Week 3 of Recruiter School

    This week has flown by. Every day has just been jammed pack with classes until 1700. Thursday was the first reprieve at 1415 release. So many classes on many different army regulations. My brain is fried at the end of these class days. I still chat with my family at the end of every day and walk a mile or so in the evening to avoid sitting down all day. 

    I have been working on a sermon/lesson project the last few days based on a verse of the day from Galatians. It's all about the do's and don'ts of the 5 senses and your general sense of awareness. I am going to send it to one of my Christian mentors and ask his thoughts and see if he wants to test it out on his group he ministers to. I am awaiting admission to Liberty University for a masters in divinity. I also applied to be ordained by the Non-Denominational Association of Christians. I doubt I will get ordained based on my lack of ministry experience but I want to put myself out there for a future attempt. 

    I have been suffering from a few nights of anxiousness. Perhaps I'm staying up too late and not sleeping well. Before bed I watch a few videos on fractals with calming music in the background. Scientific studies have shown that looking at fractals has a strong effect on reducing stress levels. I honestly believe it, after watching 5-10 minutes of these videos I feel calm and tired. One study showed faster healing times for patients who could look outside at trees, bushes, flowers etc. Those kind of living things are natural fractals and have have the same effect as looking at man-made fractals. I have also discovered this video/audio track of simple study/work beats that have a very mellow/positive vibe. I've never been to the west coast but I imagine this is what it must sound like when you walk down the streets. 

    Today is Thursday, and tomorrow there is a comprehensive exam I need to make an 80 on or better. I want to say it's only a 20 question exam. The room for error is small. I am nervous. I hope I pass. More to follow in the update tomorrow.... (7/17update, I got a 92 so pretty good, but I'm trying to get 95 or above.)

 Here's some deer I saw the other day while walking. 

Also Crocs and Socks are the best combo since PB&J. Very comfortable and easy on my bunions. I feel to young to being saying that. 

12 July 2020

        This morning I awoke to the sound of my morning jazz playlist on youtube. A very nice way to wake up indeed. I get up and talk with my family and grab chow from the dfac. A satisfactory breakfast with real bacon this morning. The bacon is probably the reason for my heartburn during the day. Sadly my allergy medication has two unfortunate side effects: increased heartburn and reduction of the bodies ability to regulate temperature. I still take it because the alternative of snotting and wheezing at night is unbearable at best. In fact, about a month ago when I went tent camping this happened. I forgot to take my medication in the morning like usual and when the time came for sleep I sneezed and wheezed until midnight. I took my pill and then fell asleep sitting upright in the car so I wouldn't keep anyone else awake. It was an awful night. 

      After breakfast I play some minecraft and kill some time before having to go and fetch a few items from the commissary. I peruse the main PX for about 30 minutes just killing time until 11. I don't even get anything from the PX because the line is over 10 people long. That's just too much. I walk in the commissary when it opens and head straight for the water. I put x3 2.5 gallon jugs of water in my cart; this water is what I will drink all week. Next I get some cane sugar for coffee and tea. I also guiltily add pop-tarts and chocolate chip cookies to my basket. Only a $17 dollar trip.  

    I get some lunch on the way back; baked chicken, rice and beans and baked beans. I am now fueled up with enough fiber to produce enough gas for a trip to the coast. I chat with my boys and play some minecraft for awhile. I do go on a nice bike ride and listen to some ask pastor john while I ride. I have some revelations in the word and am grateful for the time I have to be in God's word. I come back to my room and pray and read the Bible. 

   

Ft. Knox has lots of railroads

    By now the boys are awake and cranky for my wife. We spend the afternoon and some of the evening talking about buying the house in College Station and getting dinner figured out for the boys. Eventually we get to the point where boys are fed, bathed, and asleep. The realtor sent up the offer for the house and now the waiting game begins. I wish I could sell my first house but we have just put a tenant in there a few months ago and the contract is nowhere near up. I'm gonna sell that house as soon as I can, and hopefully for a profit. 

    I shower and make some great tea with the new organic cane sugar. Florida Crystals makes organic cane sugar and other specialty sugars using a process that generates no waste and uses no outside electricity. Having looked this up earlier, I feel pretty good about my sugar choice. It also tastes great in a cup of decaf black tea at 2200. I am disappointed though to find out that the Army TA program will only cover half of my master's degree and that I have to wait to finish ALC in order to even start the degree. I may not go to ALC until 2021. Surely I can get some sort of waiver, but that will be for another day. Maybe I can get a grant or something to help with the 9,000 dollars it will cost for my half of the tuition. 

    Ah well, at least the bachelors and associates was free. 

Pull-Cord toilet, my great fix after breaking the handle off.

 

 

11 July 2020

      Today the 11th of July. It makes me think of 711, like the gas station convenience store 711. I am realizing that I haven't seen one in years but after a quick google search I see that they apparently still exist. Good for them.

    I've also the last few days discovered that there are hours of different jazz music playlists on youtube. No words, just nice bossa nova jazz. One in particular is pretty great for the morning time. I'm listening to this one that is for evening time. It really helps energize me in the morning and make me feel a little more happy and upbeat. Almost like I'm in a sitcom and at any moment something comical may happen like in seinfeld. This is the one I listen to in the morning. 

    This morning I woke up at about 0700 and groggily got out of bed. But I was pretty motivated to get around because I have an appointment with a disc golf course and ten and a few things need to happen before I go. Like getting discs for golfing. I left all my discs at home, which of course was a mistake, and so I need to go to the local academy and buy some. It's a twenty minute drive and it opens at 9. So get dressed, eat, store and then play. I accomplish getting dressed with ease; almost as if I do it every day. Breakfast was pretty disappointing. My two boiled eggs were an untrustworthy shade of yellow when I peeled them so I tossed them. Really the only thing I ate was two slices of turkey bacon, a bagel and an apple. I mean to get more to eat but I end up not. 

