Being back in Long Island, back in May, was a bit tough at first, and I realized it was mainly due to a lack of a set routine. At school, it was pretty set into my head, but the sudden change of environment and need to get settled really screwed it up… but now, I’m back in it… here’s what it looks like here at home: Continue Reading »

Lately I’ve been training up for my stint in Fort Benning coming this July. The main thing that has worried me is the 20K Ruck March in 3 hours. It’s the last event before graduation. If you fail it, you get one more chance, but if you fail twice, you don’t graduate.

I’ve been on a kind of program… at the moment I’m training with 45lbs in my ruck, and with my combat boots. I’ve been going to the track and pretty much rucking for an increased amount each time. I did 5 miles on Wednesday, in 01:05. That’s a good time, considering that means I was 10 minutes under what 5 miles would be if I was doing 12 miles in exactly 3 hours, 01:15. I went again today, did 3 1/2, well under, too.

My current strategy consists of running for the first 10 minutes, then walking until I could feel my calfs again, then running until I can’t. I give myself a good buffer by pushing and running the first 10 min. By around 6 miles, I run again for an extended amount of time, then repeat the process.

I was looking for interesting photos, but I guess there really aren’t any regarding this stuff…

I’ll be heading to the track more and more… the only thing holding me back are my shoulders/upper back… pretty sore in the AM - just got to give me a little more recovery time I think.

Cool.

Back on LI for the next few weeks… be here until early July, then off to Fort Benning, Home of the Infantry, for two weeks, hopefully graduating from the Army Air Assault School. Nice.

Nice being home, nice seeing a bunch of people. While where was a bit of drama here and there, things are starting to calm down and I’m getting a bit more comfortable with each day. Just finding my place back here on the island while I train up.

Signed up at the local gym for the summer, getting in shape for the APFT come August… big stuff. Not really though. This will be a fun year, I’ll be an RA on the 6th floor of Whiteface Hall, one of two freshmen dorms on campus. I’ll be a MSIII in the ROTC program… big year; next summer I’m off to Fort Lewis, Washington for a month getting assessed and completing random training. awesome.

This post was more of an update than anything… I’ll posting more things this summer. I need something to keep my interest. Ideas? comment…

Peace.

I’ve probably rewritten this post like three times now… I never know what to say, or type. A topic would be helpful. I thought I asked you guys to send me topics.

you all fail.

I’ve started a Vlog. It’s on youtube. Check it out, tell me what you think, and give me ideas for the next one.

There’s this pier here in Plattsburgh I’ve become oddly obsessed with. I’ll have to show you all one day. I tend to go there during all of my free time… which I have a lot of considering my current schedule. It’s a really nice, pretty secret place where I can actually drive my Jeep right onto the beach and onto the pier and just relax, listen to some music, think, do some work etc… At night it’s a really great sight… the lights of Burlington across the lake, Valcour Island in the middle of the lake… all very great sights of night, all reflected on Lake Champlain, dancing with the moonlight, with me and my music as the audience.

Today was a pretty long day. I woke up around 6:15, got my uniform, boots and ruck sack on and met with two of the other guys at the ROTC office, where we loaded up with a 50 pound bag on our backs and started marching around in the woods for about an hour. After that I waited around for a bit, changed and grabbed some breakfast. After breakfast I went down to the pier to relax and think, then got back to the dorm and BSed for a bit.

I had my first class at 1:30 where I practically passed out from a lack of energy/sleep… I pretty much did fall asleep during the lecture actually… the professor has a lot to tell but never interacts with the class, and that kind of gets… everyone.

After class I got ready, put my running shorts/shoes on, grabbed an energy bar from the vending maching, my 32oz bottle and made my way to Cumberland Head. Cumberland Head is this part of Plattsburgh that pretty much sticks right out into Lake Champlain… kind of like a peninsula. On the East edge of it is where a ferry goes 24 hours a day to just north of Burlington, Vermont. Around the actual peninsula is a road which goes along the circumference of it, which is about 10km, or 6ish miles. The views along it are absolutely awesome around 1500 because the sun is out and beautiful, usually at a good level where it’s not in your eyes but still part of the picture if yaknow what I mean.

I’ve been looking at Army Air Assault School for the Summer, and the last event which you must do to pass the school is a 20km Ruck Sack march in under 3 hours. Not knowing what even 10km feels like (I average about 4-5 miles on my runs  during PT or during my own runs), I felt it was necessary to figure it out. I started out, and finished with a pretty consistent pace. The pace was usually a nice jog, something I might be capable of doing with 35 pounds extra on my back with a little practice.

