Did you know..

My right arm is dead. Arm rest, my ass!

My family turned on country music, for the folksy ambiance I suppose, as they prepare to leave. While I would usually object to such aural attack, it just seems so..I'm not going to protest it. I found some sympathetic, sadly. But I don't plan to make it a habit. They seem to have left it on though. I won't stand for that. Well, I will, because I'll have to if I want to turn it off. Then I will sit back down.

Last night I dimmed the lights and listened to songs full of sad things. That is the proper script, no?

Playing lots of FreeCell, also. Twenty-three games so far today. I watched my mom play it when I was little and could never figure it out. I could get maybe three cards up, eight if i was really lucky. I'd just dig to the aces with no strategy and dig to the next one if I could before I ran out of space to put them. There's a strategy to it. It wasn't until I watched my grandmother play it when I visited them in Germany that I realized this. I wasn't paid a great deal of attention while I was there; they were understandably busy. Unable to traverse, my chief diversions became practicing, listening to music while homesick, and playing FreeCell. I played at least 50 games while I was there. I win about half of them now, with my streak record being 9 wins. It's an intriguing game and my common goto when I want to turn off my brain. Something stood out to me when I was reading the Wikipedia article about it, you know, because I'm weird like that.

FreeCell is a solitaire card game superficially similar to Klondike. However, it is thought of as a game of skill and strategy, not luck. Although implementations vary, all hands in common software versions of FreeCell have been beaten except for Game #11982.^[1], which has been proven to be unsolvable. This is in contrast to Klondike and other solitaire games where many hands are unwinnable even if the player's moves are flawless.

The thing about some games being unwinnable. I don't know. I was struck by the truth in the statement. Even if the player's moves are flawless.

Also, did you know that adultery is a Category 3 Moral Offense as classified by the United States Air Force? A Category 3 Moral Offense voids the eligibility of a recruit unless waived by a squadron commander. I'm not sure what would happen if you committed adultery after enlisting, but given the emphasis on character traits in this pdf I imagine it's taken quite seriously. I was trying to find out exactly what to do preparation-wise to qualify to enlist regarding my ADHD. I perused the army website, and I must say: it is produced much better than the Air Force's website, which is all annoyingly Flash-y. I suppose I'll have to talk to a recruiter to answer that question, although word of mouth tells me it's something in the range of six months abstained. Also to find out what bonuses there are for being an eagle scout and the college courses I've taken thus far, assuming I don't take more.
I never really looked into this option before because I knew Kirsten wouldn't be able to deal with it and wouldn't want to put her through any of it. The military is incredibly pro-family, but it can't ever remove the inherent occupational hazard of a soldier's life. And I don't think it'd be fair of me to drag someone through that. I have an uncle who's a career officer. His family's lived all over, relocating as necessary, which the military provides compensation for. But every few years, that's got to be rough on children being yanked up. When I visited them on that same Germany trip, they went to school on base, so they had peers in a similar situation. I'm glad I never moved as a child--the one time within the same school boundaries doesn't really count. I'm not that good at making new friends, or retaining them, I suppose. Hell, my family doesn't even like me that much; they liked Kirsten better. I am certain of this in a least one instance, of a possible five. I always had the feeling people tolerated me to have her around, with the aura of baked goods and pleasant agreeableness she brought. They referred to her as my better half, as the adage goes. Too often I think there was an literal implication in those words.

My mom wants me to take a Thursday night class with her at PCC. I may take her up on it. Those days just became wide open.

I also found this article interesting. Probably because of all the mentions of stress and breaking points. You don't need to read it, it won't be that interesting of a metaphor.