What to expect when you're away.

   I have taken two long trips in my life. In those two trips I have learned less than I should but more than I care to know about how people act towards you when you're removed from them. My second trip either reinforced and changed some of the conclusions that I drew from the first trip. I write this so that you, you nebulous person who theoretically is reading this blog, might be a little prepared for what to expect when you're gone.

1. You will randomly acquire SO MUCH random stuff that you don't need/ want.
   
   You won't realize that you got all of this nonsense either until it's time to leave and you're mailing stuff home. You will go through your belongings and be at a complete and utter loss for words as to how you came to acquire so much..... Stuff! During the tail end of my Iraq trip I discovered that I had picked up so much extraneous that I had no clue what to do with it. Markers, flashlights, boxes up boxes of pens, batteries, trinkets, shirts and I even picked up a mouse (that tore through my chemical suit and flew out of one of my bags) all of this was the random things that I just kinda picked up along the way.

2. You will not pack enough stuff.

    You will forget things, probably important things. Why would you do this? Because you're packing for a long trip and you will not remember everything. This time, I left a hat! How did I forget something so base as a hat? Clearly I'm retarded, but I did it. I don't remember what I forgot last trip but I'm sure it was something important! I really don't think it's possible for you to reasonably pack for every contingency, especially when you don't really know what you'll be doing.

3. You will pack too much stuff.
    So you're going to a warm weather environment and you want to bring cold weather gear "just in case"? You want to bring a suit just in case you get to suit up and go somewhere special? You're not going to need it but bring it! A nice pair of shoes? Like basketball shoes? Eff it, bring em you'll use em like 4 times so why not! Look, bottom line you're bringing entirely too much nonsense and there really isn't much you can do it.

4. You will feel left out.

    The Grunt and I were having a conversation the other day about pop culture and how we miss so much pop culture related things while on a trip. The last time I COMPLETELY missed out of the cupid shuffle, I came back and everybody was doing this dance that I had zero clue about. To again put it in prospective I heard Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" for the first time a week ago when I downloaded his newest album. Popular culture seems to move at sub 12 parsec speeds while you're gone. But the feeling of being left out by pop culture pales in comparison to other things.

5. Your loved ones will make you feel left out.

   So while you're gone you think pop culture is going to make you feel left you? Wait until the people that you love and love you completely ignore you. You'll leave messages and get no responses, you'l see other people getting the love you want from people and you'll get none of it. Laughing at people for having a loving and supportive group around them quickly isn't funny anymore when you start to realize you don't have that. You will hear "oh what do you want I'll get it together" of some for more times than you want to hear and you will cease to expect anything.

6. The people that hold you down will forever be in your heart.

   Two people who immediately come to mind who held me down my entire first trip are Jewbacca and my grandma. Those two people sent me letters and packages and Jewbacca was always there to talk to and bounce ideas off of and everything like that. For this deployment, I'll always hold Butters in high regard. He was the very berry first person to send me anything this trip. We haven't spoken a whole lot but it really doesn't take much to make a person feel good. Jewbacca has always been there for me. She was the second person to send something and she's the only person to consistently have the decency to respond to messages! The coolest thing about these two people is that I've never asked for anything, they just knew what was up and decided to act like a friend. There are others that have certainly been pretty awesome this deployment. A special shootout goes to my brother who constantly held me down back at home and with forwarding things to me that I need. Without him looking out for my interests at home and here I'd be sunk!

7. Jodie will get to your girl. Yes, your girl.

   The American military has a grand tradition of singing about the not at all mythical person named Jodie who has sex with your girl while you're at the supermarket getting eggs on a deployment. With phrases like "ain't no use in calling home, Jodie's on your telephone" from basic training on young military members are confronted with the fact that someone (probably that they know) is having sex with their sweethearts while they toil away. So, before you leave on your trip just know that your sweet wonderful sweetheart who PROMISED that she can be with you through your trip and SWORE that she wouldn't bang Jodie? Well, she's banging Jodie. When your trips starts you'll hear less and less from her till she lets you know what's going on or you find out. But don't you worry, she still loves and really loves you and really this is your fault because well, people can't just be owning up to their personal failings can they?

