Saint Patrick’s day holds a special day in my heart, you see my son was conceived today 14 years ago while I was on a weekend trip to Arizona visit my friends for a Saint Patrick’s day party and hook up with who is now my ex-wife. Back when I was younger, a 370 mile drive on a two day weekend wasn’t that big of a deal and bonus, I was going to be hooking up finally with this mystery girl who had been popping in and out of my life for years. Little did we know, that night would affect the rest of our lives forever.
Back when we were both still in high school, I had kissed her one night in the street outside of her house and jokingly told her we would make cute kids because she had a long straight nose and mine was all squished in (our son did turn out very cute). Then a couple days later, I broke it off and I went off to prom with another girl named Heather (no not my new wife and sorry Lisa, that was very assholish of me) and we didn’t see each other for years then we would hit off meeting in some parking lot or at the store or camp. She was like a bolt from the blue, just showing up where I was at.
Someone wanted us to hook up or else we wouldn’t have kept running into each other like that, I knew she wasn’t stalking me and believe me, I wasn’t stalking her either. Then that Saint Patrick’s weekend came about and a couple weeks later I get a phone call where she tells me, I think I’m pregnant and my prophesy came true, we had a cute kid.
She was pregnant and we were young and decided get married without even really knowing each other. The first four years at El Toro were great, we had cool friends and it was like a honeymoon then I picked out orders to China Lake without asking her (dumb) and that was the turning point where all of the loose ties that bound our marriage together unraveled.
We both did a bunch of dumb things, said hateful words and our divorce was so rough that I got out of the navy and ran away to Phoenix to do something totally different with my life. Advice for all of you people getting divorces out there? Think before you spew out the hate that’s inside of you, venting out all of that garbage might make you feel better for a minute but when you want to hang out with your child on some special day and your ex says no way, you’ll regret ever saying it. All it does is escalate the tension, the only thing that really worked on our bitterness is moving on and time. I’m glad it’s over, having the taste of anger and hate in my mouth made me crazy.
These days, I couldn’t be happier with my ex, she’s a great mom, she’s remarried since to someone who suits her better and has another child. Collin gets along great with his step dad and thinking back now, it’s been years since we’ve had an argument.
I wonder where our lives would be at now Lisa, if we had never met that one weekend?
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
My bio for the Milblog convention
Sean Dustman is the author of the blog Doc in the Box and has been writing on the blog since January 2004. He is a native of Prescott Valley Arizona and has 13 years on his Navy clock with a small 3 year break till right after the attacks of 9/11 when he felt his talents in medicine were being wasted working on cars. Currently stationed at MCAS Miramar, he is the squadron corpsman for HMH-462 and just returned from his third trip to Iraq last fall.
He started reading blogs in early 2003 with Salam Pax, Lt Smash, turningtables, Sgt Hook, Chief Wiggles and started a photo blog following in these large footsteps. Eventually peer pressure sank in to open up a “respectable” blog which he dubbed “Doc in the Box”. Over the years since, his multitasking with the two sites increased over into myspaceland, youtube, castpost and nameless others until he now has a vast online networking portfolio can sometimes be a huge hassle if he thinks too much on the subject. He takes great pride in the amount of information he has been able to put out without having to pay a cent. He considers his blogs politically neutral and pro-military.
His vital stats, married to a lovely girl who happens to have pink hair, father of a 13 year old son and a shelter dog named Gatsby. He has worked successfully as a mechanic, landscaper, corpsman, photographer, cook and framer and would eventually like to find a job that uses his various talents. Military achievements include The 2002 Chief Hospital Corpsman George William “Doc” Piercy Award presented personally by Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James Jones at the Marine Expo in Quantico VA, 2 Navy Achievement Medals and 3 Good conduct awards
He started reading blogs in early 2003 with Salam Pax, Lt Smash, turningtables, Sgt Hook, Chief Wiggles and started a photo blog following in these large footsteps. Eventually peer pressure sank in to open up a “respectable” blog which he dubbed “Doc in the Box”. Over the years since, his multitasking with the two sites increased over into myspaceland, youtube, castpost and nameless others until he now has a vast online networking portfolio can sometimes be a huge hassle if he thinks too much on the subject. He takes great pride in the amount of information he has been able to put out without having to pay a cent. He considers his blogs politically neutral and pro-military.
His vital stats, married to a lovely girl who happens to have pink hair, father of a 13 year old son and a shelter dog named Gatsby. He has worked successfully as a mechanic, landscaper, corpsman, photographer, cook and framer and would eventually like to find a job that uses his various talents. Military achievements include The 2002 Chief Hospital Corpsman George William “Doc” Piercy Award presented personally by Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James Jones at the Marine Expo in Quantico VA, 2 Navy Achievement Medals and 3 Good conduct awards
Monday, March 12, 2007
A tall tale
A week or so ago, I sent out a bulletin on Myspace asking my buddies there to leave a real memory they had of me in my comments section (most of my friends in real life reside there and aren’t bloggers) My oldest, Jason Roach, left a comment about a story that I had shelved because I knew no one would believe me, since he’s told it, I might as well share my recollection of it. It hasn’t been told in 15 or so years because I didn’t want all of my friends to think I was a liar. Everyone involved in that story had fell off the face of the earth including Jason and with this story, who would believe me alone? The story is stranger then fiction. A couple weeks ago, Jason shows up out of the blue and shares the story in a comment which brings up this memory which is a 100% true (the comment is posted along with a bunch of other somewhat embarrassing comments about the dark reaches of my past when I used to be a party animal, read them an weep, I’m not deleting them, so there goes my presidential bid).
