The Tube Daze Blog
Friday, January 9, 2009 at 6:41PM 09JAN09:
So, here's a hypothetical situation: A co-worker comes up to you and asks a simple question like, "When does season 5 of Lost start up?" You then e-mail this co-worker the following link:
You then twirl your imaginary handlebar moustache.
Here is the main site where you generate your links:
Go there. It is self explanatory and cracks me up every time.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 11:03PM 07JAN09: So, yesterday I got the new episode up, and coincidently three years ago yesterday was the day I transferred off the Georgia. If only I could go back and warn Young Pat as he was skipping off the brow, whistling effing dixie! But, alas, I cannot.
I remember being so happy and optimistic of the future! Much like I feel right now...hmmmm...
Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 3:21AM Happy New Year! I just uploaded the new episode, and I hope you enjoy it.
I'm backed up on e-mail again, but I will get to your messages as quickly as I can! I have gotten lots of ideas for Join the Navy*, and please keep them coming.
Some updates: I will be officially transferring from recruiting on 16JAN09! I sometimes stop and wish I could have the last three years of my life back, but it was for the best, because now...well, you'll see.
I will be moving the studio into its first office in Kingston, WA on the 26th. For those of you around other parts of the planet, Kingston is about twenty minutes north of Naval Base Kitsap - Bangor. I will be updating the site with more information about the office this week. Thanks to all the Fan Sponsors that are helping me pay the bills! *hint*hint*givememoney*cough*please*
I am working hard on Hey, Shipwreck to get the Second Season DVD out by the end of March, which will also help with the bills.
My return to the "Actual Navy" (as opposed to the "Contrived Navy") also means that I will be able to supply DVD's to the locals there in Kitsap County. After the 26th, shoot me an e-mail and we'll do some bid-ness. Rec committees, I can supply t-shirts and hats and mugs and all that good stuff too!
As for my orders, I will be at Trident Training Facility in Bangor for C School from JAN09 to NOV09 (that's right: November 2009). I will get to experience what shore duty is really supposed to feel like! Yay! I will pick orders to a boat there around April timeframe, as far as I have been informed.
Anyhoo, this month is going to be pretty busy for me, but things are looking way up and I look forward to making this a great year. Oh, yeah, isn't there also some sort of exam for advancement next week too...?
-Pat
Edit 06JAN09: I don't know why the time stamp and comment button is not showing up on the main page. Weird. Just click on the blog entry title to leave a comment!
Friday, December 12, 2008 at 12:07AM I will be in Bangor this weekend, and in case anyone is looking for a good stocking stuffer, I will be bringing DVD's with me. Contact me at email@tubedaze.com if you are interested. I am willing to make a house call to conduct a sales transaction!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 1:14AM Hey, everyone! Just wanted to share with you a comment that was left on my last blog entry entitled, “A Quick Update.” He claims he sounds like a dick, but I really didn’t think so. He does draw a number of conclusions based on inaccurate information and assumptions, however, so I just wanted to address his comments to assure him that things are looking up. He is obviously concerned about my well-being.
“I wanted to check out this blog because one of your old shipmates pointed me to it. Some of the cartoons are really funny... and accurate! Got to the "got a minute" blog and I pretty much had to write this:”
Thanks for the compliment! I am glad the word-of-mouth engine is still rolling along.
“I'm going to sound like a dick, what with everyone else placating your irresponsible behavior, but, that's what I do. I'm like the guy who chaired your DRB. I'm disappointed. You're a Nuke for Christ sake... the best of the best.”
Again, I didn’t get that impression at all, and like I said, I think some of your perceptions might improve with a little clarification. For instance, I’m not a Nuke ET but a Nav ET.
Also, I was having a pretty hard time, and everyone who sent me an e-mail or left a comment of encouragement has my deepest gratitude!
“One - I think your irresponsible use of alcohol probably didn't help you out a lot. I know that sometimes it's just "easier to escape" but it certainly doesn't help when you are already depressed - which you obviously are. I gave it up a while ago (used to drink like a fish) and I feel sooo much better. You might want to reflect on your alcohol abuse and determine if you think you need to seek some help.”
