It has again been a very long time... I have been keeping busy with year end project, TEE (term end exam) week, graduation week, and I am now involved in my second week of STAP (summer school). So, i finished the year decently. I got all my assignments finished on time, smoked all my TEEs, and received decent grades all around. I am now taking English 102 for the next 3 weeks to attempt to catch up. After I get this class finished, I will have only four more classes to get complete. So far, my academic schedule for next year contains all of these courses. It's really not possible, so we'll see what may come of that. Right now, however, I am enjoying STAP. I have two 55 minute class sessions a day. One at 0815, the second at 1045. After only 3 days of class, we had our first essay due, and today we had a recitation. I recited the second half of Owen Wilfred's Dulce et Decorum Est. I really enjoyed doing it, and I thought I did decently. I already chose my next recitation to be "Death be not Proud." I'm looking forward to starting that one.

So, who really cares about summer school? Let's talk about the past few weeks...

TEE week is awesome, but at the same time, it stinks! I only have one test a day (starting on Saturday, skipping Sunday, and resuming on Monday), but the tests are 3 and a half hours long. For most of them, I did use almost all of the alotted time. It was insane. I really didn't think any of them were that bad, however. For my American Politics class, I just wrote for 3 hours straight, and I think I only stopped once to go to the restroom. After I finished my exam, I would go back to the room and just chillax for a few hours and study later on that night. It was great though, nothing was really going on, so I just slept, watched movies, and relaxed. My last TEE was on Thursday, and after I was done with that, I went to one of my friend's house in Pittsburgh. There were five of us, total, that went.

Pittsburgh was insanely awesome!! We got there on Thursday night after a seven hour drive...We stopped by Matt's house to drop off our stuff, and then went to his grandmother's for dinner (spaghetti, meatballs, sausage....all the good stuff). We then drove back to his house to get ready for a midnight hike (starting at 2200). We got into dark clothes to avoid being seen by quad riders and set out on our trail back to his grandmother's. Even though it was two miles by road back, we ended up wandering around in the woods for about 4 hours! We didn't get lost, we just enjoyed our time (Oh yeah....Matt's cousin joined us). Anyway, we wandered for a while, took about a 45 minute rest to just chill and talk, and then continued on our way. At one point we tried to go through this thicket, emphasis on the thick (with TONS of thorns too). Yeah, that didn't happen. We arrived at his grandmother's around 0200, and started an amazing game of RISK. Saunders (another one of my buddies) and I just chilled in two corners of the board while everyone else spread themselves thin...I then took over half the board, while he took the other half on his turn. We ended up calling a truce, because we really did not feel like battling it out. This game ended around 0530. I called my mom to wish her a happy birthday, and then went to bed until 1300 (this is friday now, mind you). We woke up, hiked back the fast way to Matt's house, and had an airsoft war in his backyard. After a few minutes of that, we went to take our first showers for we were rather nasty from the midnight hike. We decided to start another game of risk for a little bit, and then headed to the city. It was absolutely amazing! We walked around looking at the sights. Matt took us to the Point, where the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monogahela all meet. It was absolutely amazing. We all chilled there with our feet hanging over the water. It was absolutely amazing. We then decided to walk back to the car and drove to an incredible "hole-in-the-wall" restaraunt called Premanti's. We all ordered the same sandwhich (at the suggestion of Matt). Basically, they took a whole meal and shoved it inbetween two slices of bread - steak, fried, coleslaw... It was fantabulous. We then proceeded to wander the city a little more, we even witnessed an elderly man flipping over his handlebars on the street in front of a Jeep. We called 911, but he told us he didn't want an ambulance. It was still a rather terrifying occurance. (Whoops, i just went and played some ultimate frisbee with some friends and ran two miles, so I gotta remember where I was...). Matt then took all of us to the top of this mountain overlooking Pitt and we saw an amazing view of the nightline of Pitt. It was beautiful. Saturday we slept till about 1300 again after a late night of movies and then went to a them park called Kennywood. Sunday, we drove back to West Point to get ready for Grad Week. It was one of the most awesome weekends ever!!

Graduation Week, while everyone else was drilling and getting ready for the parade, I was starting my STAP classes. It was a really chill week, with just classes and closing out our rooms. Friday morning, the plebe class was recognized!! We no longer had to cup our hands, we no longer had to be silent outside our rooms, we no longer had to greet upperclassmen, we no longer had to use rank. I now can call any cadet by their first name and just be chill. I cannot tell you how great a feeling it is. Try to go through a day barely talking to anyone even though you see SOO many people, especially when some of them are you best friends, and then to have that reestablished!!! Oh, the sweetness of it. Saturday morning I was promoted, and I finally get to wear some rank - a yellow shield and a U.S. pin until after Buckner when I get a bar. It's great. Later that morning, graduation ensued. It was amazing, especially when they through up their hats. It gave me something to shoot for and more reason to do what I'm doing. I got to see the McLaughlin's since they came up to see one of their cousins graduate (whom I know). I went to her commissioning ceremony. It was really cool. Later that day, I moved in to my new barracks for STAP, and I've just been chilling in them for the past couple of days because all my buddies have gone their separate ways. Some have gone to air assault, others on leave, and Baker is going on a climbing trip! I'm quite jealous.

Oh yeah, since I no longer have PIAD last block, I talked to an officer yesterday, and I am trying to maybe get something third block so that I can knock out another graduation requirement. i'd like to get Combatives I and II certification. That'd be sick, but I really don't have a choice.

I'm gonna head to dinner really quick...i'll finish when I come back...

Now that I'm off Sprint, I've just been lifting and running on my own. I would love to get big, but I have decided to redefine the workout program to focus on more cardio and endurance because that is what the Army is all about. Granted, every time I walk into Arvin to lift, I rarely am able to accomplish this task because I end up lifting the way I normally did because I love it so much. As long as I'm running, though, I'll be good (I hope).

Bible Study, OCF small group, my weekly meetings with CPT Warren and JJ are all done now. I am now required to show my discipline by having quiet time every day, praying and keeping my focus on God. Those of you who wish to pray for me, this is the major area that I am desperate for prayer. I want and need to be consistently in God's Word daily, praying, memorizing scripture, etc. What I have learned lately, though, is something that CPT Warren and I talked about. We were talking about our four spheres of influence - friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers. When discussing friendships, he used the temple to illustrate the different levels you allow a friend in to your life, all the way to the Holy of Holies, which would be parallel to your innermost thoughts and feelings of your heart. Each level requries something different. The illustration caused me to look at many of my friendships and see where they stood, which ones were good where they were, and what other ones I might need to change.

For the rest of the summer... STAP finishes on the 12th, and I plan to go home until 1700 on the 17th when I am supposed to report back for FOB (Forward Operating Base) Buckner for four weeks of military training. This will include a preview of each branch of the military. I can't wait!!! It's gonna be awesome. I love the training. And, as I said before...I am trying to get something for third block if at all possible. We'll see about that. I really want to come home, but if I can get something...i don't know...

Tonight I have some homework to do, but not too much. I just have reading. So, I'm probably going to get going. If you look below, I have included some pics from Pitt and recent stuff...I'll try to write again soon. Peace out...

These guys are all in my academic company, and they are some of my closest friends! From left to right - Jacob Standley, Matt Saunders, me, Matt Linarelli, Dan Baker.

Me overlooking Pittsburgh at one in the morning...

Pittsburgh at night.