Cleaning Up

So. I'm moving away from Texas. It seems like I just arrived. Alone, in a big state. Now I'm packing up my room. There are only a few things left in the kitchen, bathroom and by my computer. There are also a dozen or more new people in my life who I dread having to say good-bye to. There are some who have taken care of me. There are some who showed me that I can have fun on a school night. And there are some who have taught me a thing or two about myself, even if they didn't try. All in all, I'm going to miss them... Alot. The worst thing is, a good handful of those important people, I just got to know about 2 weeks ago. I'm just getting to know them now, but it feels like we have all been friends for years. Isn't it funny how life works like that.

The "Q", as we affectionately refer to our building (short for Bachelor Officers Quarters - BOQ) has been an interesting living experience. I walk through some of the corridors and notice everyone's door closed and latched. Quiet and seemingly lifeless except for the occasional laughter or loud tv/radio through the paper thin walls. Then you visit the second floor, the 44-47 section of the hall. The doors are open and there is music, chatter and people from all different parts of the building coming down to visit those open and friendly doors. Those doors are those of myself, Gennaro and Chad. They were the first people I met here. They took me to Hooters for my first time down on the Riverwalk. They celebrated St. Patty's day and my birthday. They brought other people, who I would never have met otherwise, into my life. Our open doors, have opened doors. And in 36 hours, my door will be shut.

The door that remains open is the one that has allowed all these people into my life. Not the door that is marked 3244, but the commaraderie that I have developed with these great men and women who serve beside me in the US Army. And that is why, at midnight, I sit here writing this entry, to procrastinate a bit longer on haveing to pack my stuff into a billion bags an load up my trunk. Maybe some how not getting all that stuff together will slow down time, so I can have that last conversation. Maybe not.

Cleaning up my room has made me realize how easily we allow people to come into and out of our lives. And how easy it is to take for granted how much those people mean to us in the end, no matter how much or how little time was involved.

Take care fellow OBCers. My door is always open. Just walk in.

All done

YIPPEE! I am officially grad-iated from my OBC course. Friday was graduation. It was a nice ceremony held in our lecture hall. The guest speaker, a retired Colonel, gave a very inspiring speach based upon his leadership philosophy. They also recognized the top graduate, the best PT studs, and the academic achievers who made the Commandant's list. The Commandant's List consists of the top 20% of the class. They recieve an official piece of paper that says they are smart. I made that list.
Other highlights of the week was scraping the frost off my car thursday morning. It was a chilly 34 degrees when we woke up. Unfortunately for the new OBC class, that just started this week, that morning was their APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test). All I have to say is thatI'm glad I wasn't out there doing that at 5 am. I was in my bed. It was warm there. Funny thing is that it got up to 70 that afternoon. The last few days of weather have been wonderful. It's been 75 or warmer with gorgeous blue skies. When I finish this entry I will most likely go out and bake in the sun because when I leave here next week, there won't be much of this for a long while.

Now that our training is over, there isn't much going on at all. I'm looking for apartments in Elizabethtown, KY, which is a town adjacent to Fort Knox. It seems nobody works on the weekend. The search has mainly consisted of calling and leaving messages. I guess that's all I can do for now.

Till next time... stay tuned... The same Bat Time. Same Bat Channel.

out.

Dining-in Experience

Good morning all.
I don't have much to report this week. My shoulder is doing better. The drugs they gave me keep the pain and swelling down enough for me to function without the sling. I am lucky that CPT Starr was there to pop that sucker back into place so fast, or else I would be in much worse condition that what I am right now. I have full range of motion in Abduction (jumping jack motion) and in forward flexion (raising hand). The other motions are stiff and cause some sharp pain but it is very tolerable.
Last night was the Dining-in for our Company. It was lame. I have to say that the dining in for ROTC was much more entertaining as a whole. Last night's skits were funny, but that's about it. For all you non-military types, the Dining-in is a night when the leadership of a unit get together for "bonding", for lack of better words. What is involved is trying to Buddy F### (BF or Bravo Foxtrot) your commerads. It sucks. They fill a toilet (used exclusively for this event and nothing else), the Grog, with all sorts of liquor ie. bottle of :whiskey, heigermeister, burbon, cognac, tequila, etc and mix it all together. Last night they added a touch of Texas, a bunch of Tobasco. If someone BF you for whatever reason, say your ribbons are out of order, you have to deal with the punishment....usually drinking a full cup from the Grog and/or exercises and or paying a fine in quarters to a fund cup. I was lucky not to get called out because I keep quiet. But I would F### up anyone who tried to call me out later if so event happened; broken shoulder parts and all. In any case, this occurs for a fixed duration of the night. When that is over, Skits are presented for the entertainment of "Mr. President"; the commander. Usually the skits make fun of the higher leadership, as represented by the lower levels of the unit. All if this is dictated from start to end by written docterine and ceremony. A good Dining in runs smoothly and very well ordered and fun. Last night was the opposite of that. The only fun part was my counterpart's skits. Stupid thing is that 2 of the platoons (of 4) were on video, and the A/V didn't work. So my platoon and 1st PLT were the only presenters.
Our distinguished guest speaker was very inspirational. He was with the 2nd ID and has just come back from Iraq within the last month or so. The downer of the evening was when "Mr. President", our LTC, added his 2 cents. He generalized that the former enlisted were the only ones that understood that people were dying overseas as we sat there having a good time and that all ROTC and direct commissionees were only thinking about getting drunk after the dinner. I was offended. I joined the Army to serve along side and lead those soldiers in the time of War. The Army isn't paying off my huge stack of student loans. The Army didn't even offer a scholarship when I joined as a SENIOR in College. I'm doing this because I want to. I am obligated to serve my country for all that she has given me. And I'm proud of what I do. To say that I don't understand is a gross mistake and one I will never forgive. I may be a cherry to this Army, but by God, I will do my damnedest to serve my troops as best I can and bring them all home when the situation comes my way (and it will come).
Sooo.... to burn off steam, I DD'd for my friends and went to a dance club in downtown San Antonio and danced my ass off.

