january:
01st
new year's day
03rd
KALIA's b-day
12th
SARA's b-day
14th
LESLIE's b-day
16th
JOVANA's b-day
20th
ADAM's b-day
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MONDAY 30TH JANUARY 2006
12:15-AM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"'I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.'"
-- JOHN 05 : 24
I've finished all the write-ups for training on 09 February. Yes, I decided not to take a shower and to just attack training. I found the tasks to be performed and printed out the steps and all that jazz. I did the risk assessments and outlines. So when I put them in the hands of SSG Jones and SGT Tcheshie, all they'll need to do is implement it all. I'm foreseeing someone having to head to the training site ahead of time to dig a hasty fighting position but other than that all that they may need my help with would be to coordinate some concertina wire and wire gloves the day before training. Basically ask the engineer section to load some. Hopefully they have enough time to do their note cards or whatever they will need to become familiar with the training.
So I suppose now is a good time to shower and look over my homework. Again, I've fallen behind so I'll need to get all my assignments printed out and start on the ones I didn't do. Lots of work but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to wrap the courses up with good grades if I just get organized and get down to business during any free time afforded me. But there is no getting around the fact that I'll be working like a Hebrew slave at any given time when I get into crunch time. Right now my English class ends in April, I need to extend to May with my Anthropology course, and my Psychology course begins in March. Yes, a lot to do, but extending is helping a great deal. I can wrap up English with no problem. I'm just hurting for time when it come to work and school, and everything else. Ha! I just need more time. More time.
Okay, no more whining. Shower. Homework.
Lately I haven't been able to post anything but these short, sporadic, this is what I'm doing, I'm really busy posts. Yes, they are annoying me too. I hope things settle down soon so that I can approach a post or two (02) without so much to do and on my mind. But as for now, these will have to do.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SUNDAY 29TH JANUARY 2006
10:19-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
Listening - "THE REAL ME"-JACI velasquez Unspoken
"Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."
-- 01 TIMOTHY 04 : 12
It has been a long day indeed. I was supposed to head to the Alaskan Mining Company (It's just a restaurant; I definitely didn't name it.) to have breakfast once again with one (01) of my Soldiers and talk to him about his future plans in the Army, kind of like a mentoring breakfast. When I arrived however it was closed due to the holiday. I headed off post to recharge my phone, then back to main post to do some shopping at the PX. Of course the PX was closed so I decided to grab some pizza at the food court. And naturally, I had to wait about ten (10) minutes for it to open. So basically my morning was spent dealing with disappointments. After I finished my pizza, and went to get some information from the platoon sergeant, I waited in front of the PX until it opened, at 12:00. While I was waiting I made my list. I'm pretty sure I bought everything too. There were only a few things they didn't have, but I can pick them up at the Commissary when it is open on Tuesday.
I am now trying to decide whether it would be more beneficial to stay up and finish homework and the paperwork I must do for training in two (02) weeks, or go to sleep now and try to wake up early tomorrow morning to begin. I know I should just begin now and work until I can not think straight, go to bed, wake up, take care of anything else, and then try to get to bed around 10:00 tomorrow night. But I have not yet decided. Fortunately tomorrow is a day off. That is good indeed. But I need to buckle down and crank out some homework. First and foremost however, I need to do the training for 09 February. I just have to finish all the paperwork and hand it off to the two (02) Soldiers in my section who are doing training. But it has to be finished in time to show to the First Sergeant Tuesday and give them ample time to figure out how to implement it. So yes, I'm not in a time crunch yet, but work is mounting. Blah!
I think I'll just stay up and try to get through with everything I have to do. I should begin by turning the lights on so that I can at least create the illusion that I'm going to take care of business. If it is dark I'll just think about taking a step over to my bed and crawling in it. I have to commit here and now to staying up for as long as finishing the training and two (02) midterms will take. Yes, most likely it will all take at least until 6:00 to complete. It is all about the doing though, always has been.
ERIKA and I talked for a few seconds before she headed off to her Toga party. She noticed my recent absence from the messengers. I have not had much time to just sit and instant message. And furthermore, I do not receive any these days. So I thought it best to take a break from them altogether. So if I'm not on Yahoo IM, AOL IM, or MSN IM, you will know why: I'm just too busy and trying to get a lot done. I need to eliminate all the distracters I can. It is nothing personal, I just do not get enough instant messages to warrant keeping them open and distracting me.
It is going to be a very hard and trying nine (09) more months here in country. I'm anxious to rotate Stateside once more and hopefully come April I'll be able to influence my destination when I call my branch manager. I trust everyone will keep praying and wishing with me regarding that. Well, time to hit the lights, grab my books, and get to work. It is going to be a very long night. I'm going to keep my messengers open tonight though because I have received some "where are you" messages and my parents are wondering where I went. So if you are not using a messenger program now and want to talk, sign on, and I'll be around.
I think I'll take a nice hot shower before I begin.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SATURDAY 28TH JANUARY 2006
9:08-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"'I tell you, whoever acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of GOD.'"
-- LUKE 12 : 08
I will never get over how surreal it seems to be able to look back a year or two (02) and read what I had to write about then. In this case it is three (03) years ago, before two (02) promotions, before re-enlisting, before Alabama, before the war, ...
I was at Fort Drum, New York, in what is called the "North Country". And I didn't like it one (01) bit. I had not been there very long, but wanted out with all my being. And for a few months I received exactly what I asked for in the form of a one (01) way ticket to the desert. Later I'd leave for a temporary assignment in Alabama. I joked with everyone and let them know that once I was gone I'd never return there again. As it turned out, I ended up not going back.
TUESDAY 28TH JANUARY 2003
6:30-PM-(UTC/GMT -5 Hours)
I am so, so tired. Today wasn't exactly a long day. I guess I didn't recover from having stayed up last night. Ha! I ran PC (Production Control) for a while today. Yeah, it reminded me of the good old days in Korea. Man, PC here isn't in great shape. I need to get with SGT Pilger to help him fix things. But it is not his fault, he's new to things in 95th Maintenance. I wish I had time to get PC in shape. I mean I built PC from the ground up in Korea. I don't mean to pat myself on the back too much. Wait, yes I do. Ha!
I knocked out today at lunch and when I awoke a few minutes before 1:00 I saw that three (03) of my fellow calibrators had borrowed my idea for the remainder of the lunch break too. It looked as though the break area had been gassed.
I don't have much energy at all right now. I think I'll hand the keyboard over to SHAMAL and go to sleep.
"AMANDA ...
... Thanks for the guestbook signage. Love you lots princess. And I'll miss you very much too. How are things with you know who? Did it just melt his heart?"
Yes, mark it on your calendar folks I'm going to bed right now, it is almost daytime. Ha. Man I'm beat. Night.
Wow, three (03) years ago. Let's see here, I'm again in Korea, Fort Drum is a distant memory, and I have not heard from the aforementioned AMANDA in years.
I'd not have believed you if you came up to me and said that three (03) years from that day I'd be back in Korea and be a Staff Sergeant. Okay, maybe the Korea portion, but definitely not a Staff Sergeant. I was pretty sure, back then, that I'd be getting out of the Army in March of 2005 and not looking back. Now I'm not only still in the Army, but due to get out in June of 2009, with almost nine (09) years in!
These times are rougher than at Fort Drum. I do not have the support of friends like SHAMAL, JAMES, CINDY, or PINKY here. It is pretty much just me and work and homework. I do not have time for much of anything else. And there really is not too many people I can really talk to. Okay, nobody to really talk to. I'm not too keen on going out and drinking myself into oblivion, or going out much at all, so I'm pretty much "boring". Of course I do not have much time with being the Squad Leader of my section as well as taking on two (02) reading intensive college courses.
But since this day, three (03) years ago, things have not been all bad. I spent an entire year working for a Command Sergeant Major in Alabama which was an extraordinary experience. It will probably go down in history as the best experience I had in the Army. And well, I have come a long way since then and grown in all kinds of ways. So when I look to 28 January 2009, whether it will be the year I get out of the Army or not, I know that although things are tough now, there are brighter days ahead.
So here is to three (03) years ago, and here is to the next three (03) years to come.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SATURDAY 28TH JANUARY 2006
1:29-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
Listening - "ANYWAY"-NICHOLE nordeman Wide Eyed
"And we know that in all things GOD works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
-- Romans 08 : 28
The announcement was made as I watched SGT Secord throw darts in Atrium: We were going to have a company formation this morning. Yes, the weekend I thought I was going to have all to myself was going to be taken away from me little by little. I don't think SGT Secord made it in this morning. He kept drinking and throwing darts. I ate a plate of mini burgers and had a couple of Coca-Colas. There is something about a bottled Coca-Cola from Mexico or Korea that is just so much better than those in America. I suppose for the most part it is because bottled Coca-Cola is not common in America. Well, correction, glass bottles of Coca-Cola are not common.
