Oh yeah Mr. Kool Aid? Oh no says Obama!

Iraq time.
I'm outta here.
Don't really have time to post anything so I'll just leave my info on here.

Address:
Cpl Dean Howes
1st Rad Bn A Co OCE-3
Unit 42606
FPO AP 96426-2606

Email:

hollywoodhowes@gmail.com


-Dean

I'm not a ninja lawyer but that seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen...

Feels like I'm getting sick... again.
Today wasn't too bad, lots of stuff to do and so little time to get it done.
Watched Heroes, it rocked.
Need sleep.
Addicted to Insaniquarium at PopCap, might need help.
Night

-Dean

A millionaire without a cent, brave without a grain of sense.

Well this is it, countdown time. I'm half expecting someone to call it all off at the last minute. Its a very surreal feeling getting ready to go back to that part of the world. Its strange though that the only thing I feel is impatient. The million dollar question everyone has to ask is ''are you scared?'', and their so amazed when I say no, what am I supposed to be scared of? If its my time to go then its just my time, I could just as easily get hit by a car stateside. I'm good at what I do and my team is handpicked from some of the best people I've ever met in my life, I'm leaving very little up to chance. So you can all rest easy. This week is going to be a total blur of activity so I'll keep you all posted and make sure to post one last time before we fly out.

-Dean

I don't think I ever saw Spiderman do that before, but I'm not with him every hour of the day.

Rest in peace: The greatest business venture of all time.

Coming soon: Swift justice to all douchbags who think its funny to ruin everything fun.

Only a Catholic could be both an attorney and a vigilante.

Another one of those days, with so much to do before we leave, they somehow manage to waste half the day. Almost have everything packed up and moved out, which makes things real boring around here with nothing to do, its only going to be worse when I don't have a vehicle. I can't wait to leave, it seems like something I've been waiting forever for. I have no idea what kind of experience its going to be but I'm sure I'll be better for it. I guess I just want to make some kind of difference, everyone is so proud of me yet I can't help but feel like I haven't accomplished anything. I guess we'll see how it goes, and I'll definitely keep you all posted.
Went and spent some time with my parents today after work, makes them happy and its good to get one last chance to see them. If I had known how my schedule was going to be I probably would have just driven home one last time and then flew back here, but as they say hindsight is 20/20.

Can't imagine anything I've had to say so far in here has been at all entertaining, its mostly just to get me in the habit of writing something every day. So stick with me and hopefully it'll get more interesting.

-Dean


Saw Lady In The Water and liked it a lot, no matter what anyone says M. Night Shyamalan is one of the best story-tellers in years.

And I'm done doing things I don't want to do

There are certain things that will always be able to turn me into a nervous mumbling retard.

I cannot fiddle but I can make a great state of a small city.

Been having computer issues the last few days, I got some pretty bad malware that wouldn't let me access Google for some reason and therefore I couldn't post anything here. Had to completely reinstall Windows to fix the issue, makes me wonder why I even pay for anti virus software.
finally started moving stuff into the storage space this afternoon/evening which has been no fun at all. The more of my things I move out of here it seems, the more things I seem to be missing from my list of gear I need for Iraq. I'm sure its all here somewhere, its just not a pleasant thought replacing many of the items with my own money.
My parents are flying down here tomorrow to see me off and to drive my truck back north so I don't have to store it. That should be interesting, I'm never quite sure how to act in such instances. I do miss family and friends and there are people and things I wouldn't want to live without, but I don't often get emotional about leaving. Someones always crying and I feel uncomfortable, but to me its not a big deal, I know I'll be back and its usually something I can't control anyways. Whatever, maybe my soul is broken.
Somehow found time tonight to read volumes four and five of The Walking Dead, It keeps getting better and better, I'm definitely going to miss comics after I'm gone. Hopefully Big Steve will come through and send comics out to us like he said.

Thats about all I've got not much exciting going on, just trying to keep this regularly updated which I'm not usually good at. Things should get more exciting once I hit the sandbox.
Until then.

“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.” -John Jakes

-Dean

You can lead a horse to water. Jack Bauer can make him drink.

