I'm getting ready to go home from work, so I'll answer this first batch of questions. I'll answer more later today! Keep them coming, I'll answer them all.
What do you think is the path to being well rounded?
Keep an open mind, be willing to learn new things, do something despite your fears, and say more 'Yes' than 'No'.
Do you like to take people under your wing? Or admire and emulate others? Or are you a lone wolf? (which is an odd way to describe a pack animal... are you a lone tiger? fixxed )
I've done all of these things at one point or another. My preferred style is to have one or two people working under or alongside me to learn the ropes of whatever I'm teaching them, so I can personalize and have more time to pass on my skills. Sometimes I get tired of questions, though. "UM PETTY OFFICER I HAVE A QUESTION"
I can absolutely lead a large group of people though, I'd
love to have some sort of instructing or teaching gig in the future.
How often do you see your girlfriend?
Pretty often, we're both in the service together! I get out before any of us would get rotated away from each other so I don't have to worry about that. It can be hit or miss dating a fellow servicemember but I lucked out I guess!
Do you think relationships are harder when one partner is in the military?
Oh absolutely! The military is not a 'natural' way to live. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, and we have our off time to do whatever we want (so yes, I don't
live on a ship (unless we're out to sea, obviously), yes, I have an apartment and a car, yes, unless I'm out at sea or deployment I go home every day and change out of my uniform, yes, I get to experience the same Seattle/city living that anyone else does), but there are many parts of the military lifestyle that don't mesh with relationships, namely, deployments.
It's really difficult to maintain a relationship while in, but it's doable, especially if you just do one tour and leave (like I will!)
Since you have been in and about this community for so long, do you think you intimidate newbies?
Maybe? I've been told I can be intimidating but I'm fine with that, since I don't feed off it. I actually rather like to be friendly and charming, but hey, the world needs personalities of all types. Newbies generally find me okay I believe. I'm content with it.
I don't get racism whatsoever, so please excuse if this is an ignorant question. Have you ever encountered.witnessed racism and were you able to see any logic/understanding/rationalisation or whatever to it? (idk like feeling compelled to educate an ignorant person gently?)
Oh, absolutely. Not exactly overt, but you see people having second thoughts or generalizations about people based on their skin color. I've been discriminated against before. Racism is dumb and has no excuse, but it's more complicated than that; the reason why many Europeans don't 'get' racism is because they've never really experienced it; having been to Europe, a lot of it is very, very homogeneous. Nowhere in Europe is anyone near as diverse as say, most major cities in the US.
With that being said, no, everyone is not alike, cultures
are different, sometimes wildly different, from one another, and generalizations about different peoples comes into play in the US because it's many different cultures smashing into one another. Racism is wrong, yes, but its less about trying to convince yourself that all cultures and people are the same, or even
worth the same to a society at large (they're not. Yes, not all cultures have an
equally valuable contribution to society. It's a hard pill to swallow, but this is truth), and more about
individual liberty and equality.
After you grew the fuck up, did you appreciate your screwing up days or cringe at them?
Both. I can appreciate the mistakes I've made for the growth and perspective, but recognize the fact that there are some things I did/didn't do that I just should not have done.
Do you put eggs on things like burgers, steaks and gammon? Srsly what is up with that America?
No, but considering I'll eat anything, I might. I don't know what's up with that! Cuisine is weird! It's delicious though.
When/before ACF disintegrated - do you think anything could have saved the community? Would you have stuck around if we were still spamming away at ACF?
Someone beating sense into SummonerYuna, I suppose. As far as I know she had the absolute reigns on the site. I think if the site banded together before the Great Blip and moved elsewhere (like what sort of ended up happening anyway; here), sure, but ACF was doomed. I may have stuck around, I dunno.
Which other country do you enjoy doing military stuff with? Like training with France or something.
