Tuesday, May 20, 2008

bored to death

nothings happening here lately. hardly any gunshots anymore, one might think thats a good thing but i tend to think of the calm before the storm. we havent gone out in 3 days now. all weve been doing is pulling guard while they put up this fucking wall. if i see another concrete barrier in the next 15 months ill just randomly start shooting...really i wont but ill be upset to say the least. i was pulling guard yesterday and got to hang out with a iraqi army special forces soldier. it was pretty interesting to find out what kind of training their getting. we had an arabic lesson for about 3 hours... that is one hard ass language to learn. For the most part i havent really done much except read and listen to music. i watched a movie called battle for haditha which won all sorts of awards and it was the biggest piece of shit ive ever seen. it really showed the military in a horrible light. the haditha incident was horrible but its almost like they made the marines sound like blood thirsty killers in this movie...i had to turn it off. the down time makes me think alot about home and the people i left behind. Ryan and Robby and Nate.my mom and all my friends who have been there for me through alot of shit. i feel like im missing out on alot. i cant believe ill be gone for over a year. it already seems so long since ive seen them. Ryan's my best friend and i hardly talk to him...its horrible. hes not to much into the whole internet thing so its rare that i get to talk to him as much as i should. All my friends keep sending positive vibes my way and i cant thank them enough for that. i guess when im away and have down time i think about home too much. i just gotta get back into the things that eat up my time. But on a positive side i had a good dinner finally and i actually got to drink a monster that was room temp...it didnt matter, for that few minutes i was in heaven. I also got my first letter from my grandma. She writes me every week. i look forward to her letters. time to go read "lone survivior" Its a book about a navy seal and how his entire team died...its a good read if yu ever pic it up...im just rambling now. bye all

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Eric,
You don't know me but I know your mom, Janet. I work at Southwest Juvenile Hall and she comes in here every now and then and I get updates on how you're doing. You've got a great mom so I just wanted to say "HI" and say thanks for being over there and keeping us safe! I've got a 17 yr old son that's talking about the Army (Paratroopers)and I think it would be so good for him but also scares the crap out of me only because of the state of our world...
Take care and please be safe!
Nancy

Bryan said...

Eric,

Hang in there. Boredom is tough. Admittedly, with seven kids I don't have much opportunity for boredom. Never a dull moment at the Stumpf house! Emelie and Teddy are in shooting sports at 4H this year. We just built a range at our house so they can practice. They'll give you some competition for marksmanship when you return stateside.

We're sending you a box this week. Just some miscellaneous stuff to let you know we are thinking about you. You are quite the hero in our house. The picture of you and your friends in front of the tank is the desktop image on our computer.

Take care,

Bryan

www.christiehemm.com said...

babe you are the strongest person i know. "i'll see you soon" right? i know you wont but dont forget why you are there. just read that note i gave you before you left for germany the first time. that should sum it all up =] you are in my thoughts constantly. i love you.

Our Family said...

Hang in there Eric! What you are doing is so noble and great! I can't tell you enough how proud I am of you! Can you email me your address? I would like to write you sometime. By the way, my husband and I are living in CA. So when you get back I would love for you two to meet. He knows all about "my boys"! Keep in touch!

Unknown said...

Hi Eric,

I know that it must be tough to just hurry up and wait. Might be hard on you, but for us back here-well I'm just glad you're in a safe place.
I just read Bryan's message!!! I can just picture all those little faces looking at your picture in awe!! You ARE their hero!!
And you're a STAR!! Stay alert, keep writing. We all miss you very, very much!!!
XXX0000
Aunt Roo

Unknown said...

Hey buddy we are all so proud of you man, Stuff is about the same around here so dont think your missing out on some crazy events. Cant wait till october bro Vegas is gonna be a blast.