Well, that's about it. Stay turned for the part 2 to this series "What to expect when you get home" coming as soon as I get home and feel like writing.

GUESS WHOS BIZZACK???

    Its been a long time, I shouldn't have left you without a strong rhyme to step to without a dope blog or two to read. I do offer you my sincerest apologies but sometimes during a Token's travels the man restricts what websites he can visit. BUT IT IS NO MORE!!! I am back in the lab spittin hot fiya for the streets giving you new and cooler insights to the mind of a token.

    As an update in my life since all 6 of you that read this undoubtedly care about me, my time in the motherland is drawing to a close. I've learned a lot about myself, other people, other cultures and I think the world in general. My time here has really opened my eyes to some things that I find positive and very negative about life. I had a few heartaches, few more successes and more failures than I like to admit but c'est la guerre, I'm sure some of these will find a place in my musings from time to time. Anyway, I stopped blogging because I moved to a place where I only had the man's internet and blogs are blocked on the man's internet (boo!!! hiss!!!!!) but don't you worry, even tho you didn't get to read about my travels I still have some gems! In the near future I have a few more travels lined up that you should keep posted to hear about. To name a few, I have a tentative Vegas trip lined up, a definite Euro trip that's happening and a trip to Canada. All should be excellent times.

   So, in summation, stay tuned the Token has some new content for ya, and tell a friend or 7 about Token travels! Why you ask? I'm awesome, my life is interesting and people should read about it!

Traveling Wins (If you're from 'Merica)

   I'm going to paraphrase someone famous whose name and exact quote I don't feel like googling but with the appalingly low* amounts of Americans with a passport a group of American's discussing the world is like a bunch of virgins discussing a porno flick starring Gianna Micheals. I doubt any of my esteemed, well traveled, intellectual readers has any of these problems but I shall still impart to you some of the traveling wins that I have experienced. I can only write about this from the prosepective of someone from ' Merica and as such I have noticed SO MUCH WIN!!! So here we are, a few traveling wins when you're from 'Merica even when you're not exporting democracy.
    I cannot underestimate how amazing it is that wherever you go, people speak English. Not that everybody everywhere speaks English but enough people speak enough English that you can be understood. This is a perk that CANNOT be understated. Want to find a place to eat/drink/party dart show ask a few people. Someone close to you will speak some English. If you're in a touristy spot you'll find either other Americans or white people Europeans that speak English and they can help you out! This doesn't always work. When I was in Thailand I found myself, inexplicably, in a Russian club. There I met this guy named Nicholai. He spoke very broken English and I speak no Russian but we were able to have a struggling conversation in French. That only barely has to do with this post but it's a cool story I wanted to share. Another win is the American dollar.
   
    Yes, yes, yes I hear you. The American dollar isn't what it used to be since Obama ruined the economy. Sure, the greenback might not have the buying power that it used to but you know what it does have? Acceptance. I swear a good old fashioned American dollar is taken neigh anywhere in the world. From seedy Thai "establishments" to backwoods restaurants in the desert, people WILL take American currency. Now, I suppose this might also be the case for other foreign currencies (Euro, Pound, etc) but I'm out for Presidents to represent me (Shoutouts to Nas). To be fair you only really need to carry dollars on your person if you are in an emergency or neglected to exchange money at the airport/ nearest bank to your hotel. For me, speaking and money aren't the best part about 'Merican traveling wins.

    Despite all the messed up stuff that America has given the world in the past few years people still LOVE AMERICANS!!! This might be the limited scope of travel that I've done but no matter the country people love us. I'm not really sure why. What I do know is that as soon as people find out that you're from America they get so happy and say things like "America number one!" it is pretty random. For most of the world I'm willing to bet that it's a combination of the exportation of our TV shows and our culture. Maybe the old phrase that the black American man is the most copied person on the planet rings true. I've only been to 4 continents so I can't speak for the other ones but it seems true to me. You know to know something really random (That again only barely relates to this post) African kids LOVE JOHN CENA. It is one of the most random things I have ever seen.

    So there you go, the three greatest traveling wins (If you're from 'MURICA). From our culture, to our money, to the  language (shoutouts to the Limeys for starting it) we should feel very comfortable traveling more. After traveling so much I'm semi baffeled why more American's don't travel more often, I'm telling you it's AWESOME!


