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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "nateage" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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05:40 pm
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Pics for my mom
Since my mom isn't on myspace or anything, I had to post some pictures on here for her. Hope everyone is doing well.
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08:36 pm
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Address for new blog
http://nathanachristopher.blogspot.com/
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08:20 pm
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It's been a long time...
I started a new blog on the blogger site, but I guess I'll try to update this as well, probably with mostly the same posts. Before I bore everyone with the following first post from the new blog here's a brief update of the last few months of college:
-Became close with a lot of the ROTC kids in my class. I'm missing them already.
-Ended up getting assigned to go back to LDAC as cadre, read below.
-Did a lot of ROTC work, and learned a great deal. I got my cadets ready for camp.
-Made a lot of memories during the last months of school.
-Did well, but missed Summa Cum Laude by 6/10ths of a point. Oh well.
-Graduated and was commissioned as a 2LT in the Army.
-Was home for a month, worked and spent a lot of time with family and good friends.
That's basically it in a nutshell.
Even though I already have a Livejournal account, I have decided to start a new blog because I have started a new and exciting chapter in my life. The purpose of this blog will be to keep my close family and friends up to date with what I am currently doing and experiencing as a newly-commissioned officer in the United States Army.
I will merely document my experiences as best as I can, without compromising the integrity of our armed forces, any mission that I am tasked with, other individuals, or myself. Politics will not be a topic of discussion. The fact of the matter is, that I am a soldier and I fight where I am told, and I do not bad mouth or criticize my superiors. I simply carry out policy, and any opinions I have will be kept to myself.
I will try not to use too much military jargon or acronyms to enable my non-military family and friends to understand what I am talking about. With all of that said, I hope that this online journal will be a useful way to tell people about my life without having to have the same conversation and answer the same questions a number of times.
I started Active Duty on the 17th of June, when I packed up nearly everything that I own into my Jeep and drove away from the quiet college town of Fredonia, NY and began my drive across this beautiful country of ours to make my way to my first destination and assignment as a new Second Lieutenant (2LT): to serve as cadre at Ft. Lewis, WA for this year's "Operation Warrior Forge" (more commonly known as LDAC: the Leader Development and Assessment Course). I attended this course last summer like the majority of my peers and it is a requirement to complete in order to receive a commission as an officer through the Army ROTC program.
I drove through 12 states in 5 days and I managed to see some of the most beautiful sights that this country has to offer: Sioux Falls, Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, the Badlands, the Rocky Mountians, and Yellowstone National Park. I had no idea that there was so much to see in this country, nor how vast and different it is. Western New York has always been my home, and I had never traveled extensively in the United States before.
I finally made it into Tacoma, WA on the 23rd of June. I reported in the following morning and began my life as an Active Duty Army officer. Soon after I arrived, I was switched out of working as cadre for the 9th of 13 regiments of cadets to come through this post this summer to go and work for the Patrolling Committee. I moved out of the barracks on post and into the King Oscar hotel, a 15 minute drive from the post.
Patrolling is a 4 day portion of the LDAC course that consists of 3 days of missions run by cadets out in the middle of the woods. This time period is the last of their 10 days in the field, and is the final culmination of all of the individual training and testing that the cadets have gone through in the previous weeks leading up to this event. The cadets are chosen for leadership positions and are given a mission to complete within a 5 hour time limit. The cadet leaders are responsible for the planning, organizing, and successful completion of each mission, and they receive an evaluation from either a senior enlisted soldier or an officer.
The mission scenarios are designed to be realistic and to replicate real events that our soldiers are commonly faced with while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Their evaluations do not focus on tactics and military precision, but more on the core aspects and character traits of a successful Army leader. Intelligence, common-sense, motivation, team building, and decision-making are some of the most critical of these aspects.
I have spent the past few weeks here working in the S-3 shop. Every outfit has a staff element, and the S-3 department is responsible for the design, regulation, and evaluation of all training. I worked under a Major and as an assistant to the "battle captain" or the assistant to the real S-3. So basically, I was an assistant to the assistant S-3. Sounds kinda funny huh? I was responsible for monitoring radio communications between each patrol of cadets, their evaluators, the roleplayers and "enemy forces" (or OPFOR) for each mission of each day. At the end of each mission I would receive 64 evaluation cards (4 per mission x 16 patrols a mission) which documented 4 cadet's performance in their assigned leadership position. All of this information is carefully reviewed and tracked, which was another part of my responsibilities. Basically a great deal of paperwork, but an incredibly important job.
