I haven't posted in a while so....

While rope05 , is making his way over to Great Lakes, IL for Navy Boot Camp to start his 8 week journey to become a sailor, I have begun my long journey to become a United States Naval Officer. I am working with a recruiter, finally, and I'm doing all the paperwork to get a spot at Officer Candidate School.

Its slowly becoming a reality I'm very excited! Here's to hoping I get a spot eh? Either way, my journey into the Navy has begun :D

This is the train I frequently take when I need to go downtown, the "L" line.....what the fuck?! Why does it have to always be the line I take? Every damn time I hear something about a MUNI light rail train, it almost always ends up being the "L" line!

Look I understand the city of San Francisco is hurting for money, but dont you think its better to umm I dunno TRAIN YOUR DRIVERS PROPERLY!!!! and FIX YOUR DAMN TRAINS AND SYSTEM!!! Seriously folks, I've been on a MUNI train, and a lot of them barrel down the tracks like there's no tomorrow. There is no reason for this at all.

This similar incident happened last year too. A train rear ended another because the driver was driving the train too damn fast and wasnt paying attention.....bleh

The thing that gets me, is that it happened at West Portal. ALL trains are supposed to come to a crawl once they hit a certain point, even if they are on autopilot in the tunnels, the driver can override the system....



.___. maybe I better start driving downtown these days....seems a lot safer.....

Okay folks,

Some of you out there may have issues with the military, and that's fine. However, what's not cool is when you start bad mouthing and disrespecting those who have taken the initiative to serve their country.

Damn, I swear these days I've become less "hippy" in my views....

In my last posts, I briefly went over why I wanted to join. Though I think its time I give you some context as to why.


See as a kid, I was always around military things. My brother was into GIJoe, as was I. I wasn't as much, but still. When I was smart enough to say more than "daddy and mommy." I found out that my father was an E-5 in the US Army. He told me stories about Basic Training, and his days in Europe as well as his time on Wake Island where he refueled aircraft. I was always fascinated by it. Then I found out that one of my uncles was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army as well, but special forces. My father told me he was shot in the arm in the Korean War (on his second tour). Again, fascinated by the war story. 

I remember as a kid, I had a pair of BDUs with my name tape and such, and my uncle used to bring me to attention like I was a recruit. No smiles, etc. He was intimidating, but always kind.

My mother's brother enlisted in the US Navy back in the 60s. He was up for conscription (or commonly known as the Draft), he knew it would happen. So he decided to enlist in the Navy. I also had another uncle who was also in the Navy, but served back during WWII. Amazing.

Countless amount of cousins, etc in the military.

Now that being said, comes to me....

See back in 2001, I graduated High School...I somewhat had an idea of what I wanted (it was what I'm persuing a degree in now), but I wanted to do more than just that. I wanted to actually enlist in the Marine Corps...but I decided against and went to college. Then comes September 11th, 2001....boy that was a wake up call. I wanted to go, I wanted to kick some ass...but I also wanted to persue other things.

Fast forward to 2009...here I am 6 months away from graduating, and I realize that my life is pretty good for the most part. However, I still have that "childhood" dream of being a part of something that is much much bigger than me. John F. Kennedy's quote of "Ask Not What your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." rings true here. I want to serve my country, I want to make my friends and family prouder then they may well be now. Most of all, I want to make myself proud. In addition, with a college degree..I have another dream that could lead me into a leadership role. I wanted to do NROTC or the US Naval Academy after High School. NROTC was probably the easier of the two for me to get into, but alas I did not. Now I have a chance to go to Officer Candidate School up in Rhode Island, and fulfill a dream of becoming a United Stated Naval Officer. To be the first ever in my family to get a commission as a Naval officer! I would proudly dawn the title of Ensign (but not be over confident..that'd be bad)

So this fall, I plan on making this happen.

I had a choice to go Army, or Air Force back in High School but I'm not the Army type (despite having countless amount of Army vets in the family) It's not my thing...same with the Air Force. Marines is out too, I'm not the type to go out on the front lines on the ground. Its not my thing.

Coast Guard is out too, it doesn't have what I want. So what's left? you guessed it, my favorite branch of all of them. The United States Navy.

I respect all branches and in what they all do, but the Navy offers so much for what I want to do...and I feel it will give me the best opportunities. No one said this will be easy, and it will be hard being away from family and friends but I gotta do my thing.

Just FYI, my dreams of being an animator will not die in vain. I want to flex my other skills first, and live my life before going back to it its a great career path to get into but its extremely difficult and the job security aint all that great. There's so much I have not seen or done, and I feel like right now I'm trapped where I am. I need to spread my wings and be out on my own.


Fair Winds and Following Seas.

Okay, how the fuck do you forget to not only take your child to fucking Day Care, but also forget to take said kid out of the fucking car?!

I mean seriously.....


People who do this do not deserve to breed let alone raise kids!

OMG its an NFO! :P


NFO = Naval Flight Officer.

So, I have been researching this community a bit, and so far I cover most of the requirements for this. Therefore, I'm going to try for the Navy Flight Officer job as soon as I obtain my degree this December. If I get selected, and get the okay at MEPS, I will be shipping off to Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island!

What an honor it would be to not only be one of the few (if not the only) Navy officer in my family, and to earn my "Wings of Gold," but to serve my country as a leader, to shape and mold the US into a better place! 

NFO's are not pilots, but that's okay!

So here's to hoping it all goes well. If not, thats okay too! I'll go in as an enlisted sailor and learn some other things ^__^ I'm quite excited.

Fair Winds and Following Seas ^^

You know, there's been things in life that I regret not doing. I thought I'd discuss them here..why? I dunno, I kind of felt like it.

I regret

1:) Not applying for the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. At 26, I have past the age to enter that prestigious school. My grades were high and I had a fighting chance. This also includes entering Navy ROTC as well.

2:) Going into the military sooner. Not that this is a big issue, but it would've been great if I went in at a younger age.

3:) Had the chance to get in a group that was working on an animation project set for ABC TV. I got so busy with other things, and I missed the window.

Though these regrets have not changed my life on things. With #2 I can remedy, #1 I cannot but thats okay! #3 I dont really care anymore.

Now, what do you regret in life? Can one of your regrets be remedied? Just curious.
 

I am determined to pick up some sort of musical instrument or something before I go into the military next year.

Here's the 1 Million Dollar question :P


Where in the world was Anoki Gryphon during the month of March?


Did the gryphon decide to live amongst the animals in Africa? Did he off himself? Or did he drop off the face of the earth only to be found later...

If you said either of those then....you're pretty close.......maybe.......

I was with rope05 and starlightvamp, and Tanisha in SoCal. I was away from the Bay Area for the entire month (and boy did I need it...February was the month from hell)

It was great being there, doing and seeing more things it was awesome! However I can't say it was a perfect visit, because things happened out of my control while I was there. The one situation I'm talking about the most is that I never expected that I'd be attending a funeral during my visit. I wasn't bothered by it at all....its human nature my friends, we can't control these things.  The only thing I can do is be there for
starlightvamp in her time of need...

Back on track here, I got to meet more of Rope's friends. Got to hang with the rest of the SoCal furry gang (y'all know who you are.) Overall it was a great visit! Miss you guys, you make me feel so welcome ^^

Little reflection time here (Oh Noes Not again!! :P)

Coming back to the Bay Area a month and a half later makes me feel like an outsider again. It doesnt seem the same to me, as if I stepped off a boat from some far away place and made the Bay Area a temporary home. I don't feel like a Bay Area native anymore....but I guess that happens when you've been away and then come back a month later.


 

So like the last two posts, Its pretty much a reflection. I've received a lot of good information from military personnel who are either going to OCS, or were in the military in general. So I have decided to go for the Officer route for sure. Either this year or next year, I will be putting in my paperwork for Officer Candidate School for the Navy. When everything clears, I will get my ship date off to Rhode Island.

I will keep y'all posted when all of this fun stuff happens.

I realize that animation can get me places, but I need other skills too. I want more out of life too!

I will never leave my passion, but I want to be more well rounded. Much more well rounded.

So...as the title says. Yes you guessed correctly, I'm considering serving some time in the United States Armed Forces. You might be thinking.."Why? why do you want to join the military?"