Back when we were 16 or 17, I used to do a bunch of odd and somewhat crazy things, one of my hobbies was exploring old mines all around northern Arizona and in Prescott, there was this mine call Black Jack mine (I really don’t know the name of it, that’s just what people told me it was called, but I think it was really called the Barbara Mine because the entrance looked like this picture taken 1930’s)
The mine was a literal maze that went though this mountain next to Granite Lake, a ladder that went up a couple hundred feet with side branches and an exit at the top of the mountain, tunnels that scattered off into the distance and pitfalls everywhere. It was one of my favorite places to hang out and was a sure bet to awe anyone who hadn’t seen it.
This one weekend, I gathered, Jason, another buddy Brian Mercer (I don’t know where he’s at but he can now find me by using google) and the last guys name slips my mind and dragged them out there with me. I had this 70 foot length of fire hose which I found at the dump a couple of weeks earlier and had it strung over my shoulder with a plan to use it to swing across the main shaft to some of the side passages (I still haven’t done that) I had been explore because there was a 12 or so feet gulf with lots of air underneath it.
I was such a regular at going to this mine that in reality, I hardly needed the light. I knew were all of the shafts and turns were liked the silence of the darkness which was unlike anything you could find on the surface. On this day, I had my light in my hand but wasn’t really using it, just going by feeling and the sound of my feet.
Walking along like this in the darkness, I heard this “yip” off in the distance, I almost thought I imagined it, I stopped and held up my hand for the others to stop (even before joining the military, I was using battle gestures) and there it was again. One second I was standing there and the next I was running off down the tunnel, my friends probably thought I was going crazy, I skidded to a stop in front of one of the bigger holes in the ground and shining my flashlight down, the tunnel curved so I couldn’t see the bottom from the side so I slithered down onto these railroad ties that were wedged a couple feet below the lip and at the very edge of the beam of light, almost swallowed up by the curve I could see a black shape and a smaller brown shape moving around, I leaned down almost upside down (no I’m not the brightest camper) and saw what looked to be a bear!
My friends had just caught up to me and I said, “There’s a bear down there!”
On top of that black mass (which I hoped was dead) looked to be a puppy and it was making the whining sound I had heard a couple hundred feet away. The next events seemed to happen in seconds, I tied off the fire hose and lowered myself down to the bottom and the thing I thought was a bear ended up being a large very flat dead dog. It looked like it had been there for a while and sure enough there was a puppy, I think it was a German Sheppard mix of some sort. I gave it some water from a bottle of water I had in my bag. That dog was sure happy to see me.
About this time my buddies on top started calling down and asking if I was alright and I told them I had found a live puppy at the bottom of the mine shaft and was bringing him up. My emotions were still going strong and it was strange, clamoring down a mine shaft 50 feet deep without any idea what was really down there, I didn’t feel any fear. Just a drive that I needed to save the dog (save the cheerleader, save the world type thing). I put him in my pack and worked my way out of there and we named him Lucky. My mom wouldn’t let me keep him so Charlie took him home. I’ve told the story once or twice since then but it’s mostly lived in my head.
Thinking back on that story, it’s no surprise that when I joined the Navy, I decided on being a corpsman.
Jason’s memory of the event was a little different then mine, he said the shaft was a hundred feet deep and that they lowered me, in reality, it was maybe 50. I went up and down hand over hand and came up the same way, his memories of the event were a little more twisted then mine because it was the first time he ever went there and to the uninitiated, it can be pretty spooky without the thoughts of dead bears and crazy rescues going on. The walls were crumbly granite and the wood that was holding me up was probably a century old. Crazy? Maybe. But the memory it left was worth it.
Thanks for reminding me Jason.
Back when we were 16 or 17, I used to do a bunch of odd and somewhat crazy things, one of my hobbies was exploring old mines all around northern Arizona and in Prescott, there was this mine call Black Jack mine (I really don’t know the name of it, that’s just what people told me it was called, but I think it was really called the Barbara Mine because the entrance looked like this picture taken 1930’s)
The mine was a literal maze that went though this mountain next to Granite Lake, a ladder that went up a couple hundred feet with side branches and an exit at the top of the mountain, tunnels that scattered off into the distance and pitfalls everywhere. It was one of my favorite places to hang out and was a sure bet to awe anyone who hadn’t seen it.
