subtitle

maybe "rants" isn't the right word. these are simple thoughts about my life. some may be more colorful than others. some language may be offensive, but it depends on your definition of offensive. consider this your warning ;)

02 May 2012

Quikrete: Foundation

You know, as in cement, or was it a spin off for what I titled in my head "Quick write"?

It's now both. What started as an itch to post a "quick write," I thought of Quikrete (and several bags that sat in the garage growing up), which led to cement...and a foundation.

I've been learning a lot since graduation last May, and as my fiancee approaches her graduation in three fortnights, it's amazing to think I've been done with school for almost a year.

Quikrete. Foundation. Moving on.

I turned 18 after I graduated from boot camp. I enlisted in March of my senior year in high school, and left for boot camp less than two months after crossing that stage as part of the first ever graduating class of Deer Valley High School, Antioch, CA.

Having served in the Navy for 5 years and now having been conferred a Bachelor's degree, I can now reflect and compare the process of both paths. 

  1. I thoroughly enjoyed both chapters.
  2. Neither path was a cakewalk, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the journey. See #1.
  3. From my first full semester at DVC, I was glad I went into the Navy right out of high shcool.
  4. Through my final semester at CSULB, I was glad I went into the Navy right out of high school.
  5. While in the Navy, I had a CO tell me I was too immature to holder a senior position.
  6. While in college, I had a director tell me I took my job as an actor too seriously.
  7. Thanks to the Navy, I developed a work ethic with respect and understanding for superiors and rankings.
  8. Thanks to the Navy, I learned not to be afraid of superiors, regardless of rank, as long as I addressed them with respect for their rank in regards to my own.
  9. Thanks to my time the Navy and in college, I developed my work ethic, discovered talents and strengths, and gained confidence in my work to where I no longer felt necessary to hide behind a smile like I did through high school.
  10. One year out of college, and I'm starting to feel like the confidence, work ethic, and foundation I built from the Navy and forged through the diploma isn't right.

Before and after.

  • Before: Address with respect to the rank/title first, with consideration for the personality second.
  • After: Address the personality you're dealing with first,  with consideration for the rank second (if it all).

  • Before: Seniority paralleled rank/experience.
  • After: Seniority trumped rank or experience.

  • Before: Work out issues with a fight, over a couple beers, and show up the next day ready to work.
  • After: Let it stew, complain to HR, attribute it to personality issues and not really fix anything.


I've said it plenty of times in the last year, but I never thought that being in the Navy would be easier, less complicated, and have less drama to deal with.

For whatever reasons, the foundation that I've set does not offer solid footing for my current situation. I never thought respect for higher ranks (including, but not limited to honest, tactful criticism/conversation) would be wrong or discouraged, but I genuinely feel like it's not the way it works.

This, among other things, means it's time to go, and go I shall.

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