CANCUN Part 2: The Crush

Love is a tricky business for sure and it’s impossible to protect yourself against matters of the heart. You can tell yourself all day long not to fall for someone or to “be careful”, but the reality is that you relinquish the control over your heart from the moment it takes its first beat. Your heart doesn’t judge, it only feels, and for this reason it can sometimes lead us astray. Sometimes, just when we think we’ve found true love and found the one that we’re meant to be with for the rest of our lives, something happens to make us realize that we were way off. This past week in Cancun I reflected about my last relationship, while meeting someone who taught me not to give up on love and happiness…

Being in an abusive relationship and living through it can be an empowering experience; however living in it can be one of the most pain-staking, challenging, frightening and heart breaking roller coasters you’ve ever ridden. I know because I spent 14 months being in one, 7 months suppressing the fear, anger and love that I felt every day because of it, and finally another 6 months getting over it, growing stronger and more confident with each passing day, re-learning how to feel good about myself and re-learning to listen to my gut when it tells me something is wrong. Despite all that, I believe the only way you can fully recover from such an experience and truly get over one of those relationships is by feeling love again – or at the very least having a taste of it...

This past week in Cancun I met someone pretty amazing. Let me start by saying that when I first laid eyes on this individual, my heart stopped, my head turned and a rush of adrenaline shot through my body like I had just chugged a Rockstar (that’s an energy drink like Red Bull Mom). It was kind of like living Emile de Beck’s famous words except instead of a “crowded room” it was a crowded beach party. Anyway, I digress. The feelings in that moment, unbeknownst to me at the time, were mutual and it was just a matter of time before we were going to speak to one another (and since RJ is the confidently attractive person that he is, that took all of about 3 ½ minutes).

That first night in Cancun was the beginning of an amazing week spent with an amazing individual. Swimming and horsing around in the ocean like kids, taking turns holding on to each other’s backs as we skipped across the green ocean waves on Jet Skis, dancing in the club together to our favorite songs, exchanging glances at each other from afar, jumping on each other’s backs for piggyback rides in the pool – and kissing underwater when no one was looking (or so we thought). And when it came for my last night in Cancun, RJ wasn’t found at 3 am dancing away drunk in the club, instead, the two of us were in each other’s arms, lying on some oversized pillows under a grass hut, staring up at the endless number of stars that were shining so bright in the Mexico sky that night, with the sound of the ocean waves crashing in the backdrop and the swaying palm trees blowing a soft warm breeze against our bodies. I was mesmerized and content in every way. Smart, sexy, confident, mature, secure, healthy, playful, affectionate & successful. They had it all. And then the last day came and we parted ways. I tried my hardest to hold it all in as a tear ran down my eye. To quote Jordin Sparks, it was like “trying to breathe with no air” (ok, maybe that’s a little dramatic – but it really sucked). This one week crush was over and nothing could bring it back.

So what does this have to do with anything you might say? Well, this person gave me a lot more than just a roll in the hay and a couple of good smiles. The time we spent together showed me a glimpse into my future – a future that my last relationship tried to rob me of. You see, when a relationship doesn’t work out, we tend to lose hope in ever “finding the one” or living “happily ever after”. We lose confidence in ourselves and in our dream. It hurts. Sometimes we cry at night, sometimes we look for love in all the wrong places, and sometimes we try to fill the void with meaningless validation that we’ll get from anyone or anywhere. But this past week I discovered happiness once again. I got to experience what it felt like to not have a care in the world and just live in the moment with someone. I got to stare into someone’s eyes and know that they liked me too. I got to have my dream back again and it seemed possible and exciting all over again. It made me realize that there ARE other fish in the sea (fish may be a poor choice of words), that there ARE great people still out there and that great things are still to come my way. And you know what? You never know when and where you’re going to find happiness – or when love will find you. And to quote my good friend Malcolm who gave me a little pep talk about this week “If all it was was an amazing week, then enjoy it and be happy in the comfort that there’s someone out there that really cares about you. Sometimes that can be enough”.