So after he managed to coax me into heading out to the 'ville and the bad news was delivered, I pretty much just wanted to head back and get to sleep. So at about a quarter to midnight SGT Foley and I headed towards the front gate to catch the 12:00 (last) bus back to the main post area. There were a good many people already there and of course, when the bus arrived everyone pushed and pulled to get on the bus. The doors closed before I was able to get a seat. Sure, there were seats left on the bus, but thanks to the people pushing and yelling and screaming, the military police had the driver close the doors and drive away. I choose not to stick around, but began the long walk to main post. And sure enough, who came up behind me but SGT Secord. We must have been going at a pretty good clip because there was nobody behind us after about a minute and my legs are very sore now.
Anyway, today turned out not to be a company thing at all. Personnel who had things to load up for Wednesday were required to be there. Of course I didn't know this until I arrived at the motor pool in uniform and spoke with SGT Groves. I'm glad I didn't get a hold of the rest of the section and let them know about the last minute call to arms. I planned to just show up and take care of it when I arrived. And anyway, since I never received a call about the formation, I was a bit suspicious. But as the Squad Leader I had to get over there to at least check things out. I mean after all, I heard the news. I'm required to a certain extent to investigate.
I stayed a few hours to talk about training with SGT Groves. We are to prepare training for a few weeks out. So we talked about it and then headed to lunch. Now I'm back and ready to take a nice midday nap.
I have so much to do this weekend. I have to head to the PX to do some shopping, prepare training for two (02) weeks from now for a couple of Soldiers in my section, and do tons of homework I have fallen behind with. Hopefully this morning was the last time I have to show up anywhere so I'll be free to try and tackle those things. The First Sergeant said that there would be no Sunday evening room inspection since he went through ten (10) Soldier's rooms and said they looked good. Of course everything is subject to change around here.
Nap time.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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FRIDAY 27TH JANUARY 2006
8:03-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the LORD."
Hebrews 12 : 14
There is an exercise that is kicking off next week. It does not include my section but since it includes a lot of personnel from other sections in the platoon, my section just kind of stuck around today. So again, formation ran a little late and this week's Friday was a late day because of a COLA survey. Apparently, in this Battalion surveys are mandatory things. And sure it was to increase the cost of living allowance here in Korea, but the majority of personnel here live in government quarters (barracks) on post. And since the survey didn't apply to anyone living in barracks, they weren't allowed to take it after entering in "barracks" as a choice at the start. Of course this wasn't immediately understood by the powers who were mandating that the survey be taken by everyone.
Anyway, the day is over. I spent most of the day trying to beg and borrow lettering for the front of our vehicles. Most of the company is out of the more common letters so it is almost impossible to spell out any names which include vowels. But after going through about six (06) boxes of lettering, I managed to spell out five (05) names. But it literally took me hours to find the right letters from over five (05) sources.
A long week indeed. I told SGT Secord that I'd head out to the 'ville in a bit. I imagine I should shower and get dressed as we are supposed to meet at the front gate around 9:00 or so. Time to take off and wash away the long, long work week. I'm actually surprised I'll not have to go in tomorrow. I mean after working thirteen (13) days straight, it almost seems natural to go in on a Saturday morning. And it is a three (03) day weekend too, great.
With all that has been going on I don't know if I mentioned that I'm "officially" a Staff Sergeant. Yes, the paperwork to fix my pay finally went through and at the end of the month I'll receive back pay from June of this year. And from then on I'll receive the pay I should have received beginning in June. I'm looking forward to a nice amount of money coming my way in a few days. Also my tax return should hit my account around 03 February. So in about eight (08) days I should be approximately USD$5,000.00 richer. Of course the money is already marked for savings and insurance and such. But it will be a nice payday.
Off to shower and then head to the 'ville.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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THURSDAY 26TH JANUARY 2006
7:13-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself."
-- Galatians 06 : 03
I think this has been the longest gap between posts in a while. The crazy thing is that I feel as though a couple of weeks have passed. I do not really believe it has only been four (04) days since my last post; so much has happened.
For one (01) this is my eleventh workday in a row since I worked through last weekend. I have been up and on the move from 4:00 in the morning until 6:00, sometimes even 8:00 in the evenings for the past few days. My schedule has been hot, heavy, and any other descriptive word you can think of to describe an operational tempo which is just a smidge from "overwhelming" all the time. I think I'm working towards an "actual" weekend though. I mean, it will mean I have time to catch up on my school work, clean my room, and maybe take a nice hot bath or two (02), but I'll have time to do all of that while not in combat boots. That will be nice.
The other Squad Leaders and myself are just being worked all the time. The new platoon sergeant has all kinds of meetings and tasking. It is just crazy. All I feel like doing when I arrive here is sleeping. At first I'd try to do school work but the last two (02) nights I have just fallen asleep. The night before last I intended to just take a little nap around 8:00. I left my light on and music playing and sure enough, I woke up after what seemed like a great nap; it was 4:00 the next morning and I had to be up and on the move to be where I needed to be by 5:00. But that sounds good, eight (08) hours of sleep. However, my sleeping schedule has been so out of whack and the fact I worked through the weekend and have not really been on track with what day is what day, I have not been waking up rested at all. A lot of times I'll wake up in the middle of the night drenched with sweat. And of course it is tough to get back to sleep with sweat soaked, satin sheet and pillow cases. But well, since I'm always pretty exhausted, the discomfort only lasts a few seconds before I'm out like a light.
I am alive, for the record. I'm just extremely busy pretty much all the time. If I'm not working I'm either trying to put down some homework or head to bed. Surprisingly, I seem to be doing okay. I mean I'm not stressing and have not had any kind of breakdowns or fits. I'd like to go into detail; I know I have been "away" for awhile (not really, but I have been up for the majority of this time between posts, working hard) but I just do not have time tonight to sit and sort through things. I really do not even know when or where to start. Ha! Just know things are really crazy and really hectic and although they do not need to be this crazy with the company and the Platoon, sometimes things are just difficult, ... I'm doing my best though and I thank everyone and anyone who is behind me and is thinking and praying for me, whether known or not, it is most appreciated.
Hopefully I'll be able to have the time to sit and post here. Maybe I'll sit down tomorrow night or Saturday morning and post a rundown of things going on and what happened with this and that. But now I just need to kind of relax while I have the time and get on some homework a little later on. Ha!
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SUNDAY 22ND JANUARY 2006
9:17-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
Listening - "OUT OF MY HANDS"-MATTHEW west Happy
"GOD's voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding."
-- JOB 37 : 05
"Out Of My Hands"
MATTHEW west
There You go changing my plans again
There You go shifting my sands again
For reasons I don't understand again
Lately I don't have a clue
Just when I start liking what I see
There You go changing my scenery
I never know where You're taking me
But I'm trying just to follow You
It's out of my hands
It's out of my reach
It's over my head
And it's out of my league
There's too many things
That I don't understand
So it's into Your will
And it's out of my hands
There You go healing these scars again
Showing me right where You are again
I'm helpless, and that's where I start again
I'm giving it all up to You
It's out of my hands
It's out of my reach
It's over my head
And it's out of my league
There's too many things
That I don't understand
So it's into Your will
And it's out of my hands
Move me, make me
Choose me, change me
Send me, shake me
Find me, remind me
The past is behind me
Take it all away
Take it all from me, I pray
It's out of my hands
It's out of my reach
It's over my head
And it's out of my league
There's too many things
That I don't understand
So it's into Your will
And it's out of my hands
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SUNDAY 22ND JANUARY 2006
7:52-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
Listening - "HELD"-NATALIE grant Awaken
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask GOD, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
-- JAMES 01 : 05 & 06
What a day! My Soldier and I finally got our acts together to meet for breakfast this morning. We intended to for a couple of weekends in a row but something would always come up. Anyway, this morning I arrived and called him and he said he was on his way. So I filled my plate and started without him. I was a plate ahead when he arrived a few minutes later. It was supposed to be a mentorship session: He wanted to look at my "I Love You Book" for the most part. This is a book each Soldier keeps with information on himself such as awards, and any other records that essentially make up his military career. Mine includes my awards, all the orders I have ever received (from my orders from MEPS onward), course completion certificates, my Leave and Earning Statements (LES) and W2s, my NCOERs, my latest weapons qualification score sheet, etc.
We didn't even get around to going through my book, but we did sit and talk at length about issues in the shop and about being an NCO. It was a good little breakfast session and I think we will do it again next weekend and sit down with the book. I also mentioned to him a lot of other possibilities for his own future in the Army which interested him a great deal. So I'll track down some information on those things for him as well. And even when he leaves in less than I month I think that the Alaskan Mining company will be my regular Sunday morning spot for their breakfast buffet. It was a tad pricey considering the cab ride is about USD$3.00 and the buffet price is USD$7.00, but it felt so good to sit down and leisurely eat eggs and bacon and French toast and other breakfast foods without having to chew twice, swallow hard, and get to formation or something like that.
