Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! It's been an exciting one for me, with many big events. I got married, got called to active duty and deployed, and was received into the Catholic church. (I finally have pictures up in the Iraq gallery.) I've made new friends, learned new points of view, and loved every God-given day! Not to say I wouldn't rather be home; I miss everything about home, and I'm looking forward to being there again. However, there are so many opportunities here, if one opens their eyes.

As for New Year's resolutions... Well, I resolve to make it back home, for starters. I don't think that one should be hard to fulfill! As much as the army likes having me here, they don't want to keep paying us silly Reservists full time. Also, I want to spend more time with my wife and my family. Once again, shouldn't be hard, as I'm spending no time with them currently.

There goes the C-RAM, sounding off for the new year! Let's hope it's a good one, shall we? I love you, everyone! Keep safe!

Christmas Time Again!

Hello again folks! We've had so many exciting events, it's hard to know where to begin. To start, we have a new soldier working with us, Spc. Bonita. She is a transplant from one of our subordinate units who had some personality conflicts with her own people. So far, she is a little fiery at moments, but overall very friendly and easy to work with. Also, one of our section was promoted; Sgt. Antonio is a brand new NCO, and filling his new role well, taking on a lot of new responsibilities. Beyond that, I've completed all of my RCIA classes for the church, and Fr. Hotel is going to welcome me into the church tomorrow at the Christmas Eve mass. I will be receiving my baptism, first communion, and confirmation in the Catholic church. While I wish my friends and family could be with me for this huge event, I've found that being out here in Iraq has given me an incredible opportunity to forget about most of my daily routine and focus on self-improvement. I'm trying to do that in many ways: spiritually, academically, and socially.

The Christmas season has been different than usual, to be sure. Being away from friends and family has been difficult. It's a different scenery and a different climate than I'm used to as well. But we have a few decorations around, and the care packages have been pouring in from friends and strangers alike. The Have a Heart/Adopt A Soldier organization has sent most of our unit packages! But I think what has helped this feel most like the Christmas season for me has been listening to Christmas music. I already mentioned the Mediæval Bæbes last month, and in addition, I've been listening to holiday music from Jewel, Barenaked Ladies, Sarah McLachlan, The Roches, The Choir of Kings College in Cambridge, and Sufjan Stevens.

I have new pictures in the Iraq picture gallery that shows us celebrating the season. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving in Iraq

Another milestone has been passed during my time here in Iraq. I was here last month for Halloween as well, but this holiday brought a more acute feeling of being apart from home. I've grown accustomed to having to choose a family to spend the holidays with, but this year I'm away from everyone. I'm still feeling okay. I'm surrounded by my brothers in arms, and that's good enough. In the morning, I attended a special mass for Thanksgiving, and spent a few minutes afterward talking with Fr. Hotel and a few of the other church-goers. I'm really starting to feel friendships building there. It's great to have another group of people out here to have for company.

After church, I worked for a couple of hours, and then Sgt. Rhino sent us home and closed up the shop early. There were few people in the offices anyway. The dining facilities (DFACs) put on a royal feast, as they usually do. It's one of two days that the military cooks put on their white chef's coats and cook their gourmet dishes. There were decorations everywhere!

I've been doing my best to get into the holiday spirit. It's not very efficient to get a lot of decorations to put up here. I would have to buy them here or have them sent from home, put them up for a couple of weeks, then either ship them home again or throw them away. But I have found a good way to remind me of the season. Using my Rhapsody subscription, I've been listening to a lot of Christmas music. One of my favorite CDs has been Mistletoe and Wine from the Mediæval Bæbes. The group is a small choir of women with a little instrumental accompaniment, and their music is reminiscent of very old church music and chants. A few songs are even in Latin and French. If you can get a hold of it, it's certainly worth a listen.

Pros vs GI Joes Photos

I've updated my Kuwait photo gallery with pics from Pros vs Joes. Check 'em out!

Advancement

I've got tons of exciting news (exciting to me at least), and I'm sorry I haven't written sooner. You have to believe I've been busy! To begin with, I finally passed my physical fitness test a couple of weeks ago. It has been about three years since I've passed one, and my career has been in a holding pattern because of it. But after two months of steady work, I finally managed to earn a pass, and actually scored well!

A couple of days later, I was elated to learn about the good consequences of passing. My commander decided that I had shown good job performance and was an outstanding soldier all around, and since my PT was finally in order, he decided it was time for a promotion! So now, I'm earning a little more money and have a little more rank on my chest.

Not only that, but as a reward for my hard work, I was selected to accompany SGT Yankee for a mini-pass to Kuwait. Normal passes are 4 days in Qatar, but this time we were sent for a special MWR mission: a chance to participate in an event by Pro vs GI Joe! They are a wonderful organization with a great idea: they get pro athletes together to play a few rounds of video games with soldiers all over the world via the internet, and even get the soldier's families involved! SGT Yankee arranged for his family to fly to Tampa Bay for a couple of days to watch the match. For me, it was just a couple of days off, but I did get a chance to play. Our internet connection held us back, but it was a fun event overall. You can read a little about the event here.

Beyond that, the office has been relatively busy. We've taken several new units under our care, so business is booming. I'm still taking the RCIA classes, and I'm still enthusiastic about the whole process. I've signed up for a couple of computer courses that should prepare me for several certifications, although I'm not sure if I can use the college credit towards my degree or not. The format of the classes will be interesting, though. Rather than local teachers or mail correspondence, the course will be delivered by videos on an iPod, with an online system to submit homework and get instructor help. I'm not sure how that will work out, but it will be interesting to try. If I don't enjoy the iPod class delivery, I'll copy the course DVD from the field rep, and get a free iPod out of the deal.