Now let me stop and tell anyone reading that I have very little faith in a future with this person, as this person already has a solid future ahead of them – one that I would never interfere with and one that I am extremely excited about (for their sake). Am I jealous of it? Sure, a little. But I know I’m going to find happiness one day too. Truth be told, the two of us only know that we hit it off physically and have a few things in common, but we barely know each other. Who knows if we’d ever even be compatible in a relationship beyond a 1 week vacation crush?

Even so, to the person out there that I shared this past week with – thanks for a fantastic week and thanks for giving me feelings that I haven’t felt for a very long time. It was nice, even if transient. And for the next couple of days I might mope around a little, it’ll seem like everywhere I turn (including both of the plane rides homes) that a movie about some love story will be on, or that sad songs will seem just a little sadder. I know that a few more tears may come out when I’m in the confines of my own room in bed at night, but know this - I look forward to keeping in touch with you as one of my new friends and I look forward to seeing you again when our paths may next meet.
Yes, love can be a tricky business for sure, but to all of you reading this who have had problems, keep up the hope, and for all of you that have found love, enjoy it, and live in that moment! For there’s nothing quite like it in the world. (And be careful, because there’s a lot of jackasses out there who will abuse your vulnerability when you’re in that moment) 

Death, Drinks, Debachery and Drama in Cancun PART 1

Well, after a somewhat rocky start to the trip, when an obese man jet skiing with his wife and 3 kids had a stroke, drowned in the water and was pulled from the water lifeless while his family watched in horror, the trip to Cancun has been eventful to say the least. I sit here alone and sad in the computer lab of the resort as I await my bus to the airport which departs in 20 minutes. Before I go I wanted to give a quick blog update on the trip.

Ok, the highlights, ...lots of sun (as you can see), made lots of friends, developed a crush on a flawless individual, volunteered to teach an Abs Class twice this week at the gym (which was awesome), flew on the trapeze (although pictured is Victor who swung on the trapeze and performed in a show), drank lots of Mojitos, Margaritas and Pina Coladas, danced the nights away to some of the best house music - situated in an outdoor club overlooking the ocean, got lucky, lost my $450.00 Channel sunglasses, ate some of the best food ever (Escargot in White Wine Sauce, Mexican Chilled Langostinos, Homemade Enchiladas, Empanadas, Burritos, Tacos, Guacamole, Salsa, Shrimp, Lobster, Huge Clams in Cilantro & Wine Sauce, etc), made good friends with individuals from many countries (including Italy, France and of course Mexico), found my $450.00 Channel sunglasses, turned a straight man gay, got swept off my feet, got a sunburn on my scalp despite daily SPF 30 sunscreen, wore a sarong to a sarong party (I did look hot though lol), went to 3 comedian shows, passed out under the stars with the palm trees swaying in the arms of someone amazing and finally, got a fantastic massage.

Now I'm headed to Los Angeles to spend one night with my friend Eli and see if I can see some old friends there, then tomorrow its back to Hawai'i.

Eat your heart out everyone!

:)

Full Moon Over Waikiki and An Upstanding Citizen

I felt the draw of the night as I stepped out of my apartment on my way to meet my friend Jacintha for dinner at a fine Italian Tratorria in Waikiki, and before I even looked up at the night sky, I could tell it was a full moon. My body could just feel it. Walking to meet Jacintha my legs were admittedly a little tired - I had just completed the AIDS walk in Waikiki that morning to show my support of HIV research and my afternoon was spent shopping at the Diesel store to get some new trunks for my upcoming Cancun trip in 3 days (remember? this is the trip I won when Victor and I went to Puerto Vallarta). But I digress...

