What You Give

- Hmm... Maybe this actually will all come together. The weekend is looking more promising than originally thought, hopefully getting the apartment all squared away and if I'm lucky having a little bit of fun with the rest of time. Hopefully.

- I've been watching a lot of war movies recently. I'm not sure why I started but I'm really enjoying them. It reminds me of being a kid when my dad got back from the Gulf War. It reminds me of scouring the shelves of the public library looking for anything and everything I could get my hands on every Civil War, then WWI, then WWII book I could find. It reminds me of running around my apartment pretending I was in some crazy battle. It reminds me of making grand plans of joining the Marines when I turned 18. I'm glad I grew out of that one.

- I have a lot of respect for members of the military. Choosing to serve your country very rarely comes at no cost even if you never see combat. You put a lot of your personal ambitions on hold. Friends of mine in the military that serve without complaining of things they've given up and with no resentment for opportunities they may have forgone hold a special piece of my respect. In Jarhead, Jamie Fox's character was talking to Jake Gyllenhaal's charater and listing all the things he could have had if he didn't join the Marines; a six figure salary, spending everynight with his wife, a company truck, among many others. But he wasn't complaining because in his words, "I. Love. This. Job." I respect that. Its something to be admired and its the kind of selflessness I hope to have one day.