna stop bitching, its depressing me. I'm going to Vegas this weekend.. I'm going to have fun... i'm coming home broke and bewildered... thats my plan.

numerology

There are lots of benchmarks in ones life. And most of them seem to be numerical in nature. It's come to be that most people today are represnted by some number or another, and some hold a lot of significance, some don't. There are those of so much importance you never forget them, and then there are those that are just left behind. Some go on to define us.

For example, everyone has their social security number... but do u remember the street number of the house you grew up in (163) or the first phone number you learned (474-1529). And there are those that seem to just stick with you for no appearent reason (S-15... my first drum corps drill number) other than at one time in your life it was the most important thing you had to remember.

Then we grow up little more, and you have the first employee number (227030) or your first credit card number (I'm not putting that one up here). And as we go, we learn that there are more and more numbers that "they" have assigned to you, and you didn't know it... and suddenly it controls your ability to do things.. and you're given you credit score (732 last I looked) or your GPA if your still in school (2.67).

But the things you should be thankful for and keep around you the most are the people who don't treat you like a number. The family and friends and loved ones who actually have names, and it reminds you that the numbers you have been assigned, or assigned to yourself, just aren't all that important in the end. I was most impressed tonight when Leslie came in with 2 cakes she baked and Sheri with a card signed by most everyone I work with in the OCC at work. I was not expecting that at all... a very pleasent surprise.

So here's to 30 years lived and 100 blogs written... hopefully many more of both will follow. But really, they're just numbers... and who's counting?

All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey

It was a good day today despite the dreary weather. I exercised my civic privilages and voted. I find it funny about 75% of the elections were uncontested. I should pay attention to these things and run for one of them, the precursor to my presidential campaign.

Then I went and donated $230 to the State of Georgia, in the form of tag fees and Ad Valorem tax (whatever that is anyway). I really could have done with out that, but apparently you have to pay to drive on the roads here.

The best part of the day, I received my copy the new best of DMB CD. And really, its not like I don't have all these songs on CD already, and even mulitple versions of them live, but still, I like getting new DMB CDs. And the one has a CD of live tunes, that are new versions that are really good. And what really made my day is I actually had been to one fo the Live recordings. Some say I'm a bit obsessed... and they would be right. I can admit it. But its better than being addicted to meth. They did announce Dave is doing a solo tour in Europe in February and March, and three of the cities are ones Whiskey Oscar Alpha fly to almost daily... hhhrrrmmmm. Dave Matthews is the best thing to come out of South Africa ever.

So, I have officially made it clear I'm spending my money form the insurance company on something other than repairing my car, at least for the moment. I tried to be a responsible adult but it just didn't work out. And speaking of... any one up for going to play Thursday... the family plans have been moved to friday so I'm now free.

Sweet dreams are made of this.... who am I to disagree

hey're running the best songs of the 80's on VH-1 Classic this weekend, and I'm very excited about that. I don't know why really, except it's the music I grew up listening to, and I still remember most of the words to all of them. Scary.

So, this is my Public Service Message to all you out there who read this go vote! I know, the choices are really slim, the republicans and democrats are both probably going to screw us in the end, but at least if you vote... you can really bitch about how they lied to you and broke promises. I don't want to get all poltical, but I do think people should really vote. Being part of the disaffected Generation X (so I'm told I am anyways), we have become quite ambivilant toward the world leaders. We shouldn't be that way... end of the PSA.

Its been rather slow around the house. Some how I keep managing to track leafs into the apartment. I love fall. Except, and I don't know if I've mentioned this, I hate it being dark so early. Whats the point really of the time changing?? Other than to annoy me.

I'm really enjoying the fashion flashbacks from the videos... Maybe I'll go for the Flock Of Seagulls hair cut and a thin piano key tie. Oh, and a pastel blazer!! It's still better than the 70's looks!!

Four more days, and I'm old. I'm really not trying to focus on that... and Dammit i can party all night and drink any 20-something kid under the table.. without assitance from illegal substances. I just can't do it more than once every week or 2.

I really need to have some good fun, and some blasts of happiness around here... anyone wanna play?

Yes, I have seen paradise and it is a pancake smothered in syrup

Yes, i finally obtained some pancakes, not the big fluffy delicious ones I like, but these were convenient and free. The advantages of doing training at a hotel with a breakfast buffet... and charging it to the company.

And that was also the highlight fo rmy recurrent training. Otherwise it was just the three of us talking about whatever seemed relevant at the time... often nothing to do with any work related issues. I'm not sure that I'm happy or upset about this, I always hope to learn something, but I'm also kinda lazy and enjoy doing nothing and getting paid. Life is tough.

I also really seemed to have hurt myself playing tennis last week with JR, something is weird with my right foot, it hurts when I walk... and I have a nifty limping gait...I'm really showing my age No pain no gain i guess.

Otherwise, things are same ole same ole. I really can't think of anything or interest to talk about, even though I've had a lot on my mind lately. I don't particualrly feel like getting into it all now, instead I'm going to TM and watch the Tech game and think of nothing

But I thought everyone should know they can relax, I got my pancakes. Did i mention I hate night starting at 6 pm?

Where is the dayight we saved during Daylight Savings time??

It's that time of year again. I'm at home watching the Real World: Denver cast preview. I don't know why I continually watch this show, I suppose it's my one "reality" TV vice. I can't even say that anything on the Real World ha sbeen that real in the last decade, I mean who really gets set up in a pimp house with every gadget you can possibly imagine and then get paid to go out bar hopping every night?? And yeah they get "jobs".... right. Hey MTV, if you make it real and see how real people live, give them the roommates jobs as servers or retail sales specialists, and have them live in a 2 bedroom apartment in the not so good part of town. That's freakin reality!

And yes, so far we've got all the stereotypes... the hottie sluts (with baggage), the gay man, the angry black man (or 2 ), the hunky frat sport guy... all the girls with great breats and the guys with 6 pack abs. And yes, I'm going to watch it religiously. I think its jealously that I don't live with 3 raging, lets say extremely sexually liberated women, and have six pack abs.

So, today, I took JR down!!! I schooled him on the courts 2-1. Yeah!!! Who's the man... Sampras watch out!! Ok not really, but we did play and we did have some fun, and I did win 2 matches to 1. BUT, I must give JR his props, a couple times I had him running all over the court... I was most impressed. I do have a theory as to why I won... but we won't get into that here.

I have recurrent training starting tomorrow. For you non airline people, some reaosn the FAA makes all us go back to class for 20 hours a year to allegedly refresh out memories on things we may have forgotten or things that may be new. Unfortunately my recurrent usually covers none of that, it tends to be boring videos and lots of "Back when I worked for...." stories. At least Leslie is there to keep me company... and we can't act like juveniles.

I'm hopefully can find something to do after work the next couple of days... the walls are closing in on me here. Suckage. My birthday is coming, and I think I've pretty much blown off getting my car fixed and just blowing it on something pointless... I know, it's irresponsible... but i don't really care!
I hate