Random thoughts on a rainy morning.

[gridlore]

• Looks like the warm break from winter is over. Raining pretty good out there.


• Luckily, I can see no reason to leave the apartment today.


• I was awake at 0300. These aching legs are becoming an issue.


• Beer helps.


• I think today we try to get a least a few of the pieces of art onto the walls.


• Not going crazy with the decorating, just want to look at something other than white walls.


• Which reminds me, art and crazy, I mean.


• Right before the whole "lungs don't work" epic began, I got my first moving violation ever.


• Illegal turn on a red light, totally my fault.


• We were finally able to pay the fine, two days before the deadline. Yay.


• But now I want to frame the original ticket, and hang it over my desk.


• Right next to my certificate from the Army making me a Field Hygiene and Sanitation NCO.


• My proudest moment. I actually got a medal for it, since I was the only soldier in the entire XVIIIth Airborne Corps to get a perfect score on the test.


• I was a Private (E-2) at the time. This was a slot for Sergeants and above.


• Army Achievement Medal. The look on my CO's face when he pinned that thing on me was priceless.


• So, is framing my first ticket weird?


• Not that weird is bad. Weird, for me, is desirable.


• EAT ALL THE THINGS continues. Tonight we're having spaghetti and trying Classico's Vodka Sauce.


• Haven't had that before. Looks interesting and the reviews are positive. Also have some really yummy looking garlic bread. Plus wine.


• 15 days until pitchers and catchers report. Still questions at shortstop, but we're returning most of a team that won it all last year.


• Best news is Pablo "Kung-Fu Panda" Sandoval has lost a lot of weight and really become committed to conditioning. A healthy Panda with plate discipline (home and dinner) is what the Giants need.


• GO GIANTS!

Comments

[dalen-talas.livejournal.com]

"Hygiene Officer: Monitors the personal hygiene level of other team members, preventing poor morale, substandard performance and halitosis. CPU performance tracking statistics show [CLASSIFIED] percent of Troubleshooter missions fail due to poor hygiene."
- Paranoia XP.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Alas, my role was placing latrine sites and monitoring field encampments for rodent infestations. When they remembered that I was the FHSNCO.

[claidheamhmor]

"Field Hygiene and Sanitation NCO". I LOLed at that.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

It really is my best "Catch-22" story. Some neuron at the Pentagon fired and realized that regulations required each field-deployable company have a FHSNCO. Almost no one did. So the order went out, filter down, and ended up on my First Sergeant's desk as I happened to be in the orderly room dropping off some paperwork for my platoon leader.

"Berry!"

"Yes, First Sergeant?"

"You've got a class."

Like I said, the slot was for Corporals and above. I was a lowly Private. But when I got to the class site there were about twenty of us, and all but two or three were Specialists and below. You can see how seriously most commands took this order.

The class was actually interesting, if only because the 197th's Brigade Surgeon conducted it himself, and gave some history on armies and sanitation. You know me and history. It was a two day class with a 150 question final, multiple choice. XVIIIth Airborne Corps had at that time close to 50,000 troops in it. Figure about 300 people all told had to take this class. I was the only one to max out the test.

The best part? A big part of the instruction was on controlling vermin in the field. This included sections on identifying droppings of different types of rodent.

So I got a certificate and a medal for literally knowing my shit.

[claidheamhmor]

Pretty impressive! :)