Are We There Yet?

Mom, I don't want to drive anymore!

We're enroute to Clarksville, Tennessee. Picasso is getting restless in his kennel.

Cats Playing Patty-Cake

This brings me so much joy. :)

Top Secret Clearance

The process to apply for a Top Secret Clearance is a lengthy one. And the probability of obtaining it after you apply is a crap shoot. Your best bet is to be completely honest when filling out the questionnaire, even when they ask questions about things you'd rather were locked in a dark basement in a box with cob webs on it. I have a military past that can be easily described as "sketchy".

I submitted the application and crossed my fingers.

Today, I checked my email and read that I had been granted an interim top secret clearance. That's all I need (security wise) to get accepted into the Army CID program. I just might be on my way to reclassing sooner than I thought! Yippee!

The Decemberists!!

I finally got my Christmas present last night! James bought me tickets to see The Decemberists in Portland for Christmas and the show was last night. I'd been looking forward to this show since September and The Decemberists did NOT disappoint. It was the first time I'd ever seen them live, and I have made plans to do it again whenever possible. They were amazing! Thank you so much, baby!! :)

Going Away Party

James and I threw a going away party for ourselves on Friday night. We held our shindig at a redneck bar, naturally. There was a good turn out of our friends and we had a bunch of fun. Too many shots of Jack Daniels (yuck!) and lots of beer.

The party moved across the street to a buddy's apartment after we were politely asked to leave by the establishment's security personnel... Things got hazy almost immediately for me once I was in the apartment. I ate a piece of pineapple that had been marinating in Everclear and fruit punch all day and then I blacked out.

In the morning, I woke up in someone else's pajama pants in my buddy's spare bedroom. James told me I had passed out while peeing in the bathroom. He was the ever dutiful boyfriend and came in to take care of me. I stood up, zipped my own pants and immediately fell backwards into the shower and ripped the shower curtain down around me. Oh, but did I mention I had vomited into the shower? Yeah... so I sat in my own puke. Niiiice.

One last classy night in Washington. Get ready Tennessee, here I come!

Thug Life

In case you were wondering, James and I lead an extremely thug life. So thug, in fact, that we proclaimed it permanently on our feet.

People keep asking, "Why? Why would you do that?" And my answer is, "Why not!?" Being the blond, Suburban raised, extremely white girl that I am, it's hard for my true thugness to shine through. Now there's no question about how thug I am.

And... it's completely ridiculous and hilarious.

It was very very painful. And I'm glad I only have 2 feet so I don't have to get them tattoooed again. I'm all filled up on the feet now. Check that off my list of body parts to get tattooed.

Sweet And Sour Chicken?

So I was sitting in James' truck waiting for him to come out of the liquor store with the night's events in a brown paper bag, when I saw this in a teriyaki restaurant window:

Silly Asians spelling things like they say them.

Valentine's Day Participation

Valentine's Day lands on a Monday this year. The Army sucks the life out of you during the week and leaves you listless and exhausted by the end of the duty day. It makes even a quick trip to the corner store after work seem like the biggest hassle. All I ever want to do is put on my gross orange sweat pants and lay on the couch after work.

Romantic holiday or no, I fully intend to don the sweats on Monday after work. James is a smart man and he planned ahead. We celebrated Valentine's Day today on the 12th.

Normally I don't celebrate Valentine's Day because normally I do not have a Valentine. Things are looking up in 2011. :)

We had dinner at my favorite teriyaki place, Happy Teriyaki. We exchanged gifts; he got me a needlepoint picture of Jesus that he picked up at an antique store and some beautiful flowers. I gave him Hershey Kisses and a DVD of The Exorcist. Perhaps my gift alluded to the fact that I don't normally get to participate in this Holiday.

I even got a Valentine in the mail yesterday. My thoughtful puppy had my mom send me a Valentine for him since he has no thumbs to write a lovely note inside and no money to actually purchase it. Picasso has a really wonderful Grandma and I have a really wonderful puppy. And come to think of it, I have a really wonderful boyfriend, too!

Busy Busy Busy

I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Except I'm not in any pain. I imagine that would hurt quite a lot.

What I am is BUSY. I feel like everyone wants a piece of me right now and there just isn't enough Jackie to please the crowds.

Between buying a house long distance, a puppy who refuses to potty train, a platoon that desperately needs me, a top secret clearance packet that never seems to end, a CID packet that takes me all over the place, a messy boyfriend and clearing Fort Lewis, I'm totally tapped out!

Of course, there are still medic things to be done during the duty day as well. And by "medic things" I mean playing in the motorpool with field ambulances that are older than me. If I thought could sneak out of this unit without doing one more BII layout, I was crazy. Stupid ambulances and their stupid emergency road side kits.

I sign out of Fort Lewis on the 25th of February. Hopefully I will be able to catch a relaxing break on the 40 hour trek to Fort Campbell... with my unpotty trained puppy and messy boyfriend in tow.

Four Loko

You may or may not have heard the heart breaking news that Four Loko was taken off the market in Washington in late 2010. Controversies aside about this alcoholic beverage, my personal opinion of this drink is that it kicked ass. It got you so over the top wasted in just one can. So by drinking two, you could party really hard for under $8. For people with limited means, like myself-- thank you Army for my giant paycheck, it was a bargain you couldn't pass up.

Four Loko was a caffeinated alcoholic energy drink. Mixing a depressant (alcohol) with a stimulant (energy drink) makes your body freak out. It doesn't know if it's tired or hyper. So what happens is your body doesn't tell your brain you are super drunk because you have so much energy to burn. The controversy is people get so drunk so fast drinking this stuff that they can easily get alcohol poisoning and, in a worst case scenario, die.

I have a little more control than the average bear when it comes to drinking myself to death. It's not on my bucket list. So 2 cans of Four Loko worked just fine for me. Plus it tastes absolutely disgusting so 2 cans was really all I wanted anyhow.

The whole blog has been in past tense so far. But one trip to the 7 Eleven last night made Four Loko a present tense subject again. Hooray! Four Loko made an encore appearance! I don't know how and I don't know why. I don't ask questions like that. Instead 6 cans were purchased and the goal of getting totally trashed at home with my boyfriend was accomplished.

Thank you Four Loko for coming back into my life. You made Friday night awesome. :)