Well this nascar season hasn't been all too exciting for me or any dale jr. fan for that matter. i'm not sure why he's running so bad, chalk it up to some bad luck and some bad setups. but with him running so bad it is making it hard to watch the races now and not fall asleep. we got bristol coming up and hopefully he'll do well there. if not, there's always the week after that. barry bonds today said that he might take the year off. DO IT!!! he has tarnished the game for everyone who played and watched throughout all of these years. it's a damn shame too because he would have made the hall of fame without using the roids, he just would have never gotten near Aaron. If I was Aaron I'd come out publicly and denounce bonds, mcguire, giambi and all of those roid users. You don't have that problem in Nascar. looks like i'm getting myself a new/old car. one that i've already wrecked so hopefully we've gotten that stuff outta my system. it'll be good for commuting because the stang takes alot of gas and the US' private oil reserve in Iraq and now Alaska is really doing a whole helluva lot of good. i really feel for the family of that Schiavo woman down in florida. it must be tough to lose a daughter and have her physically there for you to see. they have to face facts. the woman is brain dead and will never recover, despite the prognosis of heart surgeon Bill Frist. she died 15 years ago and keeping her alive this way is doing nothing for her and only prolonging your grief. no one should live life like that because it isn't living, it's existing as a shell of your former self. And congress and the president can take a long walk off a short pier. absolute power corrupts absolutely and i'm suprised more people haven't come up and said to hell with all of you. hopefully they will in 06. someone needs a humblin.

been home now for over a month and haven't been doing much of anything. work is what it is. a waste of your tax dollars, but the clearance will come soon enough. home is great. things are going well. been reading some books, star wars currently, in preperation for Revenge of the Sith. I get back from Korea 4 days before it opens. Can't wait. the ladies are doing a-ok. athena is doing really well in school and working so hard at it. it's really cool to see. linz is being a normal 6 year old and is so much fun to be around. it makes leaving home hard, but it will help us out in the long run. plus give some good ideas for future overseas travel. although i don't think the middle east is someplace I want to go anytime soon.

no posts for a lil while....sorry been busy catching up on my sleep i guess. actually just a lazy little man is all. got back into town last weekend and it is good to be back. the trip home was full of adventure. the lufthansa crew in kuwait first told me that i had no ticket on the flight and that i'd have to wait and see if something opened up. that was FANTASTIC. I don't know how well they understood english, but a few fuck you's may have slipped my lips. By the time everything got sorted out I had to rush to the plane and then stand in line. fun fun fun. Finally got on and then it was off to Germany. I can now say that I've flown over the Kingdom. oh boy. Once in Germany had a bunch of coffee and met up with some folks flying back from Kuwait and some new age doctor from LA. After the coffees we had some beers. 4 to be exact and then it was off to one helluva long security line to fly back to the states. the germans sure do know how to stick it to you if they feel like. All other international flights were like domestic ones here. They had a huge sign saying that they were just conforming to American standards and the line was as bad as it is in the states. Funny stuff. The long line is funny because one of the people that i was having a few beers with missed the flight and the plane had to sit on the tarmac while his luggage was removed. Then a medical emergency required a passenger to disembark and their luggage to be removed as well. After 2 hours on the tarmac it was wheels up. That is one boring flight and I didn't get to sleep much on it either. Oh well. I made it back and that's all that matters. I was so happy to see Ms. Athena there at the airport. She was definately a site for sore eyes. And then a week later I got to see Ms. Linz. It's amazing how much they grow at that age. She told me I looked like Abe Lincoln and that I needed to shave. She was right about that one. I've still kept the hair long but trimmed my weak attempt at a beard. work is the same as it ever was. no communication flow at all, nothing to do and really just damn depressing. but that's ok, just waiting for my secuirty clearance. so glad to be home with my ladies.

I can't believe it!  Only 7 days left here in the land of the sand.  Time has really flown by.  The emails and IM's from my friends and family have been great and really helped me along.  The xm radio online has also been fantastic.  Really has helped to pass the time. 

Things workwise have been going very smoothly.  There has been no real need for us to leave the hotel for the past week or so and we've been bumming around the resort.  Thank goodness we are staying at a 5 star deal with a lot of things to do.  If we weren't then I'd be really really bored. 

