Who am I? And Why am I Here?

Hi, everyone .... or everyone reading this! My name is Chuck Dawson. Most of my friends and family call me "Chuckie", but there are others that address me as "ChuckD" or "C-Dawg". The latter originally came from my former step-son. His mom and I are divorced now, but the nickname stuck.

As I stated in my profile bio, I am originally from Florida and just recently moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The job market in Central Florida is very grim, as compared to the rest of the nation. I just felt like it was time to leave, because in all honesty, I never really liked my home state very much anyway. I often said, "One day, I will leave Florida again." Unfortunately, I also frequently told people "one day" never comes. Well, one of my "one day"'s came, and I'm quite proud and pleased about that fact.

"So, why Oklahoma? Why Tulsa?", you may ask. Quite simply, the job possibilities are ten times greater here. Additionally, I have a few friends here in Oklahoma, and one in Tulsa needed help with many things around her house, such as repairs and renovation. I'm no contractor, but I know a thing or three about home improvement and whatnot. Therefore, I am in the process of rebooting my life in a strange land. What an adventurous risk, yes?

Also as I stated in my profile bio, I was in the Navy for nine years, or ALMOST nine years. I enlisted into the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) while I was still a senior in high school. I went active on September 11, 1989. (Ironic date, huh?) I went to boot camp in San Diego and to two technical schools at Mare Island, CA. I served aboard two ships and one shore command in Southeast Virginia. On my first ship, I was in the Persian Gulf for over 19 months, which I grew to love. I discharged on July 6, 1998 as a Second Class Petty Officer, or an E-5, which is the same as a Sergeant in the Marines. I stayed in Virginia until January 2007, at which time I returned to my home state.

Now, if one isn't wondering why I'm here on Hubpages, I might think that to be a bit odd, but I'm here because I love to write. I mostly write poetry, which six of my poems have been published. However, I do write prose as well. In fact, one of my Navy buddies stated that my prose was far better than my poetry, but he's been the only one to say that. I love to write essays. I sometimes venture into a short story, and I've been working off and on these last four years on my first novel. So, it just made sense to find a new outlet (meaning "other than Facebook") to share my writing.

Reader: Yeah, Chuck, but why HubPages?

Well, as I was going through job listings on Monster, I came across this entry for HubPages. I'm a bit of a curious cat. So, I came to look. I don't know exactly how any of this works, but if nothing else, I have a place to share my thoughts on many things. And that brings me to my main intent with this outlet. I plan on most of my "hubs" to be about being a military veteran dealing with civilian work practices and also about being a transplant from the East Coast to the Dust Bowl.

So, if any of this might interest you, come on back and read. Also, when it comes to my writing, I have pretty thick skin. So, all comments are welcome, because quite honestly, my biggest goal about writing is to get better. Writing is my one passion, and I plan to master it one day. .... oh, there's that "one day" again. .... Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope to see you around the Hub.

So, what you read above was originally published June 23, 2012, and much has happened in the last 14+ months. The following could be considered reboot 5.2.

After many months of searching, I found a pretty decent job with a third-party logistics company as a forklift operator. After some time adjusting to the new "office culture" and using clamps in place of forks, I was pretty good at it. Unfortunately, there were no advancement possibilities in the foreseeable future, and the schedule was quickly becoming a "burnout" situation. I would admit that the people were alright though. I got on well with many of them. Still, it was maybe time to at least start looking and putting the feelers out there for something better.

Also, my personal life was not going well either. My former roommate (and now ex-friend) and I starting fighting all the time. She overheard my conversation with another friend in which I had vented the frustration of her being high maintenance due to her constantly seeking my attention, especially when I was never really inclined to give that said attention. Well, her feelings got hurt, and my sincere apology wasn't enough. The tension in the house got to be too much. Plus, I got to the point that I felt that I was paying too much for "room and board". I won't go into the details of that, but by a happy chance, a former co-worker suggested that I move in with her. The amenities and quality of life would be better, and I would pay far less for it too. It looked like I could actually start making headway in improving my life and lifestyle. Unfortunately, that door slammed shut before I could go through it.

On the bright side, when one door closes or slams shut, another door tends to open. An old high school friend of mine had just retired from the Air Force and lives in Oklahoma City. She offered to take me in and help me. The overall goal was for me to find a job so that I could really get some traction and have a personal life without the drama of an immature and selfish woman trying to impose her delusions upon me just because I lived under her roof.

That's pretty much where it stands now. I found a position in another third-party logistics company where I use more of my innate talents. I'm not using all of them, but upward mobility is better. However, the best part of moving to OKC is the lack of drama in my personal life. I am actually making slight progress, instead of remaining stagnant or losing ground. So, we'll see what the near future holds for me.