Well, only five weeks away until I am whisked off on a new adventure into the land of Boots.

Despite my upmost suspense to see me shipped out and become a better man though, I have been doing some thinking on about what I'm going to be leaving behind.  Things I should do before I go, and what have you...

I think it is time to make a list!

Number 5 - Transfer leadership of the Red Dragon Syndicate

As I'm sure some of you may know, I play World of Warcraft and me and my friends made a guild a LOOOOOOOOOONG while back.  While I can't stay I've been the greatest leader as far as building things up and setting up raids and whatnot (because I have a LIFE to LIVE) I will say that I have enjoyed keeping together a nice, tight knit if friends together for this long.  My only hope though is that when I leave, I will be able to put the guild in the right hands before my time comes.

Number 4 - Finish my Future Soldier Training modules

Though they have been sitting there for as long as I can remember when I first enlisted, I haven't been able to really "focus" on them as much as I should have.  My main excuse has been that they aren't really "mandatory" since I'm going to be learning all of this stuff all over again in Boot Camp, but it really couldn't hurt now, could it?  After all, I did take the oath up at M.E.P.S and I remember quite how heavy it really was.  We all took it, after all.

Number 3 - Time with friends

With work and home being the main parts of my everyday life, I understand now that I really haven't been giving my friends the attention I should've while I've been busy doing this and that and whatnot.  Before I go, I want to have some pretty fun experiences who whomever I may.  After all, who knows when I will be able to come back?  All I am going to have is the memories, and if memories are all I get to keep then they better be some damn good ones.  The kind of memories that'll just make me smile and laugh with the old fashioned phrase "Ah....good times...".

Number 2 - Make ammends

One of the biggest things that has been weighing on my brow as time has marched ever onward is making sure that I don't leave with any regrets.  I know that everyone isn't exactly my "buddy" here in Vincennes and I can somewhat accept that.  There are some that, sure, I probably can't be friends as I'd like to be with them, but then there are some people that I have wronged that I know I can go the lengths to to make right, even if it is long overdue.  Some of you might know what I speak of, but let me assure you that when I do it, I do it for myself, and so that I won't have to look back.

Number 1 - Train

I have not trained as much as I should have during my time as a "Future Soldier".  For this, I am ashamed, but it is never truly too late to pick things back up to where they once were.  I know I will find the time to as well, and when I do, I'll be doing muscle failure push ups, and sit ups for as long as I can until I can guarantee that I'll be sore as hell the next day.  No pain, no gain, right?

Well, anyways, I hope whoever still reads Livejournal may come across this during their roaming endeavors.  Its good to know that you give a damn bud, and maybe someday, when I get back, I'll be able to reward you with a new, stronger Daniel R. Lavely.

Well, for these past couple of months, I've mostly been working, training, and I took a trip to Florida to see my family.  Wasn't really anything special though, just a couple of relatives to see.  Hug hug blah blah kthxbye.  I'd go again, but I agree in the idea that a week anywhere is PLENTY of time.  Heh.

Anyways, I don't really talk to Chris Roberts anymore.  If you want my version, he was a moocher and it got to the point where he set me off, and I just pretty much finished my business with'm.  Didn't stop me from seeing the Larson twins though!  Hell, without them, I'd probably still be ignorant.  Maybe I wouldn't even know about "the treachery" that happened, but it would probably have only made things worse when I would discover it in town.

Alot of my friends seem to be prepping up for GenCon.  Wish I had the money, but then again I really don't "need" to go to a Gaming Convention.  I just want to go to one single BlizzCon before the end of my days just so say I've friggin' BEEN THERE!  haha!  In the meantime though, I'm pretty much playin' "the hermit" here in Vincennes.  I only leave the house to work, and after that I just stay home.  I bought an XBox 360 though!  Assassin's Creed is awesome!  I just rented Fable 2 yesterday and I've enjoyed playing that too.  I made my guy look like Guile from Crono Cross.  Total badass.

Speaking of friends, I might be quitting WoW to try out this "Champions Online" game that just came out recently.  Fifty dollars though for the whole game, oof.  I kinda regret buying the 360 sometimes though because I mostly do my game time on the computer.  Eh, saves money though right?

I heard Joni still has trouble making friends back here in Vincennes from TJ's g/f.  She didn't actually "say" that, but she's still super quiet around strangers.  Eh, not my problem anymore though.  Don't even know why I'm bringin' it up.