Thanks for the advice, and actually I asked for help last October when I posted my past struggles on my blog. And Sailors from all over the world not only left comments on the blog but also sent me e-mails with words of encouragement as well as a ton of comments and messages, which helped tremendously. About half of the correspondence has come from Chiefs, Senior Chiefs, and a couple of Master Chiefs commending me for sticking it out. Again, thanks everybody! You all rock! I haven’t had time to drink because I’ve been working on my cartoons (haven’t gotten really drunk since September), and although I said I was looking forward to getting drunk at the command conference this year, my daughter had a Christmas music presentation at her school on the night the recruiters usually hit the town, so I went to that instead.
“2 - You seem to be a glass 1/2 empty guy. Not surprising that a lot of the sympathetic comments you've gotten are probably from glass 1/2 empty guys also.”
I agree, I am very cynical, but that quality has a huge influence on my writing and social observation, and has actually done me a lot more good than bad. Also, as I mentioned above, half of the words of encouragement came from the Chief’s community, active and retired. I was having a very tough time, I let everyone know, and you guys pulled through for me!
“Retiring from the Navy as a 1st after 20 means that you were either very unlucky on test/boards/your rate was locked up, or you were a pain in the ass who didn't do your job, caused your chain a lot of problems, and never stepped up to the challenge.”
Again, a little clarification is in order here. I am an eight-year First Class, and I am getting ready to take the Chief test for the second time next month. Although I struggled immensely on recruiting, on the boat I was an EP sailor who was qualified everything up to Diving Officer of the Watch. I was the LPO of my division for a year before I transferred and I still keep in touch with a bunch of the guys I served with. I also designed three official Navy command logos, which was so cool!
“How do you think your chain on the boat would react if you didn't get your weekly maintenance done? Putting people in the Navy is what you were getting paid to do. Not doing it is not an option. You seem to think it is.”
This is one topic on which I respectfully disagree with you. I do not agree that we should treat the deppers and applicants like they are pieces of equipment that need to be troubleshot or need maintenance performed upon. I have heard this analogy many times on recruiting, and I will continue to disagree with it. We work with people, not machines. A machine on the boat we can control. If there is maintenance to be done, we pull out the procedure and complete it. If a piece of equipment breaks, we pull out the procedure and fix it. Machines are predictable. People are dynamic and volatile, and a person’s decision to join the Navy is a culmination of years and years of absorbing information and stimuli and really has very little to do with us recruiters.
And on the topic of jobs being optional, leaders are paid to inspire, influence, and motivate, and not attempt to instill fear, manipulate, or intimidate. Is that an option out here on recruiting?
The one thing that we do have control of as recruiters, I talk about with the next point:
“Oh, by the way, I have done 2 tours in recruiting - very successful. I'm not a salesman either (I'm a Nuke) but I look at what I imagine my life would have been like had I not joined the Navy, then I compare it to what I have accomplished in the Navy, and I "LIKE" what the Navy has allowed me to do. That enthusiasm comes out when I talk to people. I can still tell them about the "sucky" parts but "in my mind and attitude" the sucky parts have been worth it for the things my career has allowed me to accomplish. That also comes out and people can see that I believe that I'm better off than I would have been even though some of it hasn't been a lot of fun.”
You speak of PMA. A Positive Mental Attitude. This is the one tool you need to be a successful recruiter. All the admin and gimmicks, i.e. RTools, Planners, SMART, STEAM, PATE, Goal Recap Sheets, Phone Power, Area Maps, etc, is all garbage. If you go out into your community and speak to everyone while exuding PMA, then you will do great.