** Please note: I just got my blue passport 2 months ago but I still got around.
   

Don't Chase the Night

  
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away an older man (whose name escapes me) told me "Don't chase the night". I'm sure you have heard some older person say "nothing good happens after midnight" and that person has never been more wrong and right at the same time. That said, they are old and by nature risk averse and conservative. The night kicks into high gear after midnight, all my legendary stories probably have happened after midnight. HOWEVER!!!!!!!!! The night will also abruptly leave you after midnight too. Before we get into why you should never chase the night, let's discuss the elusive night.

   The night is an almost magical entity that fuels our pursuit of weekends. Quoth the philosopher, "club life's part of the reason I love life". There will always be excellent nights and nights that will HORRIBLE. There is almost no way to predict how the night will go other than some invisible hand (word to Adam Smith) that guides us when we are out. The political "Black Eyed Peas" party once coined a statement that they had a feeling that tonight was going to be a good night. They legit felt it. Sometimes the night, in its infinite wisdom, decides to bless us with a feeling that it will be good to us and indeed its bounty is unrivaled. Other times, the night will snatch defeat from the very jaws of victory. My purpose is to aid all of you in avoiding defeat.

   Just as the night will give you a feeling that it is going to be a good good night, it lets you know when its bountiful blessings have expired. If you are in tune with the night it will let you know. Often times it lets us know OBVIOUSLY, like the excellent club you were at is closed and there are more clubs open just a short 30 min drive away from here. You could even get in another 2 hours of drinking/ clubbing. NO! The night obviously just told you that it is done. You are now venturing into uncharted territory where you are no longer under the protections of the night!!! A more subtle way the night lets us know that it's over is when you get that shot from the bar. It's in front of you and you're just looking at it. You might even pick it up and just look at it and you KNOW that if you take that shot, it's all downhill from here. This is the night letting you know that it will be all downhill from here.... But still, take that shot and just be mindful about what the night just told you. If you don't listen to the night and when its protection leaves, woe to you.

   You know what's out here for you after the night's protections have left you? TROUBLE. The crazier place that you are the more trouble awaits you. I swear that the police have a monopoly on the protections of the night and as soon as they realize that more than 75% of the nights protections have left they set up checkpoints and strangely follow you for 3 turns. In no way am I encouraging drinking and driving BUT recognize that the cops are real out here!! Especially when the bar closes and the police are watching to see who stumbles back to their cars.

Check back in for stories of chasing the night
.

Token thoughts: Women and masculinity

           I don’t know if anybody else has noticed this or if it’s just me (probably just me) but I have seen an awful lot of advice about being a man/ masculinity floating around the Internet. What I find odd is that the VAST majority of this advice is coming directly from women. Why are women, overwhelmingly, telling men about how to be a man/ masculine? What are the reasons for this? Could this be beneficial or detrimental to a generation that is already growing up soft as hell? The most important question is WHERE ARE THE MEN? My first assumption into why women are the ones waving the flag of advice for young men is fatherlessness.

 I was blessed to have a father in my home growing up, as did most of my friend group so I cannot comment first hand on the effects of fatherlessness. That said, I did get to see the effects of fatherlessness in my community and how negatively it affected the various communities that I grew up in. Let me be CLEAR this is no slight on the phenomenal women who are raising and have raised male children on their own, just that there are some things that a man is best suited to teach a boy. I think that we have a generation, more aptly generations, of men who have not stepped up to the plate to father their children. Women have been so used to being both parents at once that giving advice on how to be a man is becoming neigh second nature. Maybe, just maybe if men stepped up to the plate and raise our sons we wouldn’t have this problem.

The issue of fatherlessness brings up a point that bears mentioning. Since we have a generation of men who were raised by women, do they even know how to be men? MY answer is an overwhelming yes. My father did not have a father growing up in the home yet he was able to teach me many valuable lessons as much as I hated it at the time. Outside of my father I was blessed to have many men around me who taught me the same, Mr. Williams, Mr. Jones, Mr. Naeher being a few names that pop most readily in my mind as men who taught me how to be a man. Is it that I was blessed growing up? Sure not everybody got to grow up under such great men but I’m sure there are great men out there molding young men into excellence. These men, while explicitly teaching me things about being a man did much more for me than teach, it was the example that they set.

