If anyone still checks this board, they'll be suprised to see a new post here.  It is now August 31st, a looong time since my last post, but hey, who cares, right? The good thing is I am waaay past halfway done with this deployment, and damn am I happy about that.  Good news has been flooding my inbox recently. One of the bad things was since my home unit is deploying in November, they Stop-Loss'ed  everyone in that unit. Not bad for the war effort, horrible for me.  Since I am already downrange in support of Operation Enduring Freedom here in A-stan, the Stop-Loss does not legally apply to me...However, I am having to wait on my home unit to get the paperwork done to get that fixed.  Once that occurs, my get out of the service date will be returned to the wonderful 3 April 2006 date as it should be.   Here's where the good news comes in.  Provided my home unit gets that done, I should be able to return from this theater of operations early, say around the beginning of January or so. Here's one better. There is talk of allowing alot of us Individual Augmentees return home even earlier than that. This is why it is so important for my home unit to get things fixed. If they get my release from stop-loss taken care of, then I can return without the worry of being deployed again to Iraq. That means I can properly persue a job in the states. That means I can be home with my family again. That means I can finally relinquish my ties to the military which has taken such haphazard care of my family. That also means I might be home for Christmas, but Shhhh!!! Don't tell Angie just yet. I really need confirmation on that, which I'm sure I wouldn't get until right before I pop smoke here. It's just the way it is. I have no real worries either way. This deployment has been much easier on both myself and my family that I could ever have imagined. Yes, we have had our trials and tribulations along the way, but then again it would not be life without them, would it? I have been home on R&R already, and I've gotta say, those were nearly the best two weeks of my life. Everything just fell into place. Tere was no real stress, and it felt almost like I had never left, and OEF was just a strange dream. But here I am again, immersed in that very same strange dream, trying to get my bearings so I might push through to the finish of it all. It will be easy enough, and with any luck at all, it will be much shorter than originally planned!!!  I will begin mailing things home in a couple weeks, and as time goes by, I will knock my belongings down to hopefully less than what I came with. As a matter of fact, if there is anyone at Bagram Airbase who wants to buy a fridge for $40 and a 6' tall bookshelf for $10, just let me know. DSN 318-231-2917. I'll even consider delivery. I have a number of computer games to offer as well. Just give me a holler, and we'll work something out. Email is another option. Just use the one here on the site. I'll get it and reply.

Everyone, don't forget! I am still looking for a job!

Intelligence Analyst, Active TS/SCI Clearance, DIA certified SSO, TS COMSEC custodian; Also network administrator here in Afghanistan. Looking for Colorado and Florida, but all states welcome.  Look me up on Monster.com

That's enough for now. Take care everyone!

-Joe

So my alarm clock went off this morning. Yeah, I ignored it for a few minutes. I finally got up, turned it off, and went back to bed. My damned conscience wouldn't let me really go back to sleep, so after I laid there for a while, contemplating calling in sick (which I could never do as long as I'm here-legal impossibility) I finally rolled out of bed. I got to the office, checked my email, and left the office for a little while. You know, it's a really nice day outside. Just thought I'd tell ya that. At any rate, I came back to the office, looked around, and walked back out. I had a breifing to attend. Did that, came back, looked around, and left again.  In case you're wondering, I'm having one of those "Office Space" days. I picked up a laptop that was ready from the Big Systems guys, came back to the office. I put it down, and proceeded to make myself an espresso. Yes, a real espresso. Not a fake, wanna be espresso, but Lavazza fine grind espresso in a Gaggia espresso machine. I took my espresso with a bit of sugar, and being that it had a fine crema, decided I needed to share my little espresso with the sunshine. I went outside, and basked in the daylight with my coffee and a cigarette. Now, I am not normally a smoker anymore, but it was just too nice to pass one up today. After a leisurely sip and smoke, I found I could consider actually doing work. So here I sit, still not working, but semi-seriously considering it.

I really hope my day continues like this, because it is very nice, indeed.

-Joe 

There have been many changes in my families lives. As any couple, my wife and I have been up and down, and right now, we're coming back from a down. I have alot of things to work out, but she stands beside me the whole way, whether I'm at home or thousands of miles away. I can never express how thankful I am for her graciousness. being gone puts strain on any relationship. While distance does make the heart grow fonder, for some, it can cause a special kind of rift. many of us have a hard time dealing with our feelings when we're deployed. Alot of us get downright difficult with our spouses, because in many ways, it is easier to be angry at your spouse and not look forward to conversations than it is to be lonely and homesick all the time. Alot of us do this subconsciously, unaware we are really hurting those we love, totally oblivious as to why we're angry in the first place. Most of the problem is quite franky adults not wanting to deal with the proplems, to they push everyone away.  I have problems.  That's one of them. I have never felt real, deep rooted animosity toward my wife, but I still acted that way.

