The Journey Begins...

Nerdery! Nerdery to the MAX!

Language: So my base's language day was okay. I had some really tasty Indian food. Then I just kind of walked around with the Hooah as she ran about getting her name written down in various languages. We did watch a couple of shows... I missed the fan dance. Bah. The best show we actually watched, I think, was the Hebrew class' show as it actually got all the little kids up on stage and having fun. The most I got out of the day, I think, was seeing some different sides to the Middle Eastern cultures. The bright, colorful, fun sides instead of the dark, exploding one.

Military: So... stupid... Argh! The next few weeks are going to be so dumb.

Combat: One of my Marines, the one I recruited from home to be precise, was looking up knights in the library. So I briefly talked to him about ARMA. I'm thinking that I need to drop the taekwondo after my month is up just because the scheduling is impossible to manage so once I do that I could train my swordsmanship and SCARS with this other Marine on my own time.

Gaming: I was supposed to come home early and clean my apartment... Ha! Instead, the Hooah introduced me to her D&D playing games and I didn't get home until 0140. It was fun. A lot of fun. More fun than I ever had at the Momrine's house to be precise. I think that's because of the absence of the customary never-ending fight between the Momrine and her husband during the game. One of the players was somewhat manic... But he was still focused on the game. Laughter abounded.

I'm playing a wizard this time. A diviner, to be precise, which is a huge jump from me from my standard fare of tanks. I nearly got killed. Our manic player did get killed when his character shouted at us, "Behold as I reach into my pants and grab my rod of wonder!" It's a magic item, I swear. Then he started waving it at us. Turned himself permanently purple. Then he filled the air with butterflies ("AAAH! I'm blind!) and started to spaz. He waved the rod at the butterflies and they sprouted leaves ("AAAH! I can't see AND they itch!"). Then he lit them with faerie fire... which doesn't actually burn but he didn't know that ("OH GOD WHY?!") so he freaked out more and fell off the tree. The butterflies went away and he ran over to try and smite the smoldering troll corpse with his rod. Turned himself to stone.

So our fighter (played by the Airman) made sure to break the rod. Then we went about our business of introductions and evil druid smiting. I, being the only lawful character, am responsible for making sure we don't kill each other first. Adventuring parties never come together like they do in the stories...

Personal: I'm tired. But I haven't laughed so much in a long, long time.

Is it Friday yet?

Today really felt like it should have been Friday. It's inexplicable.

Language: We only had a half day today because of tomorrow's base-wide language festival. It still was pretty miserable... but I did score a 95 on the mid-term I took yesterday. Then, just when I think my Korean really sucks, I have a good speaking session. Today I chatted with my mentor about my dream home and found, to my amazement, that I was able to describe it pretty well with my limited vocabulary. I couldn't go into great detail but I was able to explain some rather abstract concepts like a different decorating style and language used in each room. Today I also stumbled across a flier advertising the festivities at the local Korean Buddhist temple this Sunday to celebrate Buddha's birthday. I may stop by and try to absorb some culture and language.

Military: After class today my detachment decided to finally enact the barracks-wide move. Therefore, from 1300 to 1730 I was helping my Marines move furniture. Other Marines were busy moving everything they owned. The end goal was to get every Marine living in the same area as the other Marines in the same platoon... It's a good idea and one I wish they had while I lived in the barracks. Unfortunately, I missed my taekwondo class because of it and we were supposed to spar today.

Apartment: I had to pay a couple of bills today... And I am receiving no less than four other people's mail. This is in addition to my own junk mail. Grr.

Personal: Today was a slightly rough day... For starters, I was late to formation despite showing up 10 minutes early because I had to park on the opposite side of base and run over. Then during class everyone's normal BS was just putting me on edge. One airman tried to jump down my throat for correcting him when he was gaffing off a sergeant. Then I come home late and my downstairs neighbors are pounding their bass through my floorboards. Grr... Really. Today felt like it should have been Friday. Fortunately, tomorrow's Friday should be pretty easy, if not fun. Then I'll be able to take care of some business and get my life in better order. It's a slow, steady process.

Busy, Busy...