After breakfast I headed back to my room to take care of a little business. I wanted to do some homework and sweep and mop my room but I was so exhausted that after about an hour and a half of that I fell asleep at my desk. When I awoke I moved to the half of my bed which wasn't covered with things I had just picked up in order to sweep. I woke up again around 2:30 and decided to figure out what I needed in one (01) of my black bags, packed it up, and headed to the SFC Sinkfield's office for the NCO meeting.
After the NCO meeting, which ran almost two (02) hours, it was almost time to head to the Soldier's barracks. And I was planning to head over there to talk to a Soldier who is going on emergency leave tomorrow, so I figured I'd just head over right then. Luckily room inspections didn't last as long as usual. The SFC Sinkfield just had us show him to our Soldier's rooms to check them out. And since we weren't required to wait around for the First Sergeant, I believe everyone was released. I was released anyway to take care of getting a bus ticket for my Soldier. Of course I talked to a couple NCOs and they said I'd have to wait until tomorrow and my best bet would be getting it at the Community Activity Center in the morning.
So tomorrow morning I'll wake up around 4:00 so I can make the trek across post to my Soldier's room, get him and his bags (at 5:00) and get to the Community Activities Center (CAC) as soon as possible. I have to make sure I'm able to buy his ticket and get him on the bus without any problems. I hope and pray tomorrow morning goes super smoothly. I'll be glad to get him on his way to take care of his issues back home. He has been through a lot just gutting things out while having issues back home.
So my Sunday was packed. This morning I looked at my computer date and it read "Sunday". I actually thought it was a mistake since I put in more than a full day yesterday. But it was correct, it was Sunday, I had things to take care of today, and come Monday, the "official" work week will begin. Ha! Crazy!
Even if I get a bit of relaxation next weekend, it will be after a full twelve (12) day work week. And all things considering during this marathon work week, I really do not see things getting any easier or running any smoother. Hopefully there will be less talk and more action in the months to come. But I'm starting to just expect the next nine (09) months to be extremely tiring and extremely trying.
But hey, I reenlisted with Korea as my option and pushed to come to Camp Humphreys. So all of this is exactly what I asked for, ... well, in theory anyway. Ha!
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SATURDAY 21ST JANUARY 2006
6:55-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"May the God of Peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord JESUS, that great Shepherd of the Sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through JESUS CHRIST, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
-- Hebrews 13 : 20 & 21
Another long day. Yes, I worked pretty much all day. SFC McManus had us come in this morning and about halfway through I was called to the company to do some squad seader duties. So I make the long trek over there and on my way back grabbed something to-go for lunch. I was planning to work through lunch at the shop, but since I was called away I figured I'd get something. Sure enough though, as soon as I arrived at the shop with my chicken salad wrap, little cup of cole slaw and Gatorade, I was called back to the company to bring one (01) of my Soldiers to talk to the platoon sergeant and Commander about his issues back home. So I finished up my two (02) spoonfuls of cole slaw, stashed my wrap in the 'fridge, and make the journey (once again) to the company.
After that I headed back to the shop, threw both my black bags on my back and headed to the company to meet with the platoon sergeant and a couple of Squad Leaders. The rest of the shop was going to head somewhere for a beers and ROBERT asked me if I was going to show up. I pretty much said that if I had time I'd, but that it has been my "norm" to work weekends. Sure enough I didn't finish up until about 6:00 or so. They were still at the little restaurant on post so I dropped by, set my seventy (70) pounds of baggage down, and took SFC Gutierrez up on his offer for a drink. So I sipped on my Sprite while I watched SFC McManus carry on, as loudly as can be, about things he wasn't happy with in his semi sober, mostly intoxicated state.
Things broke up about an hour later. It may not have even been that long though. And not I have to finish the training binder by putting in a bunch of changes which came down from the First Sergeant. What comes down is normally just reinventions of the wheel. But hey, I do my best to give them what they want when I can not win a battle.
My work week so far has lasted six (06) days, once again, and I'm pretty sure I'll put in about a full day's work tomorrow as well.
Busy? Quite. But all is well, I'm doing my job as best as I can and am still able to smile.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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FRIDAY 20TH JANUARY 2006
12:06-AM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"'Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.'"
-- MATTHEW 12 : 33
"ADAM ...
... happy birthday! It is a shame we have not been able to celebrate birthdays or anything like that together. And now we are both in separate countries about as far away from home as we can get, or would like to be.
I am extremely happy for you. You have made a good life for yourself and AUTUMN and ANGEL are lucky to have you ADAM and I know that you are super lucky to have them in your life. Ha! Hopefully I'll get to see more of you and your family in years to come. Maybe we can celebrate our birthdays in the same place (or at least country) in a few years.
But hey bro, happy birthday. I know it is rough celebrating things in different countries away from family and friends, but I know your troops are hooking you up over there. Ha! Good stuffage. But yeah, missing you ADAM, wishing you well, and praying you make it home safely and things work out for you and yours just fine.
Stay safe and stay sharp. I know we have the right guy for the job in you. Thank you for not letting us all down. Keep kicking in those doors and doing what you have to do. You have your fellow Soldiers worldwide behind you, everyone who believes in freedom and equality, and all of America who realizes what you do truly counts, and I could not be more proud and thankful that you are over there taking care of business.
I can not wait to see you again. Have a good one (01) ADAM."
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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THURSDAY 19TH JANUARY 2006
11:51-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways.'"
-- HAGGAI 01 : 07
I just woke up. Sometime after sitting down to work on a counseling statement for a Soldier's leave and then realizing I'd not be able to turn it in without more information regarding his situation, I fell asleep. I now remembered I had planned to do laundry right after work. So now I have to head upstairs to the laundry room and be up for at least another couple of hours.
I am so glad I thought to pick up laundry detergent at the commissary after NCODP today. And it was a last minute purchase too. And sure enough, even though I do not remember doing so, I had used and thrown away the last jug. I remember being low but I didn't think I was completely out. Of course my memory is not exactly something I have been able to count on for the past couple of days when it comes to mundane details; ... all I have on my mind is Army stuffage.
And I have no idea why my Outlook is no longer able to access my email account. I just knew it would be a long and extremely busy week. And Friday's are usually the longest days of the work week around here. Maybe I'll get lucky tomorrow and will be off by 5:00 or 5:30 tomorrow evening.
Laundry and then I'll be getting back to sleep, hopefully just before 2:00 tomorrow morning.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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THURSDAY 19TH JANUARY 2006
8:49-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"After this, JESUS went out and saw a tax collector by the name of LEVI sitting at his tax booth. 'Follow me,' JESUS said to him, and LEVI got up, left everything and followed Him."
-- LUKE 05 : 27 & 28
No post yesterday. I was just too busy. Yesterday morning my platoon sergeant let me know that the leader's books I thought were due sometime next week were in fact due today. Apparently the Battalion Sergeant Major and the First Sergeants in the Battalion were conducting and NCODP this afternoon and everyone was required to bring a leader's book.
So after not sleeping Tuesday night because of homework and working on the training binder, I hunkered down last night after work to work on the Squad Leader's book for myself and leader's books for the rest of the NCOs in my section (six (06) in all). I worked on mine first and was going to pretty much duplicate it and plug in more Soldier specific things into their books. Mine would have the entire squad's information in it, but their leader's books would only contain their Soldier's information. So I created some cover sheets and sections and started building templates and plugging in Soldier information. And yes, I was using my own supplies: paper, ink, sheet protectors, etc.
I made some significant headway too but soon realized I wasn't going to be able to finish all of the books. I didn't have some Soldier's information and I didn't have nearly enough sheet protectors even if I had every bit of information I needed. About 2:00 or so I abandoned the idea of getting each and every book together and concentrated on my Squad Leader's book for the last couple of hours before showering and getting prepared to draw my weapon at 5:30 for the day's training.
Training went well, all things considered. Since I stayed up all night I was a little out of it. SSG Jones covered down for me though since he was the assistant instructor and since he is more adept at all of this calibration stuffage due to my year off working in Alabama. It started with hiccups yesterday due to our training site being changed. Saturday during the training meeting we all established that GSE Platoon would all be in the motor pool area doing training since one (01) of our sections was doing training on some huge piece of equipment and it wasn't feasible for them to haul it out to a training site off-post. But last night around 10:30 I was called and told we were rolling out to the field site.
So this morning we had to get dispatches done, even though I asked SFC McManus to get them yesterday just in case. And that took a while, plus we had to get things in the truck. So we rolled out a bit later than normal. But we hit the ground and SSG Jones took us through a good class pertaining to setting up a mobile calibration's facility, specifically properly setting up the truck and doing grounding checks. It was good considering all the changes and all the craziness and confusion which has been going on regarding training (and everything else) lately; but as far as to standard and following the plan, it didn't go too well. But hey, I think we adapted very well. And the Soldiers received something out of it, and that is the bottom line.
