Defiantone.com

In Iraq I really only knew a few things to be true - I knew that it was going to be hot during the day and I also knew that it was going to be dark and noisy at night.

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When I finally left I rode out on dark and noisy military transport - a continuation of a theme. My camera doesn’t like extremely shaky environments full of low light conditions but I think I captured enough for you to understand how enjoyable the ride actually was for us. If you look at the bottom picture, cram yourself into a closet with 4-6 other people, crank up the volume to the maximum level on your speakers, and sit/stand there for three hours you’ll have a slight understanding of how “comfortable” it was

I’ve uploaded a few more pictures from my time in Iraq in the gallery - the new stuff starts on page 4

I got home and met a fantastic girl in the airport - well - I it wasn’t the first time I’ve met her but it had been quite a while since I had last seen her.

We went home and she showed me around our house - where we had the lengthy task of unpacking looming on the horizon.

Luckily - I’m a task oriented guy and we got starting working at the task so it could be done - and so we could look forward to the party we were to have that weekend.

The house is complete with a garage and two dogs in the backyard - one of which will flop around like a fish if you ignore her.

We had a party and it was a great time despite me knowing only a handful of the people there - I met quite of few of Jessica’s friends but there names are already a mystery to me - damn short term memory. Feel free to check out more photos of the house in the gallery - thats it for now

Tags: Balad, beer, booze, Deployment, dogs, fun, gallery, home, house, Iraq, Jessica, military, moving, party

If you visit this site with any frequency you’d notice that I seldom go a few days without making some sort of post. Well, you can consider this that post. I’ve got a larger and more detailed post thats coming down the pipeline complete with photos and videos but that will come later. I’ve got to wait until the sun comes out so I can snag a couple of pics of the new digs Jessica and I share.

Thats about it for now - more to come later

Tags: house, Jessica, moving, travel

We’ve spent the last two days moving virtually everything that I own and its been quite a task. Jessica now understands why I try to keep as little chaff around and why I retain the wheat (thats todays only farmer analogy). We’ve got some clothes left in the apartment, a bed, and a Christmas tree. We plan on getting the rest of it out of here next Wednesday - we also plan on cleaning the entire place between here and next Friday. It shouldn’t be that bad because we both want to get it done and I’m sure that we can knock it out in a few hours (save for the carpet cleaning) if we really work at it.

I’ve filled most of a 10×16 storage space but there still is al ot of room inside. The boxes are mostly to her height so we could have gone much higher - then again, I don’t think it would have been very safe because we were reusing boxes so the crush strength isn’t as high as it once was. I’m not looking forward to moving into our next place but we’ve already done the hard work. Moving out is a pain in the ass - moving is a much smoother process

Tags: moving

Everything must go - its got to get into a box of some sort - nothing can be left behind. I’ve taken my life with me but I always leave something behind. This time around I’m leaving boxes and furniture but there is something more that I am leaving behind. This time, I’m leaving behind people that I care about.

Today we’re moving almost everything out of my apartment into a storage unit. Its going to be a long day (one that will probably be fraught with frustration). I’ve got to go to work this morning to get the last of my paperwork and to pick up a few extra items. While out, we’ve also got to get our hands on a hand cart, a tarp, some bungees, and Jessica’s paycheck (she has a few last minute gifts to purchase). On top of all of that, we’re moving everything using the worlds smallest and slowest elevators. Luckily, they can lock the elevator down and I know that since I got it all in the apartment that I can probably get it out without much trouble.

I’ve only got 10 days left before I fly out - hardly enough time to get this done and spend some time with the people that matter.

I will be back - its only a 4 months (or so… it is the military) - and I can spend time with the people that matter the most to me.

Tags: car, frustration, Jessica, military, moving, work

Well, as I’ve mentioned, I’m scheduled to depart for my four months in Iraq and I finally have a date when I’m leaving - Jan 1. I still have quite a bit to do so I can take care of all of my personal affairs but I think I’ve got almost everything else wrapped up at work. I’ve got some training records to take care of this evening or tomorrow but I’m not sure when I’ll have a chance to do it. Odds are, I’ll have to give up doing something that I might enjoy so that I can finish my work.

