What's New?

Hey there, fellow bloggers! It's been a month since my last post, so I'm taking Marky's lead: it's time to pull over, sit my butt down and hammer somthing out. So, what's new? Well, I am currently sitting in an airport in Memphis, waiting on my flight back to Dallas. I had to take a quick trip to Florida to handle some business, and my return trip consists of flying from Sarasota to Atalnta to Memphis to Dallas. Ugh! What a long, miserable day.

On a more pleasant note, I am pleased to report that I'm an official, card-carrying student at UTA. I am registered for Calculus1, Physics 1 and a communications class this fall. How exciting! I've never actually GONE to college before. My General Studies bachelor's degree was really just a bunch of correspondence exams, and my MBA from U of Phoenix was done online. I actually get to sit through a real college class! I'm sure the excitement will wear out after my first homework assignment...

Work is going good. I'm now in charge of maintaining the equipment that make Lay's and Ruffles potato chips. I manage the day to day ongoings of the mechanics on my shift and cover emergency calls for the entire plant, and I coordinate, plan and schedule long term projects for my equipment. Fun stuff.

Life is good, and the debt is slowly abating. I really took a hit during my three months off work (drained my down payment for house down to nothing!) but we're looking to recover and buy our first home in November. Yay for us!

So, how're yall doin'? Let's here it, folks!

-Sailor Matt

I'm a Maverick

It's official. The letter came in the mail today. I've been officially accepted for admission to the 2009 fall semester at University of Texas at Arlington (UTA).

I'm a Maverick!

So what will my first courses be at UTA? Good question. Right now, I'm planning on Calculus, Physics 1 (with lab) and a third class, yet to be determined. It's gotta be easy, though, because I'll be working full time.

One of us has graduated, another is in the midst of college and I am just starting... it's like the circle of life among bloggers.

Cheers!

-Sailor Matt

It's a Man's Night tonight, baby!

These moments are few and far between, but they are such a sweet indulgence that they are worth the wait. Tonight, my friends, is Man's Night. The wife, you see, is off attending a ladies-only party tonight, which leaves me home alone to do whatever I wish. Tonight I wish to eat chinese food from Panda Express, enjoy a tasty brew and watch a manly man's movie: Beowulf.

You may question the appropriateness of the plastic fork in this carefully organized ensemble, but I assure you that the presence of this plastic fork, despite the abundant availability of dining utensils in my home, is critical- nay, essential- to fully indulge in the Man's Night experience. So for now, I shall bid you adieu. It's time to eat.

-Sailor Matt

I'm single-handedly suppressing our economy

The media storm surrounding this world-wide economic problem has really thrown me into a tizzy. That's right, I said it- a tizzy. I mean, on the one had we have financial advisors reprimanding banking institutions (and indirectly, the public) for their overzealous mortgage approval rates. We've all been spending, spending, spending, and the credit companies of the world have been fueling the fire. Ok, so we should be less spend-crazy. I get that. On the other hand, expert economists tell us that the people have lost faith in the capitalist process. It's going to take time for people to feel comfortable enough to re-invest in our economic future, and to buy houses and cars and big-screen TVs. The problem won't fix itself until we spend more. Well, OK... that makes sense, too, but trying to spend more while financing less puts me in a bit of a mind-poop.

Financially, I'm a conservative guy. I haven't always been, but I'd like to say that I've been on the straight and narrow the last five or so years. Nothing goes on a credit card- ever. The wife and I spend $12 a day on food and household supplies. My wife's car is 10 years old, and I plan to keep my own car that long. We never go out to eat. Picking up Taco Bell for dinner is a real treat for us. We don't buy DVDs, share matching iPods or carry crackberries with uber-cellular service. As far as consumers rate, we suck pretty bad. Am I suppressing the economy? I could easily afford a big-screen TV and the finance charges that come with it. I could buy that 2009 Challenger that looks really cool, or finally get a laptop that doesn't suck total butt. But I'm saving my money, and I feel bad about that. Other people need my money, and I'm not sharing. So yeah, it's my fault.... sorry guys.

