Career Un-Change

Being an adult is a lot of responsibility and not as much fun as everyone under the age of 18 thinks it is.  I have to make difficult decisions like what to eat, when to sleep, what to do with my free time and (by far the worst) what career path to follow.  Being in the military made things so much easier.  It was like being an adult but with training wheels on.  There was always someone there to tell you "Re-enlist", "Eat at this dining hall", " Go live here", "Don't step on that grass", and "Between the hours of 1300 and 1600 we will have fun today and you will like it".  Being a civilian means you make all your own decisions but it also means you take the blame for everything that results from those decisions.  Initially this was a liberating experience for me and I did what came naturally for someone like myself who had been recently liberated: I ran as far away from military stuff as I could.  This was fun for a while and then I started school again and made plans to change my career.

I have to say that I'd envisioned a career change as being a bit easier.  Call me naive (because I totally was and am) but I thought that making that decision would make it so (like an order from Captain Picard).  Little did I know that finding even an entry level position in a new career would be like trying to find an honest man at a political convention.  School was no problem as I easily got accepted back into college and have made an A in every class so far.  Trying to find part-time work in the Biology field with no previous experience, however is proving to be an impossible task.  The employers either want someone with some experience in the field already or someone who has no experience that they can train from scratch.  Someone with an existing degree and work experience in a different career need not apply.  I'm sure this recession creature has something to do with it too but I'd rather not blame my problems on a concept.

I'm a firm believer in the mantra that "Everything happens for a reason" because not believing that would just mean that I was getting shit on by whatever deity is responsible for doling out jobs.  So I decided to look back into the possibility of going overseas as a civilian contractor.  Why make my re-entry into the field overseas and not state-side?  There are two main reasons for this choice:  it's easier to get an overseas position and I'm not prepared to move again yet.  Once I know for sure if this is going to go down or not then I'll make long-term plans but at this point I'm just testing the waters.  I wouldn't be the first person in this field to come crawling back after getting frustrated with the "real-world" but I honestly didn't think I'd be one of them.  But, let's be honest, the civilian world is full of people that just don't seem to understand what it's like to have a career.  Simply having a job doesn't cut it for me.  I need a sense of purpose that working as an office assistant just doesn't give me.  Yes, it's about my pride and about the money but it's also about security and feeling like I'm contributing to society in some way.  If most Americans can do the job that I do then I don't want that job.  Perhaps this stint in the civilian world has made me truly appreciate my career.  It's been kind of like Rumspringa....I've allowed myself to lower my standards for a bit but now I realize the need to hold myself to a higher standard.  Here's to hoping I haven't already been shunned.  

Appreciate the Opportunities You Get

From Flickr by Aveoree

After attending a month's worth of college classes I find myself surprised at how many of my fellow students don't seem to care about their classes, aren't giving their best effort, complain about how boring/hard/stupid the class is, and how many can't even be bothered to show up to class.  I know I'm being a little critical here. I was their age at one time and I know I didn't put forth as much effort in college then as I do now.  Even so, it surprises and saddens me that so many students take college for granted.

  Young college students obviously don't have the life experiences to put college into perspective for them.  They don't realize that they'll look back on the college years with fondness and wish they could go back to that time and place in their lives. Most importantly, they don't realize that college is a privilege that many people never get the opportunity to experience.  I think a big part of this problem is the reason many young people have for going to college. It's obvious from their attitudes and behavior that many of them are only going to college because it's what is expected of them, they don't know what else to do at this point in their lives or they are being encouraged/pressured to go by their family. All this adds up to people who are apathetic towards their coursework and are interested only in putting forth minimal effort.

  Why does this bother me so much? Why do I care that they're not getting the most out of their college years? It bothers me because I know that there are many other young people in the world that would love a college education and would put it to good use. It bothers me because I know that educated citizens make informed decisions. It bothers me because scholarship money is being wasted on those who just want to "get by". It bothers me because this attitude becomes contagious and causes other students to slack off when they realize they can get away with it. I just want to grab them and tell them "You are so fortunate to be here! Don't waste this opportunity and regret it later! Do something important and beneficial to society with your life!"  But, I know that my efforts would be wasted. Some things you just have to figure out for yourself.  Luckily I got a second chance.

Spring Semester 2012 Begins

The first week of Spring Semester 2012 is almost complete.What have I gotten myself into? Okay, it isn't that bad but it is a little more difficult than I anticipated. Things I failed to take into account:

• We received homework assignments in the first week of class (and I don't just mean, "read chapter 1")
• Juggling my time between school, homework, gym, meal preparation, cleaning, sleeping, spouse time, and pet time makes for a busy schedule
• It's been 16 years since I was exposed to these types of science courses
• I feel out of place in classes full of freshman students

Oh, and let's not forget:

• I want to change my major already

For reals. Less than a week into the degree and I'm already having second thoughts.  There are a few reasons for this:

• I enjoy my Geosciences class a lot more than I do my Biology classes
• It will take me four semesters of sequential prerequisite lower level course work before I can branch out into the upper level courses that will count toward my major <---My primary concern
• I get a bad vibe from the Biology building and the classes

But, I'm smart enough to refrain from rushing off to the Geosciences department to change my major right away.  Even though the topic of Geography/Geology is more interesting I still need to do some research on the types of jobs available in that field and the projected graduation time if I decided to change my major.  After all, I've got some time before I have to worry about registering for summer and fall semester.  Who knows? I may grow to like Biology once we get past the boring topics of atoms and molecules and covalent bonds and such.  But I am a little disappointed that I'm not more enthusiastic about it.

