Monday, March 28, 2005

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.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

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.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

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.

Sunday, March 13, 2005

... 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...

Saturday, March 12, 2005

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.