Internet

We have liftoff. The satellite has been working for a few days, and the wireless network has been set up. However, we still have some kinks to work out. The wireless network has potentially saved us many hours of digging trenches and laying wire... that is, if it works. We've been having issues getting it to reach all the way into the chu's, which are big tin cans and don't allow the signal through very well. As I type, I'm sitting outside, and getting a few weird looks from people passing by. But it's a small sacrifice for internet.

I realized that the internet is a little like a drug for me. I never realized how much I relied upon it, but when I'm home, school, or work I have a high-quality connections with very few restrictions. But when we first got here, we had the office internet, which is very restrictive and in a public setting, or the internet cafe, which is a little bit more open but still very public. When I'm posting personal pictures in the cafe, it's awkward to be sitting there, shoulder to shoulder with a couple of Ugandan security guards. So with the drug analogy, it's like I've been on a low dose, a phantom of what I'm used to, whereas the satellite is like getting the real stuff back.

Speaking of posting pictures, I've updated the Kuwait gallery with more pictures, as well as finally created an Iraq gallery. Feel free to peruse them!

Another Day in Paradise

Things have been going well, considering. The rainy season started about a week ago, and we saw more rain in 24 hours than fell all of last season, according to some of the guys who have been here the longest. This left huge puddles and lakes in the housing areas, the parking lots, everywhere. And very few places except the main roads are paved, so the ever-present dust has turned into very nice mud. I'm sure the local farmers are thrilled. We just received the last of our gear that we shipped from the states, so I finally have my raincoat and cold weather jacket.

Work has been relatively slow. I did get to work on the radios of a couple of HEMTT trucks (pronounced Hemmit), which I've never worked on before. Beyond that, there's really not much going on.

Church and RCIA have been going well. I asked if there was anything I could do to help during the mass. I was thinking I could be a lector, one who reads the scripture, but instead they pointed me toward a different function. What they really need is altar servers, someone to assist the priest directly in the order of mass and the preparation of communion. They wear a cassock and surplice, and sit next to the priest on the stage (for lack of a better word) near the altar. It was very intimidating to think about, but Fr. Hotel was very supportive. He told me that as the Master of Ceremonies for a bishop for a couple of years, the secret he learned was, "Just act like you know what you're doing, and you'll be just fine." I've served at two Sunday masses now, and I'm learning a lot about the order of mass and what happens during the preparation of the gifts. It's interesting, and it's just one more way to learn about my new faith.

Our quest for internet in the housing area is still in progress. The satellite dish has been set up and pointed, and Mr. Wizard was able to use the internet for about 5 minutes, but it hasn't worked since. There's some sort of routing problem, and we can't figure out if it's our problem or our service provider's. The other critical component, the wireless network system we purchased, has finally arrived. We should be setting that up shortly, but it won't do people much good if the internet connection is not ready. We'll be able to share files and play games amongst ourselves, but that's it. As soon as all of that is ready, I'm going to try uploading pictures. Until then, just e-mail me if you'd like them e-mailed directly to you. (If you post a reply to this message, then I'll get the word. Just make sure to include your name, and e-mail address if I don't have it. Beep.)

A Wonderful Opportunity

I forgot to mention in my last post, a very exciting opportunity for my spiritual life found me out here. As you may know, I've pursued RCIA before, with little success. I just can't find a group or a time that... fits. However, I mentioned the fact that I'd like to go through the process to my unit chaplain, and he was able to dig up a group here on base! I didn't expect RCIA to be offered out here, but lo and behold, it is. An Air Force Catholic chaplain, let's call him Father Hotel, is a strong believer in evangelization, I think. He's going to make the process very simple compared to the other programs I've looked at. Instead of 6 to 8 months of preparation and initiation at Easter, he's expedited the course to just 16 weeks, and we'll be initiated at Christmas! He's also doing this because the Air Force has such short deployments, and he's only here from September to January.

Fr. Hotel is a very interesting priest. He's relatively young compared to most priests you encounter today, and his attitudes, while still strictly Catholic, are somewhat more open and forgiving than usual. Somehow, his mannerisms seem to blend easily with the edicts of the church, rather than forcing them. It's difficult to explain, but refreshing nonetheless. He seems much more oriented to our community than the average priest; he wants to know the entire congregation on a first name basis as much as he can, which is a daunting task considering the fluid nature of the parish. He seems very proud of having the RCIA class around, and makes it a point to mention us at mass. He delights in leading small worship and study groups, that much I can tell. He seems like the perfect fit for the RCIA process, and I'm excited to be involved with it. This seems to be the right place and the right time.

In other news, Mr. Wizard, the other guys and myself have been working on internet for the chu's (Containerized Housing Units). The satellite system is on order, but there's another problem to overcome. In order to afford the service, we must have at least 15 people subscribing. And to get those 15 people their service, we have to run a network between all of the rooms they live in. We're spread out across several hundred yards of trailer park. Walking around, you can see that other groups have solved the problem by running cable all over the place. Most groups have just run it on top of the rock bed, maybe thrown the cables under the stepping stones. It's a royal mess, and it would be a lot of work. It would be even more work to do the right thing and bury the cable. Instead, we've tried something novel. We're using some of our unused military equipment to try and set up a wireless network. Civilian solutions won't work because the distances are just too great, but this military wireless might just do the trick. We'll have to see how it goes. With luck, by the end of the month, I'll be able to write you from the comfort of my room!

Life in Iraq

Well folks, I know it's been a while. I haven't had a chance to post
because the Internet in our office doesn't allow access to blog sites,
or a great number of other things. Half the time, I can't even
download printer drivers for my job!

