Friend Speak

You've got to love the difference between how you talk to your regular friends, and how you talk to your best friends. I mean really, think about it. You see your friend and you're like, "hey, how's it going?" Then you see one of your best friends and you're like, "Hey shit for brains, would you ask your wife if I left my underwear at your place when I was bangin her last week?" To which you would get an equally derogatory response or worse. And considering a lot of my best friends are people I served with, it can get pretty ugly if you're looking in from the outside.

Today I was on a social network and put up a post. 

And within a couple of comments it went from I love you, to you're a man whore. And of course, in good old fashioned ribbing, it escalated from their until we had nothing left to throw at each other. +Shane Snyder you're still my #1 man bitch. 

And of course, some of the crap we talk about really is crap. After all, aside from grossing out a sibling, or spouse, who else are your going to share your bowel movements with. Color, size, smell, when the hell did I eat corn? Then of course there's that one time you might even snap a picture of it and text it to them with that comment, "You're the bomb!"

Then of course you have to keep in mind, these are the people you can go a long time without speaking to for one reason or another. But when you do get together, it's like you just saw each other yesterday and it's No Holds Barred, you can talk about anything. And I do mean anything. This is probably why us veterans get along better than anyone else. +Mike Flavin you know what I'm talking about. The past, what's happening now, while putting down a cold one and smoking a cigar. And the best part, even if it's embarrassing, it's really not.

These are the are the people you go to with your relationship problems and tell you to suck it up. Then they turn it around so that both of you can talk crap about the person who just dumped you. Or they'll tell you to stop being a pussy, have a beer with them, and then take your sorry butt home and fix things because you're screwing up. No sugar coating either. They'll smack you up side the head just as fast as they will the person who screws with you. 

In the end, they're just another part of the legacy you'll leave behind. Best friend? Bullshit, that mofo is FAMILY.

The awesome power of a fully operational waterbed.

I LOVE my waterbed. LOVE IT! Sleeping is one of the things that's always been rough for me. It hasn't always been trying to get to sleep, but rather staying asleep or getting good sleep. I've had hard beds. Hate em. I'm had mid-ground beds, just meh. Soft beds are better to a point, but if they're too soft then I feel like I'm suffocating in them. Might as well just put a pillow over my head at that point.

One place I've always felt at home is on the water. I mean, if I could just back float for a couple hours without having to worry about the whole drowning thing, I'd sleep in a pool or in the ocean. Swimming, SCUBA, are two of the most relaxing things in the world. I've even fallen asleep in the bath, and occasionally during a good shower. Even the sound of water is relaxing. I've had the opportunity to sleep in a couple of waterbeds here and there, and have always loved them. Then a few years ago I finally had the chance and got a nice king sized waterbed.

Magical. Now, I don't always get straight to sleep. Too much crap running through my head. But just laying there is relaxing. I can adjust the heat for the cold months, which is better than an electric blanket. Turn it down low, or even off during the summer months and it's nice and cool. It's almost as good as sleeping in a pool. A waterbed on a house boat is probably Heaven.

Now some people think it's too much maintenance, and what if there's a leak. Well, I did have one leak after I first got it. A half dozen pin sized holes. Proved a real pain in the ass for a couple hours. But after draining the bed, and having my step dad come help me lift the mattress and pick up a patch kit on the way over, problem solved. And I haven't had a leak since. Now, I probably will eventually true, but it's easy to get a wet vac on some water than it is to clean up mattress stuffing. Plus, it's a small price to pay for the ultimate in sleep comfort.

Water Bottle Randomness.

In a bit of randomness here, I love my blender bottle. Actually, more the springy thing that's in it. What kills me is that everyone always asks, "Are you drinking a protein shake?" NO! Even my own kids, who should know what I'm drinking do this. But that's alright.

Usually it's just water. But fairly often I'll put a small packet of some sort of juice mix in. The spring ball thing mixes it up nice, and I don't have to worry about pesky clumps getting stuck in there robbing me of the awesomeness I'm paying for. On the rare occasion I put a lemon wedge or something in my water, that same ball is great a pummeling that wedge for me too. Sometimes it gets stuck in there, but most of the time I don't have to worry about that. Yes, I like to have some pulp in there.