Just the other day I was reassigned to work on the OPFOR portion of the committee, under the authority of the S-2. The S-2 is always a Military Intelligence officer (which I will eventually be after I finish my branch detail in Armor) and is responsible for informing the commander of the most current information on the contemporary operating environment (COE) and the friendly and enemy situations. In this instance the S-2 runs all of the enemy missions and ensures that each cadet patrol receives intense, stressful, and realistic training.
As a lieutenant in this department, I work with a few junior enlisted men/women and usually 1 NCO (non-commissioned officer: a sergeant or higher) and we all work as a team to play different roles for each mission. I am directly responsible for the transportation to and from each site and the logistical demands that my team needs. It's a new and exciting job for me, and I'm looking forward to it. I officially start it tomorrow, and yesterday was my training day for it. I'm nervous, but I'm sure that I will do a good job.
In addition to all of the work that I do, I have to complete a number of different training tasks to validate my knowledge and prove that I am physically fit in order to move on to my next training phase in September. I have already completed the 10K (6.4 mile) footmarch with 35 pounds of equipment (have to complete in 90 minutes or less), and the land navigation written test. I still have to take a physical fitness test, shoot to qualify with an M-16, and re-take the land navigation day and night practical exam.
My lack of focus and rusty skills caused me to fail both of the practical exams last week. As an officer, I am completely embarrassed to have failed such a necessary and common soldier task. I feel terrible about it, but I know that I will succeed on the retest because I had no problems completing both of these tasks last year when I was here as a cadet going through LDAC. I'm going to do some re-training and studying to make sure that I remember all of the necessary skills to successfully navigate myself through the woods when I go for the retest.
There is so much more to say, but that's the basic gist of what is currently going on in my life. I will post pictures from my drive across the country to Ft. Lewis when I have time, and I will update this blog as often as my schedule allows. I'm working 12-16 hour days and usually on my day off I'm using that time to complete my supplemental training tasks or sleeping in order to recouperate enough to prepare for the next few days of work.
Current Location: King Oscar Hotel
Current Mood:  blah
Current Music: Interpol "The Heinrich Maneuver"
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10:39 am
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Long Time...No Update...
Well, it's been months since I have posted in this damn thing. I guess there's a lot that I should catch some of you up on. We'll start with the summer. So I went to LDAC and got shit on by my TACs. Oh well. I still learned a lot and met some cool people. Came back home and went down to NC to see Jake before he deployed. Really sad, but a trip that had to be made. Then I turned 21. Such a great time. Then I came back to Bona's. I became Battalion Commander for our ROTC program. Good stuff. Really hard semester doing some grad work and undergrad at the same time. Incredibly busy, but worthwhile. Then the accessions process. I ended up number 281 out of over 3800 other ROTC seniors in the country. I asked for Active Duty and MI with a branch detail in Armor and I got it. I'm pumped, I worked so hard for this and it feels so good to be rewarded for it. I think I'm really going to appreciate the fact that I chose the branch detail.
I've been doing a lot of thinking and I'm kinda depressed. I have been for probably around a year now. I don't really have friends anymore, well guy friends. Of course Bill and I still hang out from time to time but he has his own crew that he hangs with a lot more. I've tried getting into the group with some of my ROTC friends but it's never going to happen. Sure I have Amy, and Lauren, Ron, Kaitlyn, and a few others, but I just feel a little empty. I hate not being able to talk to my best friend Jake because he's deployed in Iraq. I feel like everytime we talk on the phone for 2 minutes that it's going to be our last. I think I'm just paranoid. But I come home on breaks and I never meet up with anyone, and I end up spending all my time at my house or with Tara and Rob. Granted, I enjoy that time with them, but I miss seeing people on a regular basis. It seems like the only time I ever see anyone is when Jake comes home. I just miss having that connection with someone that I'm so used to having. Alright, enough whining I just think I needed to get that off my chest.
Other than that, things are going really well in my life. I only need 1 credit to graduate and I'm just taking electives next semester to boost my GPA. Hopefully I'll end up with a 3.9 so I can graduate summa cum laude. I wasn't sure if that was the standard for here at Bona's but it turns out that I was right. Almost every other school you only need a 3.75. Bastards. Tim is coming home for Christmas from BOLC III so we're going to go to the Bonas/Canisius game next weeked. Should be good times. Phil and James and a few others should be coming back too. I'll talk to them about what to expect from BOLC II and III. Next semester I'm in charge of A Company or the Juniors so that should be good. Hopefully I can get them all trained up to be strong peforming cadets at LDAC. I might even end up being a TAC there, but we'll see. I asked for either LTC or LDAC duty, just as something to get me into the Army faster and that would give me some experience. I guess we'll see what happens when I get my orders next semester sometime.
