Task 1: Slap myself in the face Task 2: Wish a Happy New Year to all of my Readers Task 3: Question the meaning of life?

Dear Readers,

I again have failed you as a your one stop source for West Point knowledge, antics, and my general well being. I can give you all the usual excuses, such as things have been busy (which I swear they have), I went home for break (which I definitely did), I'm readjusting back to West Point life (well, um ya, this one's true, motivating one to do work for classes that you dislike after an awesome break at home.....its tough), and the final excuse West Point is hard (wa wa wa, the last one's just me being sarcastic, it has its challenges but to whine about it being hard, although I'm sure my roommate's caught me doin it before, is just pathetic, cuz I'm doin well here). Alright so on to the meat and gravy, the PB&J, the soup and noodles..........you get what I mean:

(cue Jeopardy song..........)
(5 minutes later...........)

Sorry for making you wait, I hope you enjoyed the music. I had to review my last post to see where I left off and holy shit am I behind. Lets just say the rest of first semester went well. I pulled a complete all nighter with my roommates last semester to finish a paper. I had a blast with all of my buddies of the Broviet Union at Army-Navy in Philadelphia (more to follow on the Broviet Union), I went to the city and enjoyed some fine dining and cigars at the lovely establishment of Florio's in Little Italy. Sadly one of the owners, Larry, last time I heard was not doing well in the hospital, he has been on aggressive chemotherapy. All of us Cigar smokers and patrons of Florio's are thinking of Larry and his family. My exams went very well, I actually pulled my grade up in physics because of how well I did on the exam. I had the craziest epiphany when I walked in for that exam. I also did quite well with IM wrestling last semester. Our team took 3rd out of 32 companies here at West Point. I personally had a record of 8-3 (I'm pretty sure thats right). I did injure myself during wrestling and had to do some physical therapy and missed the APFT (army physical fitness test). I know have to make that test up on Feb. 7th, which is my Birthday!!!! Yay for West Point Birthday gifts!!!!! So all in all last semester was great, of course there were bouts of nausea, upset stomach, diarrhea.......wait that pepto bismol, um what I meant was there was stress, tiredness, laziness, cynicism, and soreness but were through with that. One more point for me over West Point.

In this new semester, I came back excited and ready to tackle the year cuz I wasn't gonna let myself get down like plebe year after Christmas. I have two plebes this semester and they seem to be pretty good. Both are in shape, motivated, and hard workers and thankfully they are normal. By normal I mean i don't have a Rambo or a teenage princess or a social shut in that can comprehend how to hold regular conversation. Yes there are people at West Point that fit all three of those categories. Anywho, I roommate's again with Ian Garrett, by far my best friend at West Point and one of the lucky few to be included among my great friends from home and a shoutout to my Indiana boys (that's you Dan). This semester started of with a huge dose of cynicism and a flask of bitterness...........in order to save your ears from unnecessary curses and whining I will not explain this. Just understand I am a little bit of cynicism, bitterness, spice, and everything nice..........kinda lame..........oh well, it is my blog after all. I have been blessed by West Point for making Philosophy a mandatory class and having me take it this semester. Actually, you know what F&*# that. I don't know if I have ever sat through something so useless. There is a good thing though, the teacher, whose class I was randomly thrown in to, is a huge Monty Python fan, like myself, and we have watched a clip from some form of a Monty Python production in class. On to other things, I have Yearling Winter Weekend at the end of this month. Just like as Plebes we had a special weekend (Plebe Parent Weekend), we have one this year too. It encompasses and dinner and a dance. My friend, Ian Garrett and I have an apartment rented in the city for each night. His girlfriend from Boston will be coming and one of my good friends, Morgan, shall be accompanying me. Friday we will spend enjoying the city then Saturday afternoon we head up to West Point to get ready for the dinner and dance, and then we go right back to the city. I think its gonna be great.

Currently I am sitting in the hospital at West Point. Dear Readers do not fret, for I am perfectly fine. I came here last night and then this morning had my tonsils removed. So far it hasn't been that fun as swallowing and talking is bothersome and painful. This time here has allowed me to rest plenty, watch movies, and gave me no excuse for not writing on this blog. I mean I may not be able to talk very well but I sure as hell can write, besides, the medicine they gave me is a joke. I think I may close this off now. I just discovered that Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations is available on netflix! That will make for some good relaxation. I just wish he had a cure for tonsillectomies too (Mom I know you will get that joke).

Again I will make a fairly empty promise (I don't know what else to say) and say that I will write again soon. I just hope I recover quick. Take it easy Dear Readers.......

Don't worry, The story continues.......

The last few weeks have been quite grueling. Tests, graded homeworks, quizzes, a physics midterm (yes it is considered separate from a test), papers and other fun little assignments have been smacked across the last few weeks. No bueno (thats about all the Spanish I speak). It seems to me that the workload never lessens as a Yuk (sophomore) here at beautiful West Point, USA. Last year I recall "easy weeks" or even "easy months." These, my good friends, are no longer a common experience. I even had a busy weekend due to the mandatory "Super Saturday" aka Cadet run military 8-hour field exercise. The day actually ended up being anywhere from 12-16 hours total depending on when you got to your first event. The training was good however losing a perfectly good Saturday is like skipping your birthday............ok so maybe not that bad but its pretty bad, just trust me on this.

Time for a new paragraph? I think so.....
So this weekend I am preparing for my third West Point Combat Classic. This is the paintball game which the West Point Paintball Club sets ups and hosts for civilians at Lake Frederick. As usual we are gonna be busy from Friday afternoon till Sunday afternoon. Thankfully next week might be a "pseudo-easy week" as I stated above actually "easy weeks" don't exist anymore, except maybe in a fleeting dream that always ends to soon. Back to paintball.......So this year I am not a peon to be sent out into the field as a tank ref or player ref or even worse, not even get on the field and take charge of parking duty. This year I am the Speilmeister (yes, german for Game Master). My colleague Mike Devens is the other Spielmeister which makes us a pseudo-binary-oligarchical-power system. We have written up all of the missions, mission rules, and scoring values and rules. This weekend we will report missions to each team's General, we will keep track of the score, and will accompany the teams as mission refs in order to insure the proper requirements are made for each mission. This years game is based of the Battle of Ia Drang, during the Vietnam War, and popularized by the movie, "We Were Soldiers." I am looking forward to this weekend as I am getting to be around paintball, and be in charge of a very pivotal part of the weekend.

On to other things?
Not quite sure what else there is to say.......Lifes a bitch, but you just gotta kick it in the balls one day at a time........hmmm maybe I should get that tattoo'd on my back? Well, I guess thats it for now.

Weekly Update?