So after training all the NCOs were to head to the theatre for NCODP. And of course the focus was training and there was absolutely no need to have the leader's books I had spent all night trying to create and compile. So actually all I really had to create was my Squad Leader's book, and furthermore, I didn't need to stay up all night trying to get it together because it wasn't needed. All we really went over was how to develop training according to the higher level's training mission. we broke it down and traced training down from the larger (Battalion) level to the training done at the smaller (Platoon) level. It wasn't as beneficial as the First Sergeant's imagined because there still wasn't a definite plan or any guidance concerning our training books and what exactly was needed in them. Everything was just hypothetical. So in other words I stayed up for a night for no reason, we survived training, and NCODP we not all that "developmental" this afternoon.
I hope and pray tomorrow is not a long day but after NCODP the First Sergeant let us know that (all of a sudden) we had "this", "this", and "that" to take care of tomorrow before we should even think about getting off for the weekend. Of course I have been working each weekend anyway so weekends are just becoming workdays when I happen to be able to wake up a little later and can wear civilian clothing. Ha! But even if I wasn't called in, I still work here in my room. But at least in here I do not have to wear a shirt or shoes. So I'm either doing homework or doing work (Soldier's issues, training, etc.) here in my room, occasionally finding time to do some reading.
Busy. Busy. Oh, and my email account is not working. I have no idea what is up with it but it may have something to do with the virus my computer caught a couple of weeks ago, or a week ago, I'm so mixed up with what happened when.
I have work to do tonight too and am exhausted. Maybe I'll have time to rest on Sunday. SFC McManus scheduled a workday Saturday morning. So while everyone else goes in to take care of shop operations I'll head in with my laptop and binders and packets to do what I have done the last few weekends: work on Soldier issues, compile Soldier information for their packets and now my Squad Leader book, and figure out what needs to be in this training binder and how "they" want training done for the moment. I just know it is going to change from day to day. Ha! We Squad Leaders tried to give our new platoon sergeant a heads-up regarding life here in the 520th, but he insisted he was going to get things straightened out. He's been hurting lately dealing with everything and trying to make changes. But hey, we warned him that things weren't exactly properly put together around here. Everything is subject to change and priorities are subject to be rearranged at any time and sometimes without everyone getting the message.
So I'm pretty much under the impression I'll be working hard and dealing with all of this disorganization for the next nine (09) months. The funny thing is that I asked for it all when I reenlisted. The assignment to Korea and specifically to Camp Humphreys was all my doing. Bravo, me!
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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TUESDAY 17TH JANUARY 2006
8:51-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,'GOD opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under GOD's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time."
-- 01 PETER 05 : 05 & 06
Well, here I'm again in front of my computer. I had a relatively good nap. And now I'm ready to make a final push for the weekend. My room is not a complete mess so that fact alone just makes it much easier to exist in it.
Earlier I was talking to REUBEN and he mentioned he was starting to run in the mornings and was thinking about starting to eat "right". That was my plan when I was preparing to head over here. I have not failed. I have failed miserably. Of course I do PT four (04) times weekly. I have just always wanted to become a person who gets out to run or work out each day without thinking hard about it or having to coax myself and make deals with myself. Ha! Of course I'll never stop insisting that a bag of Oreo cookies and a cup of milk can be considered a meal at 8:30 in the evening.
I accomplished a lot this weekend, the biggest accomplishment being the clearing of the clutter in my room. But I have just as much to do this three (03) day work week and next weekend. I was leaving some feedback on KALEN's website (which for some reason still has not showed up as a comment) about everything I'd have to do throughout the (short) week. It is a bunch. Hopefully I'll not fall flat on my face at anytime during the week or when it comes to a close Friday evening.
This evening I'll write a counseling statement for a Soldier, work on homework, my training binder, and creating a template for a leader's book which I have to share with my NCOs as soon as possible. Hopefully I'll have next weekend to finish that. But the two (02) main things will be the counseling statement and printing off more information to stuff in the training binder.
Tomorrow I'll continue all of the above plus work out the details for Thursday's training with all parties concerned. Also I may make the call to my assignment's branch tomorrow night. So pray for that this week too. I'm going to call to see if I can secure any kind of assignment to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Even if I'm on orders as an instructor, I plan to head up there early and see if I can not get assigned to the NCO Academy to be trained and perform duties as a BNCOC small group leader (SGL). If for some reason I keep getting "no" as an answer I'll work on trying to get Fort Hood, Texas. But the best case scenario would be an assignment to Redstone Arsenal because it would put me in an instructor role either as an instructor at the schoolhouse teaching elements of my MOS or at the NCO Academy working to train fellow NCOs. And while I'd love the latter, both are duties that would be perfect for me coming from this tour.
So that call will be made this week too. Thursday I'll act as the primary trainer for our training and SSG Jones will be the assistant instructor. Basically we are going to reiterate what needs to happen in order to properly set up a mobile calibration facility in the field. Last I heard the SFC Sinkfield (our platoon sergeant) wants everyone to do training in the motor pool since one (01) section's training includes a piece of equipment which would take too much work to get out to any field site. So most likely we will be just outside our shop. So I'll have to work extra hard to keep the Soldiers into it and training. After training (7:00 to 12:00) there will be Noncommissioned Officer Development Program (NCODP) classes. I'm not sure where they will be. Hopefully they will be somewhere warm like the post theatre or the Pegasus Grill. Yes, it sounds good but the Pegasus Grill is nothing more than another dining facility on post. Hopefully everyone (NCOs included) will be released at a decent hour.
Friday will be more working on the leader's book, assuming it will not all of a sudden be due sometime between now and Friday evening. I hope not. I'll need another weekend to bulk it up and fill it with Soldier information. I'm thinking I'll make one (01) for me and use all of my information as a template. And still, there will be homework to do Friday.
So it will be a busy three (03) days indeed. Sometimes I just wish I were a Soldier again or just an NCO with a lot less responsibility and things on his plate. But when I really stop and think about it I'd not have it any other way. I mean sure I wish I had a couple more people around with a similar work ethic but all in all I like staying busy and creating things from scratch. Hopefully it will begin to make the days zip on by. Of course I no longer want to sacrifice getting things done for seemingly quick months until I'm gone. No, I have a job to do here and I also have a lot of goals that I need to dust off and start working hard to attain. I can not just lay down and give up because a lot has not gone my way and things have been disappointing here pretty much since day one (01). Nope. I do not have time to play dead.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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TUESDAY 17TH JANUARY 2006
12:08-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' Your love, O LORD, supported me."
-- Psalm 94 : 18
I am not supposed to be up yet. I went to sleep around 6:30 and the plan was to sleep until at least 1:00, but it didn't happen. I told NORMI earlier that I'd get back to bed, but I just could not fall asleep. So, I'm up at my computer contemplating my next move. It will probably be taking out the trash and finding something to eat before putting away the rest of my laundry and sitting down to do some homework. But for now I'll offer a flash back. It is crazy to realize I can go back three (03) whole years, ... and even crazier to realize that you (and anyone else with an internet connection) can go back just as far too and take a look at my life back then.
Three (03) years ago today my duty station was Fort Drum, New York and I could not wait to leave. As it turned out I did head to the desert at the end of the month, rotated back to upstate New York and stayed on another year and seven (07) months before heading to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
These were good times even though the duty station and geographic location presented more than enough frustrations. All in all however it wasn't all that bad. Okay, it was super cold and that was horrible. But looking back, being able to get to know SHAMAL more after he tagged along from Korea and meeting JAMES, CINDY, and a few others there, made it worth being there. We all dealt with the frustrations together:
FRIDAY 17TH JANUARY 2003
11:45-PM-(UTC/GMT -5 Hours)
My morning was spent managing my EBay stuffage. I have a three (03) disc DVD set, that I no longer watch (nor want) that just sold for USD$56.00 plus tax. I'm pleased with that. I'm kind of staying up waiting for the buyer to email me her address and get the payment into my paypal account. I'm planning to go to the post office with CINDY tomorrow so I'd like to get it out (along with a card for MOM's birthday and another computer game I sold on EBay) as soon as possible.
Around 2:00 or so CINDY sent me an instant message asking if I'd like to go get something to eat. When she arrived at the barracks JAMES, her, and I piled into her rented car and were off to Mo's. CINDY now lives in married people's barracks a bit further down the road. She was forced to finally move out since she's married now and isn't supposed to be in the "single people's" barracks.