Japan is fun to do exercises with. They're so cheery and polite! Aussies are kickass too. I feel weirdly nationalistic saying this, but it's objective truth and I'd be lying if I said otherwise; the military power of the US is far and above any other nation state by
several orders of magnitude. Far above. Ridiculously above.
The biggest thing about working with other countries is appreciating the scale. I remember doing exercises with some sailors from New Zealand and they were walking around the aircraft carrier in awe. I met one and he was like "This ship has more personnel than our
entire Navy." It feels weird, but military personnel of other countries are well aware of how much of a juggernaut we are. Most of our interactions with them is with them gaping with their mouths open.
With that being said, yes, it's cool, but damn, we can afford to funnel out some of that money to buy some public schoolkids some books or something.
Do you remember your dreams a lot?
I get some weird ass dreams. My dreams are usually a reflection of my feelings, and I have a lot of dreams in recurring, fictional locations. The earliest, fondest dream I remember from a little kid is being on a balcony in an apartment I lived in as a kid, overlooking a huge field of wheat in a sunset (which that apartment didn't have). I dunno. Dreams are very nostalgic for me.
Do you speak any languages to any extent? Like for the countries you've visited?
Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch. Only a little. I'm very apt at picking up things by hearing though. If I'm somewhere long enough I can understand a little of what's being spoken very quickly. I had a pretty easy time in Italy.
What is your opinion of red heads/ gingers?
They're alright! The really pretty ones are
stunning, however.
What interesting facial hair have you experimented with? Do you dig facial hair?
Since the military? None! You can grow mustaches in the military, but to me very few people can pull them off. I had a rockin' goatee before I joined, but after I leave I might just rock that 5 o' clock shadow. Facial hair in general is very variable on the person. Some people can and can't pull off certain looks.
Do you prefer big medium or small boobed women? Are boobs and their size important?
To be blunt (and I don't mind being blunt), I don't mind as long as I can play with them. Different sizes have different things going on, sure, but a medium size fits me just fine. So no, it's not too important as long as you're happy with them!
How would you describe your best friend? Why are they your best friend?
I have two best friends! One before I joined and one after. The one before I joined is because we've been through a lot since we were kids, have very similar interests such as RPGs and movies, think pretty similarly, and we've been very loyal to one another.
The friend I have in the military is quite different from me on the surface, but we're both people with the same ideas about life, both enjoy exploring, and while in the military we both were down for some weird ass shit. That's good to have. A 'weird ass shit' partner.
Do people who snore keep you awake?
Having worked on the flight deck and falling asleep on a catwalk on top of equipment, while jets were taking off and landing, several times due to exhaustion for several years, I can safely say I can sleep
anywhere.
Have you ever had a medical issue that you thought may be far worse than it was? EG seeing a bruise and assuming you have meningitis?
I remember one time in college I thought I was a diabetic because I drank so much. A lot of times in the military I was scared every rash was syphilis or something. "OH GOD THIS IS IT ALL OF THOSE TIMES SLEEPING AROUND HAS CAUGHT UP TO ME I'M GONNA END UP JUST LIKE AL CAPONE AND GO CRAZY FROM A DICK RASH"
Yeah, uh, let's just say 'getting tail' is a lot easier to those in the military. Those days are behind me though! Valuable life lesson and no I don't have any dick rashes, clean as a whistle!
Why did you choose Mog as your name?
Mog from FFVI is my favorite character. I really like the design of most Moogles.
Have you been in a fisticuffs fight? What happened?
I've been in a
lot of fights. I never started them, but they usually resulted to either a, someone trying to bully me, or b, an argument going south. Fights aren't as scary as most people think, though. I don't mind fighting, but I don't like confrontation. Does that make sense? Nowadays though, I'm done with that sort of nonsense over stupid shit. Not trying to lose a tooth or get into trouble.
However, maintaining the
capability to defend yourself and others is very important, I think, which is why I keep up physical fitness and enjoy boxing. I dislike confrontation, but I'm not afraid of a fight to defend myself or those I care about.
I used to. I'm quite terrible at it though!