Hey. Remember me?

Its been a long time. Blogger says my last post was on October 11... Not that I haven't had anything to write about -- quite the contrary, actually -- I've just been absurdly busy. Still, its good to be back. While I wish I had some cohesive story to tell, I think much of what I've got for tonight is collections of unrelated thoughts. But who knows? Maybe something interesting will come out.

1. A 30-year old child. I realized that working with my post-doc, Sam, is a lot like working with a small child. Albeit, a brilliant small child. He plays on his computer a lot, likes to stay up late, walks away in the middle of a conversation, and is easily distracted by loud noises and shiny things. That said, I think he makes me laugh more than any other person I know... but I don't think he means to. Anyhow, we wrote a review article together and submitted it last Friday for publication (my first!). English is not Sam's first language... same can be said for my professor. So, we have some interesting phrases in our article. Despite my strong objections and best efforts, it reads exactly like it was written by a pair of Asians. They don't seem to appreciate the use of pronouns, compound sentences, or subject-verb agreement (Sam: "It is not necessary. Does it change the meaning of what we are saying? No. It is okay to use the same word 4 times in one sentence. It is scientific writing.") I think my patience has developed a lot. Its hard to work with someone who reminds you of a child, yet can still tell you you're always wrong.

2. All is fair in Love and War. Don't ask me how I came to this point, because I'm not sure I know. Anyhow, in warfare, perhaps the two most contrasting strategies are a war of attrition versus maneuver warfare. In a war of attrition, opposing armies attack each other in relatively direct fashion (think WWI and - to an extent - WWII). Toe-to-toe, they slug it out with great loss of life and collateral damage. In the end, there will be a decisive winner, but for the most part, both parties are wrecked. Contrast this with maneuver warfare. Here, time is utilized as a weapon. The objective is to make surgical strikes on key positions to collapse the enemy's ability to effectively make war -- not necessarily destroy his troops or weapons. Momentum is gained early on, and the operational tempo is extremely demanding. By acting and making decisions faster than the enemy, we force him to react to us and cause confusion within his forces, rendering them ineffective for combat. This type of warfare, if done correctly, comes with minimal loss of life. A "clean" war, if there ever can be one (think First Gulf War).

Here's the issue. With a war of attrition, both parties are decimated by the end, but there is a decisive winner. The loser simply is no longer capable of continuing the war due to insufficient supplies, troops, etc. With maneuver warfare, both armies are - for the most part - largely intact. The loser simply cannot function as a cohesive unit, and thus loses the war. The point is, despite losing the war, their military is not destroyed and within a short time, things are back to normal. There has to be a middle ground, where loss of life is minimized, yet the opposing force is defeated with sufficient decisiveness as to not present a threat following extraction of allied forces.

I see romance as being similar (and perhaps this is why I don't have a girlfriend...). The "war of attrition" would be where two people meet, become friends, and over a long period of time decide they have "feelings for each other." It takes forever, and while there is the definite relationship, both people are drastically changed by each other during this long ascent to togetherness. Contrast this with a "maneuver warfare" model. The two may know each other, but are not close. Then rapid action on the part of one leads to a relationship. Again, there is the success of a relationship, but both people are largely unchanged from where they were to begin with... they're just in a relationship.

Okay... really I have no point. It just seems like a middle ground would be best here as well.

3. iMasochist? I realized I have a love/hate relationship with both the Marines and with grad school. I can simultaneously be proud of what I am doing, yet despise the institution with every fiber of my being. This quickly degenerates into me thinking I may actually have legitimate masochistic tendencies. I dunno... it made for a long day.

4. And then, the attacks come. Despite all the cynical things I have been known to say, life right now is really pretty good. Research is going well, I'm recognized as a solid leader in my Marine unit, and I even have something which could be vaguely considered a "social life." Honestly, it makes me happy... and surprises me. I don't actually remember things being this good in my life for a long time. I remember driving in my jeep... yesterday, I think... and wondering how long this was going to last. Well, apparently until today. Welcome back to reality.

5. What?! My cousin is engaged. I found out on facebook.

There's always more to say, but not always time to say it. As such, I'll just wrap up for the evening. A hot shower is sounding pretty good and my bed is looking more comfortable by the minute.

Cheers.