Counterparts

Since we've gotten our household as in order as seems likely any time in the near future, I've been spending some time sitting down with a Tarot deck, something I haven't done for a while. I've also been meaning to go digging up my old notes on the Tarot, wherever they have wandered off to. All this is interesting in light of Tabatha's abilities. Doing Tarot readings for a medium is never easy at best, as you can never tell quite who the people that may pop up in the reading actually are, alive or dead. However, the one plus in this is that the people that pop up are rarely random- they appear there for a purpose, usually with some information to impart. The difficulty in this is that the medium may not understand the message the deceased is conveying, and may not know who to deliver it to.
I can't say I can communicate with the dead, although I have heard tell of communication with other forms of being- there are quite a surprising number, such as dragons and giants, as well as elemental spirits. I once stumbled across an undine, and spent an interesting few minutes in conversation with it. (I don't assign gender here because I'm not sure exactly how that figures into an undine's makeup. Undines are generally the most favorably disposed towards humans, although they may appear a little deranged to our thinking. This is simply because they are not human, and do not think or act as humans do. My son has seen a house spirit, living at the time with my parents, identifying only as Tom- he (my son) claims to have seen a short human figure lean around a corner then duck back, describing him as wearing a mask looking like a skull, apparently holding it to his face in a comical manner.
But back to topic- I lack Tabatha's ability to see, but am a little more useful in other areas, mainly interpretation and reflection. I realized that just maybe we could work together, me using what I know of the Tarot to interpret and clarify the occasional messages she receives. This is no small task, however, and I do on occasion question whether I'm "that good", and can successfully extrapolate meaning from her experiences. However, Tarot relies on the inherent pattern and order of the universe, so if the dead do in fact have access to knowledge we ourselves do not, it should be a simple task of looking at the pattern.
In its mechanism, it's not unlike a Mandelbrot set- that is, an equation that produces a non-linear pattern. A linear equation produces a line- that is, something like y=(2x) would produce a line sloping upwards to the right. A Mandelbrot set does not- however, it posesses a unique set of characteristics- one, that whatever scale you look at it on, say, take 5 numbers or 5,000,000,000 for x and you will find the exact same pattern repeating itself over and over again. Want to know what it would look like across 50 million iterations? Just take a smaller set of numbers, and you'll have the pattern right there with much less work. Basically, this allows us to see on a much larger scale than the limited one we have with our eyes and minds. This is how Tarot works- it picks out that pattern and shows you what the forest looks like while you are limited to seeing the few trees in front of your eyes. Another example was driving on a road- that is, you can tell what is likely to happen if you continue along the road- that is, there's a toll booth three miles ahead, and you'll encounter it if you continue along this road. You may not be able to see three miles down the road, but if you know what the pattern is, you can make a pretty solid guess that there will be a toll booth up the road.
So all this really does is point to what's already there, but may be hidden or clouded. Can this be applied to confusing information? I believe so. The only question is, what do we do with this information? Ideally, use the Tarot with an eye to the information and important symbols we receive, and figure out why these people took the trouble to contact us in the first place. I'll have to track exactly how successful we are in this, and hopefully in so doing will be able to provide some help to those who may need it.

