[Perplexity's Scrapbook] Perplexing Puzzles

[Perplexity]

Perplexity started a Scrapbook!? What madness is this!?

In all fairness though I'm not entirely without my sanity. Mostly. I just figured it was time to jump onto the bandwagon and find a place where I could write out all of my inner thoughts. The Scrapbook thread seemed like a place that was as good as any. So I've finally caved in and decided to create this repository of randomness. First things first though I will give you guys a little bit of insight into The Riddler aka Me.

Name: Baylien
Age: 22
Location: North Carolina, USA
Occupation: Petty Officer of the United States Naval Hospital Corps
Extra Curricular: Community Involvement, Horseback Riding, Bodybuilding, Rock Climbing, and of course Writing.

When it all boils down to it I'm not as vague and mysterious as my avatar implies. I'm actually quite an easy person to get along with and understand. I am five feet and nine inches tall. I consider myself a bit of an athlete but mostly I just like recreational lifting to help clear my head. I like simple things like going out to dinner with friends, enjoying a movie, curling up on the couch reading a book.

I'm a little bit of a homebody. Not because I don't like going out to do things but because I just like the atmosphere of my house. It's quite cozy! (Even if Christmas just vomited all over it. Seriously. IT'S EVERYWHERE!)

I grew up in good old Omaha, Nebraska! While 99.9% of the continental United States would automatically list me as a country boy by virtue of me tagging "Nebraska" onto my origins this is in fact, false. Oh make no mistake I have spent time on a farm around farm animals doing farmy (word?) things. Growing up in a city with a metro area that encompasses roughly 900,000 people well, I don't think quite fits the bill of the whole "cowboy country boy" image. I'm just saying.

I spent most of my youth outside climbing the endless amount of trees to be found on my grandparent's property. (Nebraska founded Arbor Day thank you very much!) I won't get into the nitty gritty of it all but the wonder of childhood was stripped from my eyes at a fairly early age but I've only grown as a person because of it. I'm not a very vocal person. I enjoy people. I just don't talk out loud very much. (Now, my brain is always abuzz with activity. My inner monologue is constant and provides much amusement throughout the day.) I've always been better at writing my thoughts down on paper as opposed to voicing them aloud.

I am one of eight children. Five boys. Three girls. I am the fourth child. My father was active duty U.S. Air Force. My mother, an in-home healthcare nurse. As of present day my eldest sister is an anthropologist, my eldest brother is active duty Navy, my next brother is in the Army, my next brother is in the Marine Corps, I'm in the Navy, my younger brother is a graphic designer, younger sister is attending college to become a teacher and my youngest sister is a sophomore in high school.

Now imagine all of us around the dinner table? Oh the food fights! What fun!

Sooo...yeah. I am presently stationed in North Carolina. I work in the Main Operating Room as a Surgical Technologist for the United States Naval Hospital Corps and I'm going to school part-time to pursue becoming a surgeon some day.

I honestly don't know how I have time for half of the things that I do but somehow it all just falls into place. Like one giant puzzle with an innumerable amount of pieces! With just enough tinkering all of them will fit together. So welcome dear readers to the wonderful world of me and my never ending amount of Perplexing Puzzles!

Sincerely,
Baylien

[Kreig Messer]

*jots down all the information on his 'stalk chat list*


Interesting to know all of this Perpy XD

[Radiant]

I claim your second post, fellow Syliran AS Officer Perpy! Welcome to the fun world of scrapbooking!

[Perplexity]

When the world says, "Give up".
Hope whispers, "Try one more time."- Unknown

In the past week the following has happened in the Wonderful World of Perplexity:

1.) Slipped on a wet floor. (That was fun. My rump was very appreciative.)

2.) Spilled coffee on my favorite shirt. (Thank god for Tide!)

3.) Got hit in the face by a door. (Dropped all the files I had in my arms too.)

4.) Spilled coffee on my desk. (Viva paper towels. Seriously. They're amazing.)

5.) Chased down my neighbor's dog. (Cardio. That's all there is to it.)

6.) Lost the key to my house. (Found it later...in the back pocket of my jeans. Herp. Derp.)

7.) Babysat my 4 year old niece. (What's the defense against utter cuteness? I seriously can't say no to this little girl. Ever.)

