Sunday, July 30, 2006

The 96th Reunion

Eight weeks of class finally came to an end Friday, when I took my Calc 2 test. I don't have the results yet, but it felt pretty good. I'm expecting a C in the class, but there is that slight chance that my final exam grade and a healthy curve kicked me up to a B. Wait and see!

This weekend, I started chewing away at my required AT days by helping with the 96th Infantry Division Reunion's Family Day event. They've had all sorts of events this week for the reunion, like on Thursday, when everyone in the unit was invited to attend the Rockies baseball game, in uniform. Saturday's Family Day was an opportunity for the vets and current members to bring their families for food, fun (a rock wall and a dunk tank), and a look at today's military. I was volunteered to show off the M249 SAW, the Army's light machine gun. I've fired one, a little 50-round drum in BCT, but I wasn't immediately prepared to be a "subject matter expert" on the thing. I had to have one of the SPC's show me how to dismantle the thing. Even so, I was alright when the action started. We had WW2 vets coming thru, and I soon learned to compare my rifle to the Browning Automatic Rifles that they used. Per suggestion, I started thanking them for their service, and asking them where they had served. It turns out, in World War 2, the 96th Infantry Division had been entirely draftees, and that most of them had served during Okinawa, and were some of the last guys in the theater before the dropping of the atomic bombs. It was really a pleasure to get to talk to those guys, the forerunners of my occupation and heroes of their day.

At about 3, they also had a flag retirement ceremony, a very solemn ceremony performed when an American flag is no longer fit to be a national symbol. The flag is respectfully and carefully cut apart, removing its symbolism, and one by one, the each stripe, and finally the field of blue and stars are burned. It was a beautiful ceremony, and I really appreciated paying witness to it.

After our guests had left, we still had to pack everything up. There were several camo shades and frame tents set up, so we tore them all down. After that, they all had to be packed away in the host unit's CONEX (a shipping container). SGT Faughn and I ended up in the back, trying to lift these 150 lbs. packs of tent skins over boxes, me standing on the little corrals full of tent frames. That was hard work; I thought I was going to pass out from heat exhaustion. But in the end, we got everything into place, and that was it for Saturday.

Sunday morning was just a bad morning, all around. I got ready and started driving to the store for some take-out breakfast, and managed to bust one of my back tires. This is ironic, considering I just busted one of my front tires and had to replace both front. So, I change the tire for my car's donut tire. That's dandy, except now I can't go over 50 MPH, which means I shouldn't drive on the highway. Therefore, I drive all the way down to 6th and Kipling, probably a 20-mile drive, taking Sheridan, one of the side-streets. Great. So I arrive, only about 45 minutes late. Nobody was too concerned about my tardiness, so I just jump in and help where I can. I end up washing yesterday's cookout dishes for a while, plus a few other odd jobs. After that, I'm informed that we're heading back to Fitzsimons to return the camo netting. Wonderful. Once again, it would be a very simple, short drive on the highway. But instead, I'm forced to take Colfax thru downtown. Not only that, but part of Colfax is closed for construction, without an obvious detour marked. Long story short, I got back to Fitzsimons just in time for them to be done packing the camo netting into our own CONEX. And with that, everyone is released for the day. I know there wasn't much else I could do, but I felt like crap for being so useless. So I had lunch with Vaughn, and drove home. The very long way, again.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

A Beginning and an End

Lots of exciting things happening! Yesterday contained both a beginning and an end for my life. The beginning came in the form of an interview for the Geek Squad at our local Best Buy. After school I rushed on over to the store to meet with the Geek Squad manager, Lam. He was pretty cool, and asked me a few technical questions. I was able to answer them pretty well, with only a few small hiccups. For instance, I didn't know what popular spyware scanners are available. I should have known, but I never use them. My machine stays fairly clean, as a rule. Either way, I held my ground on technical knowledge. He didn't say I was necessarily hired, but he mentioned that if there was no room in Geek Squad, he'd try and find another place in the store for me. I think Geek Squad would be fairly awesome, but I could live with just about anything in Best Buy. Considering I really really need a job. So I guess I may need a new hat in the near future.

The ending came with Jeremey moving out of the house. He's had a good stay here with Cameron and I, but in the past month or two he's really been a deadbeat. He's been behind on rent since the second month, and yet recently he's been buying a lot of expensive crap. He's acquired computer parts, a monitor, a DVD player with 5.1 surround sound, mood settings for his room like a fountain and a stupid little Mood Wave. And the list just goes on. Cameron and I finally got fed up when he said he wasn't going to help pay for groceries. Right there, we knew it was time to talk. That was Friday night, if I'm not mistaken. And to tell you how Jeremey took it, he bought Guitar Hero, one of the most expensive PS2 games available. And Monday he started packing up. By this morning, he has 3 things left in the house. And while I'm disappointed that this didn't work out for long as a living situation, I'm mostly glad to be rid of the frustration and tension around the house.

