Yeah, I know what you are thinking. Retired military, still "serving" in some capacity, I am sure he is going to write about waving-the-flag-type freedom. Nope.
I had a guy last week who quit suddenly and gave me just four days notice (by the way it is a serious pain in the a*s to get a person back to the states in four days in case you were wondering.) Nice guy, great worker, solid reputation. There are some extenuating circumstances that I won't get into, since it would violate his privacy but suffice it to say, it was not work related. He told me he is not sure where he is going to end up, and he is going to decide each day what he will do. Some comments that were made by my people led me to this post.
The man was single, no kids, no house, no car, dog, cat, bird, whatever. Everyone made statements, all in the same vein, saying he is "free," and can do what he wants. Most were envious of his "freedom" and his lifestyle.
So I thought, what is freedom? Am I any less "free' because I am married with kids, house, dog, cars, cat etc? Am I tied down, because of these things, and therefor I should look in envy at a guy who can at a moment's notice leave and go somewhere else? Is that our definition of freedom?
In case you may agree with my above statements (and you are entitled to your opinion it is a free country after all!!) let me remind you: I am not tied down to anything or anybody. It is my choice each and every day to stay married, to remain a father (and there are plenty of "fathers' who won't have jack sh*t to do with their kids) keep my house (easier and easier to get rid of nowadays) sell my car, etc and have the same lifestyle as the person above. I might keep my dog, however! Like my daughter says, my dog is not really a dog, but is an "accessory!"
One of my people said it best: freedom is the opportunity to choose.
Because I choose each day to live the life I live, I don't feel any less free than my old employee and wish him the best of luck. Knowing I have a choice, I don't think I would choose his lifestyle.
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"-Janis Joplin
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Standards and How Quickly They Change
I have had this post "written" in my head for some time, but I have not had much time to write it. Working 7/12 with conference calls every evening after 7 pm (it is during normal working hours back in the states) makes it hard to squeeze in time to write.
I had a number of people back in the states tell me they could not do this because of (pick your reason and insert here.) What I have found in my varied lifestyle is how quickly you can adapt to any situation if you choose to do so, you just have to let your standards slip. Kinda like the ugly guy who can not get a date: lower your standards, dude, you will get a date!
I used to enjoy taking showers where 1) I had some measure of privacy, 2) could control the water temperature and flow, 3) and I did not freeze my a*s off when I stepped out into a tent to dry off and shave. Standards most of us live by and have gotten used to. Umm, not here in good ole' Afghanistan! All three of the standards above I have had to let slip in the interest of cleanliness and to keep my tent mates from "convincing" me of the need to take a shower!
Sleeping arrangements: Yeah, I used to enjoy sleeping in my own bed, plenty of room, fluffy pillows my significant other had on the bed, adjusting the ambient temperature to a degree more conducive to sleeping. Oh, and most importantly, the area around my bed was CLEAN.
You can pretty much toss everything above out the window. I have a lower bunk, my crap is tossed on the bunk above (no dresser,) I had to put a board beneath my mattress to give me some degree of support, and I am a happy camper when I can sweep the rocks and dirt away from where I put my feet at just prior to hopping into bed. And don't forget to wipe your feet or you will be sleeping with rocks in your bed! Ain't life grand!
Eating arrangements: Bet you think I am gonna talk about the quality of the food, huh? Nope, that goes without saying. I remember in the grand old days when I sat at a table, with silverware made of something other than plastic, real glasses, and oh, yeah the food was hot!. And if I wanted, I could drive to any number of restaurants and grab something to eat. Everything listed here is not happening at the dining facility I eat at in Kandahar. None of it. We eat in a tent (of freaking course, what else would you expect?) and sit at picnic tables with plastic water bottles (the water here is not safe to drink) and plastic knives and forks. Yeah, it blows
And to let you know how low my standards have dropped, we have started a tradition of "eating out" on Fridays (the line at the d-fac is stupid long 'cause it is steak and seafood night) and we order either Burger King or Pizza Hut (your only two choices) and have it delivered to the tent by a dude on a moped. I sit on the side of my bunk and eat my whopper (the only other choice is chicken) and two thoughts come to mind: First, this food is pretty good, and second my standards have really slipped if I consider this to be the highlight of my week!
And I also wonder how I can get the food delivered to my tent, but I can not get indoor plumbing???
Some days I feel like the guy in The Shawshank Redemption: I used to have a pretty good life! The only advantage I have (if you have seen the movie) is it won't take me years to cut a hole in the side of my tent to get out!
Having said all that to say this; I eat every day, I take a shower every morning, and I sleep every night. Let your standards slip, you will be surprised at what you can adjust to.
I had a number of people back in the states tell me they could not do this because of (pick your reason and insert here.) What I have found in my varied lifestyle is how quickly you can adapt to any situation if you choose to do so, you just have to let your standards slip. Kinda like the ugly guy who can not get a date: lower your standards, dude, you will get a date!
I used to enjoy taking showers where 1) I had some measure of privacy, 2) could control the water temperature and flow, 3) and I did not freeze my a*s off when I stepped out into a tent to dry off and shave. Standards most of us live by and have gotten used to. Umm, not here in good ole' Afghanistan! All three of the standards above I have had to let slip in the interest of cleanliness and to keep my tent mates from "convincing" me of the need to take a shower!
Sleeping arrangements: Yeah, I used to enjoy sleeping in my own bed, plenty of room, fluffy pillows my significant other had on the bed, adjusting the ambient temperature to a degree more conducive to sleeping. Oh, and most importantly, the area around my bed was CLEAN.
You can pretty much toss everything above out the window. I have a lower bunk, my crap is tossed on the bunk above (no dresser,) I had to put a board beneath my mattress to give me some degree of support, and I am a happy camper when I can sweep the rocks and dirt away from where I put my feet at just prior to hopping into bed. And don't forget to wipe your feet or you will be sleeping with rocks in your bed! Ain't life grand!
Eating arrangements: Bet you think I am gonna talk about the quality of the food, huh? Nope, that goes without saying. I remember in the grand old days when I sat at a table, with silverware made of something other than plastic, real glasses, and oh, yeah the food was hot!. And if I wanted, I could drive to any number of restaurants and grab something to eat. Everything listed here is not happening at the dining facility I eat at in Kandahar. None of it. We eat in a tent (of freaking course, what else would you expect?) and sit at picnic tables with plastic water bottles (the water here is not safe to drink) and plastic knives and forks. Yeah, it blows
And to let you know how low my standards have dropped, we have started a tradition of "eating out" on Fridays (the line at the d-fac is stupid long 'cause it is steak and seafood night) and we order either Burger King or Pizza Hut (your only two choices) and have it delivered to the tent by a dude on a moped. I sit on the side of my bunk and eat my whopper (the only other choice is chicken) and two thoughts come to mind: First, this food is pretty good, and second my standards have really slipped if I consider this to be the highlight of my week!
And I also wonder how I can get the food delivered to my tent, but I can not get indoor plumbing???
Some days I feel like the guy in The Shawshank Redemption: I used to have a pretty good life! The only advantage I have (if you have seen the movie) is it won't take me years to cut a hole in the side of my tent to get out!
Having said all that to say this; I eat every day, I take a shower every morning, and I sleep every night. Let your standards slip, you will be surprised at what you can adjust to.
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