A Mile in These Boots
January 5th, 2007.
Previously…
Life was settling into place, even though the fervor and jubilation of the new year was still on everyone’s minds. The world was crumbling, really. But no one could see it. Thinking about the last long while that I’ve even thought about politics, it’s a scary place we live in now. Not my fault, I voted for the other guy. Still being in the Army for 6 more months still made me nervous. So close to the finish line, it figures things would escalate.
I told Houn that I was quitting Carlucci’s a few weeks ago. Thank goodness I got out of there before I started thinking that it wasn’t that bad. Because it was that bad, and not even my vaunted patience with people could keep me going in there. Suffice to say, the money was going to be gone, and the job hunt wasn’t going so well. I needed a little luck, and there was seemingly none to be immediately found. Still, I had a few angles to play out in that regard.
And now…
I was wrapping things up at Carlucci’s, for my last day. Emily and I talked for a second, as she asked what I was going to do next. I told them school, but I really had no idea. Once I got another source of reliable and consistently good income, I could sort it all out. The job was the only thing keeping me from being back to where I was before all of the drama back in 2005. If that fell the right way, life was going to be nice.
Home was a long excruciating experience, as my knees, back, and neck were all throbbing from running around so much, and being on my feet for so long. Hell, my feet were killing me, and this is from me…a guy who used to do road marches like they were nothing. Maybe it was age. 30 was coming along in a few months, in March. I didn’t want to think about that. 30 was a frightening number.
I spent most of my supposed sleep time packing for St. Pete, so I could do my usual National Guard routine. Sleep was important, but at the moment it wasn’t going to happen. I stashed 2 uniforms in my duffle bag, and laid one out to wear in the morning, alongside a few cans of Red Bull, and a couple of doses of No Doze. My head hit the pillow. The clock read 2:59 a.m.
January 6th, 2006. The alarm blared ruthlessly and without compunction, as I rolled over in the dark, trying to find the snooze button. After having the same alarm clock for nearly 10 years, I was surprised it still worked, even as it fell to the ground after a clumsy attempt to quiet it. That was one lucky timepiece.
6:12 a.m. That was not good, was going to be late. I got quickly dressed, downed some coffee (scalding my tongue in the process), and hit the road for the 2 hour hellish drive down I-4. I thought to myself, “Not too much longer.” Tabasco Slim Jims saved me, keeping me awake long enough to make it through the fogginess of Polk County, which could get harrowing at times.
I got to the parking lot, and got a sudden and unexpected call from my sister, Gina. She was having some hard times in Miami, and asked for some well needed advice. I helped as best as I could, but there wasn’t much else I could do besides that. She was a tough girl, and resourceful to boot, so I know she’d sort everything out. I wish I was there to help more, though.
And I was indeed late, though the powers-that-be didn’t really mind. It was the first time I’d been late in a long while. It didn’t stop Craig from cracking on me. He was usually the late one, along with Tony and maybe Marty. We adjourned to our usual “air quality survey” (cig break, for the uninitiated) and talked politics. Like I said before, Craig’s a right-centre guy, and I was definitely a hippie. While we agreed to disagree on lots of things, we usually made sense out of each other.
While we lamented that our 3rd buddy Carol wasn’t around-he brought up the fact that how a lot of the unit is moving on, and if I was going to stay. I told him that it would take a monumental offer for me to stay, and even then, I’d probably say ‘no’ anyway. It was time to move on, and while I enjoyed the National Guard and the Army, it was keeping me tethered to one place for far too long. This bird had to fly off and explore the world in a different way. A way that didn’t involve visiting new places, meeting new people, and conquering them.
Tony let me crash at his place in Zephyrhills, a good hour or so away. It was better than driving all the way back to Orlando, and then back again. We drank some beers, watched some football, and played some X-Box 360. He had a game called Gears of War. Wow. Just wow. Gratuitous violence (extra points for the chainsaw!), gorgeous visuals, and online play. What more could you ask for? Geek moment over.
January 7th, 2007. We spent the day driving around with our Humvees, as part of getting everyone their military vehicle licenses all over again. Paperwork in the military vanishes all the time, and that’s why we did it again. We didn’t mind, as we got to drive around, and not sit around in the office doing dead end busy work. It was second best thing, right after shooting and blowing things up.
The powers-that-be let me go home early, since I came in early to work in the morning. I thought I’d get home by at least 3 or so, but there was this unnecessary logjam on I-4 on the way back. I got through the morass, only to find nothing on the other side. No accident, or signs of one. It was frustrating. I gunned it to 90, and I got home at 4:30. So much for 3.
After a long, long nap, I decided that my broken and bruised body parts could handle going out and unwinding at I-Bar. Dancing fixed everything. Mostly. Right? Still, I hit the road again, and was downtown, hanging out with Liz and Chris, mostly. Super Jenn and Dante popped up, but I quickly lost them in the crowd. I spent the rest of the night dancing and talking to Sarah Beth and Erin, who were out and about. Planet Pizza on the way home was the best, even though it was most likely very unhealthy. It was filling, and that was a good thing.
It was good night to get away and not think about anything, as I had been asked about my future in the Army so many times during the weekend. I was getting out. That had to be the only answer. I didn’t belong there anymore. The next question would be, where to next? And that was a can of worms that I didn’t even want to delve into yet.
Next: More old school goodness, Jenn becomes acquainted closer to her couch by nearly tragic means, and the job hunt begins in earnest! And a flashback of sorts.