IN THE NAVY

So I went to MEPS yesterday and was sworn into the Navy. I am now govt. property. I scored pretty well on my ASVABs; a 97. The day was long and made so by unnecessary delays, mainly those caused by some of the more undisciplined of the recruit hopefuls. I have to hand it to the staff at MEPS, they must have the patience of saints in order to work there and deal with some of the characters who go through. The medical briefing for example probably should have taken only 20 minutes but dragged on for nearly an hour due to interruptions. We even had one genius pop positive on the breathalyzer test immediately following, though we had been strictly ordered not to drink at all the night before. In any case I spent my time there attempting to be as quick and efficent as possible. If I was told to do A then I damn well did it right then and there. Once medical was done I got on over to the Navy office and handed in my paperwork, from there I went to lunch and had that delicacy of delicacies, government fish! It was edible which was fine by me. Once I was finally called back into the Navy office the Petty Officer pretty much said one thing "What do you want to do" I said either the CTI or IS rating. What suprised me was that I received no resistance on either. I went in imagining that I'd have to go into and hour long horse trading to get into a job I could live with. Apparently I did well enough to take pretty much any rating I wanted. Once that was done I was sworn in and driven back home. So thats it, I'm now an IS (Intelligence Specialist) E-1 recruit. I ship out to training in January so it'll be some time before I go. I can't wait to get started. RTC will be hell, Great Lakes in the Winter does NOT appeal, but thats life. I am really eager to get to A-school in Dam Neck. Learning my specialty will be thrilling to me and right where my interests lie. So thats it for this, maybe I'll have something new later.

Looking into the Mirror

So far this E3 ain't blowing my skirt up. There's nothing coming that screams to me "I WANT"....except perhaps for one title...Mirrors Edge. Granted I might be one of many who are swept up in the trailers that have been released, the mellow soundtrack, austere art design, and downright original gameplay (to my knowledge anyways) makes me eagerly await this title. If nothing else the soundtrack is downright kick-ass. Though I wonder with it being so mellow if I'll space out and accidentally walk off a roof.... in game of course....yeah. In any case check it out if you haven't already, it's coming to plenty of platforms including my beloved PC so it looks like it'll be fun for everyone.




~Tom

So it begins....

Hi, Tom Christie here. I'm carrying over my blogs from Gamespot in the off chance that blogspot will be easier to access while on deployment. So I've filled out my paperwork, I go to MEPS on Monday and sign my life away for four years.

This blog will be a continuation of my thoughts on various happenings in gaming, technology, and geek culture. But it also be a log of my experience in the Navy, rules regarding information release being followed of course. I hope through my experience to inspire others to follow and join the armed forces.

The military has done a lot for me and my family. I will be the third generation in my family to serve in the Navy, my father and mother before me, and my grandfathers before them. My grandfather retired a Vice Admiral as a matter of fact... quite a feat considering he came from a poor family in Boston. Even my mother, daughter of said VADM, earned the rank of Captain, serving over 20 years in the Navy as a nurse. Then there's dad, who retired a Lieutenant Commander, served aboard many ships including the Enterprise (Beam me up Scotty!), and now holds a management position in Northrop Grumman Newport News. All of them entered and came out better people for it. They have a pride, a sense of purpose and a drive to succeed that I wish to have as well. I believe my time here will be well spent and give me these things. It appears I will be entering as an E-2 (Seaman Apprentice), with a CTI (Cryptological Technician, Intrepretive) rating. However my final rank and rating will be determined by MEPS and RTC (Recruit Training Command). During my time at RTC I will not be able to post any blogs, but I will endevour to post as soon as I can once that is complete.

So that's that, I need to get back to gettinng myself physically prepared for Great Lakes. It will definetely be tough, but if I stick my head down, do as I'm told, and not be a smart ass... I think I'll do just fine.