well...............im home!

hmmmm it was rather hard basically sitting there just waiting to go home. I was put into an exotic hotel and spa at an interesting location. man was it ever nice!!!
i could finally drink beer (and i did!!lol), watch tv, sleep in a bed, get out of the uniform! It was rather nice.
The flight home was very very long!!! my flight to germany was 8hrs and there was a lay over for 6hrs then a 8hr flight to toronto. going threw customs was a pain, but they didnt make me pay for my 3 26 oz bottles of booze! lol i dont even really drink hard liquor anymore, so it should be interesting! Anyways...... there was another 4 hr flight to Edmonton so It was very long but it was really nice to get back.
I left with the understanding that i may of had to get a taxi home. Well i was rather surprised but the OC and RSM was there to meet me. I was very tired and sleep f#$ked so it was interesting!
I leave for my trip to Miami April 12. I spend a day in Miami then on the evening of the 13th we board our cruise and we come back on the 16th. Short, but sweet. Vero and i are very good at being spontaneous and we are always having fun together, so i am possitive we are going to have a blast!
I have now gotten my flight booked for whitehorse!!! 17-23 in the yukon! I cant wait!!! this will be the longest time ive had with garnette in a long time! plus i will have so much fun with little sanora. I cant wait to see how big she has gotten! Plus little sienna!

Afterwards i head back here, head off the new rugby season with a tournement in Jasper. Plus mountainman starts up, which i will be going to training on my leave!
Besides that there will be a trip to regina where i plan to venture off at one point and maybe go up to kelvington, at least go see tami and tara, lionel and kim.
Then theres going in the oposite direction and going to see glenny, lawson,cadis and jazzy!
I hope to get some new ink while im down there, i cant wait, thinking of covering up my old army tatoo. We'll see anyways. Plus i plan to pass threw brooks as many times as i can during my travels! Lol i thought i would be looking for a job to find something to do while i was on leave but it looks like im going to be pretty busy!hopefully i will be running 10km runs every day before i startback to work!!! lol i dont know if i will even be able to do mountainman this year but i plan on doing as much training as i possibly can! It is a very long and draining race.
The one year i did it i couldnt eat for 2 days afterwards.
I cant wait to do it again though! I have a time to beat!!!
anyways I cant wait to see everyone!!!

just a litte bit longer!!!!

