First Impressions

Hey everyone. Things are finally starting to come together down in sunny Puerto Rico. I won't go into detail with everything I've done and seen so far, but here are a few brief items that I've noticed so far.

Driving - the "rules of the road" down here are more like mild suggestions, which everyone promptly forgets the moment they get behind the wheel. Traffic lights, driving lanes, and speed limit signs are all things that native Puerto Ricans pay absolutely no attention to whatsoever. Driving in South Korea was worse, but this runs a close second. To survive down here you drive as if everyone is trying to kill you, which may or may not be the truth, but I can't tell from the way people act in their cars. In any case, take your average American, run him through a four-week no sleep speedball bender and then put him in a car. That would be your average Puerto Rican driver.

It's fucking HOT! I knew it was going to be hot and humid before I came down here, but knowing about the heat and humidity isn't anything like actually living in it. I'm drinking at least a gallon of water a day, most of the time it's more like two gallons. I sweat so much I turn into the human waterfall. Even the Puerto Ricans sweat down here. It's insane.

Once you get out of the city, it's beautiful. In the city, it looks like a bombed out third world country in some areas, and like a tourist trap in other areas, with a few nice looking areas mixed in for color. It's an odd mix. The country is beautiful. El Yunque Rain Forest was breathtaking.

Individuals down here are some of the most helpful people you can meet. Almost every person I've met on a one-on-one basis has been great. That being said, doing business with a company in this country makes me want to throw up. Puerto Rico Telephone acts like a communist run organization who regards their customers as a nuisance rather than actual customers. When the people in the company are almost hostile to you when you call up, you know that it's going to be a bitch. Nothing gets done without either a damn long wait, or a lot of yelling. The cable company was a bit better, and the base is paying for our electricity, thank goodness. That's one less hassle to deal with.

Oh, by the way, when a soldier starts talking about how dealing with the US Army is less hassle than the civilian equivalent, be scared. Be very, very scared.

And don't even get me started on the transportation company. Let's just say that I'm not allowed to talk to people in that office any more. My first line supervisor is going to do all the talking while I glower behind him. And I'm not the only person who's had problems with them, I'm just the latest in a long line of US soldiers. The guy before me was actually pushed out the door by his supervisor, who then came back and informed these people, "Listen, I have a pissed off sergeant who is about to go off, and if you don't give him his truck right now, I'm going to let him back in to do whatever the hell he wants."

It's probably a good thing that I'm going to be busy Monday. My wife will be picking up my truck, unless they get stupid and force me to come back to the office.

I need to brush up on news and politics, because I've spent the past month so damn busy that I haven't had time to breath, much less watch the news. We finally got cable TV installed, so that I can watch the news while I exercise in the morning. One thing that I do recall is Mad Howie Dean blathering to some group of fuckwits about the "dark plan that Republicans had for America".

I had to laugh. President Bush talks about freedom, and the Donks call it a dark plan. President Bush talks about owning your own retirement funds, and the Democrats call it a dark plan. Well, I guess when you're nothing but a fucking parasite who's entire life depends on you sucking off of my tax dollars, I suppose that me being allowed to keep my own money would be a dark plan for you.

President Bush nominates judges who actually follow the Constitution, and the Democrats call it a dark plan. Well, when you can't get your socialist dreams through congress, and can only enforce your ideology through judicial fiat, I suppose Constitutionalist judges are a pretty dark plan for you.

At this point, you can almost hear the Democrat Party's foundations cracking. But when you do nothing but pander to communist fuck-nozzles and anti-American shitheels, you're bound to have problems sooner or later. At this point, I can't say that I'm sad to see them destroy themselves. I just wonder who will spring up in their place.

So anyways, as you can see, I'm pretty much set up. You can expect regular posts from me again. I trust I'll have plenty to get outraged about.