Well, the day I came back from writing that thing about net connections and keyboard issues, I found that the dudes in our room apparently came to an agreement regarding picking up our own personal router and getting some proper net kickin'. So now I'm good to go in a serious way, and with any luck (and willpower) I'll be able to pump out updates a little more frequently.
Now, the hell have I been doing lately...
Well, let's start with starters. The way the military works around here is that there;s this sub-military organization that's made up of happy shiny people who want to make the world friendlier and more cuddly for enlisted men and women everywhere. They've managed to dig their fingers deep enough that they've put into place elected positions that need to be filled in every troop, company, battalion, division, and so forth. These people are there to serve as sympathetic ears to all your heart's troubles thanks to a confidentiality agreement, but are also there to discuss various aspects of military life and relay suggestions and requests to the higher-ups.
We'd already been taken care of on the troop level, with the one girl in our section being promoted in a landslide victory (I later found out that she really wasn't that well-suited to the role), and the runner-up being elected because he's a goofy, gangly chap that most everyone enjoys having a pilsner with.
However, people were moving around and this meant that soon the company at large would need its equivalent position filled, and having come a bit out of my shell I decided to put my name in as a candidate.
This meant that right in the middle of our allotted time to hose down and broom-whip the tents ("important maintenance"), I was called away for an interview. Personally, I think it went fairly well, cracking jokes with the interviewers and getting a lot of very positive responses. The decision was finalized later that day, and I was dialed up and informed that, sorry, but they'd given the position to someone else. But we love you anyways!
Once I got back to the bunk complex, I found that our then troop-level trustee (the chick) had not only applied for, but actually gotten the job. Again I suspected the extra X-chromosome as her reason for getting the new title, but I think she'll be better off in the new position than she was at the troop-level (and, after learning what the thing was actually about during the interview, I think she'll do a better job than I would have).
Let's see, what happened after that... Eating, sleeping (theoretically. I still haven't quite hit the perfect rhythm here yet), going to the bathroom... All the finer things in life.
Oh, yes, I had my birthday (21... Damn irony I reached US drinking age while stuck in Norwegian military service). The way birthdays work in the military is that when the troop is assembled, someone will spill the beans and the birthday boy is ordered up to the front, where he will then assume the proper push position and await further commands.
The rest of the troop then begins to sing the birthday song, with direction by the sergeant. Birthday boy will execute push-up after push-up until the troop is finished singing. Generally, to make sure nobody drops off from the singing, the troop is directed to sing at a remarkably slow tempo.
I'd already taken some self-inspired floor-hugs early that morning when a few folks from the troop came into my room while I was cleaning and started singing for me. Oddly enough, nobody made mention to the sergeants that I had a birthday that day, so at the final assembly for the day I had to personally address the sergeant and notify him of the situation.
I don't believe I've seen him grin like that before...
Can't say I remember much else of interest in the period from then to now... Other than that they really didn't have much idea for what to make us do after the maintenance was finished, so long pauses and various spur-of-the-moment lections were interspersed with random yelling, punishment exercise, and a competitive team-based jog up the side of a mountain and then back down.
Another point of interest is that, apparently, my extreme manly awesomeness just can't stop radiating out and causing trouble. There's one gal in another troop that's been flirting with me quite a bit, but from what I hear she's not particularly picky as far as who or how many when in regards to that... However, the day after my birthday I was kicking around the recreational center just outside the barracks in the hopes that my laptop would finally consider hooking into the wireless net...
As I was there, another gal (think she's from the same troop actually) plucked herself up from her previous seated position, settled in across the table from me, and struck up a conversation as she made herself comfortable. During the course of this, she invited me to join her for a movie at the theater on friday and also bought me a bottle of coke as a birthday present.
Well, hey, a guy could get used to that sort of thing! Sadly, tragedy struck and our movie date was called off due to her aunt passing away. Dreadful as that is though, there was a minor silver lining for me in that the film she wanted to see looked absolutely horrid...
We've started our level 2 first aid training now, and will continue through several long days next week until the final test on thursday. It's actually rather interesting stuff, and very nice to know, but the fact of the matter is that as a soldier you are naturally on the brink of falling asleep at all times and must be kept in constant action in order to keep from nodding off. Inside a room with sofas, heating units and curtains blocking out the sharpest rays of sunlight, it's been a brutal struggle for everyone to try and stay with the program.
It's only been a couple days now, but even after just this time I am now qualified to walk into random rooms and shout "I KNOW CPR!". I expect great things to come from the remainder of the course.
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Topic: All I Want For Xmas is an HK416 (Read 74834 times)