After the 10K run, I got back to my dorm and changed back into my ACU’s for Military Studies. During the class, I got my Class A’s which are the Army Greens uniform, for the Alumni event coming up in October. Then Lieutenant Colonel told us (two other Cadets and myself) to get into the van… we were doing Land Navigation.

For anyone who doesn’t know what land navigation is, it generally consists of getting a map, some coordinates, a pencil, a protractor and a compas. Then, you need to plot the points with with your protractor, calculate the Azimuth, convert it to magnetic, figure out how many meters the distance is, and go find it. Now I’m not talking premade trails and stuff, I’m talking the woods of upstate New York, consisting of hills, draws, marshes, swamps and corn fields. Yes, corn fields.

The three of us start plotting the point where LTC (Lieutenant Colonel) told us to find, get our heading and start out. The four of us move out into the woods, getting farther and farther away from the van. After some confusion, discussion and recalculating, we make it to the North Way. The North Way (87 North), is a good distance from Campus mind you. The coordinate we were looking for (it was actually a hill) should’ve been close, but it was almost sunset and we had to start moving back. As we start getting back, LTC leads the way and we get into this large depression of a field. The field is actually a marsh of somesort, covered in long stalks, like corn fields. We go through it. Heading towards the field house, where the van is, becomes something you’d see in Indiana Jones or something. LTC is leading the way, breaking down the stalks which are almost twice the height of him, making a path behind him as me and the two fellow Cadets follow. It was actually pretty awesome considering the only path was the one in front of us. Look left, you couldn’t see anything, right nothing, behind, the stalks raised right back up after we got past them.

We make it back, get back to the ROTC office, I get some food, change and go to shoot a show for PSTV (it’s 2100 at this point, I’ve been going since 0600). I get in there, they say they’re making a music video for the intro, I’m no help, I leave. And now, here I am.

I’ve written a lot and I’m really, super tired. I need to get up at 0615 tomorrow again…so I’m going to get to it, get to sleep and get to PT. Have a goodnight and hope all is well w/ everyone.

It’s official.
Check it:

I thought I’d go ahead and post for once.
The topic? The MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn.

So, while dealing with ROTC scholarship and enrollment paperwork and stuff, an ongoing activity of mine throughout the summer, I discovered I had to take the ASVAB. Now, anyone who knows anything about the military probably knows about the ASVAB; basically it’s a test covering almost everything you could think of (reading, math, arithmetic, mechanics, automotive etc…) that anyone and everyone who enlists must take. The path I’m taking down the ROTC road involves me becoming a field enlistment in a local infantry unit outside of Plattsburgh.

OK, so I drive down to Fort Hamilton, about an hour and half drive. I enter the gates, told to go off to the side to get my Jeep checked out. The security officer asks for my insurance and registration, I hand the papers over, and he tells me my insurance card is expired. I check it, it expired two days earlier. Figures.

I leave the base gates, go onto a side road and park down there. Reenter, go through security check, get my little visitors pass, and continue to the MEPS building. MEPS is supposed to be a building accessible only by those in the military. Generally, when you go there for your exam or ASVAB test as a recruit, you’re accompanied by your recruiter… mine was 350 miles north in Plattsburgh, so he could not attend.

I look around the building, go to the front, all locked, all only accessible by those with a military ID. I wait around for a bit, and then a Sergeant walks up to the doors and waves her card in front of the proximity detector… me being 3 feet away, I quickly follow behind her.

Enter into the main lobby, we have the main control desk on the left, Oath room on the right, security checkpoint in front of me (which for whatever reason was not being used). I walk up to the Control desk, show them my Test request forms, and I’m told I’m not in the computer. The guy tells me to go down the stairs, down the hall to the Army National Guard offices. I do as I’m told, enter the office with no military ID, and no name tag (which is how they tell who’s a recruit and who is not) and speak with a secretary. She confirms I’m not in the computer, gives me some shit for a few minutes, realizes I’m from Plattsburgh and asks why I’m taking the test here. Long story short, after about standing around for an hour, many phone calls to my recruiter and many questions from a few more Sergeants, I’m good to go.

After all is done, and I’m authorized to take the test, they tell me that I should not have been able to get as far into the building as I did. Apparently security was supposed to stop me right at the entrance into the building… pretty funny.

Took the ASVAB, scored very well (w/o studying/any knowledge in automotive’s, not too bad) and got out of there.

My day at MEPS. All for a score. I get to experience the Albany version later next week. Can’t wait.

A very unpopular question asked of me, not once, but never.

