Marine Corps Issue...

Today I went through the small mountain of Marine Corps cammies, uniforms, accessories, and weird shit I picked up while I was enlisted. This process took me several hours. I'm still not done. Washing and sorting gear I haven't even set eye on for the past five years takes quite a long time. Urgh.

It is weird how good memories and bad memories are attached to the uniforms I used to wear on a daily basis. I remember the field operations I used to be a part of. Those were usually fun. I didn't like the hours, though. I remember being deployed to Afghanistan. That deployment sucked so bad, not because I was in a real war zone, but because there was too much politics, favoritism between the ranks (which is not permitted), and mundaneness mixed with outright fear for my life. I guess rocket attacks will do that. Okinawa, Japan was beautiful. I should have gone off base more often than I did. I could have eaten more Japanese food, seen Japanese sights, and visited Japanese villages, cities, and beaches. Hell, I should have gone outside more often than I did. North Carolina had its charm, too. Camp LeJeune had the beauty of a thick forest next to the ocean. That combination is pretty rare in nature. Well...maybe not in the North Eastern parts of this country and Canada. Parris Island was the best experience of my Marine Corps career. I've said that if the Marine Corps was half of what I was taught in Boot Camp, I would have re-enlisted in a heart-beat. I didn't re-enlist, and I wonder what my life would have been like if I stayed enlisted for eight years instead of four. I guess I'll never know unless I jump stream. That is the past eight years gone -- eight years ago since I first enlisted and four years since I left -- so trying to figure out where I would be now if I made different decisions would be a waste of my time. I guess I'll always wonder "what if".

I found four mesh laundry bags, one regular laundry bag, and eight laundry bag pins. Those are huge. Why do I own eight of them? I don't know. I found a new pair of combination locks that are still in the plastic. I found the patches I bought when I visited Korea. I found my original money bag I was issued in Boot Camp. It was empty. I do remember carrying $7 in it while I was getting thrashed by my drill instructors. It is weird how that was eight years ago. I found a bunch of stuff I have no use for and i don't know how to get rid of. I don't want to carelessly throw it all out, but I don't want to hold onto it for the rest of my life -- except the stuff I'm holding onto for posterity.

So: there are two piles downstairs, one bigger than the other one. The small one is for me, the large one is for removal. I wonder what I'll do with the large one.

∅

Illinois State Fair 2009

Yesterday, Steve and Bob, and Kevin and I went to the state fair. We drove in Steve's SUV, which was pretty nice, since those vehicles have large spaces for each passenger. I can understand why they are popular...even though they are immensely fuel inefficient. I guess people also cannot be asked to sit too close to other passengers, in this country, as well.

So, the four of us arrive at the fair. Kevin said he wanted to look at the farm animals. Much to my surprise, I wanted to see them, too. I'm not usually very interested in livestock, but the thought of petting a horse or a goat made me smile inside. We walk around the livestock area of the fair and we didn't see too much in the way of farm animals. Where were they? It was the running theory that since it was late in the evening (around 7:00pm), the animals were put away for the day. Bob and I did find a horse in a stable. We stroked his face and the horse tried to lick my hand. I wasn't for that at all. After the horse experience, we eventually did find sheep, goats, and pigs. I used Steve's camera to take a few pictures of a baby goat with little horns. It was simply adorable.

After the farm animals, we all decided to eat the fair equivalent of dinner. I bought this giant turkey drumstick for $6. That was a special treat. This piece of meat was huge. I think it was worth every dollar.

Once dinner was done, it was not time for the rides. I bought the first batch of ride tickets, and we were all off to the bumper-cars. Unlike the King's Island bumper car experience, these bumper cars could actually go fast and ram other passengers with some force. The ride was fun. After that Kevin, Bob, and I went on the tilt-a-whirl. While the ride was operating, Kevin and I would shift our weight to get our car spinning with great force. My head hurt because I kept hitting it on the inside on exposed metal. The head-ache was worth it.

