CJ... What was your occupation?

[Hanniekuma]

I GOT IT! Everyone knows how she is a great planner but has horrible execution. What happened, the outbreak, was all her fault, she was in charge of something (ex. transporting or security) of whatever caused the outbreak and because her plans tend to fail horribly this outbreak happened.

OH! So that's why she's so motivated and taking point! Awesome observation!

[thisonegirl]

Whatever CJ's occupation was, I think she's just a classic Type A. She could have been a military brat, moved around a lot, learned everything she could. She's a classic over achiever, her how to manuals are proof of that and her strong alphadog mentality that her way is the ONLY way. She was probably an only child, and I assume this on two reasons. She's Chinese and there's a strong One Child Policy. My second and probably strongest reason is her social skills. She's got to be the ONE ( as in - in charge, center of attention, first ONE to be taken care of, the one who's needs are met and considered etc.) If she was an eldest child, she'd still have Alpha tendencies, but she'd be more nurturing, which she doesn't seem to be because she's always on "point."

Again, I speak of her Asian side only because I can somewhat relate. Honestly, it's pretty accurate too. Straight forward, stoic, sometimes very overly aggressive and abrasive. Mixed that with Type A and, there you have it. CJ.

I agree with quite a bit of this, except for a couple points. The chance that she is an only child is pretty big, especially if her family came from a Chinese city. I know that people in rural China tend to ignore that one child policy. However I've met some people who were the eldest but are not at all nurturing, because they never dealt with their siblings as babies. They look at their younger siblings as, and I quote "the midget that lives in my house".

The other point I don't agree with is... stoic. Really? You think she's stoic? I just can't say I agree.
Point in case Chapter 37-3.
Granted she lost a limb, and maybe there's only like a handful of people who would be stoic about that, but just in general I don't think she's stoic.
(small and resigned voice) Or maybe it's just that CJ annoys me...

[Hanniekuma]

I agree with quite a bit of this, except for a couple points. The chance that she is an only child is pretty big, especially if her family came from a Chinese city. I know that people in rural China tend to ignore that one child policy. However I've met some people who were the eldest but are not at all nurturing, because they never dealt with their siblings as babies. They look at their younger siblings as, and I quote "the midget that lives in my house".

The other point I don't agree with is... stoic. Really? You think she's stoic? I just can't say I agree.
Point in case Chapter 37-3.
Granted she lost a limb, and maybe there's only like a handful of people who would be stoic about that, but just in general I don't think she's stoic.
(small and resigned voice) Or maybe it's just that CJ annoys me...

After she lost her limb, she was still vocal, but she powered through it, just like a soldier on point. I should have explained the stoic point in more detail. I know the most common definition of stoic, is to not complain or show any emotion, even if in pain- physical and emotional. My use of the word stoic is incorrect and maybe I should have used " a follower of Stoicism" instead. But even that was stretching it. CJ showed a great deal of self control, even after her surgery. She was able to put aside her pain, both physical and emotional, and replace it with determination. Indomitable, stubborn, or just plain badass might have been a better word to use.
I certainly appreciate this feedback. I'm loving this, actually

Her voice annoys me too. But I can relate to her...and Datu, my favorite, ay nako!

[Red Shirt]

In away I agree with CJ in the fact that we all do things that are very trivial. Weare all slaves to the almighty dollar. It would be liberating to not have to work to get $$ to do things or to even survive.

A bit OT, but recently I went through a period where I had little to no funds and my material belongings was reduced to (more or less) what I could carry. I haven't felt that liberated and free for as long as I can remember.

I GOT IT! Everyone knows how she is a great planner but has horrible execution. What happened, the outbreak, was all her fault, she was in charge of something (ex. transporting or security) of whatever caused the outbreak and because her plans tend to fail horribly this outbreak happened.

This fits in with my pet theory that she worked in the LA Emergency Management Department. She was "on duty" the day that SHTF and in the fray she hesitated, choked and dropped the ball... Maybe getting to watch live via traffic camera as street patrol cops got torn apart because she dispatched the SWAT late.

Something I don't think that I've voiced yet relating to this is that working at the LA:EMD, it stands to reason that you would know all of the tactical benefits, strengths and weaknesses of all of the equipment, units and personnel that the city has at it's disposal... From the big picture perspective, eyes in the sky view, not boots on the ground level. How to effectively deploy a SWAT unit but not necessarily actually take part in the raid. Very much like the differences in playing a First Person Shooter game and a Real Time Strategy game.

A parallel to this is found in the US Army NCO Creed:

I will strive to remain technically and tactically proficient.