Language: Today was more of the mind-numbing level 2 material... But today it seemed like the teachers took mercy on us so it wasn't as bad. This is the kind of stuff I'm supposed to understand (at a minimum) by the end of all this? Wow. We also surprised our teachers with a card and donuts as yesterday was Teacher's Day in Korea and one of them actually cried. I also had my military topics mid-term, which I think I did well on but you never know how you'll be nickeled and dimed in the end. I'm also trying to coordinate things with the Marine I am supposed to tutor... we all call him Giggles... and I don't know where to start. He just isn't motivated. My schedule is also jam-packed.

I had speaking practice this afternoon with one of my instructors and we just chilled in a couple of leather chairs on the balcony. I mentioned that I had started taekwondo and that I wanted to practice my honorifics so that I didn't offend the master when I spoke. Not only did we do that but the teacher also taught me some good words to know for taekwondo. We chit-chatted about this and that and it revealed that my knowledge of the old material is rapidly deteriorating... I need to go over it while Giggles is learning it.

Fitness: Punishment PT this morning! The squad's been kind of shaky lately (and I showed up in the wrong uniform) so Corporal decided to lead us in a smoking session. It was fun, actually.

Combat: As I was a bit sore from this morning's PT I opted for taekwondo instead of running. Tonight was defensive rolls and paddle kicks. A defensive roll is just a forward shoulder roll... I don't know what it is but I was actually able to perform a defensive roll with some measure of skill, unlike the forward shoulder rolls in MCMAP. As for the paddle kicking, I dislike how it reinforces the idea of snapping your leg back after a kick but it does help me work on coordinating my legs. My weak (left) leg is especially... well... weak. The stretching hurt, of course, and I'm one-upped by every little kid there.

Personal: I took care of a few random errands today. I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed by my schedule. It isn't that it's too much. It's just that my time management skills are poor so I'm wasting precious minutes here and there. Tonight I'm going to get started by making sure I am in the rack at the right time.

It's PAY DAY! In more ways than one.

I love being salary! Seriously. Every 1st and 15th my life gets just a little brighter... Or today, as my BAH kicked in, a whole lot brighter. It's a nice change of pace after the difficulties I've been facing lately and, of course, the first thing I did with that money is take care of some business.

Language: Class is really horrific this week. Over half of the class hours consist of me sitting there staring at the screen trying to figure out what is going on. All this material is 2+ or higher on the DLPT and we are nowhere near there yet. I am, however, filing away where we found this material to use for studying later when I can actually understand it... I have two more days of this. And a military topics mid-term tomorrow.

Fitness: PT was jacked up today because one Marine was really late... so we did pull-ups and crunches again. I'm trying to help Huey with his pull-up form so that he doesn't get screwed out of a dozen pull-ups again. Then we did my abs routine... I really enjoy that routine. It's so simple but so effective. And it smokes people. I was pleased to discover that I'm doing better.

Combat: I started my taekwondo instruction this evening. It was hectic as I was the new student so I didn't get any speaking practice in. However, I'm going to enjoy the training. I wish I could show up every evening but I have to run on Mondays and Wednesdays or my fitness will deteriorate. During class I watched the other students and realized a few fundamental truths... First of all, you don't really know anything until you're a black belt. Even then, you're a newbie. I could probably wipe the floor with all but one or two people there with my limited military training and honed mindset.

I'm also making sure that I apply what I already know to the taekwondo instead of getting sucked into one style. I modified my stance to fall more in-line with the USMC "warrior stance" (which contains some good guard points that the other students were lacking) and applied a few SCARS lessons. For example, when we were instructed to block I didn't actually execute a block. I tried to execute a windmill strike to disrupt the incoming blow and throw my opponent off balance, not just soak up damage. I also remembered what SCARS has taught me about kicks and fought the urge to reset my leg after each kick. Instead, I made sure that I stepped through the kick. If I hit my opponent, then he's going to be moving back and I need to make sure I close that gap. I saw one of the black belts (the instructor's son) forget that point and his follow-up kicks hit only air. If I don't knock my opponent back then invading his space is still going to put him in a bad spot as I drive my elbow into his ribs.

The most important point has to be to avoid programming myself. I need to learn individual moves that I can execute as I wish to take charge of the situation. What I want to avoid is that syndrome so many other participants in so many different styles have where if something deviates from their drills they break down. I get the feeling this instructor understands that.

Of course... I probably won't be allowed to whip out mixed martial arts on my sparring partner. "Think fast!"