    The drive to academy is too long for my liking but I make it there before the store opens and chat with my wife while she's on the road to drill this weekend. The kids are being watched by the in-laws at our house so all is taken care of. Upon entering the store my I have to practice restraint to not buy many things. Academy sports and outdoors is a wonderful place and I'd like to own just about half the store. Today though I focus on some discs and walk out with the typical 3-disc starter pack, which for 30 bucks isn't too bad. I've paid over 30 bucks for a single disc. Much better quality but when you lose a disc as often as I do you can't get too attached. 

    I get to the disc golf course early and warm up with some throws around the parking lot. My buddy and another guy get there and we start to play. This course is literally in the woods. Not like a friendly cleared out woods with trees and open space. I'm talking trees, overgrowth, bushes, vines and lots of little plants that may be rash producing. On top of that, at any given point you are either on top of a hill, at the bottom or on the side. No flat spots at all. This in combination to the large spider web population made for a rather rough time finding a rogue throw. My buddy is pretty decent and the other guy is not. I battle my buddy for the win down to the last hole and edge him out by one stroke. Success. I did cross a rather old and questionable bride over a 10 foot drop to a creek bed.

    

    Despite the victory, I was beat. I was hungry and my legs were tired of two hours of busting brush up and down the hills of kentucky. I rewarded myself with a lot of food from the DFAC. The equivalent of tuna help, potatoes and some onion rings! It was a lot of food but I at every last bite. I then laid about and eventually took a nap until 1600.

    My wife calling me woke me up. I woke up not very happy to be awake and wishing I wasn't so tired. I put some jazz on and it made me feel better. I got up and tried to go to the PX and get a puzzle. This was because I had found a puzzle in the common room in the barracks while doing laundry and it was probably missing a bunch of pieces. I like puzzles. I can concentrate very narrowly and refine a process to make it as efficient as possible. Very satisfying. Sadly, no puzzles were to be found there. But I did snag an off brand pair of crocs for 12 bucks. 

    I get back and video chat with my boys for awhile. They are happy to see me and I wish I could just reach out to them. It's times like this I wonder what torture it must be to deploy for a year or more and miss out on so much. They are so young, you can miss alot even over a few months. My boys seem to be getting bigger and smarter every single day and I'm grateful that I can video chat them multiple times a day. After our chat I get some dinner chow which is literally two slices of ham that are grilled on a flat iron grill, potato spears and some wax beans. I supplement this meal with a brownie and a PB&J sandwich. It's still not enough it seems.

    The boys go to sleep and I lazily play some minecraft. My wife calls and I lazily play minecraft and chat with her. I make some decaf and listen to my evening jazz. It's a nice relaxing vibe. I really enjoy some tea or coffee in the evening. I wish that I wasn't so caffeine sensitive, there are a lot more non-decaf options out there for tea and coffee. Alas, this is my burden to bear. Tomorrow though I am going to the commissary first thing and getting some sugar. Black coffee is fine with me, but I do like a small spoonful of sugar with it. No milk though, I like the bitter and sweet without any of the cream. 

Recruiter School days 5, 6, & 7.

    Alot has happened. Not all of it is noteworthy but I'll cover the main points. Resuming from Wednesday morning, we all had to show up at 0800 for class. That means I didn't do PT so I rolled out of bed closer to 630 to get dressed and get my food. I briefly talked with my family and went to class. Today was the day that we were all going to get the assignments briefing. The real deal. The SFC who was briefing us was the person who assigns everyone in USAREC. If she doesn't say I'm going to College Station, then I'm not going. 

      I have to plow through a class in the morning and wait for the assignments briefing after lunch. I am too distracted to really pay attention. Lunch was also nothing special and if it was I don't remember. What I do remember though is logging onto my email and seeing actual confirmation from the USAREC G1, the SFC herself, email myself and my gaining battalion S1 that I'm going to College Station! And there was even an ACT email that identified a sponsor! I immediately thanked God and was beyond grateful to have this weight lifted, because I truly felt twenty pounds lighter knowing that I wasn't going somewhere else. 

    The briefing still got my heart pumping a little. I mean, what if there was a discrepancy? What if the email was sent to the wrong guy? I waited for the SFC to scroll through a PowerPoint list of our classes names and assignments. A-Z it went, so I witnessed many people before me having positive and negative reactions. One of my classmates is almost in tears, and does later on cry. Finally she gets to the M's and my name has College Station right by it. Another win and another grateful prayer sent up to the Man. I am beyond happy. I realize I am very fortunate, only a handful of people went to Texas, and only I went to the Houston Battalion. It was a miracle.

     The house search begins in earnest now. We have decided to buy a house instead of rent; that will make it 3 houses under our belts if we buy another. Thursday is all day classes and briefings I can't quite remember. All I know is that we got off after 1800 on Wednesday and Thursday and the class wasn't thrilled. Each break I text my wife about a few prospect houses. 

    Friday is a pretty good day. I finally get to come in at 0900, which meant a nice long bike ride to get the day started right. I even got to come in business casual again. All morning we had a retired guy teach us about the psychology of recruiting, how to perform well under stress and how to manage our minds and personal strengths. It was a great class. We review a previous test we all took that measured our personalities and many other traits. I found out that I am both introverted and extroverted and switch it up when I feel. I confirmed that I was stressed out. (Go figure) Interestingly, the assessment also pegged me for being able to hyper focus on a task and use problem solving and analysis to a great degree while disregarding emotion. (Once again, go figure)

    Over lunch I spill water all down my only button up shirt and have to change into uniform. Ah well, I honestly felt more self conscious wearing civilian attire anyways. It's nice to be able to hide behind some rank and a few badges. People make assumptions when I wear my uniform because of what's on it and I'm okay with that. People make assumptions when I wear civilian clothes, and what I think those assumptions are, I am less fine with. 

     

    

Recruiter School Day 4

      I slept terribly last night. I woke up and couldn't fall asleep for over an hour in the middle of the night and then woke up a few times after that. I definitely didn't wake up and do PT either. I slept in till the last minute, with just enough time to get dressed, eat breakfast and walk to class. 