Leading by example is the most important quality in a leader. You don’t have to tell people what they should be doing when you are living it. THAT is what men need to do. If we are living the right way we are teaching our sons, nephews, brothers and peers the correct way to live. We might not be intentionally teaching a generation of young men how to grow up and be a man but we are doing it nonetheless. When we lay our hands on a woman it sends a message to the next generation that it’s OK to lay hands on a woman. When we are strung out on drugs it sends a message to the next generation that it is OK to be strung out on drugs. If we want women to stop teaching our sons how to be a man then we need to become the teachers.

This new generation is soft as hell. Kids are growing up with no concept of what makes a man. I don’t know the reason and if I did this blog would get way more traffic and I’d be rich. What I do know is that we need men to start stepping up and setting an example about what is OK and what’s not OK. Have a discussion, set an example do something because we cannot allow women to be the sole voice in how the next generation of men will be raised. Don’t just preach what being a man is about, live it.

High Thinking!!

   I am sure that I'm not the only person that probably thinks of themselves a little higher than I accurately am. I'm probably a little more ugly, unsuccessful, stupid, ignorant and unathletic than I give myself credit for. I like to think of myself and doing pretty well with respects to all of those things listed but I'm pretty sure I'm not close to reaching that standard. The question that I ask myself all the time "Is that a bad thing"?

   Seriously, is it really a bad thing that people think that they are a little better than they really are? If you step on a basketball, football, tennis, soccer if you're a woman, golf playing surface and you don't know in your mind that you can win you've already lost the first battle. you're probably about to get dominated and you don't even know it yet. In your mind you NEED to know that you can win. I don't care who I play, I'm going to think I could win (with some obvious exceptions). Maybe there are some things that I know I do better than the other person and I should focus on that, or I will take away something that my opponent does well to increase my chances of winning. My psychology of knowing I can win allows me a way to win. This doesn't just apply to sports, it's applications are WAY more important and prevalent in your regular everyday life.

   The main thing of thinking of yourself a little more highly than you ought is that you'll have more confidence!!! When you're walking into that job interview you will not only have to explain how they need you but you'll fully believe why this company needs your intellect and skill set. When you approach that nice young lady/man ladyboy if you're into that kinda stuff at the bar you will do so with confidence. Of course she/ he whatever it was when it was born will like you and enjoy your company because you are attractive and interesting and witty and whateverelse people look for in a person I'm to attractive to have to actually be likable. Everybody knows confidence is sexy and more than sexy, confidence projects an air that you know what you're doing and can get done whatever needs to.

   I do caution that people are not going to like it. I've already discussed haters and what that means. People don't like people doing positive things that they themselves are not prepared to do. They will offer to give you a more accurate assessment of what they think you can do and who you think you are. Pay no attention to the vast majority of this criticism. Asses yourself and your talents and put them into application. You're the only person that can live your life and you certainly do not need people trying to bring you down in your circle. It's neigh impossible to get an accurate assessment of yourself from you or others so you might as well think you're better than you really are than perpetually underestimating yourself. I live you with the question "Would you rather be underpaid or overrated"?



Did that Title rope you in? I hope it did!

Token Religion pt2.

    TWO RELIGION POSTS IN A ROW???? I hope you don't think I'm trying to preach at you but if you think that too frickin bad!! It's my blog!!!! I just felt there was a little unsaid in my previous post.

    If you didn't ask me about religion or really know me pretty well you would never know that I'm religious. I currently have 3 sets of "dog tags". One set says "jedi knight" another "Buddhism" and the set that I keep in my wallet and boot says "protestant" (I think, it's a little worn). Anyway, I normally live a life of complete ridicullum that is noticeably "unchristian". I've probably committed ALL of the sins repeatedly by now outside of murder and adultery (one of my few morals is "no married chicks"). Even the advice I give is so very rarely christian advice.
 
    I'm pretty sure I'm not much different than my peers in this respect. There is a certain person group of people I would go to if I wanted advice tinged with a christian response. I normally check with her them to make sure I'm not about to engage in something that's otherworldly foul.

That's it really... Hope this made sense.