Major Update. Really.

Alright. Let’s take a look at when I really updated you on my life last…

(reading…)

Wow. Aside from two lines left for a significant achievement in my own life, I haven’t really said much since January’s mundane post.

Let’s remedy that.

Since January I’ve still been playing WoW, sometimes with Alvin, sometimes not. I raised a Paladin tank to 70 just a few days ago, took a while because I was still playing on my resto shaman. I found a guild for Alvin and myself, HAKD of Magtheridon, and so far they’ve been a pretty solid bunch. They raid Kara every Saturday and/or Thursday, and so far it’s been good times. We’re getting decently geared, and we’re taking in new members. There’s still the problem, in my opinion, of quiet guild chat, but I know personally I don’t really chat much anyway… I think with all the the ‘lols” and “qqs” chatting just isn’t what it used to be.

What else. I went to Airman Leadership School back in April and May. It was an interesting experience… I appreciate the educational experience but I think I went with a bunch of people that never really graduated high school. Most of the guys in my class were of the cynical, so it was a pretty long 6 weeks. It was kinda amazing to see the defects on some of the people there. One of them was a guy who finally made Staff Sergeant after God knows how long, and he could not turn off his mack! He kept hitting on girls in our class, and worst of all he was married! I also had a romantic interest of sorts in that class which never really developed… I guess she was just wrong for me because I felt like I was forcing myself to like her and ignore some of of the things I didn’t like about her. I ended up asking her out once after we graduated ALS but I never heard back from her, so I just figured she wasn’t interested and moved on.

Work has been cool since ALS though. I’ve been assigned a troop and each day has been a learning experience to some degree. I recently wrote my first awards package rough draft… it was incomplete though, my supervisor ended up finishing it so she could submit it to our flight commander. I find myself thinking often about how my first supervisor and I worked together, emulating what I thought worked for me, and doing differently what I thought did not. One thing I try not to do is insult a new Airman’s intelligence. I ask what their educational level is, I give them the facts  hard and fast, and I ask if they need me to slow down, instead of going the other way… being slow regardless of whether or not they’re intelligent. I’d rather they feel overwhelmed than insulted.

And in late April as most of you know, I found out I was selected for Air Force Officer Training School (OTS). As far as going big or going home goes, it seems that I’ll be going big as I enter into OTS one of these months. As of yet I have not heard from the Base Educational Office regarding a date assignment, although I heard some people have begun getting dates to go to school. Hopefully I can go soon, I really can’t wait to start the next leg of my military career. I really want to PCS too, I like Colorado Springs but I think I need a change.

June has been quite eventful thus far. The most eventful, actually. You know the saying, “the hits just keep on coming”? Well that’s just what life feels like for me right now. I made the cut for OTS in April, I got into HAKD and have been raiding every chance I get in WoW along with my friend Alvin, and as of two Saturdays ago I became the proud owner of a Honda Shadow VT750C:

I’ve been riding it around, and besides days when the weather wasn’t really permitting or when I really didn’t want to ride, which was maybe the first couple of days after I got it due to just being a noob at riding, I’ve really been riding the hell out of it. I’ve accrued about 430 miles on it already, and don’t plan on letting up. This is MY Shadow, and I’ve been calling it “Flying Horse” in my head. And don’t worry guys, I have almost all the safety gear… only thing I’m missing are actual bike pants that no one out there really owns. I think I’ll get some when I get my next bike, but for this one I think I’m ok. I’ll get better gear when I make 2LT and can afford the cost and insurance on a CBR600. I have gloves, helmet, jacket, and boots, although lately I’ve been using just my regular work boots… they look less crazy than the biker boots I’m wearing in that picture.

And strangely enough, since I’ve bought this bike I’ve been having some strange luck with girls. No actual successes yet, but I’ve decided to hit up Craig’s List again after months of not giving a crap about romance. I think I’m actually getting to the point in my life where I can start dating and not really be concerned with if I can afford it or not, i.e. financial stability. Not saying that that’s what girls look for, but personally if I can’t afford to take a girl out on a regular basis, then I have no business dating. Now that I can, I think I will. I went out with a nice girl last week, we’re friends now and probably won’t develop further, but still… I’m getting out there, and for me that’s the point. There is a girl nearby that I may have mentioned to some of you, I decided to ask her out again a few days ago. The end result is not important (:D) but rather the fact that I manned up and just asked her out again instead of quitting after weeks of no reply. And shit, yesterday I biked up to Denver, and I had lunch at some place downtown and straight up some girl that I’d be nervous to talk to was straight checking me out. Hardcore. Of course, I wussed out and didn’t say anything to her, and I have to work on that, but damn… I’m getting looked at now. It’s the fucking jacket, I think… makes me look bigger. I think my next goal should be getting that look without the jacket… just being big in the chest and shoulders. I really need to start going to the gym… where have I heard THAT line before?

But like I says, life is great.  I get promoted to Staff Sergeant 2 weeks from today, so I have that to look forward to. I guess over the last few months I’ve really been wearing the stripes in my heart, just not on my sleeve… I have that confidence to issue orders, and I still do work so I’m not one of the armchair NCOs that I’ve seen pass through my shop. Today, I feel like I need to get on my bike again and go somewhere. Maybe I can take it downtown for dinner.

And with that, you’re caught up mostly with what I’ve been up to the last few months. More posts to come later

-TJ