Changes. Big ones.
Yeah, things are a little different now than the last time I posted.
I’ve finally decided to do something I’m been talking about and pussy-footing around for at least three years… though I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it on here… I’m enlisting in the US Navy. I suppose this is as good a venue as any to explain myself, although honestly I don’t feel the need to explain myself to anybody except… well, myself. That’s one thing I love about my girlfriend… I don’t have to explain myself to her. She supports that I need and deserve my chance to do with my life what I please. But, I digress…
I’ve been enthralled with the Navy since I was little, but I never seriously considered it until a few years ago. I was brought up to believe that the military is an option for the dregs of our society… for people with no other options, who were going nowhere in life. This isn’t my parents’ fault, mind you, they never said anything like that to me. Realistically, though, it’s the same as the cop thing. “You could do so much better than that” is the general attitude I get from people, and I think that’s simply not true. I think most negative feelings towards the military come from a few very common misconceptions. The first is that all branches of the military are the Marines… That they will tear you down until you are an empty shell, fill you with propaganda and murderous rage, and unleash you on an enemy; You are a tool for destruction, and your life = The Corps. I can’t stress enough that it just isn’t the case. At Basic, yes, there will be a bit of that. It’s not the same as Marine Recruit Training, though. Most of Navy boot is classroom, and it’s all mostly designed for familiarization with a military lifestyle. You do not have to eat, breathe, and sleep the USN to be successful.
Another misconception is that I’m going to be ”sent” to Iraq, or that I’m going to be “sent” to Afghanistan. I don’t know how to break this to you gently, so I guess I’ll just come right out and say it: NEITHER OF THESE COUNTRIES HAS A NAVY. Now… that having been said, the Navy does head out to the Gulf regularly. They fly air missions over Afghanistan, and you can volunteer for ground duty in Iraq… this is not mandatory, it is a volunteer-only thing.
So, to sum up so far: I’m not going to be fighting insurgents in Iraq, and I’m not going to come back from Basic as a totally different person.
The biggest misconception, or at least the one that bothers me the most, is the one that states a person cannot have a life and be in the military at the same time. In three years, I’m looking at one, maybe two six-month deployments. After that, I’m looking at another three years with zero deployments. When I’m not deployed, it’s like any other job… regular work schedule and all that, but I go to a ship instead of an office. That’s not to say I can’t deploy, if I want to. I can volunteer for that if I so choose.
Now, the “why”. I’m doing this for what I consider to be a very simple reason: I do not belong in a cubicle-farm. I simply don’t. Every day I come to this job, I feel like I’m meant for something better. Meant for something bigger than myself, something that has some effect, no matter how miniscule, on the world in which I live. I would rather be involved in intelligence, or working on ship-wide communication or weapons systems, or working computer warfare, than toiling away in a cubicle in a tiny, under-appreciated IT department which will probably get swallowed up soon, anyway.
This is the part where you tell me that I probably won’t get to do anything cool like that… it’s also the part where I tell you how wrong you are.
I’ve already done my testing for job selection… and I scored well beyond what is necessary for whatever I want to do. At this time, I’m being actively pushed towards Nuclear Technician… but, I don’t want to do that. So I won’t. Despite the giant bonus I’ve been offered for it. If my ASVAB score was shitty, I just wouldn’t enlist. Simple. A low score guarantees I’m not going to be doing what I want to do. A 97, though, guarantees the exact opposite. My chosen field: Intel.
I’ve got to go through MEPS on Friday to handle my physical and all that… if all goes well, I swear in at the end of the day. It’s important to note, by the way, that I won’t be going anywhere soon. So long as my luck holds out through Friday, I won’t ship to Basic for over a year from now. Gives me time with my special lady-friend… ok, my very special lady-friend… before this all gets underway. We both know that it’s gonna be hard in the beginning. The rewards are great, though, and I’m not just talking monetary… although, after about two years, I’ll be making more than I do now. I get three times more time off than I do now, I get better benefits all the way around… I get to live places I could never afford as a civilian. How else is it possible that we could ever live in Hawaii? Even if it’s only for a few years, I look forward to it. I look forward to this whole adventure, and sharing it with her. I have believed since the beginning, and continue to believe, that if anybody can withstand the trial we’re to endure, it’s us.
Phew. Glad the explanation part is over… now I can get back to just being happy about it. 
So, yeah. Enlistment. It’s happening. I’m stoked for the process to be over so I can quit worrying about things. Also, I get to spend a week with the VSLF starting on Friday after MEPS. That’s gonna be a blast, even though I have to wake up early five days out of it for some training I’m doing. I’m genuinely looking forward to the time, though… it will feel vaguely vacation-like for me, not having to drive into an office every day.
I switched to T-Mobile for a new phone that I wanted, the HTC HD2. I love the device… I hate my service. It doesn’t penetrate buildings very well at all, so the second I step into my shop I just lose service completely. Gay as AIDS, I know, but it’s what I’m stuck with for the time being. I don’t have a contract with them, but there’s nothing else I want now. I’m protesting Apple (that’s a rant for another day… or maybe just for later in this post), AT&T doesn’t have any decent phones except the iPhone 3GS, Verizon has nothing but the Droid (I’m also protesting Google… again, another rant), Sprint has garbage for phones… so, I went with T-Mobile expecting similar service to AT&T. That was stupid on my part… they use a different spectrum for their network, a spectrum with AWFUL building-penetration. But, the HD2 is pretty sweet. So, there’s that. A great phone on a shitty network. I am holding out for AT&T to get a Windows Phone 7 phone that I really want, this coming holiday season. I’m going back to AT&T because it works on the rest of planet, something that cannot be said for Verizon/Sprint/any CDMA network. Although, T-Mobile is apparently huge in the rest of the world. So, we’ll see.
I’m getting a ton of shit done at work this week. I’ve finished three images already, and it’s only half-way through Tuesday. Something about not being bothered by whatever trivialities my supervisor (gone this week) normally brings up to me… ah, well. Lunch being over, I guess I should get back to work.
Coming up next: why I hate Apple, Google, RIM, and your face.
