An Introduction to Some U.S. Air Force Persons

I'm having the worst time trying to sleep tonight and that being the case, I figure why let the time go to complete waste. Instead, I'd like to reminisce about my old days in the Air Force.
One of the things I noticed in the Air Force (and I'd be surprised if it didn't hold true for all military branches) was that no matter what your job is or where you're stationed, there's a quite a few people you will ALWAYS run into. And I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce a handful of them to those that would like a little inside look into the people of the U.S. Air Force.

MSgt Coms (Crusty Old Master Sergeant) - From the way this guy talks, you'd swear he's been in the Air Force since its first day as a separate service. He talks non-stop about the "good ol' days", whether it's about the job itself, how the airmen spent their time, or just the Air Force in general. He's generally a very grumpy person that no one wants to be around. He always says he should retire, but he never seems to, even though everyone (but him apparently) knows he'll never make a higher rank. He also seems to know everything that's wrong with the Air Force and how to fix it (which 9 times out of 10 is going back to the old ways of doing things). If you see this man drinking alone at the base club, DO NOT make eye contact with him. He'll suddenly think it's an invitation for him to come talk to you and for the next 4+ hours you'll be stuck listening to talk of "Back in my day..." (even if he offers to pay for the drinks during this talk, it's not worth it).

CSrA (Chief Senior Airman) - Someone that's been in the Air Force usually 3-4 years and thinks at this point not only do they know everything, they've earned the right to boss everyone of equal or lower rank around. They're often even condescending towards the staff sergeants right above them. A more amazing ability of CSrA though is their ability to be a complete bitch at work, and then try to act like you two are best friends if they run into you outside of work. Never trust CSrA, ever.

Amn Dumbass - The only time this guy can get his head out his ass is just in time to smack it into a pole. Make no mistake, he's not lazy. But he's often so dumb you kind of wish he was. He doesn't follow directions (probably cause he can't remember them) and he often plunges forward with an idea without thinking about it, at all. If there's a safety mishap (or violation) at work, chances are Amn Dumbass was part of it. On a positive note, Amn Dumbass is usually a fun guy to go drinking with (often cause he volunteers to grenade jump).

Sgt Wiwqa (Wish I was Quality Assurance) and Sgt Iowqa (I Once Was Quality Assurance) - These two guys are pretty much the same. They want EVERYTHING done by the book. Even worse, if they catch others not doing things by the book, they will report it. But the worst part is their loyalty to the book. They're (usually) not dumb, they know the books have some errors. But they don't care. If the rules/directions/etc. say this is how you do it, then by God this is how you'll do it. Your way may be quicker, safer, cheaper, and more effective, IT DOESN'T MATTER! (Cause after all, there's forms you could fill out to try and get the book changed).

The TSgt's Wife - While not necessarily limited to the wives of TSgts, this seems to be the most common rank of woman I've seen like this. This is the woman that doesn't know much about the military or what her husband does in it. Yet somehow she's tied her identity up in her husband. If you see her at the club, she'll brag about how her husband made TSgt in just 12 years (note to civilians: while that's nothing to be ashamed of, it doesn't have any bragging rights either). At least, she'll brag about him until her 4th shot of tequila, but I'll save what happens then for another time. However, that is not the best environment to witness the TSgt wife in. For whatever reason that I just can't fathom, these women think TSgt is some very powerful position AND that power transfers to them somehow. So the best time to see these women in action, in my experience at least, is when they are shopping on base (usually at the BX). The moment these wives don't get their way and realize dropping the "I'm a paying customer" line won't get them their way, they bring out the big guns... "My husband is a TSgt with blha-blah squadron! You just wait til I tell him how you treated me then he tells his first sergeant and/or commander!" (Or some variation of this). I've seen this seen multiple times throughout my Air Force life and I think it's a little funnier each time.

Anyways, this took up more time (and space) than I thought it would. Maybe some other time I can introduce some other characters common in the Air Force (there certainly are plenty). I also wouldn't mind expanding even more on the TSgts Wife as she may be one of the most fascinating characters there ever was.

