Monthly Roundup and General Awesomeness--March 2008

Greetings from (briefly beautiful but increasingly rainy) Afghanistan!

Another month is in the books, and I have to say...March flew by more quickly than any month yet. I think this is largely due to how busy I've become (note the 2 weeks I stopped blogging mid-month). But I think that it's also related to the fact that (realistically or not) I can finally see the finish line.

That said, 6 months is still a long time...so enough rambling, and on with the roundup!

First and foremost, Mrs. Exnicios and I would like to cordially invite everyone to save a date.

In other news...March brought with it a couple of new (and completely adorable) additions to the gallery--but neither could top my vote for favorite picture of the month, this shot of my happy reunion with Jeff and Chris!

Wait--did I say favorite picture? Because with all due respect to the baby, the puppy, and my buddies, this shot of me and noted johnny-come-lately Art Monk advocate Peter King might take the cake.

And hell, while we're at it--check me out kicking it in Bear Territory (not to be confused w/ my office in Afghanistan, which I've been told looks nearly identical). Thanks again to K/R, M/S, and N/K for this fantastic gift--3 weeks later and I'm still grinning ear to ear.

But sadly, March wasn't uniformly awesome as far as pictures go. As most of you remember, a certain star from a certain 1995 tour de force of cinematic triumphantness failed to show up at Bagram for his picture. Will I ever recover from this setback? Time will tell...

March turned out to be an eventful time for IRR content--I started the month with a roundup of fellow IRR bloggers, posted Kevin's farewell here, and I discussed the recently announced muster here.

Late in the month I spruced things up a bit here at the 2.0--I added a link to the sidebar for IRR specific content, the wedding/celebration announcement, and the history of the name Exnicios (something I know you're all dying to learn more about.)

And finally, if you've made it all the way to the end of the roundup (and I won't hold it against you if you didn't) check out my favorite post of the month, which share a couple of related vignettes. Be sure to read all the way through Colin's comments, which were really great, insightful and appreciated.

That's it for now. I hope everyone enjoyed, and I'll talk to you again next month!

Monthly Roundup and General Awesomeness--February 2008

February, my friends, is done. I now sit a mere 7 months away from home, after 8+ months of mobilized time. And whatever hangover remains from end of month calendar flipping revelry, it's now time to sit back, relax, and soak in the month that was.

First and foremost, we've got numerous new additions to our Gallery. Thanks all around to the Doyle clan. The gallery is really starting to fill out and look great!

Second, and nearly as importantly, you all still have a chance to change the face of celebrity-sign-holding pictures for generations to come. Don't let this once in a lifetime opportunity to pass you by. I know, I wouldn't pass up a chance like that either. Moving on...

My cousin Nick launched his first company--congrats again, Nick, and good luck! Drop me a line and let me know how California is treating you so far.

Darrel Green became a 1st ballot HOF'er, and Art Monk...an EIGHTH?? Yeah, I still can't figure that one out either. More to follow in the coming days with regards to Mr. Monk...

My alma mater dear (and the town in which she resides) made lots of headlines. Let's just say that Berkeley's temporary stance on military recruiting stations made me the butt of jokes around the office for a week or two. All in good fun...

The world learns my intentions for my first born children. The female readership of the Army 2.0 collectively cringe and wait for me to change the subject.

David Ignatius at WaPo tells us all about the Provincial Reconstruction Team concept. For those more interested in the "what exactly is it that you DO here?" aspects of Army 2.0, these two stories are worth a read.

Army 2.0 shuts down for a few days mid-month to give a very special blog a chance to take center stage.

In which our intrepid author responds poorly to Duke's mid-month losing streak, and fabricates memories from Duke to make himself feel better.

In which our intrepid author reflects on ways in which his service might conclude sooner rather than later, and ultimately resolves himself to stay the course.

I write an ode to making up for missed work outs by drinking more sodas and eating more cookies. Makes perfect sense, I know.

And last but not least, everyone who has been wondering what it would look like if I was doctored into a photo of Diamond Dallas Page putting me in the Diamond Cutter while Nikolai Volkoff looked on in amusement, this is the post for you.

Have a great March, everyone, and thanks for your continued participation here at the 2.0.

Week 1 Roundup and General Awesomeness

It has been quite the eventful week here at Army 2.0. To summarize:

I left Fort Bragg last Saturday to head to Afghanistan. Terrorists, it would seem, very much needed fighting, and a little thing like Christmas wasn't going to stand in my way of taking out the trash.

After brief stops in Maine, Ireland and Kuwait, I finally arrived here in country. I spent Christmas at Bagram Airfield, the largest installation that the Army has in Afghanistan.

Along the way, I reflected back on my pre-military appearace, and I said goodbye to a good friend.

An interesting first week at war, I reckon--with many more yet to go.

A late Merry Christmas to everyone, and a happy new year to all. Happy Holidays, and for my non-daily readers--I'll see you next week!