Life is going well out here. After a short transition period, our
preceding unit left for home, and we settled into our daily routine.
For me, it starts out a 5 in the morning for PT. After a shower and
some breakfast, I report in to the office. We're currently in for
about 10 hours a day to make sure that when problems happen, we're
around. After dinner, I usually have a couple of hours to relax and
unwind. We're working 7 days a week, which is official policy
according to our commander. I hope it changes at some point, because
it really wears me down. Not to mention, it's difficult to do things
like get haircuts with so precious little down time. On the other
hand, I'm thankful that I have an office job that keeps me relatively
safe.

The base we live on is a dusty logistics hub. There are many buildings
left from the time the Iraqi Republican Guard used the base, as well
as many trailers for offices and living quarters that Coalition Forces
have installed. There are concrete T-walls everywhere that protect
from and contain mortar round fragments, as mortar attacks are fairly
common on some parts of the base. We happen to be in an area that is
well protected by terrain and rarely sees indirect fire. Lucky us.
Despite all of the dust and rock beds and occasional trees on base, we
can see a lot of greenery on the outside of the wire. After all, this
is the target=_blank>fertile crecent. It's a region of rich history and
culture, but I probably won't get a chance to experience much of that.

I'm really doing pretty well here, and most importantly, I feel safe
and happy and lucky. We can't ask for more than that.

Test Post

This is a test post to my LiveJournal using e-mail.

J/K

Well, last night we were slated to leave Kuwait. Despite all of the free time and the great ways to spend said free time, I think most of us are excited to leave. We'll be able to settle in our quarters for the year, start our jobs, and be reunited with our far-flung luggage (there were several shipments). So, we got all our little bags packed and bussed out to the airfield. And waited patiently. And waited some more. After a couple of hours, we finally got the news. J/K! Our flight had been canceled due to mechanical faults on the aircraft. Ok, no big deal, it happens all the time. But the Air Force's manifest system being what it is, we don't get priority on the next flight or anything silly like that. Instead, we have to wait at least 2 days to re-book. Right... Now, our fearless leaders have discussed a few possible plans of action, but long story short, it will be anywhere between a week and a month before the unit is fully assembled in Iraq. Gotta love the Air Force.

Life in Kuwait

Well, I think we're almost done here in Kuwait. We're really only here to acclimate. We've been attending some classes, usually 2 to 4 hours a day. After that, we just try to keep cool and entertained. The wireless service on camp is decent, and pretty cheap. It's great to hunker down in the MWR tent or the USO and use their air conditioning for a few hours. Sgt. Rhino has already left on the advance party, and Sgt. Buccaneer is pretty much staying off of the section's cases.

I've had a good time relaxing, but I'll be glad to get up north. The living quarters are cramped, the cots are terrible, and our tent in particular has AC problems that fluctuate throughout the day. That, and I'll be glad to start doing our job and get the other guys out and back home. I know when we're ready to go home, I'm going to appreciate a little haste on the part of our replacements.

Quick post for pics

Fun in the sun, Kuwait style!


PFC Puck (formerly McLovin)


Sgt. Rhino (with the mustach) and PFC Gadget behind him

Welcome to Kuwait

Hey everyone, and welcome to sunny Kuwait. We've got sand, rocks, and lots of lovely heat. There's a slight breeze, but you'll with there wasn't because it's hotter than the still air. Just imagine yourself in front of a huge hair dryer, add in a little bit of dust, and you're already there!

All in all though, Kuwait is better than Fort McCoy. Sure, there's the heat, and the 14-man tents with cots, but the MWR and dining facilities are much, much better. Within a 5-minute walk of our tents, we have an excellent gym; a rec sports tent with ping-pong tables, billiards, and dart boards; a tent with TVs for video games and DVDs; a movie theater; and a USO with more video games and a give-and-take library, all absolutely free. There are plenty of shops to spend that money burning holes in your pockets. So far, we've had a very light training schedule, too. We have to leave plenty of time to acclimate to the environment. Every structure is air-conditioned, and there's bottled water everywhere, most of it refrigerated. Really, a guy could get used to this. I still can't wait to get in to Iraq; the housing should improve, and the MWR should be at least on-par with here in Kuwait, even if it's a bit further away from the hooches.

Final Goodbyes

Yesterday was the final half-day of my pass, and the last time I'll be home before the trip overseas. The pass was a bittersweet event for me. I had a lot of fun and a great weight lifted for a couple of days. However, I had to say my goodbyes all over again, with the absolute knowledge that this will be the last time to see these faces for some months. It opened the wound of homesickness afresh. Even so, I would not have missed it for the world. It's incredible how much I miss Ashley. I think she's taking the whole thing in stride. We keep telling each other, and I know it's true: we'll make it through this, together.

The next couple of days are important in the Big Army's process, but as an individual soldier I'm getting a lot of down time. We leave for the next station in a few days, and I couldn't be more mentally ready for the change. Or rather, couldn't be more ready to get out of The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Wisconsin. I don't know what to expect in Iraq, but I'm anxious to get there and learn what my daily rhythm will be like. Once that happens, I can learn when to relax without keeping myself at the constant high alert.

Home, One Last Time

Well, once again I find myself in Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport, waiting for my flight to Denver. We're headed home for our 4-day pass, our last opportunity to enjoy the comforts of home before we fly overseas. I'm so ready to be home right now. I have no idea what I'll do over the pass, but I know I need to enjoy every moment. Maybe I'll take a hike in Boulder. That sounds nice.

