A Day in the Life...

Prologue - I've wondered if I've given an account of what I'm doing day by day. Some days ARE a little different than the last...but most days are the same.
Here's what happened today:

Wake up for PT.

PT was in the gym and you're on your own to conduct your workout.

Head back to the CHU for a shower, get dressed and head to chow (breakfast). Found out Michael Jackson died. Wow. He was the shizznit in the 80s and early 90s.

Walk to the media operations center for work. It was hotter this morning than any other and noticed that at this time, the temperature was already 100 degrees.

Start working. What did I do...SGT Logue and I went over to Lost Lake to drop off some memorial DVDs and grabbed some iced coffee. We came back and I sat down and checked my emails. We get around about 80 emails overnight and we have to sift through them to see what's important and what's junk. After that, I prepared five packages of newspapers to send out to the outlying brigade combat teams. I can't deliver to them so I mail the papers out. I edited a story and a photo release and by that time it was time to head to chow (lunch).

Walk to chow. It's about 3/4 of a mile and in this weather, it sometimes feels like it's longer. We walk over a bridge that spans a small canal and the fish and box turtles in the water are looking at us...waiting for food to be thrown down. What's for lunch? Chicken...chicken...but today I had pasta with a big salad. With this heat, you tend to drink more and have less room for food so I have to basically force more food down my throat.

Headed back to the MOC, watched SGT Logue and SGT Soles feed the fish and turtles bread and then headed to division headquarters because I needed to interview the division surgeon for my dental hygiene story. He wasn't there. I headed back to the MOC.

1326 - Took a picture of the temperature. See me in the reflection? 122 degrees! Ouch! Jumped back on the computer and I got three more pages done for the newspaper. Then, I headed over to the base's post office to mail off the newspapers that I packed earlier. After that I went to finance with SGT Risner.

After I came back, I ran over to division HQ again when I found out the surgeon was there and interviewed him. Great quotes. I stopped in the PAO cell and coordinated with MSG Conner for another story that I'll be doing. I ran back over to the MOC after the interview because I had to give a class to the other NCOs about leadership counseling.

Gave the class. It class was short, sweet and to the point and we talked about things that people miss or forget to do when you counsel a soldier. Right after the class, soldiers from the 225th Engineer Brigade dropped in for a DVIDS shoot. While they were waiting around, I jumped back on my computer and added the quotes from the surgeon to my story and let SGT Risner edit it. I have to turn it in to 1SG Martinez for final approval and then I'll send it off to division PAO.

(right now) - I'm typing this.

Chow (dinner) and I bet you it's chicken!

Afterward - Head back to my CHU...shower...relax and watch some TV or read a book until I get sleepy and go to bed.

Epilogue - My night-time schedule is going to change starting this weekend. I've joined a program that helps soldiers with English and math so they can increase their ASVAB score. The class meets six nights a week and I'll be working on their vocabulary, grammar, and paragraph comprehension skills. It'll be a welcome thing for me....I miss teaching.

So...that was about it for my day. How was yours?

I Was Running...

Forrest Gump: "That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road, and when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason, I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured since I've gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going..."

This part in the movie, "Forrest Gump", was running through my head this morning. Reason being we arrived at the base of the hill at 0530 for some crack-of-the-dawn PT courtesy of SSG Burrell. I'm waiting around and members of our illustrious unit amble over and SSG Burrell exclaims, "We're going to run around Z Lake!" Thoughts start sauntering through my head..."Oh man...that's a big lake...I did PT last night in the gym...I wanna crawl back into my warm bed...etc."

So, thoughts aside, we formed up and started stretching. After stretching arms and legs to get the blood flowing, we started off and 1SG Martinez zips ahead of me, SGT Risner and SSG Burrell. Burrell, the talker, began rambling about this and that as we all keep in step. Me and SGT Risner were just content to run and try to keep up with 1SG. Before long, 1SG was a small speck in the distance and I forgot about him.

About mid-way through this run, I flashed back to my days as a cadet at the University of Houston. Back in 1997-1998, me and the other MSIII cadets ran around Roberston Stadium, then hit the ramps inside the stadium that you would walk up to get to your seat. Other days we would run the aisles inside of Hoffheinz Pavillion. Now, mind you, I was younger then but our instructor, MSG Riggs (probably around 45-50 yrs old then) was always kicking our butts in PT. I could never pass him. 1SG Martinez reminded me of him today.

Another thing about this run is the fact that I really don't recall any run I've done since then that was THAT long. According to a few people, that run was about 5K. It wound around small inlets and lined the small streets of Camp Liberty so the scenery wasn't lacking. Now, as I am typing this, my legs agree with SGT Risner who said it felt like 10 miles.

SSG Burrell noticed a group ahead of us and took off to join and then pass them. Show off. SGT Risner and I continued to shuffle onward, finishing the longest run in my recent memory in about 27 minutes. Not too shabby...

In the movie, Forrest is bombarded with questions from reporters who are struggling to maintain his pace. He answers with, "I just felt like running!" Well, I didn't just feel like running but, this isn't a movie. We're in a warzone and PT is essential to maintain our health and helps when we are in full gear and carrying our PA equipment. FYI, no, I don't hate PT...once we get going I actually enjoy it. It's a great cohesion tool for a unit too.

I can only imagine what we'll do next time so, thanks to SSG Burrell for putting together a pretty dang good running regiment for our unit PT....and 1SG, wait until we do sprints! I'll leave you in the dust....yelling, "Ruunnnn Forrest!"

"Did I ever tell you that I can run like the wind blows?" --short distances that is.

INCOMING! Get Down........Shut Up!

For those who don't know, we have a saying in the Army about our training. "If it ain't rainin' we ain't trainin'..." This is usually mentioned during a pretty crappy day when we're doing some tough training. It peps people up. Well, today, that mantra came to light. When I walked out of our illustrious hotel this morning I stopped short--there was a light layer of sleet on all the cars and it was pretty cold. Starbucks time...
During the day, while we worked inside, it was overcast and windy...no precipitation. Well, when we started changing into our PT clothes it started to snow a bit...just little flurries. By the time we got to the track, the snowfall had increased to where it would sting your eyes as your were running into it. PT today consisted of running up and down the stairs of the stadium twice and running around the track. By the time we had finished our run, it was snowing heavily. We were all freaking out...except for our northerners: Spc. Anderson who is from Wisconsin, Staff Sgt. Burrell who is from Chicago, and Maj. Daneker who is from Minnesota.
After hopping into my trusty tissue box, I drove back to the hotel in a small Texas blizzard! The wind was whipping little swirlies of snow around all the vehicles. It was cool. We had to keep explaining to everyone that this weather is a rarity in Texas. We had a few from Hawaii who have never experienced this much snow.
Once we all got to the hotel, the fight began. I was lying in wait...and the others began to exit their vehicles. Bap! Bap! Snowballs rained down on my fellow Soldiers. Some ran into their rooms while others proceeded to scoop up snow and try to return fire. Of course, their aim sucked and I started call calling, "Come on Chicago boy!" Staff Sgt. Burrell gathered more ammo. "Hey Hawaii girl...bring it!" 2nd Lt. Douglas (from Hawaii) had to move quickly to avoid the barrage of snowballs from the lot of us.
Even Pvt. Snowman took part in our festivities. Not really, but we all had a great time...a nice way to wind down after a hectic day of prepping all kinds of things for mobilization, writing features, and editing video. Of course, this weather will be nothing compared to the weather we will encounter at Fort Dix in January. Brrrr...