I hope all of you out there are doing well, and if I haven't talked to you in forever I'm sorry, it's just that I've been so caught up in school and everything else that's been going on. Happy holidays in case I don't get back on here between now and Christmas.
Current Location: My Room
Current Mood:  contemplative
Current Music: The Decemberists- "You Won't Feel the Drowning"
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12:53 am
[Link] | It seems like the only time I ever update anymore is to talk about how I'm such a smarty pants and post what my grades were for the previous semester. As with any good tradition or practice, I will not allow it to be broken now:
ROTC: A
Romantics II: A
Literature and the Information Age: A
Restoration and 18th Century Literature: A-
Natty World: A
Natty World Lab: C+ (Kevin Vogel can eat my asshole)
But I still ended up with a 3.82 for the semester, which is actually better than what I have done in the past year. So I'm happy.
Summer's already started and I made a trip out to RIT over the weekend to hang out with my friend Ray. It was a nice time and I throughly enjoyed myself.
Now I'm home and I've already started working. Tonight was my first night back at Quality and it wasn't too bad in the office. I haven't lost my skills there and I was out of work by 11:03 tonight! Luckily, I've already told Marla that I only want to work 4 days a week and she's complied to my wishes, so I'll have more free time to work out and spend time with the family and whatever friends happen to be around here.
LDAC is only 45 days away so I need to stay focused while I'm home. Once that's over the greatest hurdles of my college and ROTC careers are over with. I only have 14 credits left until I can graduate and I'm going to be starting Grad School at SBU in the fall while I finish up my BA. If everything pans out, I'll have half my Master's done by the time I leave SBU for the Army and I'll finish it up while I'm in and then go back to Grad School to get my PhD.
Things are going well and I'm happy to be home. That's all I can really say.
Oh yeah and I'm going to be moving this summer...well I won't be moving because it's going to happen while I'm at LDAC but by the time I come home I'll be in a new house that belongs to my family! My mom won the bid on this house on Fredonia-Stockton road and I'm really pumped about it. It's away from the city and all the drama that happens around here and there's a big yard with a few acres so we can put up our pool that's been in storage for years and have some bonfires in the backyard. It's going to be awesome.
That's all I have for now. I hope everyone is well and enjoying their summers.
Current Location: The Home Computer...I haven't set mine up yet.
Current Mood:  happy
Current Music: Interpol-"PDA"
Tags: first real entry in forever
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10:55 pm
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Procrastination Post...
Here are my top albums at this time in my life:
Create your own Music List @ HotFreeLayouts!
This is what I was doing for 20 minutes tonight instead of studying for my 2 finals I have tomorrow. Enjoy.
Current Location: My room
Current Mood: So Sick of Studying
Current Music: Interpol- "The New"
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11:51 am
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So it's the New Year, and I Thought it was Time to Post...
First off, grades:
Romantic Movement I: A
ROTC: A
Literary Theory: A
English Novel: B+ (I don't know how that happened)
Social World: B+ (I knew I kicked that finals ass!)
So I got another 3.70. I was really hoping for a 3.8 but oh well. I'm content with that.
So what's been up since my last entry? Not a whole lot other than spending the majority of my time at Quality Markets. I started the day after I came home for break, and I've been working pretty much non-stop since being home. That's why I haven't been in contact with anyone.
Aside from working Jake and Tom were both home for the holidays so I was spending time with them as well as with my family and of course Tara and Rob. It's been fun.
Christmas was alright. It would have been a lot better if my mom didn't have to go into work at midnight on Christmas Day into the day after Christmas, but that's how it worked out this year. Between Rob, Jake and I we managed to polish off a handle and another half liter bottle of Jack Daniel's...needless to say I was drunk and ended up passing out at my kitchen table. If the home computer wasn't so slow, I'd post the pictures that everyone took of me.
For not asking for anything really for Christmas I did manage to get some great stuff:
-New jeans
-Horror movie t-shirts
-Guinness wallet from Tori "my girlfriend" (Rob's 7-year-old daughter)
-All of Romero's zombie films
-Band of Brothers box set
-Aeon Flux box set
-A few CDs
-Dress shirts and ties
-The Thrice hoodie I wanted
-A fucking ring from my mom. It was gold with diamonds and I took it back becaue I don't like gold. But I found something I do like: a titanium ring with black onyx etched into the center band. I had to order it and who knows when I'll get it but it's sweet.