I suppose what this all boils down to is trying to find that happy medium between a career field that's practical and one that I enjoy.  If it's too scientifically or mathematically related it doesn't hold a lot of interest for me but if it's too liberal artsy then it is obviously not as practical.  After all, the whole purpose behind going back to school is to get a degree that will lead to a career.  Now to spend time working towards it instead of thinking about it.   

A Country Mouse Goes to New York City

When I first found out I was going to New York for Christmas I expected to come back with stories of how alien NYC is and how horrible the city is compared to the country.  To my surprise, I came home with an appreciation for NYC and a new perspective on big cities in general.  A lot of my misconceptions were probably a result of watching too much television.  From watching Law & Order I’ve come to believe that people get murdered on the streets of NYC on a regular basis and no one stops to look, much less help.  Television has also led me to believe that NYC is just one big jumble of people, pollution, crime, and opportunists out to swindle you. Much to my surprise I wasn’t murdered nor witnessed a murder while in New York.

One of the things that surprised me about New York is that it isn’t all crowded city slums and upscale businesses.  There are actually some pretty nice areas of New York and Central Park isn’t lined with trash, hypodermic needles, and bums as I had previously believed (not that these things aren’t present there but they aren’t as prolific as I expected).  I was also surprised to find that there are suburbs in New York that don’t look much different from your standard suburb elsewhere.  This may sound like a given for most of you but you have to understand that I was seriously disillusioned and couldn’t conceive of quiet suburban streets in conjunction with the word New York.  

Yes, NYC itself was crowded and there were lots of people.  However I was there during the more-crowded-than-usual holiday season and I traveled to some of the more popular tourist attractions within the city.  The public transportation in NYC is a big plus for me.  Yes, it was also crowded at times but not as bad as I had expected.  The surprising part is that it was so convenient and trains ran regularly to and from all parts of the city.  Wherever we were in NYC we didn’t have to walk too far before finding a subway station.  Atlanta has been the big city I’ve lived closest to for most of my life so public transportation had some pretty negative connotations for me. Atlanta’s public transportation is crap relative to the size of the city and it only runs within the downtown area for the most part.  In order to use the public transportation system you have to drive into the perimeter of the city first which sort of defeats the purpose of public transportation.  Atlanta is notorious for its sprawl however, so it isn’t the best example of a big city.

 Despite being pleased with the convenience of NYC I was still a little bit hesitant about singing its praises.  After all, NYC is full of people and therefore pollution right?  As it turns out it really isn’t that bad.  When I got back home I happened to read an article in the December 2011 edition of National Geographic, The City Solution by Robert Kunzig, which presents an argument in favor of cities as being a better solution to the problem of population increase.  Cities can often produce less pollution because they rely more heavily on foot traffic and public transportation than their smaller town and country counterparts which rely on cars to get from place to place.  NYC produces much less greenhouse gas emissions per person than the U.S. national average.  So, public transportation is not only a more convenient and efficient means of transporting people but it also reduces pollution to a large degree…sounds like a win-win to me.  Unfortunately, too many Americans see car use and ownership as the key to their independence and would refuse to give that up but, that’s another topic for discussion altogether.

I can’t say that I’d ever truly want to live in NYC or the surrounding areas.  It would still mean dealing with large amounts of people and a higher crime rate.  I can see the allure of the city now though.  I dislike driving, particularly in traffic, so the public transportation would make commuting more convenient.  So much is available to you within such a small area that you’d never have to worry about finding the products and services you want or need.  NYC is alive 24 hours a day so you’d never have to worry about finding a place to eat or somewhere to shop anytime of the day or night.  There’s always something to see and do in NYC.  You may not be able to carve out as much personal space for yourself in NYC but what’s wrong with sharing every now and then?

Away From Home For the Holidays

Not a good, old-fashioned Georgia Christmas for me this year, but a (probably) stressful New York Christmas instead.  It is with some trepidation that I agreed to go to New York, my husband’s home territory, for Christmas to visit his parents.  It may sound odd that someone like myself who has been to several foreign countries and within the U.S. has traveled as far away as California, should be nervous about going to New York.  I feel like Dr. McCoy who still refers to himself as a “simple country doctor” even though he’s light years away from Earth on a spaceship exchanging witty banter with an alien.  It isn’t just New York that gives me cause for worry.  It’s where we’ll be staying while we’re there…with the in-laws…whom I’ve never met.  Yep, two and a half years into my marriage and I’ve never met my husband’s parents or siblings.  I feel like I’m some sort of embarrassing family secret.  

