OTC Mike

Hendricks is the only Gin I'll drink. Ask for a hendricks and tonic. If they serve it with a cucumber, you know you're in a place that knows what they're doing.

I'll spend Monday like I have for the past 9 years.
 
I'll wake up and go to the same parade I have been going to since I was a little kid. At some point during the parade my wife will ask when I'm going to walk or ride in it, and I'll dance around an answer by telling her "maybe someday."
 
At some point during the parade I'll wander off and find a place where I can be alone and I'll end up breaking down in tears as I think about my friends who didn't come back from Iraq, and their families and their kids who have to endure this day with out their husbands and fathers.
 
I'll eventually make my way back to the parade and watch my daughter grab candy that is thrown from the floats, pretending to have a good time.
 
After the parade I'll get home and start setting up for a picnic that I always have at my house. The day will go on as usual, and as usual I'll drink myself into oblivion, call 3 or 4 of my buddies that I still keep in touch with from the Marine Corps and see how their day is going - usually the same as mine - Hating life and pissed off at all the people who look at this day as just another day off from work and a reason to get drunk with their friends.
 
At some point later on in the night I'll black out and pass out - hopefully in my bed.
 
And if it's a really special day, like the one 6 years ago, I'll wake up around 2:30am, take off my clothes, grab my car keyes and tell my wife I'm going to play golf and I'll be back in a few hours. (true story)

I'll spend Monday like I have for the past 9 years.
 
I'll wake up and go to the same parade I have been going to since I was a little kid. At some point during the parade my wife will ask when I'm going to walk or ride in it, and I'll dance around an answer by telling her "maybe someday."
 
At some point during the parade I'll wander off and find a place where I can be alone and I'll end up breaking down in tears as I think about my friends who didn't come back from Iraq, and their families and their kids who have to endure this day with out their husbands and fathers.
 
I'll eventually make my way back to the parade and watch my daughter grab candy that is thrown from the floats, pretending to have a good time.
 
After the parade I'll get home and start setting up for a picnic that I always have at my house. The day will go on as usual, and as usual I'll drink myself into oblivion, call 3 or 4 of my buddies that I still keep in touch with from the Marine Corps and see how their day is going - usually the same as mine - Hating life and pissed off at all the people who look at this day as just another day off from work and a reason to get drunk with their friends.
 
At some point later on in the night I'll black out and pass out - hopefully in my bed.
 
And if it's a really special day, like the one 6 years ago, I'll wake up around 2:30am, take off my clothes, grab my car keyes and tell my wife I'm going to play golf and I'll be back in a few hours. (true story)

I'll spend Monday like I have for the past 9 years.
 
I'll wake up and go to the same parade I have been going to since I was a little kid. At some point during the parade my wife will ask when I'm going to walk or ride in it, and I'll dance around an answer by telling her "maybe someday."
 
At some point during the parade I'll wander off and find a place where I can be alone and I'll end up breaking down in tears as I think about my friends who didn't come back from Iraq, and their families and their kids who have to endure this day with out their husbands and fathers.
 
I'll eventually make my way back to the parade and watch my daughter grab candy that is thrown from the floats, pretending to have a good time.
 
After the parade I'll get home and start setting up for a picnic that I always have at my house. The day will go on as usual, and as usual I'll drink myself into oblivion, call 3 or 4 of my buddies that I still keep in touch with from the Marine Corps and see how their day is going - usually the same as mine - Hating life and pissed off at all the people who look at this day as just another day off from work and a reason to get drunk with their friends.
 
At some point later on in the night I'll black out and pass out - hopefully in my bed.
 
And if it's a really special day, like the one 6 years ago, I'll wake up around 2:30am, take off my clothes, grab my car keyes and tell my wife I'm going to play golf and I'll be back in a few hours. (true story)

I'll spend Monday like I have for the past 9 years.
 
I'll wake up and go to the same parade I have been going to since I was a little kid. At some point during the parade my wife will ask when I'm going to walk or ride in it, and I'll dance around an answer by telling her "maybe someday."
 
At some point during the parade I'll wander off and find a place where I can be alone and I'll end up breaking down in tears as I think about my friends who didn't come back from Iraq, and their families and their kids who have to endure this day with out their husbands and fathers.
 
I'll eventually make my way back to the parade and watch my daughter grab candy that is thrown from the floats, pretending to have a good time.
 
After the parade I'll get home and start setting up for a picnic that I always have at my house. The day will go on as usual, and as usual I'll drink myself into oblivion, call 3 or 4 of my buddies that I still keep in touch with from the Marine Corps and see how their day is going - usually the same as mine - Hating life and pissed off at all the people who look at this day as just another day off from work and a reason to get drunk with their friends.
 
