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Stuph, various
Oct. 3rd, 2004 12:54 amLots of stuff going on since my last (public) entry. (Those of you on my friends list will see some info repeated from my last friends-only entry.)
On Thursday I watched the first Presidential debate between Bush and Kerry. Those of you who have been reading my LJ pretty much know who I support... and the debate simply reinforced my opinion. My only real comment is that being indecisive, or appearing to be so, isn't necessarily wrong. I think that if you're 100% certain, and you're wrong, it's foolish to pursue that avenue once you realize it's wrong. As much as I hate to say it, I've lost any confidence I've had in Bush to keep us going in the right direction on the War on Terror. From September 11, 2001 until we invaded Iraq to get Saddam Hussein, I believed we were doing the right thing. I have to agree with Kerry on one point in particular, though -- we dived headfirst into a war without a followup plan. It reminds me of something that happened in Korea. One of the guys who worked for me had a government purchase card and bought several printers that we could use in the field. The problem? The printers were notorious for eating up tons of ink, especially black ink, so they turned out to be costlier than expected. Sound familiar?
I wonder how long the U.S. will have to suffer from the mistakes made by the current administration...
Yesterday I picked up my car from the St Louis port... drove it something like 400 miles, which ended up being an 8-hour road trip. That was mainly because I stopped several times for food, gas and a couple of 20-minute powernaps. I left St Louis around noon, managed to drive all the way through Missouri on a single tank of gas, and filled up when I got to Iowa. That meant the car went at least 400-something miles on 3/4 tank of gas (and my intermittently using the A/C because I drove through a cold front... so I encountered a driving rainstorm part of the way followed by dropping temperatures behind the front). Still, that's not bad mileage.
Today I went to an Oriental food/merchandise store which, surprisingly (to me, anyway) carried several items from Hawaii... including saimin soup base (which includes bonito), dried cuttlefish (only the mild, didn't see the hot) and several cans of Aloha Maid and Hawaiian Sun juices. I think I know where I'll be going if I get homesick and don't see anything anywhere else. :)
I also ordered a new alarm system for the car. I was specifically looking for one that would remote-start the car, and I believe that the system also can do a couple of other things, such as turn on the dome light, open the trunk or the windows -- my choice, I believe. I'm not fully sure of the other options since the store where I ordered the alarm from is holding onto it until I can get it installed (they couldn't install it today... the earliest appointment I could get is Tuesday). The system cost around $550, including full installation... but it's warranted only if it's professionally installed.
Tonight I went to a "contemporary Protestant" service on the base. Its format was very similar to that at New Hope, where I was attending before I left Hawaii. That said, I think I've found my church, at least for as long as I'm here. Those of you on my friends list know what I'm talking about... everyone else, read on...
I could be heading back to Hawaii shortly, and it may be for another year or so. Unfortunately it's not under good circumstances, as those on my friends list (and the Furbraska list) will know. I'd rather not go into details at this point, but I will say that I could be looking at a humanitarian reassignment. If that involves my having to retrain to another career field, I will seriously consider it (possibly as a computer operator/specialist). That of course throws a lot of things in the air, not the least of which is my going to Midwest FurFest and/or Further Confusion 05. Chances are that now I may not be able to make either.
Tonight I went bowling with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
snapcat and firepup... it was nice to get my mind off the situation above for at least a few hours. Now that there's a fairly good prospect of my returning back home, I have mixed emotions and thoughts about leaving. On one hand, it'll be nice to link up with those I left behind only a few weeks ago, but of course on the other hand the circumstances aren't the best. I'll also miss the friends that I've met locally.
Funny thing is, my mood in my last entry was "bored." Now it's... I don't know...
On Thursday I watched the first Presidential debate between Bush and Kerry. Those of you who have been reading my LJ pretty much know who I support... and the debate simply reinforced my opinion. My only real comment is that being indecisive, or appearing to be so, isn't necessarily wrong. I think that if you're 100% certain, and you're wrong, it's foolish to pursue that avenue once you realize it's wrong. As much as I hate to say it, I've lost any confidence I've had in Bush to keep us going in the right direction on the War on Terror. From September 11, 2001 until we invaded Iraq to get Saddam Hussein, I believed we were doing the right thing. I have to agree with Kerry on one point in particular, though -- we dived headfirst into a war without a followup plan. It reminds me of something that happened in Korea. One of the guys who worked for me had a government purchase card and bought several printers that we could use in the field. The problem? The printers were notorious for eating up tons of ink, especially black ink, so they turned out to be costlier than expected. Sound familiar?
I wonder how long the U.S. will have to suffer from the mistakes made by the current administration...
Yesterday I picked up my car from the St Louis port... drove it something like 400 miles, which ended up being an 8-hour road trip. That was mainly because I stopped several times for food, gas and a couple of 20-minute powernaps. I left St Louis around noon, managed to drive all the way through Missouri on a single tank of gas, and filled up when I got to Iowa. That meant the car went at least 400-something miles on 3/4 tank of gas (and my intermittently using the A/C because I drove through a cold front... so I encountered a driving rainstorm part of the way followed by dropping temperatures behind the front). Still, that's not bad mileage.
Today I went to an Oriental food/merchandise store which, surprisingly (to me, anyway) carried several items from Hawaii... including saimin soup base (which includes bonito), dried cuttlefish (only the mild, didn't see the hot) and several cans of Aloha Maid and Hawaiian Sun juices. I think I know where I'll be going if I get homesick and don't see anything anywhere else. :)
I also ordered a new alarm system for the car. I was specifically looking for one that would remote-start the car, and I believe that the system also can do a couple of other things, such as turn on the dome light, open the trunk or the windows -- my choice, I believe. I'm not fully sure of the other options since the store where I ordered the alarm from is holding onto it until I can get it installed (they couldn't install it today... the earliest appointment I could get is Tuesday). The system cost around $550, including full installation... but it's warranted only if it's professionally installed.
Tonight I went to a "contemporary Protestant" service on the base. Its format was very similar to that at New Hope, where I was attending before I left Hawaii. That said, I think I've found my church, at least for as long as I'm here. Those of you on my friends list know what I'm talking about... everyone else, read on...
I could be heading back to Hawaii shortly, and it may be for another year or so. Unfortunately it's not under good circumstances, as those on my friends list (and the Furbraska list) will know. I'd rather not go into details at this point, but I will say that I could be looking at a humanitarian reassignment. If that involves my having to retrain to another career field, I will seriously consider it (possibly as a computer operator/specialist). That of course throws a lot of things in the air, not the least of which is my going to Midwest FurFest and/or Further Confusion 05. Chances are that now I may not be able to make either.
Tonight I went bowling with
snapcat and firepup... it was nice to get my mind off the situation above for at least a few hours. Now that there's a fairly good prospect of my returning back home, I have mixed emotions and thoughts about leaving. On one hand, it'll be nice to link up with those I left behind only a few weeks ago, but of course on the other hand the circumstances aren't the best. I'll also miss the friends that I've met locally.Funny thing is, my mood in my last entry was "bored." Now it's... I don't know...
