Well, it’s officially 2006

Happy New Year to everybody. Yes, yes, for most of you it’s not quite the new year yet, but it is here. Actually, that raises an interesting little predicament. My 2006 starts a day before your 2006. If I then come back to the states before the end of 2006, my 2007 will actually happen on the 366th day of 2006 for me. Time travel! I’m missing something there but I’m not quite sure what …

In any case I hope everyone has a good time. Personally I spent the night watching some television and reading a book and I’m perfectly happy that way. Truth be told, I don’t think I’ve ever really done much of anything on New Years. Holidays in the middle of winter just don’t inspire me to party. 2005 was an interesting year, I’m not quite sure how to categorize it but it will definitely be a memorable one. Presidential elections, hurricanes, pregnant sisters, Mardi Gras, high school reunions, Korea .. it was certainly a busy 365 days. Here’s to the future, may it be as every bit as interesting as the past.

 Print This Comments (0) Posted in Holidays by Bryan

Walk The Line

I just finished watching this film. If anybody doesn’t know, it’s the life story of country / folk singer Johnny Cash, starring Joaquin Phoenix (the hair lipped fellow from Signs) as Johnny and Reese Witherspoon (the blond girl from those horrible Legally Blond movies) as June Carter. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.

The basic plot is as follows. Young Johnny Cash, here after referred to as “boy” has a hard life in rural Arkansas. Boy’s brother is killed at a young age and father blames boy. Boy grows up, gets married, and failing to be good at much of anything else, is drawn into a music career. Music career takes off, so does boys addiction to various vices (booze, drugs, the usual). Marriage deteriorates. Along the way boy becomes enamored with highly attractive country singer June Carter, here after referred to as “girl”, who is herself recently divorced. Girl, despite her interest in boy, resists his advances due to his problems and her own reservations. Boy hits rock bottom, girl rescues him, and eventually relents to his never ending requests for marriage. They both live happily ever after.

It’s a simple enough story and certainly not unique in Hollywood, but it’s delivered in a well crafted and accessible manner. The film is not without it’s flaws; it’s constant focus on the budding relationship between Johnny and June leaves almost every other part of his tale lacking. There is a continual flirtation with the relationship between Johnny and his disapproving father that just never seems to play out. In the end it remains unresolved, with the father seemingly accepting his son finally but with no real indication as to why. I also would have liked a bit more attention on his actual career. The fact that he is in fact a highly successful singer almost feels like an after thought.

Still, I definitely recommend the film, especially if you are in any way a fan of Cash. All the singing done by the actors is genuine, no voice overs here. Reese Witherspoon in particular really impressed me. with both her vocals and her performance. I never quite felt totally immersed with Phoenix as Cash, but June Carter was nailed perfectly. Overall, it’ll be a good rental once it’s available if you haven’t caught it in the theatres.

 Print This Comments (0) Posted in Movies by Bryan

Settling

Two things .. one, there aren’t any pictures in this update, so don’t bother looking. It’s still far too cold to go out sight seeing. I’m going to FORCE myself to at least take the camera out to Songtan this weekend though, as I have four day off due to the holidays. Two, I’m going to be working on the website here shortly doing software updates. Things may be a bit fubar for awhile, so don’t be surprised. I’m going to try to be smart and not nuke everything this time.

I was standing outside watching the helicopter lift off earlier today, when I saw these odd looking things on the other side of the runway. They looked like abandoned cranes or something at first. On closer inspection, they were actually Patriot missile launchers, pointed north. It was one of those “oh crap” moments you get from time to time in the military, when the reality hits you of what your job actually is. Yes, I’m an aircraft maintainer. Yes, 99% of the time we go to work and come home like any other Joe in the world, albeit one who wears a somewhat funny outfit on a day to day basis. However, it’s that little 1% (a lot more than that actually for many of us) that makes all the difference.

I was struck by another thought yesterday as well. Those of you that have cats, have you ever noticed when you move them to an unfamiliar location what they do? Almost invariably they stalk around for awhile, yowl a lot, and eventually hide under a piece of furniture they find familiar. It hit me, I’m that yowling cat right now. My dorm room is my familiar piece of furniture, and darnit, I’m quite comfy in here. Much like it does with the cats, this should pass soon enough.

I will say, that familiar feeling of detachment is starting to set in. You know what I’m talking about .. that sense you get after you move somewhere new that life wherever you were is starting to move on without you. It’s not anyone’s fault, that’s just the way things work. But it feels weird none the less. I was checking my Little Rock work web mail account for the last few weeks, but I’ve stopped as none of the emails mean much to me now. When I talk to folks back home I find myself wanting for topics. It’s amazing how localized small talk really is, it’s almost as if we all develop our own constantly evolving personal dialects within our circle of friends and family. Once your no longer attending the daily language lessons, everything starts to get a bit muddled. I think that’s ultimately what makes holding on to those you leave behind difficult, actually. After awhile, you just run out of things to say.

