Time Flies When You're in the Navy....

Yeah, so I realize I've been lazy about this, and in my own defense, there's been a lot going on. Since my last rant, I've gotten a few more topics to rant about, though some will just be advice. I've also had the pleasure of leaving that horrid place called Great Lakes, and have since been allowed to be an adult yet again. It feels so liberating being at a Naval Base that recognizes I'm not a five year old and can cross the street and go to the commissary all on my own!!! Ok, so here goes... Doing what's expected of you: Ok, so I'm now at a normal Naval base, no longer a 'training' one. Thank God for that!! Here, the only thing anyone expects of you, is to be wherever you need to be, when you need to be there. Do your job, and don't get in trouble on liberty. Really not that hard kids!! So far, everyone I know who's here from Great Lakes is doing extremely well, and definitely feels happier being at a real base. Now that I'm finished with C-School, and have moved on to my permanent home (for the next two years, at least) I understand something they used to tell us; always do the right thing, especially when you think no one is looking. Like everyone else in the Navy, I went through a Career Development Board (CDB) shortly after arriving to my new command. I was floored when my Master Chief, Senior Chief, LPO and both career advisors mentioned things I had already done while at the command, things I didn't even think they'd seen. So never, never, never play around just because you think no one is looking. They really do see everything you do. As a result, I've been entrusted with primary supervision of part of my workspace, and am being sent back to school to not only continue the path the Navy started me on, but to make sure this part of our shop continues to run at full capacity. Can we say nerve wracking? Yes, it is. I'm not going to sit here and say I'm Joe Navy, that I can't do anything wrong, God knows that's not true. But all I've done so far is hit the ground running, and I don't intend to stop. Those who are higher ranked than I am see that I'm trying, that I'm not sitting on my ass because I'm the new kid and don't know anyone. They see that I'm getting right into the work loads, getting my qualifications, and working on a warfare pin that my rate usually doesn't have a chance to get. I've made my career goals known to them, and by showing that I'm not going to sit around and do nothing until opportunities arise, my Chain of Command is willing to help me attain my goals. It's never too late to try, and it's never too late to ask for help. Just have high expectations for yourself, and NEVER BACK DOWN. Everyone is going to have bad days, but just like a diet, one bad day is not necessarily going to ruin everying. Just don't do anything illegal. ROOMMATES: Ok, so here's one that seriously gives me heartburn. If you have a roommate, don't be an asshole. Put your shit away, keep your portion of the room clean. Especially if your entire room is considered 'common space' like mine is. I currently have a roommate that REFUSES to clean, and insists that her toiletries need to be kept on the sink or in the shower. F*&% that! I finally had enough last week and put all of her crap under the sink and then cleaned the sink. Another bad habit: flossing your teeth and leaving the nastiness from your teeth all over the mirror. This is absolutely disgusting. I cornered her about cleaning up her filth one day, her response, "My time off is too precious to spend cleaning." Bitch, please, like I don't have better things to be doing? Give me a break. I was always taught you make the mess, you clean it up. Granted, this took a few years to set in, but now I'm pretty OCD about it. It's even worse knowing that I live with someone I didn't choose, and she's a pig. Oh, and dirty laundry: don't leave that shit out in common spaces! In my case, we have two lockers, one larger, one smaller. Lock that shit up! I don't need to smell your nasty laundry because you're too lazy to put the shit away. Also, if your roommate's guy is in the room, wandering around in nothing but a towel is NOT ok. Bitch, I'm a fighter, you'll lose. People are ridiculous. Does anyone understand the words "respect" and "propriety" anymore? Guess not. Get a dictionary, people!!! RANDOM PEOPLE YOU MEET: This is for everyone, but more specifically misogynistic assholes. Don't ever walk up to someone and say, "hey, how about you lay off the calories, you'd be much cuter about 50 pounds lighter." A) you have no idea what that person has been through, or where they've come from. For all you know, they ARE 50 pounds lighter then they once were, and B) in the words of Bob Marley, "Who are you to judge the life I live? I know I'm not perfect -and I don't live to be- but before you start pointing fingers... make sure you hands are clean!" So if you're going to tell me I'm not perfect, you'd better make sure you are! Be courteous to everyone you meet, greet them, even if they don't have any sort of collar device on. You never know, that one greeting may change a horrible day to a good one, just because you acknowledged their existence. So don't be an asshole just because you can, karma's a bitch and so are girls like me. And don't ever knock someone's dreams. Just because they have work to do, and can't reach their dreams now, don't kick that ladder out from underneath them. Everyone needs a dream or two, otherwise we'd all just be robots working from day to day without any hopes of advancing to better lives. For now, that's about all I have, or all I can think of. I don't care which branch's uniform you wear, or your rate/rank, we're all in this together. I know we're not all going to get along swimmingly, but it's ok. Just treat each other with respect, we're all fighting for the same cause. We're all Americans, let's act like it.