You might have noticed...

And now for your regularly scheduled programming...

Or maybe not. As anyone who reads me on a regular basis may have noticed, Over the last month my posts have changed. Fewer rabid rants and more summaries of my kayak trips.

Frankly, I like the change. After a ten-plus-mile paddle, or a slog through heavy surf around Dauphin Island and Gulf Shores, it's tough to drag up the energy to be pissed off. I find myself too tired and exhilarated by the exertion and by the natural beauty of the local wetlands to be bothered by the fact that I'm still surrounded by idiots.

Kayaking, the fulfilling niche hobby I have sought for a long time, does not tell the entire tale of my recent upsurge in optimism. Life is changing for the better in many areas:

1. At long last, I am in college full-time. No more attempts to squeeze classes in between arduous flight and deployment schedules.

2. I'm free of the crummy job and its minimum-wage, hazardous materials, lack of company-provided PPE, disregard for employee safety and wellbeing, and condescending dickhead private pilots.

3. I'm finally beginning to feel comfortable out of uniform. It would be nice to let go of the mindset, I'm scaring the other freshmen. Weenies.

4. Generally having a sense of purpose helps. The last year or so in the Marines, when I committed myself to getting out, and the months since I received my DD214, I really had no clue what to do with myself. It's starting to make more sense.

This doesn't mean I'm not still pissed off by certain things, I'm just holding my tongue. Here's a brief slip:

-Trump/O'Donnell: Who the hell cares? Quit feeding their egos through excess media coverage and they'll shut up.

-109th Congress: Bipartisanship my ass! Say "Hi" the new boss, same as the old boss.

-Jockeying for '08: Kee-Riced, we can't even get a break from campaign gossip in the off-years!

-New Orleans crime wave/curfew: Surprise! Nagin still has no clue how to run his city.

-Insurance companies: People pay premiums for decades in some cases. When push comes to shove, hurricane-style, Allstate, State Farm etc. bail on their policy-holders. It's a messed-up world where insurers are more beholden to their stockholders than to their policy-holders. Same goes for healthcare providers. G--, I'm glad I'm insured by USAA.

These are among other things I see and have, yet normally hold, my opinions on. I have too many other things going on.