That's my update for this week. I'm sorry if it's nothing too exciting or for offending anyone with my somewhat use of explictives. They help add to the emotion of my text.

Countdown: 7 days till graduation
14 days until OBC completion

Till then... out.

Ha Ha. I have a funny story......

Greetings. I have returned from the field. And do I a story for y'all. BUT first...... let me tell you about the field.

The FTX (field training exercise) was supposed to orient us (the OBC class) to what we will encounter as medical officers in the real field (ie. IRAQ). We learned how to assemble, and disassemble field radios and telephones, the M9 9mm pistol, the M16 and how to load and unload patients into a 996/997/998 HUMVEE ambulances. We also did land navigation (find a 5 foot stick after being given an 8 digit grid coordinate in the Texas "woods"), and a 3 mile road march with weapon.
By far, my most favorite event was the weapons. We zeroed the M16 rifle and qualified with the M9. I have fired the M16 before, so that was no big deal; although it was the best I have ever shot. I had a six rounds in area of about a dime; center mass. The M9 was a new thing for me. I have never fired a side arm before. It's a whole other world of shooting. You have to do what they call Kentucky windage, where you adjust your fire error by aiming opposite. So say your shot is low and left, aim your weapon up and to the right to get your rounds center mass. Since we were using pop up targets it was hard to tell where I was shooting (other than too low.... I could see the dirt popping up). I qualified in the end. I think I shot 18 or so out of 30, but they recorded 23/30. I'll take it. I think I may buy a 9mm sooner or later so that I can stay proficient. M9/9mm qualifications is one of those things that no matter what you do, as an officer you have to qualify.
To end the FTX, after all the tents were cleared and the equipment and weapons were cleaned and turned in, we did combatives. If I haven't talked about combatives before, all they are is hand to hand combat moves/techniques. The parts that we focus on here are ones that occur once you close the distance and you and the enemy are rolling on the ground trying to choke eachother out. They are fun, but rough. So this is where my funny story comes in.

Funny story. The other day I was doing combatives. ("Really?" you ask)
Yeah, we broke up in platoons while waiting for the busses after the FTX. At first we ran through the drills. Then we did 3 minute drills. 3 min drills are where you and a partner "fight" at "combat speed" for 3 minutes trying to get the other to either tap out through submission moves or choke outs. While we did these 3 min drills the instructors were picking out the 4 best males and 2 best females in the platoon to compete for the best in the platoon. Then the best in the platoon would enter a bracket between the 4 platoons for "company bad ass" status. I was chosen as one of the 4 best in my platoon (much to my suprise).
WELL...........
I was sizing up my "enemy" and when they said go we both lunged at eachother. All I remember is smashing my face into something hard and finding myself lying on my back grabbing my nose thinking it was broken.... BUT NO BLOOD. Weird?! NAH... my nose wasn't broken. BUT HOLY SH**... does my shoulder hurt. I just lying there...cluthing my shoulder.
That's right.... I dislocated my Left Shoulder. All the way out. Funny huh? 2 hours before I leave the FTX after all that training and I end up in the ER..... AGAIN!!!
I have never been in a hospital (other than working) in my entire 24 years of life, but I end up there 2 times in a matter of a month. San Antonio has it in for me, I'm convinced.
I was discharged after about 4 hours of sleeping/waiting for xrays to come back. Good times at the hospital. I kept apologizing to the nursing staff for my smell cuz I hadn't showered in 5 days, and I had finished a 3 mile road march, cleaning, and combatives. I was RIPE. In any case, they found no significant damage; for as much as an xray shows. I am fine other than some muscle pain, but I have Ibuprofen for that.

That's my funny story. It's not really funny-HAHA, it's more funny-twisted.

In other news, I have my River Walk pictures up on the yahoo thing now. Check'em out. Here's the link again. Enjoy them. They are nice. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/cremirun/my_photos

Feel free to leave comments for me to read. All you have to do is click the comments link at the bottom of the post and click on post comments. That's how I can keep in touch with you all. It's nice for me to leave this stuff for you to keep track of y'all, but if you don't write back once in a while, I will be out of touch; and that's no fun.

The count down is on. 2 weeks (March 18) until graduation. 3 weeks (March 25) until I'm done with OBC.

Till then... Out.