My problem: I can’t fake that. I wear my emotions out on my sleeve. If you want me to have PMA, then put me in a genuinely positive environment. If I am in a negative environment, I will have NMA (haha, I just made that up!) If you have NMA on recruiting, you will take it up the ass! (Get it? NMA? Enema? Whoa, I’m on a roll. I think I’m going to use that.) I actually did well this past year on recruiting mainly because I finally had a leader, an A-Ganger, who inspired me to want to work hard so that I was able to earn his respect and approval in return. I was still experiencing personal problems, but he was aware and acknowledged what I was going through, which helped a great deal. This leader was able to draw out my PMA and I improved. I was still cynical and snarky, but I was finding people who wanted to join the Navy! I would have done even better if it wasn't for...well, I'll just save that story for another day.
With that said, congratulations on your dual recruiting successes!
“I go back home once in a while and see my friends doing the same ol' thing, sitting on the same ol' barstools, never been anywhere or seen anything... that would have been my life! I'll take the life I have, any day.”
Here’s my dilemma: I’m not comparing my Navy experience to sitting on a barstool and doing the same ol’ thing. I am comparing my Navy experience to pursuing my childhood dream of making a living with my artwork. I think it’s a teensy bit different, and thankfully I’ve discovered a way to pursue my art career while I’m still in the Navy. (Already looked into cross-rating to MC, and they are CREO group 3, lucky bastards.) And truthfully, I do feel animosity at the fact that the Navy claims many of the hours I could be honing and improving my art skills, but I do it because it is a smart choice for me. I don’t have to act as if I like it, but I do it.
“You probably won't agree. That's OK! I've tried; sometimes successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully to get "good kids" like you back on track and making lemonade out of lemons. It's all about attitude.”
I have really only disagreed on a couple of your points so far, with the rest of them understandable, albeit somewhat presumptuous. That’s OK! Hopefully now you are able to read my blog entry with a more open mind.
“All any of your leaders want is loyalty and for you to give it your best effort. If you reflect and are honest with yourself, you didn't do that. "I hate recruiting", "the Navy sux", yada, yada, yada. I'm not surprised no one was excited to join the Navy after meeting you.”
The leader I have had for most of this last year has my loyalty, I gave him my best effort, and I had my best year out here. He operates with integrity, he is honest, he puts his people before any personal gain, he understood and acknowledged my individual ambitions, and he leads by example. That is all any subordinate wants out of a leader. When I got it, I improved! I guess I need to learn to perform for leaders who don’t exhibit the above qualities. I shall work on that!
And actually, I have had quite a few deppers that were pretty excited to go, and they appreciated my candor and honesty. In fact, I will be a student at TTF Bangor with one of them next year, which will be a blast!
“Anyway, nuff said! You will probably disregard this advice as coming from one of those "lifer" guys who are "poor leaders". So be it - the kids who have worked for me don't think so!”
Not at all! Don’t give it a second thought!
“On the other hand, maybe you will read this, reflect, and point some, if not most of the blame for your career and marriage problems - sorry about your mom (obviously not your fault) where they belong... "on you and your behavior".”
Again, clarification: I never administered any blame for my personal problems. I was simply informing everybody what was going on, for informational as well as therapeutic purposes. I think I’m entitled to be human and struggle through hard times just like everybody else, and I have done a lot of self-reflection. And my career is booming! The feedback I get from my cartoon is just overwhelming and motivating, and I am very thankful for the success that I have achieved! Couldn’t have done it without all you guys!
Thanks for the consideration about my mom, and don’t forget to keep my dad, my unborn child, and my wayward brother in your thoughts.
“If so, maybe you can make some changes to your attitude and your behavior that will result in you getting back on track and able to start liking the person you see looking back at you in the mirror in the morning.”
Hey, I get to share my artwork with tons of people! My cartoons are becoming a part of submarine culture! People openly appreciate my creativity! People tell me that I help them and raise their spirits! I have a beautiful daughter! What’s not to like? I like the person looking back at me in the mirror so much, I want to take him behind the middle school and get him pregnant…
“Just my two cents,
ETCM Surface Nuke”
Have a fine Navy day, Master Chief! Thanks for taking the time to write, and don’t worry. I think I’m going to make it, thanks to the coolest, smartest, best-looking maternal copulators on the planet. Bye, Mister Narwhal!
-Pat
