I had promised two updates; one with pictures from the Halloween party, and one about why I'm as broke as a paraplegic. The short story is hard to understand; the last 3 paychecks I've received have been equal to or lesser than three hundred dollars. I normally receive seven hundred per check. Now, with the first check, I did not realize that I had received a mini check, so I ended up overdrafting three times, which put me one fifty in the hole. Keep in mind that I have some bills that come straight out of my checking account automatically. The bills include my WoW account, internet, and a few misc. items. Every time those bills get paid, BAM, thirty five dollar over draft fee. Needless to say, I'm in quite a mess here. To compensate for having no money, I've been using my Military Star credit card, which can only be used on military bases. So now only do I have a negative balance in my checking account, I'm also in debt on a credit card. The paycheck I

Enjoy, faithful stalkers. Oh, wait, there are none :)

Shock Me Shock Me Shock Me [with that deviant behavior]

Tonights festivities include a halloween party, lots of alcoholic beverages, and yours truly dressed as a high class pimp, complete with a pimp hat. In my wake will be my faithful ho, always ready to do business. Digital photographs are to be had as well as posted, look forward to tomorrow afternoon...

...as well as an update about my current crisis.

Romanticizing The Darkened Metropolis [hopeless yet committed]

In lui of recent events, I have decided that I need a list of goals that I wish to achieve in my lifetime. This list can be modified at any time or place, as long as a list exists. My reasoning behind this list is simple; like any good idea, goals come and go, and are forgotten as fast as they are created. With my mind in twenty different places at once, I need something that will remind me of what I need to put first in my life.

For a temporary start, I'm going to list a few key goals here.

Let it be known that this will most definately be updated upon.

1. Get the hell out of the military.
   
2. Enroll at a quality college...
3. ...and get an exceptional education.
4. Figure out how to stay motivated.
5. Visit every country.
6. Escape my money situation and stay out of debt.
7. Find the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.
8. Make life in space more than a goal.
   

Don't Let Her [escape]

+

=

???

Thanks to The Law School Virgin for adding me to her site.

Atrocity In This City [it's all coming into place, we're gonna tear it all down]

Shucks. I'd be in Vegas tomorrow if I didn't break my wrist.

Take Me Far Away [you promised to never let go]

The International Space Station. Amazing. I won't rant on something I don't know all too much about, but from what I've read about so far, it's simply... amazing.

Michael Murphy has a huge problem in his life: his interests change almost daily. When attending Suffolk U in 2003, while having no declared major, he was interested in the computing field. His now defunct Suffolk career in his past, he has moved from history to science, mainly biology, at St. Leo on Langley AFB. Whilst he currently has a strong passion to learn everything biology, Michael Murphy's attention has waned to space while visiting The Science Museum of Virginia.

OK, enough of this "he" crap. My attention span is that of a meth head mouse with a brand spanking new shiny running wheel; practically non-existent and, at best, pretty damn low. Space exploration is still in the realm of science, which is a good thing considering my eye is still in the "up and coming" area. All of my interests seem to involve technology, the future, and the advancement of mankind, save history. At least I've got this "general area" thing going on. I can't do everything, though! Perhaps I've found my niche, or maybe I'm just reliving fond memories?

Fond memories, meaning my childhood. See, like all young tadpoles, I had my "when I grow up" fantasies when I was, well, growing up. I had the classic, "I want to be an astronaut," but I was actually interested in space. I'm not sure what caused my interest to fade (perhaps there is a connection to the young Mike and present Mike), but there was still a spark hidden somewhere inside of me. So am I just reliving what I once wanted, or was that truly an interest that I should pursue?

Life is more complicated the longer you think about it, and I'm not a good enough writer to express it.

Everyone Dies [but we're still kickin']

I get the most obscure looks when I cut the plastic 6 pack rings at work. One of my bosses actually pulled me aside and asked what the hell I was doing when he witnessed my ring-cutting antics.

Are these people (these people meaning the United States military) really that ignorant that they cannot recognize what a simple cutting of plastic rings is all about? Did we not learn this obvious purpose back in elementary school? Even with an ounce of common sense, Joe Shmoe could figure this out.

This simply reinforces my belief that our military is a plethora of ignorance. While I do believe that we deal with situations that one might not normally encounter, I also believe that three fourths of our armed servicemen/women use our "sacrifice," as many like to call it, as an excuse to be complete and utter morons.

Let us take the most obvious example: college education. In the USAF and every other branch of the military (the latter not proven; I know the Navy has 100% tuition assistance, the Army and USMC most likely have 100% but it might be 75%), we are allowed to take virtually any class, free of cost. The only general exception is if you fail a class, then you owe Uncle Sam the cost of the class. You have your choice of online or traditional classes. You can go to a college off base or take the convenient on base classes. There are morning, afternoon, and night classes. Yet 90% of first term airmen (meaning those in their first enlistment) do not take advantage of this marvelous opportunity. Note that most first term airmen are straight out of high school. Now some of you might say, "Well, what if they are planning on making their enlistment a career? College would be a waste of time." Not only does having a degree help you with promotions, a BA is REQUIRED to make E-8. If you want to have a career in the military, you will most likely want to achieve the highest rank possible, would you not? Others might argue, "After my enlistment is up I'm going to work construction with my dad, so I'm set." Is that absolutely what you want to do? Go from being a pawn in the military to a slave of convenience? Your dad might have a job set up for you but you most likely dream of something completely different. There is also the most classic excuse I hear, "I'll just do it when I get out." You're going to turn down FREE classes just so you can spend your hard earned G.I. Bill after you get out? That 50k isn't going to cover everything, you know. A BA doesn't go as far as it used to. You'll most likely want a Masters if you're going to be the most successful in life. There is also the fact that you'll be out of school for so long, you'll have a hard time getting back into the groove of things. Why not start classes when all of your high school information is still relatively fresh in your mind?

It's everyone's choice as to whether they'll take classes or not, whenever they want to, but it just peeves me to think that people are wasting such a wonderful opportunity so they can be lazy. Maybe it's because I am so thankful that even after my failure in college the first time around, I've been given the chance to continue on after the fact. < /rant>

The Ultimate Showdown!

Voice your opinion where it really doesn't count! Tell me what you think!

Will We Share This Moment [or drown in flames]

This will be my first post here on blogger. I've had a livejournal for years, but unfortunately it's not accessable at work. A little background on myself; I'm a 21 year old male living in Hampton, VA. I'm originally from Warwick, RI, but live here in VA due to my job in the Air Force. I don't see the Air Force as a huge part of my life, it's more or less a 9-5 job (just never 9-5, more like 6-3). My job consists of fixing a piece of shit, dealing with everyones crap, and working with turds. Notice how the most common synonyms of "poop" are used.

This is the said piece of shit that breaks every damn day. It's a F-15, C model. Not too exciting. I'm the head mech on it. Again, not too exciting.

Enough of this work mumbo jumbo. I'm a full time college student as well, double majoring in Biology and Computer Engineering. The latter might change to Chemistry or Physics or any other science that I might find particularly interesting. I should be a senior this year; however, due to my enlistment into the military, training, etc, I am currently a freshman. My classes have been put to a halt as of late due to the possibility of moving to Japan in late January. If this proposed move does happen, I will reside in Okinawa, Japan for a minimum of two years. I cannot say I'm not looking forward to this, as I've wanted to go to Japan for many years.

Besides my immense desire to learn everything and anything, I'm also interested in a lot of normal stuff. For sports, I like to watch some football, baseball, basketball, soccer, etc., but my main sport is tennis. I played while in high school and achieved number 1 doubles along with my then partner, whose name I cannot remember. I wasn't the best then, and of course I am still not the best, but I do have a strong desire to become a lot better. Not too many people play, especially in the military, so it is hard to improve my skills, but I try. I love my video games, and play many online RPG's as well as console games. I usually don't play as much as I did when I was younger, but as of late the monetary units in my checking account have become drastically low, so playing games seems to be the only way to not spend money. I recently learned how to skateboard, and try to skate as much as I can. It's definately challenging and annoying at times but I'm learning. Music is a big part of my life, and the range of what I listen to is even bigger. I mainly listen to new age punk, metal, and classic punk, but techno, opera, showtunes, and some hip hop are also parts of my collection. One of my favorite pasttimes is going to see a show, or rather a live concert, but due to my recent money struggles I cannot do so.

Piercings. Absolutely adore them. I would have many but due to my employment in our government I'm not allowed to have any. I do have my tongue pierced, and when some money comes along my nipples will aquire metal companions. Shh, don't tell Uncle Sam.

I've much more to write about, not just about myself but everything that is happening in this world. Know that I will be writing in this as well as my lj, most likely cross posting.

-Mike