Mail call! I love getting mail. ✉️ Everyone loves mail. At least I thought I loved getting mail ... until DS Stewart decided that I had to do ten push-ups for every single letter I received. Quit sending mail! Just kidding. My arms are going to look great! Guess what we got this weekend? Off-post passes! We decided to take in some of South Carolina's nightlife and patronize a club or two. We danced (even though I hate dancing), imbibed a few drinks, and ended up making some new friends. James thought it would be cool to hop on the back of a motorcycle for a ride with one of our new friends burning her leg on the tailpipe. Obviously our night did not go as expected. The next morning both of us were called to DS Stewart's office to give an explanation as to why we missed curfew by ten minutes and he also noticed the burn. James told him that she had sat on her curling iron and I thought I was going to bust out laughing. That had to be one of worst fabricated and unbelievable stories ever! I will never know or understand why we didn't get roasted when he honestly knew the truth. James stresses me out. Even my nerves are stressed. As the weeks pass, we have more freedom on the weekends and we can spend it just hanging out. The shoppette has become a regular hangout for us. Lean Pockets has some pretty tasty ham & cheese!
James ended up having her wisdom teeth pulled, so she is doped up on meds. She was restricted to the barracks with a buddy and she chose me. I wrote a few letters home, and slept for a while. Since everyone was in class, the quietness was calming. I had KP yet again, and volunteered to do pots and pans this time. Being in the back of the kitchen is the most fun and you are out of the way. It makes the day go by faster, too. After what occurred last weekend, James and I were fortunate. DS Stewart had told us that we were very close to losing our off-post overnight passes this coming weekend, but if we kept ourselves out of trouble and our room squared away all would be good. "Too easy Drill Sergeant." Right? I had CQ tonight, which I rarely get. I watched TV until lights out and then I wrote more letters. We will be wrapping up school soon and we have all been discussing our end-of-cycle test (Superbowl) and FTX. Time to start rehashing my little 'smart' book again.
Hades has come to visit this morning! My company had a surprise urinalysis and having to wait two hours to relieve oneself was absolute torture! Of course, I had just drank an entire canteen of water. We have random drug testing back at my unit and you're a bona fide idiot if you fail a military drug test. That is one of the easiest and quickest ways to get slapped with a court-martial. Our final PT test was taken today and I finished my run in 16:37. Heck yeah, but I was still irked about failing that clerical test. Even though I was permitted to retake it, you need a first time go on all exams and maintain an average of 98%. Failing that one test put my average at 95% causing my motivation to plummet. To complicate matters further with my accident prone self, I pulled the tendons in my right knee landing myself back at TMC. The doctor profiled me for a week and wrote a script for pain. My roommate Henriquez is on profile with crutches. She was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her left hip and that last PT test made it worse. We have become buddies and I help her to and from chow, school, etc. Yep, we're both broken and nicknamed each other 'Profile'. At least we passed our PT tests before we hurt ourselves. 🙄 Since the weekend is approaching, I am elated that my profile ends Thursday night. You are confined to the company and cannot leave if you are on profile.
Today was TACCS (Tactical Army Combat Computer System) training and our official last day of school. These computers are used to support CSS (combat service support) missions in supply, maintenance, medical, and personnel areas. The next couple of days were spent logging serial numbers of the TACCS systems and learning how prepare them for storage in a field situation. They fit perfectly in a box and weigh at least 100 lbs. I can't believe that we are finished with school and a week early. Detail. Detail. Detail. That is what we will get stuck with.
Our class party was held in the day room and we rented a couple of movies, ordered pizza, and played pool. The day was epic and we had a great time. All of us get along quite well and I will miss some of these people that I have gotten to know. Several of us have been tossing the idea around about getting rooms at Holiday Inn Express and hitting the indoor pool and bar they have. That will be intoxicating! Pun intended.
Of all the brainless and foolish mistakes to make, being late to formation should NEVER have been one of them! Formation was called at 0810. The lot of us didn't arrive until 0840. "Front leaning rest position-MOVE!" Smoke session! You would think our brains would be functioning more comprehensively, but our epic day must have addled our wits. We are too close to graduating to be doing stupid stuff like this. What is the worst that could happen? Your guess is probably correct. Evening formation was called early, mail handed out, and we had our off-post overnight passes suspended. When you play with fire, you eventually get burned. 🔥
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