Glad to hear things are swinging into the positive. BTW I'm still a smartass just not now.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

I'm very glad that you're in your happy place, but...

After your last post about that bike shop, I can't believe you gave those d***heads any money. At least I hope you didn't deal with the one jerk who told you to leave.

That said, good luck with the new job, and milk your GI Bill fund dry. My only regret is that I ran out of time before I ran out of money. It expires ten years after your active duty term ends. I graduated 2 weeks before that date, but still had a few grand untapped. Side Note: More than 80% of new enlistees enroll in the GI Bill, but less than 10% ever tap it. At least that was the case in the late 90's.

One final note: Depending on your active duty dates, and the state you live in, you may find that state universities will waive your tuition. I live in MA, and by virtue of having active duty dates that include both Nicaragua and Persian Gulf, 1st Edition, I am considered a wartime vet, which means free tuition in MA(So you may think Kennedy is a liberal wanker, but at least he respects veterans). Of course, I still had to pay fees, which were more than the tuition, but it saves a lot of cash anyway.

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"So you may think Kennedy is a liberal wanker, but at least he respects veterans."

What does Ted Kennedy, a U.S. Senator, have to do with setting Massachussetts state tuition policies?

Congratulations Jon, on your new job. I am also surprised how many people there are on this site who seem to have been in similar places at some point in their lives. In my own experience, although 24 years ago, attaining meaningful, permanent employment, with career and advancement potential, was an ENORMOUS step towards regaining my personal sense of self-worth. Hope it goes as well for you. You will, I predict, be a great employee and an asset to your firm because you appreciate the opportunity you are getting, as opposed to viewing it as something society owes you just because you graduated from high school or college.

He first floated the idea of extending tuition waivers for all 'wartime' veterans in MA. Previously, only Vietnam-era veterans got tuition waivers. Then they redefined 'wartime' to include any veterans with a minimum time-in-service during approved hostile periods, rather than only people serving in-theatre.

So while he was not responsible for actually making the policy, it was his suggestion.

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"BTW I'm still a smartass just not now."

I was wrong when I called you a smartass. Your a brilliant ass! That's why we love you!

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

"After your last post about that bike shop, I can't believe you gave those d***heads any money. At least I hope you didn't deal with the one jerk who told you to leave"

No way dude I'm never ging back there. Here in Big D we have a good choice of shops. The one I'm sticking with always tolerated me real well. Classy dudes.

I'll have too see what the state will help me with. God I thought those words would never come out of my mouth. I can justify it in my brain by my veteran status.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

Yesterday I dropped my fork off at a bike shop I have been bumming around at. I always stayed clear out of the way and only spoke when spoken too. They flipped thier lids when I showed up with some buisness. Good natured ribbing and laughs sealed the deal that I am thier customer for life. Lesson to all those who own shops. That person who comes in every other week and walks around and looks for a few minutes buys a magazine and splits, be nice to him/her because when the money starts coming back in they will make up for the wasted space.

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Here here. I might not always buy something when I walk into as store and maybe some times I'll be there just to pick your brain but never ever take any regular for granted. A while back a store made the mistake of not giving me the time of day (presumably because I rarely bought a lot in their hig-end store) when I popped in. The number of people waiting on customers was more than customers but they still didn't have much to say to me. At the time I had just settled an accident claim and was hunting for a way to spend some of the 16g I'd just acquired. And the Dura ace equipped Kestrel 4000 with disc rear wheel sure looked like a good option. It was even my size. Yet after staring at it for a good 10 or 15 minutes no one came over to even say to me 'now if you could only win the lottery to afford the $6000 it costs you'd be set' I left without a word. All for the best in the end I guess as that money went into RRSPs and helped to put a downpayment on my current dwelling...but the point is this..never assume anything with any customer.

Mr Tibbs I'm gonna have to go back and check out your other posts to figure out the rest of your story but I'm glad to hear things are finally getting back on track. Seems like a pretty good bunch of people in this forum and you were right to come here to find a way out of your funk (maybe in part why I'm here now). We might be maligned by purists from the individual sports that make up triathlon for being a bit too elitist of type A but the people in this forum sure go a long way to proving them dead wrong. Hats off to the lot of you for fighting the stereotype that we don't deserve and I look forward to getting my butt handed to me by any of you if we ever get a chance to toe the line together.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my southern neighbours. Get stuffed.

I'm thrilled everything's looking up for you(bike, job, that other thing). Been going through some stuff myself and it helps to hear positive stories.

Keep up the posting and oh yeah, how 'bout our BOYS?! Who would have thought they'd be 9 and 3?

"I'll have too see what the state will help me with. God I thought those words would never come out of my mouth. I can justify it in my brain by my veteran status."

For the most part Vets get screwed. Especially the poor ones that do the majority of OUR fighting. Fed and State Vet's benefits aren't hand-outs my friend you got 'em because you earned 'em. You did this by putting the uniform on and taking the risk. Nothing for you to justify, these are earned benefits, not hand-outs or charity. Not to say some aren't milking the system, some are, most aren't. Regardless, I'm sure you are not that guy. You also pay for them with the taxes from new job. Congrats on that.

Considering this is a Tri forum how's the base training?

Man, this must be a slow day for me. I'm usually lucky to read this board for just a few minutes during the day.

I'm still not used to leaning on people or groups for help so even though I'm not taking bread from little kids mouths it's wierd.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

My boyz rule!!! I smell play offs. Then I smell defeat in the play offs. Then I smell VICTORY next season.

Have you watched In the Heat of the Night yet?

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

I know right where you're coming from. A man wants to feel like he's made it on his own, and doesn't like to feel like he depends on others.

But all those people who can help you, family, friends, veteran's support groups, etc, are there because you earned their presence. The people who care about you want to help, the veteran's services people owe it to you.

Asking for help isn't always easy, but it doesn't make you weak. You're simply cashing in a marker that you've already paid.

Think of it like this(grandiose drama here): For 5 years of my life, while you were sleeping soundly at night, I was making sure the world was still there when you woke up in the morning. I earned those benefits, and so have you.

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Could these good feelings be to the homage you have been giving to "King Bunneyman" and He has passed his wand of Joy over his minions?

Keep on keepin' on, brotha Tibbs.

I have twitched my nose your direction and it SHALL be smooth sailing from here.