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 Level 90 Ginger
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Posts: 6647 (0.974)
Reg. Date: Jun 2002
Location: Missouri
Gender: Male |
(Originally posted on: 05-09-06 05:32:40 PM)
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I've joined the United States Army. Granted, not quite in the same way Sandamnit did however many years ago, but I have enlisted. Instead, I opted to join the Missouri National Guard.
For the past couple months it's been weighing heavy on me that I'm really unsatisfied with my life and the direction I've been heading in. For the few of you who talk to me on a regular basis, this probably comes as no surprise and the next couple paragraphs are probably all givens.
I hate school. I have completely devolved from the smart kid in high school to the loser who rarely goes to class and just doesn't give a flying fuck if he passes any of his classes. Why? I don't know. Maybe it's this school, though I doubt it. I'm bored with trying to cram useless crap into my skull in hopes of one day trying to get a job. For a couple semesters I wasted my parents' money, then I moved on to wasting my own, creating a nice pile of debt for myself. In the past 3 semesters I've earned 12 credit hours altogether. That's right, not even a full load for one semester.
At the start of every semester I've told myself "This semester will be different, this time I'll pass, get on the right track and get through school." And every semester I've gradually dropped classes until it's around finals time and everyone is freaking out about their 5 finals while I meander around not studying for the one or two that I might have. School is not where I want to be at this point. There's no point.
As I mentioned, I've created a nice pile of debt for myself, but not only from school loans. See, in my haste to get out of from under my parents' thumbs, I've amassed a nice pile of debt from which there won't be a return any time in the distant future, save joining the military and getting a decent paycheck, since I'm sure as hell not lucky enough to win the lottery.
Speaking of lucky, as I was debating creating this thread this afternoon, I got called into the HR Director of my company's office for a nice chat. See, they're supposed to hold my job for me until I'm out of training since I'll be back and able to work at full capacity in 5 months. However, that's not quite the case. I got laid off today. I don't know if it's because I joined or if it's actually because the company is downsizing, but since I pull down all of 12k a year there and work in the one understaffed department in the company, you would think they'd save the position for me rather than spend 8 months or so training some new guy to do the stuff I already know how to do. I talked to my recruiter a bit and I'm going to bide my time and see what the company's reasons were for laying me off. If it is related to me going away for training, then they'll probably be up shit creek, since it's the law that they hold the position for me.
I didn't just choose the Guard because I thought it was my last option. There were other options, I could have gotten another job, buckled down and waited to get some debt paid off and gain an appreciation for school. I've always got an open room at my parents' house, but I'm in no hurry to move back there.
I chose the Guard because I'll make a handsome sum of money just for training, in addition to my enlistment bonus, and for the lifestyle change. See, I lack discipline. If there's any way that's going to change, it's going to be the Army. The Guard seemed like the choice for me at this point in my life because I'm not ready to pack up and leave all my friends and my entire old life behind. Maybe it's not the smartest decision and maybe I should've gone full time, but I can always decide to go active duty and there will be a slot.
So on Thursday I went to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station, if I recall correctly) and took the ASVAB, scoring a 99 out of 99, so choosing my job wasn't a problem. Friday I went through the physical and met a bunch of the idiots that were going through. Luckily for me, they were all going in the Navy. (That's a joke.) At 1pm on May 5, I was sworn in.
My MOS will be 92A (Automated Logistical Specialist) and I'll be drilling once a month after training in the same unit as two of my best friends. I realize there's a good chance that I'll be spending time in Iraq or Iran or some other nice garden spot, but I don't really care.
So, I ship out June 7 to Basic Training in Ft Jackson, South Carolina. After that, I'll head to Ft Lee, Virginia for AIT, where I'm told things are a bit more lax and I'll have weekend passes to go around the state or maybe visit my family (they live close enough). That should be on or around August 22.
So feel free to ask me questions, comment about how stupid I am or something along those lines. I'll be around and INTL should be in capable hands for times that I can't get to it.
Realize that falling in love with someone is just the results of a series of generic events that can occur between you and basically anyone who meets your standards of attractiveness. It's just an emotional manifestation of a handfull of chemicals bouncing back and forth. It's not the holy grail of living, it's not your reason to exist and it's definitely not something reserved for "that one person". Accept that you are just an animal with a big brain that allows him to fret over what only amounts to a game of hormone pool. What you're feeling is not your soul dying a gurgling, ugly death, but withdrawal. All the happy chemicals that saturated your body when you were with her are kicking out cold turkey, and your body is screaming bloody murder, where are my fucking endorphins? It's just chocolate. Find a new bar.
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