Anyway, I miss everyone terribly. I’d love nothing more right now that to be in down town Little Rock with everyone going to the same three or four bars, talking about the same junk, and having the same old good times. All I can say is I’ll be home in July, be ready!

 Print This Comments (0) Posted in Korea, Website by Bryan

Greetings from six thousand miles away

Well, I’m here. I’ve actually been in country for about a week and change now, but this is the first chance I’ve really had to mess around with the web page.

I uploaded a few pictures I took around base so far. Unfortunately I’ve just been too busy and it’s just been too cold to get out and get any shots of Korea itself. They’re coming, oh yes, but not just yet. I have lots of plans to go out and see the country, there are all sorts of tours and what not, and a great train system that goes just about everywhere for very little money. Realistically though that’s going to have to wait until January at least. For now my main concern is not freezing to death.

Initial thoughts .. Osan AB is much like any Air Force base in the world. You have the exact same stuff you find everywhere else, right down to the Popeye’s and the Burger King. At the same time, it’s very much different. The vast majority of the folks stationed here are not allowed to own a car, so everyone walks or bikes everywhere. That gives the whole place a very college campus sort of feeling to it. The second odd thing is everyone lives in dorms. Everyone. Enlisted, officers, everyone. Even the “Family Housing” looks like dorms, they’re huge multi-level apartment complexes. Of course, some people live outside the gates, but they’re in apartments. Actually, I’ve yet to see an actual house in this entire country other than a few from the air as I was flying in.

I’ve wandered around Songtan a few times. I don’t really know how to describe it other than it really does look like something out of a film. Supposedly there are a hundred and five bars in the few blocks directly outside the Osan main gate. There’s probably twice as many little shops and vendors. Everything is built vertically, everything is small, everything is colorful, and nothing is easy to find. Many places are nothing more than a little sign and a staircase going up or down. Streets don’t really seem to have any particular organization, they just kind of meander around wherever they want to go. Drivers here take a similar approach, it’s very Darwinian. The worst of the bunch are the guys driving these little moped things around .. you get out of their way, or you get hit, simple as that. There are little creepy looking alley ways everywhere. I’m assured by just about everyone here that Songtan is exceedingly safe. It has it’s seedy side of course, and you have to watch out for drunk Americans at night, but other than that you can walk around relatively comfortably without fear of being mugged or worse. The best way to sum the city up in one word would be “busy”.

I can’t say I’m particularly enjoying myself so far, but that’s to be expected. There’s alot of culture shock you run into when you first get here. Hopefully it will fade once I get a bit more comfortable. I will say one thing for Osan, it’s like one huge support group. Everyone here is in some stage of coming or going, you’re definitely not alone. There’s a palpable sense of camaraderie I’ve not felt at any of the other bases I’ve been to so far. Everyone is coping with separation and loneliness here. You can almost feel it in the air. It’s reassuring in a way .. no matter how down you get about your own situation, you only have to look as far as the person next to you to find someone else going through the same thing. As a result, everyone is very friendly and willing to just stop and talk, help you out, etc. Don’t get me wrong, given a choice I’d be getting on a plane back to the States right now, but all things considered it could be worse.

That’s it for now I suppose. Hopefully future updates will be a bit more interesting as I start to get out and about. Oh yes, I also uploaded some pictures of the boys from the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony back at Little Rock that I took before I left, check them out if you’d like.

 Print This Comments (5) Posted in Holidays, Korea by Bryan

Happy Thanksmas

It’s often said that Thanksgiving has become little more in our country than a warm up for Christmas. Now, I can’t really comment on that with any authority. However, I can say that we went ahead and took the next step this year at the LeBaige household.

As most anyone reading this page probably knows, I’m leaving for a year long tour at Osan AB, South Korea here in a few days. Because of this, we decided to do an early Christmas over the Thanksgiving weekend. The kids certainly didn’t complain, especially considering they’re going to be getting a second Christmas here shortly anyway. We had a great time, and it was nice seeing everyone before I leave for this trip. The pictures pretty much tell the story, check them out.

In other news, some folks in the family have expressed interest in being able to upload pictures to the website and post on the news page and stuff. That’s perfectly doable! But you have to register first. Click on the little “Register” link over there on the right. Also, if you want, put your email address in the “Email Updates” box over on the right down at the bottom. You’ll get a handy little email every time a news post is made.

Making posts is fairly easy, but will probably require a bit of explanation on my part for the less computer savvy out there. I’ll try to make a little “How To” at some point here in the future when I get some time. In the mean time, if you can’t figure it out, just email me and ask. The website is still a bit rough around the edges.

This is likely my last post from the states. I’m going to be very busy I’d imagine in the first few weeks after I get to Korea, so don’t expect to hear much. Until next time ..

 Print This Comments (0) Posted in Holidays, Website by Bryan