So in the middle of dinner I get a phone call from my friend Robbie. I decided not to answer, but when he called a second time immediately after, I figured something was up. When I answered, an extremely intoxicated Robbie slurs out the words "RJ, you gotta help me!!!" I replied, "Ok, you've got my attention, what's wrong?" "RJ, my girlfriend Kylie got arrested and she's in jail, I don't know what to do! RJ - I really need an upstanding citizen to help me get her out of jail!" I laughed at his verbage but listened carefully as I tried to decipher through his drunken ramblings exactly what happened. Apparently Kylie - who was also quite inhebriated (suprise suprise)- accepted an offer from some guy to buy her ticket to a concert they were attending that night. But in Kylie's drunken stupor, she failed to remember that she already used the ticket to enter the concert area earlier, and therefore made the ticket unuseable for re-entry. The gentlemen that she sold the ticket to kindly pointed out this minor detail to a police officer, who arrested her for 'Theft in the 4th Degree', aka scalping! She was escorted off to the Honolulu Police Department and locked in the klinker at $1000. bail! So lo and behold, I got my first call ever to help bail someone out of jail. It was kind of exciting! As it turned out, Robbie (Kylie's boyfriend) sobbered up enough to get her out of jail for a total cost of $1375. ! Needless to say I didn't get to enjoy the Canoli I ordered at dinner with Jacintha, but then I figured - well, Cancun is coming up in just a week and I'm sure there will be plenty more Canoli to enjoy there ;)

So on the walk back to my apartment I noticed an estranged black woman running frantically around my apartment building. I looked inquisitively at her and could see the distress in her face. Suddenly I heard some strange screams and screeches in the distance. As I approached my building, I saw by the reflectuion of the moonlight that something was moving on the ledge of the 8th floor! "What's happening?" I asked.

"My cat! It's my cat! I let the window of my apartment on the 9th floor open for just a second and it crawled out, jumped down an entire story to the 8th floor and then accross to a different ledge! Now it's pacing back and forth on the ledge screaming for help. What can I do? Can you help me?"

I had to take a moment and laugh. I had just about reached the limit to my "upstanding citizen" contributions for the evening, but I said, "Sure, I'd be glad to help". So we went up to the 8th floor and woke up the tenant of the apartment whose ledge had the stranded black cat on it. By this point half the building was awake from the ruccus and the cat screams! And oh by the way - she had just moved in that day! So we talked the cat off the ledge and convinced it that suicide wasn't the answer (although given that I'm not the biggest cat fan, it would have been a viable option - just kidding animal lovers!)

So as the drama ended I looked up once again at the moon, which seemed to be grinning down at me as if to say "Gotcha". But at the end of it all I grinned back at it - as I exclamed outloud "One week until I'll be looking up at you from Cancun beyatch!"

Stay tuned for my next posting from Club Med Cancun!!!!

An April Fool

Well, I know I know, it's been a long time, but at least I have lots to bring you up to speed on. I'll try to make it brief though - as one of my friends kindly pointed out to me after I told him a typical long RJ story - "Conciseness is Niceness RJ!"

First off, I've made a serious decision. I'm leaving Hawaii. I feel like this was a great chapter in my life, and the perfect place for me to be a Flight Surgeon, but I'm ready to start fresh and there just seem to be too many ghosts from the past preventing me from moving forward here. Now hold on, I'm still having a blast and nothing too crazy has happened since my return from Iraq, but my gut is telling me to move forward, that something big awaits me and its not here. So, where to now? Well, I'm applying for a residency in Family Medicine in 3 cities it looks like - San Diego, Phoenix and San Francisco. I'll keep everyone posted as to the evolution of all of this.

On a more serious note - my personal life has stabilized. I'm single again and I truly feel like I need to move on from my last relationship. I've accepted that we're different people and while that person will always have a special place in my heart (or to quote Jordin Sparks,..."like a tatoo on my heart"), we're not meant to be in a relationship together. We're meant to be friends. It was a difficult thing to come to, but I'm there.