I've also picked up a few things for myself with some of the money I've made from being Quality's bitch so it's a good thing.
New Years was fun until Tara got into a fight with this enormous bitch in a cowboy hat at Valentine's but aside from that whole episode it was great.
Not too much else is going on, just starting to work out again to get back into shape before I head back to Bona's and ROTC fun begins again. I have this Saturday off and Rob, Keith, and I are finally heading out to Erie to pick out Tuxedoes for Tara and Rob's wedding this summer.
Time to get in the shower and eat something before heading to work...I have to close the store again tonight. At least I finally have a day off tomorrow.
Current Mood: good
Current Music: Alkaline Trio - "One Hundred Stories"
Tags: new year
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11:40 pm
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So I Finally Got Around to it...
I've been meaning to make a post for over a month now. The end of the semester work factor kicked in pretty quickly and when I had time to relax I just didn't feel like typing or looking at a computer screen.
So much has happened that I don't even know where to begin.
-John died and I still don't know what to say about it other than that it is terribly sad and unexpected. He was a great man and I'm glad that I knew him and was a friend of his. He definately touched my life and the lives of countless other people at SBU. Rest in Peace brother.
-ROTC is over for the semester and I'm glad. I've learned a great deal this semester and done extremely well...I'm at the top of the Order of Merit List for my class! I just have to keep this up and I think I'll do just fine at LDAC this summer.
-Finals were alright, I really think I did well this semester despite all of the stress and Dr. Peterson's evil Social World class. I know I rocked that final! I'm projecting a 3.8 but we'll see.
-Things here at home are going well. It feels great to be home and spending time with them. I haven't made it over to see Tara and Rob and the kids yet but I have a feeling that will be tomorrow.
-My mom has to work at midnight on Christmas Day so I think we're going to do the usual Christopher family get-together on Christmas Eve instead. I'm not sure yet though.
-I'm back at Quality and it hasn't been bad...yet. I closed the store tonight and I surprisingly got back into the swing of things rather quickly.
-Jake and Tom are both coming home this week. It will be nice to see them and hopefully spend some time with them while they're here. I expect a few parties and what not to be in my near future.
-We have this huge Christmas tree and my house is all decorated for the season. Now that I'm home I've really gotten into the spirit...I even did nearly all of my shopping yesterday before I went into work. I have no idea what I'm getting for Christmas because I really haven't asked for anything. My mom said it was going to be tight but I don't mind I always tell her to buy for the kids and to not worry about me. We'll see I just hope it's not more damn Spongebob boxers! (I hate Spongebob!)
That's about it for now, I'm going to get ready for bed so I can get up early to pick Tanya up from Buffalo and we'll all be home for the holidays! It feels so good to be home!
Current Mood:  content
Current Music: Death Cab For Cutie- "Someday You Will Be Loved"
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12:52 am
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This Was Just Too Good To Pass Up...
 Dear Santa...
Dear Santa,
This year I've been busy!
In November I committed genocide... Sorry about that, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) xasian_alx (-5000 points). In July I gave townie_paul a wet willie, then I took it back (-5 points). In August I farted in an elevator (-6 points). In January I saved a busload of nuns in Angola (326 points). In October I punched cubfan17 in the arm (-10 points).
Overall, I've been naughty (-4695 points). For Christmas I deserve a spanking!
Sincerely,
nateage |
And here's another one...
Dear Santa...
Dear Santa,
This year I've been busy!
In May I gave chrisdennison a life-saving blood transfusion (50 points). Last Saturday I gave trinitystarlayn a wet willie, then I took it back (-5 points). Last Tuesday I signed my organ donor card (28 points). In June on a flight to Pakistan, I stole the emergency flight information card (-40 points). In August I ate my brussel sprouts (1 points).
Overall, I've been nice (34 points). For Christmas I deserve a Lego set!
Sincerely,
nateage |
Dear Santa...
Dear Santa,
This year I've been busy!
In June I saved a busload of nuns in Angola (326 points). In March I ate my brussel sprouts (1 points). In August I didn't flush (-1 points). In October I donated bone marrow to prettyplease in a life-saving procedure (300 points). Last Tuesday I signed my organ donor card (28 points).
Overall, I've been nice (654 points). For Christmas I deserve a new bike!
Sincerely,
nateage |
Naughty or nice? You decide.
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01:25 pm
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Stolen from Rob...
A lot has been said about how to prevent rape.