I had fun. Once I downed my six (06) eggs and wheat toast I felt a bit more alive. We hit the mall and Wal-Mart. I bought a jacket which was on sale, a card for Mom, a candle, and boxers. Yes, I now own a pair of orange boxers. Well, they aren't solid orange but they have orange in them. ... That's exciting for me. Of course Old Navy only had a single pair in my size. I bought a couple more since they were three (03) for eighteen (18). It was a fun outing. I had fun anyway. I don't think we wanted to get back to the barracks anytime soon. We stopped at Friendly's for dessert.
I made my way through a mocha ice cream and fudge ordeal and CINDY and JAMES both failed to finish their treats. JAMES' apple cobbler and ice cream proved too much for him and CINDY managed to leave a couple of bites of brownie and ice cream on her plate.
It was great to hang out with them. They are characters alright. And of course, it is always good to get out of the room. ... Even though it was about twenty-one (21) degrees. Oh, that's twenty-one (21) below zero (0). Yes, no joke. Going from negative twenty (20) to well, just to heat and sand will be a change alright. Of course it'll be a welcome change.
No word on eArmyU and no word on just how long my stay in Kuwait will be. Who knows it may be cancelled all together with the way the Army works. I'm now planning to stay a year though. Well, I'm preparing myself mentally for it. You know I have to prepare mentally and emotionally for things like, ... well, anything. Ha! I'll be ready though when the time comes to leave, and ready when and if the time comes to stay on longer.
Night everyone.
I have not sold anything using EBay in quite a while. Well, no, I sold a CD since I have been here in Korea, but since then it had been many, many months. That January though I was very successful. I sold computer parts and bought and resold like crazy. I ended up making about USD$1000.00 profit that month. Then I headed to the desert, so my Ebayin' came to a sudden halt.
Yeah, those were some good times, heading to Mo's Place or Friendly's (often both places in the same day) with any combination of JAMES, CINDY, and SHAMAL. I do miss just hanging out in those restaurants with them. JAMES and I'd always talk about staying in the Army or getting out, but mostly just about getting out of Fort Drum, New York. And we all ended up getting out, sure enough.
I headed to Alabama for a special assignment with the Army Aviation & Missile Command for a year before once again coming to Korea; SHAMAL left the calibration field and started training for a new Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) in Virginia. He is currently stationed there and quite happy. JAMES left New York for Italy. I saw him a couple of times while in Alabama since he came for a conference and BNCOC. He is still in Italy last I heard. Now I'm wondering when he will return to the United States. CINDY. She went to Hawaii to be near her husband, BRANDON, who was also a calibrator and had gone through the schoolhouse with me in 2001. She has since left the Army to spend time at home with their baby girl, AUDREY.
I am still working on my Bachelors in Liberal Studies from Thomas Edison. I think I'm taking my sixth and seventh courses right now, and will begin my eighth course this coming March. So far so good. Finishing this degree was a major reason for my reenlistment in June. The Army is paying 100% of my tuition plus books, so I didn't really have a good reason to get out and pay for it all myself when I was promoted and thought about reenlisting.
There was no way to foresee how disappointed I'd be here in Korea. I love Korea and would love to get out and about much more but things are so hectic in the unit I'm in. Things are terribly unorganized and everything happens at the very last minute. But I'm doing my best to do my best and deal with it. I have been here for approximately three (03) and a half months. I suppose it is not killing me. I did get a cold weather injury though at the end of November. Both of my big toes have not been the same since.
Currently I'm working to become a doer instead of just a planner. I have spent so much of the last six (06) years or so sitting back and making grand plans while life just continues to pass me by. What can I say, change is difficult. But I'm making progress. And I just have to keep on keeping on and continue to make a little more progress here and a little more progress there. It will all come together. I have faith that GOD is leading me to discover more and more of my potential, ... and make use of it in some way. And I have all the love I need backing me and all the encouragement and prays of my dear family and friends. ... I can't lose.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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TUESDAY 17TH JANUARY 2006
6:08-AM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
Listening - "SACRIFICE"-Tree63 Tree63
"For you know the grace of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich."
-- 02 Corinthians 08 : 09
Sure enough, I have been awake all of this time. But I have been working hard to finish my room. Okay, I have been back and forth from working to put things away and sitting to take a break here at my computer. But progress has been, is being, and will be made. I'm actually close to having everything in order. Currently I'm packing a duffle bag full of extra military gear I have obtained throughout the years.
I have piles of socks on my bed and brown shirts. I have about sixty (60) pairs of socks. Two (02) different kind of white socks, green socks, and black socks. I only wear the green socks these days. I just bought the black ones so I could roll them up and display them in my drawers during BNCOC. I was required to "display" certain items (shirts, socks, uniforms, underwear, etc). It is easier to simply buy more socks and underwear for the sole purpose of displaying them when in any military school which requires a room to be "just so" and involves room inspections.
So all my black socks will be packed away into the extra gear duffle bag. A few more things do not exactly have places but if all else fails I have a few more boxes I can put things in and stash underneath my bed.
For some reason active duty Army, Air Force, and Navy personnel's W2s are not posted on the MyPay (where we view our Leave and Earning Statements (LES) online) website. Active duty Marines' W2s have been posted, retirees, reservists, Department of the Army civilians, ... but not us. Nope, not until 21 January. No worries though, my brother does my taxes electronically. He has always been able to get my return to me before the month of February ends. So yes, as soon as my W2 is posted I'll email it to him to file.
Speaking of money, finance should have fixed my rank and my back pay should be transferred to my account soon. If it does not happen by the month's end I'll start making inquiries once again. Actually, I'll begin to make inquiries a week from now if nothing changes and I do not have an additional USD$2,000.00 in my account. So with my income tax return on the way, my back pay on the way, a raise at the start of the year, and additional for the month because of my rank change, the next couple of months should be good financially speaking. And come July I'll get a little raise for hitting six (06) years (every two (02) years we get a little more money) as well as my clothing allowance. Of course this clothing allowance I'll use for the new ACU uniforms. I'm very anxious for them to hit Korea. A Soldier I work with here came back with them after going to the States for leave and SSG Jones came back with them a few days ago after taking leave in the States as well. They were scheduled to hit Military Clothing Sales in April but the addition to the racks was supposed to be bumped up to the beginning of this year. Needless to say they are in some of the clothing stores in the States.
Well, it is time to get back to work. Believe it or not progress is in progress. I'm going to sleep like a corpse when I finally get into bed. But I can see my covers now and will not have to sleep under anything but them. Ha! I'll probably get to bed around 7:00 or 7:45, sleep until maybe 1:00 or 2:00, and then get up and crank out some homework and the counseling statement I have to write. I'll try not to take a nap and will work on my training book and leader's book a bit. But bedtime will be early tonight. Well, I'll try my best to get to bed by 10:00 anyway. I doubt I'll make it, but good intentions are where good results always begin.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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MONDAY 16TH JANUARY 2006
11:22-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"And GOD said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light."
-- Genesis 01 : 03
Well I have been at my room again for the past hour or so. I'm making significant progress too. As it turns out I'll be stashing a box of books and a box of clothing under my bed, along with empty boxes for things like my toaster and camera and printer and speakers and, ... yeah, empty boxes. My closet's appearance even suggests that I'm a somewhat organized person. And I'm about to fetch my rug from the dryer. I didn't put it down yesterday night because it was full of lint and little bits of stuffage. I had not cleaned it since moving. But today the idea to wash it came to me. So it will be both clean and lint free when I put it down.
So I should have my room finished around 1:00 or 2:00 tomorrow morning. I know it seems like it has taken me forever to do but believe me, if you know the real me (and have kept up with my website for a year or two (02)) you will know that "doing" and following through is a major accomplishment for me. I mean after all I didn't get around to "cleaning" my room back in Alabama until it was time to organize things to have packed up for shipment to Korea. But this time around the clutter definitely has to go. There is too much threatening to irk me and cause me stress during this tour. I need to be coming "home" to a place I can relax in and not have to look around at clutter and hunt for things.
So tomorrow will be homework day. I pretty much have my training binder finished and my leader's book is not exactly "due" but I pretty much need my Soldiers to verify information and the like. But I know what I want to include in it and what direction I want to go with it and the packets I'll create for my Soldiers. But tomorrow I'll be able to dedicate to those three (03) things. Hopefully the work week (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) will not be too brutal. Sure, it is only three (03) days but seventy-two (72) hours in the Army can seem like twice that amount. And around here Friday is usually the longest day of the week; it seems "something" always comes up at the end of day formation and just has to be done right then and there. So most of the time the formation runs long, the NCOs are released only to have to come back later, and the day stretches on into the evening. Hopefully nothing will be left until the very last minute come Friday afternoon.
Yes, I'm already looking to next weekend in the waning hours of the current weekend. But I have been productive this weekend so I get to get away with wanting more and more down time. But really, outside of Thursday training, these three (03) days should be manageable. But enough talk of that, I still have tomorrow to myself!