Sometimes, however- when I'm feeling really bad about the whole thing- I sneak over to Starbucks and buy a tall latte.

-Sailor Matt

Finally, some peace

Work has been a bit hectic the last few months because I was in what they call the "on-boarding" phase, or the training cycle. I was following people around, learning their jobs and entirely dependent on their schedules. Some worked 1st shift, others 2nd, and one guy worked 3rd. I haven't been able to settle into a routine, and most importantly, I haven't been in control of my own time. As of this last Monday, I started my own shift (2nd shift), and I am free to spend my time as I see fit.

So, now that I have a steady schedule and am now in control of my own time, what lies in my future? First off, I intend to enroll in classes at Univeristy of Texas at Arlington in the Fall (which starts in August) and take my first steps toward completing an Electrical Engineering degree. Second, I intend to update my blog a bit more regularly (like I used to). Third, I am going to write my book and post it on Authonomy, a site recommended by friend Captain Joe. I'll keep you posted on my progress, and hope to have something readable by my birthday (August).

Cheers, people, and best wishes!

-Sailor Matt

Firefly, etc.

I've owned the TV series Firefly for well over a year now, having purchased it with a Target gift card I received for Christmas in 2007, and until now I still hadn't watched it. I knew all the chatter- I heard all about how it's one of the greatest science fiction television shows ever created, but still I procrastinated (take note, Mr. Logan). One major issue is that I don't like to just throw on a show in the afternoon. I need to set the mood, to create an experience out of it. It's almost like I'm taking the show out on a date. There usually needs to be food, hopefully a desert included, and preferably some alcohol as well (I love my craft beers). If I don't take the time to make this viewing an actual 'event', I feel like I'm just turning it on because I have nothing else to do, which makes me feel like I'm wasting my time, which I utterly hate. HATE. HATE!

So, I never got around to watching Firefly, specifically because my prime TV-watching time is in the evening with my wife, and she would never ever ever want to watch a silly sci-fi show like Firefly (she actually tells me this)- although, for some reason, she enjoys Heroes and Lost. Go figure. An interesting thing, though... her cousin told her a while back that she thinks she'd probably like the show because it's not your typical sci-fi/Star Trek-ish kind of stuff. So, my wife finally agrees to watch Firefly with me. Additionally, this coincides with our 'pizza night', which is an extra, doubley awesome bonus! You see, every Saturday night the wife and I spend time together making a homemade pizza, and since nothing good is ever on TV on Saturday evenings, we usually watch TV series DVD's: We've seen the first two seasons of Rome (which are phenomenal) and the first two seasons of Eureka, and now we're watching Firefly. Somebody pinch me, I think I'm dreaming!

Sadly, we're creeping up on the end of Firefly, with only two episodes left. We usually catch two episodes a night, so we've got next week covered. Then we have the movie Serenity, which will cover the week after that. Which TV series will the wife and I pick up next? We both really like Big Love, so that may be a possibility, and her brother definitely recommends Deadwood, so we might try that. True Blood is definitely on the list, but I'm not sure if season one is out yet...

Anyway, there you have it- another little glipse into my quaint life. Take care, friends!

-Sailor Matt

What have you been up to lately?

The days have been all sorts of busy, friends. Two weeks ago I worked 2nd shift, and last week I switched to days. I worked yesterday (Saturday) afternoon, and I go in again tonight (Sunday) at 9:00. I work 3rd shift all next week, then back to days for a week after that, then I start my permanent shift assisnment on 2nd shift. So that's that.

I've decided to take three college classes in August: Calculus I, Spanish I and Physics I. In order to keep up with the course load while going to school full time, it's important that I pick up with my calculus and spanish self-study plan, which fell by the wayside a few weeks ago. So, I shall continue the self-study plan with renewed vigor.