LOWCON

Alright, well the last few days have been... irritating. Somehow, I was detailed to hang around all day with the people running the evalutation. We simulate the unit's higher and lower links in the chain of command. Only, I'm not really sure why they needed a detail. All I'm doing is answering the switchboard phones and handing off to the correct person. Not only that, but it's a very slow job most of the time. I would much rather be taking service calls with my own unit than doing next-to-nothing with a bunch of strangers. Whatever. The evaluation is only 5 days long, and we're already 3 days through. I'll just have to keep re-reading Dune.

The Other MRE

Well, I've finished my lastest class on a different Army computer system, a logisitics tracking system that we might actually use. It's an excellent program from what I can tell, but it's so huge that it's difficult to learn, especially without an extensive background in computers.

Today was our last day of something called a CPX, and the first day of an MRX, which they've renamed an MRE. I have no idea what any of those things are, beyond "exercises." The only MRE that I know is a "Meal, Ready to Eat" in the little brown pouch. Whatever the exercise is called, the commo section had to set up the computer network today. So we ended up spending the day running network cables all over the place.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to go back to the machine gun range. Apparently the M-249 I qualified with last month never came back from maintenance, so I'll have to qualify with a different SAW. I'm not too disappointed. I'll welcome a little more trigger time.

More work?

Today was quite a bit more productive than usual. We squared away some preparations that will ease the transition in Iraq. It's a lot of paperwork, but it's worth doing now. Besides, the only other task we have is to sit around until something breaks, just staring at each other. Why everyone in the section needs to do that, I'm not sure, but anyway... Besides that, I managed to get to the PX today. I picked up a couple of small things: hangers, 100 mile-an-hour tape and 550 cord (not for anything specific, but useful stuff to have around), and a cheap travel pillow in ACU colors. Awesome.

I might be able to get into a class for another computer system. I've never seen it before, but apparently it's a good system that we will use frequently for our unit's job. It has to be better than paperwork and staring, right?

Disclaimer About Updates

I have obviously fallen way behind on updating. I do plan to go in and post-date entries for as much as I remember, but my internet connection right now leaves much to be desired and it's preventing me from updating efficiently. Instead, I'm going to give you the quick-and-dirty rundown of the last couple of months, then start updating from today. Later, when I have better conditions, I'll post-date and the journal will read seamlessly.

Here's the scoop:
April 19th - Got married. Beautiful wedding. Short honeymoon at Broker Inn, longer honeymoon planned for after deployment.

May 5th - Finished semester. Decent grades on the classes I actually finished.

May 12-15 - Army radio class with Pvt McLovin and PFC Jade, good refresher, got to know people a bit better.

May 19-23 - Vacation with Ashley and Dad in Pagosa Springs timeshare. Nice to relax.

May 24 - Jeannie's Graduation. Great day.

June 1 - Start full time Army. Working in Denver, sleeping home at night. PFC Jade fell out for medical reasons, no replacement yet.

June 9 - Fly to Ft. McCoy, Wisconsin for Reserve Training Center, 3 week course on individual Warrior Tasks like marksmanship, urban ops and convoys.

June 29 - Fly back to Denver. Again, working in Denver every day, sleeping at home.

July 3-6 - Four-day pass. Fireworks and farewell party.

July 11 - Active duty orders start, lasting 400 days.

July 14 - Farewell ceremony. Emotional. Fly to Ft. McCoy for mobilization processing and validation.

July 19-20 - Base defense classes and exercises.

July 25-26 - Computer system class

Setup and Prep

I've spent most of the week doing extra bus runs, because they need the help and I need the money. My attendance in classes has suffered, but as I mentioned, most of the heavy lifting is already done. I haven't been going in to the Rational Data office either. Just too busy.

Meanwhile, people have been coming in to town. Jackie flew in yesterday, and my mom and her friend arrived last night. Dad and Jeannie are coming in tonight, and Zach and his girlfriend will not be in until tomorrow.

Tonight was spent mostly preparing the rental property for the reception, and tomorrow looks to be spent the same way. After that, off to the rehearsal, and the next day... my single life is over. I think I can handle that.

Cut Slack

Well, today was the last midterm exam in linear algebra, and I realized a couple of hours prior that I really haven't been studying. I've had so much going on that I have not been keeping up with the homework in class, and even been missing class frequently. It all came back to haunt me this afternoon, and staring at the review sheet for the first time, I realized I had a serious problem. There's no way around it now. I just have to cut slack and focus on my other classes instead of wasting time flailing in linear algebra. It's not incredibly difficult, but it just fell to the back burner in my mind. I just have to accept the losses and move forward. On the bright side, I can relax a bit.

My writing group has finished our final report, so there's little work left to do in that class. In Principles of Programming Languages, we have two of our normal homeworks which are not unbearable. And in Operating Systems, I have one homework and one programming project left. And of course, finals in PL and OS. That's really it. Oh lord, just help me get through to the end of Saturday. Here comes the bride...

Rest in Peace

Monday night, I got a call from my dad. He told me that my great grandma Gene was on her deathbed, and would probably pass on within the week. While I was sad to hear the news, I was happy that she would be out of pain. Her health has been deteriorating for many years, and I know she was in almost constant pain. Later that night, Dad called back to say that she had indeed passed on. The rest of the night was very sombre.

The rest of the week, I've felt ups and downs. I had a nice trip taking a conference of scientists to the Twenty Ninth Street Mall's Wonder of Science outdoor exhibits. I've seen the exhibits before, and it was fun to learn the scientists' perspectives on designing the exhibits and all of the factors involved. Thursday, Ashley and I met with the deacon to iron out the final paperwork. We're all done with classes and counseling, and the license is now at the church, ready to be signed on the big day.

