The Promised Land

Well folks, just about six months ago I switched jobs - again - but, finally, I found The One. It is everything I could have asked for in a job. Ten years ago when I started this blog, I had returned from Japan, rudderless - I had a lot of dreams and aspirations, but not a whole lot of traction. A lot has happened - a lot of physical moving around the country, a lot of retraining and reorientation, a lot of work and a whole lot of frustration (with some heartbreak thrown in for color). I learned a lot about myself and of Life in general. The things that were important to me ten years ago, are not as important today. But, the same basic things - the bedrock of who I am - remain. The Journey here has been bumpy, but memorable. So, like I was saying, before all the philosophical meandering, was I found the job - the job that I have been looking for since packing up and coming back to the US of A. It is satisfying, both intellectually and professionally, and I feel for the first time that I could actually stay here for a while. The usual Sehnsucht that has defined my adult life is strangely missing right now. I don't feel the need to keep my bags packed - my wanderlust has abated (if not entirely dissipated) for the time being. Call it age, or maturity, or just finally getting my fill. I will continue to write. Now that there is a new adventure in my life.

A Lot of Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing

Sooooo the new job is fun: it involves a lot of reading and research, but not a lot of substance (I mean, this is OSINT, after all...). One of the benefits (and drawbacks) of going through all this information is a heightened sense that the World is spinning off into one of those periods of craziness that comes about every Seventy years of so. Egads, are we on the cusp of a major war or other societal upheaval? Right now I am being inundated with myriads of intelligence reports, bathed in the warm glow of multiple 24 Hour News Cycle networks, while simultaneously monitoring Twitter feeds, and Live world-wide weather and seismic activity... Good Lord. The Earth is one frenetic and screwed up place. WWDVD? Wednesday, 2 December 2015 Addendum: The San Bernardino active shootings have been the main topic of my research and work today... this has done nothing to assuage the portents of doom I experienced yesterday. Has the whole world gone crazzers?! Stay safe, people, stay safe!

Treasure the Moment

SITREP: Veterans Day - 2015!

Hey, hey, hey Loyal Readers, it is I, Ushiku Person, back after a tremendously long hiatus... with GOOD news - momentous news! I have been, for the past four months, working the JOB, the one I have been looking for since this whole wheezing calliope started turning so many years ago. Yes, I finally found a job that uses my skill sets, pays really well, and doesn't require me to travel eleven time zones. "What?!" I hear you gasp, clutching at your pearls in choked indignation "Who the heck thought that was a good idea?!!!". Exactly, right? Well, I wasn't one to look that gift horse in the mouth... I rode that Clydesdale to the Finish Line! Good googily-moogily, it felt... really good to finally win one. And now, on this Veterans Day, I am SO thankful. Some folks at work today spoke to me about my military service, and, honestly, I never joined the Army and Navy to get public appreciation - it just seemed to be the thing to do, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to do the things that we were able to do, with the people that we did them with. Earlier this week I was speaking with a younger person here at work, and they were asking about military service, and they mentioned that they might want to try it. We spoke at length, and I tried not to sugar-coat the whole experience, but I encouraged them to do some research and some soul searching, and if they felt like exploring some options, I would help them to get on the right track. Anyhow, right now the world may not be perfect, but this is, perhaps, the best it has been since returning from Japan. To all of you, I wish you the best on this, the waning hours of this Veterans Day, and I promise to keep up more on my writing.

Wait for it!

Yeah, it only gets better, people! Oh boy. Usually, I get FOADs via email (clogging my in-box like some sort of electron Atherosclerosis, but without the guilty pleasure of having consumed vast quantities of buttery yums), this past weekend I actually got an honest-to-goodness letter FOAD. I must be moving up in the world. Isn't it enough that I have cried "uncle" and waved the white flag? Okay, I get it - I suck - and I will never find meaningful employment. No need to pour salt onto my already ulcerated wounds (ouch).

Thinking About Throwing In the Towel

Well, the past few years have been heaps of disappointment. I have tried to roll with the punches, and rebound from failure to failure, but it has slowly dawned on me that it has nothing to do with what you know, or what you can do, or how you do it. It only matters who you know. And, evidently, I don't know the right people. So, I am going to have to accept my situation, and hope that I don't lose too much more. I sometimes think that the best thing would be to eat a bullet. Yum.

Its A New Find

Shonen Knife always makes me happy!

Memorial Day 2013

Way back, a long time ago, I was a Soldier. When I got out of the Army, I put my experiences in a locked box somewhere in my head, and decided to move on with my life. Now, I am a Sailor and I am a lot older. I think a lot more about my military service and experiences. Most of all, I think of the people I met in all the crazy places we were in. A Sergeant Major, on the day of my Basic Training graduation, said to us "The hardest part of your military careers will be having to say goodbye to your friends.".  Yes, SGM, you were absolutely right. I recently got in contact with my old platoon leader from my 61st AMC days.  He sent me some photos of our platoon - the ones that struck me the most were the ones from a platoon cookout - young men playing football and grilling bratwurst. I still can recall the names and faces of my friends and comrades, and the places still are familiar in my memory. I remember when I was brought in to see Top when I reported in to my first unit. He was an old guy, ready for retirement, and when he looked up over his glasses across his desk at me standing at Parade Rest, he narrowed his eyes and growled "How the hell old are you, Private?". It never occurred to my teenaged self that I looked too young to be playing Soldier.  Now, as an officer, I look at my enlisted kids, and wonder if we were ever that young.

I remember Hector. I remember Bruce. I remember John. I remember them all.

Happy Memorial Day.