Howdy, folks! Yes, after a long hiatus, I have finally returned to the blogging world. Life has been intense these last few months, and the next few aren't going to be slowing down much. However, I think I have enough time to try and return to this blissful world we call blogging. I'm even going to try - I stress the word try - to do so three times a week(Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). I can make no promises in that regard, although I could definitely do so if LOTS of people bought my books so I could do this full time, but I will give it my best shot.
Some have wondered where I've gone, so I thought I'd give y'all a little more inside information on my life. To start with, for the three of you who haven't figured it out, I'm a Soldier in the US Army, and I have been for nearly 24 years. However, I will retire from active service in the summer, and I've been preparing for my transition to full time civilian life. Even though the Army has been my life since five days after I graduated from college, the lifestyle changes really won't be tremendous(I don't think so anyway...I could be wildly wrong) because I haven't had the "normal" Army experience for the last seven or so year. By "normal Army experience," I mean that I haven't been standing in a formation and looking down the iron sights of an M4 whilst traipsing through the woods every night. Since the summer of 2011, I've been in a more tranquil setting helping design and plan training for others, or advising various members of foreign armies. I deployed to Iraq three times since coming into service, but I've only deployed once in the last seven, and that was to Saudi Arabia, which, for anyone who has been there, is not like going to Iraq or Afghanistan. My job there was to sip tea, form collegial relationships with the Saudi military, and help them design training. Since returning in 2016, I've been teaching officers at the mid-point of their careers how to better see the larger picture in their organizations.
I realize, reading through that, that it doesn't sound very civilian-like, but it has been a job. My family has not lived on an Army base and risen with the sun to sing cadence with the troops. My family has lived in a nice quiet civilian community, first in Hawaii and now in Kansas, and they lead pretty civilian lives. My wife shops at Wal-Mart and Dillons, my daughters play volleyball at school or ballet at the local community center. We take trips, buy cars, mow the yard, and go to the movies just like every other non-military family out there. The only thing that will change will be my day job.
Speaking of day jobs, the biggest reason I've been absent has been my studying for various professional certifications. I passed one recently, and I will shortly be involved in another. In the military, what's in front of your name is what matters; in the civilian world, it's all about what comes after your name. The exam I prepared for was both intense and expensive, so I put all of my free time into studying for it. Yes, I still went to my girls' sporting events, took my wife to dinner, and attended school plays, but I didn't spend other goof-off time blogging. Instead, I studied for my certification, and it paid off when I passed. Now let's just hope that the certification pays off with a good job and (hopefully) better salary.
Does this mean I've given up on writing? Absolutely not...but I am being realistic about it. I think I've said before that a writer needs both skill and a break to take off, and while I will still work for that(more in the next post), I can't feed my family on it. Therefore, I will blog and write in my spare time(once I figure out just what that means in my new civilian life), while simultaneously paying the bills with a "regular" job until/unless my books take off.
I hope you'll stick with me as I try to get back into things and figure out stuff I haven't really had to for a while. If nothing else, it's going to be a wild ride.
Some have wondered where I've gone, so I thought I'd give y'all a little more inside information on my life. To start with, for the three of you who haven't figured it out, I'm a Soldier in the US Army, and I have been for nearly 24 years. However, I will retire from active service in the summer, and I've been preparing for my transition to full time civilian life. Even though the Army has been my life since five days after I graduated from college, the lifestyle changes really won't be tremendous(I don't think so anyway...I could be wildly wrong) because I haven't had the "normal" Army experience for the last seven or so year. By "normal Army experience," I mean that I haven't been standing in a formation and looking down the iron sights of an M4 whilst traipsing through the woods every night. Since the summer of 2011, I've been in a more tranquil setting helping design and plan training for others, or advising various members of foreign armies. I deployed to Iraq three times since coming into service, but I've only deployed once in the last seven, and that was to Saudi Arabia, which, for anyone who has been there, is not like going to Iraq or Afghanistan. My job there was to sip tea, form collegial relationships with the Saudi military, and help them design training. Since returning in 2016, I've been teaching officers at the mid-point of their careers how to better see the larger picture in their organizations.
I realize, reading through that, that it doesn't sound very civilian-like, but it has been a job. My family has not lived on an Army base and risen with the sun to sing cadence with the troops. My family has lived in a nice quiet civilian community, first in Hawaii and now in Kansas, and they lead pretty civilian lives. My wife shops at Wal-Mart and Dillons, my daughters play volleyball at school or ballet at the local community center. We take trips, buy cars, mow the yard, and go to the movies just like every other non-military family out there. The only thing that will change will be my day job.
Speaking of day jobs, the biggest reason I've been absent has been my studying for various professional certifications. I passed one recently, and I will shortly be involved in another. In the military, what's in front of your name is what matters; in the civilian world, it's all about what comes after your name. The exam I prepared for was both intense and expensive, so I put all of my free time into studying for it. Yes, I still went to my girls' sporting events, took my wife to dinner, and attended school plays, but I didn't spend other goof-off time blogging. Instead, I studied for my certification, and it paid off when I passed. Now let's just hope that the certification pays off with a good job and (hopefully) better salary.
Does this mean I've given up on writing? Absolutely not...but I am being realistic about it. I think I've said before that a writer needs both skill and a break to take off, and while I will still work for that(more in the next post), I can't feed my family on it. Therefore, I will blog and write in my spare time(once I figure out just what that means in my new civilian life), while simultaneously paying the bills with a "regular" job until/unless my books take off.
I hope you'll stick with me as I try to get back into things and figure out stuff I haven't really had to for a while. If nothing else, it's going to be a wild ride.
Glad to see you back! And best of luck with your newest adventure! I am on one myself after losing my day job in September. (I find I blog more unemployed oddly enough, ha).
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming back! I hope you find what you're looking for in your life, whatever that may be. :-)
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ReplyDeleteI accidentally double commented the same thing and figured it looked better as a reply rather than as a stand alone. :-P
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