Getting Settled

Yesterday was a pretty exciting day- we finally managed to reclaim our furniture from the movers, although the battle is far from over. Research shows us that there are a hundred things wrong with the contract we signed, that is, apparently signed unwittingly, and that in fact the actual terms of the contract violate state laws. So this being the case, we're pursuing a lawsuit against the movers on the grounds that the contract was never legal, therefore not admissible in court. Add to this damages to goods, some of which cannot be replaced, and it looks like the hammer will fall.
I hate being so negative, but will say avoid this company at all costs, and do your research! If a company offers rates lower than that of other competitiors, this is not because they have more business and can offer a lower bid. It's because that low price you are quoted will not be binding, and they will turn around and charge you more (in our case, double) what the original estimate was. This will almost invariably happen after they've rushed you through signing an incomplete or inaccurate bill of lading and then have your goods in storage. Your stuff is then held hostage (lacking a better term) until such time as you pay the remaining balance. Any complaints, we found, meet with a stone wall or lack of response. When we finally got to talk to someone, we got the "signed contract" waved in our face as apparent proof that the movers could do pretty much whatever they wanted.
Well, the terms of the contract may be binding, but they fact is that there are laws to protect consumers out there. Moving companies are legally required to abide by these laws, and if they do not, therein lies the problem. There are just too few investigators around to cover all the movers, so they tend to slip through the cracks. So perhaps your best bet is to pursue the movers independently, and hire an attorney. Or, take them to court yourself, there are tons of books and online legal resources out there to make this easy.
On a more positive note, it's good to be back in business, so to speak! I managed to set up a corner for meditation, although the rest of the room is dominated by an enormous pile of books that as of yet have no shelves, or anywhere to go. Everything else is coming together pretty well, and the house is beginning to resemble nothing so much as a home. I also have the Tarot decks I use, which is good- prior to this I had to rely on Tabatha's deck, which is an Herbal Tarot. Interesting and fully functional, although like driving your own car, you're more familiar with the decks you use regularly. I put an ad out on Craigslist as well, offering free Tarot readings. The reason being, I can clear away some of the cobwebs, and hopefully help out a few people with some insight. I don't tell fortunes, however, neither does any Tarot reader worth the stock their cards are made from. Fortune telling, at least as the term is commonly understood, is a way to tell people what they want to hear. The Tarot merely reflects the pattern of the world around, much as a small section of the population can be used to measure the tendencies of the whole. I'll have to see how it turns out, and in the meanwhile, time to go tackle the big stack of boxes looming in the other room.

Back In Garrison

It's another Saturday here in Lawton, after a long week in the field. By field, I mean out on a training exercise, which was intended to simulate a combat environment. We set up a forwards operations base, or FOB, communications, cook's tent (your best friends while you're in the field), the whole nine yards. Working for a forward support company, this meant we did pretty much what we do back on base- make sure trucks and transportation is up and running, get supplies where they need to go, and generally keep busy. The company I'm assigned to is a support company for the 214th Fires Brigade, meaning field artillery- the gun bunnies, as we like to call them. Most days I enjoy it, although being technically not field artillery you kind of get looked down on for not running the "big guns", although many FA personnel realize that without us, they have to go get their own food, water, ammo and supplies. I'm proud to be in a unique position as both an ammunition handler and a driver. The Army tends to micromanage a bit, so you would need one person certified to handle ammo and yet another to drive the ammo out there to the artillery area. So it looks like both of those people are me, which is good, as I like to run a metaphorical tight ship. Or is that the Navy? Well, at any rate, it saves a little bit of time out in the field.

