I guess I’ll just say that things are…going.  I suppose I’ll have more to say soon enough.

I’ve still got plenty to say, just nothing really has jumped out at me lately.  That, and I’ve been playing way too many video games to spend time writing a blog

Michael

Hopefully you all know that last year, as a member of the West Point Glee Club, I had the opportunity to sing with Trace Adkins for the Academy of Country Music Awards.  He is doing a concert here at West Point on 2 October, as well as a USO Gala in Washington, D.C. the following week and has asked the Glee Club to perform the song with him again.

When we sang in Las Vegas, we sang a shortened version of the song and representatives from the Academy of Country Music put together a video to play in the background for the song.  The video of our performance may help explain it.    Since we don’t have the same time limits as we did there, Trace asked if it would be possible to make a new video for the same purpose.  As the S6 (Information Systems Officer, or just plain of Tech Guy) I volunteered to do it.

The Director of the Glee Club, Mrs. Chase, got me in contact with several sources from various segments of the Army and DoD in order to acquire media for the project.  I spent quite some time really thinking what I wanted to do with it, and based on what I had received at the time (since there was a time constraint on getting it finished) I went to work.

I was surprised with what it was turning into as I worked.  Ultimately, I felt that I had gone where I wanted to go with it with what I had at the time and showed it to Mrs. Chase.  She thought it was good, so we sent it to Trace’s manager.

I received word this morning that he “loved it” with several exclamation marks.  I’ll definitely try and put it online at some point, but I don’t want to undercut Trace in any way, so I’m holding off on that.  This was arguably one of the most nerve-racking and possibly far reaching projects I’ve been able to work on.  I’m really proud of how it turned out.

On a side note, my knee is currently bleeding from my mountain biking class…

Michael

It occurs to me that as much as I like to think that I don’t trust people, I’m disgustingly trusting.

Time and time again, I overestimate the connections that I have with people.  Probably a result of the great family I was raised in and great family friends over the years who provided a great example of good people.  As I look at the world though, I see a lot of screwed up people.

There is of course a trade off in this situation.  If you are more cautious of people, you can inadvertently miss out on good opportunities.  On the other hand, being too trusting can get you hurt.

I want to be the realist that I profess to be.  In the same way that being the “nice guy” seems to do wonders (please note the sarcasm) for my current relationship prospects, that nice guy status has not had a great effect recently.

In other news, I can’t shake this desire to be in Afghanistan with my unit rather than here….  I don’t know that desire is really the word.  I’m sure they’d think I was nuts if I said I wanted to be there, but still.  I feel like I almost stepped out on them by coming here, even though I’ve been gone over a year.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately.  Anyone who reads these things regularly knows that most of the time I just write for the sake of writing.

Michael

Isn’t that funny?  My title is “No Title” even though by putting that, it’s got a title!  It’s the little things in life you treasure.

I’m confused out of my mind right now.  As much as I wish there was an easy answer to everything, I know that there isn’t.  That doesn’t make it any easier to deal with though.  I don’t even know if I even really want the whole answer, just maybe a hint or something!  Is that so much to ask?

I honestly wish I didn’t care.  Is it wrong to think that life may just be easier if we didn’t long for social interaction, specifically of a more personal/intimate nature?

Just one of those days….

Michael

Only another 999 days until I graduate from West Point…oh dear….

Michael

Seriously, I’m not even kidding here.  It’s been a week and a half and I’m already ready for summer to come again, or at the very least Christmas.

Classes are going pretty well thus far.  A lot of this semester is stuff that I’ve learned before but it’s been a couple years.  So, rather than study for a couple days and try to get out of it, I’m taking them again, which is probably a good portion of what’s causing the boredom.

On the bright side, I’m using Project64 to play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time a lot…probably more than I should actually, haha.

Michael

March Back for the Class of 2013 is today.  In about an hour, the first human being I will ever be directly responsible for will arrive and I will see him for the first time.  This place sure is an experiment isn’t it?  This is going to be my chance to figure out my style.

In other news, I passed the National Registry exam for EMT.  It really scared me honestly.  The test was just awkward, but I passed.  I did another shift with the paramedics on Sunday.  Almost got to see a dead body.  I was looking forward to it…but they canceled us right before we got there, and then they put us on another call.  We could have gone back after the detectives went through, but we didn’t.  It was a better shift than my actual ride-along though.  We got about 9 calls I think as opposed to 1.

I’m taking 20 credit hours this semester.  I have class solid from 0730 to 1155, then lunch, followed by labs on some days for Physics and American Politics, and I have last hour cycling every other day.  Gonna be a hell of a semester with 8 courses.

Alright, that’s all I’ve got for now.

Michael

Shame on me for not posting anything!

I’m almost done with EMT.  We had the NYS Practical Exam, on Sunday which I passed (though I forgot to check my trauma patient’s genitals, shucks) and now all that’s left is the National Registry Exam which I am taking on Friday morning.  No problem.

I had my ride time this past Saturday.  Rather disappointing.  Only got one call and it was an elderly woman with chest pain.  Could have called that one.  I did get to see an open fracture that came into the ER while we were there.  The guy’s ulna was sticking out with like at least half an inch exposed.  Good stuff.  They had given him 10 cc of morphine and he was still hurting bad.  I got to stabilize his arm for a couple minutes.

Anyway, I’m just kind of doing nothing…catching up on rest and sleep.

Michael

The title basically covers my entire life right now.  Everyone here at West Point has to do at least one MDS (Military Development School) during one of our summers.  During the year, you put in your preferences and then get slotted for them.

I’ve got through Combat Lifesaver Certification twice now in its entirety and did CPR and First Aid with Red Cross at my unit.  I’ve always thought that medical knowledge is an important thing to have, especially in the Army.  As a result, the MDS called AMT (Advanced Medical Training) was my first choice, and I was happy when I found out that I got it, mostly because it meant I wasn’t doing Air Assault.

Today was the 6th day of the course.  It is usually a 4 to 6 month course, but we are doing it in 17 days.   Needless to say, regardless of the difficulty level of the course, it’s a lot of information to learn in such a short time.  I’m doing well though, passed both of our tests so far on the first try, which is more than I can say for some of my comrades.

I’ll get to do clinical ride along time on August 1st, where I go with an actual ambulance to real calls and get to help.  I’m looking forward to it, but also to being done with the course.  10 hours a day is a lot of classroom time.

Anyway, I’m gonna go not study.

Michael

Shouldn’t be a tough question, I’m the only one that writes here.

I’m all done with Cadet Field Training and now I’m back at my rockbound highland home for Advanced Medical Training.  I spent the last four weeks, shooting, exploding, and otherwise destroying a lot of stuff.  Played laser tag in tanks, shot artillery, breached a door with a donut charge that I got to put together, etc., etc., etc.  Overall, there was a lot of good training.

At the same time, I’m glad it’s over.  Just ready to move on, and ultimately get to the academic year and the craziness that’s going to come from that.  Keep up the fight.

Michael