And I have -some- internet access here at AIT. Yay.
I have slept less here than in Basic. A fact that I keep ruminating over in perpetual astonishment. Also I am constantly amazed at how easily everyone forgets what little discipline they had in Basic. We get smoked(lots of PT used as a punishment) regularly because while in formation for less than 5 min people are unable to -not- talk.
Ahah. Just found out no webcomics in this library(a nice librarian came up and said: "you can't do these over here(pointing at the screen) this type of stuff"). Yay.....
Class for my MOS(job) is easy... very easy. Like the sargents are constantly saying... the Army is 5th grade level. You just need to know how to SHUT UP and how to do PT.
Oh... with regards to PT. I easily pass the run(60% is passing I was up to 80% at the end of basic). And the pushups and situps I'm in the mid 60's. Although I've been sick this past week and did nothing(due to graduating basic) the week before that, so my scores are probably much much lower(overestimated due to a perpetual dour outlook on my physical abilities).
Cryptonomicon by some author is pretty good. His scene setting abilities are awesome and I loved reading the first 90% of the book. The ending however was... anticlimatical. I was left wanting more and feeling like it just fizzled. Maybe that was the cold I was suffering though.
I am in a company of about 400 people. In a platoon of about 120 people. In a class of about 20-30 people. I am first shift so I go to class in the morning.
My schedule is something like this:
Go to sleep around 2200(due to stupid people talking and bedcheck formation lasting far longer than it should).
Wakeup at 0400.
Formation at 0445
Chow at 0530-0610.(the one great thing about AIT other than cellphones is being able to spend more than 10 min eating).
Get bussed three blocks to class(this is ridiculus)
Class starts around 0650 or 0700 I don't really pay attention.
Class goes until 1200 with two 15 min breaks in the middle. Sleeping in class means you lose your chair and have to stand the rest of the time. Oh and you will probably get smoked.
After class we have chow again until 1330(yay for long chows)
Then we form up and march to the company.
1400 group formation for mail call and general announcements. So far followed by "barracks maintence until 1500".
1500-1600 personal time... read books/call wife/nap.
1600-1645 barracks maintence
1645 formation for chow.
1730 chow is over head back to company
1845 formation for PT.
1900-2000 PT.
Released to Barracks for showers/personal time until 2130 or so for Bed Check formation(usually out on a basketball court).
Pros:
Weekends will be more and more completely free to do whatever I feel like doing.
Cellphone and talking with Wulfa all the time.
Sargents are not completely crazy and actually act relaxed most of the time.
Cons:
Almost no one has discipline. People get arrested. People get articles for being dirtbags.
No sleep. Tired all the time.
Haven't adapted to the rythym of life here yet so don't have any sort of natural schedule to work with.
Hmm what else to talk about.
I miss Wulfa and Orclette badly. So very badly. I can't wait to get back home. The cadences that talk about wanting to go home actually resonate inside of me.
The whole experiance has been well... less than I thought it would be. The biggest difficulty I've had is living in the same room with 60 people who are not willing to follow the rules.
I guess I'm too much of a straightlaced kinda guy but life is so so so so much easier when you just quietly follow the silly little rules than it is when you try and get away with things.
Well I guess that is it. I'm hoping that I will get leave to go home when the baby is born(this all depends on me keeping myself squared away).
Oh and I bought Starcraft and plan to spend the rest of the afternoon playing a few missions while copying down Policy Letter 17 and organizing my footlocker. Yeah... thats right... my day revolves around folding socks and copying down freakin policy letters by hand. Yay for the army.
Dammerung
p.s. I actually freakin love being in the Army. I am in much much better shape and much more confident in myself. I am proud to be part of the Armed Forces and to have the chance to serve. This has been one of the best choices I have made in my life. I'm also extremely proud of how well Wulfa is adapting to our decision for me to join. She has become a lot more capable when managing things back home and is running things awesomely. All the other guys I know have problem after problem back home and the biggest problem we've had is a busted car window and some ants. Well... in my opinion anyways.
And that is really really all for now.
I have slept less here than in Basic. A fact that I keep ruminating over in perpetual astonishment. Also I am constantly amazed at how easily everyone forgets what little discipline they had in Basic. We get smoked(lots of PT used as a punishment) regularly because while in formation for less than 5 min people are unable to -not- talk.