The Significance of a Crush

So I have a crush on a girl. And not just a "wow-I-think-she's-hot" kind of crush, but a "just-her-saying-hi-to-me-makes-a-bad-day-suddenly-seem-good" kind of crush. No, she's not on my facebook, nor is she ever likely to be. I don't plan to actually do anything about this crush other than enjoy the little moments of euphoria it produces when I see her. And as nice as it is to see and talk to her on occasion, it's something else that really excites me about this...
For the past few years, no matter how attractive, funny, smart, interesting, etc. any girl I met was, she was instantly compared to Girl X (yeah, I'm back to not name dropping); and the girl would always lose. But this new girl I met didn't lose. In fact, she wasn't even compared. Girl X wasn't even thought of. Except when a topic related to Girl X came up, but then I was able to mention her as merely an after thought; a fact in my past but nothing more.
I know being hung up on a girl for four and a half years like I've been is absolutely pathetic. Whatever reasoning I have for it is no excuse. And I'm not about to claim I'm completely over her and could care less. But, having gone through this before, I know I'm on the right track. And a crush like this is a pretty good step in that direction.
Chances are I've jinxed the crush just by posting about it on my facebook. But not having a crush like that in a long time, it was (and still is) something to be really excited about when I realized that's what it was. If I had to guess, by next week it'll be gone and I'll be wondering how I could've been so elated at such an occurrence. So it goes.

The Spring 2011 Semester Preview

I've now gone to the first class for all my classes and here's my initial impressions for how this semester will go...

1) Intro to Biology: The class I look forward to the least. It's an intro class, meaning a survey of the subject. These are supposed to be the easier classes and they should be. For one, they're often required so it's not like a lot of students really want to be there. Why challenge those that don't want to compete? And also, why try and scare them off? Yet from the way the instructor was talking, he's treating it like an upper level class in which he expects us to come out knowing nearly everything about biology. On the plus side, there's eye candy in the room nearly everywhere I look. There's more I could say about the class, but I'll save it for its own note. I'll be happy to get a "C" in the class (as that seems to be what I get in all science related classes I take).

2) The Rise of Civilization (Anthropology): I'm looking forward to this one a lot. There's going to be a lot of reading and I'm probably going to struggle with my project for the class, but the instructor is funny and seems reasonable. Also a lot of eye candy in this class too. I'm hoping to get at least a "B". Mainly cause it's still a science class, which is my jinx, even if it's a social science.

3) Early National Period, 1800-1850: My first upper division class. And it does not look fun. For one, I find American history kind of boring. But since this was the only upper division history class I could get into this semester, I figured I should take it as I need to start getting upper level classes knocked out. I've had the professor before and while he takes some getting used to, I think he's pretty good and extremely knowledgeable about the subject. Not much for eye candy in this class, which may help me to actually pay attention. I'm hoping for an "A", but it won't be easy. The professor is kind of a harsh judge when it comes to grading and the only college history class I got a "B" in was the class of his I took before. I'm hoping to make up for that this time.

4) French I: Yep, a repeat from last semester since I did pretty horrible. Same professor as last time, which should help since I at least know her teaching style. And I like it. There's also a decent amount of eye candy in the class. I'm expecting to get an "A" in this class. That's the only way to redeem myself for failing it before.

5) US History II (Civil War to Present): Again, I don't like US history that much, but this class is required. The instructor seems good though and I definitely like that she started off talking about history being as much about perception as it is about facts and that no one is completely unbiased. Again, not much for eye candy in this class it seems. And also again, I'm expecting to get an "A".

So it's looking to be a semester that'll have quite a bit of work/studying I'll need to do. But I don't mind (ish). Cause no matter how much some of this sucks, it still beats being active duty Air Force.

