Tuesday, May 31, 2005

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)

Monday, May 30, 2005

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

Sunday, May 22, 2005

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

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

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)

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

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

Monday, May 2, 2005

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.