The other reason I like it is, it's not stylish. It's just a plain jane bottle. So I don't have to worry about anyone wanting to misappropriate it at work. It's plastic, so I don't have to worry about dropping and breaking it, and of course the top seals nicely so I'm not having to deal with spills at my desk unless I'm being a slob. Finally, it can get tossed into a bugout bag quickly for plenty of other uses down the line.

And that's my water bottle randomness.

Life dreams, journeys, opinions, and advice.

A lil bit on joining the military here. Before, during, and now years after I'm still asked, "why would you join the military?" My retort, why wouldn't you? I'm of the opinion that every able bodied person should serve at least one term. But that's just me.

For me it goes back a ways though. I come from a family where damn near every generation has had at least one person go into the military. It's not required, expected, pressured, or even really talked about. It just happens. So there may be some bias there. My personal journey started way before that though. When I was little, I'd line up all of my toys to face off against each other. I knew from a young age I wanted to be in the service, I just didn't know what branch, and I wanted to be a cop. By the time I was in high school, I can still recall many people telling me I was nuts, or trying to dictate which branch to go in because "it was safer." Safer? My opinion hasn't changed on this part. Screw safer, if you're looking for safety go lead a pack of girl scouts at a bake sale! It doesn't matter what branch you're looking at, "safer" shouldn't be a consideration.

Bottom line is regardless of the job you want or end up with, the military is there to look the Grim Reaper in the eye, smile, piss on his feet, and call him a pussy.

Then came the vast majority, but not all, of my teachers and the outspoken ass hats that never had the balls to serve telling me I'd never graduate let alone make it. Now, I'm the first to admit I was a jerk once I hit puberty. After some time bouncing between private and public schools, and moving around, I finally got in gear. I buckled down on my school work, got my grades up, and then applied to NMMI.

For those that don't know NMMI is an 4 year high school, and 2 year junior college with an Army commissioning program. Some refer to it as the West Point of the west. Oh man, I had so many people tell me I wouldn't make it a week there, it made me sick. Upon getting there, I learned that because of how different the curriculum was (private school credits don't carry over to other schools in my state), I'd graduate much later as well. 2 years late! Yes, I was 20 when I finally graduated. Not only did I make it through 2 years, I graduated, and to this day I'm still in touch with some of the best friends I'll ever make from there. It was while I was here I finally enlisted in the USMC.

Even after making it through NMMI, going back home was a nightmare. Not only had I proven the nay-sayers wrong, but they continued to say I'd never amount to anything and wouldn't make it through boot camp.

I can remember the flight out to San Diego still. A group of us flew from Albuquerque, NM together. Made it to the USO where we were told where to go to wait for our bus to MCRD. Finally a few white busses pulled up and were wer rushed in, and told to keep our mouths shut by what I viewed at the time as the worst recruiter in history. After a while, this same person would tell us to put our heads down and look at the floor as we continued on. Finally the bus came to a stop, another guy jumped on the bus and started yelling at us in a tongue that I can only describe as an alien dialect as we were rushed off the bus and onto some yellow footprints. The journey began, and I'd not only gain new life long friends, but a new family. And I will be able to claim the title of US Marine until the day I die.

So why join up? To serve. To be a part of something bigger than yourself. To be a part of a small, and unique culture or warriors. To know that your work made a difference somewhere. To accomplish what others can only dream of. To travel to places you'd otherwise never see. To meet new people. To develope special skills that others lack. To find character that others only dream about. And to know you'll never know what it's like to regret not stepping up to the plate and showing just how big your balls really are.

All these years later, I can look back with pride. I graduated from a top notch school. I became a Marine. And was a military policeman which allowed me to kill two birds with one stone. I proved all the nay-sayers wrong. I accomplished everything I wanted in my childhood  quickly. Now I set goals, and look for new achievements just for me. I don't care about the nay-sayers anymore because they're all wrong. I've become a parent. And recently added collge grad to my list of completions. So regardless of hurdles, I look forward to lifes journey and take my time in choosing what direction I want to go in it these days. You can do that once you've learned how to accomplish your goals and dreams.

So my advice to everyone is this. Figure out what your dream is, and go for it. Use the nay-sayers to fuel those desires. Even if you don't join the military (I'll admit it's not for everyone) don't wait. Once you know what you want, look at what you need to do to get there, and start taking the steps. Even though you may not be able to take them all at once, the ability to take those other steps will present themselves in due time. Just keep moving.