Quick update

Ok, quick update before the New Year's Party at Kristen's. I inprocessed with the 651st ASG on Thrusday, and they told me that the next drill was the 6th, 7th and 8th. Right thru the middle of my vacation. So I moved that to the 2nd thru the 5th, Monday to Thrusday. Ashley and I went to the cemetery in Ft. Morgan this morning and visited her father; that was very sombre and peaceful. She's still angry at him, but she's getting better. Tonight is the party at Kristen's as usual, but Jackie's in Georgia with her family, and Kelly's pissed off that we didn't go to her and Will's house. That's ok, we're still expecting Holly and her Chris, possibly Lyssa and her boyfriend, possibly Ed, and lots of other people we haven't seen. Should be fun!

Back to Life

I'm back from New Mexico today. I had an excellent trip. Once again, I got to see the New Mexico tradition of luminarias; dozens of candles in paper bags lining the streets to lead baby Christ to each home. It's beautiful to see them. We also went shopping in Santa Fe and saw the new Narnia movie. Very relaxing trip.

Now that I'm back home, I have a lot to get figured out before school begins. First, I have to inprocess with my Army unit here at home, and find out what's going on there. I have to arrange my CU schedule and finances, then hopefully a job and a new place to live. And somehow, I'm supposed to this all with about a week to work with, since Ashley and I are going to Glenwood Springs for a vacation next Wednesday thru Sunday. That's going to be so much fun! Oh, so much to do.

New Mexico Dreamin'

This week has been quiet. Really quiet. It's so nice being able to do anything. It takes a little getting used to. I don't have to wake up or eat at a particular time, so sometimes I just don't. My room's such a mess, and I'm a little overwhelmed at having so much stuff to organize. One could argue that I have a lot new military gear to throw into my old mix, but I think I'm still not used to having so much personal stuff at one time.

I've exchanged gifts with a few people, and I'm pretty happy with the spread so far. The highlight was Ashley's gift; a pair of Bose Triport headphones! Not noise-cancelling, but extremely high quality nonetheless.

I tried to drive down to New Mexico this morning, but I got a late start, and then my car was acting up. The steering was shimmying above 60MPH, so I had to take it to a shop and cancel the trip until tomorrow. I guess that's ok, but I still haven't seen Mom or any of my family. It's been so long since I've seen them, and I'm so anxious to see them again.

Back to Civilian

My god it's good to be back. Yesterday was a frantic rush. The remaining Reserve and National Guard students that were PCS'ing all gathered in Darling hall to outprocess. We waited in a large lecture hall for an hour and a half, only to find out we were in the wrong room. We found the right room, filled out the last bit of paperwork, got a very informative and useful briefing from the liason's office, then got our flight times. My flight was later than I wanted, but at least I'd be back in Denver the same day. I shipped my guitar, which cost me my firstborn son almost. I tired to get my laptop cord back from DS Castillo, but he was busy and the cab was waiting, so I'll have to buy a new one.

The flight was excruciatingly long. The faster you want to get somewhere, the slower time passes. Finally, in Denver, I walked up the escalator and looked longingly for Ashley. Turned out, she found me first and walked up behind me. Not the triumphant entrance I wanted, but we still had a long moment to ourselves. We drove back to Broomfield, and of course I had to make the rounds and see everyone before I could do anything. Everyone was very happy to see me. Ashley and I spent a few minutes alone to catch up. I went home, laid down on my nice, firm, new mattress, slipped under the covers instead of sleeping on top, punched my artificial feather pillows instead of my drool-resistant plastic pillow, and fell asleep. This morning, I slept in. I'm not sure what I'll do this morning, but I know one thing; I'll decide what I'm doing.

Graduation

Yesterday was pretty quiet. I cleared the library and the PX, so I'm done getting paperwork for Monday morning. Other than that, I shipped my foot locker home and got my uniform ready. Exciting, I know. In the afternoon we had a graduation practice.

Today was more eventful. We all got dressed up in our military finest and went to an early lunch. There was a lot of goodbyes and exchanging of addresses. It had finally hit us that this was the last time we'd be all together in one place. Eighteen weeks had come down to this; one little ceremony. We marched over to Alexander Hall beneath Signal Towers. To pass a few minutes, the drill sergeants had a few people do impressions. The ceremony itself was fairly short and sweet. It contained a few theatrical sections with the history of the Signal Corps, the Signal Soldier's Creed and the Drill Sergeant's Creed. Right on cue, we all recited the Soldier's Creed. And just like that, we were fully qualified soldiers. We were marched over to the IET Rec Center, and released. Those whose families had watched the ceremony were there to congratulate them.

Right after we all got back to the company, a few people were ready to throw all their belongings in their vehicles and leave. Graham and Justin loaded up and left the room feeling much emptier, but Graham left me a surprise. He had given his guitar to the room at large, and even though Dunn wanted it, Blanski thought Graham had left it for me. So now I have a little piece of Graham to take home. Plus, when he gets famous, I'll be able to show it off and say he played it in AIT.

Now, Blanski and I are hanging out at Godfather's Pizza, just relaxing and reminiscing. We both leave Monday, and couldn't be more glad to leave. Hopefully we can have some fun this weekend, but even if we don't I'll be happy just to be done. I'm coming home!

End of Days

It's been a hectic few days this week. The Safety Show on Sunday was thoroughly jarring, switching from the Signal Corps Band playing a traditional Christmas hymn to tales of stupid people getting killed on Exodus to a live rendition of Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song." But there was a high point involving a female Navy petty officer in a scanty Mrs. Clause outfit singing "Santa, Baby" to Sergeant Major. That was nice.

Monday I shammed out of school for the first time since I've been here. I got a doctor's appointment in the afternoon and just didn't bother to go in the morning. Instead, I got some hi-speed boot waxes and a heat gun and got a very sexy-looking pair of boots. Boring, huh? Oh, and the doctor's appointment? The mole on the back of my head isn't cancerous, just annoying.

Tuesday was rather normal, but after SIB we were herded to the Ops office to pick up our out-processing packets. There are a few places we have to stop by before we can finish our paperwork, so I decided to start that this morning. Once again, I sort of skipped school. I was told that clearing medical and dental was a valid excuse, so I went along with it. I got my records just fine, but a lot of people were doing the same as me (skipping school to clear), and there was a rumor that they had moved the test from Thursday to Wednesday, today. So we all scrabled to get rides out to SIB in time for the test.

Getting back to SIB, we learned that they were not, in fact, testing out today. However, they were extremely upset at the fact that half of the students hadn't shown up to SIB, and were seriously considering classing back everyone they could get their hands on, and make them graduate after Exodus. I was very worried there for a few minutes. Eventually, they decided to drop the ordeal. And at the end of the day, they announced that their schedule had changed, so everybody got administrative GOs on their SIB test. We don't have to go back! That's the end of our formal training. We are done!

SIB Fun

It's been a very mixed week. The most significant change has been the move from classroom to SIB, Systems Integrated Branch. So far this week, I've pulled up a 40-foot field antenna, been a commo chief and seeing that all systems are up and running, been alternate NCS and kept everybody on the radio net on track and playing nicely, and got to work a radio from inside a rusted-up M60 tank. It's been hella busy, but I'm enjoying the challenges.

As for life, I had to move back to the Dawg Pound on Tuesday. I spent 4 glorious days in the overflow barracks, just to have it ripped away from me. The most frustrating part was moving all of my junk back. I guess I accumulated a lot of stuff over 4 months.

Today's been more relaxing. Blanski, Allen, Short and I went off-post to enjoy our last weekend all together - Allen and Short get to drive home to Mississippi next Friday. We went out to the mall for a bit, then to the movie theater. We all watched "Just Friends" which I highly recommend if you want to stab your eyes out. It's funny, but almost stupidly frustrating. It has the feel of a family movie like "Cheaper by the Dozen" but its meant for adults. Anyway, we also hit all of the strip malls for Christmas gifts and had dinner at Logan's Steakhouse. After dinner we sort of went separate ways. I didn't feel like getting smashed, so Blanski and I headed back to post. But it was a good last weekend with Graham and Justin.

Tomorrow I guess we have some kind of Safety Briefing that's mandatory across the entire brigade, so there's no way of getting out of it. I just hope they don't make it long and boring like I know they will.

Living it up

Things calmed down a little bit. Friday, we had SIB orientation and learned how to hoist a 40-foot antenna system. Not too shabby. But Friday night I was busy moving all my stuff over here to the 5+ barracks! Holy crap I'm so excited! The showers are hot and consistently clean. All of the doors are weighted to close automatically, and the supervisors actually perfer that they stay closed. No drill sergeants harrassing us constantly. Five guys to an entire room sized for eight. Its so nice!

Yesterday was a bit frustrating at first, because they actually wanted us to do stuff. Saturday morning and here we are, awake and standing outside at 0430, freezing. The entire company had to participate in urban warfare training at a site on the other side of the firing range, about 20 minutes away. There were so many people that we had to be divided into 3 waves, and yet they wouldn't let us go do whatever if we were on a later wave. It ended up being pretty fun actually, and I'm glad I went. I'm just saying it could have been organized better beforehand instead of doing this the morning of. That night, there was also a mandatory concert of a country singer who wrote a song about the Signal Corps. Again, fun event, but not exactly what I had in mind.

Today I'm just enjoying the newfound freedom of the barracks. I think I could handle living like this for the rest of AIT.

