Reasons I Broke Up With Former Girlfriends:

Carolynn (1991 - 1992): I don't remember, but I'm sure it was something stupid. It also ended up being right before my senior prom, prompting me to ask Renee (a former crush), which ended up being a bigger mistake than if I'd stayed home, but that's a different story.

Julie (1992 - 1993): We didn't exactly date exclusively, but we might as well have. She was a senior. I was a freshman. She graduated. Last I heard, she changed her name to Veronica.

Anna (1993 - 1994): She broke up with me on a Wednesday. I came back from class Thursday to find her having sex with my roommate / best friend. They're now married and have two children. There was bitterness for a while, but we're on good terms now.

Jenny C. (1994 - 1995): I wanted to go out with Jennifer B. I was still angry over the whole Anna thing, and I treated Jenny like shit. It was a bad thing to do, and I'm sorry. If I ever see her again, I'll apologise.

Jennifer B. (1995): We never formally broke up. The whole thing just kinda faded away. I found out later the whole time she was dating me, she was having sex with one of my fraternity brothers. Man, what a dick.

Meredith (1996 - 1998): Probably one of the bigger mistakes I've made was breaking up with Meredith. We had talked of getting married, but I think I was just restless. I was in Vegas and she was in Kentucky / Illinois / Ohio. I think my only beef with her was that she referred to Sleater-Kinney as "Slater-Shmater."

Strained Musicians

Last night was the VMAs. Ryan and I watched the first half, but were so sick of Diddy (One of these days he's going to sample a song in its entirety and release it as his own.) and the tons of trashy outfits (What was Jessica Simpson thinking?), we decided to go to bed. I really hate the way MTV spoon feeds artists it deems worthy to its legions of conformist teenage followers. I mean, how else could Kid Rock have had a number one album? But somehow, I get mesmerised by it all and end up watching anyway.

Here are a few things I liked/disliked about the show:
Green Day's performance was great, and I'm glad they won so many awards. The "American Idiot" album is really good, and, to be honest, I was starting to lose faith in them after so many mediocre albums. I can't wait to see them live next month.
MC Hammer's performance was nothing short of pathetically desperate. It's over, man. It's been over for a long, long time. I'm sorry, but it's true.
Kelly Clarkson. I want to not like her. Really. But I just can't help but sing along to that damn "Since U Been Gone" song. And she seems so sweet. I have to admit, I let loose a little cheer inside when she won those awards. Unfortunately, I didn't stay awake long enough to see her performance, but I'm sure I'll catch it when MTV re-airs the VMAs about 6 billion times in the next month.
I was glad to see Missy Elliott and Alicia Keys win. I've always loved Missy and Alicia has a true gift.
I liked Shakira when she used to just shake her hips a lot, but that thing she does with her boobs is just freakish.
I saw The Killers back in May (seen here) and they sounded great, so I was rather disappointed when they sounded like crap at the VMAs. Fall Out Boy sounded pretty bad, too. Maybe it was the heat in Miami or maybe they were just really nervous.
Mariah Carey. Does anyone really take her seriously anymore?
I wish Gwen would have won a few more awards. And I really would liked to have seen her perform. But wait, I guess I'll get to see that first hand in October. Yay, me!

Anyway, I guess that's about all the commentary I have for now. I know it's sad that I pay so much attention to this silly pop culture, but I just laugh it off as another one of my many guilty pleasures. So sue me.

Load Off My Shoulders

I found out today I will not be going to Silver Flag next month, which makes me a very, VERY happy boy.
Speaking of happy boys, I want to shout a big "Congratulations!" to Nate and Natsuko, who gave birth to their second son, Tatsui, yesterday afternoon! The whole family is doing great.

Hurried Haze

I don't know why I haven't posted in three days. The weekend has been kind of a blur, really. Friday night, I went a party with work people. It was the first time I'd ever drank with co-workers since I've been in Utah. It was pretty fun, and I took pictures, but I think I left my camera there, so I'll post them when I get it back. Saturday was pretty uneventful, except that I talked to Paul and Trish for, like, and hour and a half, which was great. I also had the best run I've had in a long time. Then Sarah, Josh, Amy, Ryan Sherman, Ryan Halligan, and I went to see The Brothers Grimm, which wasn't too bad. Today, I went to the Washington Heights "Velocity" service, then went to socialise with Josh and Sarah, who are babysitting Jake because Nate and Natsuko are currently in the delivery room, giving birth to Tatsui. Now, I'm gonna go wash my truck and pray that it doesn't rain for at least a week.
Why is it that weekends seem to go by so quick, even though we're not really doing anything?
Anyway, this coming week should fly by. I'm pulling RST duty yet again. The work is busy without being hectic, and we usually get done early. Plus, I'll find out for sure whether or not I'm going to Silver Flag from the 10th to the 17th. The big thing is that this weekend is Labour Day Weekend signaling the big Vegas trip with Ryan, Caleb, and Jimmy. I'm so very excited!

