Plankton

...potato...

I hear ya. It was a good experience. I got to see Germany, and Holland (Amsterdam 3 times *cough*), drive the Autobahn, and meet some really good people, like Turbo B (from Snap!) who was in my unit. He got out a little bit before me, and by the time I was out "I Got The Power" was all over the radio stations. I've also kept in touch with a few of my other Army buddies thanks to Bookface.

After 2-1/2 years in Germany though, coming back to the states was kind of a reverse culture shock for me. Most Americans are *******s, and I wanted to go right back to Germany, and almost did if it wasn't for me diving into school right away. German people have a better sense of integrity, and the culture is very warm and inviting.

As far as military life goes, well... that's a discipline I can understand, and I did immerse myself into it, but the lifestyle is just too sterile for me, so I didn't re-up. A good friend of mine went in around Desert Strom era, and stayed in for 12 years. He saw quite a bit of action, and now that he's been out for a good while, he's still a bit nuts. But, I guess that's all relative to ones environment.

I salute you, and DJ for making the commitment.

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See location...

djchameleon

I'm pretty open about most things but that's specific area of my life that I don't like to talk about. Sorry guys.I learned that there are a lot of people that join the military that don't really belong there and they even regret joining themselves. People join as an escape from their bad situations back at home but they don't really care about the military at all. There were so many guys that I came across with that attitude. The whole Never Again Volunteer Yourself crowd and the FTN(**** The Navy) fuckers. I didn't join for the typical reasons like college money, travel or carrying on a family tradition. I joined for the experience. Getting bonus sign up money and college tuiton was just an added advantage. I didn't want to go straight to college after being in school for 12 years straight and I didn't want to stay at home and just get a job right after high school because I felt like I wouldn't want to go back to college and be stuck in a dead end job. So I decided I would go into the Navy and learn a trade skill to compliment my desires of being an accountant to have something to fall back on. I ended up getting electrical engineering training.

This gif is magically. Excellent usage of it.

Ready for your mind to be blown again? She isn't even a mod!

Thank you and even though I was ribbing the branch that you joined like I always do. I still respect everyone that decides to sign up. A friend of mines was in Army intelligence as well and the best part about that is being able to rank up and get higher pay quicker than other MOSs

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Fame, fortune, power, titties. People say these are the most crucial things in life, but you can have a pocket full o' gold and it doesn't mean sh*t if you don't have someone to share that gold with. Seems simple. Yet it's an important lesson to learn. Even lone wolves run in packs sometimes.

Black Francis

But wasn't she a mod at some point? i seem to recall reading her name in blue.

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"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Janszoon

Nope.

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A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

Black Francis

Well then i should lay off the weed cause i swear i read her name in blue at some point.

I thought she was like Pedestrian like a former mod

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"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Rjinn

I find it hilarious that you made a hallucinatory statement and posted a gif of a guy who looks like he's on acid.

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last.fm

Black Francis

Assume that was my intention

But Eric is not on acid he is just a very weird guy.

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"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Neapolitan

This is how I envision Trollheart... just creating massive albums reviews out of thin air:

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Scarlett O'Hara

Yeah it's crazy how quick he writes them up. Definitely a good use of gif for him.

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Freebase Dali

Thanks for the honest answer, as much as you could answer anyway.

Personally, I joined because my life was sh*t and I had enough foresight to know that if I didn't do something about it, it'd be sh*t forever. The best option for me at the time was the military. I could learn a trade free of charge and also kick a lot of the habits that were bringing me down, but also just have a "jolt" to change myself. It was a good jolt.

But believe me, there were multiple times where I wanted to get out. I remember thinking about ways to do so while deployed in Kuwait for my first stint in the middle east... I'd left my weapon under my bed because I was told to go on a detail in another camp (Doha) and was being rushed, and I didn't have time to sign my weapon in the arms room if I wanted to catch the bus. A "welfare inspection" was done and my weapon was found unsecured, and I got a field grade for it. Spent about a month picking up trash and digging ditches in the hot Kuwaiti weather of about 120 degrees farenheit, every day, for hours.

This other time, I had a huge douche of an E-6 that was in charge at the TCF and he was bitching me out about my uniform not being ironed. This is in the middle of deployment, mind you. Well I had enough. Snapped. Yelled, "F*CK YOU" right in front of everyone, including the platoon leader, turned around and thrust a middle finger in the air as I walked out.
Of course, the moment I stepped outside, I realized how f*cked I was.

Fortunately for me, the E-6 was pretty dumb. Instead of writing me up, he made me do a power point presentation about the chain of command. Me, having at least moderate skill at the English language, blew him away. He'd been planning on making me bring a freshly ironed uniform to him every two hours, but dropped that punishment when I was done with the presentation. Weird. I got bonus for being literate.

Throughout my service, I've had little issues like that. And to be honest, those are the hardest to deal with in the military, in my opinion. It's dealing with people that have this "authority" over you but don't really have the character and qualification to be effective with it. It's very difficult to manage internally.
And I say all this to say, that over my enlistment, I learned the most important thing I've ever learned... Just suck it up and drive on. Keep the personal feelings out of it, and just do the job. After all, you're there (or anywhere) for yourself, and you want to make it as painless as possible.

I don't mean to say just bend over. Well, in the military that's pretty much all you can do. But out in the real world, pick your battles. And if you're gonna make waves, make the ones that benefit you, not the ones that bring you down based on an inability to control your ego. A job is a job, but your life is the only one you got, so don't make it harder to live in.

Anyway, I don't know why I wrote all that.
But I did.
Whatever.

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