Hell Week

This week isn't exactly as I had planned it. The schoolhouse was the same as usual, but back here at the barracks the drill sergeants are going haywire. Monday night they didn't release us and had us clean the barracks all night, or in other words we had a GI Party. Tuesday night wasn't too bad, but we still had training so we were still busy. Last night they were just as pissed off as Monday, so we GI Partied again. They're talking about locking us down almost as bad as Basic. Timed showers. Extra guard duties. Locked down formations. Tonight was vastly eased up because we had a good inspection today.

They're talking about more changes still. But this sounds like good news; we might be moving into the old Phase 5+ barracks like we were supposed to a month ago! No drill sergeants in the halls, working heaters, hot showers, and no drill sergeants in the halls. Tell you all about it soon!

Senioritis

Its been an excellent Thanksgiving weekend. Saturday we picked up a new load of newbies, so I've been avoiding the barracks. I hooked up with Mike finally Saturday and got my CD collection from him. He's doing well, although his life has reduced to World of Warcraft. We ordered pizza, looked at used cars, and picked up his friend's new computer. Today, I just watched some of my old movies with Schaeffer.

I've got such a bad case of senior-itis right now its not even funny. I've got 4 days in the schoolhouse and that's it! After that its all field work at Signal Integrated Branch, SIB. I don't want to lift a finger until I leave.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone, happy turkey day! It's been a good week, we're still in FBCB2 but now we're the senior class! We only have until Thursday next week, and we're out of the schoolhouse. It's going to be relatively easy, it's just a huge hodgepodge of all the radio systems.

The weekend has been decent. Yesterday I relaxed most of the day. The DFAC had Thanksgiving lunch for us, and let me tell you, it was excellent. Everyone's gone for Christmas, so this was their chance to go all out. They had turkey, ham, roast beef, all the dressings, shrimp cocktails, the works. They had Captains and Colonels serving the desserts! There's a lot of people gone home, but most of the people from our class that were still around all had dinner together. This morning, there was a combatives competition. It's a little like wrestling, but it involves Brazilian jiu-jitzu and a combination of other martial arts. I videotaped all of our team's matches. We didn't do terribly good, which was suprising considering the coach, DS Strickland. Oh well, they put up a god fight with what they had. I might do a little shopping later today, it being Black Friday and all. Sales galore! Here goes nothing.

CU! and planning for the future

Oh yeah, almost forgot, I got my letter of acceptance from CU this week, so I've been busy trying to get ready and register. I've been putting off decisions about what to do when I get home, but I've decided to start setting things in stone. I'm going to register for CU and find a job somewhere. If I can afford it, I'm going to try and get an apartment and move out of my grandmother's house. Living there is a great arrangement, but I feel like it's time to get out more on my own. I just hope I can find a job to support that.

I contacted my unit back home, and they say there are no plans to deploy just yet. Lets hope that holds off until at least June! I'll have a better idea when I get home and talk to my unit in person.

Last Schoolhouse Class

Another quiet week. Tuesday we tested out of MSE, and Wednesday and Thursday was EPLRS class. We learned about the Army's position tracking radios that report the position of units and vehicles back to the commander. You can also get navagation information and send text messages to anybody on the battlefield. Very cool. EPLRS was so short that there wasn't even a written test. In the lesson plan EPLRS is just the first section of the last class, but most people consider them separate because they're in 2 different classrooms.

So Friday we started FBCB2, the very last class in the schoolhouse. This system is a mini computer that sits in vehicles and command tents that shows a map of the battlefield and everyone on it, with different levels of information. The system itself is very new, it was developed in the mid 90's and used in the assault on Baghdad. It incorporates all of the radio systems that we've learned about for the past 6 weeks, so it's sort of a capstone project. Our schedule is so broken up by the surrounding holidays that it will cover 3 weeks, but it's only 8 days in the classroom. Then we're out and into the field in SIB.

Once again, a boring weekend, just the way I like them. Yesterday I attempted to make a short video about life here, but I had CQ duty 5-7 PM, so that sort of broke up the day inconveniently. Today I went to mass for the first time in a while, and now I'm just sitting sipping a Starbucks mocha that's not really from Starbucks. The local coffee shop just brews Starbucks coffee. I'm not sure what all is going to happen today, besides the usual recall formation at 6:30. I'll find out when I get that far.

Four weeks left! Guess I'd better think about Christmas, even if it doesn't feel like a Colorado Christmas.

Veteran's 4-day

It's been a quiet week for the most part. Monday they worked out the kinks in the no-marching scheme. Basically, we just form up on one side of the street, march over with road guards, and fall out on the other side to go our merry way. Most people agreed that this was even less efficient than the old system, but as we get used to marching ourselves, it's getting better. One really new feature is that a student guides the formation, not a drill sergeant. That gives us a chance to call cadence if we want to. Very cool.

We tested out of TACSAT Monday, and now we're on to Mobile Subscriber Equipment, MSE. It's a huge telephone system that can even be integrated into civilian lines, so if we have access to one of these systems in the field, we can call home on downtime! Not that we're supposed to... Setting up the radios is really easy, so it's not going to be a hard test tomorrow.

The 4-day weekend has been relatively quiet. There were quite a few people who went home since airline tickets are cheaper than Thanksgiving. I stayed at the barracks as usual. Friday was spent mostly trying to fix my CD player that I dropped; I managed to get it working again, but I'm going to have to be careful when I change CDs. My internet's been on-and-off all weekend. Sunday we even had to call the tech support line and inform them that they had a Hot-Spot on Ft. Gordon. Oh well, I guess I can't expect service like back home. Here's to another quiet 4-day work week.

Boredsville

The week's been pretty good since the policy changes. Wednesday morning they tried not marching us, which was a complete disaster. They had formation before school as usual, then all 600 students just casually strolled across the road without road guards and no rush. By lunchtime, they had re-instituted marching, at least for the rest of the week. Tactical Satellite class, or TACSAT, was pretty interesting. Our instructor was Mr. Tippins, a prior-service E-7 with a mysterious past and a callous attitude. Most people's major complaint is that he treats students like they can barely understand English. I admit he isn't the most down-to-earth instructor, but I didn't feel belittled. I think I must have been a bit of a brown noser, because he actually liked me. I was my usual high-speed smart self, I knew how to do his daily inventory so he didn't have to do it himself, and I did my best to help everyone else. He even bought a soda for me one day with the excuse that he needed one himself. We test out Monday, but he's not going to be there, so basically the class is over.

This weekend is the first one for all of our new 5+ newbies to go out and go wild, so we're expecting to have problems. Personally, I'm just staying back and doing as little as possible. I might go out and buy Star Wars Episode 3 on DVD and watch some movies. Nothing better to do. Going off post just means spending money, and I don't have that much to squander.

Phase 5+ all around

Normally I wouldn't post during the week, but this is big. The rumors have been going around for months. I pretty much ignored them, but today I realized what they were all about.

Today after school, DS Williams told us that it would be our last time marching home from school, and we'd be taking ourselves to and from school from now on. When we got back to the Dawg Pound, Captain Gaines-Haiger was there to explain all of the new changes. Not only are we not marching, but the phase system is out the window also! As of this moment, everyone has full privileges unless they've got legal actions or failed a PT test. Everyone! The newbies that got here 2 weeks ago? Get to stay out this weekend in their civies. Pistol belts and badges? Not to be worn again.

I'm a little pissed off at the moment. I'm not so mad that the newbies have privileges, more power to 'em. I'm just not happy that I had to wait 11 weeks just to enjoy it all for one weekend on our own. I'm also a little shocked at the premise of not wearing badges. It was my of telling people apart; seeing a pistol belt was a clear indicator that someone was either new or a screw-up. And they could see that I was here for a long time. Not only that, but for the entire time I've been here, it's been something of a sin to not be wearing phase identification. I'll get over it, someone always gets screwed when things change. This time it just happens to be me.

Phase 5+: Corruption corrupts absolutely!

Yes! We finally got it! After our third excruciating week of SINCGARS, we had a half-day Friday. Instead our usual lunch, we had a little batallion party on Barton Field. It was kind of dumb, because they had about 600 privates trying to get thru 2 lines for food in as little time as possible. Lucky me, I was near the front. By the time I was done (and I was taking my time), they'd gotten about half the others thru the line. But after lunch, they did have a Drill & Ceremony marching demonstration that was pretty cool.

Anyway, after we got back from that, they finally handed out our badges. It's a wonderful feeling having that little laminated piece of orange paper. We're allowed to stay out all of Saturday night and Sunday morning now, as well as move around without a battle buddy attached to our hips. I didn't go off post this weekend, seeing as I'm broke, but it's a feeling of status. As a Phase 4, you are the newbie; as a Phase 5, you tell the newbies how it is and how to survive here. Now that I'm 5+, I don't even see newbies - they're just specks of dirt on my civilian shoes. Not literally, I still help them out, but it feels like I'm old and experienced and important. I can't wait until next weekend to get paid and use some of these well-earned privileges!

Army Idol

There's really not much happening right now. We're thru with our second week of SINCGARS, and we're actually playing with the radios now. It's fun figuring out how to do everything, since I've never worked with this equipment. Thursday morning I went to the dental clinic for my mandatory exam, and everything checked out, so I'm good to leave as far as they're concerned. That's one of the major reasons people get "held over," or kept from moving on after school. They go for their dental at the last minute and find out they have major work to have done. Mine is out of the way, and I'm one step closer to home.

Today I got "volunteered" for attending the Army Idol show, a military spin off of American Idol. I wasn't really excited at first, but then I thought about all of the great talent I might see. Turns out, we only saw the award-giving and the victory solo. What a rip off.