But back to the field. First off, we hauled out communications equipment, and as a fun little aside, learned to set up a communications tent. Basically it involves setting up a large antenna and hooking wires up to it, and not having said big antenna fall on you- it's basically a large sectioned metal pole, and I've heard of one soldier who managed to take one across the shoulders and broke his collarbone. Ouch! And so it went- most of our missions were at night, with training classes during the day. We also spent a little time playing infantry, clearing out simulated rooms with simulated enemy combatants. Often truck drivers are pulled out of their trucks and used as backup infantry troops. This is one of the tougher jobs in the Army, and requires a little bit of know-how and a bit more luck. But the training comes easy after a while, and it never hurts to be prepared. Then the sun went down, and the fun really began. One night found us running infantry squads in a dark field, while we were equipped with NODs- night optic devices. They use any and all light, such as starlight or moonlight, and make everything appear in shades of green- this is what you sometimes see in the movies, although my experience has been it's a little grainier. These come in single and double-eye versions, the single-eye being the most common. They attach to a regular helmet, although this is sometimes a challenge, as there are one of two types of mounts, one of which involves a strap system across the top of the helmet, the other a mount screwed into the actual helmet. On occasion, neither of these will work, due to the fact that there are two types of mounts and two types of helmets- the odds of you having a non-compatible mount and helmet are directly proportional to how important the mission is. However, a pair of pliers can usually be used to good effect to jury-rig the optics onto your head. The single-eye mount takes a little getting used to- although it's not a good idea to walk around with one eye closed, and while using both eyes, the single-eye optics tend to mess with your depth perception. There are double-eye optics, although since these are a little more expensive, you don't see them as much in the field. On foot, this change in perception is easily compensated for, although driving a vehicle like this is a little more difficult. Automatically, the eye you have optics on becomes your dominant eye, and you tend to center everything you see in that eye. This means you can tend to drift to one side of the road or the other, as you try to position yourself on the road. This means you need to compensate by steering towards the opposite side of the road, so it seems like you're way too far to the opposite side of the road. Another thing is tight turns. I was driving a big four-axled monster known as a a PLS- a palletized loading system, which normally I look at as one of the most brilliant wheeled vehicles ever to see combat. However, being about 20+ feet in length, even with three steering axles, the PLS does not turn on a dime, nor does it back up very easily. Throw into this the perception problems created by night optics, and it can prove a problem if you're unfamiliar with it. I was unfamiliar with driving under night conditions, and miscalculated a tight turn, winding up in the ditch. Luckily, it's hard to get these trucks stuck, and a simple straight back put us right. By that point I had figured out how to handle the turns under these new and weird visual conditions, and managed to get us home in one piece. All in all, very useful training.

Apart from training, I picked up a skill every soldier should have- how to play Spades. Spades strikes me as a cross between poker and Uno, and is somewhat like chess- simple rules, but complex strategies come into play. The game is played by two sets of partners, and you will need to think ahead as to what your partner as well as your opponents have in their hand. So we kept a game going pretty much all week, with scores in the thousands by the time we rolled out for home. (Spades involves a points system- I think there's a traditional maximum points you play to, although there's no real reason a game could not go on indefinitely). The deck is curiously modified, too- the 2 of hearts and diamonds are removed, and the two Jokers used in their place. This is because the deuces are played as a high card in the Spades suit, which is a trump suit- that is, a spade will beat any other card except a spade of a higher number- a three of spades will beat a king of diamonds, but not a four of spades. In addition, there are almost always unique additional rules each player has heard about from a previous game or experience. As you can probably guess, Spades is a great way to pass the time by keeping your mind occupied, and in the military, especially in a combat situation, there are long periods of down time followed by short periods of rushing around like madmen.

All in all, I think this exercise really helped the unit, although I do often feel like I'm serving two masters- the Army and the family. To be a soldier is to make sacrifices- most of these we don't even notice, although I don't think there's a man or woman among us who would give anything to be back with their families and loved ones. This is the toughest thing we have to do, although in the long run it's a job that needs to be done. As the Rangers say, if not me, then who?

What's On TV?

