On Grace

I'm still here, I'm still standing right? I can't tangibly describe that feeling, but it's like going through the worst time of your life and kind of rebounding from it. It's refreshing to be trying different things and still going on somewhat of an adventure, but at home with friends.

July 17th, 2011

Probably the worst day of my life, but hey, I'm still here today.

On Memorial Day

Memorial Day means more to me now that I'm a part time soldier, and I would like to make it to DC sometime to observe the occasion. We lost a few people in Iraq during the final year, and I think it is important to remember what they gave up.

On Grudges

Today is the anniversary of the end of our national grudge against Osama Bin Laden, and I personally was talking to a senior NCO about one of my own personal grudges. It reminded me of a conversation with Josh Shyu - don't remember everything word for word now, but he said that I was the worst at holding grudges when we were talking about a past situation. I think it's a bit of both - I've changed and have been able to let a lot of things go, but there was shit that went down in Iraq that I may never forgive.

On Gratitude

These days, I find it really easy to get aggravated - slow drivers, red lights, etc. In particular, the Subway that I usually go to has a new crop of employees who are very inefficient in their sandwich artistry, to use polite terms... but then I think about how amused I used to be by people throwing a fit at Mickey D's, and I wonder if I've lost sight of how benign first world problems really are...

So I am thankful that:
- I have a job, even if it's not the most glamorous in the world
- I survived Iraq without PTSD or any other major injuries that I'm aware of
- Dad is still alive
- I still talk to two of my oldest friends in this life