False Step

Okay, I just want everyone to know that the "faux hawk" is OVER! Also, it's not 1987, so all you guys out there who flip up the collars on your little polo shirts - STOP IT! That fad was over before it started.
If you have any other fashion questions, feel free to e-mail me. I promise to be brutally honest.

All Understood

Jack Johnson
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Last night, Caleb, Tanya, and I went to see Jack Johnson at an amphitheatre in West Valley (the same place we saw the Steve Miller Band, shown here). I originally bought four tickets for Heidi, Sam, Caleb, and I, but Heidi and Sam had to drop out, so Caleb asked Tanya. We asked everyone we knew, but nobody was able to take the fourth ticket. As luck would have it, we were driving up to the venue, and traffic was bumper to bumper; however, there was a girl on the side of the road looking for a ride, so I told her to hop in. Her name was Katie and she was also in need of a ticket, so I told her she could have our spare. She was so grateful, and I was glad I could help her out.
We found a spot on the lawn and spread out our blanket. It was a beautiful, breezy summer night with a slight chill in the air. The show was sold out and I can see why. Jack Johnson's music is cool and mellow, and he put on a great show. Jack Johnson is a former pro-surfer from Hawaii, and there's no difficulty in hearing his laid-back attitude in his tunes. Definitely great stuff for laying on the beach (or on the lawn).

Franks n' Beans

Our squadron picnic was today, and it was pretty much a waste of time. It was nice not to have to be in uniform, but honestly, I think I would rather have been at work. My squadron is full of a bunch of macho idiots who try to prove their manhood by bragging about girls they've bagged and how much beer they can drink. Big deal. Normally, I can handle such people, but when there's a massive herd of them, then it's just too much for me. I won't even get in to the eight giant barbecue grills covered in more kinds of meat than I knew existed. Of course, I really shouldn't complain about that. I don't expect them to cater to my dietary needs, as long as they don't expect me to devour all that seared, rotting animal flesh, but I digress. I left early, went for a run, then came home and watched The Simpsons.

Festivities

Tanya & Caleb
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

After we left the tattoo parlor last night, we went to a birthday party for Tanya, Caleb's girlfriend. They used to date a long time ago, and then lost touch, but now they're dating again, and I think she's way cool. I mean, she's a big Radiohead fan, and that's reason enough to date anybody. Anyway, she had gotten a hotel suite and there were lots of people there I didn't know, but everyone was dancing and having fun so it really didn't matter. Happy Birthday, Tanya!

Ink-omplete

Yesterday, Ryan and I spent several hours at Lost Art Tattoo in Ogden getting more work done by Troy, the guy who did my last one. My appointment was at 12:30, and it only took an hour. As always, it's kinda red and puffy right now, so I'll post pics as soon as it heals. Ryan appointment wasn't until 6 PM, so we came home and napped and then headed back up to Ogden. Ryan is getting a huge tribal half sleeve on his left shoulder. Troy started drawing on Ryan at 6, but didn't actually start inking until 7:30. This may sound like a hassle, but with tattoos that big, there's really no way you can draw it out before hand. It has to actually be drawn on the body, and when you're dealing with something permanent, I'd prefer to make sure it's going to be exactly like you want it before the needle pierces the skin. Anyway, we ended up staying until 10, and only the outline is done, but it looks really good. After that heals, Ryan will go back to take care of all the shading and stuff.
Ah, tattoos.

Snap. Crackle. Pop.

I went on a first date tonight, and although it wasn't the greatest first date ever, it was still pretty darn good. I should also keep in mind the best first date I ever had was at the beginning of a major relationship that ended very, very bad. Very bad. I wonder if that means if I ever have a really bad first date, then I should continue dating them because it will eventually evolve into a great relationship. Um, probably not.