According to Sarah Palin, nothing good-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/18/family-guy-actress-respon_n_468331.html . Apparently Family Guy has fallen afoul of the former governor, who has been seen as of late toting around a kid like a fashion accessory. Political pandering, anyone? Actually, I agree with the Huffington Post's assessment of the situation- chick is nuts, man. It does indeed seem like the Palinator is running around trying to grab media attention- what I can't figure out is, why leave the post of governor to do so? A book under her belt, she now seems to spend a good deal of time digging around for something to get mad about. Could this be an attempt to keep her in our collective minds as she gears up for a run for the White House? Good lord, I hope not. Could it be something for her to do other than shoot animals and see Russia from her house? America, we can only hope.
So as the article states, the show managed to piss her off by making a thinly veiled reference to a gal with Downs Syndrome being a daughter of a former Alaska governor and an accountant. Interestingly, the show hired an actress who has Downs Syndrome to voice the part, and her answer to Palin's criticism is a burn and a half, and very insightful and intelligent. The real fact of the matter is, would anyone really have cared if Palin hadn't made such a big deal out of it? How many times has Bush the Younger been parodied on the show, and we don't hear him complaining, do we? Perhaps the sophisticated satire of the show eludes his "good ole boy" sensibilities, I don't know. But it seems Palin is on a witch hunt of some odd sort, seeking out and destroying any reference to her family and/or herself, then raising holy hell about it to a jaded and indifferent media audience still reeling from The Thousand Nights of Tiger Woods. Whatever happened to the ditzy Republican veep candidate we all loved to hate (and more than a few of the male voters out there wanted to nail)? I can only imagine what happened to Lisa Ann, the dishy former exotic dancer who dared to parody the Gov in the porno film we've probably all heard of by now. Hey, if Palin can shoot moose, or whatever large game animal it was, I'd be running for the hills, Lisa.
All this seems to point to one thing- no one really cares. The world is an inherently messed-up place (believe me, I've been here for 31 years, and it ain't no picnic sometimes). But there are also amazing and wonderful things here. You take the good with the bad- save one, let the other pass you by. Just make sure it's the right things you're focusing on and holding onto.

Long Weekend

And also post #100! Sometimes it's the little accomplishments that mean so much- or not. At any rate, I'm on a long weekend, the weather is good, and I'm tinkering on a bike. Life is good. The bike is a third-or fourth-hand Frankenstein from the pawn shop- a temporary solution, figuring I can sell it for parts when I get a little more scratch together for an upgrade. There's a nice Trek down at the local bike shop, but a little out of my price range for now. I'm planning on taking a bike to work for the next few weeks or so, to save some money here and there. Actually, chances are I'll keep doing it even after the finances get a little less tight. I like biking, and always have, scars and injuries notwithstanding. Most of them are pretty cool stories, anyway. And besides, here in OK it's a viable means of transportation, more so than New England, mainly because there are less hills, which means an easier ride, and I won't break the sound barrier on the way down. Some of the hills back home are, by my estimation, about a 50 degree angle on both sides, making for an interesting trip upwards and down. The weather is comparatively milder as well, also making for an easier commute. Besides, some of the gear the Army issues will also be of help. I can recall way back when Bike to Work day, as well as the occasional scenic cruise around the CT river. Hartford, CT is always a very cool place to ride, if you like the urban jungle.
There are, of course, the on-post laws, which I assume are largely the same for bicycles and motorcycles. One of which is wear reflective clothing and a helmet. Reflective clothing is a good idea, a helmet, to be honest I've never seen the value of. At least, with existing designs. Considering what a helmet covers, and the average impact you'd have falling or crashing, a helmet doesn't cover the important areas. It does cover the top part of your head, but what are the odds of landing on that? An average crash will mean you'll probably fall sideways or forwards (or in one of my more spectacular moments, straight over the handlebars and flat on your back), so a helmet offers no help there. Gloves are very useful, as your first reflex in falling is to put your hands out to ward off the impact. Apart from this, there's really not that much you can do in the event of a crash except hope for the best. And ride carefully, of course. Don't do anything stupid, and you're more likely not to crash- learned this lesson the hard way! For the rules of the road, a good general rule is to move like a car- drivers are conditioned to react to cars, so if you move like a car, and follow the same rules of the road as a car, they will react as if you are a car- that is, hopefully safely. But helmet laws are helmet laws, and we have to obey them. I'm hoping to track down some decent trails around town, so as to get out and trail ride, something I haven't done for years.
As to the debate about going armed (yes, this is actually a point of contention), it's been my experience that you're unlikely to be messed with on a bike. Most people see bikers as kind of a novelty- oh look, a grown man on a bike! What a nut! while others of a more environmental bent may applaud you. At any rate, I doubt the rate of crimes against bikers is any greater than the rate of crimes against, say, pedestrians or anyone else in a somewhat vulnerable position. Drunk driving is a problem, as we have a little less between us and the road than a car does. Vehicular manslaughter is the legal-ese term for something like drunk driving, where you unintentionally kill someone with a car. Vehicular homicide implies malice aforethought, and reckless endangerment is risking injury to someone while driving your car. Apart from that, vehicular assault is a term not commonly used, but means harassing or threatening someone by means of a car. If you, a bicyclist, feel threatened, the best course of action is to take down as much information as you can and report it to the police. Weapons depend on individual circumstance- where you are and what you're likely to encounter there. If you are licensed to carry a weapon, you certainly can- hopefully this license includes the responsibility to know when and where, and a good definition of self-defense.
Me personally, I don't like firearms, despite having a pretty good knowledge of them due to my profession. I don't carry one outside of work, and have no real interest in doing so. From what I've seen, most of the "gangbanger" type people use a gun or firearm more for display than anything else, and seem to lack the know-how to use it effectively. Waving a weapon around is a good way to get shot by someone who knows that a gun is only useful for shooting people- neutralize the threat, simply put. However, some people choose to carry guns, and to them I say, do be careful, and know what you have in your hands. Apart from that, happy cycling, and I'll see you on the roads!

