Up to no good

The weather here in Toronto has finally taken a turn for the better. There is now sun and it's actually warm. It's rained a couple of times but other than that it's been relatively fine. The nice weather and me working has resulted in me neglecting my poor blog but now I will try to to keep at it once again.


I don't have anything really intersting to write about now. But as soon as I do I will keep you informed on how I feel about it. LOL Take it easy.

My beef with the so-called War Resister "Heroes"

I was reading the Eye Weekly and came across an article talking about war resisters in who are here in Canada. It makes me sick to see these guys getting such publicity. I understand that these guys have issues about serving in the war. Hell I have some issues about the war, but what makes me different is the fact that I realized upon entering the military, I had a good chance of going to war and possibly having have to kill.

The Eye article talks about how these deserters represent the moral best of America. To me they represent ignorance and how clueless Canadians really are when it comes to the deserters. Examining the facts of Jeremy Hinzman case at, http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/decisions/public/hinzman/hinzman_e.htm, I have to agree wholeheartedly with the decision of the board. To me, Jeremy is an idiot. He joins the US Army as an infantryman. An infantryman! Did he not know that, as an infantryman, he would have to possibly fight and be expected to fight? Was he not aware of what many of the infantrymen in Vietnam had to endure?

Hinzman then tries to assert that he will get an unfair trial in the US. This is laughable at best. Hinzman wasn't able to provide proof to the Immigration and Refugee Board to show that if he was to stand trial in the US he would get an unfair trial. After having worked in the military justice system I know that he will get a fair courts-martial. The Uniform Code of Military Justice, or UCMJ for short, is simple to read and figure out. I can guarantee that Hinzman violated the Articles related to desertion. There are so many elements that are required to convict and Hinzman has violated all of them.

So Jeremy Hinzman be honest with the public and yourself. And save us from further BS.

P.S. I couldn't link to the Immigration and Refugee board documents in the blog. So you'll have to cut and paste in your browser.

Happy Birthday to Me

Well folks today is my birthday and I'll be celebrating tonight at Pure nightclub. It's located in Downtown Toronto. So if you'd like to bring me presents and whatever else I'll be there. Have fun.

On a more somber note. It's a sad time in Black College Football. Coach Eddie Robinson died on Tuesday of Alzheimer's disease. I remember when I was little, and I use to watch the Grambling-Southern Football Game on NBC, I use to always root for this guy. I thought it would have been an honor to play for this guy.

Today was a good day

Well ladies and gentlemen, today is one of the best days I've ever had. My Florida Gators won yesterday beating Ohio State. It was a good game. I knew that the Gators could beat OSU, considering that they had beat them earlier this season. All in all I would have to say that the tournament was a huge success. It was exciting to see the upsets and numerous overtime games. I'm ready to see how it plays out next year.

Well yesterday I got my call to appear on Inside the Box, at TV trivia game show that appears on TVtropolis, and it will be on April 19th. Now I'm not sure when the episode will actually air but it's around that time. I'm hoping that I can win the money prize, which can be up to $10,000, and use this appearance as a springboard for other projects.

I will be posting a tribute video onto YouTube in the next couple of weeks. I will be posting a link to it on this site. Well have to roll.

Unbearable

I don't really know how to title this blog entry so I'll leave it blank for now. I'm getting sick and tired of people. Really sick. I'm tired of everyone from my family to the average man on the streets. I think just looking at everything going on in the world and seeing how stupid people can be. It frustrates me that I fought for people to go ahead and act like this. I would expect more, but then again, I joined the Army after being told that it would be just like the fun part of high school all over again (my time in high school was awesome LOL).

I'm still waiting on my paperwork so I can start working legally in Canada. It's funny though. Everyone has this belief that I can all of a sudden just work, make lots of money, and probably shit out golden eggs. Little do these idiots know that the second I'm caught working illegally it's back to the States for me. Now going back isn't much of a problem, it's just that I gave up my nice apartment in Midtown Atlanta, my dog and cat would be stuck up here, and I really don't have much money to really do anything to avoid being out on the streets. I wouldn't mind if I was working at a piece of crap job, but alas, it's not to be.

I'm pissed because I put law school and world travel on hold for this crap. AND IT'S NOT WORTH IT. My how stupid I can be.

March Madness

Well it's been awhile since I last wrote and alot has happened over that time. Sports wise my NCAA tournament bracket has bascially gone to hell lol. Many of the teams I expected to get in the Sweet Sixteen did not make it. Don't get me wrong though I'm enjoying the tournament because we are seeing alot more upsets and exciting games.

