Wednesday, April 30, 2008

my biggest challenge...

since i've been home, is not volunteering to go back to iraq (i actually really want to go to Afghanistan)! i don't know if i can exactly explain my feelings, however i'm sure some know what i'm talking about, but fuck, i'm so bored. day-to-day is so blaaaaah. a few highlights here and there...a few good laughs...a few good friends...and i'm very grateful for all of that. but this life is so repetitive...i feel like i'm trapped in a room and the walls are closing in. so i sit quietly and watch everything around me...everyone looks blah. i'm over it.

so everyday i tell myself...Kate, you made it back home with all your fingers and toes and your family has been through enough...and you wouldn't want to hurt them anymore...so you will go through the motions. you will work, spend time with family and friends, smile, pretend to be excited about life, go back to college and do all the other bullshit that follows.

home is worse than iraq.


**everyone should check out vetvoice. i'm going to throw up a link Brandon sent me...please check out what Nick Suhr wrote. Link!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

let the games begin!

i've been in the IRR officially....two weeks? maybe three? just got my first phone call..."SPC Hoit, this is so and so, please call me about the IRR and ways to get back in the Reserves". maybe I should call back and inform him its SGT Hoit and I'm on vacation from the Army for a couple months.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Lioness.

new documentary that tells the story of five women who served in iraq. i know it is playing in nyc Tue, Apr 29, 9:30PM Village East Cinema 1 and May 1st at the same location at 12:15pm and Sun, May 04, 1:00PM AMC 19th St. East Theater 1. (will be at thursdays showing!)


Tribeca Film Festival


Lioness (official website)

Thursday, April 24, 2008

so i'm researching...

female veterans. and i came across this...

"Date Hot Iraqi Girls Meet Iraqi women & Iraqi girls free
Video chat. Date Iraqi girl now! www.Arabs2Marry.com"

i know some of you male veterans came back with crushes on Iraqi women (or girls...little weird) but look, you might just have a chance!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Female Vets!?

where are you hiding? any from NY?

Sunday, April 20, 2008

i dont know your world.

it always happens, i get sucked into going "downtown". this area of albany, is a bunch a shitty bars that attract a lot of useless people...that all look the same. kind of like flies on shit. i agreed to go "downtown" with the intention of yelling at an old friend from high school but like it always happens, i unwillingly walked into a high school reunion. don't get me wrong, a lot of these guys are sweethearts and they always make me laugh. however, i get the same questions every time. "new tats? so you're not in iraq? but was it hot? married?" so after having the same tired conversations, i looked around and saw several girls from my high school. some have kept their freshman 15 on (one girl i don’t even think went to college), some look exactly the same, some pretended not to recognize me...thank god because its always so awkward. its like, "oh my god...heeeeeeey, like how are you? really? no way? i'm like working in real estate." awesome, stop spilling your drink on me and i don't care about your life. i decided to venture away from the table i was sitting at, in the corner, next to the wall, to go to the bathroom. of course, the line was five miles long. as i'm waiting, some girl taps me on the shoulder..."hey, wanna kill some time?"..."uh sure"..."will you plzzzz take our pic?"...i think she realized by my facial expression, i wanted to be somewhere else doing anything else...she added, "i mean you dont have to"...but i did. the bathroom was packed. cleavage everywhere, sparkly eye shadow, hair that was four different colors, talk of muscular guys and sex, short short dresses, and the pathetic girl asking her bff, "why doesn't he like me?"...and her bff lying to her about how its totally his lost and hes a total asshole...i finally peed and walked back to my table. i sat next to a couple guys from high school...one guy wouldn't stop tickling me...weird. another guy, who is a full blown alcoholic, telling me he "just wants to have a good report with me"...what does that even mean? another guy, who had a shirt on that said "your make up doesn’t fool me", talked to me about all the "tail" that was in there. are these people seeing what im seeing?! jesus christ. so we played, the who would you hook up with game?...i pointed out girls and he said yes or no. as i'm looking at these girls, i can't even understand their world...i don't understand what’s going through their heads. dresses so short, i'm seeing ass cheeks, tits up to their chin, the most ridiculous hair styles ever, running around sloppy drunk, spilling their drinks on people, throwing themselves on guys with shitty abercrombie and fitch polo shirts, with perfectly frayed jeans on, and fake tans. these people do this every single weekend. these people are the ones that go to great colleges or universities...that might become CEOs and have to make important decisions. these people have no sense of reality. these people could care less about what’s going on in the world. and all i can do is care...because none of these people have to care...and the world is on the shoulders of people in the military and their families and friends. and all we want is maybe a sense of normalcy...and that won't happen for a long long time. so i sit in a shitty bar, looking at girls who just want to look cute, attract shitty guys and suck a dick. and guys all look the same, say the same corny lines and drink jagger bombs. and i’m suppose to smile and pretend like i’m happy? fuck that, i’m bitter. this is a huge part of America...and its disgusting.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

FEMALE VETS!!!!

any out there? i need your help...i would like to know when you were deployed, to where, your job, and a little about yourself. if you have any questions email me... arita8x8@yahoo.com


(working with a writer on a documentary).

