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.