I will be appearing on a game show up here in Toronto called Inside the Box. It's a TV trivia game that covers the boob tube from the 60's to the present. I did ok at the casting call and now am waiting on the call so I can appear on the show. I have the chance to win $10,000(CDN) and get a little media exposure. I was actually surprised that I made the cut for something like this.

On the homefront my brother-in-law and his wife are quickly getting on my nerves. They are using their child as a pawn against the rest of the family. This has made me so angry that sometimes I feel like just losing my military bearing and cussing them both out. But I'll keep my mouth shut for now. Once the edge has been pushed they are in for it.

Haven't really done any DJ mixes yet and I'm starting to get restless. I'll probably do a house mix next so look for it on my Podomatic page.

Well got to run. Next blog I'll be talking about the new budget that the Canadian Federal government came out with.

Anticipation

Lately my time here has been occupied by waiting. I wait to hear from Canadian Immigration, I wait to receive job offers, I wait to go to law school, and I wait for my life to start back up. It's different for me, after having served in the Army, out here in the "real world". I can no longer go out there and make things happen and I'm now required to trust in others to make things happen.

To others it may seem that I have an easy life doing nothing but watching TV, surfing the internet, and playing video games. But it's not. It's maddening, because I wish I was out and about doing something but I can't due to the weather and lack of transportation. Once I can start working I hope to be able to get out and do more. It's just that right now all I can do is wait in hopeless anticipation for something good to come along.

Parlor Room tricks in Canadian Politics from my American Perspective

I was browsing the Toronto Star and came across an article about the federal Conservative party, known as the Tories, are about to release political attack ads. The article talks about how the ads will target the Liberal leader Stéphane Dion and his ineffective leadership. The ads say that the previous Liberal government did nothing to reduce greenhouse emissions, in accordance with the Kyoto Agreement, and that the air quality got worse, which is contradictory to the statistics that the Environmental ministry has put out.

In my eyes this is really pathetic. The Conservatives obviously didn't really care about the environment when they came to power. They cut back on several environmental programs. With recent reports and discussion about global warming, the Canadian people have now placed the environemnt as their number one concern. The Conservatives now realize that they have made a big mistake and that the people dissatisifed with the government may put them out of power. So they have to resort to this attack.

Why does BET suck?

I was sitting around watching TV today and happened to run across BET. For those of you not in the know BET stands for, Black Entertainment Television. I now know why the world thinks we blacks are crazy. It's because of some of the garbage that they spout on this excuse for a channel. They have a show that is solely about beefs that black stars have with each other. Pathetic is all I can say. It's a sad state of black affairs. I think it's time to guide us from the rampant commericialism and get us back on the road to living right.

Well I've gotten four of my pictures published in a travel guide. This has actually motivated me to improve my photography skills. I plan on attending a photo school and hopefully it will be money well spent. Well I have to run will talk to you later.

Welcome home

Well I've been back in Atlanta for a little while. Not much has really changed. But I'm so glad to be home. It's been awhile since I've been in the ATL during the summer. I've been taking lots of pics, which you can probably tell from my flickr badge, and having lots of fun. It's crazy to think that I'll soon be out of the Army and complete master of my own domain. Don't have to take shit off no one. LOL. I'm still pretty amazed by how my gay black guys will be cruising Piedmont Park and act so damn girly it's not even funny. A great story was when I was at Starbucks one Sunday taking pictures of everything. This dude kept staring at me, which I guess was his way of trying to flirt, and was not afraid to hide it. So once I left and started walking down the street, talking on my cellphone, I hear someone saying, "hey". It was this guy trying to get my attention. I didn't have the time or the patience to tell this guy that he was barking up the wrong tree. So I kept walking. I think he got pissed and ended up taking off the other way. All I have to say is oh well. LOL

Incongruities

These are just some things that I've noticed.

Bill O'Reilly says he is the "No Spin" factor, yet everytime he talks about something he says, "I believe". Isn't he then just adding his own spin to the topic?

How come when we have a G.I. party there is no party stuff? Usually it's mops, brooms, and other cleaning supplies. Where the hell is the party at?


Well it's been a wild week. I'm getting ready to pack my stuff up and head home. It'll be great to get home and ride my new moped, drink some beer, and see my family. It seems like just yesterday I was in Atlanta enjoying the warm sun. I plan to take as many cityscape pictures in Atlanta as I can. I've joined an Atlanta Flickr group and look forward to getting some feedback.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

So close I can taste it

Well I'm almost done. I'm so close to going home that I can already taste the beer and real burgers. Man. Ok sorry for the short post but I have to jet. Laters.

