Good News/Bad News

Good News:
My orders are supposed to be in by noon tomorrow and I am definitely, 100% going to Basic next week. ("You're bought and paid for, kiddo. Have fun!") I got lots of "helpful" advice over the weekend and even continuing into the week of how to best survive Basic. Frankly, I just want to get it over with. Anticipation is the worst, it's always better to just do it. Dive into the deep end and go!

Bad News:
I am sick. But I don't know what I have, other than a lot of coughing and a fever that comes and goes. I do have a slight headache, but that could also be due to either caffeine withdrawal or the fact that I just started my period, too, so I can't count that as a symptom. No upset stomach or achiness or fatigue (other than general results of Long Weekend Going Straight Into A Longer Week Syndrome and a PT test). Apparently most of the full-timers at the unit are sick - Recruiter went home early yesterday and when I stopped in to check on my orders today (I didn't actually go to work today, because of the fever, but I had a few things that had to be taken care of), the girls said both of them and the Chief were all sick, too. Yay. I don't FEEL sick most of the time, just when I'm coughing, but I also don't feel well either. All I gotta say is that it had better Go Away Fast! (My brother has already threatened me within an inch of my life if I don't graduate on time, something about vacation days burned. As much as I enjoy irritating my baby brother, I'm on his side about this one!)

Good News:
I passed the DO's test on space and JSpOC basics this weekend without studying. (Okay, I should have studied the JSpOC stuff more, because I should have gotten the highest score and didn't, much to the delight of the intel flight captain.)

Bad News:
I was one of only three people out of 18 who passed it. The student flight did an 8-hour crash course on Saturday (mostly just to see what we could handle). I lucked out in that I'd had most of it before, thanks to ERAU, but even my brain was about to explode by the end of the day and we didn't even get through all the material. Then the test was on Sunday morning. (I took it after everyone else, because I also had a PT test that morning. It's always a great morning when you get to walk into the DO's office and get "How was the test?" "I passed, Sir." "Good, pass this one.") We were kind of being guinea pigs, though, and some of the guys who just came back from tech school took it and didn't pass either. So we don't feel too bad about it. I think it was frustrating for some of them, though.

Good News:
I passed my PT test with scores good enough to not only get into, but graduate from Basic already. This is good because it means my scores will only get better during the 9 weeks I'm gone. (I missed getting a certificate by 1.25 points, sigh!) Also, my elbow didn't hurt. I mean, it wasn't thrilled, but frankly, my arms could be stronger, and it wasn't nearly the pain I used to have in it. More along the lines of "hey, wait, I'm working and I don't like work. Please stop? Well, okay, if you insist" instead of the "OMG STOP NOW OR I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET IT FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS!" that it would have been even six months ago. Maybe Basic will be survivable (and the delay in going was a good thing).

Bad News:
I still have to drop two minutes off my 1.5 mile run and learn how to do a pullup (not part of the standard PT, but used at Basic) if I want to even have a chance at being an Honor Graduate (they get an extra day pass into town with family and an extra ribbon). That seems like a lot. The extra pushups and situps I'll need I'm sure will come from the daily PT, but that's a lot of time to take off a run. Hm. Also bad is that my coughing started after doing the run outdoors. We weren't allowed to run outside on base (the air quality from the fire last week still sucked), so we drove out to a high school in Santa Maria. Frankly, I'm wondering if that's why I'm still coughing.

Good News:
I was able to take care of a few things that need to be dealt with before I leave today, despite trying to avoid the public as much as possible.

Bad News:
There is still a LOT to be done (not really, but it seems like it) before I leave, the least of which is cleaning the apartment. Sigh!

Now food and a hockey game if I can find one.