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May 16th, 2006
08:07 pm
(Sometimes I'm lazy and post email as entries. What? At least I gave you something to do for five mintues.)
Hey Robert,
Thanks! What I just discovered in the last day or two about myself and SERE school is that I actually like rucking. Well, ok, not rucking, but if I had the right backpack for it, I would love to go hiking. We were just walking through the woods up this hill to go chill and it made me want to walk more. So when you come out and visit (if you get a chance to), we'll have to go down highway 1 and hit up one of the millions of national forests. And also, I'm not sure I could camp in a real tent. I think it would seem like cheating.
So yeah, SERE was fun. I had a great time doing real military stuff- evading and building fires and snaring rabbits and signaling and making poncho shelters and varying my camo based on the vegetation and all that. I think it'll be a bit of an effort to find outlets for that sort of thing in the Air Force, but I'm certainly going to keep my eye out. Playing war games is fun! Hard, but fun. I think that's probably one of the biggest things I learned: I am capable of doing physically demanding things and I find them far more rewarding than anything else. (And basic doesn't count, because all that shit was lame. They're trying to make it less lame, although I read an article in USA Today that broke down the changing mission in a more realistic light. They told us about how the AF is becoming more involved with ground-based combat missions and I didn't think anything of it, but the article said it was a symptom of an overstretched Army and Marine Corps. Ah ha.)
RT was hard for me because I'm so obiedent. The first day... a big man yelling at me to move faster puts me right back in BMT mode, which I guess shows it worked, but isn't really appropriate in this case. But I mainly learned that I honestly am eager to please, and that I'm even more deeply patriotic than I thought I was. You know how we are- it's not a lot of flag-waving and bumper-sticker wearing in our family, it's just a deep committment. Fucking up in RT was the only time I cried.
That's another thing I'm happy about: I did not bitch. Well, LT put it this way: "Lisa was hurting the trees' ears, and I'm pretty sure I saw a deer fall down dead after she walked by." I was most definitly cussing my way up the mountain, but I didn't get to the rally point and complain, which I could tell my element appricated. Mr. Richards was our instructor. He was a tech sgt but was discharged for some medical thing that he can control, he just can't be in the military with, so now he's a contractor doing the same thing. He reminded me a lot of you, actually, which was pretty comforting. He was a lot more chill than the A1Cs and SrA that instructed the other elements. It wasn't that he didn't push us, but I've noticed as people age and have more experience teaching they learn that you don't have to berate people or build them up without reason to get them to learn. He would always say we did a pretty good job with whatever it is he was teaching, and if we were all doing really well, he'd say "All right, you guys are high speed. Now we've got extra bullshit time." He complimented me twice, and it really meant something because he wasn't free with it. (I had "by far the best hole-up site", and after going up a particularly vertical and difficult stretch of mountain he said, "You're doing a really good job, Airman Chamberlain, really good.")
It's a bit of a tough transition coming back to a tech school which treats you like you're in high school. It's like the Air Force hasn't figured out that whole tight fist of sand/loose fist of sand thing. I completley understand the use of the phase program, don't get me wrong, and for kids straight out of high school and BMT it's great, but for the older airmen it's frustrating. Sgt. Grazette at Fairchild told us that as long as we didn't get arrested, drink underage, or get drunk and stupid during training we were ok. And you know what? He has zero discipline issues. I think that's probably also because we were in such close contact with so many NCOs and officers, but still. A part of me rolls my eyes when I have to go to parade rest against the wall for a staff sgt who's probably three years older than me, ESPECIALLY the ones who say "carry on" like they're doing you the biggest fucking favor in the world. But whatever- you gotta do what you gotta do, right?
I'm pretty pumped about starting class. There's only one Sorani class ahead of us, and two coming by the end of Aug, but with wash-out rates it'll end up to be about 12-15 of us when I get operational, and we're all aircrew, and all Air Force. I've been talking to a girl who's in class now and she said the instructors are great and we have the best department, which my friends in other emerging languages second. This Friday is some kind of open base thing for high school kids, so Thursday afternoon we're doing post beautification and then on Friday working it. I'm really, really hoping that I get to be one of the people who rides on the bus with the kids and gives a briefing. I'm not sure which NCO is in charge of us, but I will for sure be raising my hand and pointing out that I worked extensivly with high school kids before joining. Mainly because the other jobs are directing traffic, screening traffic, and searching cars. Yeah... outside, hot sun, adults, or in a bus with high school kids? I pick bus.
