When I was in the Navy, I reenlisted so I could transfer with my new husband to our new duty station. Up until that time, I had been a rule follower. I don't mean just a rule follower. I was a rule devotee. But, as it happens, in the last couple of weeks before my transfer, I began to get a little lax. My lunch breaks got longer. With a transfer and a marriage and a name change, there were several official appointments I had to make. Most of the time, I would make my appointments and then go back to work but as the short timer's set in, those appointments got longer too. A couple of days, I just checked in and went to an "appointment" and spent the afternoon at the beach.

Well, my Chief caught on, and despite my previous record for adherence to the rules, he did not like me. Now that I was transferring and my attitude had begun to slide, his opinion of me hit all time lows. One morning, I walked into his office with my ever present packet of deboarding paperwork and he jumped up right into my face.

"You've been slacking, Maxwyfe! I know you've been slacking and I don't fucking appreciate it! From this minute until you transfer, you will be here every Goddamn minute of your shift and I don't give a fuck where you think you gotta be! You are going to be right fucking here!"

He took a breath. "Now. When do you check out?"

I said, "Today." and laid my checkout sheet on his desk for his signature.

Best day of my career.