8.) Bent down to tie my shoe whilst on a walk and almost got hit by a car. (I probably should have been wearing a neon sign or something.)

9.) Lost some paperwork. Found that paperwork. Lost it again within five minutes of finding it. Found it again. Lost it again. Found it in my supervisor's office. (I don't know how it got there. At all.)

10.) Somehow managed to get selected for a promotion. (I was floored.)

Sooo...yeah. Lots more has gone on. I've been taking management/leadership courses in preparation to assume more responsibility in my workspace. Same hours. More pay. Win. Gearing up for a huge inspection for Joint Commission at my facility. (Joint Commission is the governing authority on the accreditation of hospitals.) Getting ready for my promotion ceremony, going up for a review board to decide the terms of my re-enlistment, and explaining the difference between Pho and Egg noodles to my closest friend.

It just goes to show that despite the chaos that life seems to throw at us each and every day if you put your best into something, if you work hard, if you always carry a Tide To-Go Pen, things will fall into place. The past year has seen a lot of internal change for me. I've grown considerably as a person for various reasons. The one thing I've learned through all of it though is this: (PS and btw for you grammar nazi's out there, punctuation is my worst area.)

Giving up when the road gets tough, giving in because the walls are closing in, giving an inch because someone demands a mile are all just pot holes that need to be filled with hope, patience, and determination and once you've paved your road with that concrete foundation there's very little that can put a stop to you.

Doors and windows may both close but suddenly you're an architect blessed with the ingenuity to make a new one.

That's all for now! Have fun sorting out my randomness.

Sincerely,
Baylien

[Aoren]

Dear Jerk Who Knows Exactly Who They Are,

ASDLFKJASEGOIHASDGLKJDAFGFOIHE%(IU@$UJ(JKSDVDAGLIGADSLKHDAGA P(UJ@Q#ETFCP(UIAEXRFCB CACLHNLNCVLNSRFB NHLSWRRRWJNPHIWSGRWVLNHISCB LLBSERFHO*PQ#UJP:OSWRDVSGHBUJOLWSRGHNIOLEBDHNOLRF VBNSRIKPH:WWFHIOSWRWSEGOUSDVHUOSDVKNLSDUGSAZDEDGPHIQ#WRFO)IEQVH wFIKHAASKHNwcikhbsdhvjASCOIHZZCKHZLIHSDOIHFASOHISvdHSDVVKLHZHLSISCKOIHASAopeuefoaiuergho8i;wrhgikuw4e4hoi3r3ytu12erjhjqwejvzBNnbaxXBnbnmZBCnmmnmvx cn,kmxnbzvncjkanbndsjaksdhsjakilhsdkalhfsdkaldfskalwqwiereubhuksvdlbjjaedfhbl miu834iui348ywe34tiy8 wteilu wfeagjlafsdhjfsadjsfda shfadkfklhhl;a;osldjghfalskjhfjlskbncsmnvlsmdjkfl mdbnbdfvb,jzsdbklgvsdkibrhfbsikkj.nhsdV s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

…………..

Thank you for being utterly inconsiderate, a total ass, and making a leisurely pass-time feel like a chore.

That is all.

-Angry table flip-

Sincerely,
Baylien

PS- Because it all made me feel better. That's why.

[Aoren]

Your Thoughts, Your Prayers

I wish I knew where to begin. I guess the first thing that I should do is express how impossibly lost and confused I feel right now. I have no idea where to go from here. I suppose the best thing to do would be to just start putting words to all of the thoughts coursing through my brain.

The past week has been infinitesimally hard on me. The expression, when it rains, it pours has taken on a whole new level of meaning. To start off with I've run into a mountain of complications with my move. It has been a hellish process that has left a very sour taste in my mouth. That is not what has me so at a loss for direction though. I expected that to be difficult. Moving internationally is no small thing.

Let me explain.

I am active duty. I've made no secret of this. I am unmarried but I do not live alone. My fifty-three year old mother lives with me. She lives with me because she is a three time cancer survivor who is physically, financially, and medically unable to live on her own. She has been denied disability. She has been denied social security. She has been denied health insurance. So, in the interest of making her life easier I opted to approach the military and endeavor to have her listed as my dependent to receive my health benefits.

