At ease...

This morning is gorgeous. I don't think that I ever appreciated the fall because I've spent most of my life in Florida. Back home it just gets cold and starts to rain a little more. Here in Georgia it cools down to a refreshing 65 or 70 degrees, the skies are blue, the birds are singing, and a crisp breeze blows right through you and makes you feel alive. The campus has been all dressed up for alumni weekend with flowers, hay bales, lanterns, and a bit of jazz drifting on the breeze for ambiance. The atmosphere outside this morning is the perfect antidote for a stressful week.

Yesterday went well. It started out with dissapointment, I improved my APFT score, but not to the point that I would have liked. However, as the day progressed, things started to look up. The weather was beautiful, just like today's, so when the regiment formed up for the parade there was a magical air about it all. The parade went well. I didn't miss a word. Also, Sergeant Major Stoner is posting a paragraph from an essay of mine on the GMC website. The essay was about the effects the GMC core values have had on me (They are also the Army core values: Duty, Honor Country). I'll post a link as soon as it is up. Later in the evening, we had Ranger practice. It was a wicked smoke session including a water hose and some mud, but we finally earned our right to be called GMC Rangers. Ruzek said our black shirts should be in by Monday. After our little PT session, we went inside and watched Gladiator and ate pizza. I retired to my room for the evening, and drifted off peacefully after a happy call from Meredith. I know she had been anticipating her Mom's arrival very intensely. Hearing her having such a great time made me fell content, and I slept deep and dreamlessly.

Today is the groundbreaking ceremony for the new barracks, and I'm the only cadet besides the Regimental Commander who has been invited to attend. I'm expected to talk to reporters about how I feel about the construction of a new barracks. Sweet, we'll have A/C and internet.