Women should learn self-defense. Women should lock themselves in their houses after dark. Women shouldn't have long hair and women shouldn't wear short skirts. Women shouldn't leave drinks unattended. Fuck, they shouldn't dare to get drunk at all.
instead of that bullshit, how about:
if a woman is drunk, don't rape her.
if a woman is walking alone at night, don't rape her.
if a women is drugged and unconscious, don't rape her.
if a woman is wearing a short skirt, don't rape her.
if a woman is jogging in a park at 5 am, don't rape her.
if a woman looks like your ex-girlfriend you're still hung up on, don't rape her.
if a woman is asleep in her bed, don't rape her.
if a woman is asleep in your bed, don't rape her.
if a woman is doing her laundry, don't rape her.
if a woman is in a coma, don't rape her.
if a woman changes her mind in the middle of or about a particular activity, don't rape her.
if a woman has repeatedly refused a certain activity, don't rape her.
if a woman is not yet a woman, but a child, don't rape her.
if your girlfriend or wife is not in the mood, don't rape her.
if your step-daughter is watching tv, don't rape her.
if you break into a house and find a woman there, don't rape her.
if your friend thinks it's okay to rape someone, tell him it's not, and that he's not your friend.
if your "friend" tells you he raped someone, report him to the police.
if your frat-brother or another guy at the party tells you there's an unconscious woman upstairs and it's your turn, don't rape her, call the police and tell the guy he's a rapist.
tell your sons, god-sons, nephews, grandsons, sons of friends it's not okay to rape someone.
don't tell your women friends how to be safe and avoid rape.
don't imply that she could have avoided it if she'd only done/not done x.
don't imply that it's in any way her fault.
don't let silence imply agreement when someone tells you he "got some" with the drunk girl.
don't perpetuate a culture that tells you that you have no control over or responsibility for your actions. You can, too, help yourself.
If you agree, repost it. It's that important.
*A real post WILL be coming over the weekend, there's a lot of things that I'd like to write about.
Current Mood:  tired
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08:16 am
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More Movie Stuff
Mark all the movies you've ever seen. If you've seen more than 70, you're a movie whore.
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) The Mexican
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
() Blazing Saddles
(x) Garden State
(x) The Princess Bride
() Young Frankenstien
(x) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Saw
(x) White noise
( ) White Oleander
() Anger Management
total here:12
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) Jason X
(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
(x)Scary Movie
(x)Scary Movie 2
(x) Scary Movie 3
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) Harry Potter
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Resident Evil I
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
total here : 16
(x) The Village
(x) Donnie Darko
(x) Lilo & Stitch
(x) Finding Nemo
(x) Finding Neverland
(x) 13 Ghosts
(x)signs
(x) The Grinch
(x)Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
() Thirteen going on 30
() I,Robot
(x) Dodgeball
() Universal Soldier
() A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came A Spider
(x) Deep impact
total here: 13
() KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
() A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( )Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
(x) Dumb & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
(x)Halloween
(x)The Ring
(x) The Ring 2
()Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
(x)Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
()I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x )Child's Play
(x) The Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
(x) Gothika
(x)Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys II
(x) Joy Ride
(x) Seven
(x) Oceans Eleven
() Oceans Twelve
(x)Identity
total here: 29
( ) Lone Star State of Mind
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
(x) Independence day
(x) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
(x) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
() My Boss' Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
(x) Frailty
() Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
() Calendar Girls
(x) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
total here: 13
(x) Event Horizon
(x) Ever after
(x) Forrest Gump
() Big Trouble in Little China
(x) X-men 1
(x) X-men 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Others
(x) Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
(x) The Hot Chick
() Swimfan
() Miracle
(x) Old School
(x) Ray
(x)The Notebook
() K-Pax
total here: 12
(x) Lord of the Rings:The Fellowship of the Ring
(x) The Lord of the Rings:Two Towers
(x) The Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King
(x) A Walk to Remember
(x) Boogyman
() Hitch
(x) The Fifth Element
(x) Star Wars episode I The Phantom Menace