I’m planning on snowboarding tomorrow - pending a check on the snow reports. Jessica is off to attend a wedding so I’m taking advantage of my free time to go while I have a chance.

Leaving here is going to suck but I need a break from my regular job. I tend to last for about a year in a particular location before I need to deploy for a while, take a vacation, or just change work sections. I definitely want to come back to maintenance but some people have been scheming to put me in Munitions Control when I return. I’d rather shoot myself in the face.

Why is it that people that do a good job always tend to get screwed while the worthless ones get nothing. Today, for example, one of our resident idiots wasted an entire day away. We tend to give him menial tasks because he is completely incompetent. Keep in mind that he has the same rank that I do and that he has been in for about five more years. We gave him the task at about 10AM and he told me that I had more work to do at about 1430 when I came back from what I was doing. I started on the rest of the work for the day (knowing full well he would skate out at the earliest opportunity because he was too worthless to even help) at about 1500. I enlisted the help of everyone else in the shop and we all left at about 1645. Who knows what time he left but I don’t think he finished the menial task we gave him. What a worthless piece of shit.

It doesn’t help he tends to fuck up on anything we might give him - I’ve got troops with less than a year on station that I would trust more than I might trust him.

Ok… back from the bunny trail

I’m not sure if I am going to get the uniforms I need on time by the time I am scheduled to deploy. I told my deployment manager that I would show up in my BDU’s (greens) in the desert if all else failed. I’m sure they would see the error in their ways and get me what I needed immediately. Its a shame that we can’t get the stuff on hand before I actually leave. Can you imagine how funny I would look when everyone else is wearing some brand of desert pattern and I am rocking the woodland?

I’m not looking forward to the bag drag - I think I’ll be carrying 4 bags - and after I get the required gear I’ll have to carry two additional bags - for the remainder of the necessities (clothing, towels, boots, etc.) Its a shame I can’t check a hand cart in my luggage and use it on the other end. If I had a few bungee straps it would work like a champ.

Ok… this has been a bit of rant - haven’t had one of those in a while - I guess you can tell how my Friday has been

Tags: Deployment, fun, Iraq, military, moving, travel, work

What a week it has been. Earlier this week I gave my apartment manager notice that I intended to move out before the beginning of the month because I was slated to deploy. I found out a few days later that I was actually not going to deploy. On top of the fact that I wasn’t deploying I had already spent the money that I normally would have spent on rent so my only option was to apply the last months rent and find another place. I was going to have three paychecks in between the day I found out and move in day so I was sure that I could pay for rent and deposit but the whole thing was going to be a giant pain in the ass. On Thursday I was told that another guy that was slated to go to Iraq had received orders to Korea and they needed someone else to go. I volunteered… as I pretty much always will. I knew that Jessica was excited about me being around and that I knew she would be down because of my decision but I knew it was a tough choice I needed to make. I will miss her greatly but I will be back - and our lives should have slightly fewer stressers as I should be able to pay off one of my creditors.

So, I’m packing up all of my stuff to move into a storage unit before the end of the month but I don’t know when I’m leaving yet. The estimated in place date is from the day after Christmas to New Years - its all TBD. I’ve got a large chunk of the apartment packed up and I can probably get the rest packed up (that I won’t use in the next few weeks) in a night or two.

This should be an interesting trip but I’ll be fairly safe out there, well, as safe as one can be. I’ll continue to post here as frequently as I can. If you remember what happened last time you’ll find that I have enough time to rant and rave - almost daily. I’m not sure how the filters/internet access are going to work so I’ll have to see how it goes.