Enough of problems, maybe it's time for something good for a change.  

I have spent tons of time looking up real estate things, and have found some interesting facts and theories about Colorado Springs:

Excerpt from a recent email:

"  I was just looking at the Colorado Springs news, and
the Troops will start arriving there en masse by December. We're
talking a plus up of approximately 4500 to start with, not including
the civillians who come with. This moved me to do some market analysis
of the current trends of real estate in the tri-counties area. If
viewing the timespan of the past 5 years in a macropopulative fashion,
one tends to see a 15%-20% overall increase in value, with increases
peaking at over 35% in the western Colorado Springs area, as well as
Manitou Springs and Monument. The trend follows the treeline, with the
majority of the land in the foothills of Pike's Peak and Cheyenne
Mountain having the highest rise in property values, while the south
and east areas (10 miles or greater outside Colo. Springs) still
having value increase, however only in the 5% - 8% range. Mountainside
properties are still reasonable. However, with the increase in
military and civillian population, there is going to be a marked
increase in land value in the same areas. In Colorado Springs itself,
there will be a significant rise in violent crime within 3 years, as
well as the devaluation of many lower-middle income areas surrounding
Ft. Carson. (Do you remember Glen Burnie and Ellicott City? Much the
same, but with the Infantry as an influence) The higher value land
will continue to rise, as its location is in the north, directly
opposite Ft. Carson. Land and homes within the 15-20 minute driving
range of Ft. Carson will skyrocket. Homes within 5-10 minutes of the
main gate will initially skyrocket, but then plummet within 5 years,
due to crime. In 8 years, they will level off to a higher than average
pricerange, but still be less than what we as a family are looking
for."

I have come to a few conclusions, but my biggest to date is the fact now is the time to get into buying up property, especially forclosed va properties. With the influx of troops, people are going to want a place to live. Renting out a house and using a proxy manager would be an excellent way to gain a foothold into the market without physically being there, augmenting our income while securing a home for the future.

This is my current plan, depending on how Angie sees it :^)

Take care everyone, and thanks for the ear during my split therapy/education session

-Joe

I am a shitty husband. I have been a shitty husband for almost 5 years. I was a shitty father for 3 years. I say these things because they are true, and I figure if I openly admit to them, I can move forward to getting my ass in line, instead of continuing to be the person I am right now.

When Angie and i first got married, we gained custody of zach.  Shortly thereafter, she started staying home with him. I took advantage of that. I ignored her needs, but expected her to suck up all the new problems she faced with a child in the hose that wasn't truely her responsibility. he was my responsibility, and i shirked it off on her. I was constantly a dick, not listening to her, not acknowledging her needs or even at times, caring what she thought. It is amazing she didn't leave immedaiately. She had every right and reason to.

things started getting a little better, and we were trying to conceive.  After one especially hard false positive, my enthusiasm fell trhough the floor, and by the time Caleigh was conceived, I was not very supportive.  I wanted my daughter, but I wasn't the joyous father every wife needs. I was mildly supportive at best throughout the pregnancy, and then after her birth, I might as well never have been home.

About halfway through her first year, we began going to counceling, because if we didn't, there was absolutely no doubt she would have left me. By going to counceling, she was giving me the benefit of the doubt. Counceling seemed to make good progress, as I learned how to deal with alot of things better, and she learned how to deal with me better (I should say, she began learning how to say no, and be  the strong woman she is today) Then i was deployed. Halfway through a 6 month rotation in the balkans, I came home on emergency leave because we were having serious problems. Again, they stemmed from me. We went to 2 more counceling sessions, and we spent alot of time doing nothing but talking face to face. We (I) learned the only way to speak with someone is to say only what you really mean, and listen to what they have to say. If you are not 100% sure what they mean, tell them how what they said made you feel, and ask if that was right. After the deployment, Angie and the kids moved to meet with me overseas. Our first year in Germany started out rocky, and has the average marraige bumps and hurdles, but they had been overcome. by the time I was preparing to come to this deployment, everythng was nearly right as rain. I had become the father I had always wanted for my kids, I was the husband my wife so dearly deserved. Somewhere between my last week home and now I have turned back into a dick. She has done nothing to provoke it.  maybe i'm afraid of being alone, but at this rate, that's all I'll be. I know out of the 5 years we have been married, I have onyl given Angie maybe a year and a half of happy marriage. If she left, i would be heartbroken, but I know I never deserved her in the first place, and I sure as hell don't deserve her now.  I am talking with my chaplain to straighten myself out. the only thing I can see is I am childish and self centered. I am afraid of rejection. If I don't quit, I am certain very soon there will be no future for Angie and me.

