I just spent about an hour reading my friend Tim Wylie's blog - he's a buddy that I met when we moved to Searcy and I started going to the Westside Church of Christ. I was in his brother's wedding, we used to go over and jam at his house. He always had girlfriends and guitars. We actually lived together one summer too, it was a party. If you knew him - he hasn't changed (other than maturity and brain size...oh family size too), or at least that what it seems like after reading his blog for an hour, catching up on a year of his life.
In 4 days, I'll be chillin at home, and my Navy Recruiter will roll up to my house in a government car, and pick me up. I'll go to MEPS in Brooklyn, where they will give me hotel briefing. I was informed this basically is them telling us not to do it with anyone while at the hotel, and not to leave. The following morning I'll go back to MEPS (Military Enlistment Processing Station?) at the buttcrack of dawn, and pee in a cup as well as get measured again. Then they'll give me a plane ticket and I'll go to an oath ceremony. There I'll swear in - and say goodbye for 2 months to the sweetest, most beautiful woman I know. This is by far, the hardest thing about the military, and I literally thank God it's only for 2 months. Oh, i'll also say goodbye to best friend/roommate Ed (which will stink too...but not as much, love you Ed). I know God will take care of her, and us - but that certainly doesn't completely alleviate the human emotions.
Basic Training - 8 weeks of doing EXACTLY what I'm told to do. No more. No less. I've been in touch with my friend Jim Watkins' mom recently - he's a rutgers grad who joined the navy after I did, to do the same thing (play trombone), but somehow managed to get to leave sooner. She is saying he's had a lot of downtime for the first few weeks of basic. Now, Jim is an alumni of the Cadets of Bergen County of DCI fame. So his version of a summer and mine are quite different, and his version of a "walk in the park" is also, I'm certain, quite different than mine. I'm expecting it to be bad. I can do the pushups I need to, I can do the situps I need to...but the running. I'm sure I'll get better at it. Especially with someone forcing me to do it.
Everyone who has been there is telling me to go for some sort of leadership position while I'm there among my division. Not a bad idea because I think it goes towards promotion. The quicker I can get to E-4 - the quicker I can get to my test for E-6 (see previous post).
In Wylie style - i'll talk about something else. I polished all my nice mouthpieces at the shop yesterday and got a DB-90 Metronome. The most awesomest ever. Everyone at dillon's has been nice and kind and sorry to see me go, and I do appreciate it. Makes me feel good.
I will miss my two babies. Even though bubble still poops randomly and sometimes without any warning at all. I think Kiko likes his eyes rubbed - probably because they stick out so far from his head.
Write me letters while I'm at basic. I'll need it to keep the sanity I have from being destroyed by uninformed and immature 18-year-olds. :-)