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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MONDAY 16TH JANUARY 2006
10:44-AM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
-- Hebrews 11 : 01
I have been up for about an hour but I suspect I'll head back to bed since I didn't sleep too well. Ha! I figured since my bed was occupied by a whole bunch of stuffage due to my cleaning the floor, I'd just sleep in my chair. I mean it works when I'm too tired to make it to bed sometimes, I just end up falling asleep on my keyboard. I moved my keyboard and set my pillow on the desk. Needless to say I woke up about a half hour later, moved some things off of my bed and squeezed under other things to get under my blanket.
Well I must have not slept well and I don't know why because the fetal position with mounds of clothing and odds and ends piled on top of me from the waist down felt extremely comfortable when I first closed my eyes. So the second phase of cleaning will have to wait until this afternoon after I eat something and take another nap.
My floor is really clean!
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SUNDAY 15TH JANUARY 2006
10:59-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
Listening - "THERE IS NOTHING LIKE"-Hillsong United Look To You
"For GOD didn't give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."
-- 02 TIMOTHY 01 : 07
I have broken a nice little sweat, but my floor has been swept and mopped and now I'm waiting for a layer of Mop & Glo (floor polish) to dry. Yes, I'm actually cleaning my room. And this is not just the picking up of clutter here and there; earlier I cleared the floor, moved things to sweep, I mopped, and I even put down some polish. Once it dries I'll put down the black area rug I bought a couple of months ago. After that I'll begin to put things away and find places for the things which previously were without a place. I'll have to box a lot up to store under my bed since I do not have much space in my room, ... at all. But no big deal. It will be nice to have things much more organized.
Tomorrow I'll have to find a place for all the things which never really had a place since I moved here. I suppose I'll just have to bust out some boxes and box things up. I can stash them under my bed. I already have most of my books boxed up as well as some clothing I probably will not wear. So I'm off to a good start, but I have odds and ends and small things which are going to prove a little trickery to find homes for. Something will be figured out by bedtime tomorrow evening.
I should be able to finish my room, continue work on my training binder, begin work on my leader's book and organization of my Soldier's records, counseling, and other information tomorrow. Most of the leader's book and Soldier's records I'll not be able to finish until I get more of my Soldier's information, but I do want to get the format and put as much in it as possible before the work week begins bright and early Wednesday morning. I have to write out a counseling statement for one (01) of my Soldiers who insisted that catching an early bus was the only way he would have enough time to make his appointment in Yongsan. As it turns out he overslept and missed that bus.
Of course, there was another bus which took him there on time. I was frustrated. I can not accuse him of being "slick" and just trying to sleep in. But that bus stop was his place of duty, just as the rest of us had to be at PT formation, he had to be there. So I'll counsel him regarding his not being at his place of duty and being irresponsible. SFC Gutierrez gave me the go ahead to turn the section around as far as discipline issues and such. It is a part of the job I'm very much embracing as an NCO and a Squad Leader.
It bothered me for some time that the company was away so relaxed and arrogant towards things like negative counseling and on the spot corrections. The Soldiers were spoiled and felt that if they were in trouble it was always someone else's fault and punishment wasn't even expected. But now that the company is gone and we are a part of big Army so to speak I'll teach them that the protective hedge is gone and I'll hold them to the standards of Soldiers living to their left and right in the barracks. But yes, I should have all that completed within twenty-four (24) hours. And after homework tomorrow and Tuesday I should be able to call it a rather productive weekend.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SUNDAY 15TH JANUARY 2006
2:39-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
Listening - "PRAISE YOU IN THIS STORM"-Casting Crowns Lifesong
"Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."
-- JOB 13 : 15
"Praise You In This Storm"
Casting Crowns
I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
I'll praise You in this storm
And I'll lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I'm
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
I'll praise You in this storm
And I'll lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I'm
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
I'll praise You in this storm
And I'll lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I'm
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
Though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SATURDAY 14TH JANUARY 2006
10:11-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD."
-- Psalm 112 : 04 - 07
Oh, obviously I'm not in the battle staff course. When training finally linked up with me they told me that there wasn't a slot for the company to send a representative. So I have no idea how the platoon sergeant received the information. Also I spoke with another NCO and he said the class wasn't even happening. That made me feel a little better. I just wish everyone would check things out before they went around talking. I was really looking forward to adding the class to my records and the nice break it would have afforded me. Easy come, easy go I suppose.
The training meeting lasted a couple of hours. It wasn't bad at all actually. We briefed the First Sergeant on last Thursday's training as well as this coming Thursday's training. He talked about getting things organized and into a training binder and the format of the paperwork he wants each week. It wasn't too bad at all. And of course whenever there is work on the weekend it only hurts until you are up, out the door, and working, ... just like most things, it never ends up as badly as it seems. After the meeting I spoke with the new GSE platoon sergeant (SFC Sinkfield). I like him and I think a new platoon sergeant is just what the platoon needed for a fresh start. He seems ready to take thing head on and make some much needed changes. I'm anxious to work with him to improve the platoon and improve the way we communicate within the platoon.
At 2:00 he had his Squad Leaders meet him at his room at the Humphrey's Lodge. I went to my room to print some information out for him after having lunch with SGT Groves, a fellow GSE platoon Squad Leader. We talked about the direction our platoon was headed and the direction the company was headed, other NCOs, etc. I didn't really care for him at first but we have had quite a few exchanges and he has helped me a great deal. He is always more than happy to share information and help others, traits which can not be found in as many Soldiers and Noncommissioned Officers as one (01) might think. During the meeting SFC Sinkfield reiterated some of the things he told me as well as talked about a little of what he expected from us, his Squad Leaders. It was a short little twenty (20) minute meeting. During the meeting SGT Foley mentioned having to pack up a Soldiers things at his room. I volunteered to help her and SGT Secord. So I headed over there and spend a long while inventorying, packing, loading, and unloading the Soldier's belongings. As I was walking back to the barracks, across post, I heard scampering behind me. It was SGT Foley catching up to say thank you.
I appreciated that. I can not remember when I have heard a thank you around here. It was nice to know that she realized I didn't have to help out on a weekend after having to work the morning. It was my time. But it was more nice to know that she genuinely appreciated the help.
I have lots of work to do before the work week begins on Wednesday morning:
I have to clean my room, do homework, work on the training binder, work on my leader's book and Soldier packets, do homework for both my English and Anthropology courses, write a counseling statement, and a few other things I have written down somewhere. Some of the things I'll finish tomorrow but most things I'll just get a solid start on, which will work just fine.
Busy. Busy.
I really need to reach my branch manager to talk about an assignment next week. That way I can have a better idea of where I might be going and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to lock an assignment in. I do not just want to hope my request for Alabama or Texas is honored, plan for either one (01) and then be put in Kentucky or New York. So I need to try and get some answers and try another avenue of getting my requests where they need to go. And the phone is probably the best bet. And sure, it means staying up to make the call early in the morning, but I do not sleep then anyway so it works out fine. Ha!
Well it is time to relax before my work weekend begins. Plus the amount of walking each day really takes it's toll. At the end of the day all I want to do is get comfy and just be still. I'll probably just pop a movie in and then crawl into bed. In fact, that is what I'll do.
Have a good one (01) all!
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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FRIDAY 13TH JANUARY 2006
8:57-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"Keep yourselves in GOD's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord JESUS CHRIST to bring you to eternal life."
-- JUDE 01 : 21
My day ended around 7:45. I'm currently clawing open a box of Hershey's Pot of Gold Assorted Truffles, if that's any clue or indication of how my day went. And yes, I'll probably finish off both trays of chocolates. The first truffle (coffee flavored) confirmed the fact I was right to decide to drown my sorrows in a box of chocolates rather than a couple of pints of ice cream. No, the first one (01) wasn't coffee flavored; the one (01) I just ate was coffee flavored, the first must have been Irish cream. Ah, I just found pictures of them on the inside of the lid. Yes, Irish cream it was. Now you can go about your business and the world can continue it's rotation, ... the mystery flavor has been identified! Yes, no drowning my sorrows in alcohol like so many of my fellow Soldiers are this evening. Eating the rum flavored truffles in the box will be the closest I'll come to that.