It was a bit strange being a 20 year old white belt... The only white belt in the class. I had four year olds with more seniority than me but the instructor did make a point of telling everyone that the respect works both ways. I respect them as senior belts. They respect me for being 20 and a Marine. That was the other odd thing about class. As one of the few adults and being a Marine I had to make sure I projected the proper image. Then a Marine officer showed up as his daughter is a student.

I think I did well. I already earned accolades for working hard. While we were doing our one-on-one drills with the instructor, he called the rest of the class' attention to us and pointed out that, even though this was my very first class, I was already understanding the material. Not with any skill, mind you, but I was executing the move asked of me. Well... It's a lot easier for me when I'm not squirming around, talking, or any of the other things kids are prone to doing. Heh. They're adorable, to be honest.

Apartment: I acquired my mail key today and found an over-stuffed box behind the lock. Some of that mail is from the previous tenant so I'll have to fix that. Then I submitted my change of address tonight so that I don't do the same thing to the poor guy who inherits my mailbox. Today one of my new friends (Honest. I'm making friends) gave me a light fixture as a gift... Well, she said it's a light fixture and it is but there's these green leafy things growing out of it. So tonight I stopped by OSH and snagged some pots for transfer, soil, and miracle grow. I'll drill some holes into the bottom of the fixture and use it was my starter pot as time goes on. While I was at OSH I made more keys and entrusted them to select individuals. No more lock-outs for me! I also need someone to watch my apartment when I go on class break or (God willing) on immersion to Korea.

Personal: Let's see... I received a really nice e-mail from my mother concerning everything that has been going on lately in her life and mine. It was good to hear it from her. It also made me think that I really haven't been given that side of my family a fair deal. I still remember a lot of the nonsense that occurred during my childhood and have been hesitant to approach them with some things. However... Look at how much I've changed in just the last few weeks. It isn't fair to think that they haven't changed too. I know they have, actually, and need to make sure that I treat my family according to who they are now. Not back then.

If people were to treat me based on how I was back then... Ugh. I want to pummel my past-self.

The Hooah and I had lunch today. Delicious chow. Not so good for the blood sugar. Whoops! But I resisted the urge to buy cake (even though it is delicious at that deli). Then I loaned her my PS2 and got her some ice cream as she has duty tonight and I resisted the urge to buy Coldstone for myself. I didn't even have a taste of hers. Man... The things people sacrifice for self-improvement.

It turns out I was still friended to the Momrine's LJ (now remedied) so I caught an earful this evening when I checked mine. There was a lot of cursing and ample use of caps lock. It pretty much verified every reason I had for dropping her like swollen ballast before she took my ship down with hers. There's no reason to go into detail but I think that this particular snippet, despite it's lack of colorful language, is the most damning:

"Enjoy your life. Its gonna be hard work."

I will, actually. Thank you. I know that was intended as an insult and a curse (which is how I know that she is definitely not the sort of person I want to have anything to do with) but I enjoy hard work. I don't think it is something to be feared, avoided, or minimized. As far as I am concerned, the greater the challenge, the greater the reward, the greater the self-improvement, the greater the glory, the greater the sense of satisfaction. It's been proven time and time again in my life that if I am not working hard that something has gone seriously wrong and I'm miserable.

I feel great... I just know that I am fully capable of everything I want to accomplish. There are going to be snags and I'm not going to get to do everything I think I should (like I may not go to Korea despite desperately wanting to and I don't have the time or resources to pursue all the projects I want to) but, in general, my life is amazing. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I am going to find an absolutely wonderful, one-of-a-kind lady who is everything I truly want or need. I know that my career is going to allow me to accomplish what I want to do. I know this is all due to the grand plan of The Man Upstairs and the subtle adjustments He makes to my life and my dedication to accomplishing what He sets before. He sets the stage. It is up to me to perform as directed... And I am rewarded with an incredibly fulfilling life for it.

And even when I fail... When I stumble, like I did with the Momrine and so many other events in the past and in my future... I push through, pick up the pieces, and am better for it. It's a crucible. I want to wrap this up with a quote from my mom about this:

"people make mistakes... it's how we grow... and how we learn... and how we own up to those mistakes, tells the world who we are as people... are we honorable...? are we fake...? do we look life straight in the eye... or do we hide from it...?

"it is easy to be "good" when life has always gone your way... it is far more difficult and valuable, and noble to be able to say... "I was tested... I may have even faltered some... but I rose to the occasion... I did my best and I stood tall..."

"some people can hide and therefore never really live... or some can push forward... into the unknown... into life..."

