May 9, 2008

Spina Bifida

It seems I've got my summer employment: there's plenty of workdays for me specifically at the unit, enough for a good four days a week, maybe more, until September. No need to go anywhere, like Ottawa. That's good, really good.

Lindsay says she's definitely leaving for Calgary, mid-June or start of July. I found out about it when I was sitting on the front steps having a smoke with Tallboy there and she came walking up. We talked, or rather they talked and I mostly sat there listening in. They still have a really good rapport. I thought again about telling her that he cheated on her for a month in summer '05 -- not thought about it as in considered doing it, just thought about it, sucked on it like a hard candy, as Paul Theroux wrote.

For all I know they were in an open relationship. I doubt it, but there's less and less that surprises me the longer I live.

I think I'll be glad when she's gone.

Tallboy went to visit Harvey in New Brunswick, where he is raising two kids: one that's not his, one that is. This is with the girl that he met on his course in late spring '06, the one with whom he was having an LDR for about six months and who he really seemed to like until he decided that he hated her. He still fucked her, though, just before deploying overseas, and that was the time that she got pregnant, and now he's there with her apparently helping raise both of the little ones. Tallboy reported that Harvey is desperate, hence the need to go see him immediately, even though Tallboy will be in the province two or three weeks from now anyway for training and would / will see him then too.

I'm inclined to think it's karma for Harvey. He was the biggest bastard I ever met -- even though he wasn't one naturally; he knew better; he's a regular guy who used to be an altar boy and who did the 30-Hour Famine when he was in high school (literally). He's a regular joe who decided to work as hard as possible at being an asshole, apparently after a girlfriend dumped him and left him heartbroken while they were traveling Europe together several years ago. He's highly intelligent and well-read, not ignorant or naturally brutal, but he chose to act like a fucker, and the fact is the way we act is who we are. He always used to brag about the shitty things he'd pull: about almost fucking a girl with spina bifida just so he could say he fucked a girl in a wheelchair, about going to the strippers and then insulting and swearing at the girls until he'd get kicked out. And now, as far as he's concerned, his life sucks and he's losing his shit. I'm not saying this has happened because Harvey was such a colossal, intentional prick -- if anything it probably happened because of Harvey's famous habit of not using condoms, another bragging point of his -- but it's a comeuppance. It may as well be karma. The only unfortunate thing is that there's a young child involved, or children, rather.

Would Tallboy be his old friendly self towards me now if Harvey were still around, living the carefree Montreal life, for Tallboy to hang out with? I keep that kind of question in mind.

Posted by Jack Spratt at 01:55 AM | Comments (0)

April 12, 2008

Go To Bed

A brief entry: I have to be up at 0600 for a full day at the Regiment. I just had my last day of classes for my (presumably) second-last semester -- it didn't come a day too soon!

Tallboy is back, has been for almost a month now, and things are fine. He is like he was before summer '06. I'm not precisely like I was before summer '06, not towards him, and it won't astound me if he should turn again. But things are fine. Maybe being away from Harvey's bile was all he really needed to get back on an even keel. That said, even if we're back to having a laugh again, I don't trust him, not like I used to.

Lindsay wrote today (slash-yesterday-slash-Friday) and we passed a few emails back and forth. She says she is planning to go to Tajikistan for a couple of weeks and is planning to move out of her apartment in the other wing for July. She says she has no real idea of where she's going, but that she might get a job with Westjet back in Calgary. I told her that it sounded like she was looking for something (desperately, I didn't say, although I referred to Shangri-La) and she waved it away asking how so; I pointed out that shortly after New Year's she exclaimed that she hated her job, which she had always said she liked, and that a Weakerthans song was suddenly making her cry, which it never had done before in the three months she'd been listening to it. She waved that away too, and I didn't respond.

If she were to come back in a big way I would dig it very much. But haven't I done enough, maybe more than enough? Haven't I done all I can? All I should?

I have to admit, I have half a mind to go see her and plant one on her. It would probably make her think again, make her -- as she said before -- miss me again, but thing is, it cuts both ways.

Posted by Jack Spratt at 01:15 AM | Comments (0)

March 6, 2008

Never Going to the Dentist Again, Plus Some Stuff

I went to the dentist a couple of weeks ago for the first time in a few, just for a routine cleaning and checkup. I was blasé about the whole thing -- I'd never had a cavity -- but this time the doc told me 1) I had not one cavity, but two; 2) I needed to get all four of my wisdom teeth sawed out and that it was fairly urgent; and 3) that I ought to get braces. Braces?!

The cavities were sorted out in 15 minutes (do fillings still fall out, the way my parents' chunks of silver have and maybe still will?). I can't say the wisdoms were a surprise, either, since the military doctor wanted to have them out back in '03 before I deployed, but I told him that a certain female was coming to town from overseas and pleaded that he not make it happen on the eve of her arrival, so he'd shrugged and said "OK, but if you ever go over again, they'll definitely have to come out". But the braces... oh man.