Athena has been doing really well in school and I'm very proud and happy for her.  Hopefully I won't get in the way of her studies when I get back home.  That could cause a problem. hahaha.

anyone have a job where you are completely and totally shut out of the loop on most everything?  that's what i'm dealin with right now.  too put things in perspective, I've been gone for almost 2 months and have only received 112 emails.  and 3/4 of that are junk emails or project wide announcements.  during my time over here my boss left, no email or call, a co-worker was promoted, no email or call.  evidently i'm now sharing a cubicle at work, again no email or call.  By the way, that arrangement will not last long.  The person I'm sharing with is a cool guy and all but I will not share a 5 foot cube with anyone.  Time to start looking for a new job.  It would be different if I was learning and being challenged everyday, but I'm not so it's a time to roll on out.

the lingerie bowl is coming up soon.  i always like saying that my friend puts that show on.  good luck with the show and i will get it this year.  is it on directv?  i'll have to look it up.

went fishing at the hotel a couple of days ago.  caught a whole lotta nothing.  and honestly i don't know how anything can live in these polluted waters.  seriously they make the jersey shore look pristine.  hahaha.  i take that back, but it's like a floating landfill over here.  thank goodness we have environmental laws.

well that's all that's going on right now.  looking forward to seeing the ladies when i get home.  i've missed playin around with them and teamin up with linz to bother athena.  1 more week.  booya

So I'm on the tail end of 12 days left here in the sandbox.  Thank goodness.  I'm ready to get back home.  It's been an experience to say the least.  I think that I've done some good things at the job to make the end-users life easier.

Just really excited to get home.  This post sucks...sorry...i'm tired.  The football games come on here way too late.  I'll try for a better one tomorrow.

Well I'm a little tardy with my update here but I have been a little busy, which I guess is some kind of excuse.  A lame one, but one none the less.  Here's a quick rundown of what's been going on.

New years was spent in the hotel room watching television and pretending that I had a drink and that I was with family and friends.  I rocked the New Year American in Kuwait, in hiding style I guess you could say.  But what fun would it have really been to celebrate at a restaraunt down here anyways?  You can get all juiced up on coffee products, which has the effect of not letting you fall asleep till the 2nd or 3rd.  And leaves you feeling paranoid and smoking a tobacco farm at the end of it.  I personally like the getting so drunk that you pass out at 12:05, not remembering those you angered and getting maximum sleep to begin the new year hangover properly.  It's really weird over here.  All the restaraunts that normally have bars (TGIF, Chillis, etc.) all have bars here but they are coffee bars.  Nothing like a nice juicy steak with a shot of espresso.  blah.

After new years I went to Dubai for some required (by whom I don't know, but I'll take it) out of Kuwait time.  Let me tell you this, Dubai has it together in a big way.  They are what the Middle East is capable of if they'd just get rid of that hard line, Islamic stance in their politics.  A beautiful city, that looks like it could fit in Europe or the States with ease.  The pictures I posted don't do the place justice.  Amazing.   And you can drink there and eat pork!!  I took advantage of both of those and realized how much I missed them.  The hotel was really nice and had a little mall in it with an ice rink.  Some skater ate it real hard when I was walking by.  I chuckled on the inside.  Went to the pool one day and read a biography on Kurt Cobain.  Sad story about him, but the heroine (as he calls it) just destroyed him.  Real sad.

Once I got back to Kuwait I could look forward to being halfway done with my trip and begin to start counting down the days till I go home.  Once I realized that the counting was making the days longer, I've since stopped.  Will pick it up again in a couple of weeks.  But it was depressing to come back to this country in a way.  Just to see what this region is capable of and then see what they are doing is discouraging.  Hopefully they will figure it out sooner or later.  Maybe if we force more change down there throat with a gun it'll work.  What ya think?

So been a little busy I guess.  Athena has started school and I'm really proud of her.  She is so excited and driven and it's incredible to see.  She's such a great person and I'm lucky that we've found each other.  I might have to get on the ol school bandwagon and get that master's degree I've been putting off.  Lord knows I got all the time in the world when I'm on the road.  Oh yeah, we picked a date for our wedding.  May 26, 2006.  Mark your calenders, bring your dancing shoes, party hats and drinking livers.  One hell of a shindig is about to unfold.

Well 2004 is almost over so I guess it's time to go over what has gone on this past year.  I moved in with my fiance in January to an apartment.  I quit the job that I had been at for 4 years for a new one that is far less stressful.  I am traveling the world, seeing places that I never thought I'd see (or want to see) and gaining a new appreciation for being at home.  2004 also brought my engagement to Athena.  All in all it's been a pretty good year.  It's kindof ending on a down note because I am not home to be with those I love but, I'll be home soon enough. 

XM radio is amazing.  I'm sitting here in my hotel room in Kuwait, listening to Opie and Anthony on the web.  Just great.  If you don't got it, get it.  If you got it, you know what I'm talking about.

Went to the gym today and decided to lift and then ride the bike.  Not to happy with that routine.  I was too tired on the bike after the lifting so I didn't ride as long as I wanted too.  But I'm sufficiently sore so that tells me that I did something right (or horribly wrong).  haha.

anyways, I stink at posting and telling stories.  Maybe that's what I'll work on this coming year.  or maybe not.  it's a new year, the possibilities are limitless.