30 September 08 - Starting to take shape... I'm in jolly old England and finally got an Internet connection yesterday, so I'm back on the blog at last. :) Things are looking up at this point. I'm done with FTAC (2 weeks of being briefed at and most of it on stuff you already know), received all my things that had been shipped to England ahead of me, and got Internet. My dorm room is starting to feel more like a comfy haven to come home to at the end of the day, rather than an alien space which I inhabit. And once I start working at my shop next week and actually begin to get a feel for what it is I've spent all this time in training, well, that'll be fantastic. :) My FTAC class visited the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial as part of a field trip. That was pretty moving to see... all those rows and rows of white crosses, and all those names. And knowing that each name caused such a ripple of sorrow and loss when the loved ones back home learned these soldiers weren't ever coming back. Here's some pics: Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God 13 August 08 - Freedom at last! I've spent the past eight months in Air Force training - six weeks at basic training and six months at tech school getting trained into my job specialty. My class graduated yesterday so I'm now in the airport waiting for my flight to go home for some leave. Since I'm finally going to be in the Real Force (as opposed to tech school's pale imitation) and will soon be traveling places and moving overseas, I figured, hey, why not? It's what all the cool kids these days are doing: I'm (finally) starting a blog. So, goodbye, tech school. Goodbye, 3:00am PT (physical training) sessions. Goodbye, scorching sun and 100+ degree temperatures (and having to doubletime home in the afternoons). Goodbye, 14 hour days. Goodbye, disgusting roommate who lived like a slob and wouldn't pick up after herself. Goodbye, horrible on-base haircuts. And so on.... I'll cut the dramatics. You get the idea. Yeah, so freedom at last. It's an odd concept after all this time. You mean there's no 10:00pm curfew? I can walk insead of marching? I can carry an item without first getting signed permission from MTLs (our training leaders)? I can walk alone without written permission? There's no room inspections? I can wear flipflops to dinner? We don't all get into trouble because of the mistakes of one or two airmen we don't even know? No worries, I won't go crazy with all this new "freedom." :) It'll just be nice to live like a normal person again and be treated like a normal person again. Small things in life can often be taken for granted until we realize their loss. Freedom's a big word, but it isn't just for big things, but for small stuff as well. Like being able to wear flipflops to dinner.