MOTW - Aug 18 - Aug 24 2013 - Carlos (Mentat)

[Jenste]

Monday, tell us all about you! We know you obviously like amphibians, but we want to know about the rest of your life.

Details about you, your life, hobbies, families, past times, favorite colors, poems you have written etc etc....just use this post to brag/boast/bore us how you please.

[Mentat]

Hi Jen, you were up early ! ! First and foremost need to thank those who nominated me and supported it. I'm happy to have good friends in here! My life... could write a book about it ! Well, will skip over the small stuff.. and most everything in this life is small stuff!

Was born almost six decades ago in San Juan, close to Columbus second landing spot in the island of Puerto Rico. Went through a frail childhood with a weak immune system and suffering multiple allergies and asthma . A positive side was that, I learned very young about struggle (to breath) and not giving up. At home we were not allowed pets, so I kept free ranging pets in my yard. At varied times had a female anole that ate cooked rice from my hand, a big toad that “played” with me, and birds that drank sugared water from a bowl in the window sill. Oh and the native “coqui” frogs sang to me all through the night!


My first captive pets experience was a mess! At 8 traded some comics for 6 guppies a friend caught in a local brook and then proceeded to kill 5 the next day during their first water change . Bummer, had no idea chlorine in the tap would kill them. So got dechlorinator and kept the survivor in a glass bowl, my 1st captive pet. For my birthday that year got a 10 gal. tank set-up and an aquarium book, which started me on a long and rewarding hobby. Most money I earned then went to fish hobby and my bicycle... happy and simple times !


Fast forward to HS and by then had better health, so learned to swim and became a certified SCUBA diver. Most my free time during summers was spent snorkeling around the San Juan and Condado coasts. Also, got a part time job in a pet shop and had many “pets” in there including a 6 foot Boa that bit me . Socially I let my hair grow long (cut like Santana’s earlier years), listened to rock, and drove my HS principal crazy. The Vietnam conflict draft ends and off to college we go! Few years pass and graduated with a BS in Biology (Botany) and later a MS in Marine Biology (Phycology); both from the University of P.R. at Mayaguez. In college I experienced the ways of life away from home and had a crash course in professional social behavior. While studying also worked part time in college labs and at nights taught in a local HS too. Almost forgot, got married at 26... and divorced at 28 ouch ! Somewhere in those years also learned Martial Arts (Okinawan Goju Ryu) and went all the way to Brown Belt. Finished college as Reagan became president and there where no jobs in my field! Me and couple other classmates applied everywhere; including NOAA, CG, Navy, etc. So off to another adventure we go !


Placed well in the Navy Officer Program test and was offered everything but pilot (glasses since childhood). Reading the brochure with available programs, see that the Special Operations Community was in charge of the marine mammals and dived. Hum... sounded similar to my field, so without further knowledge of what SPECOPS did; signed on the dotted line and joined the USN. Off to Officer Candidate School “OCS” in Newport RI we go, and get into an intense military life training and also had to learn conversational English as fast as I could. Guess the best way to describe that experience was that I “survived” it .


Got commissioned an Ensign and then to Surface Warfare Officer School (SWOS) in the start of Newport’s frigid Winter, OMG it was cold ! Finished SWOS and off to Panama City FL for Dive School; where I ran, swam, and trained until pain was just a dull sensation... then we partied hard. Drown proof and bad to the bone, got certified as a Deep Sea Diver and a Diving Officer. Then off to sea to get my SWO qualifications. Following that, spent a year of “fun” at USN EOD school program; the most mentally strenuous training I’ve ever faced. Through my career had many jobs but mostly earned a reputation for being a natural manager, never giving up, and making problems go away. Also... got married again and sadly my lovely wife (RIP) died a year after . She was survived by her 8 year old boy and I became his guardian and raised him. Now he lives and works near DC and has been independent for a decade . Several years later tried the marriage thing again and that one ended in divorce ! My last duty station (a Commander then) was at the Pentagon and went thru the USS COLE and 9/11 events while there . As a result of that tour, lost the love for my job and decided to retire and do other things. Those 20 years in the USN SPECOPS community where a life in itself and an adventure the like of books and movies we see and read about. At the time of retirement was well traveled throughout the Pacific and Latin America and veteran of several wars and special operations. My areas of military expertise included EOD, Underwater Mine Countermeasures, and Anti-Terrorism .


With military career behind, decided to go back to school looking to become a Shiatsu Practitioner (Japanese bodywork using finger pressure on body’s energy meridians). Studied Chinese Medicine and Shiatsu for a year and graduated. Then passed the national board exam and became a Certified Massage Therapist and a Shiatsu Practitioner. After getting my license in VA, started a private practice and a few years later got to teach at a local massage school for a couple years. Today I’m retired and occasionally help out people with my Shiatsu and Body Energy knowledge on a volunteer basis.


Love my frogs, fish, and miss a 100+ orchid collection accumulated during college and Sasha (RIP), my first and only dog . Currently live with my pets in peace and harmony! Like to read, listen to music (all genres with non-violent lyrics), movies, dancing, and fast vehicles (have owned a couple street legal race cars). Now that reflexes are not what they used to be, drive a slow and safe Toyota FJ Cruiser and still own my last two motor bikes. That’s all folks !