Mikey lended my BioShock and Dead Rising.  Despite the popularity of Dead Rising and the boobage, I just really couldn't get into it.  Probably because I don't have an HD TV though.  Fuck.

BioShock isn't too bad of a game though.  I've enjoyed playing it while Mikey was watching, just because I love hitting everything with my monkey wrench.  BANG! HA! 

I suppose I should get to the reason why I made this update in the first place though.  I've been spending this month prepping up for the Army more than I have been in the previous months.  Running and push ups mostly, sit ups are a breeze.  The only thing though, is that sometimes I wonder if it really will change who I am for the worse.  Did I put enough thought into doing this?  I know I can't back out, and I don't want to back out after seeing what all I'm going to do!  I just hope I'm doing this for the right reasons, really.  I've been needing to do something useful with my life for some time now, and sitting around in Vincennes just didn't seem to do the trick.  There wasn't anything in Vincennes University that caught my interest, so this is probably going to have to do it.

For the past half hour I've been listening to the Army Song that I need to learn so I can sing it at Future Soldier Training.  Thank GOD we only have to learn the short version, but even if I don't learn it I'll be relearning EVERYTHING I'm going over right now once I get to Army Orientation.  Oh golly jee wizz, can't wait!

See you when I see you...

~ Dan

Well hey there everyone!  Its pretty early in the morning out here, and since I have nothing to do at the moment I decided that its about time I put up another update for Livejournal here.

Since my last update, the only real thing that I have been trying to do is just work and stay home.  I need to be working out more, but to be honest I really can't bring myself to do it.  Maybe I ought to work on that infantry training or something while I'm idle like this.

I've been seeing Harrison every now and then.  He "seems" like the same Harrison that I remember, but now that he was with "her", I don't think he has been able to keep arrangements with his friends.  He never gives a straight answer too.  Remind anyone of anybody a year ago?

But in better news, I got to watch Transformers 2 tonight!  Well...sorta better news.  The movie wasn't worth all the hype if you ask me.  Way too much crazy fighting and slow motion running scenes.  The drama of it all was way played out before it go to the end.  I would've rather stayed home, to be honest.  Its not really a movie I'll particularly remember.

But then again, movies these days aren't really movies anymore.  Its pretty much the same shit, but in different images.  Same love interest, predictable plots, and action scenes that I've already seen before.  Maybe I should just stick to pornography or something.  At least that has some anticipation I can look forward to!

Even though Harrison said that  (oh, and I'm getting VERY familiar with this word) "maybe" he would come and watch it with us, once again he's backed out of it.  And to think, I washed up, put this ARMY shirt on and everything for nothing.  They may put up a tough show, but the fact of the matter is that neither of them want to see me while they're together.  Har har, can't wait to see where that goes!  I would almost suggest trying to run into them while they're having couple time, but then I'd feel like a stalker.

To be honest, actually, I still need to be lookin' for a referral to enlist into the ARMY.  If I can do that, and work out and pass the PT test, AND learn the orders and structure of it all over the internet before I'm shipped out, I'll be pretty set.  I've told myself that with the 2000 dollar bonus that you get when you refer someone and they successfully enlist, I would split it with them.  If I had that 1k though, I'd take 300 of it and just pay her off once and for all.  I know I don't need to, hell I know I probably shouldn't because she has a flippin' 500$ engagement ring.  Would it be cowardly of me to just try to make peace with the woman though?  My only real beef is with Harrison really.

I just need to let go.  I still have the damn promise ring in my bedroom for christ's sakes.    What does that say about me?!

...

...

...oh well, glad I'm home from the movies.  That is my update.

So my brother and I were arguing on whether or not I had bad breath.  I had just finished brushing my teeth, AND mouth washing before he told me this.  I argued that it would be impossible for me to have bad breath due to these actions I had taken earlier, but he still hated the smell of it for some reason.

He told me that I should smell my own breath, and I told him that you can't "smell" your own breath.  Then he told me the lick my wrist and smell that.

So I did.

To put it simply, do you ever go to the store and you see those obese women with fat bulging out of their kneecaps and limbs?  Have you ever smelled their body odor?  I could smell some of that in my breath.

Gross.

Well now!  I haven't updated this thing in forever!  What should I talk about?  Who should I talk about?

*checks his previous update*

I guess I will pick up on where I left off on February.