() Star Wars episode II Attack of The Clones
() Star Wars episode III Revenge of The Sith
(x) Star Wars episode IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars episode V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars episode VI Return of the Jedi
() Troop Beverly Hills
() Swimming with Sharks
(x) Air Force One
() For Richer or Poorer
(x) Trainspotting
(x) People Under the Stairs
() Blue Velvet
(x) Sound of Music
(x) Parent Trap
(x) The Burbs
(x) The Terminator
(x) Empire Records
(x) SLC Punk
(x) Meet Joe Black
(x) Wild girls
(x) A Clockwork Orange
(x) The Order
(x) Spiderman
(x) Spiderman 2
(x) Amelie
total here: 26
() Mean Girls
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
() The Incredibles
(x) Collateral
(x) The fast and furious
() 2 fast 2 furious
( ) Sky Captain Of The World Of Tomorrow
() Closer
total here: 4
(x) Titanic
(x) Saved
(x) Bowling For Columbine
(x) Farenheit 9/11
(x) The Sixth Sense
(x) Artificial intelligence (AI)
( ) Love actually
( ) Shutter
( ) Ella Enchanted
(x) Princess diaries 1
( ) Princess diaries 2
(x) Constantine
( ) Million Dollar Baby
(x) Envy
(x) Eurotrip
() Malibu's Most wanted
(x) Big Daddy
(x) Black Sheep
(x) The Breakfast Club
(x) West side story
total here: 14
(x) A Christmas Story
() Spanglish
(x) Pulp Fiction
() Sleepover
(x) The Evil Dead
(x) Killer Klowns From Outer Space
(x) The Seed of Chucky
(x) Vanilla Sky
(x) Nightmare Before Christmas
(x) Eternal Sunchine of the Spotless MInd
(x) Interview with the Vampire
(x) The Crow
(x) Purple Rain
(x) Reservoir Dogs
(x) Wayne's World
(x) Waynes World 2
total here: 14
() 21 Grams
(x) Blow
(x) Edward Scissorhands
(x) Clerks
(x) Beauty and the Beast
() Guess who
(x) Monster in-law
(x) Elf
(x) Stuart little
() Stuart little 2
(x) Mall Rats
(x) Chasing Amy
(x) Dogma
(x) Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
total here: 11
(x) Beetlejuice
(x) The Last Samurai
(x) The Amityville Horror
( ) The Aviator
(x) Romeo and Juliet
() Barbershop
( ) Beauty Shop
(x) Legally blonde
() Legally blonde 2
(x) The forgotten
( ) Confessions of a teenage drama queen
(x) The Grudge
total here: 7
Total: 171…damn…that’s what I do when I come home though, sit around and watch movies with my family.
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09:13 pm
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Just For Halloween...
*A real post is coming soon...
( You swear I've seen nearly all of these... )
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12:25 pm
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Mid-Term Break
Well I've been home since Friday for Mid-Term Break and I can honestly say that I've enjoyed my time at home. After I got home on Friday my family and I headed up to Buffalo to pick up Tanya from Elanore's house and we went to "The Spirit of Halloween" store where everyone picked up their costumes for when we all go out together for Tanya's birthday.
Afterwards we all went to the House of Horrors and Haunted Catacombs that I had found out about on the way back from the Ted Leo show two weeks ago. They were pretty much beauty. I loved watching Ian get freaked out and when I grabbed Tanya and promped this dude in an awesome Leatherface costume to chase her around with a chainsaw. It was classic.
When we got back into town I went over to Tara and Rob's and Rob and I ended up going out to buy some beer. We all just sat around and caught up with what was going on in our lives and had a few drinks together. It was nice. I talked to Courtney about the whole her and my mom situation and that was a good thing.
Saturday I hung around the house and helped my mom cook dinner. We later went ouver to Tara and Rob's and had a few beers before going out. After hitting up a few bars my mom went home and the rest of us headed back to their homestead.
Sunday we went to Buffalo to look for costumes for Tara, Rob, Brandon, and Victoria at Party City. That was fun, and now I'm the only one who still needs to buy a costume. I would have but I kinda needed money to make sure that I can drive back home today. Our theme is this whole evil court, and I really like the costumes everyone's picked out. I know what I'm going to get, I just have to get some cash to do it.
I got almost all of my work done over break, and I'm really happy about it. It should make the rest of this week a lot easier since I won't have to worry about getting stuff done. This weekend should be fun, I guess I'm going up to Kubiak's cabin on Saturday for a Ranger Challenge party to celebrate the end of the season and the upcoming competition. I'm really glad that I joined this team; I feel so much stronger and faster and I'm proud to be doing what I'm doing. That probably sounds like a major cheese fest but I'm a lot closer to some great people in ROTC through being a member of this team, so it's all been worth it.
Time to get back to some reading and then pack up and get ready to head back to Bonaventure. I'll see you guys when I get back.
Current Mood: good
Current Music: Alkaline Trio- "Mercy Me" (Video is on MTV 2)
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03:19 pm
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Wasting Some Time...