Ahah. Just found out no webcomics in this library(a nice librarian came up and said: "you can't do these over here(pointing at the screen) this type of stuff"). Yay.....
Class for my MOS(job) is easy... very easy. Like the sargents are constantly saying... the Army is 5th grade level. You just need to know how to SHUT UP and how to do PT.
Oh... with regards to PT. I easily pass the run(60% is passing I was up to 80% at the end of basic). And the pushups and situps I'm in the mid 60's. Although I've been sick this past week and did nothing(due to graduating basic) the week before that, so my scores are probably much much lower(overestimated due to a perpetual dour outlook on my physical abilities).
Cryptonomicon by some author is pretty good. His scene setting abilities are awesome and I loved reading the first 90% of the book. The ending however was... anticlimatical. I was left wanting more and feeling like it just fizzled. Maybe that was the cold I was suffering though.
I am in a company of about 400 people. In a platoon of about 120 people. In a class of about 20-30 people. I am first shift so I go to class in the morning.
My schedule is something like this:
Go to sleep around 2200(due to stupid people talking and bedcheck formation lasting far longer than it should).
Wakeup at 0400.
Formation at 0445
Chow at 0530-0610.(the one great thing about AIT other than cellphones is being able to spend more than 10 min eating).
Get bussed three blocks to class(this is ridiculus)
Class starts around 0650 or 0700 I don't really pay attention.
Class goes until 1200 with two 15 min breaks in the middle. Sleeping in class means you lose your chair and have to stand the rest of the time. Oh and you will probably get smoked.
After class we have chow again until 1330(yay for long chows)
Then we form up and march to the company.
1400 group formation for mail call and general announcements. So far followed by "barracks maintence until 1500".
1500-1600 personal time... read books/call wife/nap.
1600-1645 barracks maintence
1645 formation for chow.
1730 chow is over head back to company
1845 formation for PT.
1900-2000 PT.
Released to Barracks for showers/personal time until 2130 or so for Bed Check formation(usually out on a basketball court).
Pros:
Weekends will be more and more completely free to do whatever I feel like doing.
Cellphone and talking with Wulfa all the time.
Sargents are not completely crazy and actually act relaxed most of the time.
Cons:
Almost no one has discipline. People get arrested. People get articles for being dirtbags.
No sleep. Tired all the time.
Haven't adapted to the rythym of life here yet so don't have any sort of natural schedule to work with.
Hmm what else to talk about.
I miss Wulfa and Orclette badly. So very badly. I can't wait to get back home. The cadences that talk about wanting to go home actually resonate inside of me.
The whole experiance has been well... less than I thought it would be. The biggest difficulty I've had is living in the same room with 60 people who are not willing to follow the rules.
I guess I'm too much of a straightlaced kinda guy but life is so so so so much easier when you just quietly follow the silly little rules than it is when you try and get away with things.
Well I guess that is it. I'm hoping that I will get leave to go home when the baby is born(this all depends on me keeping myself squared away).
Oh and I bought Starcraft and plan to spend the rest of the afternoon playing a few missions while copying down Policy Letter 17 and organizing my footlocker. Yeah... thats right... my day revolves around folding socks and copying down freakin policy letters by hand. Yay for the army.
Dammerung
p.s. I actually freakin love being in the Army. I am in much much better shape and much more confident in myself. I am proud to be part of the Armed Forces and to have the chance to serve. This has been one of the best choices I have made in my life. I'm also extremely proud of how well Wulfa is adapting to our decision for me to join. She has become a lot more capable when managing things back home and is running things awesomely. All the other guys I know have problem after problem back home and the biggest problem we've had is a busted car window and some ants. Well... in my opinion anyways.
And that is really really all for now.
Comments
Lights Out was at approx 9:30pm and we all had plenty of time to get ready for bed, but as soon as the lights were actually turned out the flash lights went on and kids were talking, playing Pokemon or YuGiOh or linking up their DS or PSPs, etc.
Realizing there was no chance my son was going to sleep straight away, and as his buddy had brought some Star Wars figures with him, I let the two of them play quietly (the operative word there being 'quietly') until it seemed most people had settled down. But even then there were still a few kids that stayed up chatting, playing, etc.
It amazed me that in a room where over 100 parents and kids were trying to sleep, some parents/leaders were still quite willing to let their kids chat away until all hours of the night. No respect for others, and no respect for unwritten rules.
Great to hear from you. Glad things are going well. Hope things continue to do so.