This one weekend, I gathered, Jason, another buddy Brian Mercer (I don’t know where he’s at but he can now find me by using google) and the last guys name slips my mind and dragged them out there with me. I had this 70 foot length of fire hose which I found at the dump a couple of weeks earlier and had it strung over my shoulder with a plan to use it to swing across the main shaft to some of the side passages (I still haven’t done that) I had been explore because there was a 12 or so feet gulf with lots of air underneath it.
I was such a regular at going to this mine that in reality, I hardly needed the light. I knew were all of the shafts and turns were liked the silence of the darkness which was unlike anything you could find on the surface. On this day, I had my light in my hand but wasn’t really using it, just going by feeling and the sound of my feet.
Walking along like this in the darkness, I heard this “yip” off in the distance, I almost thought I imagined it, I stopped and held up my hand for the others to stop (even before joining the military, I was using battle gestures) and there it was again. One second I was standing there and the next I was running off down the tunnel, my friends probably thought I was going crazy, I skidded to a stop in front of one of the bigger holes in the ground and shining my flashlight down, the tunnel curved so I couldn’t see the bottom from the side so I slithered down onto these railroad ties that were wedged a couple feet below the lip and at the very edge of the beam of light, almost swallowed up by the curve I could see a black shape and a smaller brown shape moving around, I leaned down almost upside down (no I’m not the brightest camper) and saw what looked to be a bear!
My friends had just caught up to me and I said, “There’s a bear down there!”
On top of that black mass (which I hoped was dead) looked to be a puppy and it was making the whining sound I had heard a couple hundred feet away. The next events seemed to happen in seconds, I tied off the fire hose and lowered myself down to the bottom and the thing I thought was a bear ended up being a large very flat dead dog. It looked like it had been there for a while and sure enough there was a puppy, I think it was a German Sheppard mix of some sort. I gave it some water from a bottle of water I had in my bag. That dog was sure happy to see me.
About this time my buddies on top started calling down and asking if I was alright and I told them I had found a live puppy at the bottom of the mine shaft and was bringing him up. My emotions were still going strong and it was strange, clamoring down a mine shaft 50 feet deep without any idea what was really down there, I didn’t feel any fear. Just a drive that I needed to save the dog (save the cheerleader, save the world type thing). I put him in my pack and worked my way out of there and we named him Lucky. My mom wouldn’t let me keep him so Charlie took him home. I’ve told the story once or twice since then but it’s mostly lived in my head.
Thinking back on that story, it’s no surprise that when I joined the Navy, I decided on being a corpsman.
Jason’s memory of the event was a little different then mine, he said the shaft was a hundred feet deep and that they lowered me, in reality, it was maybe 50. I went up and down hand over hand and came up the same way, his memories of the event were a little more twisted then mine because it was the first time he ever went there and to the uninitiated, it can be pretty spooky without the thoughts of dead bears and crazy rescues going on. The walls were crumbly granite and the wood that was holding me up was probably a century old. Crazy? Maybe. But the memory it left was worth it.
Thanks for reminding me Jason.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Something new in the air
In one corner, the United States is taking part in a conference of Iraqi neighbors which included Syria and Iran. I think this is a fairly big deal considering our government hasn’t talked to Iran in decades. If you think about it, I’m surprised that our government is ran by men considering it’s usually a woman who can hold a grudge better (no this isn’t sexist!). We’re known for not talking to governments for years because at some spat in the past they blackened our eye somehow. That’s something a woman would do, most guys would get over it and be drinking beer together by the next weekend.
Back on the subject, in the other corner look what’s happening in North Korea. We’ve actually been involved in peace talks with them along with other nations and there’s an agreement in the works. The US accusing them of counterfeiting a while back (which is probably true) and locked down one of their bank accounts with the money in it so foreign banks were afraid to invest and since then, North Korea has been pissed. Do you know how much money it took to ratchet up the entire region to the brink of war? Fraking 24 million dollars! That’s a drop in the bucket of any defense budget, that’s not even the price of an F-16.
While the military is fighting on the ground, in the stratospheres of government, the powers that be seem to be using diplomacy to wage peace all over the place. I haven’t really seen anyone out there really putting a connecting to the two cases but is something going on? I’m totally pro-military but wouldn’t have a single problem with peace braking out and we all get to spend Christmas at home with our families. Even so, I don’t agree with the idea that we should totally pull out of Iraq. Most of the Marines I’ve talked to think Iraq is the next Okinawa, the place you go to do your 6 month deployment. Keep the bases, most of them are in the middle of no-where, we’ve already stamped them, built them up and they are fairly safe. Why throw away that money, I hate wasting money but the idea that we should pull totally out is just that, wasting money. Most of the service members who die, die going around the countryside either by helicopter, foot or truck. Taunt the bad guys and let them go after these bases so when we wax them, there won’t be any talk about us hurting civilians.
Whatever happens with these two peace processes going on, I don’t want to go back to a peace time military footing without Osama’s head sitting on a platter somewhere.
