There Won't Be Hot Chow

Field chow

It started with a can of pork and beans. Ten years ago, two years into my enlistment, I was shown that if I bring my own food, I wouldn't have to eat MRE's or the barely palatable field chow that was provided. Fast forward to now, and the fact that I'm constantly in a HMMWV (Humvee), I've started to bring more and more complex foods to the field to prepare.

Instead of just top ramen and spam, I'm making things like this>>>

All you really need is a little imagination, a small camp stove, and a portable cooking pot; you can definitely make some delicious food.

Let's list off what I have pictured here.

1. Instant Cheddar broccoli Pasta mix
2. Single serving Spam packet
3. Dry milk
4. 2 1/2 quarts of water
5. Sriracha sauce (not shown)

I know what you're thinking,

"Spam?!?! Ewww!"

The spam has 2 purposes; salt and protein, that is all. Powdered milk helps to make the soup a little more creamy, and you get a watered down flavor of cheddar broccoli from the instant mix. If you're lucky you won't get any dirt blown into your food, but even that is just one more layer of texture or just a consequence of making and preparing food in the field.

When you're out in the field, whether your: hiking, camping, or training with the National Guard; having multiple options for food is a good thing. In the end, food in the field isn't about taste, texture, or color. It's about sustenance. Being able to get enough calories and water is far more important in these situation.

Most times I'll resort to bringing several packets of spam, top ramen, and if space permeates, a small jar of coconut oil. That combination, while unhealthy, provides enough calories to sustain a high level of physical performance. Although, at the end of drill, as soon as I get home I normally feel as if my brain is being dragged through the thick syrupy mud of a Georgia swamp.

Never have I ever!

Blatantly.

Is the only word I can come up with.

Take because I am willing to give. Give back nothing?

Blatantly.

My care, and trust for you I fear was misplaced.

Get rid of me, fine.

Never have I ever experienced such a blatant act of selfishness.

No wonder you I find most interesting.

Wait I'm already drinking?

An early afternoon conversation with the crazy person in my head...

It's one nineteen in the afternoon on a Monday. I've been up since eight AM and I couldn't find a reason not to add some tequila in my afternoon coffee.

I recently got word that my promotion to E-5 is in it's final stages. I won't be drilling with my friends (family at this point) anymore, and it's a hard pill to swallow. This promotion is an opportunity for a new adventure. But, like anything new in one's life, I'm nervous as all hell about it.

This year I turned 27, and with it came the odd reality that I've not really done much with my life. I watch countless videos of YouTubers and have fascinating conversations with people younger than me, and older, that have lived far more interesting lives. That have come closer to death or near debilitating injury, and have bounced back with more fire to live than any one person that lives a sheltered life.

These people brought about the realization that one day I'm going to be a pile of bones or ash.

But, instead of fearing my inevitable demise, I've come to accept it.  I don't find myself worrying about leaving a legacy for future generations to marvel at. I don't suffer the pangs of depression that some would feel with this realization. But, I also don't feel content about letting my future be so bleak.

To that end I look upon what I can leave behind for those that are going to be replacing me one day. What can I teach them so that they too can experience what I feel now?

Mild Delusions

Swirling in a cloud of hormones and chemicals.

One finds themselves engrossed with what they're writing, thinking, reading, watching.

The smell of an empty coffee cup is an alluring mix of dark chocolate and caramel notes, bringing with it a flood of imagined memories.

A child like curiosity takes hold. The child chemist wants to mix water and sugar over medium low heat. The amateur candy maker wants to perfect his technique.

Both want  the same thing.

Comfort.

Lost Cause

There are moments in life.

Moments where one finds him/herself realizing that someone or something is a lost cause.

But, having put so much effort into said person/thing, you can't let it go.

You CARE

You sink more time and effort into it. You curse, you pray, you hope, that said person/thing will change.

"Change comes from within" they say. What if that person is stuck. They are in a dark place and the light is just up ahead. But they've been stuck in the dark for so long that they can't for the life of them bring themselves up off their ass and save themselves.

What do you then?

Cosimo

My first Shadowrun Character... the questions are from this site.

Background

1. Born in the Philipines, but raised in what was formally the united states.
2. He has an older brother and a younger sister, but he hasn't talked or seen them in over 6 years.
3. Ethnically he's Philipino, but culturally he's American.

Appearance

1. He's kinda tall for a Dwarf. Standing at 5 foot he is often mistaken for a regular teenage human. Due to his Philipino genes, he is missing the customary beard that most Dwarfs with other ethnic backgrounds have.
2. Due to the nature of most of his "jobs" Cosimo dresses in drab almost spartan clothes. Preferring  to wear plan practical clothes that make one like himself "disappear" into any crowd.
3. Due to his genes he lacks the beard that most other dwarves sport. Not to mention that he spends quite a lot of time in his garden, leaving him far more tan than most.

Skills, Attributes & Resources

1. Most of his applicable skills were learned in the 20 years (15 years active, 5 years reserve) he spent in the ARMY. His more athletics based skills were acquired at the same time through trial and error.
2. During his 20 odd years in the ARMY he spent a few years where he was the company weapons NCO (Armorer). This lead to him developing a slight obsession in weapons. He took this obsession into a gunsmithing career. During that time he also developed a fascination in personal protective gear, mostly armor. Which inadvertently lead him into studying chemistry, and engineering for four years in college (mostly online courses). During a mandatory semester studying microbiology he discovered he had a knack for all things concerning physiology (human/metahuman).
3. During his last 2 years in the ARMY he was volun-told into a program for "enhancements". Which saw him suddenly increasing in strength, and reaction time. (Classified Muscle replacement and wired reflexes programs concurrently.) He picked up the enhanced articulation aug, since he found himself working as a gunsmith (Not all things need a finicky attention to detail, but some control was necessary.)
4. He's been living in a quite rural area near the city of Seattle the last few years. There in his Bungalow, he tends to his garden daily when he's not out running around in the shadows.
5. A year before he left active service he had meet guy by the name of Trevor. Cosimo never worried about someones past, as long as you pulled your weight and did what you had to do. Trevor on the other hand was nothing like that. Unbeknownst to Cosimo, Trevor is actually the son of a powerful Arms trading company CEO. Through some well placed misadventures and mentoring, Cosimo's last year in  active services was Trevor's easiest. Thus a friendship and a bond was formed.
5a. During his first two years in the reserves Cosimo started taking low level runs that leveraged his strengths (namely some bounty collecting work that the Reserve never got wind of). Most of his bounties came through his neighborhood fixer. Which after a few years still hasn't progressed up the cutthroat ladder of "fixers". He still gives Cosimo leads every now and then, but only if no one else has taken the job.
5b.During his second overseas deployment with the ARMY he made friends with a mercenary... Well that's about all he could tell you, the guy wasn't to talkative. And friends might actually be  to strong a word. Acquaintance?
6. At some time in his life he had enemies... Had.

Personality

1. Mostly his "blandness" hides most of his personality. He finds gardening and growing his own food to be a worthwhile endeavor, along with trying to keep the environment "clean". He mostly saves his earnings instead of the usual sudden spending that most of his fellow runners do. It's usually hard to get him mad or dislike something. From evil to good, he's very neutral about everything.
2. Get it done as efficiently and effectively as possible.
3. Aim to Misbehave
4. Refer to number 2
5. A mild addiction to Nitro

Running The Shadows

1. Refer to number 3 in previous answers
2. Make a mess of things and watch the ensuing chaos... ;-)