My writing has been neglected, but I'm hoping that after my training cycle at work comes to an end next month, I'll have more time to refocus my efforts in that arena.

I plan for this week to be a flurry of productivity, bringing all of my programs back online, so to speak. The frustrating part of the last month has been the training cycle at work: most of my time was spent inefficiently waiting for someone else, so I could see how they do their job.

On a different note, I figured I'd share with you guys the most delicious treat of all time. Behold:

They're like three bucks a box, but eating one is an amazing experience. Try one today!

Cheers!

-Sailor Matt

*Crawls out from under rock*

Hey guys! Where've ya been?

See, that's how I try to make it sound like it's not MY fault that this blog hasn't been updated in a while...

So, now that you're back, here's what you've been missing:

My new place of employment runs a very hectic schedule! Trying to learn everything I need to know is like drinking from a fire hose! The first two months of my employment is strictly an "onboarding" process, where I meet with each element of the business operation and learn a bit about their job. I won't actually be taking on my maintenance manager role until sometime in April. Allow me to illustrate:

Despite the hectic life of this "company man," however, I have recently gained a renewed inspiration to complete my writing project, and will hopefully be able to share something with you guys in a few months.

In the mean time, I've only this to say:

"Roaaarrrrrr!"

-Sailor Matt

Why hello, how are you?

Heya folks! I just wanted to let y'all know that I'm still alive, and doing good. The new job's great, although the learning curve is pretty steep! Additionally, I have some family in town this week, so the schedule's been doubly hectic. I'll post again soon (prolly this weekend) about various things, and look forward to catching up on each of your blogs, where relevent.

Toodles!

-Sailor Matt

My New Job

The job hunt for me has been a very painful process. I've been unemployed the last three months, and the strain on our finances has been stressful. When I got out of the Navy in November, I anticipated a little lag in the job market due to the upcoming holidays, but the economic crash reared its ugly head and dropped a wet blanket on my job-hunting party. Sure, I could have stayed in the Navy until things got better, but that would have required a minimum of a 1-year commitment, and along with that the fear of being sent to Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba, or elsewhere. Additionally, I had hit the 10 year mark, half way through a military career. It was time to either get out, or stay in and make it a career. Anything else would just be spinning wheels. In fact, my wife and I felt like we'd been spinning our wheels for the last two years, just working and waiting for the day I got out.

So, our lives are no longer on hold. It's time for us to make a fast and furious break into the civilian world! Getting a job wouldn't be difficult, I thought. I've got ten years experience in electronics maintenance, operations management, leadership, Lean Six Sigma (process improvement stuff), project management (almost have my PMP cert), quality assurance inspection and management, and an MBA/Technology Management degree. I've managed the 24-hour operations of a calibration lab at sea- 21 technicians across two shifts, 12 hours each, seven days a week. Finding a civilian job should be a piece of cake!

Wrong. Frightfully wrong. I've been on a handful of interviews, and was offered one job that paid 30% less than I was making in the Navy. I turned down that offer, but was fearful that maybe I'd just passed up the only opportunity I was going to find in this economy. It had been two months by then, and my reserve stash of cash was running low. Painfully low.

Then an opportunity opened up with a snack food manufacturing company. They needed a maintenance manager, and I needed a job, so it was a good fit. I breezed through the first interview, and was invited to a second interview at the plant. They gave me (and two other candidates) a tour of the plant, and we got to sample a variety of snack chips right off the line, still warm. Delicious! Then I sat through a series of 4 interview panels, each with two interviewers. I interviewed with 8 people within two hours, and was experiencing complete mental and emotional exhaustion by the end of the process.

A week later, I was offered the job. They offered great insurance benefits, full pension plan, 401k with matching contributions, 8% annual bonus and a salary 10% above what I was making in the Navy. Unbelievable. I nearly cried. So many people are out of work... I easily could have been one of thousands waiting in line at the unemployment office, desperately looking for something, anything, that would allow me to make my rent payment this month. I am so blessed, and yet I think of those two other candidates who still need to find work...