Happy Father's Day

Well today is that great day called Father's Day. I never had a good rapport with my father before I joined the military. I'm not sure why. I think sometimes I blame him and my mom for their divorce, though it was probably something that was neccessary for them. I haven't really spoken with my dad in a long time and haven't seen him in person even longer. The last time I saw my day, I was at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii about to go out on the town with Jaewest. The CQ (sort of like RA's in a dorm) called me and told me he was there. It was kind of an embarrasing moment. I didn't know what to say and neither did he. He had brought his girlfriend out there and he couldn't seem to find her. After that I didn't hear or speak to him.

Well the Public Affairs Office was going around soliciting for soldiers who wanted to submit a Father's Day greeting back to the US. I decided this is a step to repairing our relationship. So I decided to send one out. I never got to see the final cut of the greeting and I hope it turned out well. I hope my dad actually got to see it. And......deep down I just want to wish you a Happy Father's Day dad and I apologize for my selfishness. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

Well I have to go. I hope you guys are doing well on this day and remember go out and spend that time with your father or father figure. I don't care if your parents are homosexuals, your the child of a single parent, or whatever. Celebrate them. You'll never know when you'll get to do it again.

Countdown to home

Well ladies and gentlemen, my time here in the Middle East is winding down. It's been a great time and pretty rewarding. I picked up new DJ skills, I've become a better leader, and I think I'm much more alive. By the way feel free to access my flickr page by clicking on my pictures. I hope to add more in the next couple of days and weeks.

An Arifjan Memorial Day Weekend

How's it going once again everyone? Memorial Day Weekend has come to our camp and with it has come a cornucopia of events. We have Operation Hardwood, a basketball tournament coached by NCAA Division 1 coaches, which just got done today. I never was able to go the first one but this one was very cool. I got to meet all of the coaches and even Leann Tweeden. I was able to talk with Coach Kelvin Sampson, he used to be the former coach at Washington State University, and we talked about where I grew up back in Washington. I met Dave Odom, coach for University of South Carolina, and we talked about the Strom Thurmond Gym on the campus and how I use to play with some of the guys off the team.

Saturday night saw me DJing to a packed house. And yes ladies and gentlemen I had that place rocking. Thanks DJ Hypnotic for letting me play. There were a couple of bad spots in the night. The first being a little scuffle that broke out. With Operation Hardwood going on, there was a lot of unused testosterone left over and I think I just played a tad bit too much crunk music. The other bad spot was when I played Lil Wayne's "Fireman" the first word to come out was "f*ck" and than shortly after that was butt crack. These obviously violated the policy that I had signed with the MWR. So I changed it up real quick. But it ended up well.

Well I have to go now. Look for the pictures from my trip to Kuwait City and the ones that I took of Operation Hardwood to be up on here soon. TTFN

Comings and goings

Well I know it's been awhile, since I've last posted, and I apologize for that. I've been so busy with work and DJing that I think I'm getting burnout (NOT!!). Other than that though things have been okay here. My only peeve is a rumored ban on two piece bikini's at the local pool.

Once again the leadership has decided that instead of punishing the one, they will punish everyone. Me personally I think it's ridiculous. People here are such pussies that I'm surprised that anything ever gets done. I don't know what is worse a retirement home or being here. Either way it's the same result old folks making much ado about nothing.

Today we got to visit Kuwait City's City Centre Mall and Science Center. The City Centre Mall was very depressing. Even though it's pretty big, there wasn't much of anything in there. I was able to find some cool shirts from Giordano. I use to shop at Girodano while I was in Qatar and was surprised to find one here in Kuwait. Unfortunately, I won't have the opportunity to shop there as much as I like. I got some pretty nice pictures of some of the sights of Kuwait.

We went to the science center and some local Kuwaiti schoolgirls wanted to have their pictures taken with us. Being the gracious folks we hooked them up. It was funny though. Because at first they surrounded us but didn't say anything. Than one girl in the group got the courage to ask and the ice was broken.

One weird thing I noticed about our trip to the City Centre, was that it was in close proximity to a slaughter house. And boy did the air in the area stink. I'm not sure if it was from the trash that was in the area or the slaughter house. All I know is that it stank bad.

Well I've gotten the word that I'll be heading back to Atlanta within the next month or so. So I will be getting ready for my move back to Toronto and being with my family. It will be great but I know that a lot has changed. Expectations, personalities, and whatever else has changed either for better or for worse.