So yes, I am very, very, very happy. I made a freaking fantastic choice. I've gotta go shine my boots a little and touch up my uniform; my causal today is sitting at the hospital with some chick from 2200-0600, which is pretty flipping sweet. My happy ass is going to sit there and read Black Hawk Down (because I still haven't seen the movie and they talk about it, the actual event, ALL THE TIME in my military academics) and doze. Fantastic.
I love you! (You too, LJ folk!)
Lisa
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/pengies/happy.gif) happy
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May 10th, 2006
07:19 pm
Hello, my long-neglected LJ friends!
I am amazingly excited to have ready access to a computer, finally. I don't have my own yet, but there's a library five mintues walk from the dorm (only since I'm on an Army post I guess it's barracks) and that's good enough for me. So, a quick recap of my life since January.
Basic sucked, as can be expected. My run time for a mile and half started out at 17.00 or something crazy, but I got it down to 12.45 by graduation, and I was down toward 12.00 except now I haven't worked out in a while, which I will explain. I hated my dorm chief because she was a pompous redneck bitch, but I'll never have to see her again because she's working on F-16s, where she will basically be a riviter. Good work, smart guy.
After BMT, I trecked from Lackland to... the Medina annex of Lackland, a whole half a mile away. I did the Enlisted Aircrew Undergraduate Course, which I was nervous about but which turned out to be a big joke. The stated aim of this class was to wash out people who wouldn't be good aircrew. Check. The squadron started getting really strict and dicky when I left, so it was a good time to get out.
About a month ago I left Medina for Fairchild AFB, Washington to go to SERE school. That's Survival Evasion Resistance Escape, and it's basically exactly what it sounds like. We got to go to the mountains and ruck around with 50 pounds on our back going up stupid steep inclines through shit most people take pains to avoid. But we did some really cool stuff, like basic parachuting skills (ie, how to fall, how to release the chute when you're being dragged, etc), vector in a helicopter to our position, evade, etc. We went to Resistance Training next, which academically was the most interesting stuff I've ever learned and physically/emotionally the hardest thing I've ever done. It's a baptism by fire sort of thing, but I can honstly say I've never been so proud of myself and I will never look at a POW/MIA flag the same way again. Ever. Here's something that's not sensitive that I can tell you- they did a study on cortizol (stress hormones)in SERE grads and found that people coming out of the course I did have higher cortizol levels than Navy pilots after their first landing on an aircraft carrier.
Now I'm at the Presidio of Monterey waiting to start my language class. I will be learning Sorani, a Kurdish language. It's bascially brand new; I'll be the second class to go through and the first is like a month ahead. I'm pretty pumped, but it's hard going from FAFB where we got treated like permenant party (ie, we could do pretty much whatever we wanted as long as we didn't get arrested) back to a tech school where you're treated like a high school kid. Oh well. I'll be here for a year, so if you're ever out this way, give me a call!
For now, I'm going to make my way outside of the gate so I can smoke (yet another annoyance- why won't they let me indulge my bad habit in peace?!), and then report to my room for my mandatory iron and shine time, which usually only first and second phase have to do, but everyone does when they first arrive. (I'm like two weeks away from fourth phase, which is the highest one.)
I can't decide if I'm going to maintain this or not. It seems like a security risk, but then again, as long as I talk around things, I think I'll be all right. We'll see. I can't possibly catch up on five months worth of entries, but I hope you're all doing well!
xoxo
PS, I'm not spellchecking. Some linguist, eh?
Current Location: DLI
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/pengies/cool.gif) accomplished
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January 6th, 2006
01:23 pm
I figured out why I'm so extremely bummed out about leaving the Blind Tiger. I mean, yeah, it's an ok job that I like, but the place, honestly, is a pile of shit. It's a mom and pop business and you can tell. The improvements and Matt being the GM will help a lot, but it's just a job, right? Except that it's not really. I didn't have a normal college career. My freshman and sophomore years when I actually lived in the town that I went to university at I was busy every weekend going to Topeka so I could get debate stuff taken care of in the morning. And during the week I was poor and paranoid so I never got a fake. I didn't join any clubs or anything, I was just there, going to class, hanging out occasionally, but not being "typically college-y". (Although I did LOVE Thursday nights with Brie!)
Then I moved back to Topeka, and started my shit SOE classes, and then I went to England, and then I came home again, and the whole time I've never really gotten into College. I didn't hang out with people in my classes because I didn't live in town, and England was cool, but was basically just a semester drain on my academic goals.