I start work this upcoming Monday, and I'm uber excited. The last three months I've been waking up at 6:00 AM every day eager to do something, anything. I've been itching to get back to work, to be productive. Finally my wife and I can move forward in our lives. Additionally, I get to cross something off this year's list.

This picture should clue you in on a few details I've omitted. For privacy reasons, I've left out any searchable words that could prove problematic. I doubt I've written anything in these blogs that would prove harmful to my character, but employers can be fickle fairies sometimes. Anyway, they sent me some pretty cool swag:

Best of luck to each of you on your own career journeys!

-Sailor Matt

Look mom, I did my homework!

OK, the title to this post is a little silly. My mom has never in my life asked me if I'd finished my homework. But look! I have something to show you:

It's math homework! Well, it's not really homework, because that implies that someone assigned it to me, but it IS a collection of completed problems from lesson 1.1 in the Calculus book I borrowed from the library. It was long and tedious, but I'm very proud of myself for having completed it.

My current routine when I wake up every morning is as follows: read two chapters from the Bible, study one Spanish lesson from my 30-day spanish book, read one chapter from my electronics book, and complete one lesson from my Calculus textbook.

At bedtime, I read another two chapters from the bible (they're short), and I read a bit from whatever fiction book I'm running through (currently, The Subtle Knife).

I start taking college classes toward my Electrical Engineering degree in August, and I want to be prepared (I plan to take Calculus I, Physics I and Spanish I). Why am I studying the stuff now when I could just wait to learn it all during class? Reason being, I will be working full time while taking three classes, and I don't know how well I'll be able to keep up. It's my first time sitting down in a college classroom (despite having two degrees), and I fear taking three classes at once while working 40 hours might be overly ambitious. Then why am I taking so many? Good question. Here's why:

I have 24 months of college benefit (called the Montgomery GI Bill) remaining, part of my military benefit. With this benefit, I would receive a check in the mail every month while going to school. I would use that money to pay for tuition, and may still have a few hundred dollars left over each month. In August, however, this benefit changes significantly. Starting in August, the government will pay 100% of my tuition straight to the school, they will send me $1000 a year to pay for books, supplies, etc., and, if I'm going to school more than half-time, they will send me $2,000 A MONTH as a living expense stipend. That's incredible! To qualify, I have to take at least 9 credits, or three classes. How long is a semester? 4 months? That's $8,000 in my pocket... well, to put down on debt, anyway. SO... pre-learning Calculus and Spanish will help with the transition to a bricks 'n mortar college experience.

Wish me luck!

-Sailor Matt

No, I'm not homeless... but I sure look it, eh?

The reason I'm posting this picture isn't to show you how I look at 6:00 AM, after a shower, holding a strong desire to return to bed. I'm posting this picture to show you that, try as I might, I am physically incapable of growing a beard. This is a week's worth of growth on my smooth baby face. I shaved Sunday morning so I wouldn't look like a ragamuffin at Church, and while I did so I prayed silently that some day I'll be able to grow a real man's beard. Not that I want one, mind you. I just want to know that I could grow one if I wanted to. Thankfully I'm not a member of a Dwarven clan, or else I'd be dealing with a real social stigma.

Cheers.

-Sailor Matt

It's Not You, It's Me. Really.

Here's my dilemma: I fear that my harsh inner criticism has distorted the perspective of my previous post, and in doing so rendered it impossible for others to gain a clear picture of things. Part of the problem is that I left out a significant amount of information, so this is an attempt to fill in those gaps.

