My current ink… more coming soon

Ok, So I was re-reading the last time I blogged on here. Nearly 18 months ago, I honestly can’t even remember writing it. I don’t remember a lot of things from December of 2008 through well basically last summer. Part of that was shock, part was going out alot, part was the fact that life went into a tailspin and things started moving REALLY fast. If you have ever seen one of those fighter pilot movies where they dive and then start weaving in an out of canyons. We that is kinda the way the past couple of years felt. I didn’t block out everything though and that is what this blog is about… (I’m sure those fighter jocks don’t remember every rock in those canyon walls, just the ones that came really close) So when we last touched base I was unemployed, not dating, and officially out of money with no prospects in sight in any aspect of life. Lesson #1 LIFE ISN’T FAIR, THE WORLD IS CRUEL AND UNJUST, GET TOUGH, LEARN TO DEAL WITH ADVERSITY OR IT WILL DESTROY YOU. Which leads directly into lesson #2 WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, LIFE IS ABOUT ONE THING, THE RELATIONSHIPS YOU BUILD, GROW, MAINTAIN, AND NURTURE. Now when I say that word, most of the time people automatically think of romantic relationships. That is only one type, and while important, is not the only one. The relationship with your family, the relationship with your friends, the relationship you have with God, and the relationship you have with yourself. They all count and are all related to one another. A friend saw that last blog and called me, this particular friend has a well publicized history of riding me pretty hard when I screw up (which is way more often that I care to admit) But in this case he called an said he was worried and said he might have an option all be it, not an ideal one. The option was to become a deckhand on a crew boat off the coast of Louisiana, running men and supplies back and forth to oil rigs. This is rule #3)A MAN DOES WHAT HE HAS TO DO, AND THE HARDEST THING HE WILL EVER HAVE TO DO IS SWALLOW HIS PRIDE & #4) SOMETIMES STEPPING OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE IS THE BEST COURSE, COMFORT TOO OFTEN PRECEDES COMPLACENCY WHICH ALWAYS ALMOST PRECEDES APATHY. So I went to sea. I drove a little over 500 miles to New Iberia, Louisiana. Went through some safety training and a couple days later I drove to Port Fourchon, LA. (Also known as “The End of the World”) The company I worked for was Iberia Marine Services, (www.iberiamarineservice.com) I worked my first week on the 155ft. “Lady Marie.” Crew Boats are usually aluminum hulled and are used as the “fast boats” to deliver men and supplies. As the deckhand, I worked what is known as the “backwatch” working from Midnight till noon. I cleaned the boat, top to bottom every night and assisted with on and offloading cargo delivered by a crane. Again I will describe this in further detail in a later blog. My second week I moved to the 165 ft. “Mr. J.O.” where I would remain throughout my tenure with Iberia Marine Services. I worked 21 days my first hitch instead of the typical 14. I won’t go into everything, but suffice it to say, that 21 days was a gut check. I worked at I.M.S. for roughly 11 months and logged right out 10,000 miles at sea. (none of our runs were more than 200 miles but if you make enough of them, they add up) When I left I had progressed up to “swing man” meaning one week I was a deckhand, the next I was the engineer responsible for preventive maintenance on the engines and generators. During my off weeks I would occasionally interview for other jobs, without success. But mostly I reinforced the age old statement “spending money like a drunken sailor in port” During one of my sorties into the Florence nightlife, I encountered an extremely attractive young lady who through the course of phone calls and email I struck up a friendship (and yes of course I asked her out and she said no) But through that friendship I was redirected to a possible job opening at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. Somehow I got hired. (Again see rule #2) So since November I have worked on the Redstone Arsenal basically in computer systems administration. I work shift work, rotating between days (7am-4pm) evenings (3pm-Midnight) graveyard (11pm-8am) so my social life has seen very little improvement especially in the romantic aspects. Rule #5) THE GRASS ALWAYS LOOKS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE, SOMETIMES IT IS, SOMETIMES IT ISN’T. BUT AS LONG AS IT ISN’T A FOOLS ERRAND, MIGHT AS WELL GIVE IT A SHOT. So now I get to sleep in my own bed every night, but I honestly see my friends and family less than when I was working offshore. Again I am working completely outside my skill set, which while I do believe can be a good thing like I stated in rule #4) I also am a firm believer in rule #6) LEARN YOUR STRENGTHS, PLAY TO THEM, FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE A LIVING WITH THEM. YOU’LL BE ALOT BETTER AT YOUR JOB, AND BEING GOOD USUALLY MAKES THINGS MORE ENJOYABLE. I had a pretty rough couple of years, I made it through without ever missing a house payment, becoming a drunk, or going completely insane. Most people look at my grand list of achievements there and say “Congrats dumbass that is called being a semi productive human being.” and in most cases they are right, but for those who have been through something similar that short list looks much more impressive. One of the biggest reasons for being able to bounce back was becoming friends with someone that had been through something that comes right out of Shakespeare’s bleakest tragedy and SHE is still standing. Also two fraternity brothers went through something similar simultaneously with me, and finally reconnecting with two people who at different points in the past were closer to me than any other person on the planet, and had also experienced extreme hardships in the past couple of years. That support network provided two things that other friends were unable to provide, the first is understanding, Rule#7) DON’T JUDGE A MAN TILL YOU WALK A MILE IN HIS SHOES. Having friends that cared enough to consider my problems is extremely humbling. The problem comes due to the fact that so many times those friends were giving advice without seeing the world through my eyes. Those friends that had experienced it, usually didn’t offer advice. They just listened and knew what I was gonna say before I said it. The second thing that support network offered was perspective. I thought I had hit rock bottom. But some of these friends had been through even worse. Seeing people I cared about in that kind of pain is what really put mine in perspective. I have been alot to deal with for the past few years. Thanks to those who showed themselves to be my friends. I wont forget you. To the few who turned your backs, I wont forget you either. I think the best analogy I can come up with for my current situation is like a guy who was on a boat that sank, he managed to grab on to every piece of debris that floated by and might have even had some help from a dolphin and a mermaid but somehow he made it to some deserted island. Alive and well is a helluva start, now there is some raft building to do…

A few years ago I either read or someone told me a quote that I have repeated many times and honestly believed… “Love is not a feeling, love is a choice and an action” I am beginning to change my philosophy. I have come to find for me personally, once I make that choice to love, there is no going back…ever. No matter the actions, words or deeds of the other party, no matter the time that passes, I have no choice but to continue to love and therefore I have to show that love through my actions. I am not sure that this is at all a good thing and feel fairly certain it is not in fact healthy. But then sometimes we don’t have a choice…

rulesformyunbornson:

(via @JoeGannon)

rulesformyunbornson:

(via Z Daniel Barnett)