Coral's Sharp

It may look like some soft stuff, but actually they're like tiny little razors. We were walking along the side of the coral cliffs and the tide was coming in and you couldn't see where you were stepping. There was a hole about 5 feet deep and 3 feet wide that I didn't see - ow! Like a cheese grater. Time for some motrin.

Mike Victor vs Clam shell

Here are the pictures I pulled off of the security forces website. Turns out the clamshell doesn't mess around. In fact when you hit it going 25 it doesn't even flinch. The name of the minivan is Guadalcanal but we were able to get a replacement for her a couple of days later. No one was hurt except the van. According to the gate guard they had a "gate runner" 5 hours prior to the incident when they initially hit the "button". That should make everyone on base feel a little more comfortable about the relaibility of the system. I approach the barriers with a little more reservation these days.

Guam Jungle 1 Weekend Warriors 0

No luck this time. We hiked for 2 1/2 hours in the jungle searching for the elusive double reef beach. It's so elusive in fact we gave up after multiple run-ins with the local banana spiders, komodo dragons and the occasional 3 pound poisonous toad - only if you lick them. Serious. The look on Ashley's face in the bottom picture pretty much encapsulates the feeling for the day. That's right I said encapsulate - not sure if it's a real word but I like it. I posted some more of the pictures on the Guamania July page - see below.

Ashley sent me this picture of me chasing the Komodo up a tree to get it's picture. In hindsight probably not one of my better ideas.

Tarzan Falls

Ok so there are waterfalls and dudes sitting under them. Not exactly the fighter pilot kind of thing to do. So here's the story. We (Steve, Ashley, Josh and myself) set off this morning to find Tarzan falls - it's in Central Guam. The trailhead is on the side of the rode and depicted by a small turnoff and several pairs of shoes hanging from a powerline. So far so good - found that. There is also a sign no larger than a cereal box that says "Tarzan Falls - 1.4 miles, moderate/difficult". What it doesn't say is a "keep left". So off we go to find tarzan falls (to the right) - how hard could that be - should be able to see / hear it right? 2 miles later we're in the middle of nowhere - actually we did find a nice overgrown trail - plenty of johnson grass - I thought that only thrived in Texas. Nope it grows just fine in Guam too. So we turn around and trace our steps back up to the top only to find we went exactly 180 out from where the falls were. So far our 1.4 mile hike has taken us about 3.5 - but we make it, and let me say it was well worth the effort. The falls were infeugo. There were 4 or 5 tiers of falls and once you make it to the bottom and look back up it's eye watering (it's also eye watering thinking about the hike out). We were the only people there and it was really spectacular being surrounded by the forest and all you can hear is the water crashing against the rocks and pool at the bottom. It was an awesome hike and worth the sacrifice (the crocs exploded and the heel strap is no longer a part of the sandal). I took several more pictures you can see on the http://picasaweb.google.com/keith.l.mcdaniel/GuamaniaJuly

That's all I've got for Saturday. Happy Early Birthday to Jenn - it's actually your birthday here in Guam. I wish you could have been here with us today - you would have loved it. Not the hike so much, or the mosquitoes, or the spiders - actually you would have hated most of it, but you would have liked the falls.

Life Lessons

One last tidbit before night night. So far there have been a few lessons I've learned around here. So far the most important one is - you don't want to be the first dude to fall asleep. Nothing good can possibly happen if you're the only fella catching some zzz's. These are just a few examples of what can happen. There's actually a whole video of Brock getting his nugget shaved but it would crash your computer trying to download it. Off to bed, I'm not the first so it's safe.

Ashley made it!

And now I have a room to myself. Of course one of the first places Steve has to take Ashley is to Haputo. I can't over emphasize how awesome this beach is. Because I'm fighting to keep my eyes open and I'm flying in the morning here's a run down of todays events:

gym, breakfast, listened to Cavalry church cd (thanks for sending them), navy exchange, lunch, totaled our mini van - pictures and story to follow, motrin, haputo beach, dinner, racquetball, movie - Ironman - good flick, sleepytime

I hope everyone has a good Sunday- it will be my Monday.

Earning my $3 a day

Here are some pictures of us from one of the KC-135 tanker dudes. I guess one of them put down his sony psp in time to take a few snaps - just kidding Garrett. I put some more pictures on the web album if you'd like to take a look : http://picasaweb.google.com/keith.l.mcdaniel/GuamaniaJuly

The past couple weeks we've been flying quite a bit. Afternoon takeoffs are getting gas from the tankers in between the fights. The morning goes are landing hot pitting and taking off again. It's put a bit of a damper on the ol golf game, but the flying is great as long as the weather cooperates. We're in the "rainy season" which really should be named the "sucky season" because the weather is just that. It rains every day and when it's not raining it's misting when it's not misting you better hurry because it's getting ready to rain.

