Armageddon

French shells began to hit to the right and left of us, leaving human forms writhing in agony. Our advance came to a stop and after hesitating a few minutes we drew back while the artillery fire followed us, ripping large gashes in our formation - soon the French drumfire engulfed us, the air was filled with gas and flying pieces of steel.
We automatically mounted the machine gun for action. Then like animals, we burrowed into the earth as if trying to find protection deep in its bosom. Something struck my back where I carried my gas mask, but I did not pay attention to it. A steel splinter broke the handle of my spade and another knocked the remains out of my hand. I kept digging with my bare hands, ducking my head every time a shell exploded nearby.
A boy to my side was hit in the arm and cried out for help. I crawled over to him, ripped the sleeves of his coat and shirt open and started to bind the bleeding part. The gas was so thick now I could hardly discern what I was doing. My eyes began to water and I felt as if I would choke. I reached for my gas mask, pulled it out of its container - then noticed to my horror that a splinter had gone through it leaving a large hole.
I had seen death thousands of times, stared it in the face, but never experienced the fear I felt then. Immediately I reverted to the primitive. I felt like an animal cornered by hunters. With the instinct of self-preservation uppermost, my eyes fell on the boy whose arm I had bandaged. Somehow he had managed to put the gas mask on his face with his one good arm. I leapt at him and in the next moment had ripped the gas mask from his face. With a feeble gesture he tried to wrench it from my grasp; then fell back exhausted. The last thing I saw before putting on the mask were his pleading eyes.

-T. Bradley, quoted in Ascoli, The Mons Star p 63.

ENFJ

Everything you do right now ripples outward and affects everyone. Your posture can shine your heart or transmit anxiety. Your breath can radiate love or muddy the room in depression. Your glance can awaken joy. Your words can inspire freedom. Your every act can open hearts and minds.

David Deida

Gambino

had a great time at Colin's on Tuesday.
Was introduced to the magic that is childish gambino.

So glad I took work off the day afterwards.

Pretty excited for the weekend: I have Jenny's wedding and rflan!

Rows

Today the 5x5 app said do 47.5
Silly me can't count weights properly I somehow put 2x20s and 2x1.25s on a 20 bar..

But yay I can lift!

Last

Vanessa and Josh graduated today. 

I think they're the last of the bunch. 

Looks like we're all growing up!

I also celebrated my birthday with grandpa;

85 and 26. But we didn't have a 6 candle so I pretended to be 25 instead. That's fine by me :D

26

Wow I'm 26 now. I've had this blog for 8 years!

Virtue

A man's only concern must be over his own virtue because his virtue is the only thing he can control.

Ssb

Addicted to ssb

But that's ok because that's a pretty cool way for 2 gaymers to spend their time together <3

War

More quotes on the great war;

‘Why, they’ve only just quit over in Turkey,’ said Abe. ‘And in Morocco—‘‘That’s different. This western-front business couldn’t be done again, not for a long time. The young men think they could do it but they couldn’t. They could fight the first Marne again but not this. This took religion and years of plenty and tremendous sureties and the exact relation that existed between the classes. The Russians and Italians weren’t any good on this front. You had to have a whole-souled sentimental equipment going back further than you could remember. You had to remember Christmas, and postcards of the Crown Prince and his fiancée, and little cafés in Valence and beer gardens in Unter den Linden and weddings at the mairie, and going to the Derby, and your grandfather’s whiskers.’‘General Grant invented this kind of battle at Petersburg in sixtyfive.’‘No, he didn’t—he just invented mass butchery. This kind of battle was invented by Lewis Carroll and Jules Verne and whoever wrote Undine, and country deacons bowling and marraines in Marseilles and girls seduced in the back lanes of Wurtemburg and Westphalia. Why, this was a love battle—there was a century of middle-class love spent here. This was the last love battle.’

-F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night Chapter XIII, page 85

Work

1 week down and I've almost seen everything!

I'm happy and blessed to have such an awesome and supportive team! They make work a lot more pleasant than it could be :)

CS:GO

i have a new man crush named sean gares

Farewell

Had hwa ro today with friends!

A lot of people are moving away to different places:

Eileen going to Sydney,

Ka-Seng going to San Francisco

Emma going (back) to Taipei, and

Tricia going (back again) to Tokyo!

We surely are growing up and going places but when I was young I had never imagined that this would be such a common thing !

As Eileen said, 'good luck to everyone' and I wish everyone the best on all their journeys!

July 1914

- Alston, the weekend west aug 9-10, 2014

Quote

The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.

- Churchill

100

It's been 100 years since the Great War started.

And we are still trying to figure shit out from that time