2/1/09-2/3/09

2/1/09
They lost power again this morning, but Chuck got shaved before then so he was OK with it. Breakfast was already cooked to, so it was still warm. They got to hang around the barracks since it was Sunday. Then someone got caught sleeping so they couldn't even sit down. It finally is warming up for them. None of them like the new platoon leader at all. They think he is a dickhead. He is hoping they will get promoted to white phase, but they're not sure. More privileges in white phase (still no phone though). They got power back and were able to go to the PX but all they could do is get haircuts. Chuck said that he has a lot that he needs to hopefully they let them go back to shop soon. They did a little bit of running today, mostly sprints and walking. Then they had some classes. He ended up going to the protestant church service today. He enjoyed it and said that he'd probably go back next week. The platoon leader was fired tonight. It warmed up enough that they were warming shorts and sweatshirts. They were not able to watch the Superbowl at all. Now he is thinking about a pizza with peperoni, bacon, and onion. He said that there is still a lot of people getting in trouble for really stupid stuff. They got personal time early tonight because the drill Sgt was watching the Superbowl.

2/2/09
They were able to do PT outside today because it was warm. Then they had a combat lifesaver class for the rest of the day. They learned the 3 main things they need to know. He said that this is different then other medic stuff he has done because it's all quick and dirty. After every lesson they do practicals and a lot of them can't remember what they just learned. The DS's are getting mad at them. Most of them just barely passed the test so I don't know what they expect. Chuck had to do 185 push-ups to get all of his letters today. The first time it was 1o an envelope and this time it was 15 an envelope, plus I sent him another phone card since he said he didn't call me earlier because of not having enough minutes. He had to do 20 for the phone card, but he said it was worth it. He said that he knew I was gonna send another one after he wrote that in one letter. I had sent him some articles on Blagojevitch and they took it away from him. He said that they didn't even know he had it, but one of the DS's asked about him and Chuck said "my wife sent me and article, here read this" and then they took it from him. So he didn't even get to read it all. He said that he had some letters ready to send so some people should be getting letters soon, if not already.

2/3/09
More of the live saver class today. They are supposed to be able to start shooting on Thursday. He has a few tests coming up but he said that they shouldn't be a big deal. They did a group run today, but they broke them up into groups of really fast, and everyone else. He was in the everyone else group and he said that they barely ran a mile when people got tired and they had to stop. They were able to take 1 minute showers last night. I had told him in my letters that American Idol was back on and he had to tell me that American Idol Sucks. Their 4Th platoon leader got fired today. He said that no one has had it as long as he did. He is craving a sandwich from Famous Dave's. He is going to come home in May and just want to eat and eat and eat. He said that a beer doesn't sound to bad either. They just got to watch an IV stick and Chuck got excited. He misses being and EMT. He said that it'll probably be a while before he gets to call. I'm looking forward to hearing his voice.
That's it for today. I'll keep everyone posted.
Thanks,
Nel