A Weekend in the Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made

This past weekend was a four-day weekend for us thanks to Veteran's Day. I decided to celebrate graduation and enjoy the four-day by taking the train into New York City. I stayed just outside the city, so I took the bus or the train in every day. It was like being back at FDC and being sent to work in Europe. I loved it!

Friday I went to the Veteran's Day parade. I was planning on going to the parade and then heading to Central Park, but the parade lasted over three hours and by this time, the wind had picked up and it'd gotten cloudy and I'm a wimp and was tired, so I went home.



Saturday, I woke up and headed for Central Park. It was a beautiful fall day. The pictures don't do the park justice. I think I spent over two hours walking in the park, even ate a hot dog from a street vendor. I also clocked 10 miles on my Nike+ Sportswatch GPS. That evening I took the train out to visit my fire-fighting friend, Paul, at his firehouse. Great night! I got to try on his jacket, slide down the pole, AND go out on two calls with them in the fire truck!



Sunday, I took a walk along the Hudson River boardwalk? I guess? I'm not sure exactly where I was, but again it was very beautiful and fun. I must have walked 12-14 miles that day. I didn't charge my watch overnight, so it died around mile 7 and I wasn't even close to home. I like to believe that the watch dying worked out in my favor, because then it just looked like I was house arrest and wearing a tracker on my wrist, scaring would-be hoodlums away...

Monday I got on the train heading back to the 'Burg and life as I currently know it. It was a great weekend and I hope someday I live close enough to the city that I can go for a run in Central Park or along the boardwalk at least once a week.

RIC and Graduation

A couple of weeks before graduation we had a regimental induction ceremony (RIC). We donned our ASUs, which have about as much comfort as a straight jacket, and stood through a 45 minute ceremony inducting us into the Ordnance branch of the Army. We pinned on our crests (the pin above our nameplates), chit-chatted with the Chief of Ordnance, and waited somewhat impatiently for him to leave so we could make a mad dash for the door and shed our straight jackets.

This past Thursday, we graduated BOLC. We walked across the stage, sang the Ordnance and Army song, took some more pictures, then said our good-byes. Most people headed home to see their families and pack up their stuff before heading to their permanent duty station. I, however, hopped on the train to New York, since I'll be staying here to attend another round of school.

Tough Mudder

Back in October, my friends from OCS convinced me to sign up for an obstacle course to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, a project that helps Soldiers. Little did I know that following the event, I would be a wounded warrior. It was a 9-mile obstacle course up and down the mountain side. It took four hours to complete and I buy the end, I was a wet, muddy, scraped up mess. I guess I should have figured that an event named "Tough Mudder" wouldn't be a cake walk...I hurt for three days following the event. Here's a link to the page so you can see the route: http://toughmudder.com/events/virginia/wintergreen-resort-course-map-2011/. This map doesn't do justice to the giant hillsides we trudged up and down, but click on the 'photos' and you should get to see some pictures of this horrific (but fun) event.