Six Months down, ? to go.

So, it has been six months that I have been over here. I am getting ready to go on leave and spend time with my family. One of the first things I wrote for this website was about endurance, and the words I used then are really coming back to me now. I could not have been more on point when I used the term endurance to define my time here. This is not a way of tooting my own horn, or saying “Gee I am so smart.” No way, far from it. The truth of the matter is that I have never been a “long haul” kind of person. Truth be told I have always been more like a TV sitcom. If a major problem was not resolved within 24 minutes (that is minus the commercials) and everybody broke out into really corny laughter, I was not interested. I tended to avoid long term solutions. I mean look at my life. I was a teacher, had a few problems with the administration I worked for, and how did I resolve the issue. I did what any rational person would do, I joined the Infantry. How did that work out for me? Well think about where I am writing this from. See, rash decision maker. Now I am not upset with the path my life took after that decision, nor do I regret it. Fact of the matter is that had I not joined the Army, there is no telling where I would be. God uses everything we do to make us who He wants us to be. Sure, I could have done things the easy way, like paid attention in church and got the point a long time ago, but why would I do that. In case you have not paid attention over the last six months, I do and say a lot of really stupid things. I always have, and I probably always will. Why, because I am a moron. God made me that way. God uses my stupidity to make me realize just how stupid I am. He has given me the opportunity to learn from all my mistakes, and I have a lot to learn. He even gave me a wife who started a website that gives me the opportunity to reach the entire world. Now that is just theoretically speaking, I do not think the entire world has seen this website, I mean the counter is only on like 5000, and I think there are more that 5000 people on this earth, point is there is the potential to reach everyone. So what exactly am I trying to say here. Simply this: It is never too late to find out what God has in store for you. All you have to do is ask Him what it is He wants you to learn from in whatever situation you are in. That is what I have figured out in the last six months. I came over to Iraq asking God, “Why am I in Iraq?” All my life God has tried to teach me patience, but I was too distracted to listen. Here all of those distractions were taken away, and for the first time I really started to listen. God doesn’t need everyone to come to Iraq to learn patience, just me. Remember, not only am I very stupid, but I am also very stubborn. That makes for a great combination. God wanted to drive the point home, so he used a God sized hammer, named it “Spend some time away from your family in a war zone.” and started driving the point right through my thick skull. So as I prepare to go back home, at least for a little while, I just wanted to say thank you for all your prayers and support over the last six months. And also take a listen to what God is putting in your life. It is never too late to live a life that has meaning, purpose and value. Let God direct your heart, and you will see that he wants us to live life, and live it to the fullest.

“For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Take a listen to where God is directing your life, you know there is so much more that God has for us, than we could possibly imagine for ourselves. He set the freakin’ universe in motion with the sound of His voice; you don’t think he could solve whatever crappy issues you are going through right now. Trust me, you can trust Him.

Talk to you all when I get back.

Picutres of Iraq

I just wanted to give you guys some more photos to look at. I will publish a real post in a day or so. For now enjoy the photos.

New photo. This is from right outside Downtown Baqubah. Seriously. 

Old picture. Took this on the way up here from Kuwait almost six months ago. 

Baqubah Taxi. 

Riding a tractor on the streets of Baqubah. 

Beautiful Baghdad as seen from a Blackhawk. 

Yeah, Iraqi trash. 

Inside one of Saddam's old palaces. This is now a gym for US Soldiers. 

Saddam's Old Palace 

Iraqi High Tech Wiring System 

The two photos used on Hot or Not 

Hot or Not

On July 1, 2005, I took it upon myself to venture into another side of the internet. My wife is the one who set up the blog, and although at first I was not really sure how the whole thing would work out, I can say now that being on the internet is fun. So, based on that mentality, I decided to delve into the world of “HOT or NOT”. For those who do not know, Hot or Not is simply a website where people send in photos of themselves, and let the rest of the world decide if they are Hot or Not. The specifics of it are as follows: Post picture, wait for approval, approval of picture granted, people from all over the world rate you from 1 to 10, 1 being “Not” and 10 being “Hot”. The site does not allow any nudity or lewd photos, so it is seen as good clean fun. Okay, now that we have the voting process down let me inform all of you that after two weeks, I decided to take our photos off the site and publish the results.

