Civilian vs. Military friends

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook and I couldn’t help but laugh at how true these are. For all my military friends out there, enjoy.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Tell you not to do something stupid when drunk.
MILITARY FRIENDS: Will post 360 security so you dont get caught.
CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.
MILITARY FRIENDS: Call your parents mom and dad.
CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Hope the night out drinking goes smoothly, and hope that no one is late for the ride home.
MILITARY FRIENDS: Know some wild stuff will happen, and set up rally points and an E & E route. CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Bail you out of jail and tell you what you did was wrong.
MILITARY FRIENDS: Will be sitting next to you saying, Damn…we f**ked up…but hey, that was fun!”

What a difference a decade makes

9/11. A day that brought our country to its knees, but showed the resilience America was founded upon. For me, 9/11 was the first day of the rest of my life. Cliché as it may be, but I stand behind the statement for this reason. Without this tragic day, I may not have taken these past ten years as seriously as I have. Sure, I’ve had some crazy times that gave me stories that I hesitate to tell my future children, but along the way, I did more growing than any other point in my life.

I learned what integrity really means. I found out what true loyalty and comradery looks like. I was fortunate to see the lengths people would go to protect a stranger or to protect what they believe in. I came to understand sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice. I knew love, twice. I fought through heartbreak, twice. I found my voice, my personality, and I grew into the person that I most wanted to be. I’m comfortable in my own skin, but vulnerable enough to approach. I realized that anything said with a smile, a genuine smile, will take a person further than any BS that can be conjured.

My story of joining the military on 9/11

10 years later. We all have our story, this is mine.

Every generation has their moment, that defining moment. I think back to D-Day and “a day that will live in infamy”, the assassination of JFK, and the declaration of “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” As a grew older, I couldn’t fathom what defining moments my generation would endure, but in 1986 I got my first glimpse with the Challenger explosion.

I was fascinated with planes and flying and all the possibilities air and space offer, so I watched with all the enthusiasm a 6 year old could muster. I remember starring in amazement at those brave men and women being shot into space, only to have that dream shattered 73 seconds into the flight. I remember crying and feeling helpless even at this young age. This was my first personal life moment.

my NYC soundtrack

No this isn’t a list of my favorite songs or songs that make me think of the Large Apple. It’s just an explanation of what I have thought about so many times, but never written about. Have you ever thought about the soundtrack to your life? If you could choose the music, what would it be? How loud it is pumping and is this music only for your ears or all of the world to enjoy?

I don’t know what the arrangement would be for the music to my life, but I know it would be loud and inspiring. As I stepped out of the office today and strutted my happy ass back home, I couldn’t help but think about the awesome day it had been. To this note, I put on an appropriate jam from “A Day to Remember” and played out my own music video while staring at the NYC buildings clawing at the sky. A huge, cheesing grin draped across my face, just playing this all out in my mind.

This thought brought me back to the feeling I get when I pop on the headphones and skate NYC. There is nothing like pushing to the music that shapes your life as you duck red lights, flow on open concrete, and dodge those yellow monstrosities. On a sunny day in the spring or fall, there are not many places in the world that I would rather be than penning the soundtrack to my life on the asphalt pad of the greatest city on the planet.

time lapse

I haven’t been writing in awhile and every day this bugs me. I have been thinking about it the mornings a lot after leaving the subway or at lunch time or lying in bed like right now. I am not sure where there has been such a lapse in time because I always feel guilty about NOT writing. I love to write, it makes me feel good. I feel almost cleansed, for lack of a better term, when I am finished writing. Even if its some rant about my shoelaces coming untied or burning my hand on the hot stove again…it just feels good to write.

I have a couple of small storyboard outlines written for Chocolate Milk Cow (the kid’s book I have been dreaming of writing) but have not moved any farther than that. I go through the day, accomplish the tasks I need at work, then look for any excuse to be around people. I stayed an extra hour plus today to drink a nice glass of 16 year old scotch with the membership crew at IAVA and finished out a strong day.

milestone

my dream captured in a screenshot

One of today’s events was the culmination of nearly four years of work, many thousands of hours of networking, and many people not fully understanding what I was trying to do. (I can’t take all the credit, I can only say I had a dream and that through connections, it is coming true) Today’s event was simple; get Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America to partner with my friends at Adaptive Action Sports. Well, it finally happened in the form of an all veteran’s snowboard camp being hosted by AAS in Copper Mountain, Colorado.

IAVA uses a reward’s site called the Rucksack to give veterans opportunities that most people could never dream of. These opportunities are given by our gracious sponsors in the hopes that they are showing support to veterans how fought for their country. If you read my ramblings, you know that I have been the recipient of many amazing good times, from doing a stint as a Joseph Abboud model, to sideline/box tickets to an NY Giants game, Yankees playoff tickets, and IAVA’s Heroes Gala. Others have won trips to Vegas and even to the Super Bowl. But today, we offered up three all expense paid trips to AAS’s Learn to Ride pipeline event in CO. This event is made possible by Disabled Sports USA, United States of America Snowboarding Association, and Challenged Athletes Foundation with AAS hosting. This pipeline camp is designed as a feeder for AAS’s ultimate goal of having America sweep the podiums in snowboarding at the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, Russia (I have my fingers crossed that I am making this trip as well!).

