It's Monday, and that means this is my last week at Ft. Meade before traveling back to Asia.
We had our final exam today. I missed only one question, but as it turns out, everyone in the class got the same exact answer for the one I missed, so the instructors threw out that particular question. That means I scored a perfect on a test! There's a first time for everything!
After the test, we sat through a military broadcasting ethics class. Ho-Hum! 2 hours later, we broke for lunch, and that meant it was the end of my day. Our briefings start today, and since I don't have to present until tomorrow, I got the rest of the day off. So I've been fine tuning my speech and jotting down little notes here and there to help me with te briefing.
- - - - - - - -
I'll be in Korea in less than a week. It still hasn't hit me yet. Things hit me slowly, but when they do, it can be devastating. I mean, on the one hand, I'll be closer to Vanessa, and seeing here will only be a short flight away, rather than an eighteen hour ordeal again. On the bad side, I'll still be away from her. I'm going to rant for a second, so if you're not into the mush, you might want to stop reading now.
I miss her. It's hard to explain it, but there's a feeling in my gut that just aches to be with her. To hold her in my arms, to smell her hair, to touch her cheek, to taste her lips. It's hard to go on day-by-day unable to tell if she's okay, wondering if I'll get to talk to her today? Until now, we've been together every day and night. Now I'm feeling the strain of not seeing her. Sure, we talk almost every day/night, and that's getting me through this, but I miss the personal interaction. The little things like just sitting on the couch and watching DVDs of 24 or CSI mean so much more to me now that I can't do it anymore. We plan on flying back and forth on leave to see each other, and that will serve us for a week, but then we'll have to say goodbye for a month, and this will start all over. Maybe it's just that I'm SO FAR away that's making me feel like this. Maybe once I'm in Korea, things will feel a little better, since we'll be closer, and in the same time zone. Maybe not. I just miss her so much!
Vanessa, I Love You soooooooooooooooooooooooo much! I can't wait to see you again. You're my precious Butterfly, and I'll fly home to you soon.
ULI
25 April 2006
23 April 2006
The longest blog…so far
Sorry it’s taken me so long to update my blog. BMC has been kicking my ass lately, and by that I mean, I have been getting about 3 hours of sleep a night (if that) because I’ve been staying up nights to complete homework assignments.
Last you read, I was late to my first class, but that incident flew under the RADAR, and it’s actually been smooth sailing since, and the next day the class went on a trip to the Armed Forces Information Services (AFIS) headquarters.
For the rest of the week, we had classes of purely power point slides. We went through writing classes where we learned to write memos and responses to customer complaints, and leadership and management courses to learn how to deal with situations that might arise at our detachments. All the while, we were given homework assignments to write memos, letters, meeting outlines and prepare a power point presentation to give on the last day of class.
That weekend I flew home to Indiana to see my family for Easter. Mom and Dad picked me up at the airport and we went out to breakfast. It was strange going “home” again, as so much has changed. Saturday morning, Vanessa called, and we talked for a little while, before I headed out on my shopping excursion. I hit the major places (the comic store, the game store, Toys R Us, and the mall) then went to lunch. I finally got to have Dairy Queen again! On base, we have a Baskin Robins, but there’s nothing like a Peanut Buster Parfait! When I got home, my cousin Merci and her husband Tom visited for a while, and then Dad asked me to go with him to help my Uncle Dave pick up a lawnmower from repairs. It was a fun little bonding experience.
Sunday arrived, so we went to church. Catholic masses, for those of you who don’t know, are long processes of ritual ceremony. You kneel, then sit, then stand, sing, sit, listen, sing, listen more, stand, listen, sing, sit, kneel, and so on. If you didn’t grow up Catholic, it’s a lot to go through, especially on Easter or Christmas. Those tend to be the longest ceremonies.
After church, I visited with my grandma (I made her cry when she saw me, because I don’t think she knew I was coming). We chatted for a while, then Mom, Dad, and I went home to change and go to my Uncle John’s house for the Easter family reunion. Most of the family was there, including most of my cousins, so I said my hellos, played with the kids, and watched the little ones hunt for Easter eggs. We got a family photo, and then I had to leave to catch a flight back to D.C.
The next week was filled with more classes, more power points, and more assignments. I don’t think I got sleep for the three days I was in class, because big homework assignments were due each day, so I stayed up from end of class to start of class just to get them done. Thankfully, calls from Vanessa broke the monotony of work, and made sure I was awake. Finally I made it through Wednesday, and that meant no more classes until Monday of next week.
My class went out to dinner Wednesday night, and we made plans to tour D.C. on Thursday. We ate lunch at a very nice restaurant that serves choice cuts of meat by request. Basically, the servers go from table to table with skewers of meat, and cut you off a slice if you want them to. We were there for 3 hours as we gorged ourselves, and all for $28 a head. Next, we walked about 7 miles, and saw the Washington, Lincoln, Koreas, WWII, and Vietnam memorials. Finally, we hit a very uptown bar where political activists, Congressmen, and lobbyists gather to discuss business “offline.” I heard a few deals go down before most of them left to go back to work. We headed home and I went to bed for the first time all week. Vanessa called in the middle of the night, but I was so tired, I fell asleep mid-conversation. She would call back later.
