Postmarked 06/05/09

IT'S MY WORLD. YOU'RE IN IT.

So, Phase II is going crazy fast. I'm already 5 days into it and I feel like I've been here two. Up until yesterday, I'd never been IT'd except once for getting so much mail. However, yesterday had a calling for pain. I started the morning out on the quarterdeck because I was slow getting my boots on. They're a little small, so it takes me longer than most people. After that I got IT'd again around afternoon chow time. I was telling my usual sarcastic jokes and got caught laughing...which I need to work on, because not one person here gets my humor anyway. So I'm basically telling myself jokes and laughing at them all day. My third IT was near the end of the day when we were cleaning house. I was caught yet again messing around and telling jokes. The ITs are a lot more intense in Phase II. They leave my entire body feeling like jelly and cause me to wobble a little when I walk afterward.

It's been a week and a day since our last mail call. I've gotta say I really miss hearing from everyone. I don't know why mail processes so slow up here. The weather's also been cold, cloudy, and rainy the whole time here. I definitely miss the sun, especially when sitting in cold bleachers all day learning how to shoot. I've gotten pretty good with shooting the M16A2 service rifle. I'm certainly not the best, but the coach will compliment me on some nice shots every now and then. The biggest part of this week besides the rifle range has been our hikes. So far we've done a 3 and 5 mile hike. Basically we power walk the distance with a 75 lb pack on our back, weapon slung, and kevlar helmet on our head. It's one of the toughest challenges we've met so far, and every hike 4-5 recruits either injure themselves or fall out. While it's tough, I personally enjoy hiking. We get to see amazing landscape and wildlife; not to mention I feel like I can conquer anything once I finish a hike. We've started eating MREs (meals, ready-to-eat)every now and then. Compared to our regular meals, it's like having candy for breakfast, which is really sad when you think about it, because MREs are made fairly bland. My buddies and I have made a checklist of food we're going to eat when we get out of here. To my buddies at home: my first week back I'm going to need help checking all this food off my list, so you better be accompanying me during my triumphant gorge fest. Anyway, here's the list we dream about:

Cinnabon, bourbon wings, root beer float, Oreo blizzard, peanut butter silk pie, beef jerky, sugar cookies, french toast crunch, Burger King rodeo burger, strawberry cheesecake, grown-up grilled cheese, Hu-hot, BBQ chips & sour cream, prime rib, lobster, jar of cherries, cashews, sea salt & vinegar chips, George the Chili King chili dog, Shang Yuen beef lo mein, Twin Bings, and maple frosted doughnut.

We picked up a new recruit the other day. He got kicked out of his other platoon frankly for being worthless. He's not loud, he's slow, and he tries to get out of everything (hikes, PT, etc...). I don't know how I feel about the best platoon having to carry the worst recruit, but hopefully he gets a new mindset soon and starts cooperating and building us up instead of breaking us down.

Other weird random things to note: My thumbs have gotten longer (yes, wtf right?) and my hair that I have is almost completely blond-I'm guessing from being in the sun so much. Also, the other recruits say I look nothing like I do in my pictures. Probably from all the weight I've lost. Thanks for reading.