I want to say that, normally, they would but the army and I think the marines have been experimenting with trying to churn out as many people with a little bit of language skill as possible. Like, the Pashto course I took was a last minute decision to be funded by my unit, so they had to condense it from 6 months to 3, but still maintain the same standards for completion as opposed to the Dari course before that which was only 5 months.

It's probably more likely all that is a branch specific decision, though. It makes sense, given the level and type of interaction that you expect from a platoon of infantry in rural Afghanistan versus a US/South Korean training exercise, for example. It's just not necessary for the soldiers to build and retain their language because they won't need it after 12-15 months when their deployment ends and the hearts and minds bullshit goes out the window. The guys that stay at DLI for a year or more, however, are given that opportunity because those skill sets in information technology are projected to be needed by that level of command for a good while.

Bummer! I wonder if he'll get that opportunity? I know that you can't just pick up anything and get paid for it (it only applies to languages with a military significance) so I expect it would be pretty difficult to learn another of those languages with work's support or even being self taught.

! What are you planning to do to China?!

I succeeded at making a poached egg! Of course that was after 5 failures(in my defense, 3 of them were due to the egg yolk being punctured). I only wish I had bigger better eggs to work with from grade AA rather than these grade A eggs I was stuck working with.

Spy on them, at the very least.

If I play my cards right, however, I might be able to convince GANDHI that it's in his people's better interest receive their aluminum from me, instead of from China.

Had my first day at the Halloween store yesterday. It was alot of fun! I get to talk about fx makeup and show people costumes all day! I've never been so excited about work before!:D

I don't suppose if one of us happens to be in the neighborhood we could come see you at work?

Best way to get the best eggs is to keep your own hens :)

I've wanted some for years but mother refuses, despite the fact we certainly have garden space for a small breed like Bantams. One of my friends keeps Orpington buffs, and seriously those eggs are DIVINE. I like taking them a present of mealworms whenever I visit :)

Since roller derby is a team sport, that'd be Classic Trek versus Next Gen. As cool as that sounds, I'm not sure it would work as well in practice ... the uniforms aren't that different from a distance (let alone figuring out how to make one woman LOOK like Kirk and another one LOOK like Picard ... except for the obvious prosthetic bald cap), and I wonder if girls could roller derby in the Classic Trek short skirts?

Still, it is a cool concept. Who knows ... maybe they'll do it at some point.

See its not the same thing, plenty of people love Classic Trek but think Picard is the superior captain.

And you could just wear the different uniforms. The yellow shirt is very different from Picard's "I keep having to tug at it" shirt.

Finally getting the Unemployment Benefits I should have been getting for the last three weeks.

Get a job, ya bum!

Haha You could, I suppose. But then that will wreck the false internet persona I have;P

What is it about the first rain shower that makes people yell in elation?

My mom's dog violently tripped on my computer cord a few weeks ago and it was really damaged in one spot, and now the wire is just hanging together by a thread and sparks if I plug it in.

My brother is in school for biomedical engineering and I thought he said before that he knew how to fix power cords, so I texted him and asked. He said no, and I asked if he had any electrical tape. He does not.

I've had a bad weekend and I really can't be without a laptop, I have homework that absolutely requires a computer and my sister's is a piece of shit that probably can't run the program I need. Tomorrow is Canada's Thanksgiving so nothing will be open. I typed "fine, I'll hold it together with duck tape."

It autocorrected as fuck tape. I'm not going to let maturity stand in the way of finding that funny.

I'm working on it, believe me... I hate being unemployed.

Today my cat snuggled with me while I watched movies on my laptop. That made me happy.

That is hilarious! Ahahahahaha!

Saya, that made me laugh this mourning. Thank you!

Not having died at the hands of my psycho neighbour drug addict yesterday kinda made my day today.. somehow.

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Finding out that Stan Lee got his own Jeopardy catagory!

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Coming up with a really cool seven string guitar riff that going to make a foundation for a song !!!. :)

My mom moved to Pacifica earlier this summer. She came back last weekend to sort through everything for the estate sale before she sold her house. To say thanks for our help with moving, she gave us her "old" bed - a king sized W Hotel mattress. Took some effort getting it up the stairs to our apartment... but holy crap. All I want to do is sleep.

^^^^^^^^^ lol!

"If you've got a heart then Gumby's a part of you!"

YAY! Google has a new doodle celebrating Gumby creator Art Clokey's 90th birthday! Check it out!

http://mashable.com/2011/10/12/gumby-doodle/

It comes complete with Gumby, Pokey and a couple of BLOCKHEADS!!! AGGGGHHHHHH!

http://www.google.com/

Hmm, I see a market for "Fuck Tape", we could stock it next to the "Virgin Again" pills. :D

'Fuck tape', that shit is still making me giggle!

My Practical for Lab and second Math exam are done with. Now I'm drinkin'! ^_^ I made those bones my bitches!