well,I spent the first portion of my time with A sqn thinking about how B sqn (my former squadron) did things. After a little bit of grumbling i gave myself a kick in the ass. You have to soldier on right?! I liked my past couple of weeks even though it ment sleeping on the ground with the spiders and bugs. Its something about "bombing around" (for those of you who dont know what i mean, im talking about patrols) cross country in the tanks. The never ending maintainance and abuse that they give on your body may suck but you learn to get over it. Well for the most part, trust me every now and again you see people throwing tools or cursing and swearing,lol!We were suppost to go out on a patrol that would last all day and then we would come back in to FOB MSG (where weve been based out of for the most part) to get ready to go back to KAF. Well things got cancelled and i came in a day early. I found myself disapointed, I was hoping to take one last cruise cross country one last time before i left. The rest of the crew was anxious to get back however because they will soon be going on their HLTA (leave). I tried to take a lot of pictures because while i was in the gunners hole i didnt have much oportunity. Its kind of funny though, because almost half is scenic or sunsets. A sunset with a tank siloutte at the bottom. That sort of thing. Will be intersting to show my family back home anyways. This place can look so ugly, dingy and gross. I know i may have talked about it before, but if you look around, if there wasnt war, or if there wasnt so much poverty here, it could be a beautiful place. Its unfortunate. Some of the guys here said they really didnt understand what their mission was here. Not until they came here and saw things for themselves. I miss my family like crazy and everytime i think about rugby and my friends, i get excited about going back. Its hard not to be anxious. I havent showered this time in 2 weeks, ive been crapping in a bage and i pee infront of the vehicle where people can see ( dont have much choice), ive worked 24/7 for 6 months with maybe 2-3 days off total and no time to myself. Of course im anxious to get home.... but im not regreting that i will be coming back in another 9 months. Im already preparing myself for it.On a slightly different note, i cant help but think how my body has felt OLD over here! My knees are feeling it for sure from jumping off the vehicle with heavy armor on day in and day out! My shoulders are feeling it from sleeping on hard desert ground almost every night. I also know I will be fine after I take some glucosamine and give my joints some rest. Not that long of a rest though,lol, I will soon be abusing my body again in rugby (that kind of abuse is fun though). hmmmm another thing im looking forward to is MUSIC! LOL i have been listening to the same stuff over and over again. Although I love 3 days grace and Tool and those types of bands, it will be sooooo nice to have options and the ability to aquire more music. I had an earphone in one ear and listened to the IC and radio in the other ear. Man it was a blast cruising around playing alexis on fire,tool, drowning pool,and 3 days grace! Like I even told battlegroup RSM, its gotta be hard music on the tanks! Its funny though, maybe its because im stubourn and determined to stick out my 20yr contract. There are A LOT of people getting out these days. Out of a course of 30 (my QL3 which is my trades course) there will be maybe 5 people left by the time i get back! Its crazy. The politics of the military can make a person angry, along with the people in it. Somehow along the way, I learned to ignore it and concentrate on what I like and want out of the military. There may very well come a time where i get sick of all the bull and I have kept several options in mind for when that time may come. Until then i will be having my fun cruising around in the tanks. One thing ive always kept in the back of my mind, every job, every career has its good points and its bad points. You just cant get away from that and as long as i dont forget that i think i will be fine. As bitter as some people may seem, theres a lot of people that get out and soon after, they are trying to get back in. Apparently the good out weighed the bad and they didnt realize it untill they got out. Anyways enough of yapping about the military, Any one of us could go on and on if they really felt like it, so im just going to stop there. Ive thought a lot about things in the past and a lot about my future. I am fairly content with how my life has been so far. I've learned some hard lessons (lol mostly about men!) and experienced a fair bit. I only want to experience more! It helps being spontanious and adventurous. There's also that side of me that can be timid and play things safe. As long as I tell that part of me to shut up, I will be good to go (lol)! As you may tell I can be one of those people that wants to everything, I will just have to be realistic with my ambitions!I'm anxious to find dates when i am to arrive home, that way i can make my plans to fly to the Yukon! wooo hooo It kind of sicks because i have to cut my plans a little short because i am to fly out of the Yukon to go to Vancouver then on to miami for a short cruise! So far it sounds like Vero can do it! I am excited! There's a rock climbing wall on the ship and a couple of clubs, I'm sure we will be begging to stay on the ship!lol! Anyways, I will have to leave it at that. My buddy petey will be getting out soon after i arrive home, so i cant wait to see him before he heads off to bigger and better things! Maybe during my leave i will go down to the Okanogan, visit John/Mara and family and go see my mom. Its been a long time since ive been able to visit her! I think about her a lot out here. I hope she knows how much she is missed! Well i think i should probably end it at that, dont want to get to sappy. Well by the end of this month, I should be on my journey home! I cant wait, Im trying not to get too excited because i still have to wait about 10 more days before i go on a 4 day decompression leave and THEN i get to go home!

well......... Im still here

well,
Im with the new squadron and i find it a little hard getting used to. I find myself going.... well, B sqn didnt do that, and B sqn did it this way. But like everything else, ive gotten over it. I moved up in the world though, i moved to the Loaders spot where i am higher on the totem pole!
It was really hard hearing everyone get so excited about going back and getting excited about Cyprus! Even though i get a leave Im more anxious to go back to edmonton more than anything!

Plus of course to see my sister and her growing family. Man its been a long time! Well I will get to see her and my 'dear old dad' soon enough!
I will also be going with the gorgeous Vero to miami and then on to a cruise!!! man i cant wait!

Well I looked the clansmen website, man some of those pics are a laugh! thanks for the flatering pics!lol the one at the rookie party of me wrestling is interesting for sure!!lol
you have no idea how much it makes me miss being back in edmonton!!! I have a lot of plans for when i get back, including getting a little crazy at rugby fest and hopefully jasper 7's if i can make it!!! Katie says she has costumes in mind and well.... Im betting on it! craziness!