I love her so very much. Now I have said all this, I want everyone to know I am working toward being the right man. I have said mean, hurtful things in the past, and even recently. Right now, I am restricted to talking via e-mail, so I can think before I speak, and I don't risk something assanine flying out of my mouth. It's pretty sad a grown man is this fucked up, isn't it? No self pity, just a drive to be right and stay there.

Last post was on the 9th.  Now it's the 20th. What gives? I haven't the faintest, other than the rollercoaster that is deployment and the Military. So lat time we chatted, I had plans to see a man about a promotion. It just wasn't in the cards, because I was exactly 2 weeks shy of having enough time left in my contract from being able to see it happen. Oh well, while that would have been a considerable pay raise, my duties here would not have changed, and quite honestly, it would not have truely been a benefit to my employer anyways. So logistically, it worked out the way it should have. No biggee, I have been looking for a new job,a new home, and a new life with my family.  One that doesn't include a uniform, troops, or a rifle. So once again, if anyone is interested in hiring a former military intelligence individual with a multitude of different background experiences, send me an email @ josephmcompton@yahoo.com, Please include the nature of the proposition, and I will reply with a proper resume.  I will consider all propositions, but have special preference to those in Colorado, North Alabama, Florida, some Georgia. Like most sane Americans, costal areas are always welcome.

Have I ever mentioned Julia Roberts in my posts? I don't believe I have, and what a shame that is. AFN was playing "Notting Hill", and while I'm nowhere near as clumsy as Hugh Grant, I also don't have his charm.  However, I could defiantely see myself as a small shopkeeper being stumbled upon by Julia, and her falling head over heels for me.  Of course, there would be a nasty fight between Julia and my wife, Angie.  Angie would most certainly win, and honestly I think I would be happier with my wife anyhoo (If you haven't met Angie, you're seriously missing out).  But it would be terribly fun to be fauned over by Julia. Hell, if Ashton Kutcher can get Demi Moore, I'm sure I have a shot at Julia Roberts. Even if that doesn't come about, I can settle for a autographed picture. I'm not difficult to please :^) 

So I'm not the boss anymore. I've had my 3 months running the shop, and now it's time for someone else to take over.  No, I didn't screw anything up.  I was filling in for a guy to get here. He just took an extra long time to arrive.  I can't complain, it has been a great experience being on the leading edge of ops again. Being able to get my fingers in so many different assets was something I really missed. With any luck, the next job I get will be alot like that. It's one of those things I'm good at.

So I bought this thing that looks like an Afghani Sarong. I really ought to take pictures of it.  I figure I'll learn how to wear it in some "manly" manner, then I'll he hard pressed to take the damn thing off.Loose fitting, airy clothing is the best! But then again, I feel the same about a well made suit. Whatever, I have strange tastes.

I really ought to be working right now, so I guess I'll be hopping off. Take Care All,

-Joe

Wow has it been a while since I last posted. I'm sorry everyone for not getting around to this at all in the past week or so.  things have been hectic as always, and I have been more worn out than usual.  It seems that time out here is finally starting to take its toll on me.

To try and counter this, I have finally started doing some PT. I am not too proud of that fact, but at times, it seems to grow on me. I figure, maybe I'll come back abit more tone than when I left, and perhaps abit stronger, too.  my main concern is getting promoted.  i have been notified i will be attending the June promotion board, which means I need to get all of my ducks in a row.  That's PT, Range, Awards, everything.  Without that done, I won't be seeing the board OR any more stripes on my collar.  Time to hop to it!

I have been getting interested in www.classmates.com .  It's pretty interesting for those of us who actually want to know what's going on with some of the people we graduated with, or even just attended school with.  I found a friend of mine named Dorian that way.  He's a SSgt in the Air Force right now. He's an Air Traffic Controller.  He has had a six month rotation in Iraq, and is now in Missouri. I was suprised as hell to find out not only is he a SSgt, but he's married.  He seems like a lifer, but who knows, maybe it's a good thing for him.  i have more than amazing prospects, so I'm not too concerned with the whole thing.

