While you were sleeping

The 30th of June marked a significant milestone in my life. I’m sure for some, it was a wedding day. For others, there were some birthday wishes to make. And there were a few tens of thousands who woke up to the open Afghan sky, the underside of a Humvee, or even the bunk springs of the top rack as another day away from home checked in.

For me? It was my first day out of the Army. I had been in for seven years, five months and a day (or a “wake up” for you who are fans of military parlance). It hit me like most holidays hit me—with an alarm and ticking seconds. I’m a one-day-at-a-time sort of guy. I didn’t feel any huge weight lifted, I didn’t see the heavens part or hear any angels sing. I just sort of got up, did the shower thing, you know?

I know some people have more spirited first days out, full of introspection or running wild through the streets, singing. For me, it was walking by that closet and seeing that uniform that I actually wasn’t allowed to wear anymore. That’s what marked the day as different.

By God’s grace, sunrise on June 30th found me in a new city, with an alarm that woke me up for a new job. I was in San Antonio, closer to Fort Hood than I ever thought I’d be again. I’d taken a job with USAA, much to the surprise of my peeps in Washington, D.C., who all thought I would snag some big gig in the capital.

I had received a few offers from contractors, a couple of private firms and a couple of GS positions. I went through the hiring process with several of them, did some interviews and got a lot of good vibes from a couple of positions. The USAA gig came pretty late to the party. But, I’ve been a happy member for a while, and there was an offer to whisk me down to San Antonio for some interviews before any offers or decisions were due, so I said, “Why not?”

Did I blog about that? I may have kept all of that pretty close to the chest. There are always feathers to ruffle if too much is said to too many. So, sorry about staying quiet on that–well, on everything it looks like. I slip in and out of routines sometimes. The casualties of this purge were blog writing and working out. I’ve noticed I’ve put on a few after-Army pounds already, so I’m putting a stop to that. The blog writing is another area to work on.

Not that I’ve been away from writing altogether. I’m finishing up the novel too. Okay, I’m not “nearly finished” as I thought I’d be at this point, but laziness and moving takes a lot out of a writer, especially when it’s all pro bono for the writing gig.

So, back to the new job. I am to be a blogger for USAA. And a community manager. And a writing coach. I’m down with anything, really. In the service, you sort of become a lot of things as you go, so I’m used to the adaptable thing. The company is doing a lot of really cool stuff with the social mederas. I’m very excited to be a part of it.

More later. Lots to do. Mmmmmm.

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