Everyone needs a role model in his or her life. It is a good thing to have one, be it real or not. Good Soldier Švejk was always my role model. He was a simple soldier, drafted into Austro-Hungarian army to fight the Russians during World War I. Always at the right place, at the right time, and always with a great sense of humor. He faced all obstacles that life has thrown at him with a smile, and always came up victorious through a mixture of wits or lack of thereof, humor, and pure dumb luck. The guy was awesome. He is my hero. Retiring from the Army can be pretty stressful. I mean, you got a get a job at some point, and it is not always as easy as it seems, just ask any one of the nine million unemployed Americans. And I am sure that I will miss being a Soldier. I will miss the espirit de corps, the comradery, the training, and all that good stuff that comes with wearing the uniform… So there I was, wondering what I will be doing until I am able to open my restaurant, when my buddy Jason calls me on the phone. “Hey, Ski, I got a job for you!” – He announces excitedly on the phone. – “And guess what, you have three days to get ready for an interview.” That was a bit surreal, I have to admit. I mean, I did not even have my resume put together at this point of my life. I figured that Jason is playing a cruel trick on me, but he was as serious as a heart attack. The Chief Executive Officer of the Target Acquired Technologies, LLC flew in from Florida to interview me a few days later, and obviously he liked what he saw, I mean, what there is not to like? So there it is. Looks like I will be the new Vice President of European Operations for Target Acquired Technologies, a Special Forces owned and operated company that trains only the best of the best, all over the world, at moment’s notice. I guess I will get to wear my combat gear for a little while longer after all. Plus, I might be able to train with my friends in Europe again. I hope so. I miss all of them. Soldier Švejk would be proud of me. It was totally aleatory that I happened to know the right person at the right time in order to get this job. Well, maybe my military experience, my languages, and the fact that I am Polish helped out a bit. Not everyone is as lucky as I am. Being a Pole from Kiszków did not help the Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel keep his job today. I feel bad for the guy. Word of the Day aleatory \EY-lee-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, AL-ee-\, adjective: 1. of or pertaining to accidental causes; of luck or chance; unpredictable: an aleatory element. 2. Law. depending on a contingent event: an aleatory contract. 3. Music. employing the element of chance in the choice of tones, rests, durations, rhythms, dynamics, etc. ...it was not a matter of reduction at all, but—perversely—of expansion, the aleatory flutter of uncontrolled, metastatic growth… -- David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest, 1996 [Man] is supposed to love happiness; it is my contention that he rather loves excitement. Danger, enterprise, hope, the novel, the aleatory, are dearer to man than regular meals. -- Robert Louis Stevenson, The Day After To-morrow, 1866 Hailing from the Latin word meaning the dice or chance alea, aleatory first surfaced in English in the late seventeenth century.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 04:02:39 +0000
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