I've been getting myself involved in a lot of exciting things lately - I visited my friend (ex-roomate) Josh in Phoenix over Easter and I had an amazing 5 days! I spent my Easter sipping Veuve Cliquot Champagne and eating Shrimp Cocktail by the pool of the Mondrian Hotel in Scottdale, AZ - all comped of course. Not long before that I participated in the Marine Corpse Base Hawaii "Swamp Romp" - where almost 300 teams of 5 ran a 6 mile course through obstacles, hills, waterways and the ocean, and oh yeah, it was all through MUD! Lots of MUD! We got filthy and it was awesome! I had mud in my nails, in my ears, in my eyes. At one point I was on my stomach crawling through a sewer/drain pipe and stopped momentarily to look over at a crab the size of Maryland who gave me this look like "You're Nuts! I have no choice but to be down here, but you...what are you doing here?!" Then this weekend my roomate Tim and I (who I'm getting along very good with) are flying to Kauai for the weekend to a military resort called "Barking Sands" to stay in a cabin right up against the coast. I plan on bringing a journal, some books and just relaxing ---thats before the following weekend which is MDA Weekend!...

MDA Weekend (April 10-14) is a weekend where all of my friends fly in from all over the US to get together and go to a Fund Raiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. But we do it in style. We all get dressed up (I rented a sharp tux which I'll take lots of pictures of for ya) and we first take a limmo ride all around the island. It's great fun! Other events planed for the weekend include a Wine Tasting Party at my house the Thursday before, a camping trip to Bellows Air Force Base to one of their beach front cabins the Friday before, then maybe the Sandbar or beach the Sunday after.

But wait, my April concludes with Cancun Baby! Remember the Puerta Vallarta trip where Victor and I won the all expense paid vacation to Cancun Mexico? Well it's coming up April 25 to May 4th! Already! I'm pumped and Victor and I are very excited about it! And after that things will slow down for me some.

Life is good, morale is high and I'm keeping busy! It's amazing that one year and 3 days ago I left for Iraq...

Other updates...
Angelina is doing great, but needs her oil changed.
My mom is doing great, but get that one card paid off mom!!!
Jan is doing great (in Philly, happy in her new job)
Victor is doing great - he's getting all in shape for Cancun (as am I)
Kelly, Mike, Kiera and Ryan are great - it was Kiera's 3rd birthday recently. The theme of her party was "princess". "Like her Uncle..." - Josh pointed out. lol.
And that's about it - everyone is great!

Aloha to everyone and drop me a comment to tell me how all of you are doing!

-RJ

The Duck, The Door and The Cock (You gotta read this one!)

Sometimes the repercussions of our actions are pretty amazing! Most of the times we don’t even think about how something we do, even if it may seem so minuscule at the time, can have giant effects on the world around us. It’s moments like the one I’m about to describe that make you realize just how a chain of events can rapidly unfold around you. Within ten minutes I was asking myself, “How in the world did I ever make that happen?”…


I can’t remember a night that was as still as last Saturday. My friend Billy and I were just getting ready to retire for the evening and our stomachs were full from the meal he had prepared us – Scallops with Gran Marnier for dinner, mochi ice cream for dessert and beer. (Little did I know this was a deadly combination to eat at 11 pm just before bed! But I digress…) I fell asleep and began to have one of the strangest nightmares of my life, I was watching myself being operated on (an exploratory laparotomy for you medical types out there) and the procedure was going down hill. As I watched myself slipping away, the Surgeon decided he needed to amputate my head. He did so, and then informed my family and friends in the lobby of my tragic demise (my mom, Kelly, Jan). As my family walked out, I walked out beside them, except I was a spirit that they could not see or hear. The next seemingly 5 hours of my dream was spent coming to terms with my own death and letting go of my family and friends [Wasn’t there a movie like that?] Lesson learned – no more beer, scallops and ice cream!


ANYWAY, at 2:17 a.m. I woke up from this nightmare in a cold sweat needing to void. (Note to self, beer before bed makes you get up and pee in the middle of the night). So I walked to the bathroom and being unfamiliar with the layout of Billy’s house, I ended up accidentally peeing on the floor and missing the toilet at first. But again, I digress. Anyway, upon leaving the bathroom I walked out the bedroom, left the door open behind me and stopped for a moment to appreciate just how still the night was. It was uncanny. The night sky was clear, the full moon was casting a shadow on the animals outside on his yard, and the typical Hawaiian trade winds were absent. There were no cars on the road. There were no crickets. The only thing that was making any noise at all was the sound my footsteps on his new hardwood floors, and even they were barely audible.