     Despite all this I still made a 100 on my exam! Which brought my GPA up and now I'm happy with it. You have to have an 80% in the class to pass and you have to have an 80% by the end of each week to keep going in the course as well. It really isn't that hard, but you do need to pay attention in class at the very least. I studied for all of 2 hours this entire 4 day weekend and made a 100. Chalk it up to my ability to memorize or luck, I'm just happy with the grade.

    The rest of the day was spent studying new regulations and concepts about recruiting. I once again am finding myself really engaged in this course, unlike almost any other army course, and I'm buying into the philosophy of being an army recruiter. I think that I can help people accomplish there goals and change their lives. The army has certainly been a blessing to to me and my family. 

    I ate my lunch quickly in my room and took a short snooze. The afternoon class lasted until 1800 in the evening so by the time I sat down to eat my dinner and video chat my family it was almost 1900. We have a good chat and have to get off because the boys need to go to sleep. They are really cranky and I wish I could be home to hold them before bed. 

     I take a walk and talk with my wife about her day and mine. She's worried about getting lots of fleas in the house after seeing one. She cleaned the entire house, top to bottom. Hats off to her doing that with the two boys all to herself. I tell her about my day and we slowly get ready for bed. I decide I'll shower off but just when I say that I hear my roommate swing the shower curtain and turn the water on. Classic. After he gets out, I hop in and forget that I left some boiling tea on the stove halfway through and run out of the shower to turn the burner off. The tea will be very strong.

     I plan on reading the bible until I tire out and lay down. Hopefully this strong decaf tea doesn't keep me up. 

6 July 2020

        Usual routine this morning with waking up, chatting with family and getting breakfast. I forgot to get jelly sadly. I decide to go on a bike ride today. It's been much nicer with a new saddle on the bike, my butt hurts far less now. I go on about an hours worth of a ride, getting in some much needed exercise. I pass by some aircraft mock-ups and take pictures for my boy. I also ride a little on the golf course, even though there are players on it. (he he!) I see some geese and I also take a picture of it for my boys because they like geese and ducks and chickens and whatnot. 

 

    

I talk with my roommate a little when I get back and drink some lactose free milk. He's a nice enough guy, a little awkward to talk too sometimes but has always been nice. We hardly ever see each other. I think we both just politely wait for the other to leave the common area before we go in as to avoid the obvious social norms like acknowledging that there is someone else in the room. 

    I kill some time filling out some house paperwork. I hate that buying/selling/renting a house is so much work and money. Lunch today is spiral noodles,cream sauce and cubed pieces of ham thrown in the mix. Not bad, but definitely a very easy and cheap government meal. Still, it tastes good enough to eat it all. The DFAC worker handing me jelly today was in agreeance that the sugar-free jelly is terrible. 

    I eat quickly because a buddy of mine needs to be picked up from the car rental place off post. In the Army the term buddy is like the term acquaintance but with a few differences. Like an acquaintance, a buddy is someone who you have only spent time with because you are in the same unit, conducting training together or have done something along the lines that kind of sucked. Having gone through the a few of the same things you each have a non-verbal understanding about it and have an unspoken common ground. For example, here at recruiting school I know two guys here, two buddies. One I was in the same unit with for about a year and a half and the other guy has graded EFMB with me and conducted some really terrible ranges together. Other than that I really haven't shared any other experience with these guys; never spent time at each others house, no lunches or get togethers, nothing but Army related stuff. Despite this, you are allowed to call them your buddy and you know that if you are in a crowd of people you don't know you and that buddy will gravitate towards each other, make small talk and continue to suffer through the same event together. You may never talk about anything serious, you may never consider that person a friend. You might not even have their work cell number, but if it came down to it you and that buddy would fight out of whatever situation you needed to and have each other's back for anything. Even if it's just picking him up from down the road a few miles. Which I did, made some small talk relevant to the course we are in together, and then non-commitally said our goodbye's as we each walked to our room. His on the second floor and mine on the third. Thanks and your welcomes are of course exchanged but we both know it's not necessary. This sort of relationship is something you never really find on the civilian side of life unless you go through some "extreme" circumstances together. For instance, I have a good buddy that was with me through basic training and AIT. 6.5 months together and we did it together. We did become friends over this time but after AIT we went our separate ways to different units far apart. We kept in touch. Communication was and is sparse over the last 7 years. He is out of the Army right now. If I called him today he would answer. If it was an emergency he would try to help. We haven't spoken in the last 2 months and when we did it was probably a snapchat or two, but that's just what buddies are and you can't find buddies unless you really go through the suck together. 

    I went to the shoppette to grab some hot sauce and more allergy pills. Hot sauce is a usual for me when I eat breakfast on Ft Bragg. My breakfast at the dining hall there is also a "usual" thing and it includes boiled eggs that I love putting hot sauce on. The DFAC here on Knox doesn't provide any hot sauce and the make some very hard boiled eggs, and I mean the yolk in the middle is dry and crumbly. I prefer soft-medium boiled eggs but that actually takes some skill and care to make so the DFAC I'm sure boils these suckers for about 15 minutes in a batch of 12 dozen. Ah well, just add hot sauce and it'll moisten it up and add some flavor; double hitter. 

     I am now awaiting a phone call from my wonderful spouse, who I'm sure is having trouble with one of the boys going to sleep judging by the time. I have to go to bed early tonight since class starts at 8 tomorrow and I will be working out tomorrow. We have a quiz and I need focused energy; I find that if I don't workout in the morning I feel sluggish and unproductive, generally. Cardio certainly wakes me up and just makes me feel good for most of the day. I would highly recommend it to anyone. 

 

5 July 2020

     My alarm woke me up, and I promptly fell back asleep until 0700. As per usual, I awaken and call my family. The boys are both up and running around within minutes of me calling my wife. After a short talk I head to the DFAC for the usual breakfast. I do not deviate from my usual menu choices. I eat and video chat with my boys. They are full of spunk today. 

