When I first started this blog, I’d planned to post frequently, expecting that I’d be able to post weekly. That hasn’t happened, and recent events have led me to understand exactly why.
It’s my writing style, and what I’d envisioned the blog would be. I only tend to write when it’s something that I, myself, would enjoy reading. I like action. I like humor. I like having only good things to say about where I’m at, what I’m doing, who I’m with… and in all honesty, that’s why I’ve rarely posted anything in the past months. Over the past 20 months that I’ve served in the unit I’ve been in, I’ve had fewer and fewer good things to say about it.
Something most people don’t know about me – - I rarely drink. I used to have a problem with drugs and alcohol, namely that I really liked getting numb, drank nearly every weekend, drank constantly at parties, smoked whenever I could get my hands on the stuff, and generally acted pretty silly whenever I did. Thought I was having a good time whenever I did so, but American society is frequently about being competitive, and I eventually reached a state where I was caught in a spiral of wanting more… of pushing the envelope… competing with my previous achievements to see just how effed-up I could get and still remain standing.
Finally I got to the point where I wasn’t even remaining standing anymore, and I still continued to abuse the stuff. Not good. Happily, I had the wisdom to quit, calm down, stop trashing my brain and liver, and after re-enlisting, I’ve kept myself clean.
There was a stretch of time at Ft. Sam Houston, during medic training, that I hung out regularly at the bars on the Riverwalk just because I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go, but I kept my drinking under control and gravitated towards places that weren’t all about mindless overconsumption and “Party! Party! Party!” atmosphere. Typically I’d find myself going home early if I started feeling woozy… I’ve gotten to where I prefer keeping a clear head, keeping on-top of my game.
. . . and then I got to Korea.
There’s really only one way to say this: Soldiers in my unit drink entirely too goddamn much. Too much of the social activity on/around post revolves around alcohol (heck, there are nightclub zones immediately outside the gates of Casey & Hovey), and it’s reached the point that my non-drinking is handicapping my advancement. I’m seen as being antisocial, and in a way I am; I don’t like being around drunk people. I don’t like being around loud, boorish people. I don’t like going to the same place every time, listening to the same songs every time, talking about the same boring crap every time… and right now, I’m really REALLY looking forward to going on Leave, bringing my wife back to Korea with me, and having something else to do/someone else to hang out with.
More to follow.