All Moved In

I'm finally all moved in. Just got cable/internet this morning. I haven't done any exercising this week (aside from moving stuff), but I still managed to hit 186. I'm going to contact a recruiter this week.

My goal for the week is to do cardio every day, whether it's running or an exercise video of some sort. I was worried because this area is a bit scary and I didn't really want to run around here. My co-worker mentioned a park that is about a 15-minute drive from me and has a lit 2-mile trail. I'm going to head over tomorrow morning and check it out.

Goals for February 28: Do 100 sit-ups (broken up into sets); Run 2.25 miles straight; Do 50 push-ups (broken up into sets); Weigh 175 max.

Tomorrow is the day!

I get the keys to my new apartment tomorrow. I already have a bunch of stuff in my car, ready to be unpacked as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I meet the guy at 8am, have to be to work at 9am, and need to give myself 20 minutes to get to work. Let's hope he doesn't take too long or try to talk to me too much. I should be able to get most of the important stuff in my car tomorrow night and finish it up on Saturday morning. I think I'm going to get up super early so I can be out of here before he wakes up on Saturday. I probably won't have internet for a week at least, so there may not be an update for awhile.

Chilly Willy

It is crazy cold today. So cold that my cat is snuggling with me, and she doesn't do that often anymore. Hopefully once I have my new place, she'll snuggle more.

I went running this morning, but didn't do so hot. I think I mentally gave up. I've hit a running plateau and I need to figure out how to break it. Maybe the recruiter will have some tips when I talk to them. I need to hit 185 before I do that, though.

Reading: I'm reading The Ugly American. It's pretty good so far.

New Apartment

I just got back from looking at an apartment. I think it's going to be great. It's a 2 bed, 1 bath; small, but not too small. The carpet is kind of ugly, but it's not dirty or anything. It's in a fairly quiet area, and the neighbors connected to the apartment are both female. One of the nice things about the place is that the walls separating the apartments are solid concrete, so no hearing everything they do/say. The only big issue is that it's far enough out in the country that there are no sidewalks, but I can just run on the road.

Initially, rent was $550 and they required first, last, and security, plus the $50 application fee. There was also a washer/dryer hookup, but no washer/dryer. Since it's just me and my cat, they dropped the rent to $500 per month, with just first and security. They waived the app fee. The manager also agreed to put in a washer and dryer at no extra charge. They do require a year's lease, but he said it shouldn't be a problem to let me drop it early, and if not, I can probably just sublet it for a couple months.

And here's the icing on the cake: the guy who does the maintenance (and who showed me the apartment) is a former Marine! He said it was the best time of his life, even though he was wounded. I mean, what better sign could I ask for that this is the apartment I should get? He also offered to help me move if I needed a truck and when I said I had no furniture, he said he'd hook me up! I'm definitely getting this place... now I need to work up the courage to tell my roommate/landlord...

More Thoughts: Officer vs Enlisted

I've been doing some more research on enlisted to help me make my decision, and the more I look, the more excited I get about it. The thought of boot camp is still scary, but I'm pretty sure that's only because I've had it in my head that OCS is mostly class time and not as much PT, which is wrong. I actually think I'd do pretty well in boot camp, but not so much in OCS.

Initially, the MOS fields I was focusing on were Intel, SigInt, and Linguistics. The more research I do, though, the more interesting 0861, 18xx, and 1371 appear. Linguistics is looking less and less thrilling at this point. I think it'd be nice to do something I don't normally incline to, something outside my comfort zone. I have time to figure it out, though.

The main turn-offs at this point for going enlisted are: a) the money, b) my cat (though I'm becoming more resigned to the fact that she'll end up at my mom's and will most likely die after getting hit by a car. Maybe my mom will actually try to keep her safe until I can take her again.)

Officer vs Enlisted

I figured it's time to lay out the pros and cons for Officer vs Enlisted so that I can start getting my head straight on this thing. I've been thinking if I could get in shape by the end of May, I'd have enough time to fill out all my paperwork, get my waivers, get approved, and go to OCC in October. However, I was on MarineOCS.com tonight, and one of the threads talks about how competitive June is, and how you have to have a really good PFT score to get in. I know I won't have a great PFT score by June and by that time, the October class will probably be pretty full. I really really really don't want to have to wait until June 2010 to join the Marines, so my dilemma now is do I try for officer and possibly be hosed until next June, or do I just go enlisted, put in a solid four years, then shoot for officer?