Monday, April 14, 2008

reunion!

from the left...viera, ski, rosado, rosa (my rommate!),me and bautista. (there will be another girl in some of these pictures...its natalie!)








i'll write about our night later...so hilarious and perfect.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

random.

i have another three hours at work, so i figured i'd kill time.

the Wounded Warriors Event was a total success and hilarious. there were tons of people...bikers, vets (not that many younger vets...about 7...i counted and forced them to talk to me), a lot of middle aged women and drunk old men. everyone pretty much just got wasted, won door prizes, and danced. i made friends with a Wounded Warrior guy (forget his name)...he lost part of his left arm...total sweetheart. he's from southern new york and wants to help me organize an event. he also told me about a couple events that are coming up and i'm going to tag along with him. i was also introduced to an ambassador for the Wounded Warriors, told him i was vet and was interested in doing something/anything to help out and he gave me his card. i actually won a prize, of course i was in the bathroom when they called my name and my friend jess had to run in and get me...picked out a 1950s style jukebox alarm clock, kind of funny. my mom wanted to dance the whole time...i refused for hours but then jess and i danced with her. let me tell you about women over the age of 50...they aren't afraid to dance. these women were dropping to the floor, shaking their asses, they had tight shirts on, cleavage showing...they made jess and i look boring. the band was a lot of fun...they played classic rock. some photographer took a few pictures of my tattoos and wants to put them in a magazine. we stayed for about five hours and finally left. i found out they made 6,000 dollars which is really awesome. i have a few photos...will post them when i get a chance.

i know this is a little late but the military has identified Matt Maupin remains. i was happy to hear this, hopefully his family finally has a little peace in their lives. when i was at Anaconda, his family donated several computers to our library...which was pretty awesome.

i've been talking to a writer about a documentary on female Soldiers...see what happens.

on saturday i'll be in new york city...its reunion time! meeting up with several soldiers i was deployed with. honestly, can not wait! however, a few are getting ready to deploy again and won't be able to make it. some have already done another tour, some said fuck it, started smoking weed and stopped drilling, some are still drilling, and some went active duty. my roommate is suppose to be there...love this girl to death. should be awesome!

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Petraeus Testimony.

i'm pretty sure everyone knows Gen. David Petraeus is giving a testimony right now. if you don't want to waste your time...it goes something like this...Petraeus will say things like we've made progress, Iraqi security is stepping up (yeah right), some areas of Iraq are extremely dangerous while others may not be as horrible, he'll praise all the Soldiers for their hard work and dedication. The Republicans will say things like, we can't pull out that would mean complete failure, al qaeda will take over Iraq and the Democrats will be the thorn in Petraeus’s side asking totally absurd questions like, are we safer as a nation now, is staying in Iraq worth losing more Soldiers, etc etc etc. so basically nothing will get accomplish. nothing changes. the President will go play golf. another Soldier will die, lose a leg or arm, another Soldier will be sent back over for the third time and return home even more mentally fucked up then before, Iraqi security will take naps or watch American troops do the job they are suppose to be doing...so don't worry everyone, life as we know it will continue on. so by this summer troops levels should return to "pre-surge" levels and after that who knows.

The best part of the testimony so far was a single man yelling “bring them home”…

“With no one speaking to us...So we are speaking up.” mliw.

i say start a draft!

Friday, April 04, 2008

the IRR and a promotion.

i stopped by my unit today and signed my IRR papers...i'm officially in the IRR. my UA told me i’ll start getting harassing phone calls and emails soon, telling me i have to go back into the Reserves or get deployed again. we'll see what happens.

i also found out i was promoted to a Sergeant effective April 1st. i'm happy i got promoted but also disappointed because i won't be pinned or have a chance to wear it.but if i do have to go back in i'll be an E5, which is pretty exciting.

tomorrow i'm going to a Wounded Warriors Event with my girlfriends and my mom. there’s live music and lots of alcohol, guest bartenders...should be interesting. hopefully, i'll come back with pictures and a few ridiculous stories.