Niki = 9.2
Rob = 9.8

If you didn’t just get really confused it was because you didn’t read it right, so take a minute and reread the scores. Done? Okay, did you see it? According to Hot or Not, I am hotter than my wife. This can not be possible. There is no way, I am hotter than Niki. You want some proof. Okay, today I was talking to one of my Iraqi friends that I work very closely with. He asked, “How is your family?” I told him they were great. He asked, “Do you have any pictures of them?” I said that I did, and proceeded to show him the photos. His reactions to my children were very normal, he was very kind and said how nice the looked and all that. Then I showed him a picture of Niki and his reaction was simply, “Nooo?” That was the only thing that came to his brain when this man who has known me for the last six months and has seen me everyday saw what my wife looks like. This was followed up with a “Really?” and then a “Wow!”

Now look at the number of votes we each received in the same amount of time

Niki = 1690
Rob = 110

Niki got 1580 more people to vote on her photo than me. Niki averaged more votes a day than I did in two weeks. There either must be some sort of flaw in the system, or the site is primarily for guys to look for hot chicks, under the auspices that it is all just a game.

So, what does the 9.8 really say? This is how Hot or Not actually rates you. They take all the scores you have and average them out. Then they look at every one of the same sex’s score and grade your score on a curve. Your score is based on the score of other people. So what my score really says about me is that I am 98% hotter than other men on that site. The same way to say that sentence in a more truthful manner is: “Women think that other guy looks more stupid than you.” COMMENT: Most guys who post their picture are looking to score, and most guys when looking to score look and act stupid. END COMMENT. The level of competition for men and women on Hot or Not is not the same. Comparing scores is like being in a staring contest with someone who is in the middle of an epileptic seizure. Sure you might win, but that victory is hollow.

There is some...thing, behind the couch. 

The Cooper Clan (at least a small part of it) 

A Piece of My Mind!!!

I am getting sick and tired of hearing about all this violence going on, and no one seems to be doing anything about. I am not even in America and it is making me sick the way the whole country seems to be falling apart. Can’t you people at home do a better job of keeping things under control while I am gone? What is going on? Some lady named “Cindy” is apparently roaming the streets of New Orleans, ripping down trees and knocking over power lines, and in general causing much havoc. That is just disgraceful. I had my honeymoon in New Orleans, and granted I am having a hard time thinking of one square inch of that city that I would call “clean”, but that is no excuse. This “Cindy” person should be dealt with. I have heard there are even copy cat criminals just waiting to take after her destructive ways.
Some guy named “Dennis” apparently is threating the entire country of Jamaica. Jamaica is the home of Bob Marley, that guy ruled, and to just sit back and let this jerk “Dennis” destroy the home of Bob Marley is wrong. You should all be ashamed of yourself.
Apparently gang violence is on the rise in my home state of Florida as well. Gang violence seems to be getting out of control. It used to be confined to the inner city, but now it has even made to the beaches. Look, I saw that movie “West Side Story” and frankly neither “the Sharks” not “the Jets” scared me. I mean all they did was dance around in circles. I don’t even think they fought; they were kind of “girly.” I guess things have changed in the six months I have been away. I just read a headline about “the Sharks” ripping someone’s leg off. What is that all about? That is utterly frightening. I, for one, am horrified.
I think the solution to these problems is that people need to start paying attention to the world around them. People really need to look beyond the surface, and get the whole story. This way we will be more informed, and information is power, or is it knowledge? I read that in a movie once, but I wasn’t really paying attention, so I can’t really remember which one it was, but my point is still valid.

Rob (picture)