I loved to read when I was a child, and I especially enjoyed fantasy books. I read constantly, obsessively. I also enjoyed making up stories of my own, and excelled at writing assignments in school. When I was in 2nd grade, I wrote about two boys who buy the wrong fertilizer for their mother's garden, and spend the rest of their story battling mutant vegetables across town. My teacher was certain that I'd copied this story from somewhere, and she even called my parents in for a conference on the issue (the piece, of course, was my own original work). In fourth grade I wrote a story about a boy who could jump between worlds across time and space, and my mom sent it to a local university publisher to get his thoughts. I was told that the story was good, but it needed to be longer to be considered for a children's novel. He strongly urged that I should finish the story and come back to see him.

During this time I was also excelling at math and science, and I had dreams of becoming a scientist when I grew up. I was in special math classes by then, and in seventh grade I started attending a second school in the afternoon (Center for the Arts and Sciences- CAS) that specialized in math and science. I wanted to be a nuclear physicist. I was also very good at baseball and soccer, and had dreams of playing college sports. Additionally, I spent countless childhood hours drawing alien landscapes, castles and dragons. I loved art, and actually considered enrolling in the art program at CAS in seventh grade instead of the math & science program. I was also actively involved in music. I played the piano reasonably well and excelled on the trombone. I had dreams of being in a cool jazz band.

Somewhere down the line, each of these dreams fizzled out. Especially during my high school years, I stopped playing sports, stopped reading, stopped writing, abandoned the trombone, and barely graduated with my diploma. I was in no shape to go off to college, and began considering the military as an option.

The Navy was a life-changing experience for me. It didn't happen like the flip of a switch, but gradually I began to learn discipline and responsibility, just as the kids that were serving along side me. I worked hard, probably for the first time in my life, and began working from a new list of goals: get promotions, earn high evaluations, and get my degree. As I progressed in my career and my maturity, I added to the list: pursue my master's degree, complete the command mission with pride, guide my junior sailors to success. I even began to re-kindle my childhood love of the written word.

There were a great many things I could not do while I was in the military, and the list of things I wanted to pick up from my childhood is extensive. I've tried to indulge the inner bookworm between classes and duty assignments, and read some great books and series: Harry Potter, The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Gates of Fire, The Name of the Wind, Eragon, Neverwhere, The City of Ember, and others. I probably managed to get through 2-3 books a year, which totals roughly 20-30 books over my decade in the Navy. So, here's how I am a poser: I happy declare that I love fantasy and science fiction books, but my list of reads over the past 15 years is woefully diminutive.

Now that my education is complete and I am out of the Navy, I plan on indulging my inner sci-fi/fantasy fanhood. My minimum goals is a book a month, and my ultimate goal is a book a week. I'm so happy to be reading again! Additionally, a story I began many years ago slowly began to take solid form during my 2005-2006 deployment, and now rests at a nice 61,000 words. I just may complete that novel after all.

Thank you for bearing with me on this exhaustive post. It was very cathartic to voice the demons I carry from my long list of childhood disappointments. Although I can never go back and realize most of my dreams of youth, I can fulfill their spirit in new and exciting ways. I'll never play baseball for University of Michigan, but running a 5k race will fill the void in my soul for a sense of accomplishment in the arena of athleticism. Reading the Bible, learning Spanish, finishing my novel, reading all the books I own, learning computer programming, studying Calculus, and learning how to draw all have elements that trace back to my childhood, and accomplishments in these areas will fill large holes of disappointment in my heart.

If you have read this far, I thank you again for your patience and compassion. Have a blessed day.

-Sailor Matt

I'm Fine, How Are You?

Wow... 1/12th of 2009 has already passed by. I'm off to a great start on many of this year's goals, and I'm hopeful that a few more will drop into the (completed) category in the next two months, namely #2) Secure a well-paying job, and #3) Pay off debt to Mom. Meanwhile, I'm hard at work on some of my longer-term goals. I make a point every day to read 1/365th of the Bible (downloaded a Bible-in-a-year schedule from the Internet), study a daily lesson from my Spanish book, and a section from an electronics text book I borrowed from the library. I also make a point of partaking in a bit of fiction reading every night before bed. This is a daily step toward accomplishing a particularly ambitious goal: #20) Read all the books I own.