The doc said that I have a deep bite which causes my lower front teeth to rub against my uppers every time I close my jaw -- which they do, no denying that -- and he showed me, in the mirror, that I've worn away the first layer of enamel on my front lowers, which it certainly appears that I have. He said "I'm seeing a lot of wear for somebody your age, and if you don't have them fixed now, it'll mean crowns in 15 to 20 years". So I guess I'm getting braces, although that doesn't have to happen tomorrow. But the salt in the wound was learning that the military (the only dental plan I have) may only pay half of the cost, which could leave me with a bill for $1500 plus. Pay, and pay big, to have a mouth full of goddamn braces. Yippee skip. Worst dentist visit evar.

They actually said, when I was like 15 16, that I should probably get braces and that it might come to this anyway if I delayed -- but I'm not sorry for putting it off. I remember thinking at the time "I already have bad skin and glasses and no self-confidence, if I get braces on top of all that I'll never get near a girl!" and I'm pretty sure that's right. Too, I know that now you can get braces which are practically invisible -- Beano (formerly Op), who is in his late 30s, got some recently and he had to point them out before I noticed they were there. They must cost more -- but I reckon they'll be worth it. Time with them on: the dentist noted that he's no orthodontist, but he estimated two to three years.

Two branches from this topic: First, I totally made out with a Polish girl while in Prague last summer who had standard traintracks and they didn't stop me from finding her totally hot nor interfere with our crazy action (branch again: I noticed on her Facebook that she is now looking dangerously thin, like she's been starving herself -- she was nicely round before, now her face is looking slightly skeletal). Second, Beano and the Lady have split up. They were one of my favourite couples, the kind that seem so good together that it makes you happy to be around them, and they were an item since I first got to know him during the 2001 census we both worked. I can tell it wasn't his idea, and he's gone to Vancouver for a couple weeks to clear his mind, he says. They're both my good friends and I hope he won't see it as traitorous that I'm supposed to meet her for a coffee -- utterly platonic, it should go without saying -- next week.

Also: almost all of the boys from the unit have just rotated home from Afghanistan, including Harvey (it was fine) and an old roommate. Booboo, my old female fire-team partner from our tour to the Emirates, is going to be home as well in about a week, and must already be in the Med having her five days of decompression. All the above for Tallboy as well, which means I should be seeing my barrack box (foot locker) soon, since he stole it while I was out of the house on the day of his departure. The supply base across town was already wanting it back before he did, and told me I'd get no issuance or exchange of equipment until it came back to them -- good thing I haven't needed anything from them. Ah Tallboy, my barrack box is the only thing I want from you now, then we can close the book.

Posted by Jack Spratt at 02:06 AM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2008

Let there be panic

This entry is just googlebait for a PSA; most of you can skip it. I was having a problem with the excellent WW2 top-down RTS game Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts (available now via Steam, and, I presume, in stores) and nobody on the internets seemed to have a solution for it. The error message was "Missing RGM!" and occurred when vibrant blue cubes would take the place of normal objects like tanks, houses, and falling artillery shells. Anyway I experimented and basically the problem seems to be avoided if you load up the original Company of Heroes and simply access the add-on missions through there. Thank me later, CoH players!

Actually, now that I think, I do believe I've told Google not to index the Mess, so maybe nobody will ever see this anyway. Oops.

Posted by Jack Spratt at 07:32 PM | Comments (0)

February 8, 2008

Delivery Delayed

I got a surprise today when webmistress shauny informed me that the Mess still appeared to be generating comment spam. I'd told Movable Type to close all comments for all entries, future ones included, back in mid-April -- because I was getting 10 or 20 spam comments per day -- and MT said "k!" and sent no more emails to notify me of new comments waiting for approval. Reasonably, I took it as a given that nobody was able to post any more of them, spammers included, and figured that if anybody real really wanted to say anything they would email me.

But like I said, I looked under the Mess' sink today, and there were 500 spams dating back 10 months, as well as eleven from my faithful Readers. Whoa! I had no idea and I hope none of you misread my silence. Most of the comments, because my Readers are good people, were either complimentary or well-wishing, depending on what I'd posted about. mb, Svarit, Dan, and Fezboy! all checked in. Thanks guys -- it was like getting a present reading your notes today, however belatedly I was reading them. All's well with me and I hope the same for all of you. If you want to reach me you should use my new email -- stationchief at gee mail -- and Dan, you should really get on Facebook because the rest of us are there!

Summing up, I'm glad you guys still come around sometimes and I hope you keep checking in -- just don't do it with comments because those still aren't in use ;)

Posted by Jack Spratt at 12:41 AM | Comments (0)

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