Celine Kabobs

McSweeney's just might outperform The Onion to become my favourite humour site. I think the funniest feature is the Lists. I stayed up really late last night just reading and laughing and reading and laughing some more.

Munch-o-rama

I seriously need to avoid this late evening snacking habit I've recently started. And once I start, I can't stop until I've eaten a virtual meal consisting of mixed nuts, jelly beans, tortilla chips, granola bars, cheese, and cookie dough.

Prunes

You know what bothers me? When guys walk around the locker room all naked and stuff. "Hey, buddy! You got a towel draped over your shoulders, there. Why not wrap it around your waist and spare us all the sight of your hairy, white, wrinkled ass?!?!"

Silly Celluloid

As anyone who's ever seen my DVD collection knows, I prefer films of the more serious, dramatic variety. However, if a comedy makes it into my collection, it's definitely there for a good reason. Here is a list of movies that will never fail to make me laugh:

Airplane!
"Oh, stewardess. I speak jive."

The Big Lebowski
"That rug really tied the room together."

Bowfinger
"We're trying to make a movie here, not a film!"

Clueless
"Do you prefer 'fashion victim' or 'ensembly challenged'?"

Dr. Strangelove-or-How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!"

Drop Dead Gorgeous
"Alabama. A-L-A-B-A-M-A."

Election
"I also like bananas."

Groundhog Day
"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather."

The Opposite of Sex
"This is how we do things on the Planet Maturia. We have much to teach you."

Reality Bites
"Evian is naive spelled backwards."

Sideways
"Are you chewing gum?"

Spaceballs
"Evil will always triumph because good is dumb."

State and Main
"It's not a lie. It's a gift for fiction."

Swingers
"Our little baby's all grows up!"

Waiting for Guffman
"We consider ourselves bi-coastal if you consider the Mississippi River one of the coasts."

Zoolander
"Hansel. He's so hot right now. Hansel."

There are other films I own that could be considered comedies (i.e. Citizen Ruth, Three Kings, anything by Woody Allen, etc.), but they usually have other characteristics outweighing those that tickle my funny bone. Regardless, if any of you have ever shared a laughing-so-hard-you're-out-of-breath moment with me, you'll most likely appreciate these, as well.

Skipping and Clipping

When I checked my e-mail at work today, there was one concerning Silver Flag, which is basically a big, week-long training exercise that all CE career fields have to attend. This particular time happens to be in September, the same week my Dad is coming for a visit, AND Interpol is coming to town. My heart about skipped a beat when I saw my name on the list. I asked my boss why my name was on there, and he said it was a mistake, which made me feel much better. However, the people who decide Silver Flag attendees have a lot more pull than my boss, so there's still a chance I'll have to go. Yeah, I'm kinda nervous about that.
Other work-related story: I got called to pull RST duty through Wednesday of this week. I've come to find that basically any time Readiness has a lot of work to do, they just recall all the RST people. Today consisted of cleaning a bunch of pallets, which wasn't really that bad. It was leisurely work, and we took our time doing it. Plus, it's nice to interact with a different set of people from time to time.
Completely different story: I got home this afternoon, and was getting ready to hop in the shower, when I decided that my chest is just a little too hairy. So, I pulled out my clippers and went to town. I now see that this was a total mistake. It turned out all patchy and trying to remedy that just made it worse. Also, dark body hair makes you look more tan than you actually are, so now I'm gonna have to do some major poolside lounging to counteract my whiteness. It's tragic. It really is.

Saturday in the Park

Ryan
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

There wasn't much going on this afternoon, so Ryan and I went down to Salt Lake to shop for a bit, where I bought these way cool khakis at Banana Republic. Since we're going down to Vegas over Labour Day weekend and the shopping there puts shopping in SLC to shame, we decided to cut the shopping trip short and head up to Mt. Ogden Park (also seen here) to toss the frisbee around. By the way, these pictures were totally candid and spur-of-the-moment. We didn't pose for them in any way whatsoever.

Me
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Fun in Mormon Land

Temple Grounds
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Here are the overdue pictures from last weekend with Abby and Charis. (If you've already seen Abby's blog, then some of these may seem redundant.) As I said, we had such a great weekend full of reminiscing, laughter, stories, and the best tasting, albeit totally unhealthy, scones ever. Enjoy the visuals!

Convention Center
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Silhouettes
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

This is Abs and Charis posing inside the LDS Convention Center. I thought the picture would look really cool with the waterfall in the background, and at first, I was kinda disappointed their figures turned out so dark, but now I think it looks really cool.

