Lady Jess

Army Wife, Mom of teenage girls, blogger, photographer and gamer. Slightly dramatic, prone to /Jessrage, and maybe a little nuts.

Another Rant on Defense Spending Cuts

/Jessrage No Responses »

Jan 192012

I know I rant alot about military budget cuts. But people need to know what they are supporting! And at the moment? Where I live? Those who have fought for and won the defense spending cuts that have been applied, have assisted a burglar and his crew to terrorize the post I live on. And, he is now armed with a stolen shotgun, and benefitting from stolen narcotics.

Where are the MP’s you ask? Well, budget cuts are preventing anymore from being hired. You see, MP forces have been reduced due to the past and recent force reductions, and we depend on DoD police forces (contracted civilian position) mixed in. And they can’t HIRE anymore because guess what? Hiring freeze due to cuts in the budget.

I know cuts have to be made, but they can me made with a lot more wisdom and intelligence. I am a civilian, wife, and mother. I have no training in government, or economics. I’m going to college, but my first degree will be an AA in Liberal Arts. And even I can think of smarter ways to reduce spending. I can list three off the top of my head. Watch…

1. All the equipment that is issued at EVERY duty station, that sits in our closets and is never used even in combat deployments. Stop issuing that crap! And the stuff that is issued and used, that gets turned back in when we move from that station? Half of it gets written off and trashed. Even though we are required to turn it in in clean and useable shape or pay to replace it. Friggin RE-USE it!

2. Stop moving us around every two years! They’d save billions just by slowing down the PCS rate, since all packing and hauling is paid for by the DoD, as are travel costs. Either let us stay in one place for a careers length (not optimal), OR change the rate of moving us around to 4 or 5 years instead of two or three.

3. Stop tolerating and keeping troops that can’t pass their PT tests because they are just plain lazy, stop wrist slapping those DUI’s and troublemakers. Get them OUT and off the payroll. And on that point, stop taking 6 months to chapter out your soldiers that ARE being discharged for failure. They’re sitting there collecting a paycheck for NOT doing their jobs, and failing to adhere to standards. That’s pretty stupid.

So when you next hear about how desperately we need to cut defense spending. Please keep in mind, before you jump in with your support, what exactly you are supporting. They reduction in the safety and essential services for thousands of women, and children, who’s husbands are risking their lives for their country. The safety of troops that when at home, should FEEL safe.

We sacrifice enough, our safety shouldn’t be OPTIONAL. Does a family need to be murdered as a result before people actually get it? Me? I’m going to exercise my 2nd amendment right to bear arms. Walther .380 here I come. Don’t fuck with Mama Bear.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Blogging 1 Response »

Jan 182012

Dechion posted today about how he is doing his part to fight back against SOPA and PIPA. Essentially these bills are causing a huge uproar, because they threaten some heavy handed internet censorship. I admit it worries me, that this blog that I have hosted for ten years may be a victim. But I don’t believe blacking out websites is going to help all that much. In fact, in many cases it’s hurting the very people that the protests are fighting to help. The End User. The people that may depend on your website for research, shopping, information, or even just a short entertainment break during a long day of work, or study.

I agree with Dechion, hit the sponsors of the bill where it hurts most. The bottom line. Put your money where your mouth is if at all possible. And I say this with a caveat, don’t HURT yourself in the process. What do I mean? Well, let’s use Harley Davidson as an example. We bought our Harley back in September, so obviously we were a bit late to say “sorry, you support SOPA, no sale”. But, I would have bought it anyhow, because my husband worked his ass off, and sacrificed a lot to finally achieve that dream. He enlisted in the army (no not to get the Harley), served two combat tours, and has waited 20 long years. I’m not about to let my outrage over HD’s support interfere with his dream, anymore than I want them interfering with my blog. As a Harley owner, the bike requires safety gear, maintenance, and of course there is the customization process. Maintenance can only be done by HD or void the warranty, and the customizations…well that’s part of the buying the bike deal. I won’t deny my husband, I just won’t.

But, I can still not shop at Wal Mart, refuse to buy Lexmark printers, Adidas or Nike sneakers (and Hubby goes through A LOT of sneakers), I won’t replace my kids Wii, or buy anymore Nintendo DS games, or anymore PSP games, though I will continue to buy Xbox products. I already drive a Chevy instead of a Ford and probably always will. Now, I can’t say I won’t buy any EA products, because I love Bioware games, and Bioware is part of EA unfortunately. I love SWTOR and Dragon Age (Origins, Awakening, Dragon Age II, and the DLC) too much to give up. BUT I can refuse to buy anymore SIMS games or DLC (Sorry Kids), or any more of their Madden series (sorry Hunny), and refuse to buy the ME series or other EA titles no matter how curious I am about it until they get their heads out of their asses.

You don’t have to boycott everyone. But if making a few changes to brands and places isn’t going to hurt anyone BUT those places, and the SOPA bill, then do that. Use that list I linked up there, and contact those companies that you want to show who’s boss. Speak with your wallet, it is your loudest tool.