Dear Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday/Boogle!

it still applies today

I couldn’t decide on a title. They both apply, you’ll see why. I’m channeling right now. Let it happen.

Today is the great Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Today he would have been the ripe ole age of 107. That’s a long ass time to live.

I remember having his books read to me back in the day and loving how they transported me into another world outside of my own. I’ve always loved a whimsical story, something that let’s the imagination fly off the charts and into new territories. I honestly think that he may have influenced how I write today and how I tell stories. It’s funny for me to think about this, but it had to come from somewhere.

“Green Eggs and Ham.” Who doesn’t know this book? Who doesn’t love this book (at least for sentimental value)? I actually reread “Green Eggs and Ham” a couple of months back in a friend’s house as we cleaned out part of her loft. I happened upon the book and decided is was time for a break. A break for a Doctor named Seuss. I could not help but laugh at his genius and as I flipped through the pages, I felt that feeling of imagination once again. It was absolutely what I needed at the time. I could probably use a dose today.

creepy interactions

I have been lucky enough to travel around the US and a small part of the world in my last 30 years. During this timeframe I have had many amazing interactions and a few creepy ones that lead to good stories. My creepiest encounter until Saturday night occurred in Tucson while in the military.

A group of my military friends and I went to a local bar in Tucson to have a few drinks. We picked an outside bar to take advantage of the beautiful night’s weather. While outside, we were greeted with the most graphic portrayal of man on man sex I have ever heard. This, as you can imagine, was quite disturbing. With a few choice words I politely asked the frail gay man to my left to quit with his in-depth discussion on consensual butt rape. He told me in a not so polite way to “F off” and continued this too-graphic account. I again asked for some tact in his storytelling only to get another finger. I finally leaned in, put my hand on his shoulder, and told him to shut his mouth or I was going to throw him off the porch.

My friend Jay thought it would be a funny idea to buy us a couple of shots. No not shots for Jay and I, but rather my little gay nemesis (LGN) and I. Jay bought little gay nemesis and I shots and told the bartender to say it was from me. LGN came over to apologize holding two shots that he thought I had purchased. I decided that a truce could be arranged and with everyone watching, he linked up arms like we were getting married and shoving cake in our faces (that’s sounds incredibly nasty in this context). I went with the flow and as I took the shot, I felt a hand grab my man parts. I promptly swallowed the shot, grabbed the hand in question, and grabbed the throat of the hand in question. LGN got slammed on the bar and if not for restraint, he may have ended up spending a couple of days in the hospital.

This was the creepiest interaction I had ever had in my life…until Saturday night.

valentines scmalentines

It was funny to hear the rumblings in the office as February 14th rolled closer and closer. The people with significant others were often looking for advice on what to shop for, what to do for that special night, or just needed help in every aspect. Inside and outside the office, I could feel the mounting tension of the entire island of Manhattan. The feeling wasn’t the same for me this year either. I’m obviously in a different place than last year (I was in a relationship last year and this year I am not, plain and simple), but the singledom wasn’t what seemed different. It’s like my mood around the holiday suddenly became neutral, like I wasn’t even effected by the fact that on the most “romantic” day of the year, I could care less. I even laughed as I typed that, but it was so true.

I felt indifferent to the whole celebration. Indifferent to the red and pink hues everywhere. Indifferent to all the couples I watched stumble down the street and into the subway after my celebration of Valentine’s Day. I just laughed, muttered “look at these schmucks” a couple of times to myself, and carried on without a second thought. I hope this doesn’t make me a bitter old man because I actually like the whole Valentine’s Day thing. I don’t know if I agree with the monetization of the day or the expectations of romance every February 14th, but I like the idea of a day spent with a person you love. I don’t want to celebrate the holiday any more. I would rather it be a Tuesday in May when the birds are chirping and the sun is shining. Why not be romantic that day? Or why not be romantic on a beach in the summertime? Or why not cook a meal for that special lady on Friday night after a hard week’s work? That’s what I like to think of, but these are the words of a helpless romantic, and someone who could give two #2’s about Vday 2011.

back to normalcy

Is proving harder than I thought. I love the fast-paced version of my life and sometimes get bored with going back to Hoboken or to work. I love my job, dont get it twisted, I just feel like things are too slow sometimes. I like the flying, the new destinations, the organizing, the pressure. I think I fill my life with all mayhem to stay hyperactive, to be consumed so that I dont have to think about much other than chaos. I realize that sounds strange, but when I am stagnant, I feel antsy, almost distressed like there isnt enough to do. I have a hard time just relaxing most times because even my “relaxing” can be out of control, fast-paced. I’m not even sure what “normal” is for me now. I have come to terms that it is a “new normal” but still adjusting to it all. Back to normalcy, wherever that is, should prove to be interesting.