JAFA-Rease's VirtualTourist Home Page

Oh no! I'm not a rookie anymore ; ) I no longer have an excuse for pages I could have built... And I'm not sure if I'll be building anymore. I still love VT at heart, just have so many conflicting priorities.

I'm U.S. Military, and was stationed in Spangdahlem, Germany for about 11 plus years. Then went to South Korea. Was also in many other locations. I'm off to Iraq again soon... Altogether that gives me nearly 16 years of residing overseas.

Hope you find my tips useful. If you would like more in depth or more colorful tips, especially on the Spangdahlem area, please just PM me. I lived there for a collective 11 years, speak the language and know just a bit about the area.

Things to know about me:
- I am the master of my own universe. This universe is only in my head and I haven't decided on it's name yet. I am leaning towards "Fred".
- I like the music I like. I don't care if you like it or not. I like it (am I repeating myself?).
- Life and goals it creates are not the "end all". You will achieve goals, if you aren't lazy, and you will do the best you can. The main thing is "are YOU happy with what you did?". By the way, if you are successful at achieving goals YOU WILL *** PEOPLE OFF!
- I hold integrity above all other things. If you have it you don't have to prove it. Your actions already did that for you.
- Brevity, my pet peave. If I ask a "Yes or No" question I expect a yes or no response. I don't want to know what the temperature of your flatuation was when you were thinking of a response.
- I like to read. I read what I want to read. If you come to be a friend of mine I may actually share a list with you.
- I'm a bit caustic (personality wise). If you stumble upon my pages and we become friends I may damage you ; )

I must add my daughter! She is too important to me. And, I may be biased, but she is sooo cute!

Did I mention that the scenery in the Spangdahlem area is beautiful? Especially when your child is a part of it...

That's actually chocolate in her left hand.

Well, things had settled down for a bit and I did a lot of travelling. Made a trip to Washington State and Oregon. Made many trips throughout Europe. Started on the pages and still have a bit of work to do. I have more travel plans for this year and next...

- Iraq was interesting. Thanks to all those who wished me luck on coming back with all my important pieces intact! See my Qatar and Karkuk (Kirkuk), Iraq page for details.

- Managed to make it to Mallorca, Spain a few weeks ago. It'll be a while before I build the pages for that trip, but I promise I'll get to it when I can. Awesome trip! Can't say more yet...

- Silene loves butterflies, I'd hoped to get a picture of her with butterflies before going to Iraq, but it didn't work out. So, I took her to a butterfly garden. Trip went very well! Sayn, Germany

- On my way to Korea I'll be hitting Maryland, Ohio, Washington State, Oregon, California and Mexico. I've gathered plenty of info for the places I've visited, but I won't be able to finish the tips and pages until I'm in Korea.

And I thought my hair was a mess in the morning ; )

Besides my daughter, who is my number one inspiration, I have others. The others are my family and my future. While I may not have the most tips and such on VT, there is a reason. I see no point in trying to "compete" with others for a top 5 spot. I would much rather write tips on more obscure destinations. I also like to try and add a little color...I have a very "in your face" style of writing. It's basically a take it or leave it type of philosophy. I can however attribute my writing style to a few different sources:

- Patrick McManus
- Richard Marcinko
- Terry Pratchett
- Douglas Adams
- Stan Wood (Stan found this page not long ago and was just a bit surprised to see himself mentioned. Hadn't heard from him in years.)
- Military style documentation. Hey I fly a desk, not a jet (well, except twice... See my Spangdahlem page travelogue entitled "Strappin' on a jet engine" for details).

I don't wake up in the morning and think "hey, who can I *** off today". So,if you find any of my tips to be off color or offensive, at least you know it wasn't intentional.

Oops! Got rated... Shoot, now what am I gonna do ; )

So, this part of my homepage is dedicated to her and my most recent/favorite picture of her.