We're all itching for Phase V+. It's the last phase, and it grants overnight passes on the weekend (we don't have to come back to sleep), walking around post without a battle buddy, moving into a different barracks with no drill sergeants, and more leniency in general. We're supposed to get it the 30th, but everyone's waiting to see if they phase us early. We'll see!

Tattoo!

Yes, I actually got it. And it looks good! It's definitely a different sensation, and the pain wasn't all that bad until KC, my artist, started shading. But it looks good so far, even if it's a little too red to tell. The atmosphere was a little tense, since KC was a bit distracted. One of his best friends left a distressed note to his wife and is currently missing, so obviously KC was not his usual self, but he worked thru it and offered me a discount on future work if I decide to get another.

Other than that, not much exciting happening. SINCGARS is going well, and I'm starting to see why our job is so versatile. We're the field experts of these radios, but you can hook anything up to them! That's why we need to know about the radios for voice, and the computers and GPS for data modes. It's interesting, but I'm not going to bore you with the long-winded explanation.

Back to 5

Yeah, we got our room strait this morning, so I got my badge back pretty quickly. Still, a day of rockin' the pistol belt wasn't exactly fun. Halfway thru the week.

A Minor Setback

Oops. As many times as I told myself today would be a good day, it really didn't turn out that way. School was fine, we started a new class on SINCGARS radios, which we'll be in for 3 weeks. But the setback came when we got back to the barracks. The DS's had their panties in a knot over the unpressed state of our BDU's. When we got back to our relatively clean room, DS Rivera started busting us down on everything from our dusty shoe displays to the way our laundry bags are tied to our bunks. He took the phase badges from the 4 of us that had them, and is threatening to keep them over the weekend if the room isn't perfect by tomorrow. Oh, the horrors. Please let me wake up to December 16th. Please?

Happy Columbus Day!

I've gotta say, it was a good weekend. We had a decent week in class, we learned about the military's field computers, some of the first Army-specific training we've had so far. Once again, I came out on top of the test scores.

But this weekend was, in a word, off the chain. I spent plenty o' time at the IET Rec Center doing nothing particular on the internet. I spent a day off-base, a little time at the mall, and a lot of time at the tattoo parlor while my battles got their ink done. If I can figure out how to send images from my phone to e-mail, I'll have to post them. I'm thinking next weekend I'll get a tattoo as well, a picture of Ashley's rosary. It's a good tattoo because it's obviously religious, but it also ties into Ashley without getting her name. I'd love to get her name, but my common sense says it's a bad idea.

I got really homesick over the weekend, and it all started with the weather. It rained cats and dogs on Friday. It would've been flash flood-worthy in Colorado, but out here its apparently normal. And it's been overcast all weekend, but hot and muggy. At least if it's overcast, it could be cold and dry like I'm used to. That, and I got to the "snogging" section of Harry Potter #6. That makes me homesick too, for different reasons.

Phase 5 is mine! Mine!

Yes, its true. I passed my EOC Thrusday, and Friday afternoon they gave me that laminated yellow piece of paper that means so much! Fewer formations. Later curfews. Civilian clothes. Access to the mall and Wal-Mart, and to tattoo parlors and hotel rooms. And possibly best of all, no more wearing that stupid pistol belt with my canteen and poncho. AIT is starting to feel a lot more like freedom.

The week was pretty good overall. We were in Routers class, and of course I have a certification with routers, so I basically knew the insides and outsides of the class. A couple of exciting points were Wednesday when the drill sergeants put out a new policy letter that bans TV's, laptops, non-handheld game consoles, and possibly portable DVD players. In short, some of the most prized possessions that we IET students have. However, the DS's didn't push the issue, so I'm not going to turn in my laptop until they come looking for it. Another point of interest was the PT test, which I passed with a decent margin. I suprised myself on my push-ups, which I had failed by a pretty wide margin last time. On the other hand, the sergeant grading me wasn't as strict as last time either; I probably wasn't going low enough this last time, but she counted anyway. That's fine by me!

Resume Skills: Cafeteria Moving

My lord, this weekend sucked. The week was pretty decent in LAN class, and I was looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend, maybe get some business done at the PX. But just my stupid luck, we were duty company, duty platoon, and I'm a lowly Phase 4. So Saturday rolled around, and I got put on DFAC (dining facility) detail. Basically, the DFAC closest to our barracks has been under renovation for asbestoses or something, and is now ready for operation. Only thing is, all of the equipment was at a DFAC across base. So we got to unload trucks containing every piece of equipment that's used in a cafeteria, including the pots, pans, serving trays, plates, silverware, cleaning supplies, and all of the food in bulk packaging. Then just for fun, we did it again and moved more equipment from yet another DFAC into the one we emptied. Don't ask me what sense that makes, I could not tell you. We worked from 0730 in the morning to about 1530 (3:30pm), and we worked hard.

But it gets better. Instead of getting the day off today, I got put on Batallion Cleanup detail, so I raked BN headquarters from 0830 to 1400 (2pm). At least I had a little time for laundry today. We have an EOC (end of cycle) PT test Thursday, and if I'm not Phase 5 and relaxing next weekend, I'm going to be severely pissed off.

Ripping apart 80's dinosaurs

It's been a good week, in general. We had PC Maintenance class with Sgt. Pippin and Sgt. Zimmer. The class material was easy enough, since ripping apart computers is a pastime for me. I should've tested out of the class, but I really have no reason to try testing out. If I finish the schoolhouse portion early I still don't get to come home, I'll just end up cleaning around the barracks all day. Anyway, Sgt. Pippin describes himself as "the most motivated instructor in the schoolhouse." I believe that entirely. He usually has 2-3 pots of coffee in the morning before he gets to class. Not glasses, but pots. He has to hold his arms in front of him to keep them from shaking with all of his excess energy. He's a crazy mofo, I'm telling you. I wish I could video tape him to show you all at home, because he is great to see in action.

Other than that, life is pretty much settling in to AIT mode. I've been a little bit sick with a cold or flu or something, but it's been getting slowly better this week. Hope to post again soon!

Life After Basic (or why Sgt. Harr says "mothertrucker please")

Life is so much better here at AIT. Yeah, it still has it's annoying points, but it's not lockdown, thank you God! The drill sergeants here are human, they complain about having to pull duty and admit it when they make mistakes. We have a set schedule that we usually know about ahead of time. We have free time to move about as we please. We can walk to the PX and the on-post Burger King as long as we have a "battle buddy." And we get cell phones after the duty day! It's so nice to be able to call people! I probably mentioned most of that in the last post, but I'm finally feeling some of this freedom. It's frickin' great!

Class is our main deal being here, and so far so good. We've been thru a week in Basic Electronics, two days in Information Security, and just finished two weeks in Windows XP. For Security and Windows, we've had Sgt. Harr instructing us. He's a real laugh when he wants to be, and he likes to keep his classroom environment light. I really appreciate that, as it makes it easier to learn. Like Einstein said, "Don't let school get in the way of your education."

On free time though, I've found a way to unwind. I finally got my laptop from Mike, and when I get a chance I can bring it to the IET Rec Center. It's got an arcade, concession shop, phone card computers, and best of all a wireless hot spot. I can sit back and check out some of my internet business on my own computer. It's a little slice of home, only slower access and less fooling around with Ashley in between.

I'm already looking forward to my next set of privileges in Phase 5. We still have phases like Basic, and here at AIT everyone starts as a Phase 4. Phase 5 is going to have some definite perks, like civilian clothes and off-post privileges.That's right, I've been in some sort of uniform and on-base for the past 3 months. It's hard to believe, even for me. That said, I may not get my phase badge for a little bit longer than the rest of my class, since I failed my physical fitness PT test. There's another test coming up, so wish me luck pushing it out.

AIT Ho!

Hey everybody, Chris here again! I'm finally out of Basic, and about a week thru Advanced Individual Training, or AIT. Life is much different here at Ft. Gordon, Georgia. Instead of 24/7 Drill Sergeant presence, they only really deal with us at the barracks. When we leave for school, we are under the instructor's charge, and generally the instructors are pretty lax. Our current instructor, Sgt. Grimes, is very laid back. And unlike the drill sergeants, he acts like a human being, with his own cares and concerns. He's here to teach us skills, not discipline. I really enjoy that attitude, since I have a high level of discipline anyway.

We even get free time after school and on the weekends. Yes, we have to take care of the barracks and the occasional busywork detail, but we can do just about anything on free time. The only frustrating part so far is when the drill sergeant on CQ for the night decides to play with formation times and uniforms.
"Formation is 21:15 in PT's."
"No, wait, it's 19:30 in BDU's."
"Why are you forming up? Formation isn't until 20:45 in PT's!"
You get the picture.

BCT Graduation

From journal entry:

The air was charged with excitement this morning as we got ready. We got our personal effects and cell phones back, and people saw their opportunity for last minute pictures and exchanging of addresses. We caught the motor move to Hilton Field where we marched in proudly. The ceremony was short and sweet, and the pass and review was our moment to shine. We were released, and I found Mom and Ashley. The graduates were required to take the bus back to the company, but we met back up there.

Sign-out took forever, but eventually we got off-base. We ate lunch, and I had the first real burger I'd eaten in two months. We shopped for a short bit, and then went and just rested at Mom and Ashley's hotel room. I felt bad not doing something more interesting with them, but they told me they were there to enjoy my company, no matter where or what we were doing.

The last two days were a great visit, and not nearly long enough But I guess it's time to start looking forward again. I was told that 90% of the graduates will see Iraq, so I need to be ready. Time to learn my trade at AIT.