Back on the subject, in the other corner look what’s happening in North Korea. We’ve actually been involved in peace talks with them along with other nations and there’s an agreement in the works. The US accusing them of counterfeiting a while back (which is probably true) and locked down one of their bank accounts with the money in it so foreign banks were afraid to invest and since then, North Korea has been pissed. Do you know how much money it took to ratchet up the entire region to the brink of war? Fraking 24 million dollars! That’s a drop in the bucket of any defense budget, that’s not even the price of an F-16.
While the military is fighting on the ground, in the stratospheres of government, the powers that be seem to be using diplomacy to wage peace all over the place. I haven’t really seen anyone out there really putting a connecting to the two cases but is something going on? I’m totally pro-military but wouldn’t have a single problem with peace braking out and we all get to spend Christmas at home with our families. Even so, I don’t agree with the idea that we should totally pull out of Iraq. Most of the Marines I’ve talked to think Iraq is the next Okinawa, the place you go to do your 6 month deployment. Keep the bases, most of them are in the middle of no-where, we’ve already stamped them, built them up and they are fairly safe. Why throw away that money, I hate wasting money but the idea that we should pull totally out is just that, wasting money. Most of the service members who die, die going around the countryside either by helicopter, foot or truck. Taunt the bad guys and let them go after these bases so when we wax them, there won’t be any talk about us hurting civilians.
Whatever happens with these two peace processes going on, I don’t want to go back to a peace time military footing without Osama’s head sitting on a platter somewhere.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
I’m a geek
If you guys haven’t realized it by now, tonight put that name in stone. I went to my first Science Fiction and Fantasy dinner and swap meet with a group of 30 or so SciFi readers. I brought a box of books out of my stock of 1500 or so books and left with a box of new books that I haven’t read, how cool is that? It was strange being in a group of people where you can mention a few words out of a plot line and everyone around you knows what you’re talking about.
Until I met my lovely wife, most of my life was spent in a SciFi vacuum, a person here or there who I could talk and trade books with but never in groups. Then my wife showed up and introduced me to such things as Firefly and Dead like Me. Her dads also a SciFi geek too, I joke with her that she married her dad, her family’s great, we’re planning on a group outing to the Comic Con this summer. I wish she could have made it tonight, she would have fit right in with the room full of kindred spirits but she was down for the count with the flu that seems to be going around, poor girl.
The only hitch of the night was when I went to pick up my glass of ice tea and the bottom of the glass fell out onto my dinner and lap so I spent the rest of the night looking like I peed my pants, for those of you that thought I peed my pants, no it was just tea. If a glasses bottom is ready to fall out, without fail, I’ll be holding it in the middle of a conversation. This is the second time a glass has self destructed just by my holding it in a public place. I’m just lucky that way I guess.
I look forward to the next meet up, I’ll bring more then one box too, thanks for the good time!
Until I met my lovely wife, most of my life was spent in a SciFi vacuum, a person here or there who I could talk and trade books with but never in groups. Then my wife showed up and introduced me to such things as Firefly and Dead like Me. Her dads also a SciFi geek too, I joke with her that she married her dad, her family’s great, we’re planning on a group outing to the Comic Con this summer. I wish she could have made it tonight, she would have fit right in with the room full of kindred spirits but she was down for the count with the flu that seems to be going around, poor girl.
The only hitch of the night was when I went to pick up my glass of ice tea and the bottom of the glass fell out onto my dinner and lap so I spent the rest of the night looking like I peed my pants, for those of you that thought I peed my pants, no it was just tea. If a glasses bottom is ready to fall out, without fail, I’ll be holding it in the middle of a conversation. This is the second time a glass has self destructed just by my holding it in a public place. I’m just lucky that way I guess.
I look forward to the next meet up, I’ll bring more then one box too, thanks for the good time!
Monday, March 05, 2007
Plane tickets and such
There’s a commercial break in Heroes so I’m taking a breather from watching the tube to blog. I was able to purchased the tickets to DC last week which was 519 dollars, don’t worry, using the money wisely! Now saving up for the hotel stay and I’ll put the extra 126 towards that.
Not much else going on, the lovely bride comes home tomorrow from her week long trip, the house is fairly clean and the hamsters are still hamstering. Even though, last night I was in the kitchen and looked down and there was Snickers looking up at me all wide eyed. Eep! I had forgot to close her cage when I fed her. She hopped in my hand and I put her away. That could have been really bad! (pictures of the two of them can be found here)
Most of the weekendI spent the weekend touching base with old friends from back home, responding to emails and leaving crazy comments on Myspace. I miss my wife but when she’s here, I’m focused on her and I do let my blogging and my other internet duties go to the sidelines.
By the way, tonight’s episode of Heroes is excellent, if you’re not watching the show, you’re missing out. Have a great week!
Not much else going on, the lovely bride comes home tomorrow from her week long trip, the house is fairly clean and the hamsters are still hamstering. Even though, last night I was in the kitchen and looked down and there was Snickers looking up at me all wide eyed. Eep! I had forgot to close her cage when I fed her. She hopped in my hand and I put her away. That could have been really bad! (pictures of the two of them can be found here)
Most of the weekendI spent the weekend touching base with old friends from back home, responding to emails and leaving crazy comments on Myspace. I miss my wife but when she’s here, I’m focused on her and I do let my blogging and my other internet duties go to the sidelines.