    I have decided that today will be the day I check out the Tioga falls trail. When I googled mountain bike trails it was within 3 miles. It also appears that by using a range road I can get to it from off post. After making my preparations and visiting the bathroom I drive away. I drive down a typical range road for a military base; lots of open area and various weapons ranges on either side of me. I eventually get to a stop in the road. Ahead of me is the road that I need to go down, also it comes with a warning sign for authorized vehicles only but no track vehicles. Well, I'm certainly not driving a tank and I am authorized entry on to Ft Knox so I proceed. It's a barely used windy road that is being slowly reclaimed by the Kentucky jungle. Truly it is a jungle with dense growth, greenery all around and a canopy that obscures the sky. I have to hop out once and clear some logs. I eventually run into a locked gate across the road with several warnings and graffiti on it. I only have a half a mile to go but I decide I'll take the route that uses proper roads instead of risking parking my car back here. I fear it may suffer some unforeseen fate whilst I am away. 

    Good thing too because the Toiga falls trail doesn't allow mountain bikes after all. I pull up to a parking spot in the woods with many other trail goers. Saddened by the no mountain bike rule I trek on foot with a hammock and a water bottle in my bag. Probably a good thing I couldn't ride my bike up there, because it was straight up for the first mile or so. 30 degree incline and jutting rocks, some loose and some buried deep within the rocky soil. I would have no doubt fallen or given up riding straight up on the bike; far easier it was to walk up to the falls. I arrived at the falls and enjoyed the sights for a few minutes before answering the sudden call to nature far away from the group at the falls. One of my best pairs of socks are forever to remain in the Kentucky hills. 

    I set up my hammock and just lay and relax for about 15-20 minutes, enjoying the view of the sky between the tall tree canopy. The sounds of the falls, birds, people talking and kids playing is quite loud but comforting. It reminds me of many state parks I've been to before. Were the water deep enough to swim in I would have jumped in, but it was, at most, only 6 inches deep. After packing up I splashed in a stream purposely just to see if it was cool. It was, and I wish I could have jumped in. Walking away I witnessed a kid about 10-12 slip on the rocks and land on his butt. It looked like it hurt and I could hear him wailing. His mother dusted him off and he was fine, just a little butt hurt haha! The walk back is more peaceful since no one is close to me and I'm mostly walking down hill. I stop to take several pictures and enjoy the view myself. It was a good time, short, but good.

    On the way back I stop by the General Patton museum. Of course it is closed, but the tanks outside are always open so I call my boys to show them. The oldest has a few toy tanks he plays with occasionally so I figure he'd get a kick out of seeing me by real life tanks. He of course enjoys it as I walk around and show him the different ones and tell him how tough they are. As I walk around I feel my sock-less, wet feet building up heat in my smelly shoes. Time to take these bad boys off. I say goodbye to the boys and make a pit-stop at the DFAC for lunch. One giant meatball, some pasta shaped like grubs, and vegetable medley today. I of course oblige myself to grab a piece of red velvet cake and ask specifically for the sugared jelly. The lady gets a laugh when I tell here my underwhelmed experience with the sugar-free kind. 

    I spend the afternoon wasting my time playing a video game called minecraft. After getting off and looking around I regret not doing something more productive. I genuinely don't like just wasting time. Even if it's just taking a walk or sitting and thinking I'd rather do that than waste more than an hour playing minecraft or any other video game. I like to spend my time doing things that yield tangible and positive results. Some will argue that, digitally, there is something to show for but what I really mean is it useful in real life? Even watching a history documentary or something is more productive. Sure, I will give it to some in the camp that you can learn problem solving playing a game. Sure. But how many of us out there are actually figuring it out versus just googling the solution?

    I got wrapped up playing my game I actually was too late for the DFAC. The shopette was closed and so was burger king. Good think there's a snack machine downstairs. I tuck in to my wrappered dinner discuss family business with my wife. I really wish I could have come home this weekend to see her and the kids. Watching the kids all day is exhausting, physically and mentally. They are both just young enough to only understand so much and both old enough to run around with a dangerous object in their hand. It would be nice to just take them off her hands for a few hours. I also miss my bed. This army issue mattress is the same as any other post. It's like a flimsy piece of plywood with springs underneath covered by a slippery nylon cover. The sheet just slides off the corners when ever you toss and turn a few times. The pressure points are also pretty bad. My mattress back home is a king size pillow top that has never disappointed me or my back. 

    

 

4 July 2020

     I begrudgingly rolled out of bed this morning before 7, but I really should have gotten up earlier. I begin my day talking with my wife and kids while getting dressed. Workout shorts and the shirt I wore to sleep seem like a pretty goo combo to me. I decide that I'll ride my bike for exercise and of course to explore. I like to revisit places I walk by or ride my bike by. It's something I have always done; Especially as a single soldier living in the barracks, walking was something I did daily. I didn't want to party or go to clubs or what have you. I liked to walk, think and observe the world around me. Walking by myself gives me plenty of time to pray and be introspective about my life and decisions. Well, at least now I prefer to be introspective rather than in the past being retrospective, mulling over mistakes and other decisions. Yes, nowadays I prefer to be more mindful of the present. I exercise this by, as I said, revisiting places and looking for something new each time. 

     Today I rode my bike past cadet land looking for a skunk. I was once again disappointed. I was rolling down a hill in a parking lot when I saw a service road that winded around the baseball complex. I took it and then another turn in the road led me to an opening in the trees. I found Johnson Cemetery #07. It reminded me of other ancient burial sites I had seen on Fort Benning. These were from the mid to late 19th century judging by the barely legible dates on two of the headstones. Of the 20+ grave sites only two had legible inscriptions on them. I take a few pictures and be as respectful as possible. The grass is very tall but it does appear that someone walks to a stump filled with potted plants quite often judging by the new soil, plants and path leading to it. After a google search I discover that there is nothing to be found on the internet about this site. That will have to change. On the way back I also discover a deserted mountain bike behind a connex. The owner seemed to have a spot of misfortune and cracked the very frame of the bike. What a sad day for him/her. 