Tonight was grandma Gene's visitation, but I was scheduled for my usual bus run. I called several people, but I couldn't find anyone. I didn't think it would be a large emotional issue if I missed the visitation. I didn't visit very often, but I did always feel like it was quality time. I loved grandma Gene. I guess it struck me as I drove in to work, and showed on my face when I walked into the office. Immediately, the scheduler and transit manager started looking for a substitute driver, and told me just to pre-trip the bus. I was very thankful. It was hard to admit, even to myself, but I was very sad at that moment. I'd always gone to visit grandma when it was convenient, but many things had been more important at the time. I couldn't believe that I had made work more important than her final visitation. As dull as it can be to drive buses, and as much as it sucks to give them extra time when they're in a pinch, I'm really blessed to have such good employers.

The visitation was a hard thing at first. I sat in my car at the mortuary for a few minutes before I could go into the building. When I located the visitation room, I couldn't immediately face that, either. When I finally found my way into the room, I met many distant relatives, some I had met once or twice, some not at all. I was surprised by how poorly I remembered the family tree on that side. I learned that grandma Gene's sister, Dee, had passed away on the same night, not 12 hours after Gene. I don't know if I ever met my great aunt Dee, but I do remember her name, at least.

It's been a very emotional night. I think I'll rest.

Looks Like Rain!

Ashley and I celebrated our wedding shower yesterday, and it was beautiful! We had the party at her mother's vacant rental property. It was sort of a dry run for the reception. It was a fairly small gathering, abut 30 friends and family. Ashley's mother served up a great meal. We played some of the usual shower games: bingo, and the TP dress game. After those, we opened the gifts, and there were quite a few.

Afterward, a few people stuck around to clean and play the card game spoons (we play similar to these rules). The whole day was a lot of fun, and moved along with very few hitches or problems. I'm getting excited for the wedding!

License to Wed

Today I took off a couple of classes to deal with some of the wedding details. First, Ashley and I went to the county records building and filed for our marriage license. We'll need to sign it on the wedding day, then turn it back in for recording, and finally we'll receive our marriage certificate back. I never knew it worked that way.

In addition, I drove to Aurora today to try and demystify Tricare insurance. Of course, I had scarcely more luck than usual. Nobody can give me any guarantees until the wedding is over and my bride-to-be is in the DEERS system, and no clerk is an expert on any coverage option because every option is managed by a different contractor. It's thoroughly frustrating.

Beyond that, we have a few more wedding details to work through, and the shower is this Saturday. I'm a busy guy, that's for sure.

Meet the New Unit

This weekend was my first drill with my new unit. My new section is an interesting group. Let's start with the current section sergeant, Sergeant Rhino. He's thick-skinned and all business, but fortunately he does have a sense of humor at times. He'll need a sense of humor with Private McLovin around. PVT McL seems to be a class clown and a lady's man, and a text message addict. In contrast, there is PFC Gadget who is probably more of a computer whiz than myself, and has more disposable income for fun electronics. Finally, my counterpart is PFC Jade, the only female in the section. She seems easily bored, but generally good-tempered. In addition, we have two people from out of town to fill slots. Our officer, Mr. Whiz, seems very friendly and knowledgeable, and Sergeant Buccaneer is a backup to Sergeant Rhino.

I think I'll be able to work with everybody in the section, and if I'm lucky I'll be able to put up with them when we're off-duty too. I have no idea yet how much free time we'll have or what sort of recreation will be available. I'm not counting on anything yet, but I sincerely hope that my biggest problem during this deployment is boredom. If things are exciting, then we have problems. I guess I'm anxious to know what life will be like, but I'm trying very hard not to think about it. The more I dream about the sort of schedule or accommodations we'll have, the more disappointed I'll be when the plan changes.

Out for the Count

My wisdom teeth surgery went well. I'm recovering well I think. I slept almost nonstop for the first two days. Ashley has been a saint taking care of me. The pain has not been tremendous, but I'm still making careful choices about the food I eat. Mostly mashed potatoes and yogurt. For the past couple of days, I've been up and walking around, and even drove myself to the store. I almost feel good enough to head back to the office tomorrow, maybe I'll give it a try.

Spring Break, A Bit Early

Tomorrow I'm going in for wisdom tooth removal surgery. All four. Two of them will be next to nothing, and one of them should be fine, but they'll be digging for the last one. I've decided to go through a civilian surgeon rather than waiting for the Army to do the surgery. Granted, it would be free with the Army, but the Army dentist will almost certainly not use a sedative, only local anesthetic. I don't want to remember a thing, so I guess a little out-of-pocket expense is a worthy investment. The timing of the surgery was supposed to be carefully placed to miss as little class time as possible and recover over spring break, but I'll still be missing two days. I should be able to make it up. Wish me luck!

St. Baldrick's Success

Well, the St. Baldrick's fundraiser was a success by my standards. Team Buff Bus managed to raise $1,600, and with kind sponsorships from my father and Rational Data, I met my own goal of $100. Every little bit helps. We all had a great time, and Mike even joined in the fun. Ashley took many great pictures of the event, so check'em out!

St. Baldricks Around the Corner!

Hey everyone! If I haven't told you yet, this Saturday I'm participating in a shaving event for St. Baldrick's Foundation. It's a fundraising group that funds research on children's cancer. It's a great cause that my dispatcher encouraged me to join.

Here's the deal. I'm going to get my head shaved. Bald. I know its not a huge stretch for myself, but its for a great cause. If you would like to sponsor my hair loss program, even just a few dollars, you can donate at my sponsorship page. Chris's St. Baldrick's Sponsorship Page! Every little bit helps, and I appreciate any help you can give. There are a lot of causes that deserve this support, but to me, children's cancer is particularly unfair. No one should have their childhood marred by such an experience.

