This week began my training for my century ride in August.  I will be riding in the Hotter Than Hell ride located in Wichita Falls.  I am looking forward to the ride.  An added benefit to the ride will obviously be the physical training.  I have been focused on physical training since early last year but with a strong focus last September.    I am excited about the upcoming rides.  I plan on updating the blog with ride updates and Training.

This week I put approx. 60 miles on my bike.  Not a bad start but in the following weeks, the miles will be stepped up.

This next week a new and exciting beginning will occur in my life and to be honest, a year ago I would have thought you would be there to share in that accomplishment and the possibilities.  I am saddened you decided to jump ship before this event but I suppose it is a blessing in disguise.  For if you did not have full faith in me then, then why would I believe you would have faith in me now.  I am saddened that as I share this accomplishment, I will be sharing it with all my friends and family minus one.

I have beat many odds in my life and I expect to continue to do so.  I could ramble on about the many times I have been told it just won’t happen.  Or it is taken too long.

But with the sadness that  I am feeling at the moment I am writing this, I am filled with the great joy the path I am about to take and for those who have decided to stick by my side.  In the end, it are those who deserve my fullest respect and my attention.

The success is not guaranteed but the determination is solid.  I stand tall with my head up high and will step out smartly.

With that being said, I wanted to write a moment and express one constant that has helped me through my life – Keeping Friends Close.  Time after Time, friends are the ones that have gotten me through so many difficult times in my life.  They are the source of my strength.  I am not ashamed of that fact but derive great satisfaction and I am humbled by those friends who stand by me.

It sometimes is difficult to determine who are truly your friends.  There are thousands of articles and thoughts on this topic.  I will say this though – I can tell who my friends are by the way the fact they are there for me regardless of the time we last spoke and the expectation of receipt.

I look forward to talking about more topics.  I had considered discussing more but will leave it at that for now.

But I digress, in the Spring of 1999, HMM-165 was preparing for deployment. The HMM units are the ACE. The primary command for the Air Combat Element of the Marine Expeditionary Unit. I’m not going to get into the structure of commands here but suffice to say, we were attaching a lot of Marines to our command and we were preparing for deployment. Additionally, before we were allowed to be deployed, the ACE had to be Special Operation Capable qualified. As a result, our unit conducted operations on the USS Peleliu. I had never been on a ship until this point.

I will never forget when we left for the ship. We reported and were given our birthing assignment (where our racks were located). Now let’s be clear. The enlisted birthing area was extremely compact. I don’t know how many Marines were in one birthing area but I do know that our racks were extremely compact. I would say an area of about 20′ x 15′ comprise of 12 racks and an area of about a shoe box area for each Marine to store their belongs. The rest of our belongings were kept in a separate storage area. When you rolled over on you side of your bed you touched the rack above you. The racks were stacked four (4) high.

It was an interesting setup. Well, I am about to go to bed. I will post more about this experience in the near future.

This question made me consider the numerous reasons I ride.  I must admit it would be difficult to narrow down the question why I have decided to ride in this event.

As a kid, I remember watching Ryan White’s funeral.  It was moving.  It was also scary.  Here was this young kid and he caught the attention of the nation.  Fast forward to my adulthood and I was talking with some friends who were just 5 years younger.  I was 28 and the friends I was speaking to were friends from college.  They were classmates in college.  I started college about 4 and half years than most due to my military service.  I was shocked at the disconnect at the awareness and the complacency towards HIV/AIDS.  To the majority of my classmates I spoke to were not worried or even cared about the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  To put it bluntly, they were apathetic and it was something that did not impact them.  They did not have the fear the disease had garnered throughout the nation.  In their minds it was only something the “gays” had to deal with.

After moving to Dallas, this sentiment did not change among my ‘younger’ friends.  It appears to be a consistent theme anytime I breach this subject with them.  While it certainly was not a scientific study it was startling.

I will write on more reasons I ride in the near future.

Take a moment and think about contributing to this fundraiser by clicking on the link to the left.

That being said and in light of the new year, I will announce my new year’s resolution. I have several but the one near the top (#2) is to establish my routine. The method to all my successes can be reduced to have started at one simple point — an established daily routine.

The reason checking into MCT was interesting is that it was my first time checking into a command (other than boot camp – which is a different story altogether).  During boot camp, all decisions are made for you — when you get up, when you go to bed, when you eat, when you use the restroom, and every other function in life.  After reading more about stories in my boot camp you will have a better understanding.  In any event, checking into MCT was my first duty station to check into.  I flew into John Wayne airport and got a cab down to Camp Pendleton.  With sea bag in tow and wearing my Service Alphas (the uniform everyone check-ins with) I showed up to the command at the appointed time.  I handed the admin Marine my jacket and my orders.  He checked me in and provided me a rack and a locker.  I wanted to get “dropped” into my command as soon as possible.  You see, you can check into MCT and it could take them weeks for them to find you a command to begin in MCT.  Do you think during that time you get to sit around and do nothing?  No!!   You are put on Guard Duty, Police Patrol (clean up duty), and various other types of “fun” duties.

After checking in, I was put fire watch for a rotating basis.  I got into civilian clothes and went to the enlisted club on the camp.  Fortunately, Hotel company was going to pick me up the following Sunday.

A friend of mine suggested I write down my thoughts.  I mentioned to her that I do via a blog and she encouraged me to do the same regarding the new chapter in my life.  So here is one of the first entries related to that new chapter.  I also think that it is useful here to discuss the aspect of living alone.  It will become apparent over time why this area interests me personally.  I hope the posts here provide a place for others to discuss in the comments if they so choose.

Pseudo Living Alone

I guess as an initial matter and in the interest of full disclosure – I’m technically not “living alone” as my ex still has belongings in the house.  That being said, I never see my ex really anymore except for a brief occasional wave or stop by the apartment.  I was talking with a friend the other day and I was shocked at a reflection in my own past.

In my 32 year life, I have only lived completely alone a total of approx. 9 months.  I have a younger brother so growing up there was always the two of us.  In the Marines, I always had at least one roommate if not several or communal living arrangements depending on the circumstance.  Upon leaving the Marines, there was a short period of time where I lived alone in San Antonio but I traveled a lot so that I was never home and on the road with business colleagues, etc.  When I moved from San Antonio to Arkansas, I moved in with my family for awhile.  After moving out my family’s house, I moved in with roommates throughout my undergrad stay.  There was a brief period during the first 6 to 9 months of law school where I lived in a one bedroom apartment by myself.  It is those two periods — San Antonio, the first summer prior to law school, and first semester of law school where I lived alone.

I find it remarkable that in 32 years at least 30 if not 31 of those years I have always had some type of roommate.  I am thankful for the discussion with my friend the other day because it has given me a unique look at the current state of my living arrangement.   I look forward to this new chapter and hope to find solace and strength in it.  I am confident I will.

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Side Note:  I have categorized these post in two places.  One under the corresponding Chapter 6 due to the time line but I have also added a category called “Living Alone.”