Week one is almost done, and thank goodness. This weekend is a three-day weekend, with Monday off for Martin Luther King Day. What does that mean? That means I have a lot of time to make sure I'm up to speed on my reading and homework. It's fun reading about things like the theory behind civil military relations in differing classifications of liberal democratic society and their implications for the purposes of military service. Say what? Sorry, but it was much easier to digest and be interested in when it was reduced from a 20-page paper to two slides in a powerpoint presentation.
Yesterday was my reminder that I'm out of grad school and back to work, though. We took our APFT (hence yesterday's post). Now, for some perspective, the last time I actually took an APFT was...
...December, 2009. Yep. Between deployments and being at school, I haven't taken one in a long, long time. For those who are unfamiliar with it, the Army Physical Fitness Test is supposed to be a test of overall fitness. It consists of 2 minutes to do as many push ups as possible, 2 minutes to do as many sit ups as possible, and then a 2-mile run for time. The APFT is a source of constant consternation for many, as it doesn't really reflect your overall fitness, but rather how much time you spent doing push ups, sit ups and running. It's honestly mostly muscle memory at this point.
We were supposed to take the APFT on Monday, but since it started raining last Wednesday and had not stopped, the staff decided that it would be better to wait till yesterday, when the rain was scheduled to let up. So, what did we get yesterday? Not just rain, but temps in the mid-30s. Awesome. Fortunately common sense made a surprising appearance and we did the push ups and sit ups inside, where it was warm. Unfortunately, the run was not only outside but on a regular 400m track. Running two miles isn't so bad, but when it's running 8 laps around the track, it gets tedious. At least the wind is only ever in your face for 200 meters. Still, when I crossed the finish line my face was frozen and the sleet was starting to fall. Good thing we waited for better weather.
So, what is it like here at Redstone? Well, they have us living in converted junior enlisted apartments that were built in the '60s and were probably renovated as recently as the Carter administration. I do have a decent kitchen, and there are 2 1/2 working burners on the stove. The best part is the carpet, which, having not been replaced since Mr. Carter was in office, has thirty years of foot grease built up in them. I'm seriously thinking about investing in some тапочки (tapochki - house slippers found throughout Russia). Not to be out done, the linoleum in the kitchen is sticky like fly paper, but I assume that's to catch roaches in the summer.
I'd tell you about the scenery here, but since it's been nothing but low-hanging clouds and rain, I've never been able to see more than about a half mile out. Someone told me there are some pretty big hills throughout Huntsville, but all I've seen so far are clouds...
It snowed briefly today, enough to leave a slight dusting on car windshields, but that was enough to shut down post, so we got out early today, and it might even be enough to justify delaying operations tomorrow for two hours. Who knew a 20-min light snowstorm could be so powerful?
No comments:
Post a Comment