Well, im trying not to get excited to get back home, but Garnette i hope you know that i will be fairly wrestless and not very good at kicken er back and relaxing!! It is so hard cause i just want to giver in rugby, giver dancing, boxing, giver period!!! Im used to being mellow and every now and again unleashing the crazy side of me. That side has been caged up for a while, so I know im going to be wrestless and go go go when i get back! Anyways, enough of all that crazy talk.

i gotta concentrate on these few weeks a head then i can think of all that kind of stuff! well take care guys. Giver for me,k!

hey guys
well, sorry its been a long time, its been few and far between that ive had much opportunity to go on the computers these days.
oh well, what can i do?! weve been busy and there's the count down of course. I saw the hotel that we are staying in for our decompression and man is it ever nice! I wont mind being there at all! Well I cant wait to get home these days. Its hard not to think about it! Its so close yet so far! There's 2x people in my crew that i cant stand these days. It seems that the built up testosterone and lack of maturity makes some people half retarded and complete idiots! Yeah I will have a couple days to go back to KAF and get everything ready to go soon! i cant wait! TIMMYS!!!!! To have a nice cup of timmys and go on the net, get all my stuff sorted out and mail off all my presents for everyone!!! hmmm i hope we get a chance to stop in dubai cause the silver and gold is suppost to be really cheap and you can barter. I might actually buy some jewelry for myself, something i never really do!! The weather is still cold out here. well chili! Not quite as bad as Canada of course but cold when your living in tents anyways.
well not too much i can yap about right now, already thinking about going on the next tour,lol! Only really cause ive been plotting out what i am going to do with the money!! he he he he! I cant wait to go up to the yukon and see sanora, garnette and brian and of course sienna!!! It will be during my quest for getting into shape so i plan to go snowshoeing and snowboarding! Plus going to fernie and regina if i can and Im also hoping to go visit mom and everyone up N Sask! I would like to but who knows, I may go the oposite direction and do some camping in Penticton or Kelowna, maybe see some old friends and gramma. So many choices!!lol! I want to travel around visit everyone but it will be hard cause the rugby season starts soon after i get back and i definately want to get in on that!! We'll see anyways! If you couldnt tell theres too much time to think about things. Ive over thought a lot of different things, which unfortunately makes me even more anxious to get back home so i can make more definate plans!
Man i cant wait to go to the gym. We did some heavy track maintainance the other day and that was the best work out that ive had in a long time!! Just to feel healthy again would be nice! lol not like its THAT bad, but when im on decompression, i hope they have a boardwalk so i can go for runs along the beach, well if i feel keen enough i'll run in the sand. considering its been 4 months since ive walked 1km never mind running,lol!
Anyways i cant wait to find out how everyone is doing, now that i'm single, i can rediscover parts of me that i havent seen in a while, relax and enjoy that i dont have to worry about someone else anymore. I wont worry about starting up with anyone new till after i come back from the next tour, well i wouldnt want to go threw the same situation that i went threw when i came here!
ANYWAYS, Its new day and a new thought!
well, there's a lot of ups and downs these days! the weather is changing, its warmer out, about 20 and its still the drastic change at night going to -2 so needless to say the flu is going around.It all started with a bad headache then went to the throat then the sinuses soon enough i had a fever too! Yeah i was bedridden for a day or so but im back in the action now!
Today I was helping a buddy with maintainance on his vehicle and we were flushing the radiators ( which consisted of me standing on the top of the engine) and coolant started to spew out for some reason im not aware of. Hot coolant all over my foot. not really as bad as it may sound but it burned the inside of my foot right at the arch which is a fairly sensitive area! Just when i thought i was done bugging Beth for meds! Well the large amounts of water that was sprayed on me soon afterwards helped cool it down!lol!
Well my Aunty Jan asked for some funny stories and I couldnt really come up with much at the time. Well I put a little more thought to it. Thinking back to when I was watching a certain area, during my scans you see lots of sheep,camels and whatnot. Well this guy was trying to get this lone sheep across a huge feild to another compound probably 4km away. Well this sheep didnt want to go anywhere. he was pushing and pushing this sheep while it had his hooves dug into the ground. It went on like this for a while (just waiting for the guy to boot it in the ass) and sure enough, the guy gave it a swift kick in the ass and walked away. Lol, he walked a couple metres then came back and started pushing again! At one point he tried carrying it over his shoulders and the defiant sheep squirmed so much he had to start pushing yet again! Yes that was my cheap amusement for what was a long week!
There was another long week where we decided to entertain ourselves for a couple of hours by playing poker. Of course all we had was cards so we grabbed a bunch of rocks and some markers and coloured in our chips!lol there were three of us and we all rebought, in the end i won $90!I was pretty happy about that! Theres a couple of different stories but none that i can say here. Except of course the story that I told Aunty Jan. I was walking at night ( it was pitch black) and I walked out from the showers threw barriers (that i didnt walk threw on my way in) and went to turn on my headlamp that was in my hand and walked right into an a large truck. Lets just say that the bump was massive. I could literally cup it in my hand!lol yeah it was pretty big. So i went to the medics to patch it up ( it was bloody as well) and make sure i didnt get a damn concussion from it. Nothing was wrong except maybe a little embarrassement. It wasnt so bad since vehicles started to randomly appear in random spots around camp (At times the camp would fill up a bit!) and there was a lot of people with close calls. I on the other hand got close enough!
