12/12/2003 7:24 PM- 0700
Today was one of those action packed days. Woke up, hit the ground running. Yesterday was the same, and so was the day before. There seems to be no end to my 'to do' list at work, and I've given up on all thoughts of ever being 'caught up' at home. One thing I can say is I NEVER EVER get bored.... EVER. This has been my reality for over twenty years.
And here we are coming close to ending yet another year, which in turn begs the question.... where the hell does the time go?
Only twenty-one short years ago I was a starving college student out to prove to myself and the world that I could make it on my own. I packed my bags (2 to be exact) and moved to Portland, Oregon 100's of miles away from the rez. I was another Indian dislocated. Far from home. No support system in sight. It was my first attempt at college. My grades sucked. The Financial Aid check was not meant for me to live off of, but it paid the books, tuition, and 3 months rent. I don't know what I really proved, but I do know this.... I was on my own and I was free.
Nineteen years ago my first child was born. By this time I had met up with my high school deer heart. The word responsibility began to gel. I could no longer live a reckless life. Work became mandatory and college was no longer an option. We lived primarily from paycheck to paycheck, but life was hearts and flowers. Michael Jackson was popular that year with Billie Jean. And then there was Burning Down the House, the Talking Heads; White Wedding , Billy Idol; You Got Lucky, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers; and 1999, Prince. Remember that one? Didn't 1999 sound like a loonnnnnnnnnnggggggg time way back then? Sheesh.
Seventeen years ago I joined the Army Reserve. For only one week-end a month and two weeks a year I could earn a little extra income. Didn't sound like much to me. Not to mention, the recruiters promised me challenge and excitement. Although I lived in Portland far far from the rez, I wanted to see the world. I have always been fascinated with other people, other places. So for me it was a no brainer... I signed my life away and was literally jolted into a highly structured and disciplinary lifestyle. Up to this point I had lived a pretty ordinary life, but the next 8 weeks would be spent in boot camp at Ft Dix, New Jersey, and then on to Ft Ben Harris, Indiana for 12 weeks of Advanced Individual Training. From the moment I got off the bus until the very last day of training there would be a drill sergeant in my life EVERY SINGLE DAY. Most days began at 4:00 a.m. and went on until midnight. If we got more than four hours of sleep it was a blessing. It didn't take long to realize that 'Be all you can be' was not just some silly motto they made up - it was a fact of life. Needless to say, my life would never be ordinary again.
Sixteen years ago my assignment placed me in a Civil Affairs unit. Our mission was basically to help rebuild societies impacted by war or other catastrophes. If it was broke, we were there to fix it. This could be anything from public works to the legal system. My particular section dealt with facilities and infrastructure. Our unit worked with the PsyOps people. I was intrigued by the whole psychological operations aspect of the military and how it tied into the Civil Affairs mission. Using propaganda to restore civil and orderly conduct was a new concept to me. I guess I never realized how vulnerable society can be until then. For training we either went to Belgium or Korea. I ended up in Korea. Who said recruiters lie?
Fifteen years ago civilian jobs were all ate up and life as a week-end warrior wasn't cutting it. I was gung-ho and ready for more challenge. I joined the Regular Army and went on active duty. My first duty station was Ft. Lewis, WA with the 52nd Air Defense Artillery (ADA). I spent more time in the field with my ranger buddies than I did with my family. Yellow Stone National Park was trying to burn down that year, but lucky for them ADA was there to save the day! After a month most of the fires were under control and we were able to go home. We felt like super heroes! Hoo-ah! We also got deployed to Korea for about a month to participate in another military exercise....."Team Spirit." Something to do with preventing the North from invading the South.... during this exercise we actually got to fire our missiles at drones over the sea.
Fourteen years ago I came down on orders to go to Germany. I said good-bye to my ADA ranger buddies and and went on my merry way to Giessen. Working the Postal Unit was not my cup of tea. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about postal operations, and now I know why postal workers go postal. I never thought I would miss being in a field unit, but I did. I mainly missed my ADA friends, but my new buddies from the 95th Chemical helped fill that void. Giessen itself was awesome. Saw some cool sites, ate some good food, and fell in love with German coffee. This is where I became a coffee snob. I recently got an e-mail from someone from Giessen who happened upon my site. It was great hearing about what it's like there now. This was one of my favorite places, and one of these days I would like to go back...
Thirteen years ago.... my journey brought me back home. Because of 'The Wall' coming down in Germany, and East becoming friends with the West again, they no longer needed so many soldiers in Germany. As a product of reduced forces, I was released from Active Duty and found myself right back where I started: the Rez.
Twelve years ago... I barely got a chance to get comfortable when Active Duty called again. This time I found myself being deployed to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm.... Admittedly, I was afraid at first. I think we all were. We didn't know what it was going to be like, or what would happen while we were there. All I knew was I had orders to spend six months somewhere in Southwest Asia (SWA). I ended up getting a very good assignment with the Information Management Division in Dhahran. I was surrounded by communication and technology experts, and found it very easy to adapt to the assignment. I gained first-hand experience in the domination, collection, dissemination and application of information technology and knowledge. Very cool. Although we were never really off-duty, we were allowed time off. I took advantage of that and tried to see as much of the country as I could, as well as meet some of the Saudi people. It was all cool. This is another place I would like to go back to in more peaceful times...