 

     I take off to the commissary in my car to grab some essentials. I have a water bottle that I drink out of religiously while at work and most of the time while I am at home. It is a Yeti brand 34oz, vacuum insulated, stainless steel water bottle with a bunch of stickers on it and a twist top lid and three finger carrying handle. I love my water bottle. I fill it up and drink it 3-4 times a day depending on how strenuous the day is. Anyways, since I've been here on Knox I've only used it for the first day or two. On my first day of class I was informed that no one had lived in the barracks building I'm in for the past 3 months. So for three months the water in the pipes has sat and I'm sure some mold built up in the tap. confirmed mold built up in the toilet as it continues to appear in the bowl after each flush. On day one I filled up my bottle with tap water. This proved to be a mistake as my water bottle began to stink shortly after. After washing it and refilling, it still stank. My roommate bought a 40-pack of plastic water bottles and I resorted to drinking those. In the last 48 hours of drinking essentially nothing but bottled water I have gone through 17+ of his water bottles, which he says were for "us" but I still feel obligated to return them and then some. The commissary is very small compared to the one on Fort Bragg, but it has water bottles in bulk, lactose free milk and decaf tea so I leave satisfied. Carrying two packs of water bottles and two 2.5gal jugs of water up 3 flights of stairs is no fun. 

     I ride back to the DFAC and grab lunch to go. I ride back with food box in one hand and bike bar in the other. I get some looks along the way from my peers but they are probably jealous I can move 10 times faster. I eat and look up what I can find about the site. I find very little. I attempt to contact an archaeologist linked to the only reference of a Johnson cemetery on Fort Knox but she has passed on. It seems that much of the knowledge of this place has been lost to time. I work on a Wikipedia page to save what is left of it. I whip up a draft and will do some research later. 

     After lunch I take a rest on my bed and indulge in some semi-informational YouTube videos on cars and history. I get hungry and make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich like I've never had before: with sugar-free jelly. The ladies at the DFAC will hand us little single serving tubs of jelly upon request, which I do every time I go there. But as of the last few visits I've received nothing but sugar-free ones and the regular jelly has all been eaten. So I resigned to eating the sugar-free and was left with a sandwich which, while gratifying for hunger, wasn't up to par for the usual experience my taste buds enjoy with a normal PB&J. 

    Dinner was pork chops in mushroom sauce, pretty good actually. I ventured out for a quick walk after dinner. I was attempting to find a completely intact pecan and then I got stung by a mystery bug. Never saw what it was but it left a little welt on my arm. I waked back to the barracks, tail between my legs. 

    I shower and talk with my wife. Somehow she managed to put the boys down to sleep and they stayed asleep with our neighbors shooting off fireworks in the street. Thank the Lord they are sleeping thorough it all. Those boys are cranky and mean when they are woken up or don't sleep well. We talk and watch our live chicken cam on YouTube. It's not of our chickens but we've been watching it for awhile now. It's a very interesting cam. The chickens have names, on the sides of the screen it will scroll by with messages about the chickens and the contributors to the livestream. There is even an egg count widget that shows you how many eggs were collected and what colors they were. Most importantly, there is an option to donate money via the live chat, and when you donate money an automatic feeder is activated to feed the chickens some feed. If you donate more the $5 at a time, popcorn will shoot out of a tube instead of regular chicken feed! It is actually really funny to watch 5+ chickens scramble to get some popcorn. 

    I also waited all day to long on to the infamous 2b2t minecraft server. It took over 3 hours of waiting in the queue but I logged on. I played for all of ten minutes before dying and getting kicked off. I would now wait even longer to log back in so I call it a day. 

3 July 2020

     Today I chose to get up rather late. Not actually getting out of bed until a few minutes before 7. I walk around the room in a fog when I see that my room's white floor fan is off. (Which is odd because I always sleep with a fan on or some other form of white/brown noise to drown out my tinnitus.) Then I vividly remember, at exactly 0319, I awoke to my fan making a noise as if it were off-balance and ready to rip itself apart. An exaggeration of course, this is, but it was still very annoying to have to deal with that at 0319 in the morning.

     I call my family to say my good mornings to everyone and then dive into a practice test. Which takes a great deal of my time. After I go to get some breakfast; I have the usual. (refer to previous post) I bring it back and video chat my family once again. My oldest boy has a fun time holding his mother's phone, which to him is of course me trapped inside, and plays his go-back game. A game that consists of him running down a hallway that leads into the living room from his room. He starts at his door and then runs as fast as he feels like towards the giant pillow/mattress thing in our living room. (It's about the size of a full mattress that is stuffed with crumb foam and is very cozy and soft.) Upon reaching said pillow/mattress thing he will hurl himself onto it and laugh very contentedly to himself and smile boyishly and his mother. His little brother will often join him in this game and will follow behind him. Only on a few occasions has the order been reversed; of course when this happens the older brother tends to land on the little brother causing somewhat of a ruckus.

    After chatting and breakfast is done I venture off to the town's academy outdoor store to fetch a new bike saddle and to the Walmart for a lamp for my bedside table. The excursion lasts much longer than I expect and I am very frustrated at how much drive time it was considering I traveled less than 22 miles. By the time I get back on Fort Knox it is time for lunch. On the way in through the main gate, I notice the Fort Knox Gold Vault. I think to myself that I will visit it later today on my bike.

     Later that day proved to be a failure in seeing the vault building. Kind of. I was expecting to maybe get within 100-200 feet and take a nice picture but alas, not only it impossible to get within about 300 meters of the building, but if you are caught taking any pictures the photographic device can be confiscated by the Fort Knox Vault Police. I after swapping saddles on the bike it was a 3 mile bike ride to the closest area I was allowed to be on. After arriving at the end of a closed of road, about 400 meters away, over a slight hill, I could see most of the first and all of the second story of the vault building. It was really nothing spectacular. The outside is just concrete that could use a power washing and there was a scaffolding erected on the side facing me. I probably could have gotten closer if I would have taken a little detour down the golf club cart roads but it was a busy day for golf and I, not wanting to run into any retired brass, decided to wait until maybe Sunday when the course will hopefully be closed. (Upon review, it doesn't normally close on Sundays but because Sunday this week is July 4th, I'll wager they are closed!)

