Cold at the Range

I am finally almost back to my normal self now. After going through two rolls of toilet paper, I upgraded by buying some kleenex (with lotion!) from the commissary. I guess having my upper lip look like it had a red Hitler mustache was a hint that the toilet paper, while cheap, was a no-go. I just happen to like having a lip that is NOT red from being rubbed raw. Though, for the record, there was probably a half roll of army toilet paper in there too, which might as well be sand paper if you use it more than twice. Also for the record, Vaseline is AWESOME if you are raw from sand paper tissue.

I also went to the range last week despite being sick and coughing up everything and then some, but fortunately it wasn't much of an issue as I didn't cough much during the actual shooting. Actually, the cold conditions were much worse than my own cold. I was wishing I had brought a change of socks because my feet sweat a bit in the heated bus ride, and then I stepped into a very cold environment right after. Not fun. The range itself was fairly disorganized (as many things seem to be here, outside of my unit), so as a result, about half of my group wasn't able to get our rifles zeroed (calibrated so that it fires where we aim-- each person holds the rifle slightly differently, so it has to be adjusted to the firer), so rather than come the next day and waste time during the "qualification day," we opted to just come back next month and start already half-zeroed. Despite my lack of firing many rounds, though, it was pretty fun during the 45 minutes I actually got to shoot. The rifle really feels at home in my hands, making it really ironic that I want to be a chaplain and have the only job in the Army that disallows me to every carry a fire-arm...

Toilet Paper

I'm sitting at my computer, listening to the post-game show for the Oregon State Basketball game. I woke up half an hour before my alarm went off this morning, and while up, I noticed that the game was going on, so I got to listen to the last 10 or 15 minutes of it.

On my desk is a half roll of toilet paper. What is interesting is that it was a full roll yesterday-- I took it with me to use as Kleenex during four hours on an Army bus yesterday, and also used it during the night. After getting food poisoning two weeks ago, my weakened immune system was attacked by a cold, which four days ago assaulted me with a nasty cough and stuffed/runny nose. I am hoping it goes away by the time I go to the M16 rifle range on tuesday... I would like my breathing to be back to normal before I go put my expert badge on the line!

The good news is that one of Deanna's roommates also has a cold, and hers is slightly worse than mine at the moment, perhaps where mine was two days ago. Why is this bad thing good news for me? Because while at her apartment with a cough drop in my mouth, I don't feel so guilty about being near her roommates and getting them sick! I would say we have the same thing, but she was in America when I got sick...

Two days ago Deanna updated our registry at Wal-Mart. The first time we went through, I think we were in just one section of the website and didn't realize we weren't in a bigger section, so after my mom asked about camping equipment, we added a lot of stuff from that category. It got me in a camping mood! Unfortunately, we won't get to go camping for quite some time... probably not until the summer of 2010 because of the timing of when we are getting married and when school starts. I am just in the mood to roast some marshmallows or hot dogs, pitch up a tent, and relax in the hammock with a good book.

The Blue Screen of Death

eMy crazy computer is now in the shop. A couple weeks ago it was mercilessly attacked by the Blue Screen of Death, but this time there was no finding my way around it in safe mode. There was no escaping the horror. I admit, my PC is nearing the age of retirement, but I didn't think it would go out this early. In human years, I'd say it is 59 1/2. It is still kicking and active, but slowing down, and many of its peers have gone on at a far too early age, while others of its peers will go on for some decent amount of time. Anyways, the repair shop says I can probably recover all my data even if it can't get fixed, and honestly that is what I care about most. While it is annoying to not have a monitor the size of Montana, I can get along just fine with only my laptop (and my mini-laptop when it arrives!), but there were some files that were not backed up, primarily most of my pictures. At least I kept most of my music on my external harddrive... but I emphasize "most." I am thinking that the 1TB harddrive I keep drooling over at the PX has finally found its use for me: a backup harddrive. Some time in the next 2 or 3 months I will get it and backup EVERYTHING on it, and frequently update the backups of pictures and music. I also have all my music (as of October 2007) backed up on three DVD's should all else fail, but if I lost all the music I got since then, that would just be depressing.


For some Blue Screen of Death fun, check out this fun video: