Things That Have Changed Since Joining the Guard

And all I have done is enlisted and attend a couple of weekend drills. I really don't consider myself as being a real "soldier" until I get back from Basic. But here is how my perspective has already changed.

1. World politics are a whole lot more important and scarier. Every major conflict I read about now comes with an ominous sense of doom as I judge the probability of myself being shipped to some country for what ever various reason. Hopefully the next country we decide to invade will be the Caymans.

2. I have much more respect for the enlisted man. There are about a million reasons (some good, some bad) why the Army can decide that you're not fit to join. It's much more difficult to join than I had previously thought. It's also a lot more physically demanding than I had really expected. Running 2 miles in under 17 minutes and doing 40 push-ups in under 2 minutes is a lot harder for this 31 yr. old than I had anticipated.

3. 7:00 AM is no longer early. It's actually sleeping in now.

4. I feel like I have been given some sort of secret decoder ring. There are a lot of people that I've known for years who I'm just now learning have served in the military. There are a lot of ex-military.

5. I have an extremely high metabolism. I'm putting on weight and gaining some mass, but it's a definite struggle. I don't see how people could ever think that Barry Bonds was a result of just exercise and nutrition.

6. It's a lot easier to recover from a night of drinking now that I'm exercising so much more.

7. Camouflage gear is suddenly cool.