Monday 17 May 2010

So, as always, the weekend went by fast.. especially since I only got 1 day off.. :)
Sunday I woke up at 0700 (even after standing watch until 0400) ergh..
Anyhow, went and got new boots at The Patriot store and some sheets from Walmart.. can't stand NOT having a fitted sheet. lol Then had some lunch at a mexican cafe and headed back to base. Talked on web cam with the family for a few.. ended up talking to all of them on speaker phone for almost 2 hours.. :) It was soo nice and very pleasant conversation.. Packed up 2 of the 4 Seabags of items I won't need while here.. then watched a movie on my laptop before going to bed.
This morning we got to sleep in til 6. It was nice! Then we headed to the classroom to muster and then we were all sent to the auditorium for yet another screening.. OMGosh! Had my 2nd Anthrax shot, and then we all had to fill out ISOPREPS (you military that have deployed know what they are..) they are just individual statements that one can derive 4 questions out of.. they are for identification purposes. Information that only you or your family would know that helps to confirm your identity should it ever be required. After that we all had to do a Cognitive /Mental health test - basically a baseline test (simple memory/addition, etc) for pre-deployment. It will help assess any (hopefully) mental issues one may have post deployment.
After that we all met back up in the classrom to grab all our gear and get on the bus to the simulator. Today we did the 9M simulator for night time shooting. I Hate the Simulator. It sucks! You don't shoot your own weapon and the equipment is never fully functionable... and quite honestly just makes you feel like shit in your shooting capabilities.. I would rather be shooting my 9M on the range/in the field - rather than some computer connected gun that is NOT ZEROED. Anyhow, after that we were supposed to do some M16/M4 shooting, but the simulator for that was down.. ha! no surprise there.. so we were bussed back to the classroom and released early. Today was a rainy day which was okay once the sun went down.. but - during the heat of the day, it made for some really humid weather! Yuck!
After class I came back and watched a movie (The Island) and talked to the kids..
We had a barracks meeting tonight with all the girls.. again.. they dont seem to understand that you cant leave your smallpox bandages in the shower. or that you can't flush tampons down the toilet, or, you can scream from one end of the berthing to the other at 0500 while the other company (mine) was still sleeping and still had an hour left to sleep.. People don't understand Preparation. Prepare your shit at night so you are not so damn loud in the morning!!@ My gosh, its not rocket science. I want every bit of sleep I can get! I have now made myself a little cave.. I hung my extra sheet and blanket on both sides of my rack from the top bunk and have created a little haven ( kinda like on the ship - where we had curtains) - it helps keep the light out and I bought a battery operated little fan that I put in my rack - it helps drown out noise.. yea! It helped... until we had girls this am at about 5 having a very loud conversation across the berthing.. Just cause they had to be up - doesnt mean we did! But - they ensure we do!
Anyhow, now its after 10 - everyone is sleeping.. internet is fast.. but I am tired.. I am going to sleep.. tomorrow we have to be at chow by 0530. Sleep well all.. more tomorrow.