     The ride there and back was pleasant enough thanks to the new seat, slow speed limits, and lots of nice houses/buildings where high ranking people work and live. It's actually quite astounding the difference in housing for a regular Joe who make $30k a year versus a general or a colonel who makes well over $200k a year. I get it, the general has many responsibilities and all but the generals house here (or what I assumed was his house since it was the biggest on command row) was essentially a brick mansion. It is past all the other commanders houses on 5th avenue. It is across the street from the other houses. On the other side of the street are more command houses. Not only his his house catty-corner to a 25 acre open field, the house itself is actually diagonally faced on the lot so the the front of the house faces the open field. It has a U-drive in the goes around the back of the house. Directly behind the house is another 10 acres or more of nicely mowed grass and large ancient trees. Were this house to be bought outside the gates of an Army installation it would probably run in the millions. A comparable house (Probably around 6+ bedrooms, over 3,000 square feet) in the closest city of Elizabethtown cost's $895k, and it is only on a one acre plot. 

    When I was an E-4, I lived in a "3" bedroom apartment on post with 1 full bathroom, a living room and a kitchen. All appliances were gas and older than me by at least a decade. The water heater was at least, and I do mean at least, from the 1970's. There was a small laundry room, that shared the water heater, and in this "laundry" room there were water and electric hook-ups. Sadly there was no dryer vent so I drilled a 4" hole through latex/lead paint (confirmed lead paint), and two layers of bricks and ran the vent tubing through there. This hole would also serve as the water out for the washer as well. For this first home of my wife and I, every month I paid $535 cash only to an old man behind iron bars. This apartment complex was actually on Fort Benning. It's called battle park, and to my knowledge is still there. On a satellite image of it I can see my car still parked next to my neighbors oil leaking red Ford Taurus. 

    Rant over. 

    I get to see my boys play outside with their water table. They love to be outside, and they love to play with water. It's a shame that they have red and blonde hair and skin that gets red just thinking about getting in direct sunlight. Thankfully they have long sleeve sun shirts, hats and a little sunscreen on to help. Putting sunscreen on two toddlers is no fun and it requires a bath to get off.

    I piddle around in my room most of the afternoon; chatting on and off with my family and doing laundry. The laundry room is neat and clean compared to most barracks complex laundry rooms. Normally there's a lot of lint, spilt detergent and general crap laying about. I do my part and empty the trash bin full of lint to the outside dumpster. My good deed towards our barracks community is done for the day. 

    Dinner for me is leftover beef bulgogi and asparagus. I eat the beef and rice, but after a few stalks of asparagus I pass on the rest. Just steamed and thin as cheap copper wire isn't a good combination for asparagus. I prefer my asparagus cooked in bacon grease on a spittin' hot pan. The meal is saved though with a piece of german chocolate cake, which is thick and delicious. So thick I have to save more than half of my slice in the fridge. 

    I spend around 30-40 minutes talking with my family and watching my boys do there usual pre-bedtime shenanigans of running, jumping and shrieking. I sure do miss them. My wife puts them down and I piddle around till she confirms they are asleep. I video chatted my wife while I took my evening stroll. There were lots of whitetail deer out this evening; many does with many more baby dears. Sadly I don't see the animal that I am looking forward to the most seeing here at Ft Knox. The coveted pole cat, also known as a skunk. I have never seen one in person and my wife claims they were all over the place every time she had to train here. After being in and around the area where she trained I have seen not one of these majestic creatures. I am highly disappointed. I did see dear and baby though.

    I shower, I chat with wifey, she goes to sleep, I write my blog post, and who knows what else I'll do. Probably meditate and then watch some youtube. Maybe read a little since I got a new bedside lamp. 

Recruiter School Day 3

      I once again managed to wake up and fall asleep several times within the 30 minutes before my alarm went off. I also snoozed more times than I care to admit. Nonetheless, I awoke, changed clothes, made my bed and was out the door with my workout sandbag before 0650, not bad. 

      The sandbag is one of those tube-ish black nylon bags with handles on it in various places. On the inside are a few smaller nylon bags that are packed with sand. The entire thing weighs something over 45lbs and isn't very soft, just in case you were wondering. Anyways, I throw this guy on my shoulders and walk at a brisk pace about a half mile down the road from the barracks. I come across a massive parking lot that at the far corner has some workout connex's complete with pull up bars. I won't do any pull-ups today but just being around them is good enough. There's a group of what appear to be more senior soldiers on the other side of the connex doing some sort of music led workout. I stay on my side and enjoy the electronic music while I throw my sand bag repeatedly over my head as high as possible, blasting off from the faded asphalt in an attempt to send this bag to the moon. It, of course, goes roughly about 1/84,092,800th  of the distance; That's a rough estimate based on me throwing it 15 feet skyward. I do this then some sit ups and more bag throws and then side raises, more bag throws and finish with a grueling 2-minute plank. One minute is too easy but it seems that every second after 60 is increasingly more difficult. I walk back doing a set of 10 lunges or air squats with my bag every minute as a timer on my watch goes off. It isn't fun, I sweat a little bit and am ready for water. I had placed a water bottle in my sand bag, but upon reaching the outside of the barracks building I threw my bag down (to rest a little before going up to the 3rd floor) and in the process busted my water bottle. I didn't actually know this until I picked up my bag, surprised to find it soaked. Classic.

    Breakfast will now be more consistent. I have a sausage patty, a biscuit, a scoop of squared/hashed potatoes, two boiled eggs, a can (yes a can) of apple juice, and a bagel. This breakfast keeps gas to a minimum during class and the bagel I save for in class in case I get hungry or tired. I eat and video chat with my family. It is great to see them all every day but it's a little pain full to see them and not be able to really interact with them. The double edged sword of long distance communication. Not that it would be any better if I couldn't talk to them, it's just seeing them emphasizes the feeling of longing to be with them and interact with them physically. 

