Hippie Chick in camou: an introduction

Hello, everybody. I found this site yesterday in a Google search for "hippie jobs" as a last-ditch effort to find a place to work that won't require me to wear camouflage and combat boots or a pantsuit and heels.

Funny thing--one commenter on the thread said something to the effect that he hoped that a Google search for hippie jobs would bring up this site.

Although I didn't find what I thought I was looking for, I believe I may have found something even better--a community of like-minded individuals who may understand where I am coming from. So there it is; I decided to join.

I have a dirty secret that I want to share, and I hope you will still accept me here: I work for "The Man." When I was a broke 22-year-old college dropout with three jobs, I woke up one day and decided to join the Army. I know it sounds contradictory for a pacifist to be in the military, but it is what it is.

I just returned home from my second Iraq tour and am going to reserve status. I want to be done with this, but I have invested 14 years of my life into the "machine." If I stick it out, I can get a decent pension before I hit 45.

Anyway, now that I have addressed the elephant in my user name, I will give you a brief sketch of the "real" me.

I am a single mother of two, a "flexitarian" who eats meat when nothing else is readily available, a writer, photographer, fledgling yogi, crunchy-granola hippie chick who was born into the wrong era.

I yearn for either communal living or homestead life (or both), where I can raise my children surrounded by others who share the same values. (For example: respect for all living things, non-materialism, clean eating, giving back to nature/community/universe and being self-sufficient, to name a few.) I want to get my hands dirty and keep my karma clean.

I am mostly a lurker, an observer-- I love reading the forums, but if I have nothing of value to contribute to a conversation or if someone has already said it, I will not comment. I know this will make it difficult to transition from "guest" to "member." I will make an honest effort to step out of my comfort zone and participate.

Thank you for reading my lengthy post. I'm glad I found this happening place!

Peace,
Army Hippie Chick

 

welcome to here

 

Welcome to Hip Forums!

 

Awesome introductory post! It's so nice to have you here - and I hope that you have finally found the community that you were looking for!

You're not the only person who has joined the military despite your own convictions. My best buddy was a guy who would wear leather jackets, lived on drugs and alcohol, and was basically the DEFINITION of a punk who hated "the man" with all of his heart. One day he realized that he had a family to support, and he shaved off his mohawk and joined the military! Can you believe that? Shaving off a 'hawk to put on fatigues! I'm proud of him though, and he knows he made the right decision for his own unique situation.

I also hope that you are able to find a wonderful communal lifestyle for yourself and your children. It used to be easier - but these days family gets spread so thin and that makes it difficult. If you want to go all-out and live on a commune, check out this website: http://www.ic.org/

There are thousands of wonderful communities all across the united states - way more than I would have guessed before I started my own research toward this common goal that we share!

Again, welcome to Hipforums!

 

Welcome, and I'm sure just by your intro that you will have a lot to share thats worth reading

 

6 more years probably won't hurt you too much--a pension would be nice and would give you the freedom to decide where you want to be after your service without actually starving while you look. There are some interesting folks on here doing the commune-independant living scene. You'll find 'em. And welcome.

 

Thanks a lot, guys. I am still meandering through the site and have read a lot of interesting things already. (Thanks, also, for the IC link. I actually perused that site while I was still in Baghdad, but had forgotten about it. It was nice to find it again.)

I do have a question--well, two--how do you become friends with someone and how do you join social groups? I think I am overlooking something.

 

Maybe more posts?

 

yes...more posts and more days ...they have a delay for full membership to stop the spammers from filling up our message pages and PMs with advertisements

 

Ah, I see. Thanks, guys.

 

Welcome to the site

 

Welcome to Hip Forums!

When you are a Member you should see a befriend button on the persons profile page next to their friends list. And to join a social group, click the Social Groups tab on top of the page, select the group, then click Group Tools, then click Subscribe. I think you'll have to be approved before they let you in.


*Somebody correct me if I'm wrong

 

very few groups require approval..most can just be joined the regular way

 

Hi!

 

Hello. Would you like a cup of tea?

 

Sure! I'm always down for a good cup of tea.

 

Here you go. Sorry it took so long. I hope you like yellow tea.

 

N-i-c-e. Thanks!

 

You're welcome. I made to one of Johnny Vegas' special brews :sifone: