Postmarked 06/23/09

THIS IS STRENGTH AT IT'S FINEST

With two of our drill instructors gone, things have gotten fairly tougher. Our Senior is no longer a father figure, but just another DI. We also picked up a new DI, Sgt Lozano, who has been teaching us drill. Readjusting to new DIs is so hard because surprisingly enough, each is unique and expects something different from us. On the other hand, going thru this hardship has made us much tougher. Getting roared at no longer phases or flusters us. I got yelled at by Sgt. Lozano earlier; his mouth was an inch from my ear, and he yelled so loud my ear kind of blurred it out (like when you're next to speakers at a concert). Yet I didn't mind and still went about doing what I was doing. Desensitization is a fantastic thing.

So, I dropped another $400 for graduation stuff. Definitely wasn't happy about that. I'll be graduating with $2000 if I'm lucky. With having to deal with money a lot more recently, I've started to think of ways to make more; and to my surprise and hyposcrisy, I've started considering getting married at an early age. Let me break the reasoning down for you: As a Private or Private First Class, were I married I would receive an extra $50/month in my paycheck. I would receive $1300 for housing and $300/month for food; not to mention my wife would receive the same fantastic health benefits I have. So, tell me, is it wrong for me to lean towards marriage even if for reasons unconventional and perhaps lacking unconditional love? I honestly don't know.

I'm up to 17 pullups and 120 crunches in 2 minutes now. I'd say I look pretty decent in the mirror, mainly attributed to all my weight loss, which makes every vein and muscle stick out like Christmas lights in June. We have our second PFT (Physical Fitness Test) tomorrow....I'm dreading it. I know I'll do fine, but running is on my top 5 list of least favorite things to do. I'd rather do sprints and burn myself up for 10 minutes than have an irritating exhaustion for 25. Oh well, 3 more weeks of doing things I don't want to do and I can finally end this long dream-like trek and finally be back with my friends and family with a satisfied stomach.

Recruit out.