Place Your Bets Now!

I’ve been out of town for a bit, so I haven’t quite figured out what I am going to do with my Army situation. So yesterday my friend Natalie and I went to see the Air Force recruiter. This is the second time I’ve talked to this recruiter…the first time I saw him was about 3 months ago. I don’t particular care for him. He acted a little too care free for me…like he was untouchable…and I had to almost beg to get into the Air Force. Before we even made it into the office, we passed a Marine recruiter. Natalie commented on how “crazy” the Marines are…I told her to join. I stood in front of the office before I knocked on the door…the lovely Air Force recruiter was chatting on the phone and had the TV on. I told Natalie I didn’t want to go in and that I didn‘t want to join, so we stood there for a few minutes. Fuck it, we finally went in. He told his “buddy”, two young ladies just walked in and he had to go. This time I was prepared….I whipped out a list of questions that I wrote on a piece of scrap paper from work. I told him I had a lot of questions…he chuckled a little and said that if he didn’t have the answers, he’d just make them up. Natalie thought this was funny. However, at this point I wanted to reach across his desk and grab him by his throat and tell him, this is my fucking life we are talking about here…another three years…I’m a little tired of bullshit and making things up wasn’t going to cut it. Instead I smirked and said, “I bet you will”. Anyways, the questions ranged from how long my enlistment would have to be, specific MOS questions, bonuses, what I had to do on my end to get into the Air Force, etc. We talked about my scores on the ASVAB…lets just say with those scores, you probably won’t see me strolling the campus of an Ivy League school. I didn’t score high enough for the job I wanted, which I knew. So I asked about retesting…he advised me not to retest because if I fail I won’t be allowed to join at all. I took that test when I was 17, I’m pretty positive I wouldn’t fail this time around…I’ve been studying and have two years of college under my belt (and my GPA is over 3.0)…still he said it wasn’t a good idea. So with this, he printed out a list of jobs I could do…pretty much everything except the one I wanted, Public Affairs. He also told me the Public Affairs position is “Code B”, like I know what the fuck “Code B” means to the Air Force…so I asked him to explain. Apparently, it means its usually for active duty prior service and therefore I probably wouldn’t be able to get this job…but I could be interviewed for it…then some Major decides if they want to take me or not. So recruiter of the year already made up his mind that that MOS wouldn’t work for me, so he told me I could join and pick another MOS and after two years I could switch my job to the one I initially wanted. This seemed a little pointless to me…I don’t want to waste anymore time doing some job I didn’t care for. I entertained him and looked through the list…logistics, personal, supply, command something, this and that, security or police. Police…I’m going to be honest, part of me wants to become a cop…well an undercover detective, dress in all black and take people out. But I realized this would be a far cry from what I would actually be doing in the Air Force. I stared a few and told him I’d look into them but I wanted Public Affairs. Then we talked about bonuses…I guess President Bush just signed a bill yesterday that determined all bonuses. Who knew? The Army offers $7,000 if you sign up for three years and $15,000 for six…but I guess the Air Force doesn’t and he wouldn’t know bonuses for a few more days. Okay, so…half an hour into this…I wanted to choke him, I was told I couldn’t have the job I wanted, retesting wasn’t a smart choice, no bonus, and he thinks my enlist would only have to be three years (he later checked online and found out that was correct)...so basically, I came away with nothing. However, I realized trying to avoid Iraq again was fucking hard. I asked him if he’d take my number and call me when he found out bonus info…he said, yeah I guess…trying to be funny and cool…and threw me a post-it. Thanks. As I was writing my number down, Natalie and Air Force jackass chatted about other people trying to join. He pointed to a stack of envelopes and told her all these people were trying to “Aim High“ but failed the test, had criminal backgrounds, etc…and he doesn’t even need to put anymore people in this month…his numbers are good. Maybe that’s why he wasn’t dry humping my leg when I walked through the door…I’m pretty sure if I walked into the Army recruiting office they would’ve bent over backwards to satisfy me…not this guy…he already got off…I was just a pain in the ass. I asked all my questions and again told him to give me a call when he got more info, he said he would. I haven’t heard from him…probably won’t. Natalie and I left and went shopping…I bought nothing and was stressed the rest of the day. Natalie thought he was nice and funny…poor Natalie, so innocent and naive…I wish I was still that way.

So now tomorrow I am going to call my unit and tell them to put me in the IRR. I’m not ready to reenlist in the Army and I don’t think the Air Force needs me. And another thing that makes me upset is that I now have no college benefits….six years! A veteran! And no benefits. I plan on getting my bachelors degree in Sociology with a minor in Journalism…and I was really looking forward to using my other benefits besides my GI Bill. Well hello school loans! Anyways, lets start betting…by the way, I only bet dollars…so…

Who thinks…

1) In two weeks the harassing phone calls start and I’m told I have to join the Reserves again…and there I am for another two years.

2) I go into the IRR and in about two months I get a call telling me to pack my bags…its Iraq time again!


I’m putting my dollar on number one.

montel williams.

i dont watch his show...however, he won me over with this.



thanks Navy Gal for the link!

Dear, "The News"

I've been staying at my friends apartment for the past several days. During the day they work 8am to 5pm...I wake up late, make breakfast, check my email, write down some ideas, shower, meet up with friends or watch horrible game shows on tv. I recently have decided to check out the local news...horrible idea. The people who deliver the news...a flashy broad with fake tits and lips...a guy who needs a hair cut and to stop using so much mousse. Top Stories: the weather, Heath Ledgers death, a rape, a tree fell on two cars (they report this like its the end of the world), a movie that is literally making people sick...literally, botox, and back to the weather...oh and "a car bomb went off in Iraq..." I dont know how people watch this and feel as though they actually have learned something...anything for that matter... well besides what the weather is going to be for the week. I worked for a news station for six months. In those six months I learned 1)working 3:30-9am is not the shift for me 2)a couple of people decide what you'll hear and word it the way they want 3) some of the most ridiculous stories make it to the news while others that may actually matter, just sit there 4)no matter what is going on with the war...the only thing that ever makes it on tv is "a car bomb"-THIS DRIVES ME INSANE.(one of the reasons why i left my job at the news station besides wanting to concentrate on my last semester at college...was the fact that if i heard "Iraq" followed by the word "car bomb" followed by the weather and then followed by some bullshit story again...i was going to kill myself) 5) i now understand why the average American has no idea about whats going on outside of their community...no idea...thats great.

side note: i've had the news on about three times today...during the three half an hour shows, i've heard the war mentioned once. maybe i should make an announcement...
YES AMERICA WE STILL HAVE TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN. YES WE STILL HAVE TROOPS IN IRAQ...OH AND GET THIS...THAT ONE GUY MCCAIN (MAYBE YOU DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HIM...HE'S A REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL, RECENTLY HE SAID HE COULD SEE US THERE FOR 100 YEARS! BEST NEWS I HEARD ALL MONTH! OH BUT MAYBE IF WE ARE THERE FOR 100 YEARS, MORE AMERICANS WILL BE EFFECTED BY THE WAR...I MEAN NOT JUST THE TROOPS OR THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS AND THE FEW AMERICANS WHO ACTUALLY "CARE"...BUT LIKE, THE AVERAGE AMERICAN. YA KNOW, THE PEOPLE WHO WAKE UP MAKE THEIR COFFEE, GET IN THEIR CAR, GO TO WORK, TAKE LUNCH BREAKS, COME HOME, EAT DINNER, KICK BACK... FLIP ON THE NEWS TO FIND OUT WHATS GOING ON IN AMERICA/THE WORLD...MAYBE 100 YEARS WOULD ACTUALLY EFFECT THESE AMERICANS...MAYBE? AH WHO AM I KIDDING?

maybe this post doesn't exactly have a point...however, i fucking hate watching "the news". right now, i hate it more then...the rain, wal-mart, watching president bush give a speech, my current job (if i still have it), and flying. it tells you nothing! and i want you all to know that. (but the people probably reading this know that...and thats why they look at something else for other view points and stories...and actual news).

a documentary worth watching...

Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience.

I saw this a few weeks ago...perfect for what it was trying to capture. do yourself a favor and check it out.