2008-08-27 16:07:42 old text and photos
. I was looking through my backups and noticed the really huge gap between the last time I posted a blog entry and the last one I actually /wrote/. I’m not sure why I haven’t been posting stuff. It’s not that I haven’t been collecting ideas or even writing, just haven’t been posting, exactly. I’m tired of feeling like I’ve been censoring myself. I’ll start posting again soon. I suppose I’ll just add it to the list of stuff I should really get around to doing; like going through my things and throwing away junk that I really don’t need. (Thanks, mum, for these packrat tendencies.)
. I’ve really enjoyed using my DSLR. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed photography until recently. I just need to get a decent telephoto lens for the next time we go out to the beach. I love my 50mm, but it makes it hard to get that awesome shot of the bald eagle by the water. ;
. On that note, I suppose I should go ahead and edit/post all the photos I’ve been taking recently. I guess I’ll end this and go get started on that.
out.
2008-08-19 14:38:36 coffee
. It’s weird how the tiniest, seemingly innocent things can upset people months later. When I took Cat to Missouri with me to visit the kids at my parents’ house last January she got upset over something Amy said. My parents, younger siblings, Cat, Amy, and my kids were all sitting in the living room Tuesday morning. Dad had just made a fresh pot of coffee and asked if anyone would like some. I was holding Caleb upside-down and tickling him, so Cat got up to grab me a cup. She called from the kitchen “Hey, how much sugar do you like in your coffee, Ben?” I didn’t hear hear her, but Amy answered for me (Two sugars, light cream.)
. I didn’t think something so small as my ex-wife knowing how I liked my coffee would upset my recent girlfriend. I suppose it was upsetting that Amy would know things about me that Cat didn’t yet. I mean, Amy and I /were/ married for three years. Maybe it wasn’t completely innocent on her part; I probably don’t give her enough credit sometimes. She can really be a subtle and petty when she wants to be.
. I guess I can be pretty oblivious; it took me a few months to realize that Cat had been upset about this.
out.
2008-08-19 13:35:50 chucky’s rant
As an addendum to my response to Chucky’s rant about the stupidity of enlisting.
. It’s no secret that Chucky hates the army. He’s made it pretty clear why, and I agree with him on a lot of those reasons. For me however, the army’s proved to be a great environment for something I enjoy a lot; studying people. In the movie Dark Night, Heath Ledger’s character says that the only reason he does anything is for chaos’ own sake; Stress and chaos reveal what kind of person people really are. The military is the best place that I’ve found so far to see the same effects of stress on people; I don’t think I could get away with blowing up buildings and killing people outright. ;]
. Get a group of poeple together in a common situation, then heap a bunch of stress on them and see what happens. The real point of basic combat training – aside from the training, of course – is uniting a group of individuals in a stressful situation against a common enemy – the drill instructors and the training obstacles – and teaching them to work as a team. That’s the basic idea; How it really turns out depends largely on the individuals in the group.
. A recent example is my unit’s upcoming field protection exercise. A large group of the soldiers will break down into excessive whining and moodiness. Another (smaller) group will endure the unavoidable silliness with a good attitude; They will even try to excel at the tasks placed in front of them. Where else would you get this level of insight into people?
out.