At some point later on in the night I'll black out and pass out - hopefully in my bed.
 
And if it's a really special day, like the one 6 years ago, I'll wake up around 2:30am, take off my clothes, grab my car keyes and tell my wife I'm going to play golf and I'll be back in a few hours. (true story)

Fright Night was one of my favorite movies, along with Deadly Friend and Rad

Maybe the first part of your goal is to have an end goal in 4 years. At that point you can rework your plan and adjust accordingly.
 
No one says that what you do now, has to be what you are doing in 20 years. When I first started college I really didn't know what I wanted to do. But I know I really loved math. Well as it turns out I really like economics and business as well - but I didn't know that until I went to school and learned about it. But I still had no idea what I wanted to do. In my sophomore year I learned about an internship at a Reinsurance Company. I, like most people, didn't know what the heck that was. I did a little research and thought it sounded interesting so I applied and got the internship. I really liked it and ended up doing it between my junior and senior years as well. Now I've been in the industry for 4 years and I really enjoy it. 6 years ago I had no idea that this industry even existed. And now I'm in the process to moving on to an investment banking role in the same company (along with my current role). Again something I hadn't even thought about 6 years ago.
 
My point is that you don't know whats out there until you start doing something. That thing you decide to do, may open doors to other opportunities that you like even more. Try different things out, it might work it might not, but it'll be a learning experience either way.

Alot of solid advice here. And I'll add my $.02.
 
I've always been of the opinion that college isn't for everybody, nor should it be. And not going to college isn't something that should be looked down upon, so first and foremost don't ever feel like you're "less" than anybody for not going to college.
 
Next, if you really love what you do, and you put in the time and effort, you will be sucessful - whatever sucessful means to you.
 
The most important thing to do though, in my opinion, whether you go to college or not, is have a solid plan. Having a solid plan will enable you to evaluate yourself at various times and let's you know if you need to make adjustments or rework your plan. I can almost guarantee that at some point in time, your plan WILL fall apart, but that's ok. You can rework your plan at any time.
 
I don't know you well enought to say you should or shouldn't go to college, but I know that the later in life you get the harder it is to go back to schol. I know in the US there are alot of scholarships and grants that you can apply for to get financial aid to help lessen some of the high costs. At a minimum if you're looking into a career where many of your peers/competitors have degrees, you should at least look at the cost/benefit analysis of going to college. It may make sense, it may not. That's for you to decide.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.

So, I had a pretty awesome experience with the good ol' interweb this weekend, in spite of a pretty terrible reason, that I thought I might share.

Now, first thing I need to say that I really don't use internet for anything other than gaming, this forum and browsing YouTube and Facebook. I know some of you are members of other forums (gaming or otherwise) and have heard of some great experiences, but never really cared to use the internet in any other way than I currently due. So with that said, here goes.

On Saturday morning my wife's grandfather passed away. He was 91, had dementia and was in poor health due to being 91 and having dementia, so his passing was no real surprise, and is looked upon as a good thing in our family, as the last few months have been hard on him. He's also a WWII Marine Vet. And as some of you know I'm also a Marine Vet, so while shoveling my driveway Saturday afternoon I thought I would pay my respects the only way I knew I could, and that was by wearing my Dress Blue uniform to his funeral. The only problem is that I don't own one anymore.

So, I needed some and I needed some fast. Getting a full set of dress blues sized correctly with all medals and ribbons mounted in 3 days is about as easy as your wife getting ready to go out to dinner in 3 minutes. I did some google searching for some local military surplus stores, but nobody had what I needed. Feeling pretty bad, I tried one more search...And found a full set, brand new, with all the works (blues have tons of buttons, belt and accessories) on eBay. But their shipping policy wouldn't get it here on time. So I messaged the poster...

And he's where the story gets good. He messaged me right back with his phone number and I gave him a call. I explained the situation to him. He told me he would take it off ebay and ship it overnight from California that night and I could just pay him through paypal. I was kinda nervous about that, but he had a positive rating of 99.5% with over 400 items sold, and is a former Marine himself, so I took my chances and went for it. We exchanged a few texts and I checked the fedex tracking number this morning and the package will show up this afternoon.

Well, I also need my ribbons and medals mounted, which is still no easy task in a short timeframe. Well, as it turns out, the guy who sold me the dress blues, knows another former Marine in Arizona who does just that. He passed along this other guys contact info, and a couple of calls later I’ve got a full set of medals and ribbons on the way.

So in short, I was able to get something done that seemed impossible. A full set of dress blues while being nowhere remotely close to anyplace that sells it, from 2 guys who I never met, but who were both former Marines who did everything they possibly could to help out a fellow devil dog. All so I could wear a uniform for 3 hours.