Flipping Schedules

One of the questions I always get is how long do you work. Well, as I have said I’m on call my job is like being a fireman or something. Firemen don’t usually spend 8 hours a day putting out fires same thing here. Much like firemen situations can arise at any moment and you have to be ready and alert. So if you get a call a 2am then you have to be alert at 2am. Being that we have to work some random issues at random times and the fact that we talk to our friends and families and things like that our schedules are off. For example I was "on" for 29 hours on Saturday.

After a while you need to get back on a regular schedule so you have to “flip” your schedule. For example let’s say you need 8 hours to get a good night’s rest and you get up at 8am and you end up staying up till 4 am so for you to get your 8 hours of sleep you will sleep till noon. Now then if you do the same amount of time up you'll now find yourself going to sleep around 8am. You schedule is now “flipped” and you are sleeping the entire morning and now getting up in the afternoon (4pm). That works fine for when you have to work at night but, after a while you are going to want to start going to bed at regular hours and see sunlight for you to do that you have to flip again but, you may not have 3 days.

What happens is you get up a 4 pm and then you stay up till about 10pm the next day that is about 30 hours. It sounds wild but it’s really easy to do because if it is a slow day you are just doing paperwork and when you should be asleep the people from home are at work sending you emails. It’s funny to me a lot of times I’ll see people come to work email me to say they are in for the day, they’ll email me at lunch, then email me before they go home, and depending who they are email me to say they are going to bed. I’m up the whole time. It’s weird when you see someone’s whole day unfold right in front of your eyes. Well, I’ve just flipped back to days and now I gotta do some work that will have me up in the middle of the night so I’m going to have to “flip” again. My job is never done.

*grabs cape and flies out the window*

100 up, 100 down

In my personal accomplishment folder I'm doing 200 push-ups a day 100 when I get up in the morning and 100 before I go to bed everyday. Yeah, I'm sure there are some people out there that are like that's nothing. But, when I got here I could barely get out 30 all day.

Rogue's Gallery: Entry 0005 Mr. Badass

The real story I was going to post yesterday before I was lost focus was about Mr. Badass. I saw him in the PX. All military personnel are armed around here they either have a M-16 or some variant of that or a handgun sometimes both but yesterday I saw a true bad ass. This guy, Black dude, had an M-16 and an assualt shotgun on both his legs he had his spare rounds for his M-16 and on his shoulders he had his shotgun rounds as well as a bandolier full of shotgun rounds. Dude looked fucking wicked, how do I know he was a bad ass? When he passed by you heard other Marines whispering to one another "Did you see that dude? He has a shotgun and a rifle! That fucking sweet!"

I mean people were in awe of this guy as he walked by. Even they hadn't seen someone as armed as this guy was so it wasn't just me. Around here they don't hand out guns for no reason. And generally everyone only has one. This guy has to be the Truth for him to be armed the way he was.

Tommie Hustle hates Black History Month.

That's right I said it. I can't stand Black History Month. This may sound strange to some of my readers but, no it is true. I find it to be such a waste. Your next question I'm sure is

"Why, Isn't it good for people to learn about the history of Blacks?"

I would reply yes, however it would have to be done right and it hasn't been well at least from where I sit.

Well let me get into the jist of why I hate it. When I was a kid I was always the only Black kid in my class. So when it came to Black History Month every teacher I ever had started off pretty much the same way and it when something like this.

A long time ago black people in America were slaves and they had to work for white people and they were beaten and that was bad. Then EVERY kid in the class would turn in my direction and look at me like I had first hand knowledge of being a slave. This happened EVERY Feburary, excpet when I went to Black schools where of course no one gave a shit about history.

Well for me Black History was everyday. While the average 5th grade was doing reports on Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, or if they got really ballsy they would do Sojurner Truth. I was at home reading books like Satan in the Pulpit, or the Triangle Trade and it's impact on modern shipping routes, or Blue Eyed Devil, or the complete history of Africa. Things like that my Dad made sure that my brother and I were well versed in all things Black all during the year. I remember my Dad letting us read these books and I remember him telling me that I could never tell people at my school what I was reading. I didn't know why at the time but, as an adult it all comes full circle. The things that I was reading would have been so infuriating to my teachers that I probably would have been lynched at school and it would have jepordized our entire family. So as with many things in my home it fell into the realm of "Family Business". Whenever you heard the term "Family Business" in my house that meant that it was NEVER to be discussed outside of the house. I'll probably get in trouble when I get back home for mentioning it now.

So for me the things they talked about EVERY year were so simplistic and showed:

1. A lack of interest on the part of educators.
2. A fundamental misunderstanding of how to intergrate Black culture into the everyday goings on of school.

I pretty much formulated that view by the time I was 11 or 12. Every year no matter what school I went to I could pretty much teach the month by myself because I knew my teachers weren't about to tell me anything I didn't know. It was like they were (and probably still are) content to teach the ABC's of Black History and never teach anyone how to make words.

This is what I think most of the kids that I went to school with me got out of Black History month.

Slavery is bad.
Helping Blacks is good.
Abraham Lincoln helped Blacks so he is good.
Getting shot in the head is bad.
Helping black people get on the front of the bus is good.
Martin Luther King helped Blacks so he is good.
Getting shot in the head is bad.

PS - Wearing white sheets is bad and Canada doesn't have slaves.

So at the end of the day it's good to help Black people but if you do you'll probably get shot in the head.

I remember the first time I actually formulated a cuss word for my own use in my mind. I was was in the 3rd grade and this boy came up to me after class and said "I'm sorry that you were a slave."

