Two years at WA in one more month

bySurfdude123

2.7K followers

6 years ago

It's been two years almost for me here at WA and I have 'to say for a guy like me it's not been the easiest of rides. At times I wanted to quit and say "Man, I could be using my time more efficiently, like start applying for jobs!" But then the other side of me said "Been there, done that." At 54 years old I have been in two separate military services, both the Marine Corps and then the Navy Reserves. But that wasn't the end at all. After 10 years of doing that I went on to do a number of jobs.

I've been a tow truck driver, a loader for Schwanns foods. a warehouse worker, a laborer, a driver, even worked at Sea World in San Diego as a cook. It wasn't until the mid nineties that I finally decided dead end jobs were dead ends. I began an electrical apprenticeship program and four years later 8000 hours in the field and 2000hours of classroom work I finally got my journeyman certificate for an electrician.

And then in the early 2000's work started slowing for me and I decided to sell my house and move clear across the country from California to North Carolina. And that's when all hell broke loose. For six months I began to feel weak, dizzy and disoriented. At the end of six months after a few misdiagnosis I collapsed in a pile in our house, too weak to stand. Docs diagnosed me with meningitis and told my wife it's a 50/50 chance I would survive the next two days. Funny think is I still had about $30,000 left in the bank from selling the house.

A month later I was released after four blood transfusions and being hooked up to IV's and numerous cognitive tests for impairments. There were some and over the next few years I suffered from severe anxiety, couldn't work and had a young son and wife. It was a difficult time to say the least.

My point is I made some extremely difficult choices when I was young. I went in the Marine Corps at an early age (17) when my dad decided he had enough and took a swan dive off a 200 foot bridge in the middle of the night. I was then two weeks after he died kicked out of the house by the dreaded step mom. The choices I had to make were few. No money for college, no great online platforms to start my own business. There was only the Marine Corps for me and I did what I had to do.

At two years here I look back on my life of different jobs, relationships , health issues, drinking issues which I gave up ten years ago and realize that yea my life has been a bag of nuts and bolts. But I survived and I even made it on this consistently plodding away blog after blog which has build up to a rather large base of close to 300 articles/blogs on my website.

I'm not a rich guy. I have a small pension and a teenage son to support. I don't have a lot of money to blow on stupid stuff and I don't. This platform has helped me refine my writing, has brought me out of my shell and I have met some amazing people who make me laugh at times and cry at others. It's just another journey for me and I am thankful for what it has taught me.

If you're thinking about bailing out and moving on to the next best thing. Remember what I went through. All the different jobs which spanned over 30 years. Jobs aren't like they used to be. People don't stick around anymore. So, if you're young and you keep going like I did, in a few years you could be sitting on a gold mine. You could make yourself into a success. I only wish I had started sooner but when I started working, the internet was just a dream.

Keep pushing.