Asian Fusion, USC, and War Books

Let me start by telling you that living in LA is different from any other place that I have ever lived, or even spent any serious amount of time. My "brother-in-law", who grew up in Chicago, once said to me: LA has no history. Whatever fad is new and trnedy, then that is what is in, when that is over, then the next wave takes over. There are a million things to do here, and nothing at the same time. LA, like Phoenix, does not have a lot of Natives. Everyone here is from somewhere else. People come here to reinvent themselves, the "actor/actress moonlighting as a waiter/waitress" stereotype is true. I love LA and hate it at the same time. I sit here writing this as I am sweating my ass off, in my $1550 month rent apartment(converted warehouse with almost no ventilation, save for the skylight that opens 5 inches) waiting to pay entirely too much for a house that anywhere else would cost 90K . I love it because LA, more than any other place is a conglomeration of neighborhoods, and has more smells, tastes, and than any other city save NYC. Where else can you have Koreatown, that looks like downtown Seoul(trust me, I've been there), and right across the street have a Latino neighborhood? Enough of this, onto why I write tonite.

There is a restaurant that is called "Wokcano", it advertises itself as Chinese/Japanese Fusion, but I detected a hint of Korean as well. The California rolls were good, as was the Orange Chicken that I had. Its decently priced, and if you are ever in the Downtown area, I suggest it. It's very close to the Hotel Figueroa, on Figueroa, between Olympic and 9th. The problem that I had tonite, was that the place was basically empty, and the hostess sat us next to a table of loud, obnoxious, USC girls, which brings me to my next topic.

Being a native of Phoenix, my affections naturally go to Arizona State University when it comes to college's. I am a proverbial PAC-10 fan after that in that order(except for UofA, they can give Tucson back to Mexico as far as I am concerned), I'll root for any other PAC-10 team if my Sun Devils aren't playing. USC is close to Downtown LA, and locally it is known as University of Spoiled Children, which isn't that far from the truth. You see these Yuppies-in-training driving BMW's, Mercedes', and other cars that 19-20-yr olds would never have been able to afford. I don't hate them for it, but alot of these people are snobby as hell. I love it when we go out at night, and they look at us like the stuff you scrape off the bottom of your shoes, they are imbeciles, and they are in for a rude awakening when they get to the real world.


I bought, started and finished reading,"The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell" by John Crawford. 220 pages of the best non-fiction that I have read in a long time. The only thing bad that I have to say, is that the ending doesn't provide closure. He provides the reader of a simple taste of what he and his squad-mates went through. I couldn't put it down, and I hope that he is well. It's kind of scary reading about someone else's experience of the war, especially since he was a Nat'l Guardsman.

Just Don't Understand Parents

I had a long discussion my parents last night, who are staunch conservatives. Not the Pat Robertson types, more along the lines of the small gov't branch of the Republican party. I really don't understand the Republican viewpoint. I have tried many times to see it from their point of view. I have some conserative views about certain issues, but at least on social ones, I am largely liberal.

My brother and I once had a conversation about this, and he asked the question, how could 2 Republicans, raise 2 kids that turned out to be staunch Democrats. Neither one of us is the flag-burning-don't bathe-dirty-hippy type of Democrats, but more of the socially liberal ones, if that makes any sense.

I bought a new gun 2 weeks ago, and I finally get to pick it up today, damn 10 waiting periods. One of the things that pisses me off about California are the gun laws, way out of whack with what I grew up with. Arizona and other states can do instant background checks, but we take 10 days? True, I don't need the gun right away, but like other Americans, I want instant gratification. Oh well.

News Junkie

"Reuters: Four U.S. soldiers killed in Afghan blast"

Its headlines like this that grab my attention. Because of what I do, and what I am going to do, shit like this is of interest to me. I, unlike the rest of the world, am glued to the TV, Internet, Radio, any news source I can get my hands on.