Super-ultimate Vegas update 3000.
Happy Birthday to Sam!
I posted a bunch of pictures on Flickr so you can go check that out, there are so many more I have to sort through. Sam better email me the ones she took or I'll crash her new car into a wall. It was an awesome time, even though all our 'friends' bailed on us. Joe came out and kicked it old school, thus proving that its not all that hard to be a good friend.
We stayed at the Stratosphere Hotel which was nice, except for the fact that we had to walk five miles both ways to get to the strip. We saw the sights, rode all the rides at the top of the Stratosphere (much to Sam's dismay), and lost just enough money to make it memorable.
At the end of the weekend I was definitely ready to leave, you can get rather burned out after so much fast paced action. We'll undoubtedly be back at some later date, but for now its back to the daily grind.

As the late great King himself once said:

I'm gonna have me some fun
If it costs me my very last dime
If I wind up broke up well
Ill always remember that I had a swingin time
I'm gonna give it everything Ive got
Lady luck please let the dice stay hot
Let me shout a seven with every shot
Viva las Vegas, viva las Vegas!


-Dean

Metal lord is my metal shepherd.

So much Vegas excitement.
Pictures out the ass.
I'll put em up tomorrow.
Must sleep.

-Dean

I catch the world in the headlights of my justice

So Vegas anyone? Oh thats right, all my 'friends' are to busy/poor/etc to go. A.J. and I had a discussion about this and were feeling pretty cheated right now, these are all people for whom we would drop all plans and make exceptions for at a moments notice. It seems that the feelings are not mutual.
I guess true friends are as rare as a royal flush.
Oh well, Vegas here we come.
Joe answer your phone.
-Dean

It seems that everything's gone wrong, since Canada came along...

So heres my address if you want to drop me a line or send something to me in Iraq:

Cpl Dean Howes
1st Rad Bn
A Co OCE-3
Unit 42606
FPO AP 96426-2606

and if you want to send me an email:

HollywoodHowes@gmail.com

I'll post my .mil email as soon as we get in country and I get a chance.
-Dean

Who you callin' boy? My names Ham Bannana...

Long long day at work. If I have to sit through one more minute of cultural education I swear I'll hurt somebody. The clocks really winding down on our departure, and there is so much left to do. Each day that goes by is a harsh reminder that nothing important is being accomplished. We need so many parts of this complicated machine to come together in order to be successful and there is so much confusion and disarray. I'll be much happier when we get over there and things run at a smaller unit level, each team left to fend for itself is better than this mess.
Time to watch Enter The Dragon and then get some sleep, its going to be a long week.
-Dean

I'm afraid if I stop talking I'll die...

Theres no day like MLK Jr. day.
Action, adventure, romance, and don't forget suspense. Quite possibly the most well rounded of all the civil rights related holidays. Slept half the day away trying to recover from the damage done at Matt's house, and then just went comic shop hopping with A to the J. I'm mildly excited to be getting closer the our ship-out date, I get tired of sitting around here and not being able to start anything for lack of time. I have all manner of plans and aspirations upon my return, and here and now before God and all present I swear a blood oath that this will be the last snowboard season where I only get to go once.
Went to the movies this evening and saw Alpha Dog, it was actually really good, I was thoroughly impressed by Timberlake's performance and would recommend seeing it.
A.J. wants me to run the Marine Corp Marathon with him in October, I just might, it really depends on how busy I am in Iraq and whether or not I get time to train. Its just one more thing on an ever growing list of things to do, if the list gets much bigger I'm going to need reincarnation to get it all done.
-Dean

She said "Pardon me, are you ballin'?"

Just got back from Fullerton.
Too angry to type.
Death to Tom Brady and his crappy ass Patriots.
LaDainian Tomlinson can't do everything by himself.
Go Bolts.
-Dean

My business is telling you what to do... and business is good!

Bills. Spent almost $250 on bills today, which especially sucks because that was just about the last pay check I'll be getting before we deploy. I managed to spend almost no money today, and didn't lose any at the casino last night so I'm doing good so far. I doubt thats going to last very long considering were going out to the bars tonight as soon as Matty-C gets here, and were all going to Vegas next weekend for one last adventure. Still need to pack stuff into boxes and go get a storage unit at some point before Tuesday.
I'll let you all know how the night went.
-Dean

Kill the lights now baby watch me explode

Strange day, didn't do a whole lot.
Team meeting.
Half day.
Sleep.
Panda Express.
Comic shop.
Poker at Oceans Eleven.
Video games.
Sleep.
Wonder what shes doing?