The gist of the meaning behind that line is that as a non-com, you will know both the intricacies of how to operate and maintain your equipment and how to deploy it in combat... case in point: Shined boots, pressed uniform, clean rifle, dress-right-dress, three bags full and regurgitate AR, FM and TM... doesn't mean shit if you can't dig a foxhole and shoot strait. Then, as a Junior and now as a Leader I'm wary of those soldiers.

[thisonegirl]

My use of the word stoic is incorrect and maybe I should have used " a follower of Stoicism" instead. But even that was stretching it. CJ showed a great deal of self control, even after her surgery. She was able to put aside her pain, both physical and emotional, and replace it with determination. Indomitable, stubborn, or just plain badass might have been a better word to use.
I certainly appreciate this feedback. I'm loving this, actually

Her voice annoys me too. But I can relate to her...and Datu, my favorite, ay nako!

Ok, I still think it is stretching it a bit, but I can see it. I should clarify, her voice does not annoy me, the character does. And I like Datu, too! He needs to be a stuffed toy, so I can squish him with my love!

[Grognaurd]

For Osiris it is all about Scratch. For me,one of the main themes is Leadership. CJ exhibits a pretty good first pass plan. It is well thought out and pretty good, if nothing goes wrong, but she does not have enough contingency planning and makes a lot of assumptions.

Let's just look at the Other Tower. She puts everything into one barrier; outside vs inside. BAD! She would be much better with multiple zones of control and defense in depth. There are no safe rooms. There is no rapid response defense. Everything is centralized around CJ. Even a super secret hidey hide for her alone. The populace, their best defense is to try and break out of the one hardened barrier out into the teeth of the siege. After the fall, life goes back to normal for her, it is all about CJ. Maybe she tried to help with the rescue efforts, I doubt it. She has a team at the water works, but she does not seem to try and link up with them.

I suspect we will find it was a rally point for Sean and others.

[Witch_Doctor]

Does anyone remember when Bixby says to CJ,"Yes, Ma'am" and she replies with something like, "It's not ma'am, it's CJ."? Reminds me of Micheal's disdain for being called 'sir' by Tommy because of the association of that term with officers. So perhaps she had some sort of background involving military ranks (Military, law enforcement, school hall monitor...) but wasn't an officer.

In any case, she has a VAST amount of technical knowledge.

The whole story has a theme involving someone assuming a leadership roll by rallying survivors. One by one all of the leaders succumb to their own fault with the decimation of their flock.

• Micheal assumes control due to Angel's lack of experience and strength.
• CJ giving direction to confused people.
• Marcus pretending to be a military leader then creating a dystopian utopia.
• Kimmet taking a cold, hard and unforgiving in response to the outbreak.
• Scratch with lies, manipulation, and intimidation.
• Durai is,... Durai. He's ok...

The list can go on...

[BigBossMan]

I'm intrigued by nik's idea of CJ being involved in the prison/correctional system. I don't know much about that area of work or what the jobs entail so I can/t speak too much about it other than to say it could give her access to a lot of information.

In general, I think she's more involved with the police side of things since she had so much access to things used by officers on the street instead of in the prisons.

I'm a correctional officer, so I could answer your questions about the job. I'm thinking ex-cop myself.

[7oddisdead]

im just gonna throw this one out there, in part to be funny, in part because it makes sense in a weird way.

child beauty pageant event cooridinator.

boom, solved.

[scbubba]

Does anyone remember when Bixby says to CJ,"Yes, Ma'am" and she replies with something like, "It's not ma'am, it's CJ."? Reminds me of Micheal's disdain for being called 'sir' by Tommy because of the association of that term with officers. So perhaps she had some sort of background involving military ranks (Military, law enforcement, school hall monitor...) but wasn't an officer.

In any case, she has a VAST amount of technical knowledge.

That could be the common disdain that a lot of women have for the term because it often implies a more "mature" or elderly role and appearance.

The whole story has a theme involving someone assuming a leadership roll by rallying survivors. One by one all of the leaders succumb to their own fault with the decimation of their flock.

• Micheal assumes control due to Angel's lack of experience and strength.
• CJ giving direction to confused people.
• Marcus pretending to be a military leader then creating a dystopian utopia.
• Kimmet taking a cold, hard and unforgiving in response to the outbreak.
• Scratch with lies, manipulation, and intimidation.
• Durai is,... Durai. He's ok...

The list can go on...

Good point and list. Just about any story, historical or fiction, of human struggle hinges on leadership. All too often it is in a failure of leadership which is very often attributed to a fatal character flaw.

Back to CJ's occupation.... In 38-2, she sounded a whole lot like every power tripped project manager I have ever worked with in my 20+ year career. I'm not saying every project manager is like CJ's character. I'm saying that CJ's character is like a subset of project managers that I have worked with. And it's not a small subset....

So, I'll double down on my vote for project manager and add to it that she mainly worked on projects in the law enforcement or DoD realms.