Holly CrapShiet!...

Well judging from my recent posts, or lack there of, you’ve all probably gathered that I did get my Xbox360…and I’m certain that a collective sigh of relief (or a collective something at least) has been let out now…

They called me at about 8:45 in the a.m. as I was (dropping the kids off at the pool) before heading off to work…my phone was in my pocket and on vibrate which always makes me freak out “oh shit I’m vibrating” every time anyone calls…I didn’t recognize the number, but hesitantly (I was dropping “the kids” off after all) answered it…and before he got half a sentence out I realized what was happening and quickly informed him that I would be there in “7 minutes”…which ended up being false because I left in such a hurry (yes I at least took the time to wipe-jeeeze) that about 100 feet from the entrance to receiving my prize I realized that I had left my ID and wallet back at the crib…needless to say (so I’ll say it) I only run THAT hard for a PT test…

The timing worked out though, and I arrived about three and a half minutes before THE GROUP of 20 or so other ME’s in search of the same objective…one bastard tried to cut in front of me and I almost had to remove his penis…this thankfully, was unnecessary and I rolled out with my new toy! Yippie!...I was so happy with myself I nearly peed all over me as I happily walked (half ran) to work)…hell it was all I could do not to show everyone I passed on the way my new prize…and yes…I am now a dork – don’t you judge me!...

Anyway…this is why posts have been nonexistent for the last week or so…sorry (not really though – I’m having a blast with this thing)….I woulda posted earlier that I got it, but I was hoping on having a really nice (funny) picture to put together for the I GOT IT post…it will happen though, but without the same impact…whateva…

I just kept getting sidetracked with trying to finalize a 44-page magazine that I am now the editor of – which may not seem like a lot unless you think about the fact that I’m not only deciding what goes in to the damn thing, but I’m also charged with laying everything out in a creative design, organizing it all so it works together, copy-editing every story, coming up with styles for certain aspects (bylines, photo credits, etc.) and then having to put it all together all while learning completely new software – well then you’d understand that my brain is FRIED…

There’s that, and my Soldiers are keeping me busy…I’m an NCO now after all – a noncommissioned officer for those of you not in the “know” – which means that part of my daily duties in the Army is to be a – in a word – leader…we even have a creed, which while it can seem corny, actually helps me sometimes remember why I’m still in this thing and why I wanted to be promoted and have this responsibility –

“No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of Soldiers.” And it goes on to reinforce that we, as NCO’s are what keep the Army rolling (the backbone).

Basically, I’m supposed to not only KNOW the standard, but enforce the standard, and at all times BE the example – and that’s MY standard…those of you who know me in the military might find this crazy and almost like I’m tryin’ to b.s. my own people, but honestly I don’t think any of you would see me the same if you saw me here…I wake up early – I’m on time or early for everything (even first formation!) and even though there are other NCO’s senior to me in my office I at least attempt to set the standard for the Soldiers around me on a daily basis…it’s good shit – the neat thing is that I have not forgotten all the shit that I went through (or put my NCO’s through) for me to get to this point and that comes through with a lot of the guys that I have out here…

Many new/young/junior NCOs fall in to the trap of turning into assholes or at least completely different people when they get promoted, which in turn causes their Soldiers to see that, and thus lose ALL respect for them as leaders… anyway I’m rambling…and I was an asshole before so it’s no big deal!

ANYWAY - This week I recommended one of my Soldiers for nonjudicial punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (fun stuff, I have three, which is still a record in my last unit!) because he just wouldn’t fix HIMSELF…late, late, late, late, late, and no excuses…the kid kept accepting that HE was WRONG, but just refused to fix it…and thus I was left with no other recourse…I feel like such a bastard, but deep down I KNOW that he deserves it and more so - I KNOW that HE knows that he deserves it…it’s just weird for me and that’s the main reason why I got off on this tangent here…I was always on the OTHER side (his side) of this process and it’s awkward…fact of the matter is that I emailed my old NCO from Germany just to say thanks and APOLOGIZE for everything – all the stress and EXTRA nonsense I caused her…wow…does this mean that I’m growing up? –

Screw that – I’m going to play my Xbox360! HA! Take that!