So I had a bad day. I was feeling pretty bad from the time I woke up. I guess I just had a case of the blahs, or maybe it was (is) the Friday the 13th factor. Anyway my day began at 4:00 when I woke up entirely too early to make it to PT formation at 5:45. I went back to sleep and surprisingly was able to get some more sleep in before my alarm went off which is my signal to hit snooze once and roll out of bed when it sounds once more. So my day began, as usual, rather early in the morning:
I ended up not doing PT this morning. Apparently being certified to run a weapon's range had somehow found it's way to the top of the priority list this morning. So four (04) of us did that instead of PT. It was weird, we formed up in a little formation and First Sergeant just told us to go. None of us knew where the class was or what time it began. A few minutes later we discovered it was at a range off post so we all left PT shortly thereafter to change into BDUs and meet up at the company. And sure enough, when we arrived expecting to have the class at 8:00, we discovered it didn't actually begin until 9:00. So we all waited the hour. The briefing was short and the guy doing it pretty much told us he was a tad bit tiring of briefing three (03) times a week. It definitely showed. Afterwards we were given a binder of information and a test. We were encouraged to share answers with each other and the other ten (10) or so NCOs who had arrived between the time we did and 9:00. It still took us all a while to complete it. Of course it would have taken "forever" to do it individually. Sure it was open book but a lot of the answers took some digging to get to.
So eventually we all finished around 10:00 or so but we could not actually get our range safety certification cards because we didn't have a memorandum signed by The Battalion Commander because, after all, we went from doing PT to not doing PT and heading to a class in all of about ten (10) minutes. Things weren't prepared ahead of time to send us we just "needed" to go that morning. All of a sudden it was very important that more people were certified. Of course I do not see the difference in going this Friday and testing without being able to receive our cards or planning and going next Friday and coming back with cards. Plus, we could have found a driver and a vehicle to transport us instead of taking a cab. ... and paying for the ride!
I spent the afternoon preparing training documents for a meeting with the first sergeant in the afternoon. Of course the meeting didn't happen. Those of us who are getting training books and a training program together for our sections are meeting tomorrow morning to "get on the same page" and stuffage. So I'll have an extended week and an extended weekend as I'll probably end up "working" most of the day Saturday to make my work week six (06) days and then be off for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day. I don't know if his birthday is being observed or the day of his death. I imagine it is the day of his death. And I suppose I should probably educate myself a little more on things like that.
So yes, it was a rough week and a rough day indeed. I feel as though I'm the only one (01) working sometimes. Being the Squad Leader though makes me very visible to the company. Sure I have two (02) Sergeant First Classes (E7s) in my shop and one (01) of them counsels me, but I answer to the platoon sergeant as far as the company is concerned because of my duty position (Squad Leader) so there is never really a time where I'm not busy. I do think that SFC Gutierrez and SFC McManus do realize that I'm working way too much as Squad Leader and am always doing something either at the behest of my platoon sergeant or working our Soldier's issues to really be too involved with shop operations. I'm really glad I spoke with SFC McManus a week or so ago and let him know I wanted to relinquish my duties and responsibilities as Shop Foreman to him. After all I'd much rather admit things are too much than fall flat on my face, let my section down, ... that would not be good for anyone involved. (I am not sure if I mentioned that conversation or not here.) But yes, my duty is Squad Leader. I work Soldier issues and am essentially the liaison between the section and company. So when someone is needed to get information or the company asks for this or that, it is I who collects it, researches it, walks it over to the company, stays late into the evening, ... or, as I'll this weekend, works on days off. Ha!
And I do not mind being the work horse. In fact, I love the fact I'm the Squad Leader. Throughout my training, with the exception of AIT, I have been a Squad Leader and impressed my trainers in that capacity and duty position. In Basic Training I told my drill sergeant (DS) I didn't think anyone else in my squad could handle being a squad leader after reluctantly stepping into the position (without a choice) three (03) weeks prior. My DS said I had no choice so I gave her the name of a Soldier I thought would do the best job. Sure enough, after the Soldier make a mistake with the packing list for our field exercise I was put back in charge of the squad. I was promoted upon leaving Basic Training and my drill sergeants had nothing but good things to say to me. In PLDC I again assumed the role of Squad Leader. Again I impressed my instructors (this time known as small group leaders) both in and out of the classroom environment and doing practical training as the Squad Leader. When all was said and done I was given a few extra kudos and "points" at the end of the course which reflected positively on my end of course evaluation. Technically I wasn't supposed to receive a spot on the Commandant's List because I had missed a point during the land navigation portion, but I was given the spot on the list anyway because my small group leaders knew I had what it took to be a good NCO in the United States Army. And again in BNCOC when I assumed the role of Squad Leader I impressed. And it was a bigger deal because I was the youngest Staff Sergeant in the class, having been promoted a few days before the course began. And sure enough, I held my own.
So this position is perfect for me. I want to learn more of what I was missing just being in the 95th Maintenance Company. So I'm doing the Squad Leader bit and always observing and asking questions of the other Squad Leaders and the platoon sergeant so I can inject as much Army stuffage into my section of technicians.
But a lot of times when I'm in the shop I feel out of place. Today for instance I was working diligently on building training outlines and such from nothing and the rest of my section was laughing and having a good time in the shop. I think a couple of Soldiers were working but for the most part it was a lot of conversing and joking around. And we have tons of equipment in the shop and so much work to do. Honestly I do not want to leave here and head to another maintenance company. I loved working at Redstone instead of in my MOS. I mean sure it was a nice lifestyle, working for a Command Group, but it was more my style of work and then when I went to BNCOC, I realized I'd like to be a small group leader for BNCOC. I'm all about trying to get where I can truly benefit the Army. Sure the Army will put you where it needs you and I know that in my field in the Army there are only a few of us and very few Staff Sergeants. But I'd have much more to offer in a position like small group leader or in a Staff position or something like that. I never liked calibration to begin with. It wasn't something I ever thought to delve into very deeply.
The other Staff Sergeant came off of leave the other day and just today he was talking about going to Redstone to be an instructor. He had called our assignments branch and spoke with someone. So apparently he is on his way to Redstone Arsenal in six (06) months. I wasn't jealous when I heard it, more frustrated with myself. Sure I do not want to be an instructor training Soldiers for this MOS, but if I could just get an assignment there I'd be able to head up early to see about having my destination changed from the school house at Redstone Arsenal to the NCO Academy to be a BNCOC SGL at Redstone Arsenal. And now that I hear he apparently is going to fill a slot I'm thinking I missed out. I should have called myself. I'll phone next week after the weekend and holiday to speak with someone about my assignment options however. Maybe I'm not too late and can get something there at Redstone, after all, I'll not be leaving here until October, maybe something is projected to open up by then.
I should get to sleep soon. At first I was going in to work on training and meet with the other Squad Leaders, Section Sergeants, Platoon Sergeants, and the First Sergeant at 7:00 but at the last minute it was bumped up to 9:00. I can not afford to sleep in and miss it though. So I'll start thinking about heading to bed so I can wake up with plenty of time to shower and get something in my stomach. I know it will not just be an in and out in an hour thing. Nothing is ever that simple around here.
What a week.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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THURSDAY 12TH JANUARY 2006
9:53-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"... Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD Your God will be with you wherever you go."
-- JOSHUA 01 : 09
It was just "one (01) of those evenings," I had to strip down and crawl right into bed upon returning from work. These days besides all of the work which must be done, the walking back and forth from the shop to the motor pool to the company area, and every combination involving the three (03) locations (and more if need be) takes it's toll. By the time the end of day formation let out today I was more than ready to get into my warm room and relax. I ended up getting in about 4:53 and suddenly waking up with my head on my desk twice after that. I do not remember exactly when I decided to get into bed, but I'm sure I have napped for at least a good three (03) hours. And thinking back it seems I spent most of the nap trying to convince a Soldier that another Soldier would not be allowed to take his child out of daycare to save money because he was leaving the installation soon.
Yes, that last tidbit warrants an explanation: All I can remember from that first dream was trying to argue that Big Army would not let a Soldier keep a baby in his barrack's room. The Soldier was planning to take his child out of daycare because he was leaving the installation soon and wanted to save money, however, it meant during the periods of time he was in formation or going around clearing and signing out of the installation, the child would be alone in the barracks.
While I wasn't talking to the Soldier who wanted to do such a thing, I was talking to a Soldier who insisted there wasn'thing wrong with the idea despite the fact Big Army would probably put the Soldier in jail if they discovered the child alone in the barracks, and yeah, ... it was probably one (01) of the most dangerous, neglectful, and stupid things I encountered since being in the Army. (Well, I guess maybe the Army dream world does not really count. But it was a horribly dangerous idea.) I do not think there was much of a resolution before I slipped into the next dream:
I remember even less about this dream. All I can really remember is being pulled around by this eccentric girl who was pretty much labeled a "weirdo" by Soldiers who had served with her a while. "Later" in the dream (or it could have been earlier since it was a dream after all) she was wearing some sort of sweat suit, she had painted her face red, and her hair was a mess and she kept coming up to a group of us urging us to participate in some sort of protest. I have no idea what the cause was but I'm sure it was "weird".
Okay, it is over, you have survived the retelling. The dreams were much more realistic a couple of hours ago when I wasn't exactly fully conscious. I suppose you just "had to be there" to really understand.
