asoldier.net

There’s way too much to do, and not nearly enough time. So why haven’t I been blogging? Well, blogging takes about 10 minutes of precious time away from being lazy. I like being a lazy now and then, especially when I know I’m not going to have a chance to be lazy for a long time. Is it a problem? No. Am I procrastinating? No… I’m going to do everything I need to, but I’m just going to do it when I’m good and ready. Sounds like a plan right? Good, I’m glad you agree.

I’m going to be unavailable except via cell… but I will not disclose that number publicly due to the massive influx of telemarketers and scam/spam artists. So, if you need to reach me, you can do so by emailing me via mdavid(at)asoldier.net (mobile email). I will have my cell phone with me and on for about half of the duration of my absence.

Please email me with any issues you have.

David.

Testing out some new apps

Paid another visit to the Dentist today. He took care of a few tiny issues that have been causing some literal headaches of late. Unfortunately one of the side effects of the anesthesia is the serious pain in my cheek now. Feels like I got hit in the face by a broomstick.

First off I’d like to to say that it is of no fault to Strayer University the institution that I will not be enrolling. It is however the fault of at least one individual directly involved in the supervision of Dustin L. (Senior Admissions Officer: previously) Let me clarify…

When I called Strayer Univ. up and asked a plethora of questions concerning enrolling, plans, classes, finances, situations, etc, Dustin had the answers. If he didn’t know it directly, he could get the information I needed. He guided me through every step through enrollment. The only thing I had left was to apply for a Pell grant to cover my books. Dustin even provided the forms and steps necessary to complete that project. So what happened?

Why did Dustin get fired? If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have enrolled in the first place. My guess is there must have been some inner-circle disagreement. Jealousy usually plays a part in these situations; and power-trips usually follow. I will have no part of that, and therefore I am retracting my enrollment into Strayer Univ and I will take my military benefits and educational endeavors elsewhere. Good Day Strayer University. Good Luck Dustin.

Here’s a list of movies I’ve seen on DVD and in theaters lately, and my personal rating (opinion)

Crank 2 [dvd] (4/5)
9 [cinema] (3/5)
GAMER [cinema] (7/5) or on a scale of 1-10… 11

“They” are starting to crack down on bloggers and social network users who blog/talk about their military jobs.

OPSEC is key to the survival of our nation’s defenses. What does this mean? OP SEC means Operational Security. It means you shouldn’t talk about anything that our enemies could use to hurt our soldiers. Got a friend deploying soon? Getting ready to go yourself? Keep it off of your blog. It’s easy enough to find out what unit you’re from, and our deployment dates already end up on the news, but you don’t need to help spread problems more.

What does this mean? It means precisely this; shut the hell up.

When you find out your uncle is about to go to Iraq, shut up. When you find out your unit you just transferred to is going to Afghanistan, shut the hell up. When you find out your buddy got shot, or someone in your family is wounded, shut the F#*& up. Why? Because:

You just told the enemy what unit is where. You just gave up to the enemy’s intelligence agents where their attacks were effective, how effective, and also, you gave yourself up as a domestic target. Not to mention you just made everyone who’s already busting their ass to keep you safe work that much harder to protect their own ass just to stay alive long enough to see their families again.

I’m in the Army, that much is obvious. This means yes, I will deploy. When, where, how long, and what I’m doing over there? Do you really think I’m going to make it that easy? Sure, you could do a web search and find most of that info out by yourself, but it doesn’t mean I’ve got to make it easy. Every tidbit of information that every single person gives up makes it THAT much easier for someone who wants to hurt us/you to “google” it and mess our lives up.

A simple “I’m alive” message or “he’s alright” tweet is enough. When he/she gets home, or when YOU get home, you can gab and talk and share all of your experiences all you want. Our enemies can’t get nearly as much relevant information from old war stories. Save it, keep an encrypted journal on your laptop. Be smart about it.

I keep a TON of information on the web, about myself and what I do… but I don’t share trade secrets, or critical information someone could use to hurt my family, myself, or my friends. <3

I’m addicted to games… FPS games to be specific. Halo 1,2,3, COD 4, WaW, GRAW 2, Vegas 2, etc. I finally decided to start the clan. I call it Frag League. There are only going to be a couple of rules. There will be training for new members. Tactics battles, clan matches, and 1v1 matches. MTF

I’m at a crucial point in my life where I’m forced to decide on which path to take. For some, this is an easy decision. For me, it’s tougher than it should be.

College has always been something I wanted to do, but I never had the balls to actually enroll and start classes. Even if I enroll, my military career will not progress significantly until I’ve finished a 2 year degree. And even with that, I will still be shy the 200(appx) points I’ll need for promotion to E-5. Either way I go, I’m somewhat F#@*ed… then there’s my online portfolio. Let’s be honest, even with all of my blogs, sub-hosting, and portfolio of useless garbage, I’m not worth enough to start a business based off of that. So freelancing, probably not a smart idea at this point. I could get out and get a VA small-business loan. Smart? Probably not considering the economy. It’s hard to say what I should do. I could use a little nudging… but eventually, (soon), I’m going to have to grow some balls and do something.