But I did work at the Blind Tiger, and that's where I did what most people do during their collegiate days. I made a bunch of friends, we hang out all the time, we party (and there has never, to this date, been a shitty BT party), we do everything. I feel about them like other people feel about their Greek friends or the people they go through a program with, except instead of having academics in common, we have work. It's great.
So what I've basically done is put myself in a situation where I'm going through graduation holy-shit-I'm-a-grown-up stress and decisively closing a chapter of your life stress in four days, and my head is about to pop. My solution is going to be get some lunch and watch TV.
[I don't think you realize how much I'll miss BT. I had my last shift last night, and I cried while I bisseled by the bathroom. Big fat crocodile tears. I love the BT crew.]
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January 4th, 2006
04:22 pm
I'm emerging from the non-internet hole I've been living in to tell you a story. I went up to MEPS today to take the Defense Language Aptitude Battery to see if I could be an airborne linguist. The minimum qualifying score for the other branches is 84, but in the Air Force it's 100. I got a 113, and let me tell you, that test was really fucking hard. So I went to talk to the liaison and he said he had a spot leaving "mid-January" and one in June, and could I leave soon. I said yes, and now I'm leaving Topeka on Monday.
Monday.
It's Wednesday.
So off I go to the great blue yonder, I guess. Holy shit, that's not very much time to get my shit in order.
Just thought I'd share.
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December 16th, 2005
02:25 am
HANNAH'S COMING HONME IN 2 DAYS!!!!!!
I LOVE YOU!
:P
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December 15th, 2005
02:35 am
There you go. According to some pretentious 9th grader I'm almost completly liberal. Nevermind that a 20 question quiz of yes/no answers can't possibly explain the complexities that should go into one's political views. But woo- I'm posting!
Your Political Profile
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Overall: 5% Conservative, 95% Liberal
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Social Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal
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Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal
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Fiscal Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal
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Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal
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Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
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Also, I had a shitty night at work, but I made $80. Eh.
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October 30th, 2005
10:45 pm
Sometimes I wonder if I come off spontaneous. I feel like I make impulsive decisions, but they've always been stewed over for ages, which you'd think would make them non-impulsive, but they are. For instance, the second day of class the semester I ended up under a tree crying on the phone to my mom, generally flipping out about the semester of SOE bullshit that awaited me and the fact that I already had tons of reading that I couldn't do because I didn't have the money to get textbooks nor the time to come get them later. So I decided to transfer to Washburn. Monday I withdrew from my classes at KU, Tuesday I talked to folks at WU, and by Thursday I was in class. Now, I've hated KU's SOE pretty much since I got my letter of acceptance, but I hadn't made any moves towards Washburn except in Lisaland, which is firmly imaginary.
On Monday I'll be withdrawing from two of my classes for no real reason except I don't want them and don't need them, because I don't plan on going back to school next semester. Instead, I've decided to join the Air Force.
Kylie has so far had the best reaction to this news. I told her last night when she stopped by Brad's house. She took a drag of her cigarette, looked at me, exhaled and nodded and said, "So you finally decided to do it." Yep, pretty much. I know everyone thinks that I can't keep anything close to my chest, but I can. A couple work people knew I was thinking about it, my parents knew because it was my mom's idea, April knew, and Hannah knew when I was driving to the recruiter's office, and that's about it.
So. Yes. I will join the rest of my family in the fraternity of military servicepeople, which makes me happy. I had to wait to talk to Robert to decide for sure, but he gave it a very enthusiastic yes, and hey, if he says yes, that's the answer.
Now I'm going to bed so I can wake up at 5.30 and write a paper for the class I'll be taking pass/fail. I'm a waste of space this semester.
Ah, yes, and if you're wondering why the shift, Bridget Jones once again explains all:
"I suddenly realized that unless something changed soon I was going to live a life where my major relationship was with a bottle of wine, and I'd finally be die, fat and alone, and be found three weeks later, half-eaten by wild dogs."
Current Mood: content (finally)
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01:28 pm
I really can't decide if I had a good Halloween or not. You got to know it's going to be weird when within ten minutes of arriving at a party the cops illegally invite themselves in and arrest one of your friends for profanity. It was just... argh. Weird. I wasn't having a bad time, but there was drama from 11.30 to 6.30 pretty much non-stop. I think I didn't have a good time overall.
Yeah, this entry is pointless. I will say that I looked good, though, except I lost my whip before we even got to the party- booo! It was really what topped the outfit off.
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October 29th, 2005
02:38 am
You know what I love? How a woman can spend massive amounts of time thinking about how to sculpt her cheekbones, elongate her neck, reshape her mouth, emphasize her eyes, and a man will look at her and think, "Dude, she's hot," or "Ack!" without ever realizing why.