     Class really wasn't bad today. Learning all about waivers for enlisting into the Army. I am surprised that some of the criminal waivers can have such high level of crimes and still be potentially signed off on. In some cases the sheer amount of criminal activity can also be waived. Based off of different crimes, timelines, and circumstances, plenty of people are allowed in with a rap sheet. The Army looks at the whole person, the surrounding circumstances and generally will give applicants a chance to explain themselves. Should the reviewing authority for the waiver find that the explanation/story meets up with the court/arresting documents and it all seems reasonable the applicant was either charged wrongfully, has moved on in life, or learned from the events than the waiver can be signed and the applicant can continue to process into the US Army. Great stuff. 

    We take a 20 question quiz after lunch. I score an 85, and feel bad. The feedback was immediate as the quiz was taken in class on the laptops provided. After discussing this score with a few members of my class I don't feel so bad anymore. The review of the quiz reveals the class average was a 71. I really don't feel bad anymore.

    After class I grab a to-go tray from the DFAC; beef bulgogi, (so they claim), rice and collard greens. I don't eat the collard greens because they made them spicy. One, I am not a fan of spicy collard greens. Two, I don't have any Tums to help with the heartburn that would follow eating such spicy collard greens. While eating I get to chat with my family again. My wife took some great pictures of my boys playing outside with some of their water toys. My boys LOVE to play outside. Once they are outside they never want to come back in. (Well, only very rarely, my oldest will ask to go back inside.) I view the pictures on a sharedrive we made to share with friends and family. It was one of the best ideas I've ever had, making that sharedrive. Instead of taking a picture and sending to one family member and then maybe another, all the while many other family members want the picture but they don't get one because I'm too lazy to group chat. The sharedrive allows me to invite only the people I want and I only have to upload the photo to the drive and once it's in there everyone on the list gets a nice little notification saying that I've added a cute picture of my boys. This allows all family members to smile with joy at the sight of my family simultaneously. Thanks google drive. 

     I take a little walk after dinner and meditate on some stairs about a half mile out. I also found a half a brick which I take back to the room with me. I like brick, leave me alone. I was also trying to locate a decent spot to put up my hammock for an evening relaxation but there really wasn't a good spot down the road I took. I'll just have to look tomorrow.

     I was, for some reason, much more tired than I usually am by 2100 and just laid in bed, talking with my wife until I was really just wanting to sleep. I still have trouble sleeping and I don't find it until closer to midnight. Thankfully tomorrow is a holiday!

     

Recruiter School Day 2

     Waking up this morning was easy. Kind of. By that I mean I woke up an hour before my alarm and was feeling ready to get up. I really could have and been fine, but instead I attempted to sleep until my alarm went off. I did this but only after waking up several minutes apart a few times to be disappointed my alarm wasn't going off. I should have just gotten up when I first woke up.

     I dressed in all black PT clothes, put my hat on and went outside to warm up. I've read that doing static stretching before a run can actually increase injury rates so I have been doing more active warm ups lately. It's about room temp outside but really humid and no breeze. Perfect conditions for sweating profusely. Which I do after running 3 miles. I ran down past cadet land once again and made it to a solar farm on post. I pass a guy wearing a blue shirt who is running in the opposite direction. I hit a mile and turn back around. At 2 miles I have passed up the blue shirt guy. I run past two soldiers walking down the middle of the road. A large tanker truck rolls by them slowly on the road; the soldiers didn't give any ground. After blatantly walking through the middle of an intersection a truck stops and yells in a rather obscene nature for them to get out of the middle of the road. One of the soldiers promptly yells something of a similarly vulgar nature back. An exchange is made I can't hear. The truck moves on and the soldiers promptly pick up a run and get out of the road. here's the lesson, don't yell back at anyone driving an expensive truck on Fort Knox if you're rank doesn't end in anything less than 9. 

     I took a cold shower this morning, which was refreshing. I think I shall continue this trend. I skipped the scrambled eggs this morning at breakfast and went with two boiled eggs instead. The gas production today was minimal. 

     I video chat my family briefly before class. Class was literally reading over a regulation about being a recruiter. It was something that I found interesting and engaging. Some parts of it left me very confused because of the style of writing that Army regulations are written in, but the cadre were helpful in decoding the jargon. At the end of the day I leave the class feeling much more empowered about being at school; I feel that this course will actually benefit my abilities to recruit and handle the process.

     Dinner was fish again. I was denied the request to get baked chicken with my fish. Stingy DFAC rules only allow for one meat per customer. Not that I'm paying for it anyways. I mean, I guess I am paying for it with you know the hours, days months away from family, blood, sweat, tears and the occasional hair I'm sure I'm losing. 

     I am getting back to my room after buying a pair of slacks and a blue button down, long sleeve shirt; the only business casual clothes I own for now... maybe ever. I'm not a big fan of getting dressed up, for any reason. Anyways, I tried the clothes on and think it looks weird but I'll wear it tomorrow anyways. I'm not sure how many of my classmates will wear business casual but I'm wagering that most will instead of the much warmer uniform.

     I have an app that allows me to watch my living room and kitchen areas from my phone live. My oldest son sits on a big pillow in the floor of the living room. He's alone and getting precious time with his tablet; he is undoubtedly playing a game that involves baby shark or cars. I watch him and I miss spending this time with him. Even though I cannot see my wife, I know that she is putting my youngest boy to sleep right now in his room; a process that takes around 15 minutes. Usually this time is quiet time where my eldest and I will sit together in the living room while he plays his tablet. I usually will waste time playing something on my phone, reading the news, scrolling classifieds or looking up whatever comes to mind. The last few months though, I've often pulled out my phone and then immediately put it back in my pocket. I do this because I'm starting to think a little more in the moment. As a leader in the Army, it's hard to stay in the present unless you are in some sort of danger or conducting training. More often than not the admin work, which is most of a leaders day, revolves around filling out spread sheets, trackers, concept of operations worksheets, risk assessments or setting up training. All things that are in the future whether it's a week, month, several months, or tomorrow morning at 0500 this kind of work and planning takes up the vast majority of a leaders day. So the mindset to think of the future and less in the moment is almost hardwired into a leader. 