Suddenly, a strong gust of wind came down from the mountain behind his house. It traveled through the bathroom window causing a ripple in the droplets of pee on the bathroom floor and ultimately it made its way into the bedroom, taking the bedroom door and slamming it shut, creating a loud gun-shot like clap that echoed through the house! I was startled for a moment but went back to bed. However, the deafening noise was so loud that it startled a duck that was out in the front yard. The duck started quacking as it flapped its wings feverishly around the front yard, ultimately making its way to the pen of cocks (roosters). The duck woke up one of the cocks who emerged from the pen and started to “cock-a-doodle-doo” thinking it was morning. His cry was a wake up call to the other 5 cocks in the yard, which all started to “cock-a-doodle-doo”. Their cry was a wake up call to the roosters down the street and within minutes, ALL of the roosters within a one mile radius started to “cock-a-doodle-doo”. One by one the neighborhood porch lights would go on until all of the houses in the neighborhood were woken up from the racket. People started yelling in fury and the once quiet, still night became a stadium of roaring and commotion. As I laid there I couldn’t help but to ask myself, as I tried to hide under the covers, “Did I do that?” [I felt like all of the local Hawaiian population was going to light torches and come hunting me down – like “the Others” in the TV show Lost or something.] SO THE LESSON LEARNED THIS TIME FOLKS: Don’t eat dinner and drink beer late, and if you get up, close the door behind you! (Oh – and turn the light on in the bathroom before you go pee!)


In other news, I spoke to my father this morning on the phone for the first time in 7 or 8 years. I was nervous, but the overall conversation went well, and I’m happy that I placed the call. Nuff said about that for now. (Jan and Victor I’m sure you’re flabbergasted right now).


As for the pictures: the first one is self-explanatory, the second is of my friend Kelli and me during her 2nd Annual AQUARAOKE CHALLENGE – a birthday party she has at a karaoke bar. She always brings props for people to dress up in (no that wasn’t my hat that I’m wearing). I think we were singing Phil Collins or some other cheesy karaoke song. The third picture is of Billy and me eating her birthday cupcakes. Yes, that is C3PO on the cupcake. Unsure why. The next 3 pictures are from this past weekend at a different Birthday Party at a house in the North Shore. The people in the photo are Joe (aka “Frog”), Jackie, Me and Kelli. The sunset sure was beautiful.


Cheers for now guys, and stay away from those cocks!

Aloha!