So, I am doin pretty good with this lately. Currently I am covering for my buddy at the CCQ. The CCQ stands for cadet in charge of quarters. Basically all you do is sit at a desk in the hallway of your company are and send a few emails out to everyone if the chain of command needs you to. It is very boring, very very boring.
This weekend has been a long one, for multiple reasons. I had paintball Friday after classes till the evening and nearly all day Saturday. Of course, I have a lot of fun with paintball so its well worth the tiredness. The second reason this weekend is long is due to Halo:Reach. I just got the game a few days ago and because of it I am sleeping about 10% of what I should be. Thankfully, I have very little homework to do today and can therefore nap or go to bed early once I'm done on the CCQ.
I think my main focus on this post was to be a summary of all the stuff I never wrote about over the summer. I had a very enjoyable summer this year. Because I go to West Point I have mandatory and optional training which I do in the summers. This past summer i went to Airborne School at Ft. Benning, GA and to Camp Buckner, which is right hear at West Point.
All the time outside of training (like 4 weeks total) I spent at home. All the time there consisted of the usual late nights, constantly with friends, lunch and whatnot with the family. There was one portion of my summer where we went to my grandfather's farm for a few days.
Airborne school was an amazing experience. Three of my buddies from G2 were there with me which was awesome. Airborne school consists of three weeks of training; ground week, tower week, jump week. The training itself was very monotonous and including a lot of idling. The thing that was great though was the open weekends and of course jumping out of a perfectly good airplane! One of my buddies lived near Ft. Benning, so we went and chilled at his place on the weekends. We also went to Birmingham, AL for a day cuz my other friend who was at Airborne with me lived there. After we got through all of the bullshit and training and waiting we got to jump. The first jump was fairly intimidating. I am not gonna lie, I was scared. Waiting in the plane was intense, especially when they opened up the doors on each side of the plane. A quick side note, I jumped from both a C130 and C17 and jumped with a T-11 and T-10D parachute. Once the green light in the plane comes on and the Jumpmasters signal you to go, you turn into an automaton. You are leaving the plane no matter what and its just like the training we did. Once I actually jumped, the prop blast and wind hit my face, and I felt my chute opening, all fear left. It was very strange, that is the experience I had. I was expecting some freefalling and just something crazy. What I experienced was the most peaceful 45 seconds of my life. Literally all you notice is the ground beneath you and the light rustling of you parachute. The only intense part of the jump is the landing and actually getting out of the plane. My buddies and I all completed our 5 jumps without injury and graduated. Sadly we did not get to do a night jump due to a storm that rolled through one afternoon, which postponed one of the other jumps.
Camp Buckner was the other bit of training I had this summer. Buckner (aka. Bucknam, Bucknamistan, Buckraqistan) is a 4 week period of field training done at West Point. This was mandatory for all of us. We covered a lot of training which spanned all of the Combat Arms branches of the Army. I took huge advantage of Buckner. It was a chance for me to meet all new people in my class that I had never talked to or even seen before. I made quite a few good friends this summer. I also had a lot of fun. Many people are very negative and bitter because they don't want to be there. Like I said, I took advantage of Buckner, and was the optimist and morale booster in my platoon. I don't really feel like going into to detail about Buckner because there is a lot and not all of it is really pivotal to the nature of this blog.
The last thing I am going to talk about is my grandfather's farm. After Buckner, my family and I went up to the farm. The reason we were going there was somewhat saddening. It was to be our official visit. My grandparents decided to sell the farm, which I completely respect. Its hard to run a farm and you gotta live your life some time. The few days we had at the farm were amazing. The sights, the smells, the memories, the list goes on. I drove around the farm with the ATV, I took pictures, I did a lot of shooting, I went fishing, I enjoyed a beer with my grandfather and even had a cigar one night, just taking everything in. The farm has always and stills does (despite the fact it has sold now) mean a lot to me. A lot the person I am today comes from things I learned and did there. I have many memories from there too. I had been going there since I was born. I took everything in that I could and made my last days there the best ever. A cherished object of my life it will always remain.
Well, my Q shift is almost done, my buddy just got back. I actually covered everything that I wanted to, I think......... Besides, it's best not to make these things drag on forever. As always updates will be hopefully continue weekly. Peace out.

A little later than I expected.....

So, instead of writing on the blog on Sunday, I slept till 1 and watched 2 movies...........Productive right? Sundays here are my main R&R days, despite usually having homework those nights. Saturdays consist of football games, paintball practice, or family visits. This past weekend I had the opportunity to enjoy the football game with my dad and youngest sister. I had a great time seeing them, and relaxing at Col. Johnson's house when we weren't at the game. I believe my sister had a good time, and I know for sure, as always, my dad just loves coming back to this pleasant Hell on Earth (I say pleasant because sometimes it ain't so bad).
This week is fairly uneventful, classes and more classes with the occasional quiz in a class or two. I had my first company wrestling match of the year yesterday. I wrestled a kid I previously lost to in a scrimmage but managed to pull out a win. The cadet ref was quite sub par and failed to call the pin which I held for 1:30 of the 2 minutes available in the second period. Despite this setback, I score a few more points in the third and won 13-7. I'm proud of that score, and it was quite the match. I was exhausted.........
While speaking of exhaustion, I also did Sandhurst tryouts (for fun) on Monday. The ordeal led me to more cramps than I have ever endured before. It was a very intense workout/gauntlet however I completed it. I'm still sore today from it though.
Another note, I declared my major last Friday. My final decision was to Double Major in Arabic and German. I already have about 5 years experience in German, including 2 month long trips to Germany. I enjoy the language and the culture immensely. I am currently enrolled in Arabic and find the joy, passion, and curiosity as I did when studying German in high school. I look forward to experiencing a new culture and learning another language as well. I hope that in the next year I will be able to secure a semester abroad in either Morocco or Egypt. One semester away from West Point, one semester experiencing a completely different world- sounds pretty awesome to me.
Well, this is all I have for right now. I will eventually do a huge update which will cover summer events that have gone without mention. Ma'salaama (goodbye in Arabic).