Thanks!

Grizzly Rose Run

The week was fairly uneventful. I had a pre-surgery consult to have my wisdom teeth taken out. Scary prospect, but I'd much rather have it done under sedative than have an army dentist with local anesthetic and a line of people waiting behind me.

Friday night I had a run taking some students down to the Grizzly Rose. Only problem was, I dorked up the start time. I arrived at 9:30 for my pre-trip, only to realize that I was supposed to start at 7:30 and finish at 9:30. Turns out, my supervisor had called me, and I had been in the computer science labs, where I get almost no cell phone reception. It was less-than-catastrophic, because two other buses had squeezed on a few extra passengers each and covered it. I pre-tripped, drove down to the Rose, and sulked in the parked bus until it was time to leave. The third return trip bus didn't arrive either, so the two buses were again just a bit overpacked. Terrible run.

Lots of Bus

It's been a busy week for Ashley and I. We managed to finish making our wedding registry at Target. That was our last excuse, so now we have to finish the invitations and get them out the door.

Transportation needed a lot of help this week, so I took some time off at Rational Data and grabbed some charter runs. Thursday morning, I took a few people down to a sustainability conference in south Denver. They were very interesting people with some great ideas. One of the most interesting proposals I heard was a system that uses algae to scrub city air. A business would be able to put a shed on a building room, the algae would clean the air, and the business would reap profit from the multiplying algae. Much more complicated, but that's the gist. I think it will be really interesting to see how sustainable energy takes form in the next few decades.

Another charter was picking up high school students from Aurora for the Black Student Alliance. I think it's some sort of diversity recruiting effort. Personally, I think it's a good idea to encourage diversity efforts like this, because sections of CU are really not that diverse. The College of Engineering seems to have quite a few Asian, Indian and Arab students, but very few places on campus have a high number of African American or Latino students. On the flip side, the gender ratios in different programs is all over the place. I think most of the Engineering departments are at least 90% male, and I've heard the Biology departments are much the opposite. It's just an observation, not really a praise or a complaint.

This morning I picked up the Army ROTC group from a paint ball field near the School of Mines. It was awkward trying to interact with them. I haven't had a hair cut in a couple of weeks, and I didn't shave this morning, so I didn't have the military look. I was tempted to ask their major about his deployment since he had a patch on his right sleeve, but it seemed silly to ask him. Socially, it would be addressing him as if he was at my level, but I'm lower enlisted and haven't been deployed, so it would be... out of place. I decided against it. Finally at the end of the trip, I asked if they had a first sergeant. I know the ROTC uses some pseudo-enlisted rank structure to teach the function of the rank system, so there should be a first sergeant in the group to handle simple direction of the group. They looked very confused, so I just sheepishly asked if they could have someone remind the cadets to police up trash. I've considered trying to get involved with the ROTC people before, but it's such a different attitude from what I've experienced. They're students that get high-and-tight hair cuts and wear ACU's (improperly, I might add). They haven't been conditioned, and so trying to interact with them as fellow members of the military is awkward. I don't think I'll try to get involved. I'll just stick with the couple of bus driver friends I have in the ROTC battalion.

Birthday Girl

Yesterday was Ethel's birthday party. and of course Ashley and I attended. As far as I know, this was Ethel's 91st birthday. Wow. It was the first party at Ashley's aunt and uncle's new house in Longmont, and the house is beautiful. Actually, it reminds me a bit of the house I lived in as a kid. Ethel was very energetic, and she was excited to have her family and a few presents. Another aunt brought a tres leches cake, which I had never eaten before, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was really great to see Ashley's family again.

For the past couple of days, I've been rushing to finish a project for my Operating Systems class, and even though it was due last night, I didn't have much luck. I would be surprised if many people had much better luck, because it was a difficult assignment. I suspect that future projects will be less ambitious.

Open Source

Nothing really remarkable this week, except last night. My aunt's computer has been having problems, so I brought it home. I need to play with it a bit more, but from what I can tell now, it's toast.

Tonight was the first general interest meeting for the newly forming CU Open Source Group. The group will be, oddly enough, developing code in the open source community. Many programmers at CU have already been involved with open source projects, but the group's founders think that CU should assert itself as a reputible open source leader. There's a small website already up, but it looks like it's still under construction right now, not much to look at. http://cuopensource.org/

I'm thinking about getting involved, because I'm really interested in learning the methods and etiquitte of being involved with the open source community, and because it's a chance to do some production-level code and not just trivial class assignments. On the other hand, I don't really have much time to spare these days. Maybe when I get back...

Another One Bites the Dust

The subject of this post refers to wedding details, not enemies or anything like that. Today Ashley and I went to Manitou Springs, just outside of Colorado Springs. Our mission: purchase "the" cake topper from The Glass Blowers of Manitou. We were familiar with their work because Ashley aunt and uncle purchased their cake topper from that shop, probably somewhere around 20 years ago. After the drive down, we made a beeline past other fun shops, strait to the glass blowers. After many minutes of careful consideration, we chose "the one." It's a beautiful piece of art, with two swans in front, their necks forming a heart, and a larger heart in back. The artist was able to attach some silk flowers in our wedding colors. It's absolutely beautiful.

After our "small" purchase, Ashley and I decided to hike around Garden of the Gods with the remaining daylight. We both had our new cameras, and we both snapped some decent shots. I was proud of the shots from my new Canon compact, but Ashley's mini-SLR is still much better for landscapes. I've posted some of both of our photos here.

VD

Yesterday was was February 14th, and everyone knows what that means. I was in the doghouse before the day even started.

