AH HA!!!! Finally, Ashley and I had some time together!!!! WOOHOO!!!! It was awesome. I got to play way too much Nintendo, cook some good food, and be a bum. It has been great. Sadly I have to go and report in tommorow. So fun time is coming to an end. But more to come this weekend. And Peeg is coming soon from the land of the future and awesome Transformers that date tiny Anime girls. I can't wait. I'll keep everybody posted of the adventures that are sure to come.


-Nick

HOLLEEEE CLAAAPPPP!!!

I haven't posted in a really long time. Well, lot's has happened since then. Ashley and I are engaged, I graduated IOBC and I graduated Ranger school. Hooorrraaayyyyy!!!! I'm an engaged Airborne Ranger! I'm currently trying to clear Fort Benning so I can move up to Fort Bragg and start my time with the 82nd. Speaking of clearing Fort Benning, I need to start getting my stuff together so I can turn it in.


See You!!

-Nick

Ashley and I are engaged!!! Moooo hoooo hahahaha!!!!! My plan was a success!!! Everybody will be happy to know that I didn't soil myself either. I'll try and get pictures out to everyone somehow but I'm leaving for the field soon so that may be difficult. I waited for her downstairs while she got ready for dinner and asked her right before we left. She said yes (and she was sober too!!!! My hypnosis worked!!). We have set the date for some time after she finishes her degree, so we'll be getting married around spring 2009. So be prepared!!!!!! I didn't regain the ability to speak until some time last night and I've been enjoying my weekend with my fiance so I am delayed in my post. So be happy you hear anything at all!!! OK I'm gassy so it's time for me to go now. I'll try and get comments back on my blog. More to follow.

SEE YOU!!!!

-Nick

Here's a drwaing I just made. This is what I do when I'm bored.

That's right. I'm actually posting on my blog! I know it's bee a while but I now have internet; and for the evening, some free time. I'm all set up here in Columbus. The apartment complex I moved into is freakin' awesome. It has 6, that's right, 6 pools, I have a "sunporch" which has a minifridge I have stocked with Redstripe (soon Guiness and other slightly less girly beers will be added to the inventory), and I have a functioning wood burning fireplace in my living room. I'm living by myself for the first time in my life and it's a little odd. I can use the can with the door open, I can fall asleep to Cartoon Network and there's nobody to complain about it, and I can pretty much do whatever I want. It's pretty sweet. I'm about to start week four of Infantry BOLC III (prevoiusly known as IOBC or Infantry Officer Basic Course) where I essentially learn how to blow things up and live out in the woods. While I may get tired and grumpy sometimes I'm loving it. I can't wait to get up to North Carolina. I'm thinking about buying a digital camera so I can keep everybody updated with photos of my life here and wherever else I might be. If anybody has any suggestions for some good ones please let me know. As I'm sure you've all noticed I also changed my template. If nobody likes it then I'll try and figure out a way to integrate the puppy and other aspects of the old design into some new superdesign. After I ask Peeg how to since all I know to do with machines it hit them and grunt. It's really odd being on my own. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm not a college student anymore and that I have a real job and more responsibilities. This is going to take some getting used to . I';ll close with the promise that I'll update my blog at least monthly while I have internet access. More to follow.

-Nick

I have more Army news! I finally have all of my report dates and even my follow-on assignment! I have to report for BOLC II (another bout of training that the Army decided to add for all incoming Lieutenants, of course I'm in the first class that requires it before moving on to Officer Basic) on 4 June. I'll be in BOLC II until 21 July. On 30 July I start IOBC (Infantry Officer Basic Course) I'll finish up there on 31 October. After that I have to go to Ranger school (I don't know when I'm going there yet). After Ranger school (hopefully I'll survive and, more importantly, graduate) I'll go to Ft. Bragg North Carolina to jump out of airplanes with the 82nd Airborne. I probably have the better part of a year of training ahead of me at Fort Benning, so if anyone feels like pratying in scenic Pheonix City, AL of Columbus, GA then I'll be the man to see. If you're like the rest of the world and avoid those places then come and visit me. There are only two weeks left until graduation/commissioning. I'm peeing my pants with anticipation.

See You!!

-Nick

Good News! I got my branch assignment (AKA my job in the Army) on Friday. I got active duty Military Intelligence branch detail Infantry. That means that I'll be an Infantry officer for about three years and then switch over to MI (about the time I should be a captain). That is the normal progression in that assignment. I could also: get retained as an Infantry officer or apply for something else (SF). Time can only tell. I like this option because it gives me more options, but I don't like this option because if I love being an Infantry officer there is a good chance that I'll have to leave and do something else no matter what I do. But, all future worries aside, I got my first choice, which is a good thing. Now I know what I'll be doing in the near future. I also don't have to serve any extra time in active duty if I don't want to (since I was in the top 20% of cadets I got one of my top 3 choices and they disregarded my added service contract). All in all I'm pleased with how things came out. Now all I have to do is graduate and get my commission. And for those of you familiar with UA's college of Arts and Sciences that could be the toughest part of the entire process.

It's been so long since I last posted that I almost forgot how! Man alive! Well, alot has happened since my last post. I went to Ft. Lewis, WA for LDAC (think of it as a 33 day long test for cadets), went to Ft. Drum, NY and pretended to be a rifle platoon leader in an Infantry company, got back to school 2 or 3 days after class started to discover that I was made the Cadet Battalion Commander, and now I'm not studying. If I could figure out how to use Picasa then I would post some pictures, but I am easily frustrated and it doesn't respond to threats of beatings. I really can't wait until November 14th, that's when I'm supposed to find out what branch I've been assigned to, which means that I'll have a rough idea of where I'll be this time next year. I also can't believe that I'm supposed to graduate in May and that I am supposed to be a Second Lieutenant the day after I graduate. Sometimes I wonder exactly what I've gotten myself into, but then I think of what else I could do and not much else comes to mind except for being an old timey explorer. Hopefully I'll get Infantry. Then I'll be close to home while I'm training, I'll get to go to all sorts of cool schools, and I'll get to play with boom boom sticks. Walking around with 90+ pounds of gear on your body sucks, but not as much as being stuck behind a desk all day. Plus I'll get to "see the world" not in the way that most people do, but the really crappy parts where people don't like you. So I figure it'll make me appreciate Anniston a little more. Well, I've procrastinated long enough. I'm off to read "Inside Al-Queada" for my Political Science class.

See You!

-Nick