Anyways, thinking back to the past couple months and my blog entries im sure they generally sound the same at least to some extent, going on about cheap amusements and not showering and whatnot. Its partly because I've been getting some cheap amusement out of what people back home must think. Not showering every 4 days really isnt that bad, we got used to it really quick plus weve been lucky enough where it. Some people are very sick of the rations, Ive gotten used to them enough that it really doesnt bother me.
Talked to my aunty Jan today. Asking what we were doing I had to laugh how she was asking me all these questions when i was leaving and whatnot but we just cant answer those on the phone. The computers are down these days so i cant do much. oh well you will all find out soon enough. Its getting closer and closer to the time we leave though. Its hard not to pay attention to the date these days. what can ya do though. I am waiting till mid month then after mid month, we've got 2 weeks left. small goals and it doesnt seem so bad. Thats what i think anyways. I have some built up energy these days. That also has to do with the amount of sugar ive had these days but It doesnt help listening to music. I hear music, i want to move and dance. So many little things that can make a person anxious! So many things that can make you miss home!
There's a bunch of new guys these days. You cant help but laugh at the shiny new uniforms and equipement. Im sure we got the same giggle when we first got here too.
Ive looked back at old pictures and thought of things that happened in the past. Everything happens for a reason! Even though some things in the past year or so have been very exhausting or agrivating, i'm happy where i am right now. I may of lost people i considered good friends at one time but if they are going to be easily persuaded against me, they really were not friends of mine. Besides, I was lucky for it, In result i persued even better friends and a lot more fun! I cant wait to go back! Ive got some built up frusteration so crazy gerri will be coming out for sure when i get back!lol yes scary but true.
yeah, there's times where there's a lot of boredom. Ive played a bit of poker, in the past ive won every game i've played. Well seems my luck has run out. Oh well, really its no big deal, i put the money in treating it like money already gone. Ive over played every cheasy game I have on my computer. lol I think im going to load up my computer with different games for next tour. I prepared fairly good for this tour even with the small amount of time to get ready but there is still things i may do differently for next one.
There's been several cats floating around. Stray dogs are shot when they come in the camp, stray cats are a blessing! cats eat the mice so that there's no reason for snakes to come poking around. Unfortunately though, the one cat has learned to wine for food. Of course there's always someone here that will give it to her. Tiger was the name given (she has orange and black stripes across her). Very cheasy but oh well. She is an awsome cat, very sweet and affectionate. She darts at the sound of a ration being opened up just as if she would a can of tuna. Shes slept inside my sleeping bage or beside me on my pillow a couple of times now. Im not a big fan of cats but she's such a cutie. I want to get a pic of her on the tank. Such an oxymoron to have a little kitten crawling around on a tank.
We've swapped grandfather stories of the war a couple of times now. My grampa davidson was a signaler. He was so valuable at one point that they gave him the CO's jeep. He was the only one left. He was in D Day with a motorbike on a tank. He told me they got stuck at one point and the driver went green with all the death around him so he pushed him aside and did the maintainance himself. My grampa didnt talk much at all about the war, but just before he died, the 4 soldiers were killed by the americans which brought him to talk about simular situations during WW2.
Anyways the camp has built up a lot compaired to when we first got here. First there was no showers, no kitchen for fresh food, no tents to sleep under, just a satellite phone to talk to family, a cot and the smallpack we brought out. We now have our own living area, a tent with heaters and electricity, our own area is being built now for computers and TV! ( we havent had computers for the past while cause they were sent back to KAF) The whole base has been built up pretty good too. Its looking good and just when we are about to leave!!! gotta love that! well I hope to think that It will be built up even more by the time we get back here again! There has been a lot of work done on it compaired to when i first set eyes on it.
Theres a lot of thought about Cyprus these days!! I love the oportunities that the military brings. In a matter of 5 months i'll be to france, dubai, afghanistan and Cyprus. Cyrpus being the best of course. We get so much money to do different things like going to a spa, gocarting, golfing, scuba diving, all that kind of stuff. I hope to find a partner in crime for scuba diving! A couple of us are talking about going on a wine tasting tour. Im not a big wine fan, but if i keep on going, im sure i'll find one i like!lol!
Most importantly, having more than the few seconds in the shower to be alone. There's suppost to be a jaccussi in each room. If thats the case, I will be laying there in a hot bath with a beer in my hand! ahhhhh that thought is such a tease right now. You get used to a procelain seat and ichyban noodles as luxuries, when we get out into the real world, its going be fairly different.