Eleven years ago... home again. After 10 years of what felt like a very fast-paced life, I thought I would finally be able to lead a more leisurely life. Little did I know, my life was just beginning....
All I can say is for this one rez NDN, the journey never seems to end.
And here we are coming close to ending yet another year, which in turn begs the question.... where the hell does the time go?
Only twenty-one short years ago I was a starving college student out to prove to myself and the world that I could make it on my own. I packed my bags (2 to be exact) and moved to Portland, Oregon 100's of miles away from the rez. I was another Indian dislocated. Far from home. No support system in sight. It was my first attempt at college. My grades sucked. The Financial Aid check was not meant for me to live off of, but it paid the books, tuition, and 3 months rent. I don't know what I really proved, but I do know this.... I was on my own and I was free.
Nineteen years ago my first child was born. By this time I had met up with my high school deer heart. The word responsibility began to gel. I could no longer live a reckless life. Work became mandatory and college was no longer an option. We lived primarily from paycheck to paycheck, but life was hearts and flowers. Michael Jackson was popular that year with Billie Jean. And then there was Burning Down the House, the Talking Heads; White Wedding , Billy Idol; You Got Lucky, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers; and 1999, Prince. Remember that one? Didn't 1999 sound like a loonnnnnnnnnnggggggg time way back then? Sheesh.
Seventeen years ago I joined the Army Reserve. For only one week-end a month and two weeks a year I could earn a little extra income. Didn't sound like much to me. Not to mention, the recruiters promised me challenge and excitement. Although I lived in Portland far far from the rez, I wanted to see the world. I have always been fascinated with other people, other places. So for me it was a no brainer... I signed my life away and was literally jolted into a highly structured and disciplinary lifestyle. Up to this point I had lived a pretty ordinary life, but the next 8 weeks would be spent in boot camp at Ft Dix, New Jersey, and then on to Ft Ben Harris, Indiana for 12 weeks of Advanced Individual Training. From the moment I got off the bus until the very last day of training there would be a drill sergeant in my life EVERY SINGLE DAY. Most days began at 4:00 a.m. and went on until midnight. If we got more than four hours of sleep it was a blessing. It didn't take long to realize that 'Be all you can be' was not just some silly motto they made up - it was a fact of life. Needless to say, my life would never be ordinary again.
Sixteen years ago my assignment placed me in a Civil Affairs unit. Our mission was basically to help rebuild societies impacted by war or other catastrophes. If it was broke, we were there to fix it. This could be anything from public works to the legal system. My particular section dealt with facilities and infrastructure. Our unit worked with the PsyOps people. I was intrigued by the whole psychological operations aspect of the military and how it tied into the Civil Affairs mission. Using propaganda to restore civil and orderly conduct was a new concept to me. I guess I never realized how vulnerable society can be until then. For training we either went to Belgium or Korea. I ended up in Korea. Who said recruiters lie?
Fifteen years ago civilian jobs were all ate up and life as a week-end warrior wasn't cutting it. I was gung-ho and ready for more challenge. I joined the Regular Army and went on active duty. My first duty station was Ft. Lewis, WA with the 52nd Air Defense Artillery (ADA). I spent more time in the field with my ranger buddies than I did with my family. Yellow Stone National Park was trying to burn down that year, but lucky for them ADA was there to save the day! After a month most of the fires were under control and we were able to go home. We felt like super heroes! Hoo-ah! We also got deployed to Korea for about a month to participate in another military exercise....."Team Spirit." Something to do with preventing the North from invading the South.... during this exercise we actually got to fire our missiles at drones over the sea.
Fourteen years ago I came down on orders to go to Germany. I said good-bye to my ADA ranger buddies and and went on my merry way to Giessen. Working the Postal Unit was not my cup of tea. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about postal operations, and now I know why postal workers go postal. I never thought I would miss being in a field unit, but I did. I mainly missed my ADA friends, but my new buddies from the 95th Chemical helped fill that void. Giessen itself was awesome. Saw some cool sites, ate some good food, and fell in love with German coffee. This is where I became a coffee snob. I recently got an e-mail from someone from Giessen who happened upon my site. It was great hearing about what it's like there now. This was one of my favorite places, and one of these days I would like to go back...
Thirteen years ago.... my journey brought me back home. Because of 'The Wall' coming down in Germany, and East becoming friends with the West again, they no longer needed so many soldiers in Germany. As a product of reduced forces, I was released from Active Duty and found myself right back where I started: the Rez.
Twelve years ago... I barely got a chance to get comfortable when Active Duty called again. This time I found myself being deployed to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm.... Admittedly, I was afraid at first. I think we all were. We didn't know what it was going to be like, or what would happen while we were there. All I knew was I had orders to spend six months somewhere in Southwest Asia (SWA). I ended up getting a very good assignment with the Information Management Division in Dhahran. I was surrounded by communication and technology experts, and found it very easy to adapt to the assignment. I gained first-hand experience in the domination, collection, dissemination and application of information technology and knowledge. Very cool. Although we were never really off-duty, we were allowed time off. I took advantage of that and tried to see as much of the country as I could, as well as meet some of the Saudi people. It was all cool. This is another place I would like to go back to in more peaceful times...
Eleven years ago... home again. After 10 years of what felt like a very fast-paced life, I thought I would finally be able to lead a more leisurely life. Little did I know, my life was just beginning....
All I can say is for this one rez NDN, the journey never seems to end.
posted by Rezilla | 7:24 PM
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