Family Day

From journal entry:

I finally got to see Mom and Ashley after 10 weeks of hardly talking to them. It was incredible to see the, even with so little to do. We were restricted to the base, so we checked out the PX and the Ft. Jackson museum. It was hard to let them go for the night.

Inspection 4

From journal entry:

Today was a frantic attempt to get the bay ready for Inspection 4. We had to dress the bunks in our TA-50, plus prepare our Class B uniforms. IN4 itself was hellish. Standing at parade rest for an hour is not fun, especially in those patent leather shoes. But we got pizza, candy and soda afterward. Woot!

End of Victory Forge

From journal entry:

The rest of Victory Forge was uneventful, and we marched back Friday night. Saturday was spent inventorying and cleaning TA50.

This morning was my makeup PT test. I passed easily: 38 pushups, 61 situps and 16:21 two-mile run. I should've run faster, but I was trying to pace Kelley. After 4 laps (1 mile), our time was 9 minutes. I had to leave him behind. I don't think he'll pass before graduation.

I felt so glad about passing that instead of watching movies with the platoon, I donated blood at a drive for the 82nd Airborne. Woohoo!

More Victory Forge

From journal entry:

It's been a relatively uneventful few days out here in the field. Training has been scheduled, but we never get to do it before heat stand-down. However, last night we were able to run Operation Kill Bill. DS Latta led us on a 5-ton dismount and counterattack, a road march, recon, and a hike through dense woodlands in pitch dark.

Today we had NBC training. We were in the process of staying masked for one hour before heat stand-down forced us to unmask. Bummer. The Sergeant Major of the Army, SMA Preston visited our company, but I didn't get to see him.

Anzio Convoy Live Fire

We ran dry, blank, and finally live-fire runs of the Anzio course. The drill sergeants were very concerned about safety, particularly since we'd have live rounds chambered while dismounting the 5-ton truck. Everything went well, and the IED simulation was very good to run. As dusk fell, we started the Squad Night Fire to practice relief-in-place and Quick Reaction Forces. It was about 2300 when we finished and we figured they'd just move us back to the company, but instead we moved to the victory forge site, marched the 1/2 mile back to the site, made camp and slept.

Rained out

From journal entry:

More rain, more rest at the company.

First day of Victory Forge

From journal entry:

The march was long, but nobody fell out. We started laying out positions and filling in old hastys, but a heat stand-down and Senior DS being picky held things up. That evening it rained hard, so we were motor-moved back to the company bays. Disappointing!

Prep for Victory Forge

From journal entry:

It's our last day before Victory Forge. We're sleeping from 1300 to 2300 so we can step at 0100 tomorrow for Field March 6, the 15k march to the Victory Forge site. It'll be difficult, but I can make it, I know.

Last PT Test of Basic

From journal entry:

Today was our final PT test! I passed everything for a change: 35 pushups, 66 situps and 13:52 two-mile. Must faster than usual! Unfortunately, the run judge didn't see me on the last lap so he marked me at 18:01, way past standard. So now I have to try again after Victory Forge. That really sucks! DS Goode tried to have it corrected, but the senior DS was apparently flooded with corrections and opted to let all records stand. Oh well, I did it once, so I can do it again.

Grenade qualificaiton

From journal entry:

Today we were able to return to the grenade qualification course. This wasn't live-fire, but using dummy grenades on an obstacle course to practice and demonstrate proper technique. I was able to get Second Class. Challenging!

Omaha Beach course

From journal entry:

Today we did the Omaha Beach live fire buddy assault course. We ran the course dry first, then with blanks, before finally doing live-fire. It's a very dangerous and accident-prone range, apparently. I spent the day with Pvt. Braughler, my new buddy for Victory Forge. Talking to him, we've had very similar lives. Good guy.

Live fire grenades

From journal entry:

Today we went to the live-fire grenade range. We spent lots of time on safety, so much time that we didn't get lunch chow. All that for two little M67 grenades. We didn't even go on the qualification course! Still, fun.

Bivouac

From journal entry:

Today was the end of our first bivouac. It was three days in the field with my overweight heat-casualty battle buddy, Kelley. How wonderful! At least last night was the Night Infiltration Course, a.k.a "NIC at Nite." NIC is a sort of simulated Normandy beach landing: we were required to low crawl through sand toward a bunker while the bunker was firing a machine gun over our heads. It's very safe as long as you don't stand up. The rounds are probably above head level and we're supposed to crawl with our helmet on the ground. But the sound of bullets overhead was definitely a terrifying experience.

Other than that, most of the time was spent on squad movement drills and heat stand-downs. Digging and filling hasty fighting positions was a pain, but at least they're not full-fledged foxholes.

US Weapons Demo

From journal entry:

Today was fun: we got to fire paint grenades from an M203 grenade launcher, set up a dummy claymore mine, fired 50 rounds from an M249 SAW, and fired a modified AT4 with 9mm tracer rounds.

We also saw demonstrations of a real grenade from an M203, a real claymore, and a real AT4 round. BOOM!

Blue Phase

From journal entry:

We did a diagnostic PT test today, and I failed pushups. Oh well.

We also moved from Red to Blue Phase, which means more freedom! For training we previewed the new BRM qualification style. Instead of 20 foxhole and 20 prone unsupported, it's 10 kneeling, 10 prone supported and 20 prone unsupported. This is supposed to more accurately reflect the current conflicts where we're not using foxholes. Interesting!

Deferred Issue

From journal entry:

Today we got our Deferred Issue of our Class A uniforms. It was another busy day back at the 120th CIIP. I was pretty close to the front, so I ended up on detail after I finished my issue. I got jackets out of the warehouse for the fitters. After hours of this running work, we did about an hour of restocking. The Army Greens look great, but now I have to find more room in my locker!

Confidence Course

From journal entry:

Huge obstacle course, some with a team and some on your own. We did the Berlin wall, skyscraper, rope bridge, 5 walls, and "slide to victory." Fun!

Basic Rifle Marksmanship

From journal entry:

Today was Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM) qualification day. We've spent two days of prequalification on this range, and now we're going to finish it! I hadn't passed on either day of prequal, but today I was a first-time GO, hitting 24 out of 40 targets for a Marksman badge. Not bad. Our platoon didn't get the BRM streamer for our guidon. In fact, we got last. But everyone in the company qualified, so there's a plus.

Fourth of July treat

From journal entry:

It's been a boring week of Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM) drills, but today we had a bit of rest and relaxation. We were rewarded with no training, and the drill sergeants ordered pizza for an afternoon snack. Real Domino's pizza! They took us to sandyland afterward for a nice little smoking, but we realized they'd been planning it all along. They couldn't just let us have pizza, right?

Gas chamber

From journal entry:

Today saw a couple of the big landmarks of BCT: the "Fit to Win" obstacle course and the gas chamber. Fit To Win was long, but it was done as a squad so at least I wasn't alone.

But the gas chamber was exhilarating! The first half of the day was spent learning NBC (nuclear biological chemical) procedures and repairing our masks. For lunch, everybody got a double helping of chili-mac and we had to eat every last bite of what was on our plates.

Then we took a walk down "The Green Mile," masked up and stood on Death Row. When it was our turn in Old Smokey, I could immediately smell the CS and feel it on the back of my neck. I had to unseal the mask and state my name and SSN, then reseal it. After that, we lined up, took our masks off, opened our eyes and stumbled out the back door onto Chili Mac Road with snot pouring out of our noses, coughing up a storm.

It was fun when it was over with, and I learned two important things: trust in my mask, and a memory of the smell of CS.

boot camp

Letter from Chris to sister Jean:

Chris writes, Thanks for all the letters, "it really brightens up my day"

"Basic is as good as ever. We're starting into some hardcore training, like the bayonet assault course, the endurance obstacle course and today was the gas chamber! That was intense... I really appreciate how well those masks work"

Here is some useful news: Family Day is August 11th, Graduation is the 12th.

Chris says he is fatigued but spirits are still high. His motto is
"Today is going to be a good day"

Bayonet Assault Course

From journal entry:

This was another BCT highlight: pugil sticks and Bayonet Assault Course. Everyone was excited about pugil sticks because it's our second big chance to beat the hell out of each other. Only this time, it's with giant Q-tips representing a beyonetted weapon. I was able to get one good hit on my sparring partner before they clocked me.

The Bayonet Assault Course was long, so they put us in ability groups. I was huffing and puffing at the end, but I made it.

Teamwork Development Course

From journal entry:

Today we navigated the Teamwork Development Course, TDC. It's a series of 6 obstacles mostly involving 2x4s suspended on beams. It's challenging, but fun. I learned this: a team needs one competent leader. Too many people throwing ideas together mid-operation doesn't work.

Today was my first chance working with some of the other platoons and drill sergeants. In particular, DS Hale was a bit interesting. Yes, he's a hard-ass, but he's also able to crack jokes and give calm criticism.

Unarmed Combat

From journal entry:

Another BCT favorite, Unarmed Combat (UAC) is mostly grappling moves. The attraction is the fact that we're allowed to beat the crap out of each other and get away with it. Some rivalries are already apparent. The one guy everyone wants to beat, Pvt. Kemper, is conveniently on sick call. Oh well, we'll get another chance in a few days.

Victory Tower

From journal entry:

Today felt like the first big day of BCT with Victory Tower. First, we had to tie a Swiss seat harness to standard. We climbed up a 50-foot ladder then rappelled down a sheer wall. It's a test of intestinal fortitude, and I did well enough to surprise myself. My bunkmate, Pvt. Kelley, is scared shitless of heights, but he still made it down. The next challenge was the rope bridges. First was the 3-rope bridge, which was easy by all accounts. The 1-rope head first commando crawl is harder to balance, and probably 50% actually made that. I wasn't part of the 50%. Last up was the 2-rope, which was fine. The last part of the course was climbing down a cargo net. Too easy.