With Jeremey gone, we're going to have to find another room mate, and fast. Otherwise, Marcy can't keep charging us dirt-cheap rent.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Last Faire Trip

Well, yesterday was my last trip down to faire for the season. I had a good time. I tried to trade out my leather-bound journal for another style, but the owner didn't keep that style in stock at the shop. I wondered around taking picutres for Jackie, and I caught a few good ones. A little after lunch-time, I got volunteered to be a step-and-fetch (grabbing food) for Ashley's entire shop, and then Jackie and her boss. Interesting, but next time I demand a tip! And that was most of the day.

Afterwards, Ashley took me with a good number of the wench camp residents to O'Malley's Pub in Palmer Lake. We just had dinner, but a few of the older women had some drinks too. The pub did have one unique feature; when you order a steak or a burger, you just get the raw meat, and then you use their communal grills to cook it to your pleasure. It was a fun time.

Friday, July 21, 2006

What I want to know is...

Where the heck did I put my copy of Homeworld? I just got a hankering to play it, and I realized I haven't seen it since I left for Basic. Have to ask Mike...

Go on about your business! Nothing to see here.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Day Tripper

So, continuing after drill on Sunday afternoon. Having being bussed from Ft. Carson to Aurora to drop off gear and be released, I drove back down to Larkspur to join Ashley. I was able to get into faire for the last half hour or so of the business day, just as everyone was leaving. Ashley was a bit caught up for a while, because she was participating in a "Wench Walk." For those unfamiliar, a wench walk is an event when several wenches, about 6-10, gather in a pack and Wench (verb) unsuspecting men. When one is wenched, they are placed in a circle, and the wenches take turns in placing very lipstick-laced kisses on exposed skin. Very traumatic. Ashley tried to have me wenched, but I told her she could have me done on a different day, when I wasn't three days in the outdoors.

After that, Ashley and I tried to get ready for the party. Ashley was supposed to bring a food dish, but forgot the noodles in the van that had already driven home, so we just got dressed and headed up the hill. The party itself was very interesting; it was themed Paris, circa 1900, "black and pearl." We knew very few people, just Ashley's co-workers, but the food looked excellent and the music was pleasant. The hostess made her grand entrance with 3 or 4 other women doing the can-can. Overall, very enjoyable, but we would have had a better time having known more people in attendance. We left after a couple of hours, and slept in Ashley's tent.

On Monday we drove home. Ashley wrapped up her house-sitting job, but I didn't get to recitation. The only reason to go would have been to pick up my test, and I can get that anytime. After a while, Ashley decided we should try for a day trip and see Cave of the Winds. I was a little hesitant at first, because I felt like it would be too late in the day to start a day trip. We went anyway, and stopped in at the Colorado Springs Visitor's Center. The guide there really suggested Garden of the Gods, and that was free, so we checked that out instead of the Caves. Garden of the Gods was amazing! The formations are absolutely incredible. Pictures just do not describe their magnitude and beauty. Ashley and I had dinner at The Mason Jar restaurant, and drove home very happy. I'm actually glad we went, even if we did get a late start. We'll have to do more little trips like that.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Crawling Around in the Cactus

So, I think the test went well Thursday. I'll find out tomorrow, I hope. Drill was excellent this weekend. We didn't stay in our usual Reserve barracks in the main of Ft. Carson, with its "posh" 2-man rooms. Instead we stayed in the "Tent City" barracks, which are a lot like the BCT barracks, with one long room of bunks. Lucky we weren't crowded.

Friday was spent at the Land Navigation course, and we retrained ourselves in navigation using a compass, given bearings and distances. It was really good training, but tiring! Each team walked thru two courses, with each course being roughly 4km once you walk to the starting lot. This is thru varied terrain, flat stretches and steep hills, open fields and thick underbrush, small streams. Not to mention the cacti and yucca plants. Do I ever appreciate those combat boots! All told, I probably walked 6 miles in basic field gear Friday. And it was fun as hell. I slept well.

Saturday was much more interesting. We geared up with MILES gear, the Army's version of laser tag equipment, and drove way back to the MOUT course. We practiced driving a convoy through a simulated town somewhere in the Middle East. It started off that we were just supposed to drive through the town, watching for suspicious persons, IED's by the road, and getting out with as few casualties as possible. After we got a little warmed up, we progressed to clearing buildings. It was a very eye-opening day, to say the least. My unit has never deployed as a whole, so only a handful of our members have ever seriously trained or had to use these skills. As a result, our performance was pretty feeble. Not that it was in any way unproductive; I think everyone learned a lot. Ducking behind an up-armor HMMWV to keep a sniper from taking your head off, and then returning fire, is a sensation you just don't get in civilian life. I really hope we get a lot more training like this before having to ship out.

Our new signal section NCO, SGT Lant, really had to step up his game on Saturday as well. MSG Albin told him about 30 minutes ahead of time that he was going to be a convoy commander, and that's a huge responsibility! MSG Albin was really getting on his ass about things, too. I think MSG Albin is a bit forceful, but that's really what our unit needs in a senior NCO. So anyway, from what I saw, SGT Lant did a bang-up job and took charge after a bit of fumbling. I know how hard it is to be in charge, and to just be thrown into it like that, with zero experience being a convoy commander. It's good knowing that my section sergeant can get things done!