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October 28th, 2005
12:48 pm
Pointless game of the day:
1. Open a music player.
2. Go to 'all music'/'library'.
3. Hit shuffle/repeat/randomize.
4. Find photos of the first 15 artists/bands that come up [no repeats and no cheating].
And then I guess y'all guess who it is.
1. 
2. 
3. 
(In my defense, this is off a soundtrack.)
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
(I love the text accompanying this picture: "Not even to mention the fact that you're kind of a babe. In a bratty ADHD way." Yep, pretty much!)
8. 
9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
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October 22nd, 2005
12:49 am
| What military aircraft are you? F/A-22 Raptor You are an F/A-22. You are technologically inclined, and though you've never been tested in combat, your very name is feared. You like noise, but prefer not to pollute any more than you have to. And you can move with the best. 
| Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests. |
Rarh!
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October 5th, 2005
03:30 pm
I am currently failing at life. On the plus side, I'm making money. More later.
And no, this does not mean I'm a drug dealer.
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September 26th, 2005
03:26 pm
This sounds like a bad summer thriller:
Is it common knowledge that the U.S. military has long been arming and training the second-smartest species on the planet to hunt and kill? Dolphins have apparently been a part of U.S. Navy missions since World War II, and now there may be a rogue pod loose in the Gulf, armed and dangerous after being freed by Hurricane Katrina. The Guardian reports, "Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns." A source with ties to the government's marine fisheries service says the dolphins, which were being held in a sound close to Lake Pontchartrain, have been unaccounted for since the hurricane struck. "My concern is that they have learnt to shoot at divers in wetsuits who have simulated terrorists in exercises," he tells the Guardian. "If divers or windsurfers are mistaken for a spy or suicide bomber and if equipped with special harnesses carrying toxic darts, they could fire." (Guardian)
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September 22nd, 2005
11:46 am
Oh my goodness, I really want to see Carlito's Way: Rise to Power, which is being released straight to DVD here soon. It looks shitty... but it's got Jay freaking Hernandez!!!
And for those of the opposite persuasion:
(This picture was on a German site with the caption, "Heisse Latina". With an esset- lol!
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September 19th, 2005
11:52 pm
My pirate name is:
Captain Anne Flint
Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.
Additionally:
Good god, the Redskins just won by a point over my Cowboys. And the other day Bush accepted responsibility once, even if he was looking down and away when he said it. What next, a cold front blowing through Hell? My brain is not large enough to handle all this upside-down-ness.
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September 9th, 2005
12:17 am
A quick, belated two cents:
I think, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's said this, that the issue along the Gulf Coast isn't that black people got screwed. I think the issue is that poor people got screwed, and the footage makes it patently obvious that a disproportionate number of poor people are also minorities. The issue really is why that's true. We should see a representative slice in all classes. If 1/3 of Americans are green, 1/3 purple, and 1/3 blue, that's what we should see in the upper, middle, and lower classes too. So the question really is, why has the civil rights movement stalled? Why aren't we winning the war on poverty? How can we honestly give people equal opportunities? And when will Bill O'Reilly stop being such an asshole?
"Talking Points" wants to reinforce two things. First, the huge, bureaucratic government will never be able to protect you. If you rely on government for anything, anything, you're going to be disappointed, no matter who the president is.
For example, engineers knew for decades the levee system in Louisiana could not withstand a Category 5 hurricane, but nobody wanted to pony up the $20 billion to shore it up. That kind of decision happens all day, every day.
Second point, New Orleans is not about race. It's about class. If you're poor, you're powerless, not only in America, but everywhere on earth. If you don't have enough money to protect yourself from danger, danger's going to find you. And all the political gibberish in the world is not going to change that.
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina should be taught in every American school. If you don't get educated, if you don't develop a skill, and force yurself to work hard, you're most likely be poor. And sooner or later, you'll be standing on a symbolic rooftop waiting for help.
Chances are that help will not be quick in coming.
Look, Bill. I agree about the class thing, about how if you're poor you're powerless. But are you seriously going to look the nation in the eye and say that poor people in New Orleans and the rest of the coast brought this upon themselves by not getting out? (Which he did.) I mean, yes, if they'd left they wouldn't be in such a shitty situation, but if they were literally unable to leave except on foot, is that what you want? You seriously, honestly want us to distrust the government and get our shit together by ourselves? Here's another choice excerpt:
Today, syndicated columnist Liz Smith writes, "FOX News emperor Bill O'Reilly (I guess that's me) tells us in Katrina's wake that if we — Americans —depend on the United States government for any reason, we are certain to be disappointed. Always. Bill's advice to America (to the poor of New Orleans, especially) is educate yourself and get a well-paying job. Only then can you avoid standing on a 'metaphorical rooftop' when the next disaster rolls around. Bill did not give the poor any advice on how one finds a proper education or a job. Remember, the government can't help."
