Living in my reality

I have often mused that I (*me*) would never create a blog...so much has changed. I keep seeing news and reading articles that make me want to scream out into the dark void hoping someone would hear me. So I guess this is my dark void in my Proven Reality.

I'll start off my first post with a little about who I am and where I come from. I am a warrior that served 4 years of active duty with the United States Marines, hence my call sign: Proven. I didn't fail at much when I was a Marine...I failed, but not much. That's the origin of the name. Being a veteran is pretty cool...but in order to get anything from it I would have had to serve during wartime not peacetime...figures.

I was a boyscout most of my adolescence and I have a lot of good memories of the challenges I faced. Today's scouts might be different, but I am sure that there is still the fundamentals of "being prepared" and "doing a good turn daily." My how we could use those today.

I am a corporate kid turned college student after some embattled positions left me without a job. So I am working full steam to finish my degree and get back out there in the "real" world. I am bewildered by the difficulty I have in translating my work "experience" into something that looks meaningful. I've often wondered if having heard shots fired in anger during peace time qualifies me for anything...probably not.

So, politically I am a moderate. I am a mediator in almost everything I do. I learned a long time ago that there is always two sides to a story and if you listen (something I think is viewed as perfunctory today) carefully you'll hear the truth in everything. I think I am also a moderate because I was serving in the military when congress or whoever chose not to pass our budget...which, if you didn't know, keeps us from getting paid on time. So we went a couple of paychecks without pay. Sure you get back pay, but what good does that do when your bills are already late?

Morally, I am also a moderate. I view abortion and religion as none of my business. Be what you want when you want as long as you are not pressing those actions or opinions on other people that don't want to feel it or hear it. The population is big enough...one less won't be missed, and why do you care what other people do to their bodies. Not like you are sending aid money to impoverished nations where children die 100 to 1 compared to the US. Stop crying about "Sin" when it is convenient and do something more constructive with your time and money.

Ethically, I am a moderate...just because I can be. I guess if you were into dungeons and dragons I am what you call "Chaotic Neutral" on most points. I don't lean one way or another, but I do believe in doing the right thing...which isn't always the good thing in your book. Hence the chaotic nature of my alignment. Yes...I was/am a geek at heart and I enjoyed playing dungeons and dragons. You might laugh about it, but it got me together on a regular basis with a good group of friends to spend a fun energy filled night together drinking beer, snacking on pizza, and talking. People being social, at a house, forgetting their problems, and not spending a lot of money to have that much fun. If you ask me...we need some more of that.

Emotionally I am an empath that is not afraid to cry. Marines cry too...you got something to say about that? didn't think so.

So that is me...and you might see a little or a lot of it in what I post. I am aggressive and assertive about my points or my gut feelings, which does not mean I am ever/always right. We learn in the Marines to be confident about the bad decisions we make. It is a leadership trait that we all should master. It helps give troops the confidence they need to follow you, because you look like you know what you are doing. Why do you think that a Marine mantra is "adapt and overcome," because not all decisions are good ones.

We'll see if I keep this up...