Well, that’s it. I’m three decades old. It’s one hell of a wake-up call and makes you think about the future. Over the next year I’m planning my [forced] exit from the Navy. It’s funny, I never expected to stay in as long as I have. I just passed the 8-year mark this past July. When I made E-6, I thought it was great that I caught up with my Dad in a way. Then I though it’d be cool to make E-7 and actually outrank my Dad.

Unfortunately, difficulties with my back injury from 2005 have put a lid on those hopes. The best I can hope for now is a medical retirement package and try to get a job. But there’s a problem. I can’t start a job hunt until I know exactly when I’ll be leaving the Navy. But in a medical board process, there’s no definitive timeline.

But before I get to the job process, there’s a problem. A serious problem. Something went wrong in my second surgery this past February. Over the past several months, I have had increased pain in my lower back, with decreasing mobility. An MRI last month found evidence of some inflammation in my lumbar spine area. This led to an initial panic by the doctors, as they initially suspected a spinal or bone infection had developed. This resulted in a phone call at work followed by a rush trip to the Emergency Room the day after the MRI. I spent the night in the hospital as they took X-Rays and what seemed like a liter of blood to run tests. They came back negative, but had me schedule a biopsy a week later. The biopsy wasn’t fun as they had to scrape bone tissue out of my spine. After nearly two weeks the results came back negative. Some would say this is good news, but I’m not seeing it that way. Why? If it was an infection, I would spend some hospital time with an aggressive antibiotic drip to get rid of the infection. As it stands now, I’m back at square one.

These days, it’s becoming increasingly harder to do basic tasks. It takes me nearly 20 minutes just to put on my boots in the morning. That’s not counting the several minutes it takes to get out of bed and stand upright. I can’t function like this. I’m 30 years old, I shouldn’t have to live like this, and the doctors aren’t helping.

So that’s where I am. Not a happy birthday. But as usual, I try to put on a good face and soldier on. After all, what else can I really do?

Beyond that, I have to decide where I want to go after the Navy. I have said all along that I want to stay in Southern California. However, I’ve been exploring more brash options. Companies in Australia are desperately seeking tech workers, and they want certifications more than they want degrees. I’m eligible for a work visa in Australia, with permanent residency upon arrival. it’s a big leap, but they’re paying on average USD $100,000 or more for the type of job I’m looking for. I could be an ex-pat and at least for a while, live a dream I’ve wanted for so long. But we’ll see.