That's not true, actually. I received a few hints that this might be an important year to remember St. Valentine's Day properly, especially since I won't be home to celebrate it next year. I knew there was no way I could hide the pink roses I bought Wednesday, so she was endowed with those strait from the store. Also, the Ghirardelli chocolate was best enjoyed that evening. But I did save a few things for the big day.

After school, I was going to exchange our propane tank so that we could grill steaks. Ashley decided to come with me, and during the actual exchange process, she almost ruined her surprise gift. The damage was done, so when we arrived back home, I presented her with her brand new electric mattress pad. She's been asking for a heating blanket for months now, and I think she was excited.

Grilling the steaks that evening was interesting. I think I've learned why people don't grill in winter; it just doesn't work well. That, and I think perhaps our grill is broken. Whatever the case, there's not enough propane coming through the system to really get the grill hot enough, even with all valves full open. After 40 minutes, they were still a bit too rare for my taste, so I fried them for about 5 minutes. They tasted excellent. Mike even got a slab of my romantic masterpiece. I'm just that nice.

Mike

Mike, who's a good friend from high school and is also in the Army (silly National Guard), moved in yesterday. I'm mostly positive about it, because it means we have more income in the house (theoretically). Ashley's on the fence at this point. While the income might be nice, it means she won't have as much room to use. Also, the prospect of being married, husband deployed, and having a male roommate is somewhat unsettling. I trust that the situation will be fine. On the other hand, from an outside perspective it does look.. strange. Oh well. We'll see how it goes.

Last Time Around

I just completed my last drill with my home unit. I got loads of advice from the people there, both on deployment and PT. One of the most common deployment bits was: "Don't give her general power-of-attorney!" Too many people have gone over, earned loads of money, just to have most of it spent by the time they got home. The usual culprit was the significant other or parent in charge of the accounts and bills. And as much as I love and trust Ashley, I think it's still relevant.

The advice on PT came from our E-6 medic. He suggested that my biggest problem is cardiovascular health, which I believe. He said the solution for me is running at an aerobic pace, and not pushing as hard as possible. Once a pace becomes comfortable enough, I can gradually speed up. He's an exercise physiologist on the civilian side, and he's just a very knowledgeable guy, so I trust his advice.

I'm really going to miss the people here while I'm deployed. It's an excellent unit and I can work with everybody. Everybody is friendly and laid back, but still professional and productive. I definitely plan on coming back as soon as I'm home!

Great Success!

Mom was in town this weekend, and it was great to see her. I had to work quite a bit, but we did get to spend some quality time together. Saturday, between bus shifts, we met up with Ashley and her mother and went tuxedo shopping. While it was informative, it was also fruitless.

Mom considered driving home Sunday, but the weather forecasts forced us to rethink. While we were talking Sunday night, we cooked up a brilliant scheme. Monday morning I took the day off of my internship, and Mom, Ashley and I drove to a department store and found... "the one." The department store had full, decent-quality suits at a good price and on sale. Ashley managed an amazing piece of sale shopping that made the total cost of buying suits, shirts and ties comparable to renting tuxedos. And considering the fact that most of my groomsmen and I are all at an age where we could use business suits, we all thought this was a perfect solution. After considering our options, we decided to buy everybody's suits all at once. Now when our groomsmen are ready, they can buy the suit from us, take it back to the store and exchange pieces for the correct sizes. On the other hand, I had a heart attack from the sticker shock. Even though we saved over 50% from all of the sale pricing and discounts, we still paid $1200! My mother said to consider it my wedding gift. I'll say, that's a heck of a gift. Thanks mom!

Now that it's done, it's really a relief. We have the suits picked, and they're all purchased. All we have to do is distribute them and make sure they get fitted. What do Ashley's bridesmaids have to show?

Marriage Workshop

The past week I've been a working fool. Four of the last 5 nights, I've taken bus runs ending after midnight. At least I'm making decent money.

Saturday, Ashley and I attended a Catholic pre-marriage seminar that explained much of the theology behind marriage. I was surprised to find that they were fairly vocal on sex. We were informed of the usual notion that it's a defining marital act and shouldn't be done outside of marriage. However, in the past 40 years, and especially during the reign of Pope John Paul II, the role of marital sex has been recast as not just necessary, but also holy. Every time a married couple has sex, they are expressing a love for each other that is a mirror image of Christ's love for the church. They are also re-stating their wedding vows, through a certain chain of logic. It was a very interesting workshop.

The next couple of days look pretty open, so maybe I'll get some down time. I hope.

A Vision of Students Today

Busy busy

Alright, so this morning, I woke up at about 6. I carpooled with Holly to Rational Data and worked for free. After that, I went to Fitzsimons and signed my request to transfer Army reserve units. From there, I dropped Holly back at home, and raced to Operating Systems recitation and Linear Algebra lecture. I then careened across Boulder to meet a guy and bought the Xbox he advertised on craigslist. (Yes, the original Xbox. I'm a little behind the times. It was cheap.) And directly after that transaction, I raced to the Transportation office for a charter run.

By the time I walked into the office, I was pretty burnt out. I must've looked it too, because when I mentioned it to the schedule lady, she took pity on me and arranged a trade. All I could do was thank God that she was so kind. I was just about at the point of nervous breakdown, and she helped me out. I was able to eat a peaceful meal, attend my technical writing class, and now I'm taking a moment at home to relax. God works in subtle ways. It's an incredible and wonderful mystery.

Pre-marriage Questionnaire

Ashley and I went to Nativity tonight and met with the deacon again, and received the results from our bubble tests. According to the test we're fairly compatible. I could've told them that! Oh well. We're still waiting on the dispensation, though.