Red and Black

It's a Saturday, tomorrow of course is Sunday, and I pull a 24-hour staff duty shift. Exciting! Well, that's all right, I get Monday off that way. Which is kind of cool. What a busy week! We've been out and about on post all week, finally managing to get the post in some semblance of order. Supposedly everyone has their power, water and heat back, too. There was quite a furor about this, and the town must have been running in circles trying to get everything done. We finally figured out we can use the giant crane built onto the back of the flatbed trucks we were using to move lots of branches all at once, after driving around and doing it by hand all week. Well, we figured it out eventually!
In other post news, there's a new drug in town called Spice. I haven't seen it anywhere, haven't tried it either, but apparently it's perfectly legal. The effect is similar to mary jane, at least that's what I'm told. Tried that once, didn't like it, called it quits after that. So at any rate, Spice is probably soon to become illegal, and we're soon to have another briefing on it. The best bet is avoid all that hassle when in the Army- you can do a lot of things in my unit, but drugs aren't one of them. If you get caught using, woe betide you, the chain of command will wrap itself around your neck and squeeze. Though some things about the Army have changed, that's not one of them. Drugs are still widely available and occasionally abused. I don't know of anyone who does, but drugs are just two or three phone calls away here on post. Is this a problem? Well, I don't really think so. Lawton is a town like any other, although the Army does its part to either kill or cure any drug problem- cure by getting people into a substance abuse program, or kill by having them kicked out. Not that it matters to me, drugs or no, I still have to report in to work and do my job.
Apart from that, we wonder- are things as bad as they seem? Or is it just all in how you look at it? In part, perhaps a great big part, perception defines reality for a person. What you think of it is what it becomes to you. In a sociological sense, these things are 'real'- that is, if everyone believes something to be true, and acts on it as if it were true, the consequences of that action or actions are the same regardless of whether or not it actually is true. This is true on a smaller, individual scale too- what we believe, we act on- thus, consequences become the reality of our beliefs. So if we keep a positive outlook, keep things in perspective, and keep an open mind, even the worst days all fall into context. At least, I hope so.