Goal #20 has a particularly large element of baggage attached to it. Why is that, you may ask? You probably know lots of fanatic book-readers who buy or acquire far more books than they have time to read in a year. Well, I'm not really like that. I'm really more of a non-book reader. You see, I SAY that I love to read, but I don't really read much. I buy books because I enjoy the idea of being a fantasy and science fiction book fan, but I don't really read them. Does that make any sense? I've owned Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia for 19 years, and to this day have not read either. I think I've read one book in 2008. Or was it less than that? I can't recall. Needless to say, as a fantasy/science fiction fan I'm a pretty poor example. There's a deep-rooted issue here that I still need to identify, but on the surface of it I can at least say that my lack of follow-through has resulted in me acquiring lots of books I want to read, but never really spend the time reading. I'm a sayer, not a doer. I feel pretty shallow in this way.

A lot of my demons have a common evil thread. That core thread is something difficult to put into words... Fortunately, 2009 is the year of rooting out demons! With its army of demons slain, that menacing root will have nowhere to hide :)

Bleh. I despise melodrama. Enough, I say! Where's the beer?

-Sailor Matt

A Shrine to the T-Shirt Gods

I'm a jeans 'n T-shirt kind of guy. Most of the time, anyway. Throughout the years I have accumulated a wide variety of T-shirts, and have grown quite proud of my T-shirt collection. I definitely don't have the most T-shirts, and I probably don't have the best T-shirts, but my collection is uniquely my own and I'm proud to share it. Pictures of them, anyway... I won't actually share my T-shirts. Here's a few of my favorites:












I don't normally fold my T-shirts in a square-ish fashion, but I think it presented them well.

In other news, I'm still a jobless bum but I have second interviews lined up with two companies next week. Wish me luck!

-Sailor Matt

A Perfect End to 2008...

I can't believe I forgot to tell you about my harrowing experience just before the New Year. The wife and I went out for some drinks for her friend's birthday on the Saturday after Christmas. All was well until the drive home, when I picked up a watermelon-sized nail in my tire, which promptly started to go flat on the highway. It was 1:00 AM. I was on an overpass at the time and pulled over to the right to check it out. The flat tire, unfortunately, was on the front driver's side, on the traffic side, and there was no way I could get to it without getting squashed by oncoming cars. So, I had to call a tow truck to tow me home, which took FOREVER. I didn't fall into bed until 5:00 AM. I was so pissed off!

So, this leads me a new item added to my goals of 2009: 'change a tire on my car.' You see, in all my ten years of driving, I've never actually put on a spare. I've not even had a flat tire before. This adventure reminded me of my specific shortcoming in auto maintenance skills, and it was time to fill in my knowledge gaps.

Don't get me wrong. I've seen A Christmas Story. I understand the fundamentals of changing a tire. So when I woke up the next morning, I was full of vim and vigor, eager to learn this new skill. Here's what we started with:


And here's what we ended up with:

My first tire change! So, in honor of this crowning achievement, I'm adding this to my Goals of 2009 list retroactively, and then crossing it off. I don't care that it technically occurred in 2008, I'm doing it anyway. I've also added another key knowledge area of auto maintenance to the list: change the oil in my car. Nope, haven't ever done that one, either. Wonder when I'll get to that...

-Sailor Matt

I Have Angered the Calculus Gods

My original plan was to post "normal stuff" intermingled with my 'Goals of 2009' stuff, but Logankstewart has compelled me to divert a bit. So, I am here today to answer the burning question of the ages: Why is 'Learning Calculus' on my Goals of 2009 list? Here's my gut-wrenching story...