In reality it isn’t that my husband’s embarrassed because of me.  He just has no sense of proper social convention and customs and has neatly compartmentalized his married life as separate from his “other” family life.  In his mind, these bubbles don’t overlap.  If it weren't for me he'd probably wait to introduce me to his parents at our child's high school graduation (and we don't currently have children). It hasn’t helped that I was in the Army for the entirety of our engagement and the first year of our marriage and not always available to travel whenever he went to visit his parents.  Still, it makes for an awkward time of things now. Not only am I meeting them but I’m staying in their house for several days.  I wouldn’t even want to spend Christmas sleeping over at my own parent’s house, much less someone else’s.  I’m weird like that.  

There’s a reason the in-law situation has a bad rap in most families….it’s true.  In-laws see their child’s spouse as not being good enough and are often more critical of them than they are their own children.  In return, the spouse resents interference from the in-laws because “They’re not my parents” and any advice is considered (either correctly or incorrectly) meddling.  This makes for a tense situation.  This is precisely the type of situation I hope to avoid.  So, all I have to do is make a good first impression, smooth over any hard feeling his parents have about never having met me before, get in good with his siblings, carry on conversations with everyone over the course of several days, chip in around the house by helping to cook the Christmas meal, take care of my two pets that are coming with us, keep myself busy and occupied during the inevitably long periods of time my husband will be sleeping, and enjoy my Christmas.  Sounds easy….I got this.

Fearless Abandon

Expert rider but no expert on child safety

I never charged into battle or exhibited amazing acts of bravery or even earned a medal that would be considered distinguished for someone of my rank.  Sure, I  deployed overseas twice (to an actual war zone and not someplace like Kuwait) but I spent most of my time inside the wire, on base.  I suppose what I'm trying to say is that, despite being in the Army for six years, I didn't exactly participate in the most intense aspects of war and military service.  In the face of all that I still managed to complete my years of service a braver person than when I first enlisted. 

I will be the first to admit that "brave" is not a word one would use to describe me,  nor are "sociable" "friendly" or "fearless leader".  You have to look at where I've come from first of all.  For those of you who know me now you may find it hard to believe that I was once more reticent than I am now.  I had the annoying habit of letting people run all over me and of avoiding any difficulties that presented themselves instead of dealing with the issue.  Unless I was in completely familiar surroundings I was in a constant state of fear; fear that something would happen and I wouldn't know how to handle it or what to say.  Well, the Army cured me of all that.

I can't tell you when I changed but it most likely happened gradually.  All I know is that I somehow became a person that, instead of being told what to do by everyone, avoided listening to anyone simply because they decided to tell me what to do (and in this regard became a lot more noticeable as a member of my own family).  Aside  from this stubbornness I also developed a sort of fearless abandon.  Okay, maybe that's too strong a word but I do feel as if I'm a little bit braver and eager to prove myself.  I'm considering jobs now that I would never have considered before because I would have felt that it was too difficult for me.

I guess the biggest source of this new found bravery is the increased knowledge of my capabilities and my faults.  I have a much better picture now of who I am and what my skills and abilities are.  I also realize that my personality and personal preferences aren't likely to change much over time and that I need to follow a path that compliments my personality instead of one that struggles against it.  No matter how much I might want to be a people person, I never will be.  While it's true that working on my social skills will improve that skill, it will never increase it to the point that it comes natural to me.

Now the older, wiser version of myself is able to charge ahead with a much better idea of who I am and who I want to become.  I hope to approach things with a balance of ambition and realism from now on as the younger me probably wouldn't even know how to distinguish between the two.  Many adults still don't.  Then again, I still have a lot to learn.  I'm eager to see what lessons I'll learn as I get older.  I just have to remember to keep my mind open to the knowledge.     

Returning to College at 32

Here I am, registered at UWG as a full-time college student for the first time in ten years.  I’m back in familiar surroundings…sort of.  This University has changed so much since I was last here.  The library has been remodeled and now includes a lot more computers, electronic book check-out, and best of all –they allow food and drink in here now.  Several offices have moved to different buildings and several new buildings have been built around campus.  At least most of the buildings are where I remember them so I'm not awkwardly wandering around campus (well, at least being lost isn't my reason for being awkward).  

I feel a weird sense of both accomplishment and failure in being back at school.  In a way I feel that I have failed in my first career and that’s why I’m starting over.  Someone my age should be well ensconced in their career and not still trying to find out what they want to be when they grow up.  At the same time however, I realize that there are many people my age and much older who choose to change careers and this economy has forced many people to reinvent themselves.  I also recognize that I’m not truly starting from scratch.  I have ten years of experience I didn’t have the last time I was here and I do have most of my core classes taken care of as a result of getting my first degree.

One thing that I am surprised at is how many “useless” classes I’ll have to take.  I’m majoring in Biology now but I didn’t take a single Biology or Chemistry class my first go round.  That creates an obvious problem – or at least it should have been obvious to me if I had really thought about it.  I have to take the introductory classes first before I can truly branch out into the major.  This means that I can only take one or two meaningful classes at a time (meaningful being that they count toward my major) with the rest of my classes being filler classes or classes that would work toward a minor.  I have already fulfilled my core requirements and have plenty of upper level electives due to my first undergraduate degree.  Then why don’t I just go part-time?  Because I’m using the GI Bill which gives a housing stipend each month if I attend college full-time.  If I only go part-time I only get half of the stipend.  Why wouldn’t I take a couple more classes for fun if it means extra money each month?