Breaking These Chains and Turning in the Cape

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Language: I spent the first half of my day filling out a really long survey. I spent the second half muddling my way through authentic materials and studying really advanced homework. Then I had to translate another newspaper article upon coming home. Ugh.... I have three more days of authentic materials. This evening I stopped by my local taekwondo academy... I spoke very broken Korean with the instructor's very broken English. In general I have a good feeling about the place and start lesson stomorrow. At the very least, I should get some good language practice out of it. As I was the only white guy there, I should get some good cultural experience too.

Apartment: They fixed my dryers today!

Fitness: I took my fireteam for a run this morning... and Huey was suffering. It was a bit of a surprise and he wasn't well hydrated but I told them all that we are going to do this more often so hopefully he will be better prepared next time. I must say... It was nice to actually smoke my fireteam. It's been a little while. The run was a cinch for me.

Combat: Taekwondo, right? Here's hoping it's worth it. Unfortunately, I'll have to do the 1700 class... That's tight for my time and it also means I need to find another time to do my SCARS training (which I haven't started as life's been crazy and I have to put the curriculum together). Hrm.

Personal: The Freemasons vote on my application tonight! It's also finally been a year since I started my credit history and I'm able to graduate a couple of my accounts. That's a good chunk of money freed up. In other news...

Last night some things were really bugging me about the Momrine and mine relationship, right? Well... Apparently my subconscious was mulling over it all night as I woke up this morning with a decision. I formulated the rest of the plan throughout the morning and acted upon it this afternoon right after formation. It took all of two minutes:

"I'm here (in person) as a courtesy as you extended that same courtesy to me. I'm done. I have the feeling that if I stick around much longer I'm going down so I'm done."

Yes, done. So her husband, mom, and whoever else are reading this blog because of her can stop now. Over the past couple weeks I've been able to look at the Momrine without the rose-colored glasses and a lot of things came to light... If not for my Captain Save-a-Ho syndrome and her extenuating circumstances, I wouldn't have been the least bit interested in her. If I wasn't so busy looking for something that wasn't there, I would have avoided a whole lot of heartache.

I realized that I never loved her. Not her. I loved a vision in my head of what she might have been... Of what I was looking for in a lady. And I pasted that image over the reality of a selfish, little girl. A girl who just because she's birthed a child of her own thinks she is an adult (and woe unto anyone who tells her otherwise) but is far from that level of maturity.

I realized that she used me. She used the Hooah. She used her husband and now she's using her latest boy toy. She'll continue using everyone she comes into contact without and going to great lengths to convince herself that it's okay... She'd use me up and throw me away an empty, broken husk if I allowed her to. I don't.

I realized that she just isn't the kind of person I consider a friend. I'm not friends with children. I'm not friends with users and manipulators. All of the little things she's done and said in the past that bugged me finally came together into a flashing red WARNING sign. Participating in a riot and fondly reminiscing on it... Past relationships... The crazy things she'd be proud of doing... Dodging her responsibilities... All the things that I overlooked while I had my glasses on.

Her pointless struggle against the unit? Just because she doesn't want to be wrong? That's a short road to self-destruction... I'm not following her there. She's already started wishing for a time machine to go back in time to before the Corps. I can't stand that. Why waste your time wishing for the past? You're here now so do something about it. Now.

I'm breaking these chains... I realized the only thing that was still binding me to her was my personal sense of honor. I felt that "abandoning" her would be betrayal. Then I realized that she's never cared a whit for my honor and that through my relationship with her I have dirtied myself. My honor is stained and I do not know how to atone. I do know, however, that she doesn't care. If she doesn't care about my honor, why should it bind me to her and allow her to do further damage?

I'm turning in my cape... No more Captain Save-a-Ho. My brother asked to be my side-kick but he can fly solo... Or, hopefully, he'll learn this lesson quicker than I did. It's time to move forward.

I need a lady who will share my experiences with me. Someone who is strong. We should be greater than the sum of our parts together. I need someone better... Not "better for me." Just flat out better: Stronger. Smarter. More determined. More mature. With hopes and dreams worth sharing and pursueing.

What I don't need is a child dragging me back down into the muck I've fought so long and hard to get out of. That's my bit of selfishness and, considering just how quickly the Momrine let her new toy move into her home and into her rack, I don't feel bad in the least. She seemed to be in a rush to get rid of me even tonight.