Waterfall
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

This is the outdoor shot of the waterfall from the last photo.

Abby & Charis
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

I think they look a little mischevious in this one...like they're up to something. Corrupting poor, young Mormons, maybe?

Temple Front
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. The big gold statue at the top is Moroni, the angel who first visited Joseph Smith. I'm sure if you ever ask a Mormon, they'll be happy to tell you all about him.

Agent Abby
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Here's Abs doing her best Charlie's Angels impression. Judo CHOP!

Me & Abs
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Abby has a similar picture on her blog where we're both looking ahead and smiling, but I really like this one. It's like she's glaring at me because of some off-colour remark I made or something, which she probably was.

Rock Star Abby
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Saturday night, we went up to Ogden and ate at The Pie, which has, by far, the best pizza around.

Caleb, Kevin, & Me
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Identical Foot Twins
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

After dinner, we all went back to my pad, where Charis and Caleb discovered they have the exact same feet.

Charis, Caleb, & Abby
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

We made such a big deal out of it, that we all had to take pictures. I guess Abby prefers close-ups.

Jumping Bills
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Then we tried this trick where you attempt to jump over a dollar bill while keeping hold of your toes. It's impossible to do, but just in case Caleb succeeded, Charis was going to be right there with the camera to prove it.

Caleb, Abby, & Me
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

These last three are just pictures we took at the end of the night. They're all funny, mostly because of the facial expressions of Caleb and Abby.

Caleb, Abby, & Me
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Caleb, Abby, & Me
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

So, yeah, it was a great weekend, and I can't wait for the Young sisters to come visit again, hopefully during the winter so we can do some mad boarding!

The Curtis Sutra

Sex baffles me. Sometimes I think about it, but I just don't understand it. I'm not really talking about why people are attracted or natural selection or other strange desires. More like the mechanics of everything. It seems like such an odd procedure. Why did God make it like that? And what led early man to experiment with his body and the body of his partner to lead to such a ridiculous looking position (or positions)? And why are certain parts located where they are? Why isn't my penis growing out the side of my head or like a sixth finger? Why are vaginas shaped the way they are?
Of course, the whole attraction thing baffles me, too, but that's a whole different can of worms I'm not even thinking about opening right now.

Lots of Boxes

Moving is expensive. Even though I had everything I needed in my old place, when I got to my new place, I had to pick up some essential stuff. The new place is much larger than the old place, but since I'm splitting it with someone, I have to find new, creative ways to store stuff. That means new shelves and hanging bars and I'm even thinking about placing another IKEA order.
I guess gone are the days when I used to come home, peel off my uniform, walk around my pad naked, and watch whatever I wanted on TV while eating an entire pizza. Or leaving my laundry in the dryer until I'm damn good and ready to fold it. Or dancing around to N*SYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" at 1:00 AM on a Tuesday. That's okay, though. It will be nice to have someone with whom to chat from time to time.

Welcome to Alaska

After spending the past two days moving and getting everything situated (which will still probably take a couple more days), I didn't really feel like doing too much last night. The original plan was to go bar-hopping in Salt Lake, but that kinda fell through. So, Caleb, Ryan, and I ended up going to see Stealth, which was amazing......ly horrible. I mean, I never really expect too much from action movies in the first place, but this one was just bad. Maybe since I'm in the military, any movies having to do with the military just ring false. Maybe if I were a nine year old boy who'd never seen an airplane before, I would have thought it was the greatest movie ever. Maybe if there were more nudity. Yeah, that's the ticket.

XXXI

I
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Instead of looking upon this date as my 31st birthday, I prefer to see it as the 10th anniversary of the day I became legal.
Time seems to go by quicker as you get older. My friend Dan once explained it me like this: when you're five years old, a year is one-fifth of your life. When you're ten, a year is a tenth of your life. And so on. I guess that's why summers seemed to last forever when I was a kid, and now they fly by in the blink of an eye.
I think I mentioned something on my birthday last year about how great I feel, despite being older than I've ever been. I still feel the same way, even though I look in the mirror and see so many flaws. Bent nose. Crooked lips. Uneven ears. One eye that's always a little more closed than the other. Extra flab around the mid-section. Hair where there should be no hair. Noodle arms. Blemishes. Gray hair. I could go on and on and on. I refuse to stress over it, though. As we used to say in elementary school, "God made me and God don't make no crap!"

