Far East Cynic

Feeling naked.

Jaime Escalante: You only see the turn, you don’t see the road ahead.(From the movie-Stand and Deliver).

That quote is racing around my head these last few days, repeatedly. I am remembering the graphically the scene in the movie where Escalante and one of his students are at a “Y” in the road, and the student-who is driving-has to make a decision which way to turn. He makes the wrong choice.

For some depressing reason, that scene-of being at the “Y” in the road is a good analogy for where I am life-wise right at this juncture in time.

I guess its is semi-official now. The end of the line in my current posting that is. Friday, I turned in my Blackberry, the modern version of “turning in your badge and your gun”. To say, I felt stripped of something-is an understatement. I walked around my bedroom Friday night, resisting the urge to go check the non existent BB and the non existent e-mail that was no longer on my dresser.

So what lies ahead now? Who knows? 😉 .  All in good time my friends. As Mr. Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob would say, ” More will be revealed.” In the interim-I am now a part of America’s rising unemployment rate. First time I have been without a job since I was 16.  I’ll be in line filling out an application at Wal-Mart on Wednesday. I’m holding out for the greeter position-but I  may end up with a black back support and stocking shelves.

To paraphrase something Fred Thompson once said, ” The Russians don’t take a dump with out a plan son, and senior [retired] Navy Captains, don’t jump off this particular cliff without having thought the matter through.” That’s the “lie du jour” I tell myself today. Tomorrow, I may have a better one to tell myself.

 At the “Y” in the road all you see is the turn. You don’t know if you fucked it all up till much later-usually right before you are about to run out of gas. :-(.

“The world needs ditch diggers too, you know!”

  1. Welcome to the underclass. If you get desperate enough, there are some I.T. openings in Afghanistan – technically, it’s in Asia;~)

  2. Skippy,

    Well don’t feel to bad. At least you have a college degree which the college establishment and the modern work field seems to believe you need to even be a low-level paper pushing in the city cleark’s office or to sit at the desk to Ms. Big answering her phone. Also the SO isn’t pregnant with children so you can fall back on that little bit of luxury. Just remember, there are a few worst off then you. Such as myself, I screwed up and am being discharged; don’t have my degree yet in anything (71 credit hours away from an ERAU Pro Aero or 89 credit hours in a Pro Aero Security/Intel specialization), limited credentials in anything and my lovely wife is pregnant with my first born. I understand your feeling of not having a job for the first time in your life. The fact that you need to get up, go some place, slave away over papers or production lines and then at the end of the day/week/month you draw pay for said event. It is a very strange feeling, so I understand what you might be going through.

  4. Don’t worry Skippy-san… you are going off to do bigger and better things. Not working for the agency that clocked in at 223 out of 223 as “best places to work” has to be a step in the right direction! We will sure miss you though…

  5. SAP. I am sorry to hear your news. Hopefully your GI bill survives intact and that can be a springboard to new and better things. Believe me, I know there are lots who are worse off than me-I remind myself of that every day.

    And I thank the Lord above the SO will not be pregnant. I am past the point I could deal with kids.

    I hope things turn better for you-I am presuming the going out situation is not totally hopeless. Best wishes and hang in there.

  6. Best of luck. With Any luck you may get back to Japan. If you get to SC we would enjoy seeing you and the SO.

  7. I am hanging in there. I don’t have a distaste for what the Navy is doing to me. I know I screwed up by not being in an authorized Navy shape, round isn’t authorized. Just poor timing on the whole circle of life thing too. The situtation isn’t hopeless, just challenging simply cause what I love, history, isn’t a good paying job out there in the economy. The other thing that I am capable of, tweaking electronics; I just need to get the paper saying I R Edumcated from good ol’State or a Tech. That and a certificate of professional or union designation telling me that I is compentant, to show some prospective employer that I am wondering about though is can I see myself doing this for the next few years until it is time to be pinked slip from that job.
    Part of me wants to become a spy with ONI or DIA, by I again need a degree. So life is going to get better, at least I am in God’s Country of being in Western WA and my wife loves me (along with being my sugar momma)

  8. Wishing you (and the SO) the best of luck. Having been there myself a few years ago, my only suggestion is to keep busy doing something while you search for new employment. Have you thought about being a substitute teacher as an interim measure? In some states, having a bachelor’s degree as a minimum allows you to be a substitute teacher for 3 – 4 months per academic year. The money isn’t great (it depends on the school district), and there are no bennies, but you’re basically babysitting for 5 periods (about 4 hrs total) a day, you’re out the door by 3 p.m. (HS schedule) and there is a lot of flexibility (unless you sign on as a permanent substitute for a school district) if you sign up with 2 – 3 school districts. Have an interview scheduled and don’t want to work that day? Just tell’em another district called you first that morning.

    Did your firm provide a severance package? Hope you eventually get back to where you want to be, across the Pacific.

  9. Skippy, not only look into bobble’s suggestion but try your luck at NJROTC. I applied for and received a certificate to teach it and it is valid for 3 years. I was working on an offer to teach in Hawaii my first year out. It looks like good money.