     I've found that mindfulness training like meditation or taking a purposeful break from phones or TV's is a great way to stay more in the moment when you want to. It would be impossible to stay in the moment at work, so instead I must resort to choosing when and when not to be consumed by the immediate few seconds in front of me. 

     Relating back to my boy, I've often in recent times taken my phone to my bedroom and put it on the charger; it's usually close to it's electronic death by the end of a work day. I do this because instead of reaching into my pocket for immediate answers or the relief of "boredom", I choose to stay more in moment and engage more with my family on a level that you simply can't achieve with a screen in your lap. I'm young still, 26, and I have two kids already. I'm 7 years into a career that I may retire from after 20 years. My current contract goes until my 11th year in the Army so there's no sense in giving it up now. Despite all the future ahead of me, my past is the majority of the driving factor for a change in my attention to the present. 7 years has flown by. My oldest son is almost 3, and it seems like just the other day he was a tiny baby. The past is gone, the future is in tomorrow, the present how ever is right now in your face and I think that being in the present more helps life seem longer; it can make time seem to tick a little more slowly. 

      Alot of this mindfulness and stress relieving stuff I have been doing is largely related to the behavioral health appointments I made in October of 2019. I was suffering from huge amounts of stress and it was starting to physically manifest itself with anxiety and other physical feelings. It freaked me out and I didn't like it at all to say the least. I'd never been the guy to get in touch with how I feel or how what triggers my stress or even how to get rid of it. That all changed in 2019. It will forever be known to me as the year I learned what stress and anxiety was and how I was going to fight it every single day. In a matter of years my life went from a care free single guy to a guy who had kids, two houses and the number 2 most stressful job in America. At least that's what Forbes said awhile back. The Army life isn't easy with a family, and it's even harder when you are both in the military. Even with my wife being in the National Guard and not working but 2 days a month and a few weeks each year it's still tough. From October 2019 to the end of February 2020 my wife had to go to training two states away. I still had my very full time Army job to do. My wife had to use more than half her paycheck to afford the babysitter that, thank the Lord, was able to watch our kids from 0530 until whenever I got home. Sometimes she even had to put them to bed I came home so late. Juggling all this and we moved houses towards the end of her training made for a very stressful time. It took every ounce of discipline to attempt to stay in the moment, breathe deeply and try not to let the thoughts consume me. 

       Several months down the road now I've become much more adept at handling stress. Becoming a recruiter is going to test my new found skills to the limits. I've accepted it for what it is. The silver lining is that I'm going back to my home town where my parents and brothers can help out with my kids if need be. I'll also never have to worry about deploying for the next three years. Not that deploying has been a worry really because I don't think I could get one if I landed in country with the way my Army career has gone.

     Anyways, I suppose I have rambled enough and gotten off topic. But I did kill some time and I feel that typing all this out and putting it out there gives me some form of relief. Maybe it's satisfaction. Both?  

Recruiter School Day 1

      Actual first day, whoo hoo... The report time was still too early to do PT sadly. Going to class we were met with more briefs. The first brief was given by a large retired man who complimented me for having my EFMB. I hate EFMB and am glad that I'll have nothing to do with it for the next few years. (Hopefully!) The second brief was much longer and started right after breakfast. I gambled on scrambled eggs this morning and lost. Badly. The gas was building up once again. I had a terrible time. The next brief went all the way from 0900 to 1200 and even continued after returning from lunch. I have my assignment already so I didn't have much to do during this time but think about how uncomfortable I was and check my email every few minutes to see if I had any confirmation of my orders to College Station. 

     Finally, the last brief of the day rolls around. It is slotted to end at 1530. This was determined to be a lie as I continued to fidget in my seat well past 1600. The sweet taste of freedom comes in the flavor of blazing hot sun on your masked face walking down the sidewalk. It's only a quarter mile walk so it's not that bad. In AIT the walk to the classroom was in excess of a mile depending on where class was that day. 

       I change and walk to the pull up bars while talking with my wife about houses and the kids. I do a few pull ups and push ups before walking to the DFAC. Dinner is fish, rice, and cauliflower. I combine the fish with two pieces of whole wheat bread to make a bland sandwich that isn't that bad. Then again, my "not bad" when it comes to food is a normal person's borderline disgust. I'm not picky when it comes to food; I just want lots of it. 

    I walk and talk with my wife for about a mile's worth before she has to put the kids to bed. I like walking. I like walking for no reason. It's a rather simplistic exploration exercise for me I think. I like to walk to places I've never been or shouldn't be. I like to walk places I've been many times before to see if it's still the same or notice something new. I did this all the time when I was living by myself to kill the time and get the blood flowing. After my walk I take a shower and plop down to talk with my wife and hunt for a rental in College Station. It's hard. The prices aren't great, these houses are on the market for only a few hours sometimes and we are across the country just trying to make calls to realtors. It doesn't help we are in a different time zone either. The deck is stacked against is, but I'm confident we can beat the house. As in beat the house into taking our money every month to live there. 

     I retire to sleep finally. I find it quickly tonight. As you can tell, I am writing this from a day ahead. I don't have the capability to update in real time. Maybe in the future when Elon Musk's neuro-link is up I can update this on a semi-daily basis. Then again, who's to say blogging will be relevant in that sort of technological era? The implications for that technology are beyond comprehension. Then again, why do physical bookstores exist in an age where almost every book can be bought hard copy? Is it humanity trying to hold onto a nostalgic moment in time when books were all we had? For me it's for of the feeling of a book. The pages, the cover art, the occasional crinkled page, and the smell of an old novel as you open it up. I wish I could experience that more. I wish I had 6 more hours between 1900 and 2200. Even if I did, I'm sure the Army would try and mandate it for more work!