Sunday we packed up and took a quick trip through the dummy grenade range. Throwing little metal bulbs at plastic men sure doesn't look that exciting, but attempting to execute a plan with as much realism as possible does make it a bit better. It was mostly an afterthought in the training, but it did kill some time with a useful refresher. After that, we just headed home and turned in gear and weapons. This was SFC Lindsey's last drill with us, so there was a small party afterward in his honor. I'm really going to miss having him around.

Oh yeah, and my buddy Vaughn just got promoted to Specialist. Apparently, I would have too, if I had passed my PT test. As soon as I do pass it, they're going to promote me. Yet another motivation to keep on working at it. It just seems incredible to me. I was a Private E-2 for three months, and Private First Class for four months, and they're already trying to get me promoted to SPC. The standard progression is 6 months from PV2 to PFC, and a year from PFC to SPC! I must be in a good unit or something! Actually, I really do like my unit.

I'll go ahead and backdate this, and make a separate post for the rest of the weekend.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Pirates and Daimonds

So, lots happening. School is trucking right along, but no huge changes there since the last test. Friday, the group went to the opening night of Pirates of the Carribbean 2, and it was completely worth it. Very entertaining. The weekend was as usual, the girls gone to faire, me up here working on this and that. Tuesday, Ashley and I went on an impromptu date. We ended up mostly shopping around the jewelry stores, looking at rings. No, I don't plan on popping the question any time soon, but I would like to know Ashley's tastes when I do end up getting something. And as it turns out, she's got a particular style in mind, but she's not too picky about the price. Good to know.

Tomorrow I'm taking my third midterm early during my professor's office hours, so that Friday I can head down to Ft. Carson for drill. This is going to be a crazy weekend! I've got drill Monday morning to Sunday afternoon, then Sunday evening I'm driving back down south to faire so I can attend a fancy party with Ashley. As it's probably going to be late, we're going to camp in the girl's tent over Sunday night [oh yeah ;) ] and Monday morning we'll drive back to town. I'll probably be driving directly to Boulder, without stopping at my house. Good times.

Thursday, July 6, 2006

Happy 4th

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July weekend, I know I did! It was useless to go to recitation on Monday, being the first class after the test. I would have spent my usual 4 hours between the commute and class, just to pick up the test and discuss it. Instant 4-day weekend for me! I spent quite a bit of time trying to fix Jeremey's new custom computer, but I think there's a major component on the motherboard, namely the chip set, that's damaged or malfunctioning or something.

Monday night we had a sort of movie night and party over here at Alcott, and that was pretty fun. It was a bit different from our usual thrown-together parties. Ashley made a roast chicken and fondue. Tuesday night it poured for about an hour, but it cleared up in time to watch B-town's fireworks show. Absolutely amazing! B-town never disappoints when it comes to fireworks. Except that one year they had a misfire and had to cut the show short. At least they used the extras the next year!

I got my test back today, and didn't do as well as I wanted to. I'm going to really have to work in order to get back to a B. I'm really trying for that B, because that would bring my GPA back to a 3.0, and that will look good when I apply to transfer into the College of Engineering. Guess I should start using more office hours.

Saturday, July 1, 2006

Certified, Bone fide, Quantified

Well, life has been treating me well for the past week. Last weekend I took another trip down to Larkspur to see Ashley and the girls in action. I had a lot of fun, and got out with my wallet only a little slimmer. I did, however, buy one of the leather journals from D'Vyne Wrytes that I've always wanted. It's so cool! I also got to see the campsite for the first time. Usually its only open to staff but since I was in costume, I was able to sneak back after cannon. I did, of course, have to help the girls put up another tarp, but it was worth it. I got to witness a "wenching."

Calculus has been getting steadily harder. We're working into infinite series, which is a common stumbling block for students at this level. As its name suggests, it involves a lot of working with infinity, which is very ambiguous to me. It also involves a lot of obscure algebra, the stuff that I never liked in high school. The stuff I would learn for the test and then actively try to forget. However, so far so good. We had our half-way midterm yesterday, one of the two BIG exams in terms of final grades, and I think I scraped a B. My grade average is holding out at about an 82% right now, and if I got an 80% on the test, then my average won't change much.

I'm also looking into getting more computer industry certifications. I already have a Cisco CCNA that proves I know how to design and troubleshoot simple networks. I earned it after taking a VoTec class, but it's about to hit its 3-year expiration date this month. I'd like to renew that, and hopefully go for the CompTIA A+ certification. The A+ would prove that I know enough about computers to be an entry-level service technician. Really, I think I know enough to be a technician right now, as I have a ton of experience with my family's and friends' computers. But certifications are what employers like to see. Somewhat reliable proof that I know what I say I know.

Needs More Cowbell

I should really stop lurking around google video:
Pipe Dream by Animusic
This reminds me, its been such a long time since I've played any music. Maybe I'll fix that.