I’ve been working an incredible amount, doing a good amount of community service and been seeing my family a lot before I make the journey up north again. It’s been a fun past few weeks but the reality of it all is that summer is winding down, things are getting serious and there is less and less to do.

Looking back on my summer, did I really do everything I wanted to? I went to school, went to work, hung out with a few people, and did some community service. Didn’t really go on any huge vacations to Rockport, Mass. like I wanted to… but that’s alright… next summer I suppose. But I think I’m finally getting to that point in my life where summer vacation really isn’t anything special or exciting anymore… it’s just another part of the year to me, with a little more sun and a little more time to myself… a little.

Then again, now that I think about it, I definitely have done a lot more than that. Every experience is a lesson learned, and if that’s the case, I might as well have just said I was in school all summer.

Alright, enough enough of this. Sorry about the delay, I’m back for at least a little bit… If anyone reads this, let me know what you want me to write about, and whether it should be serious, comical or just whatever. I need some motivation with this thing

Ah, 7/11. Big day big day. Not ONLY do I have work at the music store from 9:30 - 3:30, and then work at Target 4:30 - 10:00, BUT ALSO it’s free slurpee day @ 7-11! awesome! During our lunch break, my buddy and I will be sure to grab our free small slurpee, and I definitely think you all should, too.

What else is happening this Friday… Oh! The iPhone 2 is making its debut. Featuring a 3G network and GPS, this guy is going to be making quite an entrance I think… especially considering the new price cut. Never again will one be able to use the “lost” excuse when owning an iPhone for being late to something… sucks, but I think it’s worth it…

Also there are some interesting applications coming out, too for the iPhone… one of them being a mad stalkerish application which allows you to see where any one of your friends are (in the application) and what they are doing (if they input it). So for example, I’d be able to open up the program, click on a friends name, and then it’ll open up google maps, put a location on where they are and what they’re doing (ie: a dot showing a friend “Chris” sitting in Subway eating food). Fucking creepy. Marauders map anyone?

This was delayed.
sorry!

As a forewarning, I’m jumping around in this one:

It’s kind of interesting how fast my mood can change. I realized I had pretty much the perfect Sunday, not to mention the perfect weekend. No work, no stress, no parents, no brothers, got paid… saving up some money…. just very, very relaxing. Exactly what I needed. My mood going into this weekend is perfect, and will stay perfect.

If there’s one thing I strive for the most, it would have to be perspectives. Meeting new people, getting new perspectives through listening, even finding new music and listening to that… it just gets me thinking about new and really interesting things… gets me thinking about where they came from, how something like this was created/raised… I find it all incredibly fascinating. They all have an impact on me and the way I live, too… which is awesome.

It seems to me that those who succeed with a positive attitude and love it, are the well rounded people. This is what I hope to do with every aspect in my life. I’ve been talking to some people… and I’ve found, with their help, that I don’t fit any stereotype really perfectly. The Catholic boy one, the Military child one, the Straight edge college student one, the musically inclined one… none of them are really me, but a definite combination… and this is also certainly the case of a lot of people, too… but it really becomes important to acknowledge this, especially when people really just ride those stereotypes with no caution and only assumptions.

I’ve recently met someone in the same boat as me. The stereotypes don’t fit the individual; she’s everything but one. It’s interesting meeting someone, and getting to know someone so well, that is in that same situation.

I have so much to learn.

As with any other day at my job at the music store down town, my friend and I strive for ways to make our job moderately enjoyable… this keeps us sane.

This is why we decided to compare the every day String Bass to the human body. We believe we have created an accurate list of the parts of a Bass and their counterpart to the human body. This is what we got:

• End pin = Legs
• F Hole’s = Mouth… this might sound a little dirty, but look up the parts of a bass and you’ll see.
• Soundpost = Heart
• Fingerboard = Voice box
• Bass bar = Spine
• Tuning Mechanism’s = Vocal Chords
• Scroll = Skull
• Bridge = Ribs

So, the way we did this pretty much is compared the function of the part of the bass to the function of the part of the human body… pretty accurate… if you don’t know what all of the parts of a bass are/what they do, and you’re actually interested, you can check that out here: Parts of a String Bass.

Otherwise things have been pretty good. Tonight, I’ve realized I have issue’s finding star constellations, I don’t know where the north star is, and the big dipper really isn’t that big from my point of view. It’s actually like a foot big if I extend my hands out and measure that way. I’m almost 6 feet tall. I’m like 6 big dippers. The big dipper isn’t big at all.

And… where the fuck is the little dipper? it can’t be that little…