Angie has began to work out, and in the spirit of fitness, I decided to get her a DVD copy of Carmen Elektra's Striptease Aerobics. Who says I can't benefit from a good workout, too??? :^) I can't wait to get home on R&R and see how that turned out.  I have also found Elizabeth Hurley has a great clothing line, especially in the miniskirt area.  WOW!  Yep, I think some of those will be getting shipped home, too.  OK guys, listen up.  This is important!  If you want to suprise your girl, shop WWW.AMAZON.COM . Lingerie section is great.  Watch out though, some things won't ship to PO Boxes... Grrr... 

Ok, that's enough for now.  I have work to accomplish

Take care everyone,

-Joe 

 Nine and a half more months left till this one's over, and then only 3 and a half or so later until I'm out of the service altogether. That'll be quite nice. I'm thinking of building a resume-specific webpage somewhere.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Here's a list of my qualifications:

1) Defense Intelligence Agency / Joint Military Intelligence Training Center: Certified Special Security Officer-31 Jan 2002

2) United Stares Army Technical Counterintelligence Directorate Certified Countersurreptitious Entry Professional -15 Feb 2002

3) United States Army Signal Center: Certified Information Assurance Security Officer -15 Oct 2002

4) North Atlantic Treaty Organization/ Allied Forces Southern Europe: Trained Human Intelligence Operator

5) Extensive experience working in High Profile, Multinational Environments, i.e. Stabilization Force Planning Staff in NATO/SFOR Headquarters, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

6) Over five years experience as an All Source Intelligence Analyst 

7) Trained and seasoned personnel manager, with teams ranging from 2 - 15 individuals

Experience in combat, stability, peacetime, joint, strategic and tactical engironments

9) Currently a Systems Administrator for the CJTF-76 CJ2

10) Maintain a current DOD TS/SCI Security Clearance with a current favorable CI-Scope Polygraph.

11) Unfathomable experience in all popular office softare suites, including MS Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, as well as many Intelligence and DOD software suites WebTAS, ASAS, CHMMS, FalconView, ARCView, IWS, M3, and many,many more. 

I think that covers most of the bigger points. There's a number of other things, but I don't think they'd be trememdously helpful to list here.

Is anyone hiring? I'll consider all reasonable offers.  If the jobis overseas, it will require extra deliberation before a reply can be formed.

Infidelity, and how it is portrayed in the media.  In the past few years, it has become not just accepted, but enocouraged for women to cheat on their men.  Yes, I know it has been going on both sides of the coin forever, but that doesn't make it right.  Angie just got done watching "Unfaithful", and I watched "A Perfect Murder".  In both of these movies, infidelity is the primary plotline.  I find it foul that it should be made glamorous. When watching prime time tv, it's everywhere. God forbid anyone ever turns on a soap opera. That's all those are ever about.  One more thing about all this that pisses me off is that they play these movies on Armed forces network, which is for many servicemembers overseas, the only english television they receive. This is certainly the case for all of us who are deployed.  So think of this, you have thousands of married soldiers who are lonely and not all leave their homes under the best of circumstances.  now, knowing these soldiers are under alot of stress, we'll show them a movie all about a loving spouse who does everything they can to make/keep their counterpart happy, only to have their counterpart cheat on them repeatedly!  Now, knowing all of these lonely deployed servicemembers are walking around everywhere every day with loaded weapons, and quickly becoming depressed due to their own situations, do you really want to negatively influence them through film? I can attest to you through first hand experience, when life isn't so grand at home, all it takes is a little seed of doubt that is easily planted through eversomany means, and then it feels like the whole work is tumbling down on you. Is it any wonder why so many marriages fail in the military? We're gone more often than we're home, and then you have things like this to plague are still thoughts? Fuck that.  It shouldn't have to be that way, and I believe it to be as foul as subliminal messages, which is , in effect, what these things turn out to be in the most simplistic of methods.

Here's a thought that while not based on anything more serious than a joking conversation, does bring up question.  If a man had a vasectomy, and years down the road his wife came up pregnant, would there be cause for suspicion? let's assume this couple has a fairly active sex life, making love 4 or more times per week. Until this point, there has never been a pregnancy or miscarriage, and they never have protected sex because they both believe the other is only having sex with them (monogamously).  What would you do if you were the man? Would you be nervous your wife might have cheated on you and become pregnant? Would you go have tests run on your sperm count to validate whether or not you are once again able ti distrobute sperm?   or would you simply accept the fact your wife is pregnant, and be happy?

