veen, what an awesome bunch of news man. First of all, what you've achieved at work sounds nuts, I'm guessing folks are going to be relying on your model for years to come, and the model living in your house is someone you can rely on for a long, long time. I'll be sure to ping you for advice while I make progress with my own new and exciting relationship.
As an Armenian, I appreciate going on Hubski and seeing this. My family is in Stepanakert where the Azeri artillery landed, they all evac'd and drove a few hours out of the way safely. My uncle was on his way to Belarus for vacation this morning and was told all adults under 55 years old are to stay in place in event of re-conscription if they're not already currently drafted. I can probably contribute a lot of different articles and information for exposition on the subject but I just hopped on to say thanks for the coverage. It's hard to find accurate reportage from internationally recognized news outlets, and if I post an objective (if still inaccurate or shallow) Reuters or BBC report on my personal social media I get flamed for being a turncoat and not recognizing an attempted reanimation of the Armenian genocide :[
Thanks for tolerating me everyone! It was a genuine privilege to get to hear you all say things. I'm drunk. Let's do this again!
OftenBen uve been summoned!
Had the greatest weekend in years. It was fun, but it was important for me too. An organization working on various activism for/in Armenia invited me to a conference at Columbia University. I went alone to hear the presentations because there were some big names in Armenian academia speaking, and the person who invited me is a role model of mine. I intentionally stay unaffiliated with Armenian-American organizations because they're always politically affiliated somehow and I can't get involved in the mess of Armenian politics yet. I opened the door to the conference, a lecture hall in the Columbia's math building, and my heart stopped when I saw 50-odd Armenian faces looking back at me. I realized that I haven't seen my people in years, apart from my mother, some family friends and my family back home on Skype. These were college-age Armenian kids, mostly grad/PhD age, all here from all over the country just to spend the day being American-Armenians in a room together. It's very difficult to describe why being a part of this conference was so significant to me, but I felt like I was in love with 50 people at once. Some of them were activists and good-thing-doers for Armenia, others were simply Armenians in America doing their thing, but they were all high-speed individuals doing big things, and it gave me hope for my people's survival and success in the future. I went to the proceeding dinner/social event and introduced myself to everyone. A group of kids invited me back to their hotel, to "get over the politics and start this pre-game so we can fucking party." And party we did. We destroyed midtown Manhattan. Then I met an Armenian girl who stole me out of the bar before I could even say goodbye to everyone, and took me dancing at a nightclub in Chelsea. Getting me to dance in a group is difficult enough, I was nervous about dancing with her alone, but I fucking danced yo. She took me back to her apartment near Columbia, where it turned out she was in a grad program on economic development. For the first time in months, I woke up calm and happy instead of wired and in a hurry. She said good morning in Armenian and made Armenian tea. I was in heaven. I left before breakfast to get back to school, but she told me to let her know when I was back in the city, which will be this weekend for spring break. There are two small red flags with her but it's difficult to acknowledge them in my current infatuation, I'll call them later-me problems. Last weekend was the closest I've been to high without drugs, even better than some at that. I realized the gigantic hole in my heart for being around fellow Armenians. I got inspired by the fact that there are Armenians that are going to be leaders in their field, Armenians that will yield power for other Armenians, and that things won't be as bad as they appear back home right now. And as touchy as it is, this girl made me realize how low I was stooping with girls at my school just to get their attention, I don't respect them for their work or their general (lack of) ambition and dialogue. I'm linking up via e-mail with the kids and some of the professionals I met, and figuring out my own shit with this girl, and overall enjoying the view from cloud nine.
Just settled down in Lawton, OK near Ft. Sill where I'll be working for a year. OKC is quite surprisingly a super cool town, spent a day or two there after our 3-day road trip from NYC. I've got two weeks in preventative quarantine doing nothing but taking free-to-cheap online classes off of UDemy to try to maintain some semblance of intellectual stimulation. Also learning my way around Ableton. There's a blood drive across the street from my apartment complex this Friday, so I'm throwing a post-blood-donation party at my apartment to make friends and see who passes out first. This is my roommate's fat fuck of a rabbit. His name is SGT Pepper. He gives me life in the morning. This is all the books I threw in a box to bring with me from home. If you want to read one, pm me for a book exchange. While moving I found a Ziploc full of letters and postcards I've received and kept over my years at school. Some of them are from the Hubsquad, and I doubt I ever replied via mail, so I'm going to try to do that this week.. but I haven't seen or heard from lil in a minute and I fear she's moved since she sent me one.
These are the sorts of stories that I dream to make my own one day. Absolute kick-assery. (P.S. I think I'm getting family fever)
Hey friendos, I’m here (thanks steve!) in my own capacity. I actually check hubski instinctively on a daily basis, like I would reddit or facebook. I haven’t heard from galen in a moment though, but I know he’s kicking ass in school abroad last I heard, and I’m rooting for him. I check Hubski like I’d pop into a room to check on a group of people: “Hey, yall doing alright? you need anything? Cool, have fun.” Im active in spurts because its only every once in a while that I have to bring someone a glass of water, so to speak. Or, I’m having the kind of day where I need to take a knee and see what’s going on outside of my head; I pop over to a room where I can rely on many users doing their best to be their version of a good person. There was a time when I was posting, sharing and commenting all day long (sometimes on alias accounts) and was always given a healthy combo-dose of guidance and encouragement. I just don’t have the luxury to commit to that right now, but I highly doubt the site is at any a loss if some of the hubsquids in my “peer group” dont saturate the feed. edit: since I’m already in this thread and have yet to be muted by our benevolent developer megamind, I think no magnitude of algorithmic glory and website-design strategy will accomplish the key task of growth in numbers, or depth of field (both vertically in value of content/users and horizontally in range of content/users). Good marketing and good luck will do that as you likely just have to knock enough heads against the site to stick ones that are tensile enough to hold on. All your vision for a philosophically and mechanically perfect site does accomplish has already long been achieved on Hubski... a kick-ass site full of meaningful content that people love. If you’re feeling doldrums, slap a decent throwback-to-quality-content mechanism on this site and indulge in the insane amount of valuable thought people put on this platform.
