Random Thoughts

Does anyone else find it depressing when you stop and realize that our civilization will one day be considered incredibly primitive?

I still find myself momentarily thrown off-track when I go somewhere like McDonalds or a hotel and the service folks actually speak unaccented English. It's as if I'm mentally prepared to not be able to understand them, and yet I can. I don't think this makes me racist- I think it means Southern California has a problem.

When I see fat people at the gym, I find myself fighting conflicting opinions. On one hand, I'm thrilled they decided to do something to become more healthy. On the other, I'm frustrated because I go to the gym for a specific purpose and I know exactly what I need to do and how to do it. They often don't. When you see a woman who is clearly over 250lbs just laying on the ground in the only sit up station listening to her iPod (and she stays there for 20 minutes) or an overweight guy just sits on the only leg extension machine for 15 minutes reading a book it's hard to feel anything but frustration. This is not your couch, nor is this your bed or your foyer. Don't socialize while sitting on a machine. Don't read a book when someone is clearly waiting to use what you're hogging. Don't just lay there like a whale. Be productive and you'd be amazed at the results.

Additionally, why do fat people work non-problematic areas? I understand the need for variety, but when an overweight person walks into the weight room, does curls, and then leaves, what good is that doing them? They're (hopefully) at the gym to lose weight, to tone down, or to increase their health. What good are 5lb curls going to do for your 40in waist, your man boobs, or your poor cardiovascular condition?

I hate people who think "workout" means just cardio. I've seen Colonels who talk constantly about their workouts and how much they exercise, yet have embarrassing form when doing bodyweight squats and wheeze after 10 push ups. You can tell who the officers are in the weight room because they're the ones with scrawny legs, tiny arms, short shorts, and some random shirt from some marathon or 5K that they once ran. I do believe in cardio, but I believe more in the well rounded person. That means cardio AND weight training. I wouldn't trust some 130lb distance runner in full gear to drag my 210lb butt (also assumedly in full gear) out of a firefight.

As someone who will find something interesting and then research it to death, I refuse to learn anything about classical music, opera, or jazz. Every time I watch the Catholic Channel or a documentary on religion, I immediately start analyzing it. Every time I watch someone perform a lift or an exercise, I mentally critique or dissect their form. But every time I hear the notes of an orchestra or the voice of an operatic singer I marvel at the beauty and the emotionality of the music. To remain ignorant of the genre pains me a little, but to lose the wonder and awe I feel every time I listen would be a price I'm not willing to pay. My mortal fear is one day finding myself in a jazz lounge or at an after-opera dinner and not being able to keep up with the conversations.

It's a pity you can't train hamsters. Sometimes I wish they'd just sit still and watch TV with you.

To me, alcohol tastes like turpentine. All beer has the flavor of carbonation and bitter plants. White wine has a dry taste with hints of oil and acetone...red wine is just as dry but more often bitter. I will patiently and politely listen to what you have to say about the wonders and types of alcohol, because I want to learn about the subject too, but I'll never believe you when you say "There's a wine/beer/liquor out there for everyone. You just have to find it." I've tried over 4 dozen types of beer and 2 dozen types of wine, and I've hated every single one.

Sometimes when you're feeling depressed, it's not that you're looking at life wrong. You're just looking at the wrong parts of life.

If I'm going to pay $15 for a military barber to butcher my hair, I might as well go to a civilian shop. At least there the staff is young and friendly (usually) and they know more than just "Skin on the sides, short on top".

I find three types of standards in the military: standards of performance (doing your job, showing up on time, being trained and proficient, etc), standards of professionalism (wearing a uniform, using the right terminology, following orders, etc), and standards of preference (shirt tucked/untucked when exercising, what kind of socks you can wear, the color and style du jour of the allowed backpacks, etc). I firmly believe in the first two. The third one is completely contingent on the moods and personal opinions of leadership, and I say that kind can shove off. It changes so often, why should I bother with it?

I am probably the most cynical, low key, casual officer I know (or one of them, at any rate). That being said, I worked my ass off for 5 years to earn a commission as an officer and a gentleman by an act of our Congress. While I don't usually enforce customs and courtesies as much as I should, it genuinely irritates me that when I enter a base belonging to the Armed Forces of the United States the best I expect to get is a wave through from a hired security guard. A commissioned officer entering a federal installation, and the civilian rent-a-cop just waves me in. That shouldn't be acceptable.

For all the heavy and technical reading that I find myself doing, I greatly enjoy poetry from time to time. I personally like Langston Hughes for his dramatic imagery and the power of his short verses. I detest E.E. Cummings for his "creative" inability to grasp basic sentence and grammatical structure. Above all though, my favorite author is Emily Dickinson. Why? Because she rhymes.

I need to learn to write shorter posts so your eyes don't give out reading what I publish. That was my goal for this one- short and simple.

Maybe next time I'll just post a picture without commentary. I hear those are worth a thousand words.