Poems (Yes poems I wrote) from last schoolyear

Okay, I figured I would share these on my blog as they are all inspired by West Point. I have never been a poetry fan, let alone a writing fan, yet I randomly became inspired a few times to write. I hope you enjoy my poems..........

Friends

My friends are very dear to me.

Without them I couldn’t survive living here.

I hope they are loyal as I am to them.

To lose touch with just one is too much to bear,

Tears would fall as they never have.

My mind like mush that I get from the Mess,

I’d do anything to remain as I am.

I want to be a good man, not some programmed machine,

God Damn the elitists who put me down!

I’ll be a better man, in both profession and society,

May I have great comrades both old and new,

My friends are very dear to me.

Gray

Gray is the only color that I see.

It engulfs me like a stormy sea.

Everyday seems the same,

It goes on and on like an endless game.

Freedom and pleasure are seldom found.

They are luring music of a faint sound.

Gray consumes me, but I guess its fine.

In a few years I’ll be official in the Long Gray Line.

Colors

The colors here sometimes lie,

Toward summertime they make us smile,

They seem to express joy and freedom,

But Thayer reels at such foolish notions.

Projects, papers, tests and all

Lock us within gray barracks walls.

Windows open, warm breeze and sun,

Distract us from computer screens.

We stop working, Thayer leaves our minds,

As we ponder over past summers fun.

Abrubtly CGR ruins our dreams,

Mando dinner in thirty minutes.

Hours of drudgery follow in the evening,

All the while nature taunts us.

The colors here sometimes lie.

Edgar Allen Poe

I wonder what they thought of Poe.

Such a strange man for so rigid a place.

I doubt he’d make that good of a Joe,

His independence and ideas beam from his face.

Is it true he stood attention bare assed?

I wonder what they thought of Poe.

Was he pompous or depressed, that’s what I’d ask.

His rank in the Corps must have been so low.

A cadet, an animal, a rebel at heart?

I wonder what they thought of Poe.

Where in the world did his commanders start?

His uniform dirty and his brass lacked glow.

I’d love to see him on the Plain,

His stride in parades so very strange.

His behavior must have been quite the comedic show,

I wonder what they thought of Poe.

Post Christmas to My Birthday (today)

So........ as usual, long time not post. Sorry folks. Its amazing how this place can keep you busy enough to put aside the simplest tasks. I believe my last post was pre-TEE week (exams). TEE week went well for me. My schedule was as follows: 1) Test in the morning 2) Sleep until mid to late afternoon 3) study 4) bed by midnight 5)repeat. I ended up doing well on all my exams and finished the semester with a 3.4 GPA (kinda suprised myself). Leaving for Christmas break was stressful. I had started closing out my room before Friday (18th Dec, when we could leave) but my roommates not so much. We cleaned and packed away stuff in our room until the very last minute before we would be late for our buses. The bus ride was a long one. If you remember, the 18th was the day that the East Coast got pounded really bad with snow (of course this has now been dwarfed by the blizzards of this previous week). We didn't hit snow until we were 1-2 hours away from Fredricksburg, Va. Our pace immediately slowed and I didn't make it to Fredricksburg till about 11:30 pm. I had to sit in the McDonald's for nearly an hour before my dad made it through the traffic to pick me up. The usual hour drive to our house from Fredricksburg took us 8 hours (I'm pretty sure). Lets just say I was not very happy.

