So, very much has happened here since my last post. I had thanksgiving leave, Christmas dinner, Army/Navy week, the Army/Navy game, and have now entered the wonderful week of TEEs (Term End Exams). I almost forgot, the president also came here and told us about Afghanistan. So first up was Thanksgiving. A very difficult lead up to Thanksgiving break, as seen in the previous post, was well worth its suffering. I got back to my house around 11 or 11:30 on Friday the 25th. I was instantly greeted by friends and seldom found myself without them over the break. I was very happy to be home again. The first thing I did was shower and change into civvies. Once again, I could call myself "human." Despite being tired from the rigors of West Point, I refused to be lured to sleep by my bed. Each night I was up till 4 AM making the most of everything. I spent some time with my family, especially on Thanksgiving day. It was particularly nice to see my older sister Katie, who was back from Elon. On top of that just seeing my dogs made me instantly happy. Nothing too special really occurred over T-Break but I had an awesome time catching up with my friends and family. Upon leaving to go back to West Point I was a little disgruntled but just kept thinking how in three weeks I would be back home for Winter break.
The week after getting back from T-Break was when the President came to visit us. I was looking forward to this despite the insane procedures put into effect that day. After 1600, every room had to have their windows closed, shades down, and lights off in order to prevent a possible sniper attack on the president. We all moved to Ike hall in formations and were seated anywhere from 2 to 4 hours early. Sitting in the warm Ike hall with nothing to do in our uncomfortable Dress Gray uniforms was not fun. I managed to bring my video camera so when the President did finally arrive, I taped his entire speech. I found his speech to be pretty good overall. That saying something because lets just say I'm not his biggest fan. Now, if you watched the speech on TV or watched the news anytime that week over the speech you will see clips of cadets sleeping and hear mostly liberal bullshit exclaiming how the military obviously doesn't support the President. The truth is, us cadets have very rigorous schedules and get pretty tired. The fact that we had to sit in the auditorium for awhile only complicated some of our lack of energy. People sleep, especially tired people. From my observations and the observations of others, not to many cadets overall were even sleeping. They just happen to stand out very well when the camera pans the audience. Despite the negative attention, the Corps will endure.
Up next is Christmas dinner. This took place a little under two weeks ago on Thursday. It was a little stressful preparing for it as I had to get decorations for the table, I was worried the cigars wouldn't arrive in time, and had to actually decorate the table despite being busy with Sandhurst practices. The Cigars came on time which was great. I went for classy and simple at our Christmas table, using simple wrap, a little garland , and a centerpiece that said J-O-Y. Upon the actual dinner everyone was very impressed, especially both our firsties. I was very glad to have impressed Adam Larson, as this was his last (although 5th) Christmas Dinner at the Academy. Our dinner consisted of rolls, mashed potatoes, filet mignon, lobster tails, sparkling grape juice, and egg nog. It truly was quite the feast. During dinner some of the plebes were being put up to dance with upperclassmen. Eventually I was pressured into doing so and asked the Cow (aka junior) at my table if she would dance. Everyone was cheering and we "ballroom" danced a few circles and then sat back down. Embarrassing at first but really not that bad. Upon completion of eating we partook in the Corps tradition to sing the 12 Day of Christmas. This truly turned the Mess Hall into a mad house. Food was flying everywhere and table were being lifted to see who could get the highest. I believe we lifted our table 4 times with either just Lt. Larson or Nelson and then once with both of them on it. This event truly was very unique and is something I will always remember. However, the best was yet to come. After the completion of the 12 Days of Christmas the entire Corps went out of the Mess Hall and on to the Apron for Christmas Cigars. I purchased CAO Gold's for my table. I knew the brand but never tried this particluar blend. Everyone from my table was again impressed. It was a mild cigar with hints of spice but an overall smooth flavor and aftertaste. Never have I seen so much smoke in an outdoor environment. The air looked as heavy with smoke as an indoor hookah bar would. It was so enjoyable to mingle on the apron catching up with buddies from summer training, conversing with other classmates, and just enjoying a very festive atmosphere that one wouldn't expect to find at West Point. I managed to enjoy my cigar to its fullest and was one of the last 50 people outside. I look forward to my future Christmas Dinners here.
Now to talk about Army/Navy week and the Army/Navy game. A/N week is a spirit week in which the Corps gets "motivated" in order to take on Navy. We had the privilege of wearing ACU's all week which is quite the treat. Minus a presentation in English and a Math assignment I had no school work last week. Each night there was something going on. Much to the dismay of the Corps, there was march-on practice on Monday and Tuesday which was cold and boring and time consuming. On Wednesday we had to attend the Goat/Engineer football game. This is a football game between cadets ranked high and low in the class. During the game I managed to engage myself in s snowball fight which ended up in me eventually tackling a Cow (junior) into the snow. Done all in good fun, he did warn me that my revenge is on its way......still waiting. Thursday night was another spirit dinner where they showcased a bunch of the A/N spirit videos. The dinner wasn't the best we headed out to the Big Boat Burning. Cpl. Hunter and I decided to enjoy the bonfire with a cigar. Again I enjoyed another good cigar. On Friday we had another damn compressed schedule which meant wake up early. I had two classes, my final classes of the semester, and finished the day around lunch time. All I did the rest of the day was lay around and rest as I would be getting up at 2 AM on Saturday morning for the A/N game. I had three outdoor formations from 2:55 AM till 3:45 AM in preparation of getting on the buses. We got on the buses around 4 and didnt actually leave till around 5. We arrived in Philly by 9 and then proceeded to simply stand outside until we marched on somewhere around 11:30. March on went smoothly and it was pretty cool being on TV and all. Not much longer after march on I met with my dad, my sister Kelly, Tom, and Old Man. Tom and Old Man are two of my dads classmates from West Point that have known me since I was a baby. I sat with them the entire game on the upper deck. The weather wasn't too bad, which made the loss a little more manageable. I was pleasantly surprised by Army's show of force in the game. I feel that they performed very well and that I have a bright future to look forward too with Army Football. Sadly, I had to move straight to the buses right after the game and said goodbye to my sister, dad, and his friends. The bus ride back wasn't much fun, very uncomfortable and I just wanted to relax. We got back around 10 and I went straight to barracks and took a shower. I then proceeded to pass out in my bed sometime around 11:30.
On Sunday I sat around in bed till sometime between 1 or 2 PM and watched Shaun of the Dead before actually studying for my history exam. Yesterday was the wonderful beginning of TEE week......the one good thing is it means I am almost home for Winter Leave. I studied for my history exam until late last night and then throughout the morning as this exam didn't start until 10 AM. I had two essays to write and wrote 8 pages on each. I fell that I did I pretty good job and should get a grade somewhere in the "B" range. Tomorrow I have math, IT on Wednesday, chemistry on Thursday, and composition on Friday.
I really must get to studying for my math exam now. I hope this post is adequate, given the long absence of a post. I will probably post again during Winter Leave or at the very latest when I get back from leave.
Good post with so much to cover.
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