Why We Do What We Do

Wow, I would have been fortunate to have drill sergeants this forgiving! Or perhaps I would not. This would have been a cakewalk compared to the training that I had, and am profoundly grateful for. And this drill sergeant is right, they are indeed mentors. I did at more than one point say I want to be like Drill Sergeant Crutcher. He was not a senior drill sergeant, but our senior DS got reassigned halfway through our training. As far as I know, DS Crutcher is now off manning a sniper post in the middle of God-knows-where. He was always the best shot among us. On a completely unrelated note, I'm pretty sure that shot towards the end is dear old Charlie Company at none other than Fort Benning, GA- home sweet home!
At any rate, why this sudden bout of nostalgia? To be honest, I'm not sure myself. Lately those memories have been resurfacing, perhaps due to the tough times lately. I can never forget the training that I had, and the hard work I put in. My mom reminds me of this a lot- you made it through basic, and that's no mean feat. I suppose she's right. Now, it seems like second nature- what else can I do? There is something contained in the Soldier's Creed that applies to any situation- I first learned this in my early days in the Army, and it's called the Warrior Ethos- I have tried my best to live by it ever since first hearing it-

I will always place the mission first

I will never accept defeat

I will never quit

I will never leave a fallen comrade

And those four lines have led me to where I am today. I'm very proud of what I've become, and proud of the uniform I wear. It makes me want to keep on working harder and harder, and always push myself above and beyond. This doesn't make me a hero, just a soldier. Here is the full Soldier's Creed-

I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

Since I learned that by heart, it has always been dear to me. I've tried my best to be that Soldier that I saw in this creed. It hasn't always been easy, it hasn't always been without its shortcomings. But there it is, the reason that I walk the path I walk today. Not for glory, not for blood. But because I signed on the dotted line, and sought to be more than I was before. Every soldier is a part of something greater than themselves- I only hope I can live up to such a noble calling.

Steam Power

Another day cleaning up after the big storm- seems wherever I go, I bring storms with me. When I was born, it was during a tremendous snowstorm. Now, I get to Lawton and it seems bring destruction in my wake. But the town is recovering. We finally figured out that the bigger the vehicle, the more hauling capacity it has. We took larger trucks out today, the rationale being that they would cut down on time spent waiting in line at the dump when we go to haul all this stuff away. The dump has several JCBs there with big claw attachments, so they can unload our trucks faster and more efficiently. This turned out to be a tremendous help, as we were able to get much more done much faster.
But it also reminded me of an idea that I had, but could never figure out a practical application for- steam power. I figured it would provide a viable solution to fossil fuels, as really the only given you need is a source of steam, and that can be provided by any source of heat- although comparatively somewhat larger than an internal combustion engine, the power increases exponentially with size. So we would be looking at something about the size of a large pickup truck with more than adequate capacity to run at the same rate as a modern-day car. Besides, it would look so darn cool!
Enter steampunk, a word I had first encountered due to an interest in steam power. Steampunk is more a genre of fashion, art and literature than anything else, kind of a neo-Victorian movement. Strange, but true. I, however, was more interested in the technology aspect of it, which is somewhat lacking. There are people equally obsessed with steam power, such as www.crabfu.com , which has produced bizarre but fun steam-powered robots. Could this be the future of modern energy? There are more than enough renewable and clean sources of steam power, although the original steam engines ran on coal, which was far from clean. Also, for a good view of steampunk, check out a great movie called Steam. How original. But at any rate, it's kind of an alternate history where steam power is the norm, and carries a strong anti-Cold War sentiment. Worth a look, even if you don't like animation.
So what does all this have to do with steam cars? Well, I'm certain from flights of imagination, great things have come and will continue to come. Remember, every great idea was once someone's crazy idea. I lack the parts and resources to build a steam engine, but certainly have grasped the how of it- simple, really. Basically what you have is the energy of steam expansion driving a piston mechanism. The rest is pretty much dependent on what you need driven. The mechanism by which this is done is basically a two-step valve, much like a gasoline engine. But I'll keep on tinkering, who knows? Many great discoveries have been made by accident. Don't worry, I won't quit my day job though.