I thought to myself "What the fuck are you talking about? I'm not a slave. I live three houses up from you. I think he is really stupid."

That was the first time I actually thought a cuss word and the last time I actually talked to that boy in my class. No good would have come of it.

Young men of the world listen! I have knowledge to share with you.

I myself at one time was a younger man and I can remember with much fondness the days when courting was new and exciting and the appeal of wanting to share the details of my so called conquests. But, I was coached by a master in the ways of romance and if there is one thing I can say to you young men out there and I hope that you, as will I, take it to your grave.

Whatever you do, don’t kiss and tell.

There are three major reasons for this two maybe obvious and one takes a bit of foresight.

No one wants their business in the streets: Women are fickle characters if you haven’t figured that out by now. But sex is a very private affair to them and in general (there are notable exceptions) she doesn’t want you running off and telling your buddies what she can do. There is a terrible double standard as far as sex goes and women get the short end of the stick so even though you may be a high minded individual who doesn't view women who like sex as slut and whores there maybe others around you who do.

This may come as shock to you but men love to gossip and can be as catty as women can be. It’s true. Especially when you have a limited supply of available mates in the area. In common terms it may be known as “cockblocking” or “player hating” (I’ve also heard the term “haterism”). You must be ever vigilant to protect your own supply of potential mates and one way to insure this is to not let other males in the area know that you have acquired a mate. Or at least be able to throw them off the trail. See when other males can detect that a female is willing to mate, instinctively they too attempt to mate with this known willing female and they will attempt to prevent the other males in the area from doing the same. This is a totally natural act but the wise male is vigilant to these sometimes subtle and sometimes ham-fisted tactic. These “haters” or “busters” as I have also heard them be called can be quite devious when it comes to preventing you from mating AKA “baller blocking”.

This one is harder to see but it is very important as well. You never know when your kinky paramour may end up becoming your wife and/or the mother of your children. As tempting as it may be, you must realize that it may not be in your best interest to let your best man to know your wife-to-be has no gag reflex. Some things are better to kept to yourself! You all may be asking "Why are you telling us this?"

Well today I was on the way from the PX and I was taking one of my varied routes back to the office when I noticed a couple, one male and one female you could tell that they were in a heated conversation, well let me correct that you could tell that she was in a heated conversation.This particular young man had the look many a young man has had when he is getting his ass reamed to the wall.

Maybe you’ve seen it or even been it. Hands in his pockets, shoulder slumped over, and head hanging down nervously nodding hoping that his good buddies did spill too much more of his beans. Being the voyeur that I am I slowed my pace so I could get an earful. They figured (well she probably) that they were off the beaten path a bit so no one could hear them. One could assume that this was a discussion that they didn’t want their comrades to be a party to. Well from what I could tell they poor young man had made the mistake of telling his male comrades of his recent conquests.

This may have “earned” him stripes and the celebratory statements of being the “man” however haters were waiting in the wings egging him on to give salacious details. The poor fool thought he was cementing his status as the Alpha male when he was only insuring that these haters had plenty of information to share with is soon to be ex-paramour. This all exploded in his face in spectacular fashion probably minutes before I passed them. I nodded my head solemnly as I passed the wretch of a man-boy as he lamely tried to explain, “what had happened”. I could only think to myself as I passed him. Next time I’ll bet you’ll shut the fuck up when score a chick.

My "first" time in Iraq

To comb my hair.

I haven't combed my hair or shaved since I've been here. Yes, for many of you out there that sounds wild to hear from me but, there are several reasons.

1. I’m wearing a hat or a helmet all the time.
2. I have no desire to get a military hair cut. When you look like a Marine they treat you like oneI’ve seen it happen. I have no desire to get chewed out for not being regulation by looking like a wild man they don’t make the mistake.
3. They can’t cut. At least not how I like my hair at least.
4. It’s not “sanitary” (to be fair it really can’t be) here. That is to say they don't have the disinfectants that they have in a regular barbershop and I’ve seen some guys around here with bumps on the back of their head that look like their heads were the testing ground for an NBC attack. No thanks guys, I’ll pass.
5. I just got a comb.

Well combing my hair after two months was an “experience” my family knows that I’m tenderheaded. And going thru this tangled mess was indeed hard work. Brand new comb and I broke about 5 teeth.

I got A LOT of hair. My Mom is sending me a pick and then I’ll really know how it looks. I six months I’ll probably look like Ludacris.

Live from Election Central.

Well the elections were yesterday and...nothing.

It was pretty bland day from where I was. I saw the elections like I saw the movie Daredevil. If I went in with lowered expectations then pretty much anything would be considered a success. I think this was a major victory for the Iraqi people not really for the elections per se but, the fact that Iraqi security forces were the public face and that they did a reasonably good job of protecting the people. The more that the Iraqi people see Iraqi security forces doing the job of providing security the better it will be for everyone. Now then how the elections will pan out I don't really think anyone can say today my magic ball says ask again in 20 years.

Another thing that I think helped the election that no one could control was the weather. It was a beautiful day outside, there was a slight breeze in the air. The weather was the kind of weather where you could wear a short sleeve shirt or a jacket and you would be comfortable either way. It was the kind of day where you would want to be outside anyway. People don't realize how much good weather affects your mood and outlook on the day.

Google me!

You can do a websearch on Tommie Hustle and my site comes up. That is so wild to me, I never thought I'd see the day where I could be Googled.


-Tommie Hustle