...whatever...

Korea

Currently listening to: Jenny Owen Youngs

Location: Dongduchon, Korea

Weight: 142 lbs

Here I am.

It's hot and muggy out. We've been lucky and have had clear days the last week. Before that, we had torrential rain followed by very hot days and then back to rain. A cycle that keeps this country very very green. I don't have much in the way of a job yet. At the moment, the command at 6th battalion 37th Artillery Regmt, headquarters battery, is trying to figure out what to do with me. While the number of supply guys at 2nd ID is low overall, for some reason in my unit we have a sudden plethora. There's talking of sending me to battalion headquarters to work, or making me the new armorer, or puting me in charge of the NBC (Nuclear, Bio, and Chemical prevention) room and equipment. I'm actually going to start in on that (the NBC one) on Monday, but we'll see if I stay there.

I have a room to myself, a first in my Army career. I like it. It's new, completely characterless, and has a fridge and a microwave. I've put up some photos of friends back home, and a dart board. I enjoy coffee provided to me by Empire Cafe from back home (Chico)

Check out the cool Korean mug. It was given to me by the govenor of the Gyonggi-doh province. Empire Coffee is excellent free trade organic stuff from my favorite cafe back home. I went there religously (only a little less often than I went to my pub, the Banshee) when I was on leave. It's a renovated old 40's dinner car from a train, and parked next to the refurbished old train station that's close to downtown. All the artsy people go there. It's co-owned by my good friend Merideth - one of my few friends who was actually around during my leave time and who always made time to chat.

My other two friends who were always around when I was on leave were Adam and Mike who are bartenders at the Banshee. I'd go to that place usually around lunch when business was slow, and just chill out with the guys. Oh and eat fabulous burgers while drinking great import beer.

Mike has a little duet group, which he told me about after we'd had a great conversation about politics, American production and resources, and vacume tubes in amplifiers (yes, in that order). He plays lead guitar and his buddy, Kenny, plays rythem guitar and sings. I went to two of their shows, and oh my gosh... rediculously good. I mean really, rediculously. If anyone at all reads this blog, you need to check them out at: http://www.myspace.com/kennywilliamsthe2nd

Hmmm. What else. Not much. We do a lot of PT, and it's very very hard. Twice a day, usually a three mile run in the morning, and upper body work in the afternoons. The Korean soldiers who work with us are the best - very smart, very bright, very nice. Much better than American soldiers, by far.

Leave

Going on leave in 3 days. I'm already packed (two A-bags and a laptop case). I'm so excited it's rediculous. These 28 days will go by waaayyy too fast.
And then back to Korea. Oh well.

I live with children

The oldest of my privates is 25, but he acts like he's 18... 21 is about the mean age of my platoon, but 16 and highschool is the maturity level of 90% of them. I've got 12 more days to try and straighten 'em out, Quivey style, before I PCS outa here... but I'm starting to not care too much any more.

We're headed out for an FTX (good old "TRADOC Infantry" as I like to call it, which simply means our authorized tactics, scenarios, and equipment are complete Bull Shit when it comes to preparing green soldiers for the real world) on monday, so my weekend is pretty much shot with taking soldiers out to get their weapons sighted in, PCI equipment checks, and last minute organization. I'm hoping for at least 2 hours tomorrow to do some shopping/sleeping. We'll see...

My dress uniform is in a car in New Jersey. I don't know if I mentioned that previously, but it is, along with most of the stuff I own (like all my civilian clothes - I have one set here, that's all). It's an odd story, but trying to get that stuff shipped back down here or back to CA is proving a nightmare. I really need my dress uniform too... yikes...

Of trials and tribulations

Last post I was in Georgia, enjoying cockroaches. This post finds me in Virginia, where the cockroaches are no less abundant, but of slightly smaller dimensions... so far...

As a result of my broken ischium, I had to transfer from OCS to Quartermaster School at Ft. Lee, VA (needs of the Army... sigh), where I am being trained to become a unit supply specialist. Upon arrival I immediately contracted bronchitus, which I am fighting on my own as I can't take time out to visit medical because I'll miss class instruction.
Also when I arrived, the cadre at the holding area were very disgruntled with me, because although my orders authorized early reporting, I reported in excess of several weeks early (what can I say, I don't have any more authorized leave time) and they had no place to put me. So they inserted me with a class that was starting cycle the next day, told me I couldn't have access to my vehical (confiscated the keys), and gave me about 1 minute to grab what I thought I might need out of the back and run into the *shudder* AIT barracks to be housed with a bunch of roudy youngsters Fresh Out of Basic (or FOBs). I began my first week with one pair of socks, no running shoes, and my class A uniform is still locked up in the car, haha!
After buying more socks and underwear, new running shoes (they wouldn't allow me to just go to my car and retrieve the needed items), and withstanding a concussion and shredded ear due to breaking up fights between the FOBs, I'm now four weeks into the 7 week program and in line for honor grad award. Oh, and my bronchites is nearly over. About time. Coughing up blood was not fun.
That's when I got orders to go to Korea.
Oh, ok... Korea next...
I leave the beginning of July (I get 28 days leave to say goodbye to my family whom I haven't seen in... oh... 5 months) for a tour of 12 months. I'm only authorized two checked luggage on my flight there, so all that stuff I have... uh... will have to be shipped?
I hear you can get tailored suits for very cheap. That's good, because since I'm no longer in the running to be an officer, I gotta survive on a more meger pay check. Good times.
Not really...

cockroaches

...everywhere... there's a smashed 2 inch one on the floor, and another - slightly smaller - one I just shook out of my breakfast bagel...

