I'm clearly not your average anything (speaking from a purely introspective perspective; else, what is average?) Where my fellow soldiers spend their weekends in bars and hotel rooms, I spend my nights at the library; where they spend class fighting to stay awake, I've already read the lesson and am working on the homework. I'm humbly arrogant to stand so far apart from the rest - conformity would keep me safer, perhaps keep me saner, and in almost everything it is touted as the letter of the law, thinly disguised as the value of teamwork. But then why offer such rewards for going above and beyond? Hence, I close my eyes to these small, small details and focus inward on the ultimate goal of it all: duty, honor and truth. If I can keep these things inside - if I can keep them precious - I will succeed without wasting my time attending to ego. Surely, I am strange.
Unknown " Ruby Angel" Feisty - 16 years, 3 months, 8 days ago

So, I've been away for a little while and now I have a moment to reconnect with the cyber world of HP. :-) Where have I been, you ask? Why, I've been at boot camp for the US Army! And let me tell you, that is the ultimate experience of a lifetime, friends: they didn't break me, but I admit there were some days I definitely wondered if it was worth putting up a fight. Now that I've moved on to the next phase of training, I'm glad I kept my head above water. These next few months of training will see me gradually earning back my freedom under the cadre's watchful eye; hopefully, my position as one of the first members of our new platoon will yield many opportunities for me to stand out in a positive way. I'm also looking forward to maxing my PT test. :-) I'm very excited to be a part of making a difference in the world.
Unknown " Ruby Angel" Feisty - 16 years, 4 months, 17 days ago

Unknown " Ruby Angel" Feisty - 16 years, 7 months, 15 days ago

So I just got back from Granada, Spain: Wow. The architecture... the scenery... the people... I went one day in the morning to the mountains to play in the snow and in the afternoon went to play on the beach! Incredible. And I've never said hello to so many total strangers in my life; people notice each other there - they look in each other's eyes even in passing. The traffic is crazy, but who wants to drive anyway? Everything is so weathered and beautiful there, it's silly to think you can experience it sitting down. The coffee is exquisite, the beer is made for close companionship, and the wine is as deep as the sunsets; you've never heard music until you've listened to an entire pub clapping along with the unpaid college kids fooling around on the piano in the corner. The human experience is total in Grenada - pristine and wretched, and intimate. It is history incarnate there, the past and the future overcoming the landscape by turns like the tide. Unforgettable. Earthy. Catastrophe.
Unknown " Ruby Angel" Feisty - 16 years, 7 months, 15 days ago

4-7-2007 "Your greatest enemy is yourself: know your enemy and you will defeat them. Each day, each new temptation is a chance for glory - battle, kill, and win! Strength matches strength; wits will not save you, for they are your own: but through the grace of God, subdue yourself and rejoice - for you are your nemesis. Rejoice then, and prepare; meditate on each battle, for your victory is also your defeat. Choose your side carefully and be sure you do not cast aside that which may one day save you. If you are defeated, do not hang your head in shame: use the lessons learned to win over yourself in the battle yet to come. There is no new fight, only deeper layers in which to revel. Descend! And in descending know that you are rising above yourself: you are becoming whole."

5-10-2007 "It is only through discipline to the law that one can find the loopholes in it."

6-5-2007 "My hand for justice, my heart for mercy, my head to decide between the two."

6-20-2007 "You must know the rules before you can play the game; you must play the game in order to win."

6-23-2007 "My greatest strength is also my greatest weakness."

8-19-2007 "Speak twice the word of warning, once the word of reprimand, but let the consequences speak for themselves."
Unknown " Ruby Angel" Feisty - 16 years, 8 months, 20 days ago