Week 1

Letter from Chris to sister Jean:

It's been a tough first week of Basic. This makes reception look like a luxury vacation! You don't blink unless the drill sergeant says to. Every little mistake by individuals will drop the entire 60 people in our platoon. We'll go entire days without technically being able to talk, but the last few days have been a little better. We have been figuring out how to stand still, how to clean the bay in time for wakeup, and how to remember gear. The drill sergeants have been slightly more personable, cracking the occasional joke. And we got the rest of our field gear and our M16's! We don't fire them for another week , but we carry them everywhere. We've been through unarmed combat, tactical movement, and Monday we go to Victory Tower to face our fear of heights.

I'm really missing home, the people, the foods, the relaxation time. I think I can handle this for a while longer.

And oh yeah- my mailing address is:
PVT Chris Keller
E Co 1-28 Inf Regt
5482 Jackson Blvd
4th Plt Terminators
Ft Jackson, SC 29207

(Sorry guys, this is jean updating this and it took me a while to figure out his password to log in. Write to Chris, I'm sure he would love the inspiration. I'm writing to him too - don't worry! Take care everyone)

BCT Beginning

From journal entry:

We started in Red Phase, which means we are absolute beginning soldiers. Any mistake is scrutinized, and group punishment is the standard. If our battle buddy is not squared away, we're not squared away. We're only as strong as our weakest link.

I'm in Echo Company of the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment. I'm assigned to the 4th platoon "Terminators" under Drill Sergeants Goode, Latta and Poppell. DS Goode is the platoon sergeant, a small but fierce black woman with absolute command over us. DS Latta is a crusty older former infantryman and also authoritative. DS Poppell is no pushover, but he's a Reservist and is only with us for his 2 weeks annual training, and less prone to jumping down our throats.

At first, BCT is a lot like Reception BN except more restrictive. The first few mornings were very abrupt wakeups when DS Goode walked in on a dirty bay. One of us finally figured out that we should start rolling each other out of bed early to clean before she arrived. We were issued TA50, including LCE belt and suspenders, rucksacks and shelter halves. After that, we were issued our M-16 rifles and shown how to disassemble, clean and reassemble them. The first two weeks were mostly classroom briefings. In addition to strictly procedural stuff, we got a rather graphic briefing on IEDs from DS McDaniel who was deployed to Iraq. IEDs account for over 70% of US casualties there.

I'm a little apprehensive about my decision to join, but even if I wanted to get out now, it wouldn't be easy. They're not letting anyone go just for asking; there's a war going on, after all.

End of Reception

Reception battalion has been a long, hard learning process. we're really getting a taste of Basic right here. You wake up when they tell you, sleep when they tell you, and everything in between is done in as much of a rush as possible. A hundred guys on my floor have 30 minutes to take care of personal hygiene with 16 showers and sinks.

That said, we did a lot of stuff. The most exciting part was getting our BDU's, our camouflage uniforms. They look so pretty, with my name embroidered on the nametape. They're hot as hell, but they are sharp!

We're supposed to ship tomorrow. I'm not sure if I really want to, because it'd be nice to catch my breath for a bit. But the treat of being home for Christmas is factoring in. We'll see.

More from journal entry:

Reception battalion has been a blur of military life shock, never-ending lines and DFAC food. Between the 2nd and the 9th, we processed paperwork, medical records including the Moment Of Truth (MOT), financials, and BDUs. We were introduced to fire guard duty, smokings (PT as punishment), and shakedowns. I've been in the center bay, so I get to hear a lot of gossip. My buddies have been Pvt. Frank and Pvt. Lujan.

Hell Begins

Started travelling to Ft. Jackson yesterday. Got to Denver MEPS at 5 AM, so it was an early morning. They drove us to DIA, and we took a plane to Philadelphia, then to Columbia. They bussed an entire busload of us into Ft. Jackson, and to the reception station. That was about 11 PM, but they started processing immediately. We turned in packets, got sorted into platoons, got exercise uniforms to wear for the entire week, and finally at about 11 AM they gave us about 2 hours of sleep. This afternoon we did some medical stuff, and now its finally time for some real sleep.

False Alarm

Surprise! Turns out I didn't ship today like I was supposed to do. I went down to MEPS, got my weigh-in, and waited around until we left. Unfortunately, they called me up to tell me the flight was overbooked, and I'd be staying until Thursday morning. What a pain! All that preparation, sad goodbyes and mental calming, just to be held back for 2 days. They even made a point to tell me that it wasn't anything I had done; I had brought all of my paperwork and everything I needed.

But on the bright side, I called my mom and she'd decided to skip work for a couple of days so she can come down tomorrow and say goodbye! I know she was heartbroken when she couldn't come this weekend, and now she gets her chance to be with me. Plus, my dad's father's day gift arrived at my house today, which means Mom can take it back with her. He's gonna like this gift, I have a feeling. I'll post what it is after Father's Day; he might be reading this.

All that Ashley and I can figure is that God knew Mom needed to say goodbye and gave her that last chance. If that's not destiny or divine intervention or something, how did that happen so conveniently? It's a bit of a headache for me, but I'll really love seeing Mom, and I know she'll be overjoyed to see me one last time. Guess I just have to hang out until Thursday after all.

2 days left (again)

See you in 6 months!

Well, I think that's about it. All of my preparations for Basic Training are complete. Everything's been packed, put away, internet and phone scheduled to go on hold, and all of the paperwork prepared. I think I'm taking about double the items on the standard packing list, but that's ok. I'll just have to see what they let me keep.

I still have today to enjoy. I think Ashley and I are supposed to have our own long goodbye, then probably hang with the crew and my dad before heading to bed at about 8 PM. I leave for Denver MEPS at 0445 tomorrow, so it'll be an early start. After that, I get another weigh-in, read over my contract, swear in once more, and head for DIA and off to Ft. Jackson. Then, I have no idea what to expect!

After today, I'll be sending updates to my sister Jeannie, and she'll post whenever she gets a chance. Expect entries to be back-dated. Thanks a lot for helping me, Jeannie! Love you always, sis!

Thanks for all of your support, I love you all! I couldn't do this without so many wonderful people to back me up. Well everybody, pain and opportunity await!

1 day left

Almost done in New Mexico

Well, visiting my parents has been very relaxing. I'm glad I came! The trip hasn't been action packed, but I really appreciate that. Pretty soon, I'm not going to have the luxury of sitting around reading for hours on end. Oh well.

We did go for a hike today at one of the local pueblo ruins. I enjoyed it, not as much for the ruins as just going for a hike with everyone. It was nice to see Zach and Jeannie having fun being with the family. I don't see them as much as I'd like to, even when I'm in New Mexico.

Also, my parents and I saw Episode 3 today. Shweeeet! I knew the general plot, but it still managed to suprise me. Seeing Anakin's turn was shocking and horrible, in a pitiful sort of way. It was also kind of fun explaining Star Wars trivia to my parents, but I would definitely like to see it with someone else who would catch the nuances of the series. Someone who would really appreciate the gap that the movie filled.

Oh well, off to bed. I've got lots of driving to do Tuesday.

9 days left

New Mexico - Last time

Life's been pretty laid back since school got out. I got exactly the grades I was expecting, so that was decent. Other than that, I'm still doing horrible with physical training. What else is new?

Oh, one big surprise. Yesterday Ashley and I went to lunch together, and she surprised me with a promise ring for me! It's very plain, but I like it. It's supposed to be titanium, so it should hold up to whatever I put it thru.

And now I'm in New Mexico. Nobody's home yet, but I bet they'll be walking in soon. I'm gonna have fun.

13 days left
(Oh and Jackie, don't forget: scanner and KOTOR! Thanks, see you soon)

School's Out!

... For- eva! Oh wait, wrong song. Anyway, yeah, I'm done. Sweet freedom! That's one year and 25 credit hours down. I think my grades will be good; I've already checked my computer class, that's an A. I'm expecting an A in Econ and a B in Calc, but those are both in the air.

So yeah, just lazing about the house so far. I found a weight bench on eBay and managed to talk the seller down, but I'm still waiting to pick that up. Hopefully I can work on my arms a little before I leave, and I'm sure I'll enjoy having it when I get home. PT in general is getting better, slowly but surely. I'll definitely be able to get in, although I don't think I'll be able to get a promotion before I leave. So much for that.

Oh, and I finally got my hard copy of OotS! W00t!

I've started packing what I can and getting my room ready. I don't know if my cousin Sean will be getting back while I'm in training, so I need the room to appear empty enough that he can use stuff. Extra shelf space and the like. Besides, moving furniture around and vacuuming under it is so much fun!

Ashley is getting stressed out, it's pretty bad. We've talked about it, and there's nothing much that I can do except tell her I'm coming back. (Let's just put this out there: she has fear of abandonment issues. She'll only get over it when I come back.) We still don't know about her diploma, it's getting down to the line and she still has a lot to do. She also has mental blocks to getting her diploma, but I keep telling her that waiting another year isn't going to solve those problems. We'll see, we both have more free time now. More time for her to work, more time for me to police.

21 days left

Last drill weekend

So yeah, life's good. School's been winding down quickly, almost too quickly. My C++ and econ teachers are pretty relaxed, but my calc teacher refuses to drop a section and just speeds thru lectures, which means I need to do homework to actually understand it. Darn!