So I'm procrastinating a bit after finishing my first paper that I have to write for the day...
The Carnal Lover
50% partner focus, 85% aggressiveness, 70% adventurousness | Based on the results of this test, it is highly likely that:
You prefer your romance and love to wild and daring rather than typical
or boring, you would rather pursue than be pursued and, when it comes
to physical love, you concentrate more on enjoying the experience
rather than worrying about your performance.
This places you in the Lover Style of: The Carnal Lover.
The Carnal Lover is a wonderful Lover Style, though it is often
confused with terms like "player" or even "slut." The Carnal Lover is
not necessarily either of those things (though sometimes is) but is
instead a lover of life, romance and pleasure. The Carnal Lover is a
treasure to find, though can sometimes be difficult to keep happy once
found, because a Carnal Lover often loves a variety-filled life.
In terms of physical love, the Carnal Lover tends to be
dynamic and driven, and can therefore be quite pleasurable. Given the
right motivation, and the right lover, the Carnal Lover can be a
delight in bed.
Best Compatibility can probably be found with: The Surprising Lover (most of all) or the Devoted Lover, or the Liberated Lover.
Congratulations!
If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also, you
might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in
the following:
Nerds, Geeks & Dorks
Professional Wrestling
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
America/Politics
Thanks Again! -- THE LOVER STYLE PROFILE TEST |  |
My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: | You scored higher than 28% on partner focus | | You scored higher than 98% on aggressiveness | | You scored higher than 74% on adventurousness |
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Pure Nerd
86 % Nerd, 39% Geek, 13% Dork | For The Record:
A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.
The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally
smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up
all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer.
Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more
so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be
replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.
Congratulations!
Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in any of the following:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Professional Wrestling
Love & Sexuality
America/Politics
Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST |  |
My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: | You scored higher than 97% on nerdiness | | You scored higher than 54% on geekosity | | You scored higher than 8% on dork points |
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Current Mood:  busy
Current Music: Xbxrx- "Breathing"
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04:38 pm
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Stolen From Erica...
1. Reply with your name and I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal. You MUST. It is written.
TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS TOMORROW!
Current Mood: good
Current Music: The Bravery- "An Honest Mistake"
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05:04 pm
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Just in Time for the Weekend...
| You Are a Martini | 
There's no other way to say it: you're a total lush.
You hold your liquor well, and you hold a lot of it! |
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09:40 pm
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"E is for Extreme..."
Things have been extremely busy for me lately. ROTC had me so inundated
with work to the point where I really thought that I was going to go
nuts. Between Ranger Challenge in the mornings, being Platoon Leader, a
member of the Gold Bar Club, and the NCOIC of the Color Guard, it was a
constant barrage of work to do on top of all of my reading and such for
my regular classes. I managed to survive the trials and tribulations of
being the first Platoon Leader and I passed the responsibility on to
another MS III cadet at the end of Thursday's lab. I turned my yellow
card in (the card I fill out with my personal evaluation of myself) to
CPT Dahlgren and he told me that he had already made up his mind as to
what my overall evaluation was: E. E for Excellent, which is the
highest rating that one can get. I was so excited and proud to learn
this news. We still have to meet up and have our counseling session so
he can explain why I got the rating that I did, but he told me that I'm
performing up and above the standard that I'm expected to be performing
at at this time and that gave me the biggest boost of confidence. I
just have to keep this up and take everything in as it comes to me.
Saturday was full of more Ranger Challenge stuff followed by a carwash
to raise some money for the Gold Bar Club and then I just crashed. I
was so tired. I woke up and did some homework and went out for a bit to
wish Chugg a happy 21st birthday. Afterwards, I just headed for bed
because I had to wake up mad early the next morning again to head to
Pittsburgh.
Sunday I went to Pittsburgh to do a Color Guard presentation for the
Pirates V.S. Cubs baseball game. It was a good time, and the first time
that I ever did Color Guard for a professional baseball game. With the
exception of hockey, I have now done one for each major professional
sport. Here are a few pictures that I figured I'd just throw in.
I'm looking forward to this weekend: Family Weekend. Ma dukes,
Steve, Tara, Rob, and Tanya all are coming out. Tara, Rob, and
possibly Tanya will be staying to party. I need to get drunk
after the last few weeks...
I just want this week to be over already.
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Thrice- "Image of the Invisible"
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09:18 pm
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An Update...
So much has happened in the past week. I don't even know where to begin.
