Random thoughts thread

Happy 245th birthday Marine Corps!

I had the opportunity to serve 4 years in a joint unit and the Marines I met there were some of the most amazing and, um, interesting people I had the pleasure to meet while on active duty.

I just read through this and it confirmed my opinion that GRM is the best.

stanger_mussle (Forum Supporter) said:

Happy 245th birthday Marine Corps!

I had the opportunity to serve 4 years in a joint unit and the Marines I met there were some of the most amazing and, um, interesting people I had the pleasure to meet while on active duty.

Thank you.

Ugh!!! She heard from the docs today. I'm assuming it's very bad as I haven't heard a thing from her since. 

In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :

Praying for your friend and you as well Wally.

In reply to 11GTCS :

Thank You 

In reply to stanger_mussle (Forum Supporter) :

I don’t want to misquote Eleanor Roosevelt, so look it up if anyone wants, but she made a comment about the uncouth etc, etc., men, and ended it with THANK GOD for the US MARINE!!!!

Now back to reality. Details are a bit sparse because I'm still goofy guy on the internet but they're starting with chemo and radiation but she doesn't sound too hopeful.  I'm doing my best to be cheerful but my heart breaks for her and her daughter.  

03Panther said:

In reply to stanger_mussle (Forum Supporter) :

I don’t want to misquote Eleanor Roosevelt, so look it up if anyone wants, but she made a comment about the uncouth etc, etc., men, and ended it with THANK GOD for the US MARINE!!!!

For the ones in the back-

“The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!”

-Eleanor Roosevelt

In reply to Recon1342 :

That's the one!

In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :

Sorry man, that truly sucks. My bride got that news 13 years ago and her cancer has been undetectable for the past two annual checkups, so there are some good outcomes out there.

Keeping her and you in my thoughts 

In reply to CJ (He's Just an FS) :

Thank You, I'm hoping it goes as well for her. She's in one of the city's best hospitals for cancer so she has that going for her but it's going to be rough. 

Remember when you saw fast and the furious for the first time, and you revved the nuts off your E36 M3 box on the way out of the theater and all the girls panties flew off and they got pregnant? Those kids are old enough to vote now. 

Wally (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to CJ (He's Just an FS) :

Thank You, I'm hoping it goes as well for her. She's in one of the city's best hospitals for cancer so she has that going for her but it's going to be rough. 

Hey, bud, it's been a week.  Any news you can share?

My girlfriend and I just broke up. I realize now that I didn't so much have a home that I loved in, I payed for a big box for her to display all of her things.

In reply to Duke :

I've been pushing through a few different E36 M3storms this week so I wanted to wait until I talked to my therapist before doing this in case I had a problem or twelve.  I'll try to separate the stories to make it easier to follow.

1- Interweb girl, last week they decided to start with chemo and radiation. Unfortunately she started running a fever so they couldn't start her until yesterday. Adding to the frustration is that the meds they're giving her are sapping her energy. We went from texting almost constantly every day to a handful of short, poorly worded phrases mostly about being scared and hurting. She did have a good night Monday and we talked a couple hours but orherwise I only get one fairly clear message a day. She's staying optimistic and she's getting regular visits from family but they still haven't let her kid in.  I fell terrible that they haven't seen each other in close to a month. We talked about me stopping in but I don't feel comfortable visiting her while her immune system is compromised and I'm working around the great unwashed.

2- My sister in law's father passed away. Sunday I got a call that the Dutchman fell of a ladder and was likely not going to survive. This was heartbreaking. My brother found him unconscious and bloody behind their church. He was likely out there about four hours and has hypothermia in addition to the bleeding on the brain. He was a wonderful man, a great dad and grandfather and pastor at a small church that was very active in their community. He spent every minute of his life happily in service to someone, be it his kids. the homeless and hungry, or anyone else in need. He, like my dad who I lost earlier this year were the examples of Christian that everyone likes to think they are. Completely selfless, humble, giving even when they have nothing themselves. It kills me that my dear nieces lost both grandfathers in a matter of months. 
 

3- Tomorrow marks six months since i lost my reason for getting out of bed in the morning. Some days it seems like yesterday, others it seems like a lifetime ago.  Thanks to the help of so many friends both real and imaginary I've remained a mostly functional member of society. I've gotten out of bed and dressed every day and managed to go to work everyday. I still have a small breakdown now and again but everyone seems to understand and give me some space to pull myself together.  I'm doing my best to keep living like she had wanted but sometimes it's a real struggle.  
 

4- Work. We're out of money, more so than normal. There will be cuts and layoffs.  My position should be safe but no one really knows. Now that it's just me I'm not too stressed over it but it is in the back of my mind.

Other than that things are going pretty well. 

Wally, I'm sorry you're going through all of this. 

Today marks 2 years since Angie passed. Seems like 2 weeks sometimes. I often think I'm crazy, because I'll call her sister Angela, or else wonder if I need to change her diaper too for a brief moment. In some ways, I hope that goes away. In others, I hope it never does. 

In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :

I'm here if you need to talk, Wally.

In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :

In so many ways what you went through horrified me in ways my loss never does. To have an innocent baby like that is just awful.  We had a great life together, and were both happy right up to the last minutes. She didn't suffer and wasn't alone which were the two things she feared. As much as I would have loved more time we packed the time we had with as much love and adventure as possible.  As for what's going on now I'm in an odd spot. On the one hand it's somewhat more manageable than Jodi because I'm not that close to any of them but at the same time there's an odd frustration that these good people are having such trouble and affecting kids which always bothers me while I keep plugging along with no problems but anything happening to me would be at most a mild inconvenience to those around me. Sometimes the unfairness of it all is baffling. 

In reply to Recon1342 :

Thank You, I'm so lucky that I have so many people to talk to. 

One thing I want to say, and I’m sure many others have told you - your and Jodi’s marriage is an inspiration. Really. 

In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :

Thank You, I've heard that from a number of people and it always feels good. I have a few cousins that are quite a bit younger than me and in the past few months three of them have gotten engaged. They all said the same thing, that seeing how happy we were and how quickly it could all go away pushed them to stop putting it off. 
 

God they really need to dust in here.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u2LlLHMpemo

I wonder what the Venn diagram looks like of people who are disappointed that the new BR-Z is not turbocharged, vs. the people who live in high altitude areas.

In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :

Thanks for the detailed update.  We're all pulling for you and we all care about what you're going through.

Glad they are starting chemo on your friend; it's tough and energy-killing but sometimes it really gets the job done.

I saw your post about your sister's FIL and also about the prognosis.  I'm sorry to hear it came to be.

Hang in there and do what you need to grieve.  There is absolutely no fixed process for getting past it, and it is anything but a linear path.

Work - work is work.  Arbitrary E36 M3 happens in the large corporate world and even more so when that corporation is also a government bureaucracy.  It's no consolation but from what I know about your work and work ethic, if you get laid off it won't be your fault.

Best of luck to you.  You deserve it.

In reply to Duke :

Thank You, I'm glad they started the chemo to but it's taking a lot out of her. We did talk a bit today so I've been playing cheerleader. She doesn't really seem to have anyone to talk to her much of the day and I have a lot of practice talking people through medical problems. On the bright side when they get her moving she might have talked me into going to a cabin in Vermont for a week.  Not a normal first date but very little of my life is normal anymore.

After seeing how thing played out this week I worry about my brother and his wife. Being the only two responsible adults out of her siblings so much is falling on them to care for everyone else. They already spend little time on themselves. 
 

I'm not too worried about my job, I'm one of the only managers with a civil service title and I have 20 years in so realistically the worst that can happen is being demoted to bus driver.