Since basically 9/11, I have a been a news hound. Current events, both National and International have grabbed me and haven't let me go. This brings me to my next question. Does the United States, outside of the less than 1% of the population actually fighting this war, and the families there of, actually know that we are at war?

I have heard much buzz, and intend on reading a book that has just come out. It's called "The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell" by John Crawford. He is a Florida National Guardsman, and it tells the story of his deployment. One of the reviews that I read, he basically asks the same question.


I would have to say no. Most of the people outside of the military circles that my friends are, these are mostly the friends of my brother-in-laws, or my significant other's sister. They are for the most part, college educated (most have some sort of graduate degrees, as a few of them are lawyers), and they other than me, know nothing of the military. (One is the daughter of an Army Colonel, and Lieutenant Colonel, so not all of them are military novices). The majority of them are against the war, but very supportive of me and what I do. I have even had offers that amount to "whatever we need to do to get you out(of the deployment), we will". I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't run when my number is called, even though I want to, its my first instinct.

I was on the phone last week with a very close friend, she and I have been friends since the 8th grade. She said to me,"You are very brave." To which I replied,"No, I am very scared." But I am going to go anyways. It is not normal for someone to go into a dangerous situation knowingly, Cops(like my step-father), Firemen(like my brother, are my personal heroes), and Servicemembers are often considered brave, but I really don't feel brave when I think about how much I want to run, but I won't.

Typical Army

I have been doing this for the better part of 9 years. I know that there is a certain amount of bulls**t that goes along with being in the Army, or just life in general. This seems to be a larger amount than usual. Let me fill you in.

The unit that I normally belong to, drill with, is not the same that I am training with at the moment, but they both fall under the same next level higher command. The command at the next level, decided that those of us that just got off of our 3 week training cycle, that we should drill this weekend. I know, I know, "you are in the Army, just deal with it," wrong, we were told before we left in July, that we wouldn't have to drill anymore until we leave, this turned out to be false information. So, because the Gov't runs on a Sep 30-Oct 1 year, they wanted us to show up and drill, so that their numbers look better, nevermind that it takes away weekends that we could be spending with our families.

Some folks just don't get it.

On a different note. I can tell that I have been in CA too long, when a 950 sq ft house, for 450K is a good deal. Even though it is close to the beach. Sometimes I miss Arizona.

Playing with Grunts

The training period that went on at Cp Roberts, was interesting to say the least. Take 100 people, throw them into a unit, stir, and what you have, at least in our case, was a group of people that bonded pretty fast. There were the occasional spats, and one thing of note, was the command staff auctioned off their spots to younger Soldiers, so that we could get an idea of what it was like to run a Company. I paid $40 for the one of the staff jobs, the person that handles the logistical side of things. Arranging transporation, basically an enlisted Chief of Staff. The reason that this was notable was that the person who won the commander's slot (paid $330), was a person, that without a doubt came into the job thinking that he was going to change things.

He had an agenda, its a shame that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. He was abrasive, obnoxious, and most importantly, a micro-manager. I warned him and all of the other play along staff, that remember what you do today, because tomorrow, you become a peon again. My advice was not heeded. He managed to piss off just about everyone in the company, myself included. He's lucky that he didn't get his ass kicked by someone, but it was a learning experience for everyone, and I learned that as much as I think I know, I am not ready for that level yet, give me another 5 years and I'll have it down.


The grunts in my platoon are the heart and soul of our little merry family. 2(the 3rd one left 2 weeks into the party, he should be included in this that he is older, has seen 2 wars, and is in a category all his own) in particular, they have between them, 8 months of combat experience. One was in Iraq, and ran over 40+ combat missions, and the other was in Kosovo for a while, and had his own share of the fun. They add a dimension to training that without them, would turn the same boring classes into fun. They are always quick to try and make someone smile, make a joke, or just make fun of you. They are also the hardest working people in the platoon. Any time that there is a job that needs to be done, they always step up to the plate. They inspire me to try and better my craft. I had a lot of fun, and learned more about leadership in 3 weeks under them than I had in the last 3 years in the Guard.