The 232nd Marine Corps Birthday Ball

Tonight we attended the Marine Corps Ball. This event marked the 232nd birthday of the Marine Corps. It was held at the Hilton hotel in the middle of Vienna. This was our first ball here (I'm sure there will be more....Vienna is known for it's galas). Linz looked absolutely beautiful in her gown, and I pimped out my tux (one of my co-workers even said Linz looked stunning.....maybe I should keep an eye on this guy). The evening began with cocktails.......we got a little tipsy off of our Coke. Then, the Marines began their ceremony, which consisted of the showing of the colors, the national anthem, a quick speech from one of our DCM's (Deputy Chief of Mission...aka the deputy ambassador), and the cutting of the cake by the Gunnery Sergeant. Then we ate dinner. I won't go into much detail here.......it was food. The rest of the night was spent mingling and dancing. In fact, we just got home about 30 min. ago. All in all, it was a pretty good night and a good first ball experience. Check out our pics...


I don't mean to brag or nothing....but we look good. Naturally we were the most popular couple at the ball. Everyone was like, "hey Linz and Ryan, come talk to us," or "hey, will you two take a picture with us?" Geez people, come on....give us a break! Just the price you pay I guess.....(and for those who don't know me too well, please realize that I'm being sarcastic. as you can see from the picture, my head is definitely NOT that big.)
This isn't a great pic, but this is the group of friends we went with....or with whom we went if you're a stickler for grammar.


The Marines singing on stage.....they were loud....and tone deaf. Not a good combo.

3 very lovely ladies.......

Here's the dance floor....I really felt like I was back at my senior prom. Complete with drunk people and bad dancing!

Here's a pic of me with my boss, Valerie.

Linz and I with the Brian, the Gunnery Sergeant (aka "gunny"). He's a good guy...we like to play volleyball at the Marine Base with him and the other Marines. He's also scary big...would not want to tick him off.

I just really like this pic....