I suppose I am really over-analyzing this.  I should be thrilled at the opportunity to go back to school and to have, not only my tuition paid, but a stipend as well.  After all, I’ve been wanting to go back to school since I got out of the Army nearly two years ago.  I know I will enjoy school and I picked a major based on logic, ability, and job viability in the current economy.  I suppose this first semester of useless classes will be a good way for me to determine if this major is really for me and if I can handle a full course load after so much time away from college.  Oh, to be young and idealistic again and to labor under the impression that every class I take is a benefit somehow and that a degree = a job.  Time to put on my rose-tinted glasses. 

         

Minimum Wage Is Not Enough

Photo by jpmatth via Flickr

Minimum wage in the U.S. is pretty low compared to the standard of living.  I know, most of you have probably already realized this.  The thing that surprised me was that federal minimum wage has not changed since 2009.  It is still $7.25 an hour and basic expenses such as food, utilities, etc are increasing in cost every year.  Not to mention the obvious fact that we are in a "Great Recession" where jobs are scarce and getting a home loan is harder than it used to be.  My home state of Georgia, along with Wyoming, has the lowest state minimum wage at $5.15 an hour.  However in most cases the federal minimum wage applies and not the state minimum wage, but why should the state minimum wage even be as low as $5.15? 

Another big issue facing the average American in this economy is that it's very much an employers market.  Employers can afford to be picky when it comes to choosing employees and the current employees feel they are privileged to even have a job and therefore put up with working conditions they normally wouldn't have to.  I know, I know...life isn't easy and working has always been hard and employers are always mean to their employees and we should just suck it up and stop complaining.  I get that.  I have no aversion to hard work....well, maybe I do have a little bit of an aversion but I'd still put in the effort.  That doesn't mean I'm not justified in being a bit frustrated. 

I suppose it's this type of frustration that leads many young people to camp out in local parks and get arrested as some sort of hippie initiation rite.  I have no qualms with the aims of the Occupy Wall street movement and other spin-off movements (even though those aims are often vague ideas instead of bulleted points but don't try to regulate our thoughts man) .  What I'm not so sure of is the method to the madness.  The Occupy movement wants to overhaul the entire political and economic system which can't be done by camping out.  A large enough protest can lead to changes in widely unpopular policies but something else has to happen for change on a revolutionary scale to occur.  To be honest I'm just not ready for a revolution.  I guess I'm a little past the age where the idea of a coup d'etat is appealing to me.  If I was an idealistic young person looking to create change on a national level I suppose the first thing I'd do is to make sure I educate myself on the issues, vote, and encourage others to vote as well.  If I was unemployed and in need of work I think a better way to spend my time would be looking for work instead of camping out in a park all day and all night long.  I also think that a big social statement could be made in the form of organizing, not to camp out in a park, but to volunteer at a soup kitchen or in some form of community outreach program. 

I know I'm being hypocritical here as I'm not a member of an outreach program and I'm not actively involved in any political organizations.  I do intend to vote on issues that I feel are important and I feel obligated to educate myself on the issues even though it sometimes feels like I'm getting mired in a molasses of ideas and posturing.  I guess if there's anything I want people to take away from this is that there are many ways of bringing about change and very few of those ways are instantaneous and complete. Enthusiasm is good as long as we temper it with a bit of realism.            

Stalked By Bad Luck

http://atom.smasher.org/pack

I must have the worst luck ever.  Or at least that's the way things seem from my perspective.  Every task I've undertaken lately, no matter how simple it seems at first, always ends up being 10 times harder than it should be.  I could go into detail with my encounter with the harpies that work at the DMV (or DDS as they now call it...probably had to come up with an alias due to multiple death threats from disgruntled customers).  However, I am too upset as a result of my five visits across the river Styx to really comment on it at this point.  Maybe at some point I'll acquire a GA driver's license, but until then at least my VA license still seems to like me.

You may be one of these annoying people who want to tell me that it must be due to negative thinking that these bad things are happening to me.  I can assure you that on multiple occasions I have happily walked into the DMV, called someone, emailed someone, etc expecting no problems whatsoever only to be blindsided with problems that only Hades could invent.

My husband, on the other hand, has the best luck.  He often gets special treatment, easy breaks, and rarely runs into unexpected problems.  As a result, he has the annoying habit of expecting that everything should go great for me too and believes that it must be a result of something I said/did or possibly a genetic predisposition to bad luck that causes me to have such difficulties.  He also tends to overreact and exaggerate claims which leads to conversations like this:
Me: "The DMV said they wouldn't accept the document because it doesn't have a stamp on it and so they won't give me a license."
Husband: "What?! What is the matter with those retards?! If that happened to me I'd take a shit on the counter and tell them to shove those papers up their ass!!"
 For the record, he would not actually take a shit on the counter and even though he may make a smart-ass comment to them, he wouldn't tell them to shove it up their ass either.

