The Journey Begins

September 18, 2008 By CJ
Posted in Life in the Military, Military History, Military News

The 2008 Milblog Conference is nipping at our heels. This year the Milblog Conference is taking place during the BlogWorldExpo in Las Vegas, NV. It begins tomorrow, Friday, September 18th, and yours truly will be there. So will his truly, Troy! I’m looking forward to meeting him.

Tomorrow is the day and I simply can’t wait. Tonight, I took me the daunting task of packing my bags – something inept at doing alone. I got married so that I would never have to do anything alone ever again. I got married because I have no idea how keep myself alive on my own. Usually when I take trips, she’ll pack my bags because if I do it, I tend to forget something important. Since I had so much stuff to pack tonight, she wanted no part of it.

Along with three days worth of clothes, I’m carrying a bag full of about 50 You Served t-shirts to pass out to the unsuspecting masses at the expo. I didn’t realize how much space it was going to take, but I should have known since it was shipped to me in a HUGE box. Additionally, I had to pack a tripod, a camera, DV tapes, clip on microphones, a mixing board, cables, batteries, headphones, voice recorder, power cords, my computer, books, and other note taking instruments. I think my bag weighs about 50 pounds.

Packing all this stuff means I can’t take much needed personal supplies. I may have to do without deodorant, toothpaste, fingernail clippers, and fresh pairs of socks. My mom would be proud though as I found a hidden pocket in which I was able to stuff clean underwear. Instead of all these needed supplies, I’m going to bathe in baby powder and rub up against street hookers to mask my odor. All in all, I packed two bags that will, without a doubt, send me into secondary screening at the airport. I’m tempted to sneak an unopened 20 ounce bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper – a full 17 ounces more of the lethal beverage than legally authorized. But, I really want to make it there without forcing some TSA rep to don rubber gloves and stare at me longingly.

I’m not supposed to be wheels up until 1200, but I’m going to the airport at 0500 in an effort to get on an earlier flight. The greedy airlines wanted nearly $400 to change my ticket to a day earlier. So, it’ll be standby for me. If I don’t make the 0630 flight, I’ve got a nice FIVE HOUR layover in the airport – plenty of time to get on the nerve of every passenger in the terminal!! I’m thinking of filming my own version of “The Terminal”. Can you even film in a terminal past security?

While I’m at BlogWorldExpo, I’ll be conducting interviews with attendees and covering the convention for You Served. I’ve got hours of tape to record meaningless dialogue and dull scenes. Somehow, I convinced the people at VAMC to have even a little bit of faith in me to partake in this project with little to no supervision. Marcus and I have a lot of fun stuff planned for podcasts and I’ll be writing now and then as I get time right here!! The bad news is that all the lights that were shipped to me never made it here. To be honest, I’m not that upset since I already feel like I’m back in Iraq humping combat gear into a FOB without any support, fully loaded with ammo, food, water, and other needed gear. The added weight of a light set would have forced me into contract negotiations I think!

So, if you’re going to be in Vegas for the Milblog Conference, look for me!! I’ll be the one in the navy blue “You Served” t-shirt. And if you say the secret phrase, “I support the troops, just not their smelly socks” – you get a free shirt!! And if you don’t say the secret phrase, you get one anyway. Just yell, “David Sneakers is my lovechild” really loud. I’ve also got some surprises in store for the panel I’m sitting on, so pay attention.

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