The Roomate, The Neighbor, The Partner and Angelina's Cold

Aloha everyone! Well, I'm happy to report that my life has slowed down some since the holidays. In fact, I've actually taken time to do things like go to the beach, go to the movies (saw that King Kong-ish movie Cloverfield and loved it, despite its mixed reviews), host a few dinner parties (last night I had a great 'pau hana pupus and cocktails' get together) and even had time to dip into my cook books that I got for Christmas. I resolved that every month I'm going to select a different cuisine (Thai, Asian, Italian, Indian, etc.) and learn a bunch of dishes from that style (via cookbooks or Food Network). What a great way for me to practice my cooking and do something I really enjoy, in addition to hosting dinner parties where my friends can sample the cuisine, without having to go to culinary school - which is just not a possibility right now. Last night I made Chicken Curry Satay with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce (Thai is the featured cuisine this month) and my Green Curry with Chicken and Basil is fantastic I have to say! So outside of that, I was entertaining the idea of having a roomate back in November and since then one of my friends that I've met since my return told me he needed a place to stay and since he's a great guy (and cooks), we seem to have a lot in common and he can pay me what I'm looking for, he's going to move in Feb 1st! Part of me doesn't want to give up my freedom, but I think the greater part realizes that there is an opportunity here to make a great friend, save a ton of money (which I have been blowing like its my job since I returned from Iraq) and live with someone who cooks like me. So his name is Tim and I'll keep you posted if it turns out to be a complete disaster or an amazing experience. I'm confident in the latter. So get this - last week I had a few people over for cocktails on a Saturday night and we were playing music and chatting. Mind you, it was late (about midnight or so), but the volume wasn't exceptionally loud. Anyway, I get a ring at my doorbell, and my neighbor, this crusty 70ish year old drunk, starts pointing his finger in my face and yelling, "If you don't keep the noise down I'm going to call the cops!! There's no reason for you to be making this much racket at 1 am!" Can you believe that this was our first meeting? So I was thinking to myself, "Oh hell no!" (Mind you I had a few cocktails). So I raised a finger in the air and said, "First of all...I do NOT appreciate being yelled at in your tone. SECOND, if you ask me politely like a normal human being, I would be more than happy to turn the music down and ask my guests to keep quiet, BUT I DO NOT respond well to people yelling in my face!" So he turned around and shut the door. Well, as it turns out, he e-mails one of the building managers about me without my knowledge. So last week I was leaving for work one sunny Waikiki morning, when as I'm waiting for the elevator, his door opens... Out comes this adorable little Asian woman of about 50 years. She greets me with a "Hello, Good Morning!" and a smile. I struck up a chat with her and discovered that she owns the apartment, and he husband passed away last year and the old crusty guy was one of her husband's friends who helped with the funeral. Since then he hasn't left and she gave me the distinct impression that she felt it was long overdue for him to say Adieu. So as the elevator reaches the bottom, the doors open and this 72 year old Scottish guy says with a heavy accent to me "Don't I know you?" I replied "I don't think so." Then he turns to the Asian woman and says "Hey - did you ever get that situation straightened out with the noisy neighbor of yours?" I was like "I'm the neighbor!" lol. He replied "You're in trouble." But I followed up by stating that the man she was living with was downright rude, yelling at me, and he handled the situation very poorly. The Scott then said "I think he drinks a lot. Don't take it personally." (One of the Four Agreements if you've read that book). So I gave the Asian woman my phone number and said that if she ever has a problem in the future, please call me and I'd be happy to do what I can to resolve it. Just then the Scott asked me what I do for a living (he saw me in uniform with a stethoscope in hand). When I told him I was a Doctor and that I liked Star Trek (it just kind of came up - don't ask me how), I became his new best friend. So bottom line is - my drunken neighbor can (as my Grandmother would say) - pound sand up his ass for all I care! Angelina has a cold! In case you don't know, Angelina is the name I gave my beautiful car, the Acura TL Type S. She's been coughing and running at less than peak efficiency because I accidentally put low Octane Gasoline in her last week instead of Premium (91) as I was instructed. So she's a little sick. Sorry Angelina. First Do No Harm is my motto and I got her sick, but she's almost cleared the infection and I'll soon fill her empty tank up with a full tank of the good stuff. And finally, as for my relationship issues. Well, I'll sum it up Horoscope Style, how about that: Ok, Dear Sagitarius, you've realized that you still care very very much for your ex, but is it too soon to forgive and forget? Heed the advice of your friends and proceed with extreme caution - don't forget you've been in this honeymoon phase before. Are things truly different this time? Be smart, take it slow. Its okay to enjoy the wonderful feelings you're having, just don't fall head over heels - keep both feet on the ground! (That about sums it up) That's it for now gang. I can't believe my mom actually posted a comment - after all this time! You never cease to amaze me mom!!! HERE IS A GUIDE TO THE PHOTOS: Friends Billy and Jacintha followed by shots of my hike up to Diamond Head last weekend!

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou (Happy New Year!)

Alright, let's see where to begin... The first photo was taken from the week before X-mas when my friend Kelli Bullock had a "Deck the Balls" party where everyone had to decorate a X-mas ball and then we competed for the top ball. I won first place with my 'Mele Ball' (get it? MELE Kalikimaka). Anyway, the holidays were a big blur. Planes, trains and automobiles, but I ended up seeing just about everyone that I wanted to and having a damn good time doing it (a little too much at times).