Tags: Deployment, fun, Iraq, military, moving, travel

I’ve been trying to get out of my current career field for a few years now and the chance is upon me. I’m going to let the best chance to retrain pass because I think I’ve found a better plan. If I was to retrain I would undoubtedly move away from here within the next year - no doubt about it. If I didn’t retrain I could use my job reservation and reenlist whenever I chose to do so. I have a guaranteed job for the next four to six years if I take the oath once again. Odds are, unless I place Korea on my list of bases I won’t leave here for a few years. Some people have been at this base for eight years - I’ve never heard of anyone being stuck at a base for eight years

Since I’ll be hanging around I can do a few things -

1. I can stay here with Jessica until she finishes school - she promised me she’ll be done my spring quarter
2. I can continue to work the second job and continue to pay off my debt
3. I can start taking classes again - if I’m not moving there is no better time like the present
4. I can still go snowboarding in the winter - if I were to move I might get stuck far away from them thar hills
5. I can continue to hang around a very important girl
6. The docs can continue to evaluate why I have a hard time running and hopefully solve the problem

After she completes her school, I can still apply to retrain but it might be a different career field and it will probably be under a different retraining program - its slightly harder to retrain in this manner but I might be able to do it. The other option is that if I finish my degree and she’s got hers done I could separate early from the military and become… a civilian again. I love the military but that doesn’t mean I can’t move on with my life. The military provides a great sense of security and in some ways I may be afraid to take that risk.

So… here’s the risk… and I hope it all goes well

Tags: car, Jessica, military, moving, rain, work

The week is nearing completion and I am more than happy for it to end. I’ve got to come back into work next week to take a test while I’m on leave. Unfortunately, the only time I can take the test in the next few months is next week. I’m hoping that I can get a comp day out of the deal because it was necessity that I come back into work while on leave to knock it out. Hopefully I’ll do well on it because it will qualify me for one of the career fields on my retraining list. If I don’t do well enough I won’t be able to retrain into that particular career field.

I “should” be moving to the other side of the base when I come back from leave. I’ve set it up so that the lions share of the work has already been started from the operating instruction change so it “should” be an easy transition. I’ll be happy because I’ll have the opportunity to hang out with some different people and learn a different job. I love learning… even when its things I hate learning about… mostly because I enjoy the learning process.

I’ve been slightly annoyed this week as my co-worker is back from her hiatus and has taken all of my duties away. Since those tasks are no longer under my purview, I am relatively jobless. Luckily for me, we’ve been doing a massive cleanup this week and I’ve been able to spend time here and there on it. If I was here next week after the cleanup I would probably get a little annoyed with the situation… as you know, my happiness is tied to the relationships I have with others and my job satisfaction. If I don’t have any work… I’m not a happy camper (thus the retraining request).

Its all down the road but I’m almost to the point of counting down hours until I’m officially on leave…

Tags: car, hate, moving, rain, work

No matter how tough the material might be when its originally created it starts to wear down after a while. Brake pads, thermal tiles on the shuttle, and the soles of your shoes all wear to such a point that to maintain safety you need to replace them. I’m starting to wear down and I know I have about a month left before I can take a break. I hope I don’t start to squeak, I hope I don’t let too much heat though, and I hope I don’t become so worn that I trip and fall. I know that I can make it another month without a day off but its going to be darn rough.

I do have a couple evenings off during the week but I spend most of my time catching up on things that I can’t do while I’m at work. When I do get the chance to do nothing I’ve found that I can’t let myself relax. I keep on telling myself that I must stay busy, I must remain active… to quit moving is the same as giving up and I just can’t do that right now. Like the Spartans at Thermopile I must remain defiant even in the face of annihilation.

Tags: moving, work

Swift like ninjas they came without notice and without being seen or heard. They came while it was still dark so that nobody would notice. They used their ancient art to blend into the shadows and then disappear quickly into the day. The packing and moving ninjas came and moved 96% of my belongings in slightly less than two hours. I stood and watched in astonishment as I heard the crumpling of paper and the sound of tape being pulled from the roll. With as little fanfare as when they arrived they left with my stuff. Now I’ll have to be creative in my endeavor to kill time. Goodbye packing ninjas and godspeed.

Tags: moving