Cleanup, Day 1

So far, so good- we got about five blocks cleared today, driving around in an undersized vehicle with much less trailer space than we needed. My own thoughts- why are we driving around in Hummers/HMMVs with a dinky little trailer when we have a whole post to clean? Wouldn't it make more sense to break out the motor pool's heavy artillery and bust out there with a larger flatbed truck and trailer? Oh well, must be why I don't make the big decisions.
On a positive note, one of our officers impressed me very much by being out there with us- comissioned officers tend to hug the desk, but not our good Lieutenant. He was out there hucking branches with the rest of us. Detail today was to go out and clear the residential areas of tree-related debris, as the civilians the post had hired were out there sawing up the larger branches (well, at least some of them) and pulling down the hanging branches we as soldiers would have been liable for. (Well, at least one). So it was that we went out in the mud and dirt and wet and got the mission done. I also got to see the post dump, an incredible wasteland where there are lots of brush piles and a big sign that says no scavenging. What you would scavenge from the various projects that go on around post is a mystery to me, although the imagination runs wild- remember Return of The Living Dead? A chemical agent (similar to Agent Orange in some regards) called Trioxin 245 was accidentally released into the environment, resulting in mass chaos as it causes the dead to reanimate. But no, if there was such a thing, it would probably be a couple miles up the road from us. So no breaking in and scavenging military surplus off of the dump! Actually, all we were doing was dumping branches that had fallen from the trees, but still, imagination is so much more interesting than real life in most respects. No doubt your average military post could fend off a zombie attack quite well, at least those people close to the armory could. Again, for safety reasons ammo and weapons are stored separately. However, the butt end of a rifle can be an extremely effective weapon, as can a bayonet, although it seems tragically the Army is phasing out this fun little item. Nonetheless, I'd like to think it's us, the drivers and mechanics, who would have the best resources. A horde of zombies is no match for a good old M88 or an Abrams tank.
See what I mean about imagination being so much more preferable to reality? Well, at any rate, cleanup went well, if more than a little muddy. We continue to survive in our quaint little corner of life/unlife, and things will no doubt get more interesting as time goes on. All the best, dear readers, as we approach the 100- post mark!!

Deployment and Insanity

I don't get it either- but that is some funny shit, at least in my opinion. Perhaps we all need a little nonsense now and then.

It was a typical day at work, one completely unrelated to the video above. We dug out trucks from an inch-thick layer of ice and managed to get them accounted for. This is a usual morning at the motor pool. Then the power cut out. This was not a usual morning. However, ice has been hanging all over the lines for the past few days, a fun little aftermath of the ice storm we had. This too was not really that eventful, although the net result is that the poor Oklahoma trees get weighed down with ice and tend to break- poor devils! So it was that I got volunteered to do tree detail- go out tomorrow in one of our trucks and pick up all the branches the powers that be told everyone not to pick up yesterday. The rationale being... okay, you got me there, seeing as our intention is to chuck them anyway. But ours is not to wonder why.

There also is a deployment coming up, although admittedly like nothing I've encountered before. They're asking for 45 volunteers to learn a new job- radar repair and/or radar operations. Neither have the slightest connection to my own job, although they're willing to train us. I figure this would be a good opportunity to prove what I'm worth, and to advance in the field, pun not intended. However, the downside is that I'll be away from home for about 12 months, and in a combat zone. The first troubles me, the second, I could care less. However, it would probably also help here on the home front- especially seeing as every decision I've made here seems to have led us from bad to worse. I of course blame myself, and am doing my level best to run damage control and keep everything together. Like many things in my life, it's like trying to stack Bibles on top of whipped cream. But surely good will prevail! At least, I hope so. My dearest Tabatha, bless her heart, has given me the nod to go ahead with this deployment, go forth and do glorious deeds and all that good stuff. How is it that she is so much tougher than I am? That woman is an enigma, clearly. She looks at me with big blue eyes and says, "Don't give up hope".

And despite the seemingly impossible odds, somehow, against every spectre my own worried mind can produce, I don't give up hope.