A Mercenary

SPAM!! My inbox is full, but not of things I want.
Odd that it should be called SPAM mail, since Spam proper is more-or-less coveted the world over. People in Asia give it as wedding presents and that is no joke. That said, Spam mail is the opposite of good - Spam of that variety is quite bad. However, I am sure, like its edible counterpart, Spam mail assuredly has its place in our economy's circle of life. On simple example would be the importance of maintaining libido in one's fifties. After all, we wouldn't want the elder generation to age into wise philosophers when we could have sexually obsessed senior citizens spending their children's' inheritance flying to Thailand every few months ~ but I digress. Since I am not currently in need of Viagra or its counterparts, I suppose I am in no position to judge their tenacious advertising methods - or their customers. If this kind of observation offends the reader, the button that is most likely to close this browser is located near the upper right-most corner of this window. It is merely my opinion that despite the spam's apparent need to fill my inbox, the sender of the spam is doing his or her best to get my money - which, end the end, is the goal of enduring just about any mundane day job.


Which brings me to the subject of the current post. For the past several years, my livelihood has been maintained through my services to various clients as a sort of mercenary. You see, going from Employed to Self-Employed to Commissioned to Government Employed to Contracted constitutes a long line of ascension that spans from 2001 to the present, taking place in few countries along the way. This does not necessarily make me an unstable asset, as the circumstances I intend to eventually outline may clearly show. It does, however, show a consistent willingness to jump to higher platforms as they become available. As I am sure the reader might also naturally expect to do. After all, who wins a Donkey Kong game simply by remaining static and jumping over the barrels and flames that come your way. The player that is to win the game must scale the platforms - and if you happen upon the hammer ~ well, all the better. The difference between the mercenary or opportunist and the upwardly mobile corporate employee is the fact that the former moves from place to place, occasionally changing companies and even job fields along the way; while the latter must either be really adept, patient, or exceedingly evil to excel at the same rate. Upside is the bang for your buck and the adventure - the down side is the occasional burned bridge. However, as a swordsman I would have little reason to look back anyway.

This element establishes part of the setting. Since the geographical elements of the story are variable over the course of the story, the setting exists as an element of the plot. The plot being fleshed out by the nature of the main character and his relationship with the rest of the world. In this case, I swordsman working as a jack-of-all-trades mercenary as he pursues his goal (which is complicated and will be discussed later). Suffice it to say, money is a necessity that mercenary work affords me at a rather acceptable rate.

At the present I work as the supply manager of a contract company working in East Asia. Good pay for my age, but a lot of responsibility and a group of coworkers that frequently require me to think outside the box to get things done. It was not always like this though; as I indicated earlier, my career began in the far away USA, where I started as an aircraft mechanic's assistant. A designation also known as a Ramp Rat. This is where the memoir begins, but it will not start here. I will elaborate further once the goals of the story and a few other details have been established.

The next installment will be a few posts covering notes and observations regarding swordsmanship in general. If this subject does not interest the reader, you can skip them. The swordsmanship notes should be relatively obvious by their content, but I would recommend skimming through them, since it offers further insight into the story.