What if you were the wife.  Assuming you did NOT have an affair, how would you present this new fact of pregnancy to your husband? Would you be upset if he had trouble believing in your faithfulness?

This particular problem is one that it seems no matter which way you go with it , no matter whose shoes you are in, it will be painful at best. Even if the husband accepts the semi-miraculous birth, will there be any question in his mind about the child? I hate this thought, but it is one we were discussing tonight on the phone.  I can say I personally would go have a sperm count test performed immediately.  If that came back with any substantial evidence of vas deferens regeneration, then I would most likely not question te child to be mine.  However, should the test not come back solid, I would certainly question the paternity of the child.  If the chil turned out to not be mine after a DNA test was performed, then a divorce would almost certainly follow. This is roughly the same ifAngie believed i was cheating on her.  Tests would be run.  I would expect her to look through all of my e-mails and telephone call logs to satisfy her need to know.

I see things this way because I am extremely analytical, and believe a structure is paramount in overcoming any and all problems. To me, tests and hesitation are a natural part of this analytical process. To others, it seems cold and heartless. I have advised others who were in a similar situation to that which I described above to follow those steps, but also to add one other:  Get a marriage counselor.  before the facts are discovered, the couple will most certainly need someone's help in picking up the pieces.  We have been through extensive marriage counseling, and I must admit, I am so very glad we had the counselors we did.  They were helpful and made a world of difference for us.  Counseling only works if both parties get involved and truely want to see things come together.

I am married to the most wonderful woman in the world, and have never truely doubted her fidelity in our relationship.  Being her husband, I have been jealous more than once, and overprotective on a semi-regular basis.  I am not prepared to give that up, and I don't believe I ever will.  I love her far too much for that.  And because I love her so much, I hold myself at a higher standard than I do all other men around me.  I do not believe in the need to go to strip clubs every other weekend, nor do I feel the need tgo constantly scope out other women. my wife is beautiful (almost to a fault), smart, funny, kind, compassionate, and could kick your ass if it came down to it and she got pissed enough. She is the love of my life, my light in the darkness, and everything that ever mattered to me is paled in comarison to her. No matter what, I will always love her.

Thank you for loving me, Angie.  I will be home as soon as they let me.

-Joe

You know, I love it when people flatter me, especially Angie! Of course, it's always nice to hear you're attractive to other people, too.  Katy and Andy are dear frinds of ours, and Katy knows how much I have always loved my hair.  So THANKS KATY! How's Andy these days?

So for future reference, should anyone wish to subject me to blatant flattery, feel free. I love it! Just don't get overly distasteful, or my wife might take objection to it, and that could prove to be dangerousIf further pictoral proof is required, forward requests to Angie @  blue_tutter@yahoo.com, and CC me, josephmcompton@yahoo.com (I think I might choke if anyone actually DID request more pics, but till then it's an entertaining thought)

In other news today, I have been working...alot. For the past couple days, network problems have been paramount, and so have annoying service calls.  People, if your monitor doesn't work, Turn It On! If that doesn't work, Plug It In!!!  It's really that simple.  The bevy of other problems is a list a few miles long, and none of them require my attention.  I may not be the absolute expert at this job, but damn, I'm not an intern, either.  I swear, I'm going to end up making a "basic troubleshooting" poster, and posting it in each working area, that way I get less calls over dumb shit.

I have been looking into houses in the Colorado Springs area, and I've gotta say, I think I would save more money in the long run if I just built instead of buying. That is, of course, if I want to get what I really want, instead of someone else's problems.  (the Tampa region isn't out of the question, just unlikely due to the very high cost of living there)  Along the subject of houses, I have been looking into newer building materials.  One of the things I have seen is SIP (Structurally Insulated Panels).  SIP construction is used fairly widely in dry climate areas, especially those without great danger of hurricanes and tornadoes.  Basically, it is 6 inches of disposable foam cup material sandwiched between two big sheets of plywood.  These sheets are made exactly to your blueprint specifications at the factory, numbered, then delivered to the construction site, ready to assemble.  Instead of taking weeks to build a stick frame home, dry-in for a SIP home can occur within a few days, sometimes in a single day.  This drastically cuts labor costs and helps speed up construction time. Another product is ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms)  Think of hollow Lego blocks with a vertical foam spacer in the center.  These blocks are assembled on site, then filled with special mix concrete, which become the walls.  This method of constructiuon is still faster than standard stick-rame construction, and is many times stronger.  This method also has the added benefit of being one of the absolute best insulation means available for new homes, and has natural noise dampening qualities like few other building methods.  This is especially helpful if you live near a bust street, airport, loud neighbors, loud kids, or if you and your significant other have a "healthy personal life."  I like the idea of that the most   .  No worries about waking the kids if they can hear mommy and daddy, right?!? Good stuff, I tell ya. Back to business. I was thinking, if I were to build the exterior walls and master bedroom walls out of ICF, and the rest of the internal walls out of SIP, then there is a pretty good possibility the house would be very quiet, and maintain good energy efficiency.  ICF's R rating is well over 20, so there's that. Plus, construction time would be little to none in the initial phase, and both of these methods could allow me to introduce the different architectural styles I want into my home with far greater ease than the good old stick frame or cinder block homes ever could.  I think this might just be the way to go.