Thursday, Ashley and I got in a little tiff. Not sure exactly what sparked it. I have a feeling she's really tense because my BCT ship date is so close. She still acts like nothing is wrong, but she's not really convincing me. Friday we got Jackie from Ft. Collins since her car has decided it needs work, and Ashley still hasn't forgiven me for whatever got her mad, even though neither of us remembers what.

Saturday and Sunday were drill days. As usual, I found a pretty dull job, being a door guard. Our unit was hosting a conference so some of the nearby units could update everyone on their training status, and we held it in the CU Medical Research Center, about a half mile from the main buildings. Since it's not a government building, none of our people had keycards to get into the building. Also, if the doors are open too long an alarm is triggered which calls the cops and such, so we couldn't prop the door. Therefore, I got the honor of opening the door for people as they entered. It actually wasn't that bad, besides the nice May snowshowers and cold weather.

On Sunday the unit also had a change of command ceremony for Brigadier General Cooke, one of the generals in charge of our unit. People were not looking forward to standing at parade rest for 2 hours, so I ended up getting out of it. I actually wish I could've been there; it didn't last as long as expected, only about an hour, and everyone that was there said that it was done very nicely and elegantly for such a backwaters base. Besides, while everyone else was at the ceremony, I was on trash detail at the main building, making sure that the offices were fit to be seen if the general wanted a walkthru. He didn't, as far as I know.

On the plus side, there was cake, and we got out an hour early.

Not much time left. I'm starting to feel the rush.
29 days left

Edit from journal entry:

Door guard was done with Pvt. Dixit and SPC Quist.

I'm getting excited about BCT. My buddy SPC Leuthaeuser is going to help me with PT. Hope I have time to improve.

There's a big recruiting scandal in the media. And always more reports of deaths in Iraq. I really hope I'm not mobilized for a year or so.

Recruiters Get Serious

Last night I went to the recruiter's office for the weekly DEP meeting, as usual. Only this time, someone actually wanted to do something more than run around the block.

Sgt. Shivers felt the need to show us some real PT, so he put the 6 of us in formation, got our streches in, and proceeded with a push-up exercise. It went something like this; 10 regular push-ups, 10 with your hands forming a daimond, and 10 wide-arm. Then proceed to 9 of each, then 8, etc. etc., down to 1 of each. At 7, we started doing these on a hill, facing downward.

By the time we got to 6, I was basically being hauled up and down by my partner. He looked like the guy who's been training for the service since he was 10 years old, so he didn't even break a sweat. I, on the other hand, was just looking to finish (being lifted up and down) without vomiting. And this is why I'm a radio guy.

When I got home, I slept. By 7:30 I was out cold. On the bright side, I'm not too incredibly sore. I've got a lot of work to do!

(P.S., no I haven't gots my email about THE BOOK)
39 Days until I ship

Benedryl

Arrrg... Benedryl sleep... setting in...

Must get something useful done... must not sleep...

Allergy Season Ho!

I've been sneezing my head off the last couple of days. It wouldn't be so bad if my body would actually decide to sneeze every time!

Everything's been pretty normal lately. I had drill this past weekend, which was fun as always. We moved some shelving, built some shelving, packed field bags, put covers on kevlar helmets. Nothing too horrible. On some of our downtime, I was able to get Sgt. Pursley and Sgt. Faughn to sign off on my DEP checklist. If I can learn all of the skills on the checklist and get them signed off before I ship to basic, I can get an automatic promotion. At this point, that just means I earn more money. I doubt if basic will be any easier because of it. The only skills on the checklist I may not be able to complete before basic are the physical fitness tests: 42 pushups in 2 minutes, 53 full sit-ups in 2 minutes, and 2 miles in under 15:54. I can't complete any of those right now.

School's normal. I think everyone got spring fever right about Monday, because nobody's been able to focus. Just 3 weeks left.

41 days until I ship.

Second drill weekend

From journal entry:

2nd drill weekend. Most of the unit is going to Ft. Carson for weapons qualification, but us DEP soldiers got left behind. There's a new guy, Pvt. Dixit. I think he's from India. On Friday we actually kept relatively busy for a change; Sgt. Vidmar had us cleaning closets as usual. When we finished too early, he had us start on one of the storage cages. It had a whole bunch of shelving parts in it. Vaughn, Whittier, Dixit and I moved those out, again quicker than expected. Last part of the day we moved a safe.

Saturday, we started building shelves in an empty storage cage. We were joined by Pvt. Faith and a female specialist, an MP who's transferring to a different unit on Fitzsimons. After that, lots of waiting. Sgt. Pursley and Sgt. Faughn helped me with my DEP checklist. I found out 1SG Rusher retired, and Sgt. Vidmar is assuming the post next drill. Damn! I really liked Rusher; Vidmar, not as much.

Sunday was really boring. Pvt. Hollmann and I quizzed each other. When the main body of the unit got back, we helped them unload. We put covers on kevlar helmets, inventoried TA50 sacks, and put them on the new shelves. We did some marching, and each of the DEP privates took a turn at leading drill. Boring.

Personality Test

ISTJ - "Trustee". Decisiveness in practical affairs. Guardian of time- honored institutions. Dependable. 11.6% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs)

First Library Time... Ever

I never knew library time was so liberating! Not that the machines in here are really exciting; they're so far locked down I'm surprised I can use the keyboard AND mouse! And the network's also closed, so unless I'm sneaky I can't hook up my laptop. That's ok, I've still got my precious internet.

Things are good. Nothing new in school, except the end of semester is fast approaching.

I did end up telling Ashley about the schedule crisis, and she looked a little teary-eyed, but I suspect she saved the real breakdown until she got home and went to bed. She's glad to know, and I think she's actually a little excited about the preparations. It means she gets to go shopping for stationery and not feel guilty (or get in trouble)!

Travel Plans

I got some... sad news, and I don't know if I want to tell Ashley now or sort of sneak it in as a stunning revelation later.

I looked a little more closely at the dates the Army set down for Basic and AIT. I ship to Ft. Jackson on 31 May, but I don't actually start Basic until 10 June. Basic is supposed to be 9 weeks; if it's exactly 9 weeks, I'll be done 12 August. After that, AIT is slated to start 15 August. That leaves me Saturday and Sunday, assuming I can leave the 12th and travel back to Ft. Gordon GA on the 15th.

Not only that, but if AIT lasts exactly 18 weeks like its supposed to, it'll be over 19 December. I don't know, but I hear the Army is notorious for pushing back travel until after major holidays.

I don't know if I want to tell Ashley now or not. I'd rather be told immediately so I could plan accordingly, but knowing Ashley she'll get emotional and fret and worry no matter when I tell her, so perhaps its better to tell her later and give her less time to worry. Any suggestions?

I guess I'm lucky nothing's set in stone yet, but it sure would be nice to know what the Army has planned for me.

There and Back

Well, my trip to New Mexico could not have been better! I left Wednesday, experienced the usual long drive, and got there about 5 minutes before my sister and then my mom arrived. Talk about good timing!

I didn't do a whole lot on Thrusday or Friday, seeing as everyone was at school and work. Thursday night we had a great dinner at The Trinity Beverage Co, and Friday I had mom shave my head down to 1". I figure if I get my haircuts gradually shorter, it'll be less of a shock to Ashley and everyone else. Less of a shock to me even! According to Mike, maximim hair length at training is 1/2", so I've got at least 1 cut to go.

Most of Saturday was spent in Santa Fe shopping at a mall my family hadn't discovered. We went all over the place; my mom got a motorcycling jacket from my dad as a birthday present, and Jeannie got some books on drawing anime and bought a new set of computer speakers. My mom bought me a cheap chess strategy book and a pair of sunglasses that I sorely needed. We ate lunch at a little resturaunt called Maria's, and they had some of the best green chili stew I've ever inhaled.

Overall, the long weekend was nice, at it was great to see everyone. I didn't see Zach very much, but I did get to meet his girlfriend Natalie. Jeannie kicked my butt with some ROTC workouts that I'm sure will be very similar to those at my own boot camp.

Harry Potter was a little dull for the 10th time coming home, but when I got back Ashley suprised me with an easter basket! The basket was cleverly disguised as a brown paper bag, but it was fun all the same. I got a sunglasses holder for my car, a little bit of cash from Ethel, a bit of candy and a diet-size container of pecan puffs. But best of all, Ashley presented me with my finished rosary. I had bought the parts a couple weeks prior, and she had been busy over the last week wtih chilluns, but was able to finish it while I was gone. It looks beautiful, with sterling silver cross and centerpiece and black "cocoa beads." I'll try and post a picture soon.

New Mexico Prep

Today was going great for a while. I was helping Ashley at daycare, and I was doing good entertaining chilluns. I came home to work on my computers, and it went smoothly. As soon as I started prepping for New Mexico, I must have left my brain on the bed-side table.

My trip to the bank went well, except I'm further in debt than I had expected. Its still nothing major, but I'm gonna need to re-balance the ol' checkbook. After that, I went to Checker and tried to find a case of Quaker State, like I always use. They didn't have any cases of it, but rather than just lug the quarts individually, I decided to look for something different. I saw a tag for a relatively cheap case, but apparently I saw the wrong tag, since it ended up being about $5 a quart. Rather than bug the clerk, I just bought it, went to K-Mart, and bought the regular case of Quaker State. I guess I'll have to take the other case back tomorrow before I leave. I decided I was just too irritated to get my head shaved down today.