My Longest Blog Yet (I Think)

I think if you ask 100 people what Heaven is like, you'll get 100 different answers. The Bible doesn't say much and what it does say is very open to interpretation. When I was a kid, I thought Heaven would be a very boring place where no fun is allowed and the only good thing about being there is that you weren't burning in Hell. And what I believed stayed along those lines for a very long time. But after some reading in past years, most notably Donald Miller and C.S. Lewis, a different idea of what Heaven is like has formed in my mind. Not all of it mind you, but parts. It's not something I actually like to talk about; as with most things religious or political, so much as someone hears what you have to say, there's likely someone to disagree. However, it's either write about this or write about something I've written about before. So, here's how I picture Heaven (Part 1).
You get to Heaven and you can't see anyone else around, which actually makes you a little nervous if you're really in Heaven because you're pretty sure you'd see some old friends and family there. And then Jesus shows up and He says, "Hey (insert your name here), I've been waiting so long to be able to talk to you one on one; I'm glad you're here."
You know it's Jesus just because there's no way not to know. But you're in shock to actually be in His presence alone, with no one else around, and he wants to talk to you! You knew at some point you'd get to talk to Him, but only after you'd been in Heaven for awhile. Certainly there's lots of other people Jesus would want to talk to before you; better christians, famous christians, or at least more interesting christians. But sure enough, here He was wanting a conversation with just you.
So there's some small talk and then Jesus suggests taking a walk. It's only a few short steps and then suddenly you're some place of immense beauty. Maybe the place is a real one you knew on Earth, maybe it's completely imaginary. And the place can be a river, mountain top, skyscraper, distant planet, or whatever place you always thought of as more beautiful than anywhere else (for me it'll be the Cliffs of Moher). And you're there with Jesus just enjoying the view while neither of you says anything. Then you realize that while you're seeing this incredibly view, you're also seeing something else. Somehow playing before you while not obstructing the view is something that looks like a movie. You begin to focus on it and notice it's not a movie, but a story. And not just any story, but your story. Jesus is showing you the story of your life.
It doesn't go in straight chronological order, but jumps around.
Here's a scene where you're just a child and playing around in the goofy manner like children do. Seeing it from the outside, you laugh at how silly you were. Then hundred of scenes like this from your life go by, even ones in which you were much older than just a kid. These are scenes of unabashed and innocent fun and you enjoy them as if you were living the moments all over again.
Next up is scenes of your accomplishments in life, big and small. Sports trophies, school awards, that time you ate a bug on a dare. As these play, the sense of pride you used to attach to these moments begins to fade. It's not that you don't think it was cool and kind of fun to accomplish those things, but you realize those trophies and plaques are nothing more than medal/plastic/wood and school awards are really just pieces of paper with a lot of fancy writing on them. And also, you're a little embarrassed now about eating the bug.
Then start coming scenes of your sin. At first it's just stupid little sins you committed throughout life that you'd always told yourself didn't really count as sin. But still you're a little embarrassed that here you are seeing these, with Jesus watching too! Then come the other sins, the ones you couldn't even excuse to yourself when you were alive. And now you're ashamed. You wonder if Jesus is only doing this to show you how you don't belong where you are. You look back wondering if He's just waiting to scold you. But He isn't. Instead He hugs you, says that it's ok, and smiles like a wise father.
Then comes the grand finale: All those moments in when you felt hurt begin to be shown; the most painful times in your life. When you felt you were utterly worthless and had no reason to be in the world. Moments in which you actually questioned your faith. You have to fight tears as you wonder why was He showing you this; why is your first experience in Heaven turning out to be so painful when Heaven was supposed to be a place of immense happiness?
And then the scenes stop and fade away to be replaced by a picture. There's no way to describe what this picture actually looks like and all I can really call it is The Big Picture. The Big Picture is all the scenes of your life put into their proper place and how they all had their purpose in your story, even the sins and the pain. And it shows you how your story was so integral to the stories of so many others. And it's when you see this that you can't help but feeling anything but love and joy.
No matter how insignificant you ever felt, that you were just one of billions upon billions to inhabit the earth, you were a linchpin in God's story. It didn't even matter how far from perfect you were, He chose you for a part that the story could not exist without.

It's quite possible (and probable) that this is nothing of what going in to Heaven will be like. But for me, it seems a lot better than thinking I'm going to wait in a long line and have to wait til I get to the front to see if I'm even going to be allowed in.