By the way, tonight’s episode of Heroes is excellent, if you’re not watching the show, you’re missing out. Have a great week!
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Military Social Networking
I took the advancement exam on Thursday and I’m not sure. There were a bunch of dental supply questions which was the only chapter I didn’t print out and study. Here’s to crossing my fingers and hoping Eni and Meni knew what they were talking about.
I’ve spent the last couple of days since in a vegetative fugue, blog surfing and cleaning house. Last week, I got two separate invites to Together We Served websites, one for the Navy and another for the Marine Corps (where you have to be a Marine or Corpsman to join). The Navy TWS website opened up in October and according to this graph which I believe, is growing quite fast, they are already up to 44 thousand members.
The Marine TWS has been around since the Marines birthday in 2003 and has a well established 75 thousand members.
Both websites have a terrific scams going on (just because I call it a scam isn’t a bad thing, it just means they have an excellent business model), it doesn’t cost anything to join and you get the first 6 months free with the Navy site and 15 days with the Marine one with a full membership. For every 5 members you get to join they tack on another 6 months of full membership free. After that they ask if you want to pay to keep the full membership and or it switches to the free membership which you don’t get to use all of the cool search functions or post on the forums. On your profile, you put the units you served in, battles and schools you went to and you can find people who were stationed with you at the same time. You can search for people by location, medals, when they joined, MOS/NEC, partial names, call signs, college’s attended, very cool stuff.
In a couple of days, I’ve got in contact with 15 or so people I haven’t seen in a decade or more, people who fell off the face of the earth and now they’re back. It’s another sign of the times of how much the internet has shrunk the world.
This week seems to be one of those spurts where people I haven’t seen in ages fly out of the woodwork. I love the interconnectedness of the internet and how it is bringing many far away places right back into my living room. While there’s a great divide going on in politics, flowing underneath it all there are people from around the world quietly making friends with others who even a decade ago would have been unlikely to meet.
I’ve spent the last couple of days since in a vegetative fugue, blog surfing and cleaning house. Last week, I got two separate invites to Together We Served websites, one for the Navy and another for the Marine Corps (where you have to be a Marine or Corpsman to join). The Navy TWS website opened up in October and according to this graph which I believe, is growing quite fast, they are already up to 44 thousand members.
The Marine TWS has been around since the Marines birthday in 2003 and has a well established 75 thousand members.
Both websites have a terrific scams going on (just because I call it a scam isn’t a bad thing, it just means they have an excellent business model), it doesn’t cost anything to join and you get the first 6 months free with the Navy site and 15 days with the Marine one with a full membership. For every 5 members you get to join they tack on another 6 months of full membership free. After that they ask if you want to pay to keep the full membership and or it switches to the free membership which you don’t get to use all of the cool search functions or post on the forums. On your profile, you put the units you served in, battles and schools you went to and you can find people who were stationed with you at the same time. You can search for people by location, medals, when they joined, MOS/NEC, partial names, call signs, college’s attended, very cool stuff.
In a couple of days, I’ve got in contact with 15 or so people I haven’t seen in a decade or more, people who fell off the face of the earth and now they’re back. It’s another sign of the times of how much the internet has shrunk the world.
This week seems to be one of those spurts where people I haven’t seen in ages fly out of the woodwork. I love the interconnectedness of the internet and how it is bringing many far away places right back into my living room. While there’s a great divide going on in politics, flowing underneath it all there are people from around the world quietly making friends with others who even a decade ago would have been unlikely to meet.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Walter Reed patients told to keep quiet
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
I’m the Award Winner of the 2006 Milbloggies for the Navy!
Thanks for your votes! If you’re wondering what a milbloggie is, here’s what Milblogging.com says about it:
“The Milbloggies Award recognizes military blogger for their contribution to blogging, news and information, and to the military over the last year”.
It was somewhat of a surprise that I won this year, as far as blogging goes, the past year was a slow one. I wasn’t doing the daily grind and posted a fraction of the pictures that I did in 2004. It might be that the big dogs of Navy Milblog world (Smash, Lex and the Salamander) did not send their rather large readership to the voting booths (thanks guys!) Check them out, they're all great reads (and have good taste in beer too).
Since my transfer to San Diego, I’ve kept a lower profile, not a single appearance in a news story or television interview to add to my resume. I would post when I felt like it or when some story would call out to me that I would share with my readers. I did get published in a book (two pages of The Blog of War) and had my third 7 month adventure in Iraq where I blogged about such mundane things as building bookshelves and the pulling of small pranks on my Marines. I spent more time communicating with my wife then anything else, what good is a blog if you let your home life fall apart?
Loneliness makes for a great muse and a reader can feel the yearning the reaches out though an authors writing but it’s been a couple of years since I’ve experienced that particular feeling in any force. I missed home but do you know how much better it makes you feel when you know absolutely that there is someone out there for you?