I also had an unusually difficult time changing my oil. I've gotten my procedure down pretty much pat, and its usually nice and clean and easy. Today went like the entire engine had been changed: I didn't know the drain plug bolt's size like I thought I did. I spilled oil all over the asphalt, and got my hands so dirty I had to wash my hands in the middle just to keep using them. I got about half a second from burning my hands searching for the plug in the drain pan. Overall, I was just extremely, unusually clumsy.

I know everyone has their days, but it still annoys me that this is happening. I sure hope the rest of the evening is better than the last 2 hours have been.

Bicycle rides again!

Yesterday, when I realized that gas prices weren't going to dip back down for a while, I decided that fixing my bike would be a great idea. I bought new inner-tubes, got the thorns out of the tires, and now my bike is ready to ride!

I took it for a spin down to Ashley's house, and it was very easy to tell I hadn't done it in a while. I stretched leg muscles that I haven't used since I got my driver's license. At Ashley's, we hung out for a little bit, then she left to house-sit for the night. Ethel asked me what we wanted to do for dinner, so I rode over to Applebee's and got us some chicken tenders and a burger, and rode back. After we ate, I did some fine-tuning on the piano, then started practicing a rendition of Malagueña out of Ashley's songbooks. At about 9:30, I finally rode home. Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to bring my head and taillights with me, so it was a dark ride home.

I had forgotten how much fun it was to ride like that. Riding in the park at dusk was enchanting, and I heard the sounds of everyday life that you miss in a car. I waved to passers-by, and they waved back, so it was also much more personal and friendly. It was like I had rediscovered a simpler life, "the way it used to be." And it saves me money and is better on the environment, both of which I like a lot. It also looks like it will improve my health (I really need to start getting in shape, 2 1/2 months to go until Basic).

After spring break, I'm going to try and bike to and from school on good days. If I get the guts, that is. C'mon, its only a 4-mile ride.

... And the week after

So, back to business. After drill last weekend, I was left with a sense of what drill is going to be, plus a nice little form that allowed me to get my initial BDU uniform. I spent most of last Sunday getting it, since Vaughn and I had very little idea what we were doing. In the end, he accidently spelled Captain Randolf's first name wrong, which he easily could've been doing pushups for. However, Cpt. Randolf was very nice and just mentioned it before signing it.

After that, school was business as usual. I'm losing a bit of grasp in Calculus, but my grades are staying up, which amazes me. Thursday rolled around, and I finally gathered the courage to try out another new military "first:" going to Buckley Air Force Base. Sure, it wasn't that horrifying, but I had no idea where I was going! I could've ended up on the wrong end of the base for all I knew. Luckily I got some basic instructions to the PX, and from there I found my way into the uniform shop.

I felt like a smaller kid than usual trying to find my clothing myself. The clerk pointed in vauge directions while saying, "Your hot weather BDU's are over there, the cold weather jackets are there," etc, etc. After I finally looked lost and took too much time, she started gathering the easy things like the brown undershirts and socks. I picked out camou shirt and pants, which was pretty difficult considering the different sizing scheme of "Small-Short" thru "XL-Long." Finally I went to the counter, only to be told I'd picked the temperate versions instead of the hot-weather versions. So I went to pick out my cold-weather jacket. Once again, picked the wrong one. I picked the cold-weather gloves that seemed like were most stocked and finished up just to be done.

I got home, excited despite the fiasco (it wasn't really that bad), and tore open the packages and started trying stuff on. To my great suprise, everything generally fit except the gloves. I couldn't figure out the belt and buckle, but they're one-size-fits-all, so I knew it was the right size at least. Saturday I went back to Buckley to get patches and order name tags that I hadn't gotten, and spent a good deal of the day sewing them onto the uniform with nylon thread, basically thin fishing wire. That was a pain, but the uniform looks much better now that it has those patches.

Nothing special today. Except oh yeah, Ashley wanted me to help her find a house she's going to be sitting in the near future, and she told me it was in Boulder. We drove up 36, and thru downtown Boulder, and past Jay Rd. Finally Ashley called the lady and asked which streets her cross-road was between, and as Ashley started explaining our location, she uttered one of those "Ooooooh"s. The woman lived in Westminster. Ashley's cute, but sometimes...

First Drill Weekend

Okay, update time. Took me long enough, right? So last weekend Fri-Sun was my first drill weekend (my regular monthly work) for the army. I got there the first day at 0700 and had no idea what to expect. I was thrilled when I found the right building on the first try! We went out to formation, and we listened to announcements while standing at attention. I even went up and was introduced.

After that I was told I was going to work with Sgt. Lindsey, the base network guy. He also had another private under him, Pvt. Vaughn, and the two of us made to be pretty quick friends. He's about my same age, was also in marching band (he went to Littleton High), and switched between snare and tenor drumming. He had a lot of stories about being in a rescue corps, and growing up with his dad in the Army. (He fondly recounts taking MRE (field ration) sack lunches to school, apparently the hot dogs are pretty good.)

I also got to meet First Sergeant Rusher, basically my manager. When I have logistical or other kinds of problems, she said she's the one to talk to. She's an extremely nice lady, and I think she's probably a career soldier and mother. She's businesslike most of the time, and it seems she can arrange anything you could possibly need, but she also appreciates a good joke. I really like knowing that she's helping me out.

As for the weekend itself, it was pretty dull. Friday, I helped Sgt. Lindsey and Pvt. Vaughn clean out a couple of their computer storage closets, then we set up tables in a huge room called the drill hall, then set up computers and network cabling in that room. I got to watch all of the higher personnel prepare some equipment for the firing range, which is where they're going for the next drill weekend, but I won't be allowed up there until I complete Basic. Saturday and Sunday, the majority of people were using our computers in the drill hall. They were processing paperwork for other units that were being mobilized. Since Vaughn and I had no experience with the paperwork, we were stuck sitting around and cleaning out more closets. Sunday I was able to fill out paperwork to receive a camou uniform. The person that's supposed to do it wasn't there the entire weekend, so Vaughn and I improvised with First Sergeant's permission.

I'll try and update later and tell you about the rest of the week.

Edit: from my journal:

My "sponsor" in the 651st was supposed to be SPC Nieto, but I learned this weekend that he's being mobilized. Sounds like mobilization happens a lot more than the recruiters told me.

On Saturday with the "mobex" happening, we cleaned out an office. In the afternoon, a new sergeant to the unit, Sgt. Faughn, helped Pvt. Vaughn and Pvt. Whittier (also a DEP, my MOS) with their DEP checklists. If a DEP soldier finishes their checklist before Basic, they can be promoted. I didn't have mine, but sat with them and learned the trivia.

Sunday was about as boring as the day before. I cleaned out another closet with Vaughn and Pvt. Faith, a DEP female who goes to CSU. We did more checklist studying with Sgt. Faughn. First Sergeant Rusher helped me fill out a uniform request form even though the usual person who processes them wasn't there.

Sgt. Fleagle told us about Desert Storm and differences from today. She reckons last time we sieged their line long enough that the ywere willing to give up easily. She also alluded that another mobilization cycle is coming up when we're exiting BCT. That scares me a little; I expected to be mobilized in my enlistment, but hoped it would be in 2-3 years after I've learned a little.

Oops!

I just made a little boo-boo. I completely erased the hard drive on my desktop computer. Oops. Those of you who know me know that I just do it myself every once in a while, but usually there's a section of the hard drive that doesn't get wiped. I usually don't lose all of my music, my downloaded files, etc. Oh well, I guess that means I get a completely clean slate!

Life has been good. Ashley and I celebrated Valentine's Day last night; we went to Woody's Pizza, then came home and watched movies. It was really nice! I got Ashley a pair of earrings that somewhat match her promise ring, and a fuzzy green scarf that she's been dying to get for herself. She has been strapped for cash, but she's planning on getting me somthing soon and won't tell me what. Is that mean or what?

Sad News

Last night, things were going well. I was over at Ashley's with her, Jackie and Jeremey. We were having a generally good time, playing the new card game Jackie got me for my birthday. I got a call from Nancy, and she told me that she had been playing with Roscoe. He must've gotten spooked, because he flew off her shoulder and headlong into a mirror. He broke his neck and died instantly.

He'd been in the house for about a week, and he'd been in my room for about 3 days. He was really starting to warm up to me, we were getting to be buddies. I'm pretty sad. I know Nancy was pretty broken up about it, because he was a really sweet bird.

I buried him in Grandma's garden this morning. Call me a softie, but I chose to put him under the bush where the sparrows hang out in the spring, so he could be with them. Guess it doesn't take long to get attached, eh?

I'm thinking about whether or not to get another cockatiel. On the one hand, Roscoe was really friendly and fun to have around. I'd love to have another bird and get the chance (that I didn't have with Roscoe) to bond with them. On the other hand, cockatiels are really social birds, and get stressed out rather easily I hear. Being in and out for nearly 5 months during training wouldn't be good. Also, I have general plans to move out of Grandma's house within the next year or two, if circumstance allows. A lot of changes could be happening rapidly, and I'm just not sure any intelligent, social pet (a.k.a. any that I'd want) would be able to handle that. I'll think on it some.

Life is good

Yes, you heard it right, life is indeed good. School's back in full swing, and I'm actually doing homework and keeping up in classes. The army is doing... well, what they always do, telling me to lose weight and recruit all of my friends (which I'm sort of ignoring). Ashley is no longer sick and/or menstural, so we're both happy there.

An interesting note, my aunt sort of aquired a few birds from one of her friends that was getting rid of them, so Ashley got 2 more cockatiels, Grandma got a lovebird, and I, yes Chris, got a cockatiel of my very own. His name is Roscoe, and he's one very cool bird. I sometimes have mixed feelings about having so many pets, but maybe I can start out with just this one. He's pretty cool, after all.