By the way I made a big purchase the other day. I bought a Nikon D50 SLR camera. All I have to say is that this thing kicks major ass. I will show you the pics I took of KC with it. Much better color and everything. Now I just need to figure out how to use it to it's fullest. So if anyone knows hit me up. Any info is greatly appreciated. Well it's time for me to go to bed. I stink, not from the slaughter house, and need to jump in the shower and get ready to DJ tomorrow. See ya and Peace in the Middle East!!!!!

Greetings from Kuwait

Well I've been in Kuwait for quite a while now and I have to say it's changed. For better or for worse, I can't say at this time, but once I find out I'll let you know. It's been pretty hot around here, around 105 to 111 degrees, yet it doesn't feel uncomfortable at all. I wonder if this is a bad thing or not?

I'm now DJing once again at the Oasis. Now I host the Old School Night. I figured with old school night it would be easy to appease people's musical hunger, boy was I wrong. Even when I played good joints these guys wanted to hear some stuff that they thought everyone would like. Than playing hip hop night, every now and then, I've come to realize how indoctrinated people are to radio hits. You try to play something new and they act stupid, but play something off the radio and they get out on the dancefloor. Oh well.

Well I've been working on my round the world travel plan and hopefully by August I'll be able to do it. Yes I said August. I've tried to get an extension for the military and was told that it's not possible. So I expect to be back in Atlanta soon to start packing my stuff and getting ready to move back to Toronto. My destinations are kind of ambitious. I plan to hit up Europe, SE Asia, maybe SW Asia (some parts), and from there I'll just go where ever the wind blows me to. Well got to go and tan at the pool (yeah a black guy tanning LOL). Will see you guys later.

Long Time coming

I know it's been awhile since I've last posted and I apologize. I've been pretty busy..........living it up and enjoying Atlanta before I leave on Sunday. Yes, once again I must go to the Middle East. I'm looking forward to it since my buddy from South Carolina is over there. So we'll get to hang out and kick some ass at football, basketball, and whatever else. Soon as I get done with this tour I will be leaving the Army to become a normal person again LOL.

I've been working on my trip around the world and it's been pretty interesting I found one great site which I'll probably add to my links later on it's www.travellerspoint.com they actually have a tool that allows you to create Round the World tickets. So while I'm overseas I'm going to play around with that. All I've been doing is reading books about travelling and it's really got my juices flowing. I know that in this day and age it's crazier and everything with the War on Terror. But I figure this is the only time that I'll actually be able to enjoy myself prior to going back to school.

I will be traveling with a companion, but if you would like to join hit me up and let me know. I'm planning on visiting Europe at the least. If I can make it back to Honolulu, SW Asia, and the South Pacific than that would kick ass.

The other day was pretty interesting. I got an email on my myspace account from an old friend from back in Hawaii. Jenn is her name. We were real good friends and if I remember correctly we went out for a little while and we broke up but still hung out. I remember she use to wear this dress uniform, from Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays, and it was so colorful. She looked very cute in it. Man now that I think about it my heart begins to beat faster LOL. Well anyways I digress.

As I stated before, she found my myspace account and sent me a message. And once again it was like old times. We connected and I hope to stay in contact with her once I get out.

This Friday and Saturday my intinerary looks to be like this: Drink all day and party all night. Sunday fly out with a nice hangover and be ready to work soon as I get in theater.

Geez Louise

I just don't understand the weather out here in Atlanta. One day it will be cold as hell, the next day it's warm. Go figure. Yesterday morning it was about 29 degrees F (yes no longer celsius LOL) and today it's been in the mid to high 60's.

Yesterday I had the misfortune of riding the MARTA (rail) and got to ride in the car that had a loud, yet obnoxious, homeless minister. It seemed that his speech was geared towards people giving money to the homeless. Hmmm, I don't think there were any self serving goals in that sermon LOL. The sad part is that the gentleman soon had some young kid, who I guess thought he was a comedian, start heckling him in his sermon and this did nothing but make the man get louder. My stop couldn't come soon enough.

I haven't really been able to get in the gym to start my new training. I'm actually looking forward to it, which is kind of scary. Because the trainer gave me a sample workout and it was very intense and painful (in a good way). Right now I'm carrying about 19% body fat. The trainer's goal is to have me cut down to 13%. We'll see how this goes but I'm still excited to be going through this. I will take pictures weekly to see if there is any significant changes or not.

Well it's getting late. So I'm about to take off. Everyone have a good night, day, or whatever the hell it is in your neck of the woods.