This past year was focused on the human aspects of being in the military at a close personal level, no great war stories or battles. I leave that to the guys who have actually fought them and who will carry the ghosts from those experiences for the rest of their lives.
Thank you everyone for the votes, this is the first thing I’ve actually won though my blogging and it sounds like it’s now time to go to Disneyland (oh I mean back to studying:)
“The Milbloggies Award recognizes military blogger for their contribution to blogging, news and information, and to the military over the last year”.
It was somewhat of a surprise that I won this year, as far as blogging goes, the past year was a slow one. I wasn’t doing the daily grind and posted a fraction of the pictures that I did in 2004. It might be that the big dogs of Navy Milblog world (Smash, Lex and the Salamander) did not send their rather large readership to the voting booths (thanks guys!) Check them out, they're all great reads (and have good taste in beer too).
Since my transfer to San Diego, I’ve kept a lower profile, not a single appearance in a news story or television interview to add to my resume. I would post when I felt like it or when some story would call out to me that I would share with my readers. I did get published in a book (two pages of The Blog of War) and had my third 7 month adventure in Iraq where I blogged about such mundane things as building bookshelves and the pulling of small pranks on my Marines. I spent more time communicating with my wife then anything else, what good is a blog if you let your home life fall apart?
Loneliness makes for a great muse and a reader can feel the yearning the reaches out though an authors writing but it’s been a couple of years since I’ve experienced that particular feeling in any force. I missed home but do you know how much better it makes you feel when you know absolutely that there is someone out there for you?
This past year was focused on the human aspects of being in the military at a close personal level, no great war stories or battles. I leave that to the guys who have actually fought them and who will carry the ghosts from those experiences for the rest of their lives.
Thank you everyone for the votes, this is the first thing I’ve actually won though my blogging and it sounds like it’s now time to go to Disneyland (oh I mean back to studying:)
Voting closes tonight at 8PM for the Milbloggies
I'm still currently in the lead for the Navy category, thank you readers for the votes and donations to the trip fund. The total is at 570 dollars!! A big thank you to Bane who sent readers my direction.
The hotel room has been booked and the tickets will be purchased on Friday. I haven’t been good company at home for the past week and instead of hanging out with me when I'm acting like a lump on the couch, she and the dog fled the house this morning and went north to visit the family.
So I’m all by my lonesome, I'm planning on getting some quality study time in, speaking of which, I’d better cranking. Thanks again!
The hotel room has been booked and the tickets will be purchased on Friday. I haven’t been good company at home for the past week and instead of hanging out with me when I'm acting like a lump on the couch, she and the dog fled the house this morning and went north to visit the family.
So I’m all by my lonesome, I'm planning on getting some quality study time in, speaking of which, I’d better cranking. Thanks again!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
What people think of me
Back in the day, I used to be a crazy rock climber and cliff diver, known by my friends for some of my free climbs on normally protected routes and my willingness to jump off of anything into water. Not because I lacked fear but I was addicted to challenging it. Believe me, I know I wasn't an amazing rock climber and knew climbers and cliff divers who did stuff which I thought was crazy and spectacular. I just appeared that way to people who lived a sedate life.
But this week, I’ve had 3 different people send me this picture saying they saw that and thought of me. Well it’s nice to know people are thinking of me at least.
Oh yes, I grew up in Northern Arizona, myself and buddy Larry made it a point to jump to rocks such as this. Most of those days are in the past, I'm older, slower and 50 pounds heavier (not quite fat though). Hopefully one day I’ll take it up again, at least I make a good splash cliff diving now.
Thanks everyone for your Navy milbloggies vote, I'm in the lead and there's only two days left of voting and also thanks for the donations, 350 dollars!
I won't be around much the next two days because I'm trying to study for my advancement exam on Thursday, hopefully I get it. Take care!
But this week, I’ve had 3 different people send me this picture saying they saw that and thought of me. Well it’s nice to know people are thinking of me at least.
Oh yes, I grew up in Northern Arizona, myself and buddy Larry made it a point to jump to rocks such as this. Most of those days are in the past, I'm older, slower and 50 pounds heavier (not quite fat though). Hopefully one day I’ll take it up again, at least I make a good splash cliff diving now.
Thanks everyone for your Navy milbloggies vote, I'm in the lead and there's only two days left of voting and also thanks for the donations, 350 dollars!
I won't be around much the next two days because I'm trying to study for my advancement exam on Thursday, hopefully I get it. Take care!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Milbloggie Voting is Now Open
Over at Milblogging.com, head on over and vote for your favorite milblogger (while you're over there, I wouldn't mind a vote either:)
Three years of blogging (a ramble)
Three years actually a fairly big number if you float around the blogosphere a bit. Bane got me thinking on this, most blogs seem to have a finite life span. Many of the blogs that have burned bright eventually fade and the author puts up a post about having nothing more to say and falls out of the cyber landscape. 3 years is actually a heck of a long time for a milblogger, many of us get home from the front and our story is done.