I was an ambitious youth, and eagerly propelled myself to bigger and more challenging coursework in school. I took Algebra in 7th grade when others in my small town were doing general math, and I took geometry in 8th. In high school, I was the only freshman in my Algebra II class, and I succeeded in convincing the head of the math department to let me skip Trig or Pre-Calc and jumping straight into Calculus I as a sophmore. Where do I go from here? Community college. I took Calculus II and Calculus III during my last two years of high school, and the school district footed the bill. What a bright, shining little star I was!

But I had a dark secret. Although I was ambitious, I was also an extremely lazy son of a gun, and rarely (if ever) did homework. There was always tomorrow, or next week, or next semester to crack the books. I barely scraped by with a C in Calc I, and my Calc II grade weighed in at a D. And for Calc III, the grand-daddy of 'em all, I landed a nice, prongy E. In that last class, I would literally drive to school and sit in the parking lot, because I knew that if I went in I'd have to face the professor. What an arrogant little kid, showing up to take college classes (paid for by the school district), and he doesn't have respect enough to put in a little effort. To think I chose all that pain over the pain of doing a little homework...

This lack of discipline pervaded my entire high school career. My sister, with a severe learning disability, graduated with a higher GPA than I did. I laughed secretly at her General Math class her senior year, but at least she passed. Now she's a nurse. She's a true champion.

Oh, and I also missed the deadline for my Federal Aid application for college loans, and my 2.97 GPA certainly didn't land me any scholarships (plus, to get scholarships, you typically have to apply at a college. I hadn't done any of that, either). What to do then? I joined the Navy.

So, why do I want to learn Calculus in 2009? I feel like I owe it to myself, my parents and a lot of other people who put their trust in me, to somehow make up for my past wrong-doings. Because of their effort and support, I should know calculus right now. If I hadn't been such a lazy little deadbeat back then, I'd know calculus right now. So I'm going to fix that. I suspect the blood, sweat and tears of this journey will be cathartic. It had better be.

-Sailor Matt

To Learn Electrical Engineering: Easy As Pie

I feel that an explanation is in order for a few of my resolutions, er... goals. The motivation behind some goals are obvious: paying off credit card debt, for example. But Learning electrical engineering? There's got to be a story there somewhere.

With me, there's always a story.

Here's the short version:
I spent ten years in the Navy working on electronics. I was trained in basic and advanced electronic theory, and was responsible for the test and repair of advanced electronic systems. I earned a General Studies Bachelor of Science degree and an MBA/ Technology Management degree while on active duty, and I still have two years worth of college benefits left. With all my basic classes already out of the way, completing an electrical engineering (EE) degree would not take long, and it would add substantive heft to my resume.

That's an admirable motive, but it's also a lie. Here's the (longer) truth:
I dislike my General Studies (GS) degree. Finishing the degree was a big accomplishment for me, and allowed me to continue on in pursuit of my MBA, but it definitely was the easiest of two paths. Pursuing an EE degree is a long, drawn out endeavor, and I was more of an instant gratification kind of guy. While the EE program would have taken me four years (or more) of hard work, the GS program involved receiving a bunch of college credits based on my training in the military, and earning the rest through college level exams (pass the "History of Nazi Germany" test, you get 3 credits). Excelsior college is regionally accredited, and their tests are approved by the accreditation body, but still... I "tested out" of my college education. I earned my bachelor's degree in 9 months from 20 exams (72 credits) and 60 "job-related" credits, and it cost me $300 (the Navy paid the rest). I feel sensitive about this. I took the easy way, and I could have done better. I dislike my General Studies degree.

So, I have two years worth of college benefits left from the Navy. I can attend University of Texas at Arlington (like 5 miles away), or enroll in distance learning classes at University of North Dakota (electronics labs are done all at once over a two-week period in the summer- I'll have to fly out there). At any rate, I have the opportunity to smooth over this soft spot in my curriculum vitae, which will both help my career and restore a bit of self-esteem.

A noteworthy addendum: completing an EE degree requires full coursework in Calculus (and beyond). So why is Learning Calculus a separate item on my list of goals for 2009? Well, my friend, that's a different story...

-Sailor Matt