Now up front, I have to tell you that Liz Smith is a liberal woman, but an honest one. She's extremely fair and accurate in her reporting and has a dignity many in the print press lack. So I am pleased to respond to her on this issue.
The USA has mandatory education. You have to go to school or pass exams if home-schooled. But nobody can force you to learn while you're in school.
If you refuse to do the hard work that education requires, and millions of kids do, you're going to be ill equipped to compete in the marketplace. And all the government programs in the world are not going to change that.
So every American kid should be required to watch videotape of the poor in New Orleans and see how they suffered, because they couldn't get out of town. And then, every teacher should tell the students, "If you refuse to learn, if you refuse to work hard, if you become addicted, if you live a gangsta-life, you will be poor and powerless just like many of those in New Orleans."
That's the truth. And one does not find an education. This country provides every citizen a chance to get one. Public education's free. Public libraries are free. Many community colleges are basically free. And scholarships of all kinds are everywhere. But no politician can make you learn or develop a skill.
Now for centuries, charlatans have been telling Americans that the government can provide, will provide and you deserve to be provided for. Bull. Terrorists killed 3,000 on 9/11. Poverty stands at 12 percent, despite trillions spent on Great Society programs over the last 40 years. And acts of nature can kill you if you can't get out of the way.
Right. Because the public education system isn't the government, or government provided, or at all associated with the government that will never help you out. How does this man get taken seriously?
Sources, respectively:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168552,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168777,00.html
This, this right here, is why I want to teach in underprivileged schools. How are we supposed to solve this? What's going on? Why is the land of opportunity so completely bass akwards on issues of class and race? And why, why, why is it the elephant in the room until something goes terribly, horribly, irreversibly wrong?
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September 8th, 2005
11:24 am
Oh my god, you can get an iPod with the Hogwarts crest on it.
Of course, you have to buy the Harry Potter complete box set on iTunes, and then the iPod, so it's a $550 proposition, but man. I have never wanted to be a rapper so badly in my life- I wouldn't even have to hesitate before dropping that! Screw talking about your ice, I want to hear some hardcore guy talk about getting his kid a Harry Potter iPod.
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September 6th, 2005
12:14 am
I really go nuts when people say things like this: " it was an act of God and i'm sure He had his reasons in destroying that city." Seriously. My father's sermon was particularly good this Sunday. I liked when he scolded insurance companies for calling natural disasters "acts of God", and then he had this whole thing right after that about several Christian Right groups like Focus on the Family saying that God wiped out the region on purpose were wrong, and what was really great about it was he had a cadence that involved several parenthetical "God forgive them"s and "shame on them"s. He doesn't talk like that very often- hardly ever, in fact, so you know he really, really means it when he does.
But I think what I liked best is when he tried to answer a question put forth by an atheist (at the time of authorship) philosopher who challenged religious people to think about what would disprove the presence of God. Dad's answer was that the way we would know that God doesn't love us is if nobody helped. From a religious standpoint, the hurricane doesn't show us that God is angry and ready to do some smiting, it shows us that God provides for us in our darkest hours through the goodness of our brothers and sisters. And that's just great. I know that no one probably actually listens to my dad online, but it's a really good one this week. It should be on the website by Wednesday, and if you have 15, 20 minutes that you're not doing anything, I really do recommend you listen.
Also, Dad plans out his sermon series for the entire year in November, and Noah's Ark was the selected text for Sunday.
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September 2nd, 2005
12:28 am
Also, cheers to everyone that's ever made me feel stupid and continues to do so. This includes patronizing comments as well as those looks Eddie gives me every time I talk. "I already feel like an idiot most of the time anyway, with or without" your help.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/pengies/livid.gif) pissy as fuck
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September 1st, 2005
11:23 pm
I'm not sleeping with a 40 year-old man with a wife and kids. In fact, I'm not sleeping with anyone. I like a guy who graduated with my brother, but nothing's happing right now. Also, cheers to whoever sold me out to Burgett. And for those who didn't know, I have a tattoo, and it's very cute. Oh yeah, and I only go out once a week, on weekends, and I don't smoke reefer or sleep around or whatever the hell else people do.
Fuck off.
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lisachamb's journal