Day Three, or The Revenge of The Phoenix

Remember, the Cthulhu cult becomes a successful business based on your contributions- so run spell check. Well, here it is the third day of the new year, and things are going fairly well so far. I'd say things are really incredibly exciting, but not really, besides, it's only three days into this year. Tomorrow we go back to the full-day schedule at work, which means more time to waste on menial tasks. But also hopefully more time to study for the NCO board exam, which I'm planning on gunning for as soon as I get promoted. Generally once you make E-4 you get a shot at it. The problem with being an E-3 when you enlist is that it takes 18 months time in grade to actually get anywhere- rather a pain, and couple this with how fast things don't move here at Fort Sill, and though you're guaranteed a paycheck, it'll take a good deal of effort to get moved up in the ranks. This too is one more reason I'm looking forwards to that inevitable duty station- I'm going to see if Fort Drumm in New York has any openings for a driver and general ass kicker, and hopefully will be wearing my stripes by the time I get there. But then again, who knows what the future holds? I can tell you this much, this is going to be a busy year.
This morning I did something I haven't done before, which was use the treadmill at the gym. This takes a little getting used to, seeing as when I run, I'm used to going somewhere, and it takes a little bit to get your balance on a moving belt, and of course when you run, you generally swing your arms (I've never quite figured this out, but it works) so you can't well hang onto the bars on the side. After you get your balance, it's pretty good, though not as exciting as a regular run. It is, however, a lot warmer than it would be otherwise outside. So there I was, messing with the speed (I found it starts you out at a crawl, and cools you down at a crawl) and checking out the buttons. There was a big red one labeled "Stop". Okay, got it. There was also something that looked like a button, but wasn't- it was about the size of a refrigerator magnet, and tied to a cord, the other end of which went to an alligator clip. So I pulled on the cord- the magnet popped off of its socket, and turned out to be an emergency stop. Okay, got it. Don't mess with it if you don't know what it is. But apart from that, I was glad to find I kept bumping the speed up- the problem I have is not endurance, I can run well over six miles at a stretch (with the way I'm put together, at a stretch takes on a new meaning...). But the point being, I'm not really that fast. Maybe due to being big and heavy, but it seems like a good deal of inertia to overcome. Not that I ever expect to run as fast as some of the skinny guys in my unit, but one of my resolutions was to knock off a minute and a half from my run time- I figure if I keep at it, it'll eventually pay off. Actually, as I get older, I get more and more time to complete a 2-mile run in, according to Army regulations, but then again, if I can score in a lower age bracket (which I can do for everything but the run), it'll raise my score, and perhaps even figure in towards yet another promotion. Fear me, I am NCO material! But at any rate, I can't help but shake a positive feeling about this upcoming year, and know full well that to a very large extent, this depends on my own choices and actions. Control is a wonderful thing, in the right hands.