The next day (Friday) I went to the mall close to base, and did some shopping. I bought a couple of Boondock Saints t-shirts, a present for Vanessa, and some D&D books for myself. Then I came home and slept again. It was raining all day, so I went to sleep.
I woke up this afternoon at 4:00 in time to get a call from my classmates, asking me to go out to dinner again. E went to the mall and ate at a brewery, then hit a game/bar that’s like Jillian’s (bowling alley, pool hall, arcade, kid games, and bar). We stayed there playing games until 1am, and finally came home. Now I’m here writing the briefest notes I can about the past weeks’ experiences, and this is still THREE pages long in Microsoft Word! So now I’m going to bed. I have to go to church in the morning. Hopefully, it won’t be this long between posts again. I really do want to keep this blog going on at least a 1/2/3-day basis so you’re more up-to-date on what I’m doing.
So now, good night my friends and family.
Sweetest of dreams and ULI my Darling Vanessa.
Last you read, I was late to my first class, but that incident flew under the RADAR, and it’s actually been smooth sailing since, and the next day the class went on a trip to the Armed Forces Information Services (AFIS) headquarters.
For the rest of the week, we had classes of purely power point slides. We went through writing classes where we learned to write memos and responses to customer complaints, and leadership and management courses to learn how to deal with situations that might arise at our detachments. All the while, we were given homework assignments to write memos, letters, meeting outlines and prepare a power point presentation to give on the last day of class.
That weekend I flew home to Indiana to see my family for Easter. Mom and Dad picked me up at the airport and we went out to breakfast. It was strange going “home” again, as so much has changed. Saturday morning, Vanessa called, and we talked for a little while, before I headed out on my shopping excursion. I hit the major places (the comic store, the game store, Toys R Us, and the mall) then went to lunch. I finally got to have Dairy Queen again! On base, we have a Baskin Robins, but there’s nothing like a Peanut Buster Parfait! When I got home, my cousin Merci and her husband Tom visited for a while, and then Dad asked me to go with him to help my Uncle Dave pick up a lawnmower from repairs. It was a fun little bonding experience.
Sunday arrived, so we went to church. Catholic masses, for those of you who don’t know, are long processes of ritual ceremony. You kneel, then sit, then stand, sing, sit, listen, sing, listen more, stand, listen, sing, sit, kneel, and so on. If you didn’t grow up Catholic, it’s a lot to go through, especially on Easter or Christmas. Those tend to be the longest ceremonies.
After church, I visited with my grandma (I made her cry when she saw me, because I don’t think she knew I was coming). We chatted for a while, then Mom, Dad, and I went home to change and go to my Uncle John’s house for the Easter family reunion. Most of the family was there, including most of my cousins, so I said my hellos, played with the kids, and watched the little ones hunt for Easter eggs. We got a family photo, and then I had to leave to catch a flight back to D.C.
The next week was filled with more classes, more power points, and more assignments. I don’t think I got sleep for the three days I was in class, because big homework assignments were due each day, so I stayed up from end of class to start of class just to get them done. Thankfully, calls from Vanessa broke the monotony of work, and made sure I was awake. Finally I made it through Wednesday, and that meant no more classes until Monday of next week.
My class went out to dinner Wednesday night, and we made plans to tour D.C. on Thursday. We ate lunch at a very nice restaurant that serves choice cuts of meat by request. Basically, the servers go from table to table with skewers of meat, and cut you off a slice if you want them to. We were there for 3 hours as we gorged ourselves, and all for $28 a head. Next, we walked about 7 miles, and saw the Washington, Lincoln, Koreas, WWII, and Vietnam memorials. Finally, we hit a very uptown bar where political activists, Congressmen, and lobbyists gather to discuss business “offline.” I heard a few deals go down before most of them left to go back to work. We headed home and I went to bed for the first time all week. Vanessa called in the middle of the night, but I was so tired, I fell asleep mid-conversation. She would call back later.
The next day (Friday) I went to the mall close to base, and did some shopping. I bought a couple of Boondock Saints t-shirts, a present for Vanessa, and some D&D books for myself. Then I came home and slept again. It was raining all day, so I went to sleep.
I woke up this afternoon at 4:00 in time to get a call from my classmates, asking me to go out to dinner again. E went to the mall and ate at a brewery, then hit a game/bar that’s like Jillian’s (bowling alley, pool hall, arcade, kid games, and bar). We stayed there playing games until 1am, and finally came home. Now I’m here writing the briefest notes I can about the past weeks’ experiences, and this is still THREE pages long in Microsoft Word! So now I’m going to bed. I have to go to church in the morning. Hopefully, it won’t be this long between posts again. I really do want to keep this blog going on at least a 1/2/3-day basis so you’re more up-to-date on what I’m doing.
So now, good night my friends and family.
Sweetest of dreams and ULI my Darling Vanessa.
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