Yes, about the only point I can complain about is my financial situation. After the traffic ticket for expired plates, my car sat for a few days. When I had forked up $100+ for the ticket and new registration, I found out the car isn't running. Thru a series of phone calls to Ashley's grandpa and successive tests, Bob has determined that my timing belt is off, which could be an expensive fix since the belt is buried in the block. So now I'm stuck, in debt, driving around in my grandma's trucks. I hate to say it, but I should get a job. Oh well! I don't have to look that hard, right?

Back to School

The past couple of weeks have been relatively uneventful. I've been taking the diet a bit easier, what with Basic being 4 months off, but I really need to get back in the habit. The worst part so far has been trying to get back into working out. Now that I'm down near an acceptable weight, its time to start gaining actual muscle so I can actually lift myself over an obstacle. I'm glad I bought that 20-punch pass to the rec center when I did; being dead broke makes it hard to pay for a gym.

School started back up last Tuesday, and so far it's been pretty basic. Tuesday and Thrusday is Computer Science, which is C++ programming. The instructor seems very knowledgeable and experienced. One of his former jobs was building a program for one of the National Database Agencies. Most of the details are classified, so we don't get to know exactly what it was, but he says the program managed, arguably, one of the largest databases in the world at the time it was made.

Monday and Wednesday are going to be Macroeconomics and Calculus. Macro should be fun, and again the instructor seems very experienced. Thru 2 classes though, I've noticed he loves to go on tangents about related trivia, and really get into his examples. As for calculus, this teacher is very formal, very deliberate. For example, the math department at FRCC requires that calc students complete 3 Gateway Exams in order to go on to Calc 2. Instead of just explaining that if you never pass one of the Gateways the best you can earn is a D overall, she went thru and explained "If you have an A in the class and pass all 3 gateways, you will recieve an A. If you have an A but fail one gateway, you will have a D. If you have a B and pass all 3 gateways..." etc. etc. She'll be great for learning new concepts, but very tedious to listen to all day. The bright side is she never collects homework, only daily quizzes.

Well, time to go to calc. Hopefully they have the notes packet printed up by now; the bookstore didn't have them when I tried to pick them up. Happy Birthday, Dad!

Oh yeah, and PS, my car isn't working. I think I've had this problem before; the starter makes a sound, but the engine never sputters and turns over. Hope that doesn't mean repairs...

In The Army Now...

Today was the day. I was up at 4AM, and Sgt. Hill was here at 5 to take me to Denver. We got there pretty quickly, and at 5:30 I headed in with the rest of the enlisters and the people shipping out to Basic. Things moved pretty smoothly at first: I got my name tag and headed to medical for my weigh-in. I was there with about 30 other guys, either shippers or guys in the same boat as me. I focused on my tricks for standing taller, but still only made 71.5 inches. Apparently they don't round up. However, my weight was right on the dot for standard, 194 lbs, so I passed. That figure means I've lost 12 lbs since my last trip there 30 November, and most of it was the last 2 weeks!

After that, things slowed down. I gave my nessicary paperwork to the Army office, then waited for them to call me up. And I waited, and I waited. Lunch came at 11 and passed. I was starting to think they had forgotten my file, but I also knew they had to deal with the shippers first and get them out of the building, so I waited. Finally, after about 4 hours, they called me into the office.

I went in with the career counselor, and we discussed what was available and what might interest me. They had a couple of admin jobs similar to Mike's, but one that really piqued my interest was a Communication Support Specialist. It came with a $3000 bonus, $100 extra monthy on my GI Bill money, and Top Security clearance! And according to the counselor, this particualr job is not likely to deploy because the unit is an Area Support Group for the mid-Western US, so that's their only area of responsibility. The job also sounds good; I'll be repairing encrypted secure-channel radio equipment. Not exactly computers, but certainly usable skills.

The only big downside is the training length; 9 weeks for Basic, and another 18 for job training (AIT). Since I decided to do those both at once, I'll be gone for 27 weeks, about 6 months. My tenative ship date is May 31, and I'll be back sometime in the beginning of December. I'm just hoping and praying that there's time between trainings to come home for a couple of days.

So after I decided on the job and talked to a different counselor about the security clearance, I was back to shuffling paperwork between offices. Finally, at about 4 PM, they called me up to swear in. They took us back to a relatively small red-carpet room with the flags of all the services. In walked Major Morales, a kind of short, Spanish-looking man. He gave us the speech that sounded reminicent of a serious granduation speech, in which he told us we came to the service for many different reasons, but now it didn't really matter. All that mattered was for us to Serve, Protect, and Defend. We swore in, and now I am a Private. For the next 6 years, I'm a member of the Army Reserve.

Philosophy going into the Army

Some of you may think I'm going too far for something I don't really want and/or need, or something that is too dangerous. Yes, I fully expect that at some point, I'll be shipped out to fight the "War on Terror." But I've realized I don't want to live a boring, completely safe life. That doesn't mean I'm looking for danger; I don't want to see the front lines, and I will avoid death at all cost of honor. But I do want to live a memorable life.

I hold great respect for all veterans, and I don't think I can earn that kind of respect by being a computer programmer. Not even if I'm a rich, creative, powerful programmer. The Army will help me define my own character, and give me the confidence to have opinions of my own; that's something I feel missing right now. Don't worry, I'm not going to just agree blindly with every word the Army shoves down my throat; I hope I'm wiser than that. Besides, the Army is going to give me the kind of stories I loved to hear as a kid, the kind I can tell to my kids and grandkids. Basically, I expect to come out a more well-rounded, confident person.

It may seem like I'm blundering into this too quickly, lured by every word the recruiters say about how the Army "will help my career." Please, give me some credit. They don't give a hoot about my career, as long as I'm a name on their contact roster. What I'm saying is that I've given serious thought to this decision. I know I could be put in situations at any moment that are life threatening, and I pray to God that I'll come out unscathed. But I believe that I will find something much more meaningful than a life of soldiering. I will find the person that I've always wanted to become.

Sick Day Pt 2, and Cherry-Yuck

Since my last post, life was going as usual. Sit home, experiment with Linux and C++, check my eBay auctions, etc. I still haven't seen a whole lot of Ashley, but I'm ok with that for the moment. (We're not fighting, I just need personal time.) My diet had been going well ever since I made the switch to eating rabbit food; at that point, I'd lost 4 lbs in a week. Not too shabby.

Sunday I woke up extremely stuffy and head-achey, and I had no appetite for breakfast, so I just met Ashley for mass. About 45 minutes thru I started to get really dizzy, and Ashley took me to find orange-juice. We both figured my blood-sugar had dropped too low, it sure felt like it anyway. The lady in the kitchen wanted to know if I had diabetes, but Ashley told her it was just hypoglycemia.

Anyway, Ashley drove both of us to the mall. I stayed in the car while she talked to T-Mobile about her phone freaking out. After that, I just had Ashley drop me off at home and take my car. I slept the entire day.

Monday was much better, aided by ample doses of Sudafed. The Army pushed back my trip to MEPS (again) to this Thursday, for some reason unknown to me. I never told them I was that sick. Anyway, they did another weigh-in on me, and I had dropped another 4 lbs just by being sick. Oh boy, were they thrilled.

Today they wanted another weigh-in. Since the start of my diet, I've lost 10 lbs total. I'm almost close enough to Army standard height/weight that I may not have to get a body-fat measurement. Just to encourage that, a couple of the sergeants bought me a bottle of cherry-flavored saline laxative (I made sure to check, it wasn't tampered ;) ). I wasn't so sure about this new idea, but it seems like their idea of a miracle diet - drop 3-4 lbs overnight, so to speak. I'm still a little hesitant, but whats the worst it could do? Bottoms up.

Best term paper EVER

Before I get to my real update, I just have to mention that this is the purest stroke of genius I have ever seen. Read it. Admire it.

Happy birthday Rusty Strings

Life's been decent overall for the past week or so. The Army has had me change my diet since I wasn't losing weight. Now, instead of just cutting out junk, I'm actually eating 3 healthy meals a day, and in the past two weeks I've lost 5 lbs. Not bad.

But tonight all that got thrown out the window for Jeff's birthday. I joined he, Kristen and Ashley, and we went out to CB & Potts for dinner. A nice big, juicy burger was just what I needed! I dunno how old Jeff is turning, 24 I think. We didn't even sing happy birthday or tell the waitress or anything fun. Picures ensue:





So yeah, it was good times. We went out looking for Jamba Juice afterward, but they were closed by the time we got there. We headed for Dairy Queen instead, and saw none other than Andy! We didn't stay long to chat, but he gave Kristen and Jeff discounts on their ice cream. After that, we crashed at Kristen's and watched Raising Helen. It wasn't quite as cutsie-horrifying as I had imagined.

Sick Day

I guess my new year wasn't as happy as I'd have liked it to have been. New Year's Eve was excellent; we all got together at Kristen's for a party, and everyone enjoyed themselves. We had quite a time with Ashley's PS2. We played DDR for a while, and even tried out Mortal Kombat with the DDR pads. It was very entertaining.

Yesterday morning, however, wasn't anywhere near fun. I can't tell if I had a 24-hour stomach flu or terrible indigestion, but you get the picture. I decided to rest for most of the day, interrupted only by a bout of projectile vomiting. It wasn't fun to say the least.

This morning I feel mostly better, so I'm thankful for that. I had breakfast with my mom, who was in town for the past few days and is heading back to New Mexico. Beyond that, I think I'll just spend the day reveling in the fact that I'm not sick!