Another Day Another Milestone

Yes, I've done it. I honestly didn't think it could be done, and in the past oh I'd say 5 years I can't recall having done it once unless I was sick. I stayed in the house 95 percent of the day - and it was beautiful. I left only to eat and go to the gym. I've overcome my fears and I think I could possibly do it again sometime in the near future. Here's how I occupy my time while hiding from the sun in my hooch. I talked to Jenn and the boys on the computer, searched for a wii fit for about 5 hours (still didn't find one - sorry Jenn), looked at plane tickets for another 3 hours (no luck there either - sorry again) applied aloe with lidocaine to a 1 by 6 inch swath on my neck that didn't receive the proper amount of spf and got torched yesterday (10 minutes), sport bitched with the fellas about how war is hell (30 minutes), shaved my noggin in the sink (10 minutes), searched new dvd releases to add to our collection (1 hour), reshaved my noggin after finding a shorter guard (10 minutes)... I'm sure there were some other important things I did throughout the day that I forgot. Actually the day was a bust and I had to go play some racquetball after dinner to get over my cabin fever. That was all good until I got popped in the back of the dome during our second game. Something about a racquetball getting implanted right behind the small of your ear and neck to make you want to go back to your happy place. Tomorrow will be more productive....

Time vs Weight & Motivation

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pLVGkrqrop2Qv6QdPS_Wedw


So far there has been one constant. It's like eating at Mitch's again, only this time I don't have a freshman to pour my drinks and I don't know what little goodies they'll be serving until I get there. It's a surprise every time you walk in the door, maybe turkey ala king, maybe beef stew, maybe tuna casserole you just don't know.

Viva la Vida words

I've had a couple people ask me about the Coldplay song in the video I made - here are the lyrics and their meaning, or atleast what I found on the net....

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sweep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

All catholics should know that Jesus Christ gave the word and he controlled the seas - I think that the line now in the morning I sweep alone clearly means that Jesus Christ was betrayed and had to endure many things alone! The first verse is talking about a decline from wealth and fame to a nobody, just like Jesus Christ experienced on his life! He used to be a king, but he had to die for all human beings..So on a certain way he turned over his kingship (I used to rule the world). Clear reference of someone giving God kingship over his life.

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing,
"Now the old king is dead, long live the king!"
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt, pillars of sand


The line upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand, possibly is a reference to the sermon on the mount where Jesus speaks of a wise man building is house on a rock while the foolish man builds his house on the sand, only to be washed away.

Those days, there were different kings! Ones thought the king was Jesus Christ himself, others thought the king was the Roman authority and other thought the king was the Jewish priests.

I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you know there was never, never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

Jerusalem bells and Roman Cavalry, it's obvious it's a biblical allusion. I think the line Be my mirror my sword and shield, it's a praying to God for strength. Also, the line my missionaries in a foreign field, has to do with the idea of taking the message of God and Jesus Christ all around the world. Finally, never an honest word, meaning the betrayal to Jesus Christ and his subsequent death.

I know St. Peter won't call my name, referring to the fact that Saint Peter denied Jesus 3 times.

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever wanna be king?

This could be a reference to John the Baptist of the New Testament.
In The Book of Mark, John is noted as the one that comes before Jesus to announce His coming to Earth. A lot of people thought he (John) was going to be their Messiah, however he corrected them and told them that it was the One after him that would fill that role. I, also, argue that point because it is said somewhere that John's head was brought to king Herod on a Silver Platter.

Blew down the doors to let me in, meaning when Jesus Christ got furious because they turned the temple into a market!

4th of July

I spent the 4th of July playing golf with Steve, Brock, John and Grimace. We played a little golf with the lowest 2 scores getting their lunch bought by the highest 2 scores. Luckily even though I didn't play well I got me a free greasy cheeseburger and some fries at the end of my round courtesy of Brock and John. Thanks fellas. After the round of golf we went to Haputo. That beach is unbelievable. We sat our stuff down right next to a huge kamodo dragon. He was just sitting there watching us before we even noticed him. By the time I grabbed my camera he was making his way off into the jungle. We did some snorkeling and saw this awesome blue starfish. I can't wait to get Jenn out here - she won't want to leave. The boys would love all the wildlife - I can just see Cole and Brad trying to snag a Komodo and all the crabs.

1 Down 3 to go

Big day actually, not only is it Wes and Hil's anniversary it's my one month away. I'd like to say that the time has gone by fast and in many ways it has until I see the pictures Jenn posted on on the blog and in the web album. How is it that kids can change so much in just one month. When I left Brad could barely string together two words - "night Cole" or "lud loo (love you)". Now he's carrying one full conversations and my little Cole is talking on the phone to Slothbear for over 30 minutes...They're both growing up so fast. I was looking at pictures of when we were in North Carolina 2 years ago and it seemed like we were there last week...Aaaagh,...it's only been a month.

I've changed a little too, but not like them. I've gained 14 pounds since I stepped on the island - would have been closer to 16 but I shaved the noggin. I'm actually diggin the shorn nugget, when I thought I was getting a low maintenance cut I was actually getting a no maintenance cut (with the exception that I have to put sunblock on the dome, but that takes about 10 seconds). Ok, I'm out. It's time to go get some of that good chow hall dinner. I'm guessing since we had turkey for lunch that we'll have some kind of turkey ala king for dinner. Throw a little tabasco sauce on there mmmmm good.

My Pregame Video