Well, earlier this year I was going back to college to try to make something of myself up at Vincennes University.  I was going for electronic classes up there, trying to learn what I could and trying to take advantages of what opportunities I could while I was still enrolled.  My mother was paying for it, but luckily for her now, it would have only been for one year.  I don't want to burden her on my own personal failures, and I really haven't found what I want to do with my life.

Sure, beggars can't be choosers, but I'm not going to let my indecision wane on my mother's savings just because I haven't found myself yet, or where I want to be in the future.  While my semester drew to a close, some events went by that both hurt me, but also taught me important lessons about myself, and certain individuals.  Suffice to say, I believe it is safe to say that all of my friends...

...all of them...

....have their priorities as "Ho's before Bro's".  Can I really blame them though?  Whenever was with Joni, I was the exact same way.  I let her change me, what I did, and in the end I was all but depressed with my life.  Of course, our relationship suffered greatly, and inevitably we both broke up with one another and went our seperate ways.  I know I still "owe" her money, but you know, there is a little ring somewhere in her belongings that tells me that I've already done all the spending I'll have ever wanted to with her til the end of my days.

It isn't really my concern anymore now though, because I'd like to think that I've moved on, and up, from that particular state of my life.  I came home, tried to rebuild my plans, but during the end of my semester, the only friend who I thought I could trust more than anyone ended up sleeping with her, and ended up dating her due to his own personal depression and issues.  What makes it better though, is that I had know idea about these plans at all as far as him telling me about this.  He didn't really tell me either, and it probably would've been his little secret for a looooong time.   What he didn't calculate though, is that I seldomly spoke with Kristin and Elsa Larson (his roommates) up in Muncie and Elsa was the one who told me about this get-together.  When I had caught wind of what was going on, I pretty much went through the 5 phases of (and I only use this as a term, not trying to be dramatic) death.

Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
...and Acceptance.


I couldn't believe that him of all people would do that to me, after all the shit I did for him and all the good times that we supposedly shared.  I called him, I came up to see him, why would he give that all up?  No, not Harrison, he was my best friend.  Best friends don't do that...

...but that is what happened, and we ended our friendship then and there.  I don't attempt to hang out with him anymore or call him.  Unlike some people, my trust is not easily earned.  Perhaps my friendship, but never in all my life has something hurt me so bad than that.  Not even breaking up with Joni made me feel as bad, because I was firm in my belief that me and Harrison were closer than that.  We were closer both from my relationship, and the deep friendship we shared.  I tried being there for him when he needed me, but I suppose my trust with undeserving. 

I don't like to think about it nowadays, and though this all happened I still wish we could still be best of friends like things were.

Maybe it'll happen again, week by week I've found forgiveness for what he did, and I can understand that he needs someone too, but why her out of all people?  What does that show from me by trying to be friends with someone who went behind my back and lied to me just so he could get some pity for his depression?  If I forgave him, all I really believed is that if I were to be ok with it, it would just show that had no pride once-so-ever, and that I'd really be that much of a coward to let anything pass and not bother me abit.

I'll definitely remember to stay detatched when it comes to friends from now on, and all I have really been doing since college got out was trying to find a new best friend really.  I started hanging out with Roberts lately, and I've enjoyed some of our talks.  I don't know how long it'll last though, what with his complete lack of honor and constant backtalking.  Unlike him, I believe that promises should mean something, and they shouldn't just last a few seconds before you forget about them.

Enough about him though.


Adam King and Jessica Booth hooked up recently.  They seem to be quite happy with one another, which is great because I do sincerely think that they both are good people.  I'll admit that having been Jessica Booth's friend for so long, sometimes I wonder how I feel about the couple and if it really sits well with me or not, but its for the best.  After all, like David, I too must work on my career and I too must make sure that I know what I want to do with my life.

Which brings me to my final real update about my life this year.  I joined the United States Army.

It was a big decision for me that fateful Thursday behind the recruitment station.  I held my thumb over the button that would've dialed their number for about 5 minutes before I mustered the courage to follow through and speak to them.  I believe that the Army will get me on the right track though, at least for getting me in shape and letting me get to know my strengths.  It'll improve both my body, mind, and ambitions for many years to come I think.  Also, like I told Jessica Booth, I believe it'll give me the personal confidence and will to protect the people that are close to me, whoever they may be.

I need to get my life I'm track, and with this, I'm going to do that.  I leave for Boot Camp on October 21st, and hopefully before I am shipped out I can pass the specific exercises to get to my 3rd rank once I arrive.

Wish me luck!

~Dan