-Dean

Mr. Chains was my dad, you can just call me Chains...

Kyle got a haircut, he looks like Elvis.

Another late and busy day, packing everything up to get it weighed and sorted for Iraq. Not fun. It always seems like the simplest tasks become the most complicated. Also I dont care what anyone says (Becky included.) ServMar sucks ass. Thats about it, nothing exciting, worked all day, half day tomorrow.
-Dean

Oh, I just made a giant masterpiece printed all over the greatest world newspaper nerds.

There goes Wednesday. Today was actually a really busy day, lots of things going on. Tomorrow is going to be busy as we embark all the gear we're taking to Iraq. Speaking of Iraq, president Bush gave his address today about sending 20,000 more troops out there. Everyone wanted to know what I thought about what he had to say, but honestly I don't really care since we're already headed out there it really doesn't affect us. It is good that their finally realizing that if were going to stay in Iraq that we need more troops, 20,000 is good but 100,000 would be much better. Nothing else exciting to report, went to Johnny B's after work to check out his latest purchase, a Playstation 3, which he is promptly selling tomorrow for some inexplicable reason. That extra $650 should come in handy when he goes with us to Vegas (which he had better). Thats all for now, tomorrow is going to be insane. Must buy Viva Pinata.
-Dean



Max Headroom lives.

You don't recover from a night like this.

There are times, often on nights like these, where it occurs to me that I may not be the best kind of person.

I'm wearing boots of escaping!

What a wonderfully productive Marine Corp day! At least it would have been if anyone was actually at work. How is it that most of my immediate command is out of town up until two days before we deploy? Madness. I managed to get next to nothing done all day. A.J. and I did however manage to play about five straight hours of Rainbow 6: Las Vegas until I felt like I was going blind. I'm just going to sit here and answer emails and sort music until I realize how late it is and go to sleep.
-Dean

I been vandalized! By Elvis!?

Another Monday, was hoping to figure out some details for the deployment but that didn't work out at all. I did almost nothing of value today and my overall stress level is still rather high. It would be nice to know simple things, such as; who's on my team, when were leaving, whose going advon. At least I can sit here and enjoy the simple pleasures in life, like a good movie (Ernest Goes To Jail) and comic books (The Walking Dead Vol:1).
-Dean

Strange things are afoot at the Circle K...

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure Marathon today. I had almost forgotten how classic those movies are.

Be excellent to each other.

I am the mountain, the forest and the earth.

Went and saw El Laberinto del Fauno (Pans Labyrinth) on Shane's recommendation, it was definitely worth the drive to Irvine. The movie is all in Spanish so for those of you with a distaste for subtitles I would not recommend it. The whole movie has an appropriately dark and beautiful look to it which is a perfect reflection of the story. If you can find a theatre thats playing it, its worth the trip.
Sleepy time.

Put you through the rugged machine.

So I managed to sleep half the day away which lead right into an average lazy Saturday. It seems like its been forever since I had a regular laid back weekend, and its rather relaxing. Went down to the Oceans Eleven Casino in Oceanside to check out their poker tournaments, the lady at the info desk was a total bitch and the place seemed pretty trashy so we left and went to the comic shop instead. I picked up Superman: Red Son and 100 Bullets: First Shot, Last Call. I guess I'll never be able to avoid the comic shop but at least I'm resorting to buying graphic novels instead of a dozen or so assorted story lines every Wednesday. We left the shop and headed for Vista in search of AJ's phone, we ended up back at Bootsocks' house and proceeded to walk in the open front door and tear his room apart before he even realized we were there. After that altercation we all went to Frys in search of some sort of Xbox game/component, ended up spending $60 on things I didnt realize I needed. Just sitting around reading comics for a few hours, probly going to see a movie in a bit.

Boring Friday

There goes friday.
Didnt do a single productive thing all week.
Still feeling sick.
There was supposed to be a Zebrahead concert tonight but it got rescheduled, House of Blues is by far the worst venue in the world no matter which one you go to.
Saw Children of Men, I would definately recomend it, especially if youve ever read the graphic novel The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan.
Went to Johnny Bootsocks' to chill and play some Gears of War, hes pretty much a whipped bitch cause he needs to ask his lady for permission to go to Vegas next weekend. Unexceptable.
Horchata. The best and only way to end a friday night. Gracias Eribertos.
-Dean