Look at the links on my sidebar toward the bottom right above the visitor location map, I have a spot called "Milbloggers that fell off the face of the earth". The list used to be bigger but when the blogs gets taken over by spammers, I usually take them off. My advice to bloggers? Don't ever shut down your blog, keep it but don't let anyone take your address in cyberspace. A while back ago, there was someone who searched out the milbloggers who shut down and started blogging in their name. Empty your template, take off all of your personal information if you want, just don't click on the button that says "Delete Blog", who knows, maybe someday you want to do a post letting us know what happens after you ride off into the sunset.
One of the bigger names in the milblog circle gave an interview saying that he was looking forward to the day when he could finally close the door on his blog. I've had days and months like that, when blogging becomes a chore or even worse a job that people are expecting you to do. That's no way to survive, you should only blog because you want to do it. Or to meet people.. Or if someone pays you to do it. Or to pick up gals or guys. Or feel like telling a story. Blogging isn't for everyone.
Have you seen the bloggers who quit because the troll gang came around and decided that it was this persons turn to take on their wrath? You need to grow some thick skin to stay in this business. I've had my share of trolls and unlike some people who like to crush them and suck their bones. I usually laugh, my life stopped being centered around my blog a long time ago, I am Doc in the Box but if you know me, it takes an awful much to get a rise out of me. I can live with all but a few of them and those I take great relish in banning. Then telling all of my blogging buddies their trollish IP addresses and telling them how to ban them too. Do you know what a blacklist is?
Who do I consider trolls? People who call me a baby killer (one of my favorite things to do is practicing at making babies and have not killed a single one), banned, call me a Nazi of any sort (come on, I'm half Thai, you need to be white to do that), banned, be rude and inconsiderate and call me names that do not apply? (I don't mind people calling me names but at least use names that apply to me) Banned. Go around all of the milblogs and paste some dumb spam comment? (again that Nazi dude and the occasional spam add) Banned.
I welcome arguments and disagreements of all sorts, not that I get many of them. I'm not blogging to rock any boats, I'm just telling a story and put my thoughts into writing, them being my thoughts, I like to think their right but if I'm wrong about my facts, wack me for being a dork.
I have regular readers from both sides of the red and blue, where else in the blogosphere can you find links to gun nuts right next to the blog of a peacenik? There are plenty of people out there who are turning that line into a fortified wall, I'm just not one of them. I do have political thoughts about everything on the news but you won't find them here, there are rules pertaining to politics and the military and taking those values into a public forum. We're paid to follow orders and I like to believe I follow the rules, plus as far as names of milbloggers getting their real names thrown around, CB and me seem to have that market cornered. People who follow these circles see Doc in the Box and instantly think, Sean Dustman. My War = Colby Buzzell. Big brother doesn't bother me because I'm playing by the same rules I've used since I started.
But when someone comes here spouting poison and frothing at the mouth, I'm all for putting them down like the animal they are (I didn't say dog because I happen have a great fondness for dogs) I'm fine with someone who doesn't agree with something I've blogged about or what I'm doing, I still get grief about the post I did on the TLC show about the kid with the facial growth and the half lady. Oh well, it's still up there and I didn't ban anyone for them. Go ahead, tell me to go jump in a lake (oh no, not the briar patch!), call me a slacker or RAMF (which I was for much of the time) fine, just don't be rude about it.
My trick to surviving here? I don't take anything personally, this isn't my life, I have a very happy life away from this computer. I blog about what I want to, when I want to, there are no schedules. I love hearing from people who's lives I have changed, I've got emails from people who've found Soldiers Angels through me and set them on their path to supporting the troops. I do have a donation button on the side bar to help fund my trip (because even though I'm happy with my real life, I sure am poor) but I'm not blogging for that.
The real treasures from writing this blog can't be counted in cash. Every keystroke has paid me back a thousand fold, the girl of my dreams found me here using Webcrawler to look for military pen pals and agreed to be my wife, I've met and made friends from all over the world in all walks of life and by living one of the greatest stories that's going on right now, it's helped me develop a very critical eye about world events and look at both sides of the story and eventually you realize there is no correct answer. Everything will happen and eventually just become history for the bookish people to take apart at a later date. The only way an individual is going to make the world better place is to try to do good today and be honest and to talk as many people around you into doing the same. I sleep easy at night knowing that I do that.
Look at the links on my sidebar toward the bottom right above the visitor location map, I have a spot called "Milbloggers that fell off the face of the earth". The list used to be bigger but when the blogs gets taken over by spammers, I usually take them off. My advice to bloggers? Don't ever shut down your blog, keep it but don't let anyone take your address in cyberspace. A while back ago, there was someone who searched out the milbloggers who shut down and started blogging in their name. Empty your template, take off all of your personal information if you want, just don't click on the button that says "Delete Blog", who knows, maybe someday you want to do a post letting us know what happens after you ride off into the sunset.