Photo number 2 is of Jan and I the day after X-mas. Kelly (sister), Mike (brother-in law), Jan, Anthony (her squeeze) and I went to a local brewery in PA and had a blast catching up. I have to say - spending time with Jan again was one of the highlights of my vacation. As much as I love Hawaii, I wish I were closer to her. BUT perhaps late in the year 08 will bring a visit from her and Anthony...

I enclosed a picture of me in my dress blues. I made my mom very happy by wearing them to Christmas Eve Mass. I felt very proud wearing them, and it was nice to have people come up to me and express their gratitude for just doing my job. (On a side note - my Group Surgeon heard about all of my 'supposed' accomplishments during the deployment and he informed me that I was nominated for the Flight Surgeon of the Year Award. This award distinguishes one Flight Surgeon around the globe for his or her accomplishments. The winners haven't been selected yet, but it has been an honor just to be nominated.)

The next picture is of my family and I in PA during the holiday. My X-mas present to my mom was a new computer and high speed internet (which she figured out before Christmas despite my careful attempts at keeping it a secret from her). My mother is an extremely clever woman - believe me when I say that NOTHING gets past her! So anyway, my mom should post a reply to this blog for the first time ever after I submit this entry. We'll see if she can remember what I taught her!

Next, my niece Kiera and I the morning of her Christmas pagaent! She was a star and it was another highlight of my vacation. I spent four days with my sister and her family in Virginia. It was relaxing and just what I needed before going home and seeing all of my friends up in the Northeast (or as I called it - the Arctic...it was bite ass cold - but they said it was mild for that time of the year. It's all perspective I guess.)

Finally, New Years! I spent it with my friends at Billy's house. Pictured in the final photo are friends Rocco, Me, Billy, Jacintha and her boyfriend Eneko. It was a great New Years and I couldn't have thought of a better way to ring in the New Year than with my friends.

So here I am, January 8th, settled into my new apartment, new furniture, new life, fresh start. I'm happy, but there are times that I miss the simplicity of Iraq. Does that sound strange? I mean, every decision there was pretty much made for me and I didn't have to worry about the stupid things that cause stress in life. It's a rediculously complicated world we live in. This past weekend I got stressed because: my high definition cable box crapped out, my high definition channels had a slight voice delay which drove me crazy, my garbage disposal got clogged because a random screw fell in it, my newly washed car (whose name is Angelina by the way) got caught in a rainstorm and got dirtied up, I accidentally put '87 octane gas instead of '91 into it, a few ants crept into my apartment and my flawless place is being invaded, I broke one of my Riedel crystal wine glasses, my high speed internet went down for an entire day, my dishwasher left spots on my glasses which caused me to be behind by 10 minutes on my dinner party because I had to hand clean my glasses, one of my magazines arrived bent because it was stuffed the wrong way into the mailbox, my brand new I-phone crashed and I had to return it for a new one, my I-tunes music won't burn properly onto a CD, my dryer takes 3 cycles before it dries my towels and my remote controls, all 5 of them, have a mind of their own. When did this happen? Just 3 months ago, I was content when the AFN Military Television Network broadcasted a show, snowy and skipping every 3 seconds and barely coming in. I was content and grateful, and all of a sudden, life is trying its hardest to make me forget about the important things. My health, the health of my friends and family, the fact that a war is still going on overseas. So tomorrow if my automatic coffee maker is late in finishing its morning cycle, I WILL laugh and not stress. One of my New Years Resolutions is to be more grateful, enjoy life and not get so stressed by everything, being ever mindful of those things which are most important in my life.

I wish you all the best of New Years! It has been a challenge for me to keep in touch with all of my Angels, let alone my friends. Let me just send you these greetings - May 2008 bring you health, wealth and peace of mind! I love and appreciate all of you, every day - my friends, my family, my pen pals, Jan, Victor, Barabara, my family, my sister, Mike, Kiera, Ryan, my Soldiers Angels. God Bless you all!

-RJ