 Today was one of those days when it comes to a head for me.  I have reached the limits of giving a shit and aren't quite sure if I should yell, cry, just give up trying to fix things, or lay on the couch for the remainder of the day eating junk food.  I compromised by getting a large Mocha from McDonalds and telling myself to set aside all this angst for the weekend as there isn't anything I can do about it until Monday anyway. Essentially I'm doing what humans tend to do best which is to ignore problems and hope they go away. It's been my experience that this works better than beating your problems to death because they'll just come back as zombie problems anyway and try to eat your brains. When that happens you become the zombie that just causes problems for other people.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zaxl4/167271115/sizes/s/in/photostream/

Black Hole of Indecisiveness

I didn't know what to do. Like any true liberal arts graduate I wavered back and forth between going back to college to pursue a second Bachelor's degree, to pursue a Master's in History, or to forget school for now and focus on continuing my career in the Intelligence field. I applied to a college in Virginia as an undergrad with the intent of picking up a few more history courses before charging in as a graduate student. I was accepted but didn't register for classes. Between the time I applied and time for registration came about, my husband and I had decided to move back to Georgia. So, I focused on applying to intel jobs in the Atlanta area....of which there aren't many I assure you. After a couple of promising interviews and emails I met with a wall of defeat. It turns out that this economy isn't the best in which to look for a new job (who knew?). So, now I've come full circle to applying to college again, this time as an undergrad in Georgia.


This year of insanity has provided a lot of insight into my tendency to be indecisive. Because I can't figure out exactly what I want to do I end up not doing much of anything. I even stopped writing because I felt that it would distract from my job search and that it wasn't productive so why bother. I was being bitter basically. So now I say screw it. I should just do what I've been wanting to do for 2 years now....go back to school. I'm not totally abandoning logic here. A BA in Anthropology isn't much use even in a good job market and my 7 years of intel experience is restricted to the military field and civilian employers don't give flip about that it seems. I have no intention of going back overseas or moving all over kingdom come again to hunt down an elusive intel job. So, changing careers seems like a good move as long as I pick a degree that will give me good job prospects after graduation. I have no problem working a dead-end hourly job as long as I'm in school and working toward something better.


For those of you who even read this and have wondered what I've been up to this past year the answer is simple and boring - nothing. Well, I have made significant strides in fitness. I took up running (I needed to see progress in some area of my life) and I've since competed in a 5k, 10k trail race, half marathon, and marathon. My next race is a half marathon on Thanksgiving Day so at least I'm physically better off than I was a year ago. I tend to have a one-track mind so focusing so intently on improving my running has resulted on everything else being out of focus. "I have a two hour run in the morning! I don't have time for anything else!" That's how my messed up brain works. A multi-tasking corporate mogul I'll never be.

Having a Dirty, Racist Friend Can be Awkward

  I discovered the site xtranormal that's responsible for so many of those funny videos that you see around the internet.  Here is my first attempt which took zero planning and thought to produce.  When I have the chance I plan on doing something better.

Jesus Isn't Available Right Now

     So, I had a pretty disturbing dream the other day that I'm still trying to decipher.  It wasn't one of those nighttime dreams, but was one of those midday nap dreams which always tend to be a little bit weirder.  The content of the majority of the dream really isn't relevant.  Lucky for me because I don't remember most of it anyway.  What I do remember is making some reference to Jesus in the dream and being told that Jesus is busy right now anyway.  I was then led to a shack where Jesus was sitting in a chair, staring like a zombie at the television, and being guarded by a couple of demon-like (or possibly biker-like) dudes.  It was reminiscent of the scene from Shaun of the Dead where Ed the zombie is playing video games in the shed out back.

     What in the world does this dream mean?  It could be some subconscious effort to tell me I'm losing my religion (props to REM), but then again it could just be a result of the cold medicine I took before the nap.  Not every dream has to have a hidden meaning, but how can you tell which one does and which one doesn't?  Am I supposed to write this down as some Nostradamus-type prophesy about zombie Jesus?  Should I start my own cult of Zombieism (Christianzombie, Zombianity)?  Just because zombie Jesus is glued to the television, should we join in or does it mean that our religion(s) don't mean as much to us anymore now that we have a glowing box to worship?  Did the second coming of Christ already take place but he was too freaked out by all the technology he saw and has since then been in a shack watching T.V. somewhere and no one knows? 

     People major in Philosophy in order to ponder these and other of life's biggest questions.  I say ponder because they never get around to actually answering any questions.  Makes you wonder how someone can validate majoring in Philosophy.  Makes you wonder just how difficult the doctoral theses has to be.  Just throw in a bunch of references of famous philosophers and a bunch of esoteric ideas that no one can prove or disprove and you've got yourself a PhD.  Zombie Jesus would be proud.      

Put Me In a State of Torpor

   From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:  Definition of TORPOR : a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility : extreme sluggishness or stagnation of function 

  It is cold, very cold.  Lately the temperature at night has gone down into the teens and rises only a little above the freezing point during the day.  I don't deal well with cold weather.  After all, I'm just not used to it.  I grew up in Georgia and spent most of my adult life moving around to areas known more for hot summers than cold winters.  So, this weather makes me wish I could go into a state of hibernation or at least a state of torpor until it gets a little warmer out.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

   

  Not all animals that go into dens or burrows during colder weather enter into true hibernation.  Skunks, badgers, and raccoons enter into a state of torpor which is different from hibernation in that they can actually wake-up, move around, and eat when they need to instead of sleeping away the whole winter.  Their body temperature decreases as does their heart rate which allows them to conserve energy.  Bears, on the other hand, aren't really true hibernators at all.  Their body temperature only decreases slightly and they often wake-up and move around in their dens and may come out for food if they get really hungry.  So basically, bears are a lot like people during the winter.

