Maelstrom

Salutations, mammal of indeterminate origins. I am the local elder. Except I'm not local anymore (12 hour time difference puts me on the exact opposite side of the planet I used to be). Enjoy your stay. When I return, it will be as harbinger of the end of the world. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

<- is a pikachu hater. Grr.

Welcome, new guy. *Goes back to mach-punching baby seels*

Lol. It's still a hard decision. I started making a to-do list of things I'd really like to do/see in each country. And then I forgot to bring the notepad I wrote it on with me to this computer, so here's what I remember. Both: Visit the beaches Hit on the women Sample the beer Zoos Aquariums Japan -Mt. Fuji -Okinawa -Akihibara -Maid Cafes and other crazy themed restaurants. -Watch someone eat a live octopus- I'm rather reluctant to try japanese cuisine -Anime/manga/video game stuff. -the crazy stuff they sell in their random vending machines -shrines/ festivals -see if them expensive kobe steaks are worth it - beat up yakuza Australia -Great Barrier Reef, scuba diving in general (I'll have to swim with a knife so I won't be so afraid of the sharks- and to think I used to watch PBS and wanted to be an oceanographer when I was a kid.) -Outback -Steve Irwin's zoo -Winter's residence -Try new and possibly delicious meats- saltwater croc, kangaroo, and what-have-you... really, downside to japan would probably be the food- portions are small, not enough meat, too much suspect vegetables, I'm not a fan of fish, and the sush I do like (california rolls) aren't actually sushi. Also downside is I'm nowhere near fluent in Japanese. QQ upside to Australia- the food will be mostly familiar. Also, I speak and write English like a boss. Also, there is a slim possibility I could visit both. I might be able to get a ticket to one place, then have a return ticket from the other, if I can get the army to pay for the tickets like that. There's still a good chance the tickets have to be round trip to the same place. Depending on flight prices between Japan and Australia, I may be able to go to both places if that's the case anyways. Geh, now I gotta go research what events are going on at the time and see if I can maximize on scheduling.

You're stupid cuz pikachus. Nuff said.

Banned cuz user is set to stun.

Because few people want their midtour leave early in deployment (and we can't all go on leave at once, you know), I've got leave sometime towards the end of the month. The army will pay for a ticket to just about anywhere I want to go. So, question is... the beaches of australia during their summer or japan? Also, suggestions on where to go and what to do, specifically. Like go see mount fuji, enjoy a famous onsen, or go visit steve irwin's zoo. Things like that.

That ^^. Been a while though.

Wasn't me. I haven't been around. Welcome to Reborn. You can check in any time you like, but you can never leave.

Thinking back, I can't remember too many proud moments off-hand. What comes up are the bad choices. Not taking my last class in college seriously. It ended up biting me in the ass. Not running on my own during airborne school or SOPC hold. I probably would have had a good shot at SF if I had. I hate cardio. Knowing I wasn't in the shape I should've been was the reason I didn't fight the bogus 'heat injury' thing. I just wasn't ready and I knew it. I need more discipline first. After that, it's kind of a long blur of the scheduled daily life of a soldier with little variation. Now highlights... Let me think. You'd think you'd hold the brighter parts of the year all that much closer than the dark, but I have to scrutinize it and make it harder to shake loose. Let's go backwards from now, maybe that'll help. Meeting Saya was awesome. Going home for leave was pretty meh cuz I didn't do much of anything. One thing I DO like about the army is earning a decent paycheck and having so few bills. Being able to save or spend as I saw fit. Now that's a freedom worth having. It vindicates my decision to cut myself some slack for not trying hard to become a doctor. The extra petty nonsense some call luxury isn't worth the extra effort. I burnt myself out putting extra effort when it didn't matter and did get noticed, and when it was noticed, it was taken for granted. "I expect no less from you." I miss all my friends and all the fun I had that last semester with Wolf and Kumar. And anime club, before it kinda broke down. Oh yeah, I miss working at Sonic's. Best job I ever had because of my bosses and co-workers. All that media stuff I watched, read, saw... it's all a blur now. I read and saw some great stuff to be sure, but it only emphasizes all the stuff I need to do for myself. Time to grab that opportunity and do it my way. What shines in my memory right now is a dream I had. The dream of freedom. I took all my money I saved up and hopped in my car. I was off to Colorado first. To visit Ame and Saya and the other Rebornians. I was chained to nothing. The drive would be beautiful. I'd breathe the cold, crisp air and watch the sun rise above the evergreens as I drove- as I once truly had, when I drove up to Santa Fe for National guard drill. I would drive all the way up there, and I would enjoy every minute of it. And then I would go somewhere, anywhere I wanted after that. I would drive across the lush, green plains and watch the clouds storm and swirl across the sky. I would revel in the flashes of lightning that rent the night sky, the low rumble of the thunder as it traveled through my body, and the soothing pitter-patter of the rain on the windshield. The indescribable smell of the rain. Then the clouds would open to reveal the stars as you can never see them in a city. Looking up at them, the immensity of it all would would engulf me like a warm embrace from the whole world so that even the stars seemed within the reach of an outstretched hand- glowing gems of red, yellow, and blue, warm to the touch. Such contentment as I have only felt in but a handful dreams! These are the thoughts I will carry with me when I lay down to rest tonight. My thoughts have wandered far from the new year to a new life. New year. Year is too long, too far away. I AM right now. And this is the moment I will hold with me until I awake tomorrow. Goodnight, everyone.

Cloud would be played by either Kevin Spacey or John Cusack.

Lol, so be it. [s]I had to google his name[/s]

Lol. I don't think I'd date lady gaga, even in my dreams but that sounds like some fun shit.

Banned because it was night somewhere at the same time.

=P Great, now I can afford to buy my pokemon dolls action figures.

Dude. WHERE DID YOU GET THAT GOLDEN SUN T-SHIRT?! TELL ME AND I WON'T FEED YOU TO DEADBEARD.

Banned for sunglasses at night.

Random stuff out of the loads of care packages kind civilians like yourselves send to deployment stations like mine. Mostly extra toiletries. A pair of black socks. A comb. Lots of tuna. Boxes and boxes of candy canes. I love mint. =3

Do what people tell me I have to do. You know, play soldier.

Banned for illegal moveset- Return on SAWSBuck twice.

Lol. I liked talking to the portuguese speakers in spanish. Not quite the same, but close enough to figure stuff out. plus it annoyed the hell out of you guys. como se dice 'troll' en espanol? Anybody remember lady puma? I didn't until Cyrus mentioned the portuguese thing. =3

Yeah, it had subtitles, but it wasn't in English. Probably because the computer I'm accessing is in Afghanistan. Hehe, I did guess at the gist of it, the old ladies in the 'home,' sad cuz family doesn't visit.