I started this process two years ago. It is long. It is arduous. I've had no help in this process either from my superiors or from the agency who is supposed to be handling this affair. I've had to do all of the research on it, paperwork, filing, and financing on my own. The first time I submitted my paperwork for approval? It was denied.

I had to wait a grace period to file again. Then Life happened. My work became more demanding, I was in an accident, my family needed assistance, the list goes on. When finally I could get everything together to file the paperwork again I was informed by those handling the paperwork that everything was hunky dory. Then came the time to put things to the test. The center who regulates military dependents information said they never received my mother's paperwork. Come to find out the department processing my paperwork had modified my file on the local level but failed to forward the files to the proper authorities setting all of my work behind by a year.

I had to start over. By this time it is very nearly time to transfer to my next station. When my transfer papers are issued, my mother is not on them. So I have to file for them again. Only I can't file for them again because the approval authority who regulates military dependents hasn't approved my mother as my dependent. This authority won't approve her because my immediate Human Resources department hasn't approved her. My human resources department won't approve her because the approving authority hasn't approved her.

It's all a maddeningly daunting, hair pulling, crazy process that I've been fighting for a long time.

So let's fast-forward to this past Friday. I receive word from the regulating authority. They've denied her again. While I won't get into specifics it was for a ludicrously ridiculous reason that made even my immediate superiors furious. We're working on that.

So now, my transfer may or may not be delayed.

Now lets turn to this past Sunday.

My mother was in a car wreck. She was in a car wreck because she was on her way back from Richmond, VA after receiving the news that her brother has just been diagnosed with Stage 4 metastasized lung cancer.

The car? Totaled. My mother? She needs medical attention. She can't get any speedy attention because she has no health insurance. She has no health insurance because it was denied to her. It was denied to her because she's far too high of a liability. She isn't covered by my healthcare because the paperwork has been both denied and messed up.

I'm lost.

I don't know what to do. I'm stressed. I'm tired. I'm angry. I'm frustrated. To top it all off, I've still got so much left to do.

So I ask for patience. I ask for understanding. Please, bear with me as I try to shuffle my way through this difficult time.

-Aoren

[Adelaide Sitai]

I can't believe what you're going through and can only wish you all the strength to deal with it. I don't know what else to say because this whole "Health insurance" thing is so alien to me... I'm from a country where access to healthcare isn't a privilege that only the wealthy can afford, but a right for every citizen. I can't therefore make any suggestions or offer any advice.

I can, however, empathise and pray that both you and your mother get through this, maybe stronger for it. I wish you the best of luck.

[Caelum]

I’m, uh, just gonna leave this right here.

[Pulren Marsh]

I hear ya, man. Life can be be crazy. I was absent this week because I thought I had a heart attack. Hospital and all. Turned out to be severe heat stroke and I'm okay, but hooked up to wires and IV's in the hospital bed, Mizahar wasn't at the forefront of my mind. I really appreciate all you do in this forum and I am sorry for your uncle and mother's pain at this time. I'm sorry that things are so hard and frustrating for you now. I pray for you and your family at this time.

[Perplexity]

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Broken Record

I wish that I could explain everything that is going on right now. Between work (in the past 2 days alone I've put in close to 40 hours), some on-going issues in my personal life and now this? I don't know how much more of this non-sense I can take.

I am posting here firstly because...well...I need to vent but I'm at a loss as to what to say. I'm stunned. I'm shocked. I don't feel safe. I'm angry. How do I respond? How do I repair what has been stolen from me? From my family?

I came home during my lunch break today to find that my home had been invaded, my mother's life (who lives with me as my dependent) has been endangered, there is a dangerous man out there who has been stalking her, and a slew of other things. What do I do? I feel like a broken record. When things just start to clear up something awful happens and my feeling of being able to manage all of it is shattered.

I'm not going anywhere. I won't be abandoning Mizahar. I feel like it's the only relaxing outlet I have left despite my recent drop in routine activity. But I'm going to be a little slow as I tend to the demands of a hellish life at the moment. To my players, I apologize. I feel horrible for making you guys wait for the stories you're so excited for. To my thread partners on Aoren, you guys are waiting even longer as the responsibilities I have on him have been sorely neglected. I am sorry. I am so very sorry but just...bear with me as I get my bearings back. That's all I ask.

-Baylien
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