It's official, my roommate lost everything gambling on cryptocurrency. He went 80% of his savings and cash in on a two-week-old coin that turned out to be a scam. The other 20% is tied up in a crypto ponzi scheme that he was sure would give him steady returns, except he is unable to ever pull out. Him and some other kids in my company are now "investing" with a guy named Teeka Tiwari who runs a pump-and-dump scheme out of Florida on coins with very low market caps. Oh and they owe him a couple grand each per annum for his, uh, financial guidance? Anyway, I'm finally going home for the first time since the summer on 4 days of Thanksgiving leave. Taking my mom to the Met for an opera, catching up w friends in my hometown/NYC, and being irresponsible with alcohol. Also, haven't smoked cigarettes in a month!
I recently got back on as well. Good to hear from ya buddy.
As of some memos pushed out from on high, and two or three briefs in the last 24 hours, it seems (edit: in my personal opinion) that the Army (idk about the rest) has come to a consistent and correct page on this. Unfortunately that's all I can say about it but trust that, as an apolitical body, we seem to be standing fast against the political agents that would like us to break that habit. Couple guys lost their jobs or used their blessing of retirement in defense of that, too.
Here is how the presentation went (without excuses), and here are my key takeaways. Here's how I intend to do on the next one now that I have experience from the presentation. Here's how I plan to achieve my intention. Fast-forward to each step in the plan. Here's how I executed my plan. Fast-forward to the next presentation. Here's how I kicked ass in the next presentation. Command the conversation away from what just happened by discussing it in terms of implications for the future. Set yourself up for success by taking control of the future outcome.
i'm IN.
If there are high schoolers reading this: Get you school work done and then get out. Like, leave the house and go outside. Find friends, see things, get lost, and come back in time to be prepared to take on the next day. Read a fucking book. Get yourself in discussions and debates with people. Learn to not be an asshole. Do things you're not comfortable with. Get laid. Do what you have to do, and then go do what you want to do, whether you know its something you like or not. Anything you try that you don't like, recognize why you don't like it, and don't do it again. Don't be afraid to move from a friend group to another if your friends turn out to be toxic. That might happen a lot, it's OK. Have fun.
I am dark purple. FKA Russia. While focused on betraying some of my immediate neighbors with the help of my distant neighbors, I was betrayed by the one I never suspected so soon. For my first WebDiplomacy game and especially against other members of Hubski I lasted way longer than I should have. The personal implications of being defeated by Turks as an Armenian is another matter. Czar out.
That uniform is a half-inch thick wool coat and I sweat through it front and back lol. Holding onto it for when my future kid/s fit in for my own amusement.
We couldn't burst into laughter but god damn it the whole speech was hysterical. Amazingly, the President did not go off script save for one or two instances where we all held our breaths and prepared for a downward spiral--it never came. It seemed like he was trying his best to keep it together. And thank you, off to bigger and better things.
Ho-ly shit. Hahaha. That kid had no idea what he was getting into.
Funny article on the subject: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/opinion/mike-pompeo.html Integrity, honor and ethical leadership are a daily choice, the Academy doesn't teach us anything except how to employ the resources we have available to us, to embody those traits when we choose to do so. As much as they'd like to think so, no freak army-college hybrid can force-feed you enough kool-aid to make you a better person. Every problem set and decision is another stinking opportunity to choose the easier wrong over the harder right; the point of a place like WP is to give you ways to be shitty, less.
Just having that ability to build connections and relationships as a family for example.. I'm just counting the years until I feel prepared to be a bitchin' good dad. Nice one steve, the thought of that just killed my family fever /ssteve has 11 kids though
do everything in your power to keep her challenged and dont let her get bored. this is an awesome story, thanks for sharing.
edit: somehow I"m back! Gang my girlfriend surprised me with a visit this wknd and I've completely foregone the internet for days trying to entertain her :P I'm very sorry for forgetting. Thanks for the kick-ass game though.
One week of leave before I’m off to Ft Stewart, GA to shadow a platoon leader for a pretty badass field artillery unit. Booked every hour of the week to the absolute fullest. God I missed freedom. Hope everyone’s spirits are as high as mine :D
Met him once at some random dinner, apparently my mom used to be friends with his son. I've got a 1966 copy of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly soundtrack on vinyl in great condition. This man will always be a legend.
12AM Pubski feels wrong somehow. I suppose it's more realistic though. Going home this weekend for 3 nights. I've got a date lined up, and a party with which to kick back. I won't be bringing the date to the party. Just happy to talk to a girl that isn't from my school-- they're very strange here. It might be worth an hour of therapy in advance of my date to avoid unloading myself on that poor girl. e- dont be gross you know what I mean
1 cup iced coffee 1/4 cup milk 1/2 cup rum Am I doing this right?
Branched FA! Going to Ft. Sill, OK for BOLC until about August 2021 and then Ft. Wainwright, AK for 2-3 years. After that, no way to tell as of now. I'm heading back to WP in a few days to help facilitate their basic training until late August. It'd be a privilege to touch base with you if you're ever in any of these areas, by the way.
Got an A on a big Philosophy paper. I argued that the Earth is flat.
That sounds agreeable to say the least. Yeah, this was pretty stupid.It should cut down on members of the military attending protests and inevitability getting caught.
What do you think?