One of the bigger names in the milblog circle gave an interview saying that he was looking forward to the day when he could finally close the door on his blog. I've had days and months like that, when blogging becomes a chore or even worse a job that people are expecting you to do. That's no way to survive, you should only blog because you want to do it. Or to meet people.. Or if someone pays you to do it. Or to pick up gals or guys. Or feel like telling a story. Blogging isn't for everyone.
Have you seen the bloggers who quit because the troll gang came around and decided that it was this persons turn to take on their wrath? You need to grow some thick skin to stay in this business. I've had my share of trolls and unlike some people who like to crush them and suck their bones. I usually laugh, my life stopped being centered around my blog a long time ago, I am Doc in the Box but if you know me, it takes an awful much to get a rise out of me. I can live with all but a few of them and those I take great relish in banning. Then telling all of my blogging buddies their trollish IP addresses and telling them how to ban them too. Do you know what a blacklist is?
Who do I consider trolls? People who call me a baby killer (one of my favorite things to do is practicing at making babies and have not killed a single one), banned, call me a Nazi of any sort (come on, I'm half Thai, you need to be white to do that), banned, be rude and inconsiderate and call me names that do not apply? (I don't mind people calling me names but at least use names that apply to me) Banned. Go around all of the milblogs and paste some dumb spam comment? (again that Nazi dude and the occasional spam add) Banned.
I welcome arguments and disagreements of all sorts, not that I get many of them. I'm not blogging to rock any boats, I'm just telling a story and put my thoughts into writing, them being my thoughts, I like to think their right but if I'm wrong about my facts, wack me for being a dork.
I have regular readers from both sides of the red and blue, where else in the blogosphere can you find links to gun nuts right next to the blog of a peacenik? There are plenty of people out there who are turning that line into a fortified wall, I'm just not one of them. I do have political thoughts about everything on the news but you won't find them here, there are rules pertaining to politics and the military and taking those values into a public forum. We're paid to follow orders and I like to believe I follow the rules, plus as far as names of milbloggers getting their real names thrown around, CB and me seem to have that market cornered. People who follow these circles see Doc in the Box and instantly think, Sean Dustman. My War = Colby Buzzell. Big brother doesn't bother me because I'm playing by the same rules I've used since I started.
But when someone comes here spouting poison and frothing at the mouth, I'm all for putting them down like the animal they are (I didn't say dog because I happen have a great fondness for dogs) I'm fine with someone who doesn't agree with something I've blogged about or what I'm doing, I still get grief about the post I did on the TLC show about the kid with the facial growth and the half lady. Oh well, it's still up there and I didn't ban anyone for them. Go ahead, tell me to go jump in a lake (oh no, not the briar patch!), call me a slacker or RAMF (which I was for much of the time) fine, just don't be rude about it.
My trick to surviving here? I don't take anything personally, this isn't my life, I have a very happy life away from this computer. I blog about what I want to, when I want to, there are no schedules. I love hearing from people who's lives I have changed, I've got emails from people who've found Soldiers Angels through me and set them on their path to supporting the troops. I do have a donation button on the side bar to help fund my trip (because even though I'm happy with my real life, I sure am poor) but I'm not blogging for that.
The real treasures from writing this blog can't be counted in cash. Every keystroke has paid me back a thousand fold, the girl of my dreams found me here using Webcrawler to look for military pen pals and agreed to be my wife, I've met and made friends from all over the world in all walks of life and by living one of the greatest stories that's going on right now, it's helped me develop a very critical eye about world events and look at both sides of the story and eventually you realize there is no correct answer. Everything will happen and eventually just become history for the bookish people to take apart at a later date. The only way an individual is going to make the world better place is to try to do good today and be honest and to talk as many people around you into doing the same. I sleep easy at night knowing that I do that.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Update on my Convention Trip Fund Drive
Nine days into the fund drive the total is now at 325 dollars, thanks everybody, specially Bane who has been whipping his readers to my cause with a fund drive.
If this is your first time over here, I'm trying to gather funds to help support my trip to the 2007 Milblog Convention in Arlington VA in May. I don't like asking for hand outs, but the 1000 or so dollars that the trip is going to set me back is going to make a huge dent in the budget of this lowly enlisted guy so I'm hanging my cyberthumb out to the blogosphere.
Donations can be made by clicking on that little button under the milblog banner.
Thanks to Carla, Gina, Courtney, Jean, LL, Richard, Jennifer and some folk who want to remain unnamed. Guys and Gals, expect stuff from DC and other nick nacks! Thank you!!
If this is your first time over here, I'm trying to gather funds to help support my trip to the 2007 Milblog Convention in Arlington VA in May. I don't like asking for hand outs, but the 1000 or so dollars that the trip is going to set me back is going to make a huge dent in the budget of this lowly enlisted guy so I'm hanging my cyberthumb out to the blogosphere.
Donations can be made by clicking on that little button under the milblog banner.
Thanks to Carla, Gina, Courtney, Jean, LL, Richard, Jennifer and some folk who want to remain unnamed. Guys and Gals, expect stuff from DC and other nick nacks! Thank you!!
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