Then I went on the space capsule by myself. This was one of those situations in which the wait for the ride was scarier than the actual duration itself. I was actually quite relaxed. I could see Kevin and Steve watching me from the ground. I waved.

Then we all went on the octopus ride. That one is always a classic. Unfortunately I began to feel nauseous. Why? I think it was because I woke up really early for a Saturday, ran on the high school track, and didn't drink enough water. Whatever the reason I realized that if the ride continue to operate I would have completely hurled only after a few more rotations. Bob felt the same way, too.

Once we were done with that ride, we all finished the day on the gondola Ferris wheel. This was a particularly awesome experience because a fireworks display was going off right next to the Ferris wheel. It was almost like we all had a close-up experience of the fireworks. It was pretty awesome. Unfortunately, my nausea was really acute on this ride, too. I really thought I would have to hang my head over the side of the gondola and empty my stomach. That didn't happen. I was extremely grateful for that nonoccurence.

On the drive back to Urbana, I depleted a water bottle by myself. I continued to feel nauseous, so I sipped carefully. I filled up the bottle when we arrived at Steve's house. I drank that bottle again. Then, when Kevin and I got home to his house, I cleaned myself up and drank two more glasses of water. Maybe I really was dehydrated.

I go to bed and try to sleep. It is now 3am and I only half-slept. So I got up and tried to relieve myself. This was particularly difficult, not because I was constipated, but because I was still nauseous! WTF? I eventually go, and I drank some more water. I finally entered sleep when I went back to bed this time. As I am re-reading this update, I have a sneaky suspicion that my nausea might have been caused by food poisoning. Maybe that tasty turkey drumstick was contaminated somehow. Who knows?

But...I did have fun at the fair. The rides were fun. The animals were cute. I think we all might be heading to King's Island again this year, too. I was under the impression that was a once-every-two-year trip, not an annual one. I'll see what happens in the future.

∅

Amazon Sale

Hooray. Two days ago I unloaded one of my old PlayStation 1 games on Amazon. I sold my Spyro: Collector's Edition box set, which encompassed the three original games of that franchise into...a box set.

I bought that box set when I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and I never broke the plastic. The box set just sat on my game shelves just collecting dust. I would occasionally look at that box set and say to myself, "Those games are really good. I'll play them one day." I never did. Since I never broke the plastic on that box set, I sold it for twice for what I paid for it. That pleases me immensely. Besides, it isn't like I won't be able to play those games ever again. (It isn't like I played those games in the first place.) I can always download them again on the PlayStation Network when I inevitably buy a PlayStation 3.

∅

Dead Dog Dream

Last night I had a really vivid dream.

I get the feeling that it was the past in my late youth. I was walking to the Qwik Mart, in Bucksport, Maine, to go junk-food shopping, and my dog was tagging along. The strange part about the dog is that it was a black and white border collie. My family has never owned a border collie dog. We've owned mutts and stupid springer spaniels, but not border collies.

Anyway...I'm walking and this dog is acting playful. He is running around me and acting foolish. I can feel love flowing from me because I know this dog is really special and I know he loves me. I cross the street, and this dog gets hit by a car. I run back to the intersection, and the dog gimped to the sidewalk. I run over to the dog and begin to try to care for him. He obviously has broken bones, and blood is flowing. I run to a nearby house to go call an emergency veterinary service (I guess they have those in this world) and this guy shows up to take my dog away.

And then I woke up.

This dream really wasn't remarkable; It isn't like my usual psychedelic dreams I usually have. The dream was just really emotional and vivid. It is almost like I really used to own a border collie and I was reliving a memory of my past. I just remember bawling my eyes out when the dog got hit by the car. I remember feeling the tears flowing down my face. I think the dog might have even died, or maybe I was expecting the dog to die soon, so I had to make the most of my time with the dog while he was still alive. I think that was why I tried to make him comfortable before his imminent demise.

This dream was too emotional for me. Or, maybe I should say: The emotions were too intense for me to relive again when a real family dog died in real life.



∅