Hey! All of my old (pre-2009) posts are at kadescoffee.net. I thought they were gone forever!

edit:
maybe they still are. At this point, I don’t care enough to sort through all of the different server aliases and databases.

Also, Kant, rain, poorly eq’ed PA system and a blog post written on an iPod.

I sit presently at Brother’s Coffee, in Gaylord, MI. Every Tuesday, they have an open mic night: black Takamine guitars, bumper-stickered cases, tight jeans, Converse low-tops and t-shirts advocating bands with an appropriate level of obscurity. You know the scene. Mix that with on-site roasting and a LaMarzocco FB-70 and I deem it worth the hour-long drive. I’m not entirely sure where I’m going with this post; I’m mostly just writing to test the usability of the iPod touch Wordpress app and to gain a small reprieve from “Critique of Pure Reason.”. Heck, I’m not yet halfway through the introduction. I might shift to “Hawke,” an Aunt Pat-recommended thriller.

The guys on stage have put the ‘Tak down and are now
riffing with a didgory-do and a djembe. I’m reasonably confident that I spelled at least one of those right. Anyway, I’m pretty sure Mandy would completely dig this. I wonder if they’ll play any Josh Radin. I doubt it; they’ve been sticking pretty close to Fallout Boy and Three Doors Down and for the love of all that is good, will somebody de-muddy the high-mids?!

Hey, here’s something cool: last Thursday and Friday found my good friends Andy and Nick (of olden-day extrashot fame) up in the northern regions for a visit. We went camping and shooting and trail-riding. It was a killer time; I’ll post some pictures when I get home.

Okay, back to Kant. Keep livin’ the adventure, friends.

Hey, if it’s not playing yet, be patient. Still encoding.

…have been slightly exaggerated.  Slightly.

So for the observant who noticed that this post is credited to “Eric,” I should mention that this is Marc, posting under my brother’s account, on account of an unaccountable hosting issue.  I wish it were an accounting issue, just so I could hit four mentions in that sentence.  Evidently the whole site crashed while I was in New Jersey getting yelled at, resulting in the loss of previous posts and my login information.  Thanks to the work of one sexy Norwegian, things are back to base functionality.

Right.  Several of you probably want to know what’s going on with my life.

On the 7th of March, 2009, I crossed over the Mighty Mac and into the frozen wasteland, previously known as the “Upper Peninsula.”  As I crossed into Michigan’s northern annex, I was stripped of my technological access (though I knew it not) and issued my very own influenza (type B).  Wow.  Thanks, Michigan.

I’m stationed at  N45 51.294 W84 42.209.  Literally, that’s the room that I’ve been living in since the seventh.  The policy at the station is that every new person has to stay at the station for a week before they bounce out to an apartment or whatever.  Since they’re sticking me in “government-leased housing,” I’m living at the station until that goes through.  From henceforth, any time that I want to say that something is moving slowly, I will use the term “at the speed of government paperwork.”  The house that Uncle Sam is renting for me (and others, presumably), is at 957 Huron St., just down the street from the station.  Not even walking distance.  Easy walking distance.  But… things are moving slowly, so at the station, and out of my trunk I continue to live.  Despite this, though, I am excited about the new place.  Closets, places to hang things, and a view out the back of Mackinac island.  Good stuff.  Here’s some pictures I took yesterday (24 Mar 09).

So… a lot of snow and ice now, but I’m guessing that come springtime, the view out my back windows will be the reason why Saint Ignace is considered a “resort town.”  Exciting stuff.

To explain the title of this post, my first week here was fraught with significant personal peril.  In addition to the flu, which caused a dive in appetite and available energy, bad headaches and a general feeling of malise, I had nasty diherrea (is there another kind?).  In the middle of this, I was mopping the floor one night and knocked a sheet steel exit sign onto the bridge of my nose.  A one-in-a-million shot, really.  Had to go to the hospital for that one.

All is better now, and I’ve settled into a remarkably unsatisfying routine, doing dishes during the day and studying during the night.  I’m eager to have a place to “live,” but for now, I’m trying to cram some life into the cracks of my routine, like taking a night and running down to N 45 38.797 W 084 28.475 for some coffee and internets.

More later!

peace,

-Marc

Greetings, Internet!

As I write this, it is Sunday, February 8th, around noon. Every week, we’re given five hours of personal time, to go to church, maintain our uniforms, and write letters, so today, I am writing this for the blog.

Training has been difficult and memorable thus far, and now that my company is going into our sixth week of eight, the whole demeanor has changed from “destroy the civilian” to “make a coastie.”

The major hallmark of this shift occured last Thursday when we received our orders.

Here were my picks:

1. STA Grand Haven
2. STA St. Joseph
3. STA Holland
4. CGC Mackinaw
5. Any other small boat station on Lake Michigan

My desired geographic preference was pretty narrow, so as my name approached, I was rather anxious.

STA ST IGNUS

Um. Okay, I didn’t know where that is. Might be good, might not.

The following day, we were permitted to use the computers to contact our unit (no personal email, though. Sorry.), so I looked up my station on live.com. [Marc asked me to link to his station's unit page here - unfortunately his unit's page is apparently down. Here is the page that should link to his unit. Also, here is a Microsoft Word document telling Marc what to expect at that station. Finally, here is a map showing where St. Ignace is located. --Eric]

Evidently, St. Ignace is on the southernmost point of the upper peninsula [of Michigan], meaning that it gets very cold during the winter months (all ten of them).

Still, this is my assignment, and I am excited about learning everything I can about their 25′ response boat, 47′ motor life boat (Seriously, check this one out. It’s awesome.), and ice rescue work. I’ll be graduating (assuming all goes according to plan) on the 27th, and I’ll be back that night, through most of the following week. If you live in Peorialand, I look forward to seeing you and hearing about events in my absence. If you don’t, then I look forward to being back in the world of connectivity, cell phones, email, facebook, and the rest.

Be well,

Marc

I heard from Marc on 15 January 09 in a letter dated 11 January. He assures me he is doing well and “hanging in there.” He asked me to post his complete, correct address, as follows:

SR LOFGREN, M.
Y-180/HEALY HALL
1 MUNRO Ave.
USCG TRANCEN
CAPE MAY, NJ 08204

Marc asks for continued prayers for his spirit to be lifted up and his thinking to be kept forward. Further updates as they become available.

Eric