i went to kali at 0800 which made me feel good. i havent trained at all this week and i just dont feel right when i dont train. i think its the endorphins. we did some circuit training and i learned some new strikes. it kicked my ass but i had a lot of fun. i went to borders and bought some discounted DVDs, had thai for lunch, and bought a large and expensive pot to make my turkey soup. i then searched for items to make said soup, the stock for which is simmering right now. my apartment smells delicious. there is something nostalgic about the smell of home made turkey soup.


this is what i will be doing for the rest of the day. and that is an old discovery zone apron in case you were wondering.

after seeing the darjeeling limited i was hoping he wasnt stuck in a rut using the same formula for his movies. this is something completely different and looks wonderful.

suitandtieguy: bottle of bourbon
genevieve: an obsidian orb
jasonthebasson: a gun and a six pack of cheap beer
andersoncrook: a penis reduction (because no one should have to be burdened with such responsibility)
uncle_silas: a bottle of whiskey
pasulel: a book and a bottle of whiskey
notimefortea: a bakers hat (if she doesnt already have one)
calmlycandid: an SUV (if she doesnt already drive one)
girlafraid: dollars
james: a night out with myself

now these are not gifts that i plan to give. they are gifts i would give ideally. i may actually give some of them or none of them.

i learned to make these in my cooking class. they are delicious. its a ball of marscapone/blue cheese and pecans on a dried apricot.


the problem is i made 30 of them and i am the only one who is around to eat them.

i bought these for from a list that craig had made. they were a light wood with a clear finish so i painted them myself. all my furniture is black so i wanted to mix it up and paint two gray. i find it ridiculous that that is my idea of adding color to my decor.

this is the official patch for the kali fighting system i am learning. this patch is ridiculously intense.



i really want to get good at this. i have always owned knives but have never known how to effectively use one or defend against one coming at me.

i had these at a peruvian restaurant and liked them. they are really easy to make. they have a little more texture than potato but i think should be served with some kind of sauce as they dry easily.

i went against the recipe and used chorizo sausage. im really glad i did because these are delicious.
this was my first time making tamales.

i helped perform a burial at sea about a month back. i had the best part which was firing the 21 gun salute.







i am on the end

i buy books based on a price/weight ratio, however most books do not list their weight on them and most bookstores frown upon you bringing in your own scale so i had to guess that this book weighs a good 5 lbs. this book was $15 making it a steal.



its got lots of pretty pictures.

i made shrimp tacos last night. if you are at all curious about what is in the glass it is some corn whiskey a friend from work made in his apartment. he just got a still. i flavored it with some limes i had around.

so here in the armed forces you never get any kind of special pay unless you take it upon yourself to get the paperwork done. when i joined it was in my contract to receive a $5000 bonus. ($3750 after taxes) it has been three years and i didnt get it yet. last week i mentioned it, almost in passing, to one of the disbursing guys and hes said that he would look into it. i just checked my account and there is and extra $3750 in it. i actually wanted to wait until we went on deployment and entered a tax free zone but i guess this works.

i still miss you. cant you tell from the all caps?

doesnt look like much but it was conceived, prepared and documented in five minutes.

i think i lost whatever charm i may have had. i am usually a gentleman when it comes to the opposite sex (whatever gentleman means) but i think that it makes most girls feel weird when somebody is nice to them. i get this feeling sometimes, a feeling that was reinforced by a story i recently read, that i should enjoy my youth while i still have it. it is easier said than done.

i realise that it doesnt look very appetizing but it was pretty good.

lamps on lamps!

i almost threw up from satisfaction with the performance of these knives.


i havent cooked in a long time. im really glad that there is an international market within walking distance from my apartment. cooking my own food gives me a feeling that everything is right with humanity. even shopping for the ingredients is a delight.

tacos!