   Unfortunately humans can't truly hibernate or even go into a state of torpor.  If our body temperature falls too much we suffer from hypothermia which ain't a good thing.  Prolonged hypothermia = death and not happy-sleep-hibernation time.  I know, you're probably just as disappointed as I am.  Doctors have been researching the possibility of putting people into a state of hibernation to help with various illnesses and reduce the shock of some surgeries, but they haven't been able to get past that hypothermia problem.  How nice would it be to ride out some painful or debilitating injury or illness by just sleeping it off for a few months?  Alas, that isn't going to happen anytime soon.

   As intelligent as humans (think they) are you'd think we would have this hibernation thing figured out by now.  We have been watching animals sleep for thousands of years and still don't know much about it.  I guess that's the price we have to pay for intelligence: we have to be awake during winter so we can sit 
around and complain about how cold it is outside.  

My Dog Hates Me

  I think my dog hates me, or at least is somewhat sadistic.  Sure, he looks up at me with puppy dog eyes most of the time and he is cute and whatnot, but that is likely all a ruse to gain my trust.  As evidence of his hatred for me I will present exhibit A: he responds to training while at home but once we get to the training class he acts like he doesn't know what "sit" means.  He obviously wants to make it seem that we haven't been practicing any of the commands in our free time.  But, I like to give him the benefit of the doubt and attribute his behavior to some sort of puppy ADD.

  The thing that really makes me wonder whether or not he cares for my well-being is his desire to frolic in sub-freezing temperatures.  This is a dog who, in the summer and fall, had no interest in playing outside or going for a leisurely walk.  I had to make him go on walks and he was always eager to return home.  Now that it is an ungodly temperature outside he decides to spend some time in the great outdoors.  He wants to go out more often, run around while he's out there, and is reluctant to come in.  I have a cold (and possibly the flu as I have a fever) and this dog wants to drag me outside multiple times in a day, in the cold, to play.  Well, that's just mean.  Shame on you Indy, shame on you.

I'm the Wanderer

   You thought I fell off the face of the planet didn't you?  Maybe I did, but I'm back now....sort of.  Since my last blog a lot of things have (not) happened.  I did not go back overseas, partly because the company dragged their feet getting me an offer letter to the point where I'd have only a week to prepare to go overseas and I hate being rushed.  Also, the logistics of both me and my husband going overseas and trying to figure out what to do with two pets and a house full of stuff was just frustrating.  The ultimate reason though was that I didn't want to go and that I really wanted to get a "real" job here in the states, despite not knowing what a "real" job is anymore.  The military really screwed that up for me. 

    So, the hubby went overseas and I stayed  behind trying to figure out what to do with myself.  I decided to go ahead and move to the next state on our list of places to try and settle down in - Virginia.  The idea being that when my husband returns he will get a job here.  It helps that it's symbolically and literally a middle ground for my New York husband and my Georgia self.  I like it here so far, which is more than I could say for Arizona which depressed me from the first day we moved there. 


   So, you might ask, what are you doing now?  The answer is that I really have no idea.  My ultimate goal is to teach, but first I need to get certified.  I'm studying for my PRAXIS exams now, which is the first step.  But, since It'll be a while before I can start teaching I need to find something to do in the meantime.  Aside from joining a gym, taking my dog to training classes, and practicing my best teacher impersonation, I've given consideration to writing again.  I had stopped writing altogether (as is evidenced by my absence from my own blog) because I didn't take myself seriously and really had no idea the direction I would go with my writing.  However, now that I have the time I figure why the hell not?  I know I'll be here for a while so I don't have to worry about moving and can just dig in to the writing.  Worst case scenario: I get frustrated with it and my blogs become angsty(er?).    

Back in the Saddle

I realize I've been away from blogging or writing in general for a few months.  I've moved across the country, gotten a new job, and I'm already quitting and moving on to something else.  I'm still in training with the current job, if you can believe that.  Two and a half months in and I'm still in this God-awful training that serves no purpose.  I had gotten word that I would be laid off in September so I applied to other positions.  Although going back overseas wasn't my first choice, I turned to it because of the money offered and because, quite frankly, life is a lot simpler over there.  So, I have three weeks to get my affairs in order before I go back to Iraq, as a civilian this time. 


I'm one of these people that needs some sort of stability and regular schedule in my life.  Probably one of the reasons I haven't been writing since I've been here is that I haven't quite figured out what I'm doing here.  You'd think training would be a piece of cake, but I constantly have the feeling that I'm serving no purpose and I'm not contributing in any way.  This feeling only got worse when I knew I was losing my job.  What's the point of going through over two months of training to put in only a month and a half of work?  Now that I've  figured out what I'm doing next and I know what my next job consists of (only a week or two of training for that!), I feel much better.  I need to stop stressing over little things so much.

