Back in Business

Alright, as some of you knew, especially those of you who read the foreign newspapers, even by way of Babelfish, the fuss and commotion and vacation was caused by one thing: my PCS overseas to Germany. It’s a major deployer, and perhaps it’s my cynicism that causes me to expect to be wending my way from there to sandier parts. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a lot of regret at leaving the States, whether I do or don’t wind up visiting places my iMac warrantee won’t cover (They were very pointed about telling me that as soon as you get any sand anywhere in it, it’s done). There are a lot of people that I miss in the States, some of which I didn’t get to say goodbye to. It was in fact a nice surprise to see that, political views aside, as soon as I arrived various companies were fighting over who got to have me. That's either the nice thing about having particular skills, or a really sad statement on how desperate everyone is getting for manning. I'll let you decide. No, I won't tell you which unit seems to have won for the moment, they're a good unit, full of people I've served with before, and don't really need random people trying to light them up for the crime of not murdering me. I should be able to do some really good and useful work, if in fact I stay with this unit, and nobody else ends up winning. They're also offering to try to fix all the things that my last unit jacked up.

Some of you out there will cheer to find out that half of my family has completely disowned me for my IVAW work. I would like to take the opportunity here to alleviate some of their concerns about potential fallout and point out that Gunnery Sergeant Coppa, of the United States Marine Corps, currently serving on his fifth deployment in Iraq, has no knowledge of my political activity whatsoever to my knowledge, and therefore, anyone who thinks that he supports it is probably wrong. Yes, he’s family, and I love him very much whether he supports me or not, and hope for his safe return. But anyone who might have been hassling him because of me is barking up the wrong tree: his politics are his own. Oddly, the other half of my family seems to be taking the MFSO path; I seem to have precipitated my own miniature Civil War. I think everybody's Christmas presents are probably going to be in blue and grey.

Another thing I’ve been talking about has finally materialized. With thanks to an artist who made the design possible(who will be named as soon as he OKs it), I have now acquired what I refer to as “my IVAW tattoo”, though it is far more than just the logo, and reflects a lot of my more personal beliefs. The tattoist was shocked that my first tattoo, I chose to sit through thirteen hours of stenciling and needles, but I believe that if I’m going to do something, I may as well do it right. It is now permanently emblazoned on my arm, and I am very proud of it. I believe that if something is in your heart, it is moral cowardice not to share it. Photos will be forthcoming as soon as it heals. For those of you who are critical that my first tattoo is "not feminine enough", and purely military-related, I promise to take a butterfly-and-roses lower back tattoo into due consideration as soon as my first frontal lobotomy is complete.

I have seen the movie Stoploss, and will in fact be reviewing it for SITREP, which is the only reason that I'm not posting about it here. Suffice it to say that I was favorably impressed. Also, if you have PTSD, don't see it alone. I know I say that a lot, but I do like giving fair warning. I have not yet seen "Body of War", though I have been able to listen to the CD, which is absolutely fabulous.

There's a lot of stuff going on in the blogosphere I haven't really been able to react to. Now that I have more stable internet access, I will attempt it-but not today.