The Concrete Thickens

Well, what to say? In light of the deployment opportunity, Ashley and I have talked about moving the wedding to this spring. We had intended to wait for a year or two, possibly October of 2009. However, I think we both have the intention of getting married before I deploy. So, just to get the ball rolling, we went to the church on Saturday to meet with the deacon. He laid out the process a bit, telling us about the paperwork that had to be filled out, the pre-marriage classes and counseling we'd have to go through, and the steps we could potentially skip because of the short time frame. He is going to ask for a dispensation from the archbishop in order to waive the normal 6 to 8 month waiting period, and he sounded pretty confident that it would come through. Ashley and I also took a personality compatibility test, and we'll get the results sometime this week.

School started Monday. I've got 4 classes this semester, and they all seem like reasonable classes at the outset. Linear Algebra should be a bit easier than calculus. I've been taking calculus for about 3 years, so the switch to a new branch of math may be a shock. My writing class, Technical Communication and Design, promises to be interesting. The bulk of the class will be focused on a Web Usability Test. As a group, we are going to pick a real website and contact the owner or web master. We'll develop tests to asses it's usability: how easy it is to get around and accomplish things. After that, we will write a report on our findings and give it back to the web master. It's going to be very interesting, and hopefully a little more fun than a standard writing class. My two computer classes are Principles of Programming Languages, and Operating Systems. I'm starting to really get into the meat of the computer science curriculum. With school starting, I'll have to cut my time at the internship to just three half-days a week. In addition, I'm looking at 13 hours of permanent bus shifts a week, with subbing and charters on top when the company needs it. It's going to be a busy semester.

The only other exciting news comes from this afternoon. I went in to the Drill Hall to talk again with the First Sergeant of the deploying unit, and she gave me some more details. We'll be mobilizing in late May or early June. The company will also have Annual Training through most of May, but I will be exempted by the First Sergeant if it conflicts with school. After a couple months of the standard up-training, we will be staying at Camp Anaconda, just north of Baghdad, and running a supply yard there. My job would most likely be IT and radio support to a section or all of the camp. That means this is likely to be a relatively safe, easy job. (I'm not sure of that yet, so I'm taking the "Hope for the best, plan for the worst" approach.) I've verbally agreed to transfer to their unit and deploy with them, but I haven't signed anything just yet. Still, I'm starting to get used to the idea. I'm not excited that I have to put my civilian life on hold, but I really think this is my best option.

Big Offer

The life-changing news just doesn't stop coming, does it? While working today at the second day of setup, I ran into a gal. She's our unit's payroll specialist (for lack of a better title) on the civilian side, but she's also the First Sergeant of one of our subordinate units. I was setting up a conference room for her, and she noticed that I had no patch on my right shoulder, an indicator that I haven't been deployed. She asked if I would want to deploy with her unit, and I'm seriously thinking about it. Here's why:

If I volunteer:

If I don't volunteer:

I know when they're leaving, early summer, and I have plenty of time to prepare. I will be in a local unit, and I will know a few faces. I will be in a subordinate unit, so any paperwork issues can be resolved by people back here at home. (Big Advantage) I will be in my own specialty, communications. As long as I'm in a commo position, I'll have lots of access to communications to keep in touch, and there's a good chance I'll stay mostly behind the wire and out of danger.

I'll be in my current situation, which means I may never deploy (like SGT Lant), or I could be forced to deploy with any or all of these nasty situations: I could have 4 days notice (like SGT Nieto did). I could be in a unit with complete strangers (like SGT Nieto). I will have no support from my home unit on paperwork issues, for instance when I'm asked to extend my deployment. (Big Disadvantage) I could be forced to change my specialty, probably to something undesirable like truck driving.

This is a huge decision to make. The current plan is 12 months door-to-door (always subject to change, of course). I'm not even sure what country we're talking about, but it doesn't make a huge difference. No matter what, these are the most favorable deployment conditions I'm likely to ever have. Also, as long as the Army holds to its policy of a 2-year period of non-deployable status after a deployment, I would transfer into the Inactive Reserve before I would have to deploy again. Yes, the Army doesn't always follow it's own policies, and yes, its rare but possible to be deployed out of Inactive Reserve. Still, I think maybe this could be a positive thing.

I just have a feeling in my bones, I've had it for months. God is telling me that this is my year to deploy, and that I'm going to go whether I like it or not. I would much rather choose my living conditions rather than play roulette with them. Luckily, I have a bit of time to decide.

Academic Advising

It's been a bit of a week. I've been working at the internship not quite full time. This past weekend, the Campbells had their belated Christmas party, and Ashley and I attended. It was good to see everyone in Ashley's family.

Today I took the day off of the internship so that I could work for the Army. SGT Nieto and I are setting up for a paperwork updating event called an SRP, and that setup is going well. Also, SGT Nieto is just fun to hang around.

This afternoon I met with Lesley McDowell, the CS undergraduate adviser. We talked about my transfer credits, decided on the requirements set I would follow, and filled out a degree audit. After bringing everything home and looking it over, I've decided that it will only take me 4 more semesters to graduate! And they should be fairly comfortable semesters. I'm giddy all over again. If everything works out, I could be graduating in December of 2009. Thats just next year!

I'm In!

Freakin' yeah! I just got the e-mail, I've been accepted to the College of Engineering and Applied Science! This is absolutely amazing! My grades were really decent, but only brought my GPA to a 2.48, just shy of guaranteed acceptance. God must've been looking out for me, because I'm in! I feel ecstatic! All of my hard work this last semester paid off. I've known since halfway through high school that I wanted to attend CU for Computer Science and get my bachelor's degree, but a crucial step in that was being admitted to the College of Engineering. I've been working toward this for about 4 years. And after a couple of detours, I've finally done it.