Oh My Blog Award Drunk Post

So the Rock 'n' Roll gourmet bestowed upon me the Oh My Blog award on Friday and I've just gotten around to writing my post. I know, I'm horrible.  When accepting this award you must do one of the following:

1. Take a photo of yourself first thing in the morning (no brushing of the hair, putting on proper clothes, etc)
2. Blog while exceedingly drunk for 15 minutes
3. Write about your most embarrassing moment
4. Make a vlog a.k.a. a video blog
5. Share the soundtrack of your childhood

You know I'm picking number two...


So, you must forgive me if this post is about nothing at all other than my drunken ramblings. And also forgive any grammatical errors and such.  I have no shame in this as I know nobody reads this anyway.

My drink of choice isn't hard liquor or beer or any of that cool stuff, but instead is a bottle of Port.  So you see the level of dorkdom I'm dealing with.  I personally see nothing wrong with getting drunk off of a dessert wine, but I'm sure most of you will so just don't knock it til you've tried it.  I don't know if I qualify as "exceedingly drunk" yet but I'm finding it hard to type so it's now or never.  It's been forever since I've gotten drunk so this was the perfect excuse.  You'd think that after being unemployed for a few months I'd at least enjoy myself.

Speaking of which, I'm going to be starting work again in about a month.  They offered me a position starting May 3rd but I want to move at the same time as my husband so we have to wait until mid May. I so need to start working again to feel like a human being.  Being unemployed sucks.  There's only so much housework, Rock Band, WOW, and doting on the pets that I can stand.  Speaking of which, my puppy is freakin cute.

It took me like forever to get that picture of him.  Partly because he was excited and partly because I'm drunk and couldn't figure out how to get the picture from my phone to my blog expeditiously. (yeah big word!!!)

I'm really not a very clever blogger when I'm drug.  All I want to talk about is what I like and what I don't like.  I like my puppy, my hubby, wine, Family Guy, and computers.  This was in no way influenced by the fact that all this was within my sight while writing this.  Okay, it is perhaps a bit biased.  Something I hate, that freaking Ford commercial they play all the time.  It's a local commercial that I tried to find, but forgot the name of the dealership already so instead I decided to post this:





Ha! Freaking hilarious and slightly annoying, but mostly hilarious.  I like a guy that can make fun of himself.  That's why I married my husband.  I would insert embarrassing photo or funny story here, but he might never forgive me.  And I don't want to piss him off yet.  I still want to have his children.  And I'm sure our bi-racial children will be exceedingly beautiful and hopefully not as retarded as either one of us. 

Okay my fifteen minutes are up and I'm sure this is fifteen minutes of your life you are sad you'll never get back.  Sorry.  Now on to watch videos that I remember being funny back when I was stoned in college.

Time Has Not Been Good to Some

 

The story and picture can be found here

It has been almost eight years since the Afghan girl's true identity was discovered, and 26 years since the original picture was taken.  I've seen the picture of the Afghan girl many times and am always struck by how great a picture it is and how beautiful the girl's eyes are.  I have also seen the picture of her much older self and am struck by how time has not been particularly good to her.  It is understandable.  She has had a rough life of refugee camps, hard work, poverty, a harsh environment, and probably has several children.  It is sad that women like this become concealed behind the veil from the time they are teenagers throughout the rest of their lives. 

This woman's picture inspired many to donate to building schools and improving the quality of life in Afghanistan.  Who knows how many other women and girls are out there with similar stories that will never be heard because of an oppressive culture?  It makes me sad for them and thankful for my culture all at the same time.  Chances are, though, that she doesn't want us to feel sorry for her because she doesn't know anything else.  Yes, she realizes she's poor and would like more money for things and a big nice house, but that's likely where her aspirations end.  Even if she was given the opportunity to move to America or England and start a new life, shed the burqa and move on, she would likely turn it down.  Very few people relish the idea of having their world turned upside down.


Pictures are amazing things that give us the opportunity to relive a moment, to experience things we've never actually seen, and to meet people we've never really met.  National Geographic pictures do this better than most, and honestly I wouldn't subscribe to the magazine if it didn't have those wonderful pictures.  Oddly enough, even when I get the chance to visit places I've seen pictures of in NG, it doesn't always look as great in real life as the picture made it seem.  I suppose we romanticize things we aren't actually experiencing.  A picture of the desert may look pretty, but once you're there and dealing with the heat, dust, sun, and wildlife it is a whole different situation.  My pictures seem to turn out the opposite.  Nothing I take a picture of is ever as awesome (or horrible) as it was when I was there experiencing it.  I guess that's the mark of a true photographer; taking an experience and making the picture so much better.  For now I guess I'll stick to letting others take the pictures.

I realize this is a disjointed post of ideas, but one idea led to another and I just went with it.

Wii Workout Routines - The Good and the Bad

I used to be a fairly fit person.  Then I got out of the Army and decided to do whatever I wanted.  Whatever I wanted included fast food and sitting around all day.  So I gained some weight.  Once I had to buy new pants I decided to start watching what I eat and work out again.  But, it was still sort of cold outside and I am inherently lazy.  My first choice was to try something I could do from home - video games.  Ok, not exactly video games, but the Wii game console has pretty much cornered the market on workout games.  I guess they have to have a niche in some market as their graphics suck and you can't even play DVDs on the Wii.

