asoldier.net

First, imagine dirt that isn’t dirt, it slides from beneath your feet like water, gets everywhere, sticks to everything. It fills your nostrils, clogs your tear ducts, coats your hands, destroys your boots and uniforms, and doesn’t seem to leave you the fuck alone no matter what you’re doing. Then imagine the largest and most annoying population of flies, mosquitos, mice, and birds you could possibly encounter. Multiply that by the number of possible diseases and infections you come into contact with just by trying to take a piss, and you’ve pretty much summed up more than half of what Afghanistan is like.

Sure, it doesn’t seem so bad when you get a chance to sit in some AC (that shit exists?), get some hot chow (it comes out of a plastic sealed box, with a shelf life of 20 years), and take a hot shower (if the water sits in the damned bag for 5 hours, in direct sunlight) then it’s really not so bad.

The only real thing we have to look forward to, is the next patrol. Another chance to kill the bastards that made us come here in the first place, that’s a real treat. I don’t like killing people, but when you threaten everything I love, and make me come live some place I truly hate; yeah we’re going to have some problems buddy.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have Afghanistan, but I hate living in filth, next to people who won’t even lift a finger for their own country. I could pick up every piece of trash, clean every surface I see; but tomorrow, it would be just as fucked up as it is now… if not worse.

I love America, I love my family… my beautiful wife and daughter, and I love freedom. These people have lived in fear of their own government for so long, they have no concept of freedom, law, liberty, or righteousness. Perhaps they like it that way. Whatever their motivations, they have no intention in picking up the pieces. It’s time to go home. We’re done here.

To the great and recently departed LT W. We love you, and you will remain in our thoughts and prayers forever. You were a great leader, an excellent soldier, and a reliable brother. God rest your soul.

There’s way too much to do, and not nearly enough time. So why haven’t I been blogging? Well, blogging takes about 10 minutes of precious time away from being lazy. I like being a lazy now and then, especially when I know I’m not going to have a chance to be lazy for a long time. Is it a problem? No. Am I procrastinating? No… I’m going to do everything I need to, but I’m just going to do it when I’m good and ready. Sounds like a plan right? Good, I’m glad you agree.

We decided it would be a good idea to mow… but Elaine took over the wheel!

I’m going to be unavailable except via cell… but I will not disclose that number publicly due to the massive influx of telemarketers and scam/spam artists. So, if you need to reach me, you can do so by emailing me via mdavid(at)asoldier.net (mobile email). I will have my cell phone with me and on for about half of the duration of my absence.

Please email me with any issues you have.

David.

Testing out some new apps

Paid another visit to the Dentist today. He took care of a few tiny issues that have been causing some literal headaches of late. Unfortunately one of the side effects of the anesthesia is the serious pain in my cheek now. Feels like I got hit in the face by a broomstick.

First off I’d like to to say that it is of no fault to Strayer University the institution that I will not be enrolling. It is however the fault of at least one individual directly involved in the supervision of Dustin L. (Senior Admissions Officer: previously) Let me clarify…

When I called Strayer Univ. up and asked a plethora of questions concerning enrolling, plans, classes, finances, situations, etc, Dustin had the answers. If he didn’t know it directly, he could get the information I needed. He guided me through every step through enrollment. The only thing I had left was to apply for a Pell grant to cover my books. Dustin even provided the forms and steps necessary to complete that project. So what happened?

Why did Dustin get fired? If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have enrolled in the first place. My guess is there must have been some inner-circle disagreement. Jealousy usually plays a part in these situations; and power-trips usually follow. I will have no part of that, and therefore I am retracting my enrollment into Strayer Univ and I will take my military benefits and educational endeavors elsewhere. Good Day Strayer University. Good Luck Dustin.

Due to some rather vexing issues with Charter Broadband, I decided to make the switch to the alternative. CDE (Clarksville Department of Electricity) offers what appeared to be quite a deal, at the time I decide to switch. Unfortunately there’s a few setbacks.

Every good ISP needs a call center. Technical support is required with every form of internet provision. Unfortunately, CDE does not offer such support on weekends. When I called the customer service line, the nervous young lady on the other end kindly explained that she didn’t know what the problem was, but she used her walkie talkie and politely offered to set up an appointment for the following Monday.

Since there isn’t a proper technical support channel, and the customer service representative available is untrained and therefore unable to walk me through basic troubleshooting steps, it makes CDE very unappealing to a customer willing to trade ease-of-use for power. By power, I mean the insanely fast connection I’m getting.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-troubleshoot service… you might want to think twice about CDE. Also take care to consider that “lightband” is a form of fiber-optic. Meaning it “should” be the most reliable and easy-to-use connection available. Unfortunately unscheduled maintenance, uninformed customers, unprepared staff, and untrained support representatives are proving detrimental to the good of the company, and may prove a deterrent for future CDE customers.

Come on guys, you can do better.

Here’s a few things you can fix:

• Get a call center set up
• Train a weekend crew on basic connection troubleshooting
• Set up group-training sessions with staff
  • Confidence
  • Leadership
  • Initiative
• Notify customers of upcoming maintenance (Channel Guide Notifications)

Just a suggestion.

Quest

So, I’ve been contemplating going to college, and I’ve even started filling out the paperwork. At one point I had even picked which college I wanted to attend, and what type of degree I was going for.

Eventually I had made up my mind. I’ve been in the military long enough to realize it’s time to get a move on with my life.

After spending hours on the phone calling an assorted list of colleges I almost gave up. I called most of the big ones like:

Discovery

So in the process of trying to find the “right” college, I stumbled upon Strayer University. They have a promising curriculum and offer several degrees in-which I am extremely interested in. One caught my eye, a Bachelor’s in Science- Computer Information Systems with Networking. Wow, sounds complicated? Not really.

Commitment

For one, it helps that I’m military. Since the ARMY offers a massive Tuition Assistance plan, combined with Strayer’s financial support for military, the tuition is completely free to me! So, I won’t even need a scholarship at this point.

Provision

Yes we still have books to worry about, but the books will be mostly paid off using a voucher that Strayer is also providing. These guys rock.
So that leaves little or no expense to me to get my education. The only thing is, I’ve got to stay on top of my game. If I fail a class (which is pretty hard to do) then I’ve got to pay for it out of pocket. That could be pretty hefty. Good news is, my wife already has an Associates so with her help, and the support of some pretty awesome people at Strayer University, I’m on my way to a bright and shiny future.

Support

Dustin Lamouruex

It helps to have some really smart and dedicated people helping you figure things out. I had no idea what I wanted to go for when I was considering enrollment. And it also helps having people who represent the college who actually know what they’re talking about.

So! If you’re looking to get your education, and you’re not sure where to get started, there’s plenty of people at Strayer University who can help, and there’s campuses all over the place. Pay a visit to Strayer.EDU and get on the road to success.

Thanks Dustin!