Tweekend

The lady formerly known as Airman Young and her sister crashed at my pad Friday and Saturday night. We had a great time and took tons of pictures, but unfortunately, they had to leave this morning in order to make it to Texas by Monday night. I'll give a more comprehensive narrative and post pics later this week. Now, however, I'm in the process of moving into my new pad, which is a pain in the butt now, but will be worthwhile once we get settled and start saving some money.

Speed Demon

I just finished ATV training, and it was SO MUCH FUN! There were only four of us in the class, and we basically just rode four-wheelers around through a bunch of hills and trees and stuff for a few hours. So, needless to say, I was pretty dirty afterward. I came home to eat and shower because we're having a commander's call this afternoon, and apparently, I'm getting some kind of medal or award or something.
After shooting another gun yesterday and riding the ATV today, I'm starting to think the Air Force has an agenda to turn me into a redneck. The next classes will probably involve hunting squirrels, watching NASCAR, and/or building shrines to George Bush.

Two to the Chest, One to the Head

I somehow got volunteered to be on the Readiness Support Team (RST). Basically, that means that I'm going to be the bitch-boy for readiness people during the exercises. It's not as bad as it sounds, though. I'm sure most of it will consist of guarding weapons during the Phase II part of the ORI, and that consists mostly of sitting in the armory and playing PS2. Whatever it means, it sure beats running around the BORTA in MOPP 4.
As a new member of RST, I have to get qualified on a bunch of different things. Today, I got to shoot the 9mm. Now, I don't really like guns. In fact, I wish they'd never been invented. And I'm not much of a marksman, either. However, when it comes to disassembling and reassembing them, I'm right up there with Forrest Gump.
Tomorrow, I get qualified on ATVs. That's right...I get to drive a four-wheeler up in the mountains for three hours. I just hope I don't break my neck.

Mantra, Chakra, Etc...

Saturday night, Sarah, Josh, Caleb, and I went to a party at Eric and Kristen's place. They were the cool people I met at Josh's birthday party a couple weeks ago. While there, Caleb and I started talking to Belinda, this really cool girl who lives down in SLC. She invited us to go to this meditation session with her last night, so we did. We were both curious to see what it was all about, and were anticipating some kind of mystical, new-age-y type thing with lots of crystals and chanting. Boy, were we wrong. Well, except for the chanting part.
It all took place in a room in a psychiatrist's/massage therapist's office building. It was dimly lit and there was incense burning. There were about 20 people there and everyone was very friendly. The session started with 30 minutes of meditation. I really liked this part. I'm pretty familiar with prayer and meditation, and the 30 minutes went by really quick. After that, a few people talked about what they meditated on. I was expecting people to talk about Buddha or Oprah or something about ruffling away the bad spirits, but of the six people that talked, four mentioned Jesus. One lady talked about how much meditation has put her in touch with the Lord. Caleb talked about how God fills his heart up with love. It was pretty cool.
Then the chanting started. It lasted for about 30 minutes, and it included beating on a drum. I tried to participate at first, thinking it might open me up to something new, but I just ended up feeling silly. What I did realise is that it was much easier to meditate and concentrate on the Lord when I have background noise.
The whole thing was over by 8:00 PM, so then, Belinda, Caleb, and I went to this restaurant called the One World Cafe, which was the coolest place I've been to eat in Utah. It was all organic food and run by volunteers. There was no menu and no prices. Only a box at the door, and when you leave, you just put in what you thought your meal was worth. Apparently, that works pretty well, because the place has been there for years and it's pretty popular. I'll definitely be going back again.
So, yeah, overall, it was a pretty good evening. I wouldn't mind going back to the whole meditation thing again, but I wonder if I could leave before the chanting.

Around the World

Me & Josh
Originally uploaded by currtdawg.

Back when I was living in Vegas, one of the guys who hung out in our crew was a guy named Josh. Josh is originally from Tooele, about 30 miles south of here. Not too long after I left for Japan, Josh left for Korea, then spent some time in Germany. Now he's on his way to Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, but first he's spending some time back here in good ol' Utah. We had dinner tonight, and it was great to see him again. Good luck in Nebraska, Josh!

In the Stream

Caleb, Ryan, and I went and saw The Island tonight. The movie was, as Ewan McGregor would say, "shite." However, Scarlett Johansson was HHHHHAAAAAWWWWWTTTTT!