So, I bought and tried out a variety of workout games for the Wii.  Some of these games turned out to be helpful in kick-starting a workout routine while others fell miserably short.  This is by no means a comprehensive list, but if you've considered trying some of these out you may want to read this.   Also, if you've tried out some Wii fitness games that aren't mentioned here, let me know how they worked out for you.

Wii fit Plus - This is the most popular (and most expensive) of the Wii workout games.  It comes with the balance board as well which is required for most of the other programs.  Even though this program has a bunch of games that make working out fun, they aren't exactly the most challenging.  In fact they are more suitable for children and the elderly.  There are some exceptions, notably the yoga workouts and the strength training.  Even then the number of repetitions aren't enough to gain much benefit for an already (mostly) fit person.  This program focuses a lot on improving balance more than anything.  This has pretty much become my go-to for a cool down workout or something to do on my rest days.  Also it's something to do when I'm bored but don't want to just sit on the couch or stare at a computer screen.  You can set goals for weight loss (or gain) and track it daily with this program.

Wii Active Personal Trainer - This is by far the best of all the workout CDs for the Wii.  You can set the difficulty level to whatever suits you and you can add to their 30 day challenge workouts with either a custom workout or choose from one of the pre-made workouts.  The intensity is just right for me and has a good mix of cardio and strength training.  There are also sport events mixed in with the more mundane exercises which keeps things interesting.  The disk comes with a resistance band, but I ended up switching it out for one that has a stronger resistance level so that I could get more out of my workouts.  The workouts on their own are a bit short (average of 20 minutes) but it is a good start and I always add to it.  You can also keep track of any additional workouts or fitness activities you do as well as your nutrition. 

Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 - The title sounds impressive and this workout ain't no joke.  I wouldn't recommend this if you are a couch potato just looking for a little something to get you going or if you are seriously overweight and looking for a low impact workout.  The reps are pretty high for each exercise and there is a lot of running mixed in with the routines.  The running set-up is better for this one than for the other CDs because you are running through a virtual island rather than on a track or just watching someone run in place.  Every time I do one of these workout routines I feel like I've truly gotten a workout.  The tone of this disc is more serious and there aren't any "fun" exercises or routines to choose from.

My Fitness Coach 2 - This is pretty much useless.  The workout routines aren't very long or very difficult (even at the highest difficulty level I could set it to) and you have to be very precise in your movements for it to count as a good rep.  Even the running has to be in time with your "coach" and all you get to look at is the coach running in place.  Boring.  The graphics are bad even for the Wii.  It boasts providing nutritional information as well, but that is also useless.  When meal plans include things like mushrooms or sardines on toast for breakfast I think I'll pass.

Essentially none of these workout CDs can stand alone, but a couple of them are a good start.  I make a point of getting up in the morning and starting the Wii Active which doesn't take very long, and after that I add to my workout, emphasizing whatever muscle groups I'm focusing on that day.  I may also add a workout DVD into the mix for some cardio or yoga.  But the Wii is great for getting off the couch and doing something, setting goals for yourself, and having a set routine without paying a personal trainer or paying gym fees.    

Confederate History Month?

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell issued a proclamation stating that April would  be Confederate History Month.  This in and of itself would have been controversial but it was made even more controversial by the omission of slavery in the initial proclamation.  The proclamation has since been revised and is on the Governor's website.  McDonnell initially omitted slavery because he "focused on the ones [reasons] I thought were most significant for Virginia".  He had to have known he was stirring up a hornet's nest.  

The two previous Democratic Governors did not recognize Confederate History Month because they viewed it as a polarizing event that would only serve to divide Virginia along racial lines and would not contribute to the state's progress.  The current Republican Governor decided to bring back the observance.  As a result, this controversy has not only stirred up racial disputes but also political ones as well, i.e. equating Republicans with racists, etc.  

I think this whole situation is good for us.  Why?  It gets us talking about this issue.  The Civil War happened long ago, but that doesn't mean we should forget about it.  We shouldn't demonize the South for their role either.  Most Confederate Soldiers were poor men fighting for their way of life, even though their way of life is backwards and criminal by today's standards.  We should discuss the Civil War in its context and remember the bad choices that we made, and the sacrifices that were made on both sides.  We should most definitely include slavery in this discussion because omitting it is sugar-coating the war, and that is something we should never do.  

Slavery was a part of the American way of life for a hundred years. We can't run away from that fact.  That doesn't mean our ancestors were all white devils, but they surely made some very bad choices.  Personally I have both a Confederate Soldier as an ancestor and a Union Soldier as an ancestor.  I don't view one with any more disdain than I do the other just because of the location he was born in and the culture he was born into.  I believe it would be appropriate to observe a Civil War month in which we honor the Confederate Soldiers, Union Soldiers, and slaves.  I'm sure there are many who disagree with having any sort of observance of this incident, but time has a way of making us forget and forgetting the Civil War and the reasons behind it is something we shouldn't let happen.