Preparing For Commitment in SWTOR

SW:ToR 4 Responses »

Jan 012012

Anyone in either of my guilds can tell you, that since release I have had serious commitment issues in the game. Well my republic guild could, I only joined my Empire side guild this weekend. But while many people have unlocked their legacy, and ended their personal storyline, even reached max level, I’ve been playing ALL THE THINGS! I did this with Dragon Age too, until a character or two (or four) grabbed me and made me think more deeply about them. It’s something in the Bioware water I think.

What has finally made my decisions, has been a combination of voice acting, and story, mixed lightly with the characters various abilities and how the mesh with my playstyle. I have played several classes through the first areas of their story to see who clicked and who didn’t. As of today, I have decided which will continue.

1. Rivaini- Smuggler. She’s my highest level, and my first created. She’s definitely a keeper.

2. Zecora- Trooper (commando) I really like her look, and her personality and utter badassery.

3. Caislyn – Sith Inquisitor (assassin). She’s new, rolled today, but I just adore her voice acting, her abilities, and her personality.

4. Kasha’lyn- Imperial Agent (undecided Advanced Class) She’s voiced by the same actor as Female Hawke in Dragon Age II, and her whole special agent idea is really well done. Right down to dropping her accent on command. She is my favorite in looks I think.

5. Zivah’ni, Jedi Consular, Sage. She is a maybe. I love her look, her personality is coming, but I’m not convinced yet.

With school starting again on the 9th, this is the most I can handle. And I am playing every minute I can up until that time!

Entering the New Year

School 2 Responses »

Dec 292011

I almost felt guilty for spending the last couple weeks in my PJ’s, playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. Almost. Then I realized, with the new years comes my new semester, in which I’m taking 6 classes. My last semester ended on December 12. I was finally able to take a break from the self discipline and structure I have to put on myself for school, and I should take full advantage of that break.

Many people mistakenly think taking your classes online means it’s easier than going to school physically. However, that is incorrect. If you can’t maintain strict self discipline, time management, and your own structure, you can’t succeed. You have the same responsibilities as you would in a classroom. There are still weekly due dates, papers, tests, quizzes, midterms, finals, lectures and discussions. While in some formats, you might work at your own pace, mine is not one of them. Essentially, you not only have homework due, you still have classwork due. Where in a classroom you’d have your lecture, discussion, and teaching, this is all lumped together when learning at home.

By my second semester, I developed a good strategy.

1. Get up early, get dressed as if I am actually going to class. This puts me in the mindset that I have something to get done that day. I add having my coffee, and checking in on my favorite social sites and blogs to this part of my day.

2. Set an end of the school day for yourself. I found that if I worked all day and into the evening, I felt like I was never getting finished. So I started following my kids’ school schedule. From 8am to 4pm I am in class. I break for lunch, and take a few shorter breaks in that time but mainly I focus on my work. This leaves me time in the day for things I enjoy, like playing games, watching TV, or just browsing Tumblr and Twitter if I want.

3. Pacing myself. No more than 2 classes a day, or I’ll burn myself out quickly, and start feeling overwhelmed. I try for Monday through Wednesday, but sometimes that doesn’t work for me, and I might do Mon, Wed, Fri, or some other variation depending on when my due dates are.

4. I refuse to obsess about my GPA. I give my absolute best, in every class. But sometimes, that ends in a C+. It happens, I’m not going to excel at everything, and I have to accept that. Even if that is a greater challenge than I’d like.

5. On days I have no classes to work on, I run errands on preferably only one day. The rest, I don’t worry much about getting dressed, I don’t look at my school website, I relax, and sit in my PJ’s if I want to. These are my days off, and I need to enjoy them as much as possible.

6. Ask for help around the house! My husband is usually in a training cycle when my semesters are in full swing. He can’t help out mych, nor do I expect him to. Not when he works from 4am to sometimes 10pm 6 days a week for 14 weeks at a time. But my daughters do help tremendously, from taking over household chores (mainly keeping the counters in the kitchen clean, and vacuuming the floors), to cooking dinner.

Without these in place, I stress out, and become useless. So while I may feel like a sloth demon for being generally lazy the last few weeks, I know I have earned it. And I know I better enjoy it as long as it lasts because from January 9 to Sometime in March or April, I’ll be back in the school saddle again. And this one’s going to be a rough ride. But I look forward to it, and to the New Year.

My Guildies Made Me Do it…

Silly, SW:ToR 2 Responses »

Dec 272011

It started innocently enough. I hit lvl 22 on my smuggler Rivaini and said “wooo 22!” in guild chat. One of my guildies has since begun calling me Zecora, and I decided I just had to do this…say hello to Zecora the Trooper. With that hairstyle, she HAD to be a badass. Too bad I couldn’t find a closer ~~cutie mark~~ tattoo.

Also, I will now always announce my levels in rhyme.