To be honest, I kind of want to go enlisted first, but officer seems the smarter choice (and everyone I talk to seems to think I should go officer). Here are my pros for both.

Pros for Enlisted:
-Can go to boot sooner
-Can go to boot without a 275 PFT
-Will be guaranteed a job in a specific MOS
-Will actually get to do that job instead of just supervise
-Can do OCS in four years when I'm 32

Pros for Officer:
-Make about $13k more than enlisted
-Get my own place (hopefully), possibly allowing me to have my cat sooner (I may never get to have my cat again if I go enlisted)
-My B.S. will mean something more than E-2

I'm going to contact the OSO next week to hopefully get a better idea of what my chances are like so I can plan for the future.

Tuesday Update

Today was a decent day. I woke up this morning and went for a walk/run. It was cold and rainy, but I like running in that type of weather. I felt really good and thought I ran for a mile and a half, but when I tracked my route on MapMyRun.com, it was only 1.3. I'll definitely be able to do 1.5 on Thursday, though.

Short-Term Goal Reached

I weighed myself this morning and I've lost two more pounds. I'm now at 190. That was my first short-term goal, so I rewarded myself with a new Run to Cadence soundtrack. I got the U.S. Marines, Vol II.

I went running today, too. I've decided to focus on distance on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and speed on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I wasn't able to reach the 1.5 mile mark, but I will by the end of the week. Then next week will be 2 miles, then 2.5, and so on. I really wish I hadn't slacked off for the last two months, but all I can do is try my best now.

I joined a Biggest Loser challenge on SparkPeople, so I'll have a group of people that will be counting on me to lose weight. I think that will help a lot, along with the realization that if I don't get in gear, I won't be able to go to OCC in October and I'll be stuck here until next May. That thought really sobered me up (figuratively) and made me realize I need to buckle down. I will be on that bus in October.

Tattoo Idea

So, I've always wanted a tattoo, but could never come up with one that I would want on my body forever. I was laying in bed reading the other night when I had a vision of a variation on the Eagle, Globe & Anchor. If someone can actually do it (and I'm sure someone out there can), it would be awesome and I would be proud to have it etched in my skin forever. Now, I just need to earn the title of Marine so I can actually have it done!

On another note, I've decided to re-start the Couch to 5k plan, using distance instead of time. I'm starting at Week 5. That will get me running 3 miles, even if it's a slow 3 miles.

Thursday Update

Well, OSU lost on Monday, but that's ok. They put up a good fight. There's always next year!

I went running this morning. I did 20 minutes straight for the first time in over a month. Not amazing, but not too shabby. I'm doing better on push-ups, too. I've started doing them in the morning instead of before bed, and I find it easier to remember them. I'm going to start throwing in some crunches on Sunday.

I'm also looking at an apartment either this weekend or next week. It sounds nice. If it is, I'll have to figure out how to tell my roommate. That could be rough. We'll see.

OSU vs Texas

So, my team (OSU) plays tonight. I really love the Bucks, but I'm a little less than convinced that they'll win tonight. It would be such a wonderful end to the season if they did, though.

I was lazy this weekend and played Call of Duty Saturday and Sunday (first COD 5, then COD 4. COD 4 is a thousand times better). I didn't run at all, but I'm going to tomorrow. I'm going to run for at least 22 minutes. Wednesday, I think I'm going to go for a short run and try to make it faster than my normal runs. Maybe the same for Friday, we'll see how it goes.

A Good Start to a New Year

Happy New Year everyone! Here's hoping all our troops have a safe and happy start to the new year.

This year is off to a good start for me so far. I weighed myself this morning, and I've lost two pounds! I went out for 50 minutes (2o of them running). And lo and behold, right now turned on the Rose Parade, and guess who the first people I see are. Marines! The USMC Mounted Marines (I doubt that's their official name). That was a pleasant reminder of what I'm working for this year.

I've come up with another resolution, as well. I'm going to post at least three times a week, whether it's an update, Marine Corp-related, or just something interesting I've found.