Take That Hill!!

The only thing snow's good for is skiing, snowboarding, or sledding.  I found a hill on Fort Meade, threw some folks in my car and away we went.

Thanks Chief Carter & MC1 Farr for the inner tubes!

Half of our group had never sledded before.  It's like seeing the ocean.

You have to do it at least once.

Yarborough, pictured right, rejoices in his first sledding experience.

 Yes, I realize these aren't
real sleds. ------>







IC2 Cruz, pictured left, also
went sledding for the 1st
time today.

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YEAH IT'S ME!!!!!!!

Lock down and a Colts loss?

First off, how did the Colts lose that game?  Unbelievable.  It's hard not to feel good for New Orleans, though. A couple years ago they're talking about that town possibly fading out of existence and now....WHO DAT???!!

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The weather people were right.  We got BLASTED.  Just outside my window sits 2 1/2 feet of snow.  School, along with the entire base, closed at 1pm Friday.  An hour after, the first flakes starting dropping.  It didn't stop until Saturday afternoon.

About the same time this was going on I got sick.  I'd been feeling rough on Friday but wasn't too worried about it.  I was hit pretty hard with a mid-grade fever (a guess since I don't have a thermometer) and only got out of bed to use the bathroom and eat. (thanks Perreault for heating up my leftovers!)

This place isn't as bad as boot camp to be sick.  Here, if you're sick or injured, you report to sick call before classes start.  They'll give either LLD (light-limited duty) or SIQ (sick in quarters).  LLD means you can go to class, SIQ means keep your butt quarantined.  In my case, there was an insane blizzard outside so I didn't bother trying to get to medical.

And currently, no classes today or tomorrow.  The base is pretty much shut down.  More snow is expected tomorrow...10-20 inches worth.  Again, my class is in trouble as far as photo stories go.  No one that I know of has been able to get off base to shoot anything.  They are due this Thursday.  I have faith our instructors will figure out something.

Even though as the student leader, I no longer have to be on duty, I want to point out:

Being on duty during snow SUCKS. 

I watched this weekend's duty section dig in the snow for hours trying to keep the path to the building clear.

Good job guys!

Snow Days

The weather predictors are calling for a weather "event".  That's right, not just a storm but an "event."  Wow.  It's supposed to start snowing tomorrow afternoon and continue through Saturday, with accumulation of 12-20".

This is bad news for my class.  Many of us had photo stories to shoot this weekend, and may not be able to now.  Photo stories are assigned during Intermediate Photo.  The student finds someone (a D.C. food vendor) or something (Ft. Meade fire department) and shoots a bunch of photos that tell a story without words.

I'm doing mine on the piano players at Howl at the Moon and the U.S.S. Constellation, both in Baltimore.  I'll have to try for Sunday...

The good news is this weekend's CDO (Command Duty Officer-they babysit us at night) is MC1 Farr, and she's cool  Word has it she's bought a couple of inner tubes for us to sled on. 

Last thing, I passed Intermediate Photo's only written exam with an 86%.  I'll take it.  I got an 80% on the Awards & Presentations assignment.  That sucks.  Skin color too pink on one, little blurry on another, and captions had a couple of issues.

A few students failed either the test or shooting assignment.  They signed "counciling sheets" and will be able to retest.  If they fail that, they automatically get either recycled to a freshman class or sent to another rate altogether.  Ouch.

Hang in there guys!

POV = aaaahhh

Believe me, you want a POV at MC 'A' school.  A Personally Owned Vehicle gives you greater independence which lowers stress levels... Unless you're being bombarded with ride requests.  It's a small price to pay.

My only transport is a 2008 Honda Shadow, and it's way too cold to be on a bike.  Up until now I've been taking the shuttle, cabs, and the backseats of other peoples' rides.

My dad was nice enough to lend me his car until I graduate in April.  He just bought my recently deceased grandfather's truck so now there's an extra vehicle available.  My shipmate Justin Johndro drove me in 4 inches of snow, bad drivers, and traffic jams to meet dadeo halfway (dad lives 2.5 hours away) so I could get the car.

It's not hard to have a car on base here at Fort Meade.  You just take an online safety course, which doesn't take long.  And there's plenty of parking.

Motorcycles are another story.  

I haven't thoroughly researched it, but I can tell you this.  Be ready to provide written proof of safety courses you've taken (MSF card) or face the possibility of a waiting list to retake everything over again.

Check out this motorcycle FAQ for more information.

Many thanks to dad, Kathy, and           Johndro! ------>

I'm going to get milk...in my car.