My answer is, because of the opportunities to travel, to serve my country, to carry on a family tradition.

I also feel that I'm not seeing my full potential as a person. I'm not as strong as I used to be, and its kind of scary...

This is something I've been thinking about since 2001 (when I graduated High School) though at the time it was going to be the Marines (I'm so glad I did not...or else I'd might be either dead or in Iraq on the front lines right now). The Navy offers a lot in benefits, etc. I  want to take advantage of it while I'm young enough to enlist. Though if at possible, I might try and see if I can get a commission to Navy OCS and possibly enter the Navy as an officer (since I will have my college degree in a semester). More respect, more money. Yes more obligation, but still!

o.O......26

Okay, I'm feeling better, but I stand by this. If you have any problems with me, dont hide behind a journal...come tell me.

For instance this moron

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/631700/

Dontcha just love how a lot of furs take things too seriously?

Happy Valentines Day everyone...


If you're bitter about today, don't be! Today is a day to love one another, even though I think everyone should show it everyday. Take today as a day to really appreciate it. Being single is not all that bad, it sucks when there's so many couples around you and you don't have anyone to call your own.  I used to be like that back when I was single.

So here's some more words of advice... be appreciative of what you have, your friends, your family. You're only hurting yourself when you are bitter about life. We all have issues, and we all get down from time to time. I do, I'm not perfect!

So appreciate what you have, because you're damn lucky to have it. You could be in worst situations.

tagged by lonebluewolf  (oopsy :P birdy fucked up >.>)

Instructions:
a. People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blog and replace any question that they dislike with a new, original question.
b. Tag eight people. Don't tag who tagged you.

I tag..... catsbymoo , yakeo , iceleopard , white_tigerdj , badboybunny ,marauderosu , tastyeagle , starlightvamp 

1. What are you listening to right now?
Not listening to music, only the tv

2. How do you style your hair?
Buzzed all militaristic like ;)

3. What are you wearing right now?
Ribbed turtleneck, and vintage bell bottoms, umm socks

4. What are you currently reading?
umm this LJ?

5. Dumbest thing you've done this week?
Take a shower, then work out

6. If you could go back in time where would you go?
Not sure I would want to go back in time.

7. Theme song playing in the background as you die?
Beats me

8. Last thing you bought?
groceries

9. What is your all time favorite movie?
Sweeney Todd

10. What is your weirdest habit?
not sure to be honest

11. What is your favorite color?
purple

12. How much money do you think you are worth?
Geez......I dunno a few hundred?

13. What's the weirdest thing you say in Real Life? What's your favorite kind of weather?
Snow!

14. Which languages do you wish you spoke?
Italian, German, Chinese

15. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Whining beyond all reason

16 What's your ideal weapon?
M16

17. Who was your childhood idol?
I looked up to a lot of people.

18. Funniest movie quote you've ever heard?
"...bullshit, I bet you can suck a golf ball through a garden hose!"

19. If you were in a band, what kind of music would you play and what instrument would you want to play?
Rock, and I would play bass

20. Tell me something you love about the person who tagged you.
He's down to earth :) 

So I'm finding that small things are starting to irritate me, its a terrible feeling I tell you what....


Also a family member of mine decided to straight up lie to me...I've lost total respect for this person, and Its going to take a while to regain that.

Don't lie to me, and think you can get away with it...because I will find out eventually. Don't fuck with the gryphon.

11 years ago, I found this crazy thing we call furries. I felt a sudden connection to this fandom, and I was just overwhelmed with warmth. Fast forward to 2006, my views of the fandom started going south, I was ready to just call it. However I told myself "Okay Max, stay in it it's all gravy man." Then about the late 2007 early 2008, I was on the verge of just going "Fuck it, I'm done with the fandom...no more..." I actually didnt want to be associated with the fandom anymore at this point. This all changed last week at Further Confusion 2009, I realized that the fandom aint all that bad. Yes there are still things in the fandom that make me ashamed, but there are some really awesome furs that make it worthwhile. We share a common interest, and that's very cool. I am pretty much back in the furry fandom....for now.

Noki out.

I wanted to wish y'all a Merry XMas and a Happy New Year...its been quite the year. Will post something again at New Years.