:-S

If I microwave it, it'll kill anything left behind, right? right? I'm hungry...

fucking cockroaches....

tornados and rain...

Yes, there's been some interesting storms here. Apparently 54 people died in various tornado touch-downs in the surrounding states.

I live in a trailer, so that makes it even more interesting.

I love the sound of rain, of thunder, and watching the patterns the wind creates in rainfall as it lands. So naturally I was thrilled when I heard the booms from my bunk by the open window. I grabbed one of the many ancient computer chairs and took it back to one of the mini-porches, made a caraffe of tea (Chai - it felt like that kind of morning), took my pipe and my iPod for some easy listening and watched the rain fall and clouds spin around for an hour or so.

Of course the good times couldn't last long - sirens started going off all around base, and pretty soon we had staff sergeants running around, telling everyone to up and go to the stupid

basements in the regular barracks accross the street. So I grabbed up my laptop (hell, if my trailer is gonna be toasted, I want to take some stuff with me, right?) and joined the running crowd towards Echo company, and spent a good deal of time sitting in hot and crowded basement illuminated by chem lights, ignoring everyone and listening to Marrocan music.

Other news. I got busted for having a beer in my locker, and am confined to barracks for a while (except in emergencies like this), and I don't have a broken femor, I have a broken ischium in my pelvis. Cool. I hope to get out of this place soon...

More of the Same, Again

The limbo continues.

When people ask, I tell them "yes, I might be coming home soon", but that is simply due to an outcome of a construct of events I've formed in my own mind which has yet to be put to practice in reality. The facts are these:
I finished my medical profile, without getting a bone scan or a return to duty slip. After a week of hard running and hard PT, I'm in more pain than I ever was before. Having mentally resigned myself to my inability to complete OCS until I've healed up, I went to the hospital this weekend to get a bone scan. Only that department isn't open until Tuesday. So I've got to go in Tuesday, make an appointment, get the scan, take the results to the doctor that told me to get one in the first place, get a 30 day+ profile, redo my Army contract as an enlisted position, get a new MOS, get sent home, report to AIT and begin a new career as an enlisted soldier rather than an officer.

You see, OCS doesn't like broken soldiers. If you get broken, you get kicked out. New rule, it sucks, but it's a rule. Oh well. The money would have been nice.

So in the mean time? I sit here, doing the shitty details all day, praying that I survive the Intense PT every morning and afternoon, and wait for the weekends when I can sleep in.

The weekends aren't that interesting either. There is nothing to do here, except shop - and that is dangerous because I don't have much money, not after Paypal got that large chunk and haven't given it back to me yet. I'd go for walks (there are some actually nice parks near the officer's district) but it's a bit too painful to be enjoyable. I'm out of movies, and am tired of paying for internet (again with the money thing).

As usual, I'm slowly fighting the war against insanity of inactivity. I'm over trying to be an officer. Give me an enlisted job, and just fucking send me to war already, please?

Battleing the Unknowns

I'm perfectly fine with inactivity.
Being essentially a person with little drive for personal advancement and power, I don't really care about being busy all the time and kinda like sitting around reading a book.
Which is essentually all I've done here at Fort Benning.
After arriving at HHC for my battalion and being processed into C company, we spent several days of extreme running - a five mile run followed by a two mile followed by yet another five mile followed by a two mile... at the end of which, I figured I must have reopened my fractures not to mention damaging the ligaments on the opposite foot from favouring my hip. I got a medical profile, was transfered back to HHC, and have spent the last two weeks on crutches.
I'm fine with that.
I'm just not fine with not knowing what's going to happen to me. If my fractures look like they're going to take too long to heal, I might be sent to enlisted AIT in the interum, which would pretty much kill my chances of being a commissioned officer for a while.
Or I might get to class up to the next OCS company. I don't know. No one knows. The unknown has been freaking me out, keeping awake at nights (which is not good when you're only allotted 6 hours for sleep). I'm slowy, yet surely, going mad...
Not to mention the fact that while I do get the weekends off, I don't know anyone here, have no vehical in which to go off base, and am generally somewhat forced to sit by myself in the back of the barracks waiting for Monday. Having internet helps. But I miss my friends, or at least someone I can call a friend, and I miss hanging out with someone in a non-military setting and having a cold beer...
Meh, anyone want to visit Georgia?