An Update on the Navy

First off, I want to thank everyone who's encouraged me, congratulated me, or checked up on me the past few weeks. I really appreciate all the concern and encouragement I've gotten from my friends, and it really helped me along in this process.

So, I'm done. I've done everything I need to do to join the Navy. I passed my PRT (Physical Readiness Test) by the skin of my teeth. This, of course, doesn't mean I have the luxury of relaxing. I actually need to work harder than I have to get myself ready for the struggle that will be Officer Candidtate School.

Oh, you want to know what that will be like? Take a look at these videos.


(If you can't see the video, you can watch it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEpe7AqctP4)

Yes, that appears to be alot of pushups very early in the morning. Did I tell you how much fun this is going to be?

And then I'll have to learn how to do this:



(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcIP3pnlRA)
I know, that looks to be right up my alley.

And then I found this last week, which describes how I'll be eating for 8 weeks:

Previously, we had to do something called “eat by the numbers,” which is the standard method of eating for all junior training classes: a Marine Corps Drill Instructor, Class Chief Petty Officer, or Candidate Officer (a member of the senior class on deck) says “one,” and every student snaps their heads to within 4 inches of the plate of food. At “two” they pick up their “War Spoon” (the official name of an OCS soup spoon); “three” and we scoop up as much food as we can. “Four,” the spoon and food go in our mouths. “Five,” we remove the spoon, replace it on the tray, and check that everything is properly “grounded” (touching): the tray is flush with the edge of the table, and the two glasses are grounded in the upper left hand corner of the tray, touching the edge of the tray; the plate is grounded to the bottom center, with the War Spoon grounded to the bottom edge of the tray and grounded tangent to the plate. On “six,” we snap back up to attention, with our feet at a 45-degree angle, heels touching, feet on the port side of the table support (even if that table support is well to the side –- which often leads to significant contortion), and with the “thousand-yard stare.” On “seven,” we are allowed to chew, and on “eight,” we are allowed to swallow. The process then repeats.

So what happens now?

Right now, I'm waiting on getting my official orders, which will tell me when I have to report to Newport, RI. I'm predicting being up there in Mid-Februray. So if you live anywhere on the Eastern Seaboard, expect an email/call for my long and leisurely roadtrip up the I-95 corridor.

Hopefully, I'll get at $25,000 check in the next few weeks (thanks USAA!), so I can quit Starbucks and focus on running. And pushups. And running. And situps. And running.

The work out plan, for those who are wondering, is as follows:

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I will get up at 6am, change, drink half a liter of water, do a .8 warm up run, do pushups, situps, and then run 1.5 miles as fast as possible. This at least somewhat accurately represents what will happen at OCS.

On Tuesday and Thursday, I will also get up at 6am, change, drink, and then run 3 miles, followed by bear crawls and 8-count body builders and any other PT-esque workouts I can find. It'll be fun!

So thats whats happening in my life. Once I actually find out when I'm leaving, I'll let you all know so that we can arrange for adequate pre-death hanging out time.