What has gone on since last time
No seriously applause is not desired, I've been back from my stint in the Navy for more than a year and a half. If you run the numbers, you might be able to deduce that my time in there was just less than 3 years. The nuclear program ended up being a big wake up call regarding my ability to deal with mental stress and I washed out before I could finish training.
With so much stress finally crushing my desire to succeed, I was sent packing to another command where I would then await different orders. The orders that arrived never stuck and the computer system that makes all the final decisions regarding sending unwanted sailors home saw my three strikes and I was sent home with a frustrating, but honorable discharge.
After re-reading my previous post, I feel like I've let myself down more than anyone else (of course my single commenter as well). I will probably not write about my time in the Navy any more than this since it was fraught with deep depression like I've never experienced before and would like to never experience again.
When I returned home, I brought the one blessing that the Navy gave me. Having spent enough time serving the military, I was awarded with 80% of an education from the post 9/11 G.I. Bill. If I had been able to stay for the remainder of that third year, I would have earned the 100% mark. Nevertheless, I started working towards a degree in electrical engineering.
The main problem about electrical engineering is that calculus is both difficult and necessary to earn the degree. I'm not terribly bad at math, but calculus is said to take giant leaps away from the wisdom of common sense so I tend to have misunderstandings and find it hard to learn, so I'm doing as well as I can with what I consider to be a horrible teacher (unfortunately, it isn't very well at all). Otherwise, I'm a straight-A student since my return and it appears that my experiences with learning in the Navy have paved my way to success outside of calculus.
But school is so boring, right? I have hobbies too! While in the Navy, I picked up guitar and I learned a number of songs thanks to the Rocksmith game on X-Box. I recommend it for console only (Ubisoft has some serious DRM issues, so don't bother with it or any of their other games on PC if you like playing offline).
Another hobby I tried to start is making my own guitar. I started it in the summer of 2013, and I still don't have a finished guitar because the weather is too finicky here in north Texas and I don't want to possibly ruin my guitar's finish by spraying it on in the wrong conditions (I really need an indoor ventilated booth for that sort of thing). While looking for a place to do my guitar's finish indoors, I was introduced to a non-profit called Dallas Makerspace. Such a wonderful place - it has a membership fee of $50/month and $35/month for students and all members are granted access to the vast array of high end tools that the membership fees go towards. Whether you are into woodworking, metalworking, arts and crafts, digital design, web design, 3d printing, or electronics - they have it all. The downside for me was that I couldn't use compressed air to apply finish to my guitar (Stupid EPA regulations! I can do it at home, but once I try to do something that allegedly "puts the environment at risk" in what appears to be a business I'm shut down due to the cost of meeting the asinine regulations).
So now when I sit at home, I find myself reading manga and now light novels. My binge reading had been restricted by obligations and now I have the free time to read to my hearts content.
All the manga I have in my reading list are either finished or currently awaiting the next chapter.
A list of those ongoing manga (with PG-13 content anyway - there are others):
- Denpa Kyoushi
- Fairy Tail
- Magi
- Near Equal
- UQ Holder
- Zettai Karen Children
The light novels, while not PG-13 are possibly rated for 16+, but the two so far are:
- Mushoku Tensei [Parental Advisory - it is more of an adult fiction]
- Zero no Tsukaima [not sure yet - I'm on volume 7/20 and the adult scenarios don't go far]
I started to feel like writing an original story after reading through the 22 volumes of Mushoku Tensei, so while I admit to taking some of its creative elements, I have the intention of telling an entirely different story. After all, this world is running out of completely original ideas as it is, so I'll give the credit where it is due before I run along with my story which should be at most pg-13. If you are interested in reading it, I have posted the prologue and chapters 1-3 of "Broken Life"(the prologue is just a character introduction with some anecdotes of his ordinary life, you may want to skip it for the more entertaining chapters).