I am briefly going to talk about my christmas leave. First off, it was way too short. I did however have a great time, both with my friends and my family. My days consisted of sleeping in till noon, hanging out with friends or family during the day, and staying out until the early AM. I was constantly in and out of the house. I saw friends I hadn't seen since before my summer training and visited my beloved wrestling team. My christmas was good, it felt strange though.......coming home for christmas, being older, realizing this may be one of the last christmas's I spend at my house.......we will see. Had a blast though throughout my break and caught up with all of my best friends. Heading back to West Point was much tougher than I thought it would be. Its just like my dad told me, "You will hate going back there while your a cadet, but you will love it for what it is when you graduate." I don't know bout the second half yet.....but it seems that all the grads I have talked to say that. So got back to West Point and immediately had to start organizing my new room (we switch rooms each semester here, don't ask why, I think its kind of dumb).

So, My year here started out with another Reorgy week (reorganization). This one was much better, for the most part, because we did it all on our own. Last time, our team leaders had to take us around to everything. We had book issue, briefings, signups, new class schedules, and room organization. My new roommate, Ian Garrett, and I were very happy to have the same room. We were really good buddies durin BEAST (summer training), he was in my squad and is also from Virginia. I was also especially lucky this semester because I only have a 2-man room.......its sad how amazing I find it to be. The only problem I encountered during this particular week was that Lt. Haden decided to haze me as much as he did at the beginning of last semester. It wasn't fun, but you just have to deal with some things. Since Reorgy week things have been up and down. I was busy with nearly constant Sandhurst practices and had paintball meetings on Tuesdays, and classes started out pretty rough. The last few weeks have kinda been a blur for me. My days have been the same each day: classes, practice, dinner, homework, sleep, repeat. Very little free time to do anything. Things just seem to run together lately. I only like about 3 of my new teachers, I'm not going to bitch about the others. I got cut from the Sandhurst team because it lost two authorized spots from the powers that be. Coincidentally when I was cut from the Sandhurst team, the Tournament Paintball team was looking for new members. I am now a 3rd string snake player for the paintball team. The past two weekends we went to Long Island and New Jersey to practice paintball at some indoor places. I am very happy to be on the team however, I was very dissapointed to be cut from Sandhurst. I still work out with them on the off days from paintball.

I feel like that last paragraph was getting too long, so on to a new one......

So, where to continue.....I feel like I am leaving a lot out......but like I said, things just seem to be running together......

Classes have been going well, grades wise at least. I hope to keep a 3.4 going, maybe better. I was supposed to have a paintball event this weekend but it was cancelled, due to the weather on the East Coast, it looks like it will be rescheduled for next weekend. I was really looking forward to it, my first official college paintball tournament. My friends and I thought about making a team multiple times, time and money was the issue though.

I'm really having trouble focusing today.....actually lately....hopefully just a side effect of being busy.

Just remembered one thing, I wrestled in the Wrestling Brigade Open on Monday. I weighed in at 163.5 but they put me in the 155 weight class. There was only three of us in that weight class. My first (and sadly only) match was againt a guy name Mike Tovo. I lost 12-1 against him. He was no stronger than me but was very technically sound. He had a really good duck under that gave him a few takedowns. I feel like I wrestled well and could just tell he was a good wrestler. I used my outstanding bridging skills to keep him from pinning me. I looked him up online afterward and found out that he was at least a state qualifier from Colorado. Honestly I was just happy to be on the mats and be around wrestlers. I helped score the matches during finals. I saw a lot of good wrestling too.

So, its my birthday today..............pretty uneventfull.....outside of my facebook wall at least. Its been nice hearing happy birthday from everyone. Got a few cards too. Its strange having my first birthday without family.....and without doin anything. Really its just another weekend at West Point.

Due to my inability to focus, I am going to end this post. I'm going to say this again (and probably jinx myself), I am going to try to post more often. Hope this post is satisfying. Peace out.