Day of Rest? Really?!

Language: I went to one of the local Korean churches this morning... Wow. It was almost overwhelming. Everyone was very nice but I had an impossible time trying to keep up with everyone. People also spoke more English to me than I would have liked but I'm going to try it again next week. I also spoke a bit of Korean at the restaurant we went to. It was nice that the waitress actually humored us. I forgot that the Hooah couldn't speak Korean, however, so I received a few blank stares from her as I started ordering drinks over her head. Whoops?

Apartment: More work! Except that the Hooah joined me today and, while she didn't help clean, just having someone there helped. I think it kept me focused. There was someone there for me to talk to so I didn't feel cut off from the world. As a result, I got a lot more done today. Per my uncle's suggestion, I just took the drain apart. I found a metal chopstick (not mine!) and two matchsticks inside the trap. Various goop (I think some of the Drano) had clumped around this to kill my drain. Well, I cleaned it out... it was gross... then did dishes. I also acquired a really nice coffee table today as I hold onto it for a couple classmates (whose wedding I am going to over class break) until they find an apartment.

Personal: Church was nice... Honest. They had a translator service (non-Korean speaking husbands abounded) so I still got to understand the full sermon. It's been a long, long time since I've gone to church.

The Hooah decided we should hang out so after church I headed over to pick her up. We just chilled at my apartment (she snagged internet from the hotel next door... Ha!) until my classmates showed up with the table. Then we went to the Korean restaurant across the street from me. The food was great (again) but it was really nice to just hang out with my friends.

Geez... It took me 20 years to finally make friends but I really enjoy them now that I have.

After my classmates left I finished up my Mother's Day phone calls. I had a really good chat with my dad and future step-mom about what's been going on lately. To me... It looks like my life and those of my close friends are moving forward while some of the people around us fall apart. Like the Momrine's. I talked to her about it and one thing really jumped out at me...

She's in the wrong. She's been in the wrong for a while now with having a guy living with her... And our unit caught her. However, all they told her to do was rectify the situation and there would be no penalty. No punishment at all. Now, I've heard the "CRACK!" of a round from the unit whizzing past my ear before (when the XO wanted to NJP me and reclass me over my previous class... but the CO and MasterGuns went to bat for me and hit me with a warning and a new class instead). It's not a pleasant sensation. So I know how to recognize mercy and graciously accept it.

Except... That's not what the Momrine wants to do. She is going to fight the unit over it. She's going to fight a battle she can't win over something that she knows is wrong and is ultimately of little consequence. All she has to say about it is, "At least I'll go down swinging." What? Since when was pointless self-destruction cool? That combined with some of the other things she has said lately is unpleasantly rattling around within my skull.

At the end of it all... I hope that everyone gets what they deserve.

A Bit of Spontaneity

Apartment: I worked on my apartment today... Not as much as I wanted to but I still did a lot. I put together one of the cabinets (now sitting next to my door) and started stacking stuff up on the bookshelf. I found one of my long-lost favorite CDs! I also purchased some Drano and have been fighting the sink all night... The progress was minimal. I think I let the Drano sit for far too long and have been dumping boiling water down periodically.

Personal: I headed downtown to get my haircut, get my cellphone fixed, and have speaking practice... but then my speaking partner cancelled our meeting. Therefore, I decided to spend my time hanging out with the Hooah. I think this is the first time I've ever spontaneously decided to just hang out with someone. And I enjoyed it.

First we headed over to Cingular to get my cellphone fixed... But they still screwed it up. I have no contact list. At least with my shiny new phone and a new SIM card the phone is actually working. My signal is vastly improved. After Cingular we headed over to a pizza shop to blow what little money I had left. Heh. The Hooah chipped in too.

While we were chatting about this and that (such as the guy she is kind-of seeing) I pointed out one of the hostesses to the Hooah. She replied with, "Oh... So that's your type." I was confused as I had no clue what she was referring to. Then she elaborated with (paraphrased), "You like the tiny, athletic girls with the delicate features. Almost ethereal. And they have a sort of energy to them. They'd be frail without the energy but they aren't." I mentioned this to one of my good friends (I keep calling her "My Christian Friend" but I have other Christian friends) and she said, "Well... Duh."

How come I didn't know?

