Over the past week, we've been continuing our pre-deployment training in Aurora, CO.  It's been going well --- busy, but smooth.  Because I'm a list person, I feel a list would be the best way to summarize some of the recent events:

*Our two medics have been training us in some Combat Life Saver (CLS) skills.  It's been quite a while since I last had any CLS training (I'm thinking Basic Training was the last time), and this training here has been good.  I'm always interested in learning about the human body (I think it has something to do with my self-diagnosed hypochondria; how's that for an oxymoron?), so CLS is cool to go through.  Additionally, we've seen some photos/videos of the effects of combat on the body.  It's disturbing, but it's also reality, and I think that's a good thing to help keep one grounded.

*We made it through the Soldier Readiness Processing (SRP).  It's essentially a day of too-much-paperwork, but it's all necessary paperwork to get all of our ducks in a row.  And I appreciate all of the human resource folks who help it run smoothly.

*My Traumatic Brain Injury pre-deployment test is now complete.  The test was kind of like being a 5th grader trying to click a mouse as fast as he can --- that sounds odd, but it's accurate desciption, I assure you.

*My roommate convinced me to try playing Call of Duty: Black Ops on his X-box.  If you know me, then you know that I'm not a gamer -- at all.  Sure, I rocked the occasional Mario Bros. back in mid-1990s; however, 15 years later, I tend to be less-than-stellar with the advanced video game systems.  I think it's the two joysticks on the controller -- it just confuses me.  And, to go against the stereotypical military intel. (MI) soldier, I'm not a computer-game geek either.  Still, I appreciated the offer, but after two hours of dizziness, I kindly passed the controller off.

*At the prompting of one of my NCOs, I tried racquetball for the first time this week.  It was fun, honestly.  I will admit, though, that I struggled a bit -- well, a lot.  I have never exactly excelled at sports, and my depth perception must really struggle because I often missed the ball.  Additionally, I was told that I look like a maniac while playing; apparently I spaz too much.  I don't think so -- I'm just trying to keep my eye on the ball and get to where I think it can be hit easily.  

Movie recommendation of the week:  Stand by Me -- I recommend this because it's a great example of a coming-of-age story that provides good, solid character development.  I completely believe the performances, and I enjoy the depth of the narrative because there are a number of stories occuring at once.

Song recommendation of the week:  "Times" by Tenth Avenue North -- This song is encouraging and honest.  Even if you're not a Christian, I think there's still a strong level at which it can be appreciated. 

Health advice:  drink water -- I donated blood this morning, and my hematocrit was at a normal level. I intentionally drank more water than normal this past week, and I attribute the extra H2O to my healthier iron-levels.

Lastly, our team is trying to come up with a good team name.  Since there are twelve of us, the front runner at the moment is "The Dirty Dozen."  Any other suggestions?  Comment me your recommendations below.  We'll be voting this week.

Peace out!