Yeah So there's some random thoughts while ive been out here. Ive over thought a fair bit of stuff and there's a lot of babbling on here, but oh well!

One morequick story that i have........
I was on shift from 1-3 and had to get up at 4am so i stayed up drinking coffee. Of course 10 min out, I had to pee like crazy. So while scanning my arks, I peed in my pee jug on the move ( I was quite proud of myself) as well. Well soon after the OC's tank broke down and he took ours. So we switched tanks ( so we do the maintainance) and the pee jug was still sitting half full! (he he he) well i thought it would be no big deal because it would only be for a couple of hours. Well I was wrong it was about 24hrs and I guess it started to smell like piss (Oooops) and my sgt had to throw it out! needless to say the gunner got retarded/ discusted over at as well as my Crew Commander for some reason. Although if you've read the other blogs or emails, he has the mentality of a 12 yr old boy!!! yeah I thought it was hilarious. Well aparently its discusting but really what else am i suppost to do. I really dont care and after i write this, i will be bugging my medic friend for another jug (he he he he). Its amusing how squirmy and discusted guys get over something like that though! I am sure its a lack of maturity but thats just me.

anyways, thats life so far, to add I am probably staying another month! I might get even more benefits out of the deal but unfortunately i will probably miss sienna being born!!! It depends It will be 2-4 weeks, so we'll see how things go!!

well love you guys miss you!

Hey guys,
well so far so good, we've been fairly busy sometimes you never know what may happen! Things (like ive said before) is always subject to change. Sometimes it could be good that way! Well i got a chance to come into KAF for rest and refit. Man, just being able to sit on an actual toilet seat, to have a boiling hot shower as long as you want, wear civis, to be able to relax and have a TIMMYS coffee! It feels really good. We wont be here long though, so may as well milk it as much as i can. Im taking in all the timmys that i can take!! Well i will probably try and chat on the phone later, I got to talk to Glenny and Dad the other day which was nice, sometimes its easy to forget how long its been since youve talked to family. Anyways things are good! Thanks for that comment Aunty Jan, I hope to be half the women my mom was!! I think of her often! Anyways, things have been good and i love you guys!

tryen to give an update

i had this big blog made up blabbering on like usual about all the cheap amusements and simple pleasures (lol like showers) out here but well my memory stick is being a pain!!! well anyways im still trucken along, like my dad would say "keep your pecker up!" and well the countdown of going back has started. dont know much for dates but theres a lot of rumours and wishful thinking! Im just looking forward to getting back into shape, seeing family and friends and starting the new rugby season!!!! smashy smashy!!!
yeah so doing pretty good, done a lot of thinking about different plans! well will add more when i can! take care thanks for the support, love you guys!