***My condolences to Ray, Matt, and Mr. Pauszek. The wife and mother Cheryl Pauszek passed away yesterday. My heart goes out to the family, and two of my friends from back home. I'm here for you guys if you need to talk to someone. I should be able to make it to the funeral, just keep me posted as to when it is going to be. I still can't believe that she's gone. I honestly can't imagine losing my mother. I don't know what I would do. My prayers are with you guys.
ROTC has been keeping me so busy, I can't even explain it. I'm handling the stress well, and I feel really good about myself. Class and lab went very well this week and I'll be done being Platoon leader on Thursday. Ranger Challenge is difficult, but I'm enjoying the challenge and knowledge that I'm gaining from it. It will ultimately make this year a whole lot easier. I'm already looking forward to the competition and it's only a little over five weeks away. Good thing we're training five days a week.
I went out with a whole bunch of the ROTC kids on Thursday and had a great time. PLFs out of moving vehicles and all. God was I drunk.
Friday was the September 11th memorial ceremony which always makes me think about the state of today's world. I'm proud to be doing what I'm doing. Friday night Logan, Eileen, Landers, and I went to go see "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." I throughly enjoyed that movie. I thought that it was excellent. Way better than I was expecting, so that was cool.
Saturday morning was full of Ranger Challenge stuff, and after getting done with that, I took a serious nap. That was totally essential. I went around with Bill to go shopping, and picked up a few things that I wanted for myself. Afterwards, I headed over to the phase one townhouses for the Ranger Challenge cookout. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Red Dog. It's not that great, but it's better than Keystone. I went over to Dave's for a bit and had a few Killian's and decided that I needed to go and get some actual sleep.
I woke up early this morning and did so much work, but it felt great to get that all out of my hair early. The first music meeting was today and there were plenty of interesting kids there. We'll see how many stick around this time...
Bill hooked me up with the Blood Brothers side project band: Neon Blonde's first album and I think they're awesome. Which brings me to my next topic: The Blood Brothers are coming to Erie on September 28! There's only one problem! That's the same day as the Ted Leo show! Decisions, decisions...but I think I'm going to go see the Bros because I've already seen Ted Leo and this will probably be one of the last times the Blood Brothers come around here for cheap because they are starting to get so huge.
That's about it for now, time to head to bed and actually get more than 4 hours of sleep before Ranger Challenge PT in the morning. It's going to be another long week.
Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: Neon Blonde- "Chandeliers and Vines"
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07:36 pm
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Being one of the cool kids...
1. Go here.
2. Pass it on.
( my answers )
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10:47 pm
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My Weekend Home...
I had a great weekend. That's all I can really say. I spent way too much time on the road, but it was worth it.
Friday night I headed to Darien Lake with Tim and James for the Motley Crue concert. I didn't realize that we had such great seats until after we were already under the tent: Section 201, 12 rows from the pit! The Crue put on one hell of an amazing show, much to my complete surprise. They played most of their popular songs from their heydays in the 80's, and I loved every minute of it. The whole show had a carnivalesque feel to it and I really liked that as well. Some of the girls that they had were absolutely gorgeous...and of course Tommy Lee pulled out the "Tit Cam" for a half-hour breast extravaganza. It was pretty funny. Mick Mars was sick on guitar despite the fact that he's been sick lately and the rest of the band was just as tight. Honestly, I was in shock. I never expected them to put on such a great show. Months ago when we first bought tickets for the show I was apprehensive about going, and I'm glad that I decided not to back out of it.
We didn't get back until really late (around 3 AM) and I woke up Saturday morning at 8 to head home for the weekend. Yesterday we went to Letchworth State Park, which is one of the most beautiful places in New York. I've been there before and I love it out there. Here are some of the pictures:
After Letchworth, Tanya, Doug, and I headed over to Tara and Rob's. Julie and Mike were there, mutual friends of ours and we sat around and drank and played darts all night. I kicked ass at darts (it being the first time I played in months) and Rob and I drank Killian's all night. Pretty much beauty. This morning I came home and did most of my homework (a first for me while being at home, usually I can't get anything done).
Today my mom and I made alfredo for dinner (I showed her my recipie) and it was great. After dinner I went to Buffalo to pick up Gomesie's brother from the airport and headed back to Bonaventure to finish up my homework and get shit squared away for the start of week two.
I hope everyone enjoys their day off tomorrow because all of us here at SBU have school. I have PT for Ranger Challenge at 6, and that will continue 5 days a week until near the end of October. At least I'm going to be in great shape.
I'm heading to bed, PT comes so quickly...
Current Mood: good
Current Music: Interpol-"Obstacle One"
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