Another thing on homes.  I am intending on constructing a conservatory as a primary fixture to the rear of my home, if not the centerpiece of the home. While I have some minor luck with plants, I am mostly a black-thumb when it comes to things bigger than ivy. I need some ideas on plants that are both children, bird, and iguana friendly which can grow relatively unsupervised.  Watering wouldn't be an issue, nor would sunlight or maintaining a decent amount of heat.  Attention could prove to be difficult, though. So anyone with (positive) nursery and garden experience, please send me some ideas via e-mail.  I am looking for sub-tropical type plants, or at least some that can help provide the look.

A request for my Brit readers.  Does anyone have any copies of Changing Rooms on tape or Disc? I've been looking for them for quite some time, and all I can find is the compilation DVD called "Changing Rooms: Trust Me, I'm a Designer".  It's really not what I'm looking for.  Angie and I love that show, and would be extatic if we could get copies of the seasons.  Also, "Ground Force" is another awesome show.  Any copies of that would be highly appreciated as well.  One show that has caught our attention is "MI-5".  That show is great.  I'm still waiting to actually get a copy of the second season, but have had little luck finding it.

Oh yeah, Sapphire (Yes, Really) ( www.theunconcerned.bravejournal.com ) I still haven't had the time to put together a list of American slang yet, but I promise I have not forgotten.  Most of our slang is downright annoying, even to us. So rest assured, I am still working on that project.

On the contents of the prior blog post.  I haven't had great amounts of headway as of yet, nor do I expect to progress at leaps and bounds.  I have found the sounds I described in the blog seem to help me sleep better and relax quicker, but that is yet to have any solid proof, even for myself. Hopefully, I will be able to test this theory further, and make truely informed decisions based on the testing outcome.

Well, this has been quite a sizeable blog for me, and I should stop now so I have something to talk about later.

G'night all,

-Joe

Last night's shift was a long slow one. When it was finally over, I decided to take a walk down to see the resident cosmotologists. It was the best choice I have made here to date. I get there, and there's no waiting.  So, I meet Natasha, a Thai (I think) stylist who's nothing to look at, but damn good at her job. I sit down, and tell her the cut I want.  After she starts, she realises it'll be abit more work than she thought. I explained to her my last experience with the "Butcher of Bagram" a few weeks prior.  She made motions like Edward Scissorhands and we both cracked up when I agreed.  So around 35 to 40 minutes later, my hair was looking right as rain again. She offered a wash. I accepted.  The way I figured it, my hair deserved extra attention after all the crap it has been put through since I left home. That went ok.  Then she offered a shoulder-up massage.  I was a little nervous, because all I could see was the price skyrocketing, but I figured, I deserved this one, so I said "What the hell", and went for it. I haven't felt that good for a few months. When it was all said and done, I paid, left a healthy tip, and decided I well never go back to the butcher's again. When I got back to my room, I had the best day's sleep I have had here yet.

So that's why I'm in such a good mood tonight.  I feel great, and my hair looks (fruity phrase warning) absolutely fabulous.  It has all the shine, body, and bounce it had before I came here, and no more split ends!  Yes, I love my hair.  It is a MAJOR point of pride with me. my hair and my abs, but for info on the latter, you'll have to talk to my wife.

For the remainder of the evening, I plan on doing as little as possible. Ii will most likely be playing video games, editing pictures, watching movies, and eating chocolate. Why? Because I'm not on shift tonight, and I can.  Most importantly, I Can. 

One more thing, for a short list of commonly used English (other side of the Atlantic) slang, head over to Sapphire's site. It's quite informative.

Take Care,

Joe