cochetopa's Xanga

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 19:36:42 GMT

Blogging may be more difficult than expected. If you are interested in my experiences in Iraq please send an email to jon@chipeta.net and I will add you to my Iraq mailing list. In my emails I will also include links to pictures I take out here.

Thanks,

Jon

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 03:43:26 GMT

I arrived in Al Assad, Iraq two days ago. I'm headed out to Haditha Dam tomorrow. Access to internet is limited at present, but should improve once I arrive in Haditha.

So far life has been very different from anything I was expecting. I've started recieving combat pay, but life feels very non-combative. More later....

P.S. The food in Al Assad is very tasty and fresh.

An argument for living in Colorado

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 05:56:17 GMT

All taken during my pre-deployment leave in Colorado.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 06:46:18 GMT

It started with me accidentally breaking the glass covering on my hallway lamp with my surfboard and ended with spending several hundred dollars at home depot on new lighting for my condo. I finally took advantage of one of the benefits of being a homeowner: the ability to customize your dwelling. I spent many hours yesterday drilling into my concrete ceiling, figuring out how to redo home wiring, install track lighting, and finally hanging up some of my artwork. In the end it was fun and I am really pleased with the results:

The hallway light that I originally broke was located where this nice five-bulb halogen lamp now provides lighting for my two pictures.

What took the longest was installing this track lighting on the concrete ceilings. The exposed yellow wire ran from what used to be a power receptacle. I still need to cover the wires with some type of conduit.

Another view of the track lighting. The lighting really adds a great ambience to the room.

View from the kitchen.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 00:45:05 GMT

I’ve arrived back in Hawaii and am on the eve of my deployment to Iraq. Sometime next week I will leave Hawaii on a plane headed for Kuwait International Airport. From there I will travel up to my new ‘home’ in Iraq. I don’t really know what to expect over the next seven months. I am not looking forward to certain things like: no time off, missing spending thanksgiving and Christmas with my family, the stress of combat, and the fear of having some of my Marines injured, or worse. But I am also looking forward to parts of the deployment. Few people, even among military personnel, get to spend time in a combat zone. I am looking forward to living in a different country for seven months. I am looking forward to brining just a few quality books and reading and really learning from them. I look forward to opportunities to train the Iraqi Army in communications techniques. I’m also looking forward to the ways in which my faith with grow during this time. I’ve always found that my daily Christian life is strongest when I’m away from many of modern distractions and am being challenged. By God’s grace I will grow in ways I wouldn’t if I wasn’t deploying to Iraq.

I have several goals for this deployment and I will probably share all of them at some point, but one of them is to send out regular emails sharing my (unclassified) experiences. I will add most everyone I know to the email list but feel free to be removed if you don’t want the emails. I will also be taking my digital camera recording much of what I see with pictures.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 03:05:48 GMT

I was curious to look at General Electric's stock price for the past forty years. What is amazing is looking at the stock growth during Jack Welch's tenure as CEO for 1981 to 2000. The sharp vertical spikes indicate splits in the stock.

I would recommend anyone trying to be successful in the business world read any of Jack Welch's books, or watch some of the Q&A videos available by googling "jack welch video"

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:58:00 GMT

Some of my best friends live in Chattanooga. I enjoyed the time I spent with them. A outline of my time in the south:

23 Aug
-   Arrived in Chattanooga and ate BBQ with Sarah and Anna and Amy
-   Help Amy move into her dorm
-   Met James and drove down to Taco Mac. Drank an Old Peculiar, one of my favorite beers.
-   Watched the last hour of a really hooking and awefully produced Sci-Fi about giant human eating insects.
-   Sleep

24 Aug
-   Met Jimmy Moncrief for lunch at Strouds. Updated each other on our latest business ideas and happenings around Chattanooga.
-   Ran into Aaron Lesondak and family while checking email at Rembrants
-   Meet James at Greyfriers and end up being hounded by a see loving grey haired man.
-   Took Amy to Lookout Mountain Café for dinner.
-   Met Jimmy Moncrief at work and went to Terra Nostra Wine & Tapas. After a few glasses of wine and port went to Jimmy’s house and watched a documentary about the rise of fall of Enron. Enjoyed some Tequila Jimmy bought while vacationing in Mexico.
-   Got back to James house after midnight and drank some excellent Hoegaarden with James Long while talking computer science on the Lookout Mountain Golf Course.
-   Sleep

25 Aug
-   Meet Emily Gosselink for lunch at Mojo Burrito. She insisted on paying but I insisted on here telling Covenant if they reimbursed her for the meal I would donate $200 to the school. I just got an email saying Covenant will cover our lunch.
-   Drove to the Harbers house to meet Reuben Lesondak; he ended up being late and I caught up with Ashley’s family.
-   Drove down with Rueben to Aaron’s house and hung out.
-   Bought Cigars at Burns Tobacconist and played pool with Rueben and Ethan while reminiscing.
-   Went back to Aaron’s house and played poker while smoking a Huka.
-   Sleep

26 Aug
-   Hung out in James house while we waited for the Landlord to stop by.
-   Ordered a Philly Cheese Steak and ate with James at Pickle Barrel followed by a quick cup of coffee at Greyfriers.
-   Borrowed a bike and went bike riding with James in the Lula Lake Land trust.
-   Drove downtown with James in search of steak at North shore Grill.
-   Ran into Jimmy who was headed to the Southern Brewers Festival, we followed.
-   Tried organic cream beer, organic pumpkin ale, and an interesting coffee ale from Stone Cup.
-   Checked email with James at Rembrandts.
-   Ate some wonderful over-medium eggs with hash browns (scattered, smothered) and toast at waffle house. Learned how people actually become managers at waffle house.
-   Watched the results of enjoying the Southern Brewers Festival too much.
-   Sleep

27 Aug
-   Church at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian with James and Amy.
-   Lunch at Tortilla Factory with James Greg Thibidou, and Tim Fridsma.
-   Hung out at James place with James and a girl named Paige.
-   Helped Amy wire the speakers in her room.
-   Evening church at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian.
-   Dinner with Amy at Eric and Stephanie Chandler’s house
-   Another night on the Lookout Mountain Golf Course. This time with a bottle of Petite Syrah and Davidoff Cigarillos, and good conversation to match.
-   Sleep

28 Aug
-   Fly back (without any problems) to Colorado.

Opinion

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 23:46:20 GMT

I am always interested in trying something new. And when I read "Refined Tequilas, Meant to Be Savored" I left work and went over to the on-base liquor store and bought a bottle of Cabo Wabo Reposado. For me, a sipping alcohol was a nice glass of Scotch or Cognac. Tequila wasn’t supposed to be drunk solo; it did do a good job of adding some good zing to margaritas. Could a good bottle of Tequila really be “almost like a margarita without the cocktail additions — the salt and citrus flavors are built in.” I had a feeling that trying my new bottle of tequila would be a disappointment, kinda like when you try a glass of expensive wine that supposed to have hints of oak, cherry, and pomegranates. All I usually taste is wine. Well, in the end I was wrong, very wrong. This reposado was very much like drinking a strong margarita without the sweetness. And the best part was it left a wonderful tangy taste in my mouth for several minutes after the sip. Highly recommended.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 05:07:34 GMT

I believe laptops should have good enough batteries to be taken to Starbucks and used without needing a power cord.

Monday, July 31, 2006

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 08:34:05 GMT

Haven't updated in a while.....

Having a blast surfing; going to miss it.

Iraq looms close, but looking forward to the experience.

Trying a new hobby.

Going home next week.

Trying to figure out what is required of me in my job.