It is raining outside which will make tomorrow's run during PT extra fun. And speaking of "conditions", my room is rather hot. Regulating the temperature in my room until I'm comfortable is virtually impossible. There is a heater below my window. When it is on high it literally feels like an oven in the room and when it is on low it literally feels like an oven in the room. When it is on, it is "on". So I usually keep it off and run a little space heater in the corner all the time, which heats the (small) room too but I can regulate it a bit more than the room's heater. But it never is "comfortable". I have pretty much just learned to change my definition of comfort (which has pretty much been the name of the game for the better part of the last six (06) years) and deal with being a little warm in my room.
Well, it is time to find a little snack and get back to bed. If I do not think about getting back in bed now I'll end up staying up well into the morning, and I do not plan to tackle things I need to do until tomorrow (and throughout the weekend) so I'd not be doing anything worthwhile. Yes, I'm trying to get myself to either do worthwhile or productive and if not, just go to bed at night. Of course naturally, I'll first look to be productive. But as for tonight, I could use the sleep to prepare for tomorrow. I have much to do before a meeting with the First Sergeant to brief him regarding next week's training.
More news tomorrow though, changes are occurring around here with the company and such, but it can wait until tomorrow or this weekend.
Good night, good morning, and may you enjoy all the hours in between.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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THURSDAY 12TH JANUARY 2006
12:23-AM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."
-- Psalm 51 : 02
"SARA, ...
... you are now half of half of a whole century now! Whoa! Let me know what it is like so I know whether or not I want to take the plunge this fall.
Twenty-five (25) will bring with it a lot of changes. You will be a college graduate bound for a teaching assignment somewhere. Very cool. Congratulations on that and everything else you have accomplished so far. I'm very proud of my big little sister. And she should be extremely proud of herself.
I hope that you are continually learning yourself and continually surprising yourself as you discover new talents, learn, and grow into the person you aspire to become. I'm looking forward to seeing you as soon as I rotate back to the States.
Have a great birthday SARA!
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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WEDNESDAY 11TH JANUARY 2006
8:14-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good man rewarded for his."
-- Proverbs 14 : 14
Another day down. The last few days have been the same old stuffage: last minutes changes to just about everything and no real time to react and adjust fire. But hey "adapting and overcoming" and remaining flexible has been the name of the game here since day one (01) as well as having an endless amount of patience.
If you have been coming here for a while or have been following along for the past few months you will should know more or less what I'm getting at. And if you have been here since the "early days" do not worry, you are not the only one (01) who is waiting for things to get much more interesting and exciting. Maybe I'll get my act together in a few years and do things which will make for more exciting entries. But hey, you will want to know how I became so successful anyway right? But of course, so bear with me for as long as it takes and you will have front row seats to the story of how I came up, regrouped, and made it all happen.
Work for me is basically boiling down to trying to rush this way and that to keep up with new information the platoon sergeant puts out and getting paperwork or training or information (but most likely all of that and then some) to him from my section. And of course getting all of that from my section. Everyone pretty much does their own thing and then surprises me at the last minute with this or that. So yes, I have last minute things coming from my Soldiers and last minute things coming from my platoon sergeant. What does that mean? Well it means most of the time I'm stuck in the middle and usually the bearer of bad news. Ha! Every last minute thing is "my fault" because I'm the middle man. But hey, whether it is or not, I can take it. I'm not perfect and I'm still learning a lot regarding how to best serve in the role of Squad Leader, but I honestly believe I'm the right Soldier for the job in my section.
Oh, things have been so crazy I didn't mention relinquishing my duties of Shop Foreman. I spoke with SFC McManus the other day (do not ask me when, I honestly am quite mixed up with days and dates) if he would like to assume the role as Shop Foreman since my Squad Leader responsibilities take me out of the shop to gather information or turn in this or that the majority of the day. I'm the runner who basically acts as the buffer between the company and the shop trying to, I do not really want to say "serve two (02) masters," but, ... keep both sides smiling so to speak. Ha! Although I rarely get smiles these days, I do my best to keep everyone remotely comfortable and "in the black".
Anyway, it is time to call it quits. There is more but I have to get on some training stuffage now so I can try to get into bed before the night turns into morning.
More when there is more time. This week end is another long one (01) so I'll undoubtedly have more time to catch anyone and everyone who stumbles across this site up on what is going on.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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TUESDAY 10TH JANUARY 2006
11:24-PM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
Listening - "SWEET ILLUMINATION"-SHANE barnard & SHANE everett Carry Away
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
-- Philippians 04 : 08
I am in the process of waging war with a virus which has infected my computer. I located information on the Trojan hijacker on the internet and did a little research on it. It is probably nibbling away at my computer as we speak. But basically anything and everything can be rolled into the Trojan. The most obvious symptom is a flashing icon in the try with a dialogue bubble erupting from it which displays an exclamation point inside of a yellow triangle and a message:
"System Intrusion Detected! ... Dangerous infection was detected on your PC. The system will now download and install most efficient antimalware program to prevent data loss and your private information theft. Click here to protect your computer from the biggest malware threats."
It turns out that the message links you to a malicious and "fake" spyware removed which further harms your system. But even so, it is already installed and running. And even if you delete this program it respawns and keeps on going and going and going.
So I'm currently waiting for keys to unlock a spyware remover which has identified one hundred thirty-four (134) threats on my machine. It said the information could be sent between fifteen (15) minutes and four (04) hours, so I could be waiting a significant amount of time. At this point I'm wondering if I should just read for an hour and call it a night. Hopefully tomorrow morning my information will be in my inbox and I'll be able to vanquish this virus once and for all.
It seems like a good plan so I think I'll put it into action. Besides, I'm not sure what kind of a day tomorrow will be like. I have the prayer breakfast in the morning but the rest of the day could be full of surprises, I need to get some rest in order to take care of what may come accordingly.
Please hope with me that my computer and I make it. Thanks.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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TUESDAY 10TH JANUARY 2006
4:32-AM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
"O righteous GOD, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure."
-- Psalm 07 : 09
"BETTY, ...
... happy birthday! Well you have begun another year of your life and a few days ago begun another calendar year. I have heard you are well and living or schooling or both in Houston. And engaged as well! Congratulations. This new year comes with it much to be thankful for and excited about.
I am so proud of you and happy that you are pressing on and moving forward and doing what you have to do. You are without a doubt a success. I hope and pray you fiancée is exactly what you have been looking for and waiting for. I hope and pray GOD has introduced you to your husband and I wish you both the best.
I am sorry I'll not be able to wish you a happy birthday in person. I'm over here in Korea doing my thing and answering my Nation's call. But nonetheless my birthday wishes and greeting s are genuine and travel from my heart to yours.
I can not wait to see you again. It has been too long. Enjoy your day BETTY.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & Confidence
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SUNDAY 08TH JANUARY 2006
11:57-AM-(UTC/GMT +9 hours)
Listening - "ASLAN"-KENDALL payne Grown
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, ... or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
-- Exodus 20 : 17
Sure enough, I found my American Express card. Since I put it in my back pocket, I had checked my pants pockets but didn't think to check the little memo pad I keep in my pocket. As I was going up and down the stairs to do laundry I thought about it. I took it out and tried to bend it and it was ridged and would not bent. Sure enough, I opened it up and there was my American Express card, in between the pages. I had taken it in and out of my uniform and my jeans a couple of times but because the card was wedged in the pages, it never fell out. I'm glad I found it but I probably should have search a bit more thoroughly. Better safe than sorry though. I checked the website and my account number has already been changed. And I'll have a new card in about a week and a half, so no worries. I know I'll not have a lot of fraudulent charges made to my account to have to deal with.
There is a clean-up scheduled at 3:00 to get some of the common areas in the building cleaned up. They are not horrible but I suppose someone noticed something or another so it is time to get them squared away. Later, at 6:00 all the NCOs will head over to the Soldier's barracks to go through and check them out. My guys should be good to go but I'm concerned about the Soldier who just moved over there. The room he left was packed cause he had extended, so he has been living here for two (02) years. And he had to move in with another of my Soldiers, so his living space was literally cut in half. So I'm really not looking forward to peeking into that room; I can just imagine how cluttered and full of boxes it is.
So I suppose I'll get something to eat, work on my own room, and then head out to do those two (02) things. I expect to be back in my room around 7:30 or 8:00 at the latest. My laundry is already finished so tonight will most likely include more getting creative finding places to store and stash things in my small living space, and looking over course work. Hopefully I can link up with the training NCO tonight at the Soldier's barracks to ask him about Battle Staff. I do not expect that it will happen tomorrow morning. But who knows. I kind of hope he tells me that the start date is next Monday instead but that I'm still on the list. And of course I hope Chief and SFC Gutierrez okay it. But again, who knows. I'll just roll with whatever happens.
Lunch time.
Peace be with you always. And may GOD continue to bless you.
Faith & | | |