Not that I disagree... I just never bothered to quantify it. While we're on the topic, I'm also a sucker for long, dark hair and long legs. However, I think a proportionate form is the most important. I guess it's just more feminine. More lady-like... And I am looking for a lady.

After lunch we stopped by a Borders then headed home. She ran off to hang out with some other friends. I ran off to try and do some work. All in all... It was a good day.

TGIF!

I'm done. Seriously. It needs to be the weekend already... You'd think sleep after going without for 42 hours would be a sweet, sweet experience, right? Did not happen. I woke up feeling wretched and was tired all day.

Language: I was really fuzzy all the day... but we wrapped up the last of this unit's actual course work. Now I have a whole week of busy work to look forward too.

Fitness: Another week PT session... But I already have a plan for weekend. Fear me!

Apartment: I love my bookshelves so much! I've started putting stuff in the proper spots and my apartment is already looking better. There's still a lot more to do... I also snagged two free cabinets that were just collecting dust in the Momrine's house. On the downside... my sink drain is not working at all and dishes are piling up.

Personal: Oooo... New cell phone arrived today. Very nice. I'll have to get it fixed up tomorrow as my current phone refuses to transfer addresses correctly. Grr.

Wedursday: The 42-Hour Day

I set a new record for consecutive hours without sleep! My previous record was 23 and 1/2 before passing out at the keyboard. As you can see, I demolished that record today.

It started off simply enough like any other day.... PT was weak. Then I went to class and made my way through the drudgery of it all. I was chatting with the Hooah and one of her friends throughout the evening when the Hooah reported blood in her urine. At first I freaked and recommended immediate medical evaluation but then I thought that wasn't such a good idea to leap to that conclusion and did a bit of research. I was just about to hit the rack (already in my pajamas and everything) when I received a message to the effect of, "The Hooah needs to go to the hospital and is wondering if you'd take her." Turns out my initial reaction was right as that is what the local clinic hot line told her to do.

Technically, the duty at her barracks could have given her a ride but none of them had a government license, the Army is pretty shoddy about caring for their troops, and the Hooah is terrified of needles and the hospitals they reside in. So, while goofing off and trying to downplay the whole situation, I drove the 20 minutes out to her barracks where I was questioned by the duty NCO. It was nice to see somewhere care. Honest.

We arrived at the hospital at 2200... and I did not get home again until 0400. We filled that time with a lot of waiting and talking. We were also given a show by the strapped-down drunk in the next room. The Hooah caught a bit of sleep when she could... Sleeping without my machine doesn't do anything for me anyways so I studied on my laptop. To be honest, it was an enjoyable night. It was good to talk to the Hooah for so long... It really underlined how strong our friendship is for me. Even when she was trying to break my hand while they gave her an IV.

The doctor finally showed up with a diagnostic and a prescription so we got to go home... The Hooah was the sick one so she had a no-work chit and proceeded to sleep for 12 hours. I was not so lucky. On the way home I picked up the biggest coffee 7-11 had to offer and made it back to the apartment just in time for my alarm to go off. So I showered, changed, and made some oatmeal and started to drive to school. Half-way there I decided to stop at a nearby on-post gas station to fill my water jugs from the distiller machine.... And as the door slammed shut I remembered what that dinging meant (I was very tired and thinking with a delay).

I locked my keys in my car along with all my books.

I managed to bum a ride to class from another student stopping at that gas station but I had to explain to my class leader and teachers why I didn't have any materials. They were supportive, thankfully. I also missed formation. The first thing I did upon getting to class was deflate the ball I've been sitting on because one student needed it back and, more importantly, I knew that if I sat down I would pass out. So I stood the whole day.

I was on and off the phone throughout the day trying to figure out what to do with my keys... Then in the afternoon I got a ride home after the post clean-up. My landlord had to let me in so that's $50 out of my credit. Then I couldn't find my spare car key anyways but I did find a spare insurance card and a phone book so after a dozen and a half phone calls I had a tow truck that agreed to bill my insurance en route. Then my friend dropped me off at the gas station.

I waited another hour for the tow truck to arrive and he had the door open in 5 seconds. He didn't even turn off his truck. Then there was a problem with the insurance because dispatch didn't call to confirm my out-of-state policy like they said they would... But that wasn't my fault so I dodged a fee. Finally, I was driving back home.

At this point my body had stopped caring that I was without sleep. It happened around hour 36 so I took a few hours to relax and get my life in order before hitting the rack at a decent hour...

Quite the day.