The halfway point

We passed the halfway point the other day and its one of those times that you think, "wow, we're halfway done," but the very next thought is, "we're only halfway done...ugh." In my experiences though, the second half always goes quicker.

Due to Labor Day being on Monday, this was a shortened week. Having an extra day this weekend was great, but it also meant that we were swamped for the other days. The class schedule this week was brutal and we were in class for 8-10 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday and while the topics are important for us to know, they can also be fairly dry. Oh, one other thing about the Navy: it LOVES powerpoint!

During class, its funny to watch people get sleepy. We don't get a ton of sleep here and all of the teachers understand this. During class they tell us to stand in the back if we start to get tired and as the day goes on, you see a lot of peple standing back there; sometimes over half of the class.

After last week's performance on our tests, when a little over 20% failed (scored less than 80% on the test), we tried to hit the books a little harder this week for our cumulative exam. Luckilly everyone passed and we were able to talk during meals. Prior to this we were to keep quiet and just look straight ahead...tougher than it sounds and kind of akward.

The week also included me getting some x-rays on my back. They showed that my back goes slightly out of alignment at the bottom, but its not really a serious condition or anything like that. Just something I have to deal with and take care of if things get worse. They did give me some Motrin, and that has definetly helped a lot.

Today was our whites inspection. Summer whites are not exactly my favorite uniform to wear because essentially they are a magnet for dirt and they are very easy to see through. India company's Chief Campanella was our guest inspector and he brought along of his fellow chiefs. They yelled at us quite a bit to make sure we were all standing perfectly still with our eyes looking straight ahead. In the end, inspection went fine I guess and I got my knowledge question right ("Chief, the seventh general order of a sentry is: talk to no one except in the line of duty.")

During drill practice, we began to fill posts for graduation. We held auditions for Battalion Commander and I gave it a shot, but was not named a finalist. Everyone said I did a great job so that made me feel pretty good. I was a little bit bummed, but life goes on.

In the remaining time we have here we will go through some leadership training. I'm actually kind of excited because I'm hoping that I will be given the opportunity to prove myself in that time.

This weekend we actually get to go off base and we are all very excited about that. If we do go out, it has to be in our summer whites so people are already packing the tide sticks to take with them. I would like to go to Boston, but it sounds like people want to do that next weekend instead. Sunday is the first game for the Vikes and I'll be looking for a bar that will show that game.

Two weeks left...I can kind of see the light.