NCM & Dental Cleaning - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 157

We had morning formation today inside the gym because of the rain, finally there seems to be signs of common sense…but I won't get my hopes up too much. Once accountability is done I head to a stationary bike and peddle at a very slow pace…I mean so slow that if I were on a real bike I think an old lady in a walker could have beat me in a race. I've mentioned this before, but I really don't like to work out with my unit in the morning. I usually don't even wash my PT uniform for a long time because I don't wear it very long and I do not sweat in it. I really don't want to get all sweaty and have to take a shower at the gym each morning. I'd rather work out on my own at the YMCA with my wife. I get a better workout and I am a lot more motivated for sure. After about 15 minutes on the bike I then headed out to my car and took off to the WTB parking lot. I then ate breakfast, listened to the radio and then took a nap.

I went to my NCM appointment at 0900. I let her know about the bad weekend full of pain and some bad sleep last night, but other than that everything is pretty much the same. I left there and headed to the SFAC for a few minutes to check my army email. I then had to head to the dental clinic for a cleaning. When I got seated in the chair with my bib and glasses for the cleaning, the dental hygienist asked me how old I was. I responded that I was 40 and she shook her head and said "no way". I kinda laughed and said "yup, but I do feel a lot younger in my head". She said the soldier in her before me was only 30, but looked much older than I do! I guess I'll take that as a compliment.

After the cleaning I headed home and ate lunch, then did schoolwork.

Busy Day - (MedBoard: Joint Base Lewis-McChord) Day 124

This morning I headed to formation in ACUs as has been my way lately. I planned on going to the dentist, I didn't actually have an appointment, but they allow walk-ins from 0700-0800 for WTB folks. Once formation was over, I headed to my car and picked up my dental records that I brought with me from Germany. I also had to bring a copy of my orders. Why I need a copy of my orders I'm not too sure. I guess they want to verify that I am indeed assigned to the WTB.

I arrived at the dentist and stood in a short line for a bit. Once at the desk I handed over all my paperwork and they told me to have a seat. At least they had a TV in the waiting room, I ended up hanging out in there for about 15 minutes. A lady came out and brought me back to get X-Rays, then sent me back to the waiting room. After another 10 minutes or so, I was called back to see the actual dentist. No cavities! I just have to schedule a cleaning appointment now. I did that on my way out and then headed to my car.

Once in my car, I ate my breakfast and listened to music for a while. At 0845 I had a follow-up appointment with my physical therapist. I let him know that I think the traction has been helping. I usually feel pretty good after the traction, and I haven't been taking as much pain medication as before. I'm not out of total pain for sure, but I am feeling better.

I then went immediately to another traction appointment, then headed to the pharmacy to pickup a refill for a medication that I called in. After that headed to an area next to the pharmacy where they are giving out flu shots. I fill out all the required paperwork and then wait a few minutes. They give me an actual shot in the arm and then give me some verification paperwork. Everyone is required to get the flu shot, so I take the paperwork to my squad leader to file and mark that I've had my shot. In the normal world I don't think I would get the flu shot, I will just rely on my good ol' immune system to fight off anything that comes my way. I don't see how filling us with a bunch of crap that will protect us against old flu viruses is going to help with new ones that are coming out…but I don't get that choice. (Don't take this as a stance against normal vaccinations, I do think those are necessary)

I check my army email at the SFAC and then grab a sandwich to eat at the shopette. I almost forgot that I have an ACAP appointment later on this afternoon. I drive over to North Ft. Lewis and arrive at an ancient building that is now serving as their ACAP office. The class is on social networking and LinkedIn. The class was actually interesting and a bit longer than I thought it was going to be. It started at 1300 and ended a little before 1500. The teacher had us all do a Google search for our names and see what comes up. This is something potential employers can and will do. We also went over the privacy settings in Facebook and then dove into LinkedIn. I had a LinkedIn account, but wasn't an active user of the site. After the class I will be updating mine and connecting with a lot more people. LinkedIn has a lot to offer the professional who is looking for employment.

I started to head home and received a text requiring 100% participation for a battalion formation. It's going to be the 4-day weekend safety brief. I don't need to hear any of that crap. I have my school as an excuse to not attend evening formation, so I just keep driving home and ignore it. Just another reason I can't wait to get back into the civilian workforce…I don't need a safety briefing every weekend as a grown man.

USO Surprise - (Korea) Day 302

SPC Mick after receiving his birthday cake from the USO

I had a dentist appointment this morning at 0830. It was only a cleaning, but it was nice to not have to wake up and go in for the early 0730 work call that everyone else had to do. The dentist was a little rough, but still bearable. I'm glad I don't have to go again for a while now.

I arrived at work and did my morning routine of checking my email and such, but was interrupted a few times to do minor things for various people. That seemed to set the tone for the entire day. It seemed like anytime I started anything I was called away to do something else. I tried working on a Windows 7 SkillPort, but couldn't even finish one section the entire day.

I had lunch in my room and video chatted with my wife, then headed back to the office a little early to make sure our conference room was setup for a "brief" from our colonel. This meeting had been setup for a while. Most of the folks knew it wasn't actually a brief, but a surprise for SPC Mick. His parents had worked with the USO here in Korea to help celebrate his birthday. The USO worked with our NCOIC to get everything worked out in advance. Once the conference room was ready, our office, our supply office, a couple from protocol, and our admin office all showed up for the "brief". When the colonel came in he said there would be a special guest speaker…and then came in the USO with a huge cake, balloons, and a bag of USO swag for SPC Mick. He was called up front and everyone sang happy birthday to him. It was pretty funny…especially since he had no clue what was going on until they walked in. What's funny is that the red, white and blue cake turned everyone's mouth and teeth either red, white or blue.

When we finally got back to working, the afternoon went just like the morning. It seemed like I could not get anything done. I started training PV2 Charlie on how to update the events calendar and it must have taken 2 hours because one of us kept getting calls to do something. Everyone except for me and Special K cleaned up and left at 1600. I stayed back and helped Special K study for his promotion board until about 1700.

When I got to my room I ended up not working out…somehow just lost my motivation. I instead went to the food court and ate Taco Bell volcano tacos. I then watched Greys Anatomy & Survivor…I can't help it…I love that show. I then packed my assault pack for a tour I'll be on with the young hawaiian and SPC Mick for the rest of the week. Hyundai gives a couple of tours to soldiers each year and we were all able to get signed up for this one. I'm looking forward to getting out and having some fun away from work. This also means it will be a few days before I update the blog again. I'll be busy taking pictures and soaking in the culture…plus I'm not bringing my laptop.