or "Old Timer"

Just a quick check in today, with a note that caught my attention on the way to lunch.  Yesterday marked my 13 years Time In Service (TIS) date.  That's a long ass time.  Even more attention grabbing is the fact that I am only 7 years away from a 20 year letter, with which I could formally retire from a career.  Of that 13 years, the US has been engaged in conflict in two environmentally awful places (culturally...your culture is your culture, do as you wish, not my place to judge) for over 10 years.  If my trend of deployment rotations holds true, and the talks from the US stay close to what is discussed, this would be my last deployment in the OIF/OEF era.  Weird to think about, right?  I'm not sure if I remember what the Army was like before these wars.  That ever-looming threat (motivator) of "you better take this seriously, because it's not a question of 'if" it's a question of 'when'" will no longer be valid.  Sounds boring.  Chew on that.  K

or "The Real Black Gold, I Pledge Allegiance"

Just over two weeks ago, on February 1st, I attempted to mess with the formula...and I learned a tough life lesson.

 

At the tail end of January, I was coming off the completion of a workout schedule block, and I was getting sloppy with my diet.  It's true.  Treats from the end of year holidays lingered, and Valentine's Day poison was starting to arrive.  It was getting cold, I was trapped inside, there was a lot of darkness.  No excuses though, things needed to change. 

 

At the same time, in pretty typical fashion, everyone wants to get involved with my health practices...in theory.  "So...when do you guys do abs?"  "Is there a day in the schedule where we work calves?".  Sick of the silliness, and hoping to prove a point, I challenged some of the more notorious "gotta work abs" folks to a 6-Pack Challenge.  Yes, it was a very Jersey Shore The Situation moment, but there is an embedded lesson for these misguided kids.  Bottom line, if I was going to make a showing, I needed to clean up my fuel. February 1st was the day, which translated to a January finale blow out.  My true Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday was a big let down, and it sealed the deal.

 

Back to the story.  Wednesday February 1st: no more sugary BS, cut way back on the dairy, and...dial down the coffee.

 

I made it through breakfast just fine.  A freezing cold latrine and shower area were enough to wake me up for a while.  I stayed alive through the 0700 meeting decent enough.  The 0800 meeting always puts me out, mostly because the lights are dimmed in order to better see the slideshow on the flat screen TVs (it's 2012, that's how we roll), so the energy dip was anticipated.  The next test, my 0830 meeting, was first real hurdle.  Every other Wednesday is a meeting about Plans, that focuses on 3-6 months in the future and what we are doing.  It's informative, but boring, and I attend via the computer, so it's even easier to zone out.  No more than 10 minutes in, crash, my head was on the desk.  I was done.  I had nothing in the tank.  No higher-power surge.

 

After about 10 minutes knocked out, I was able to walk around outside while visiting people and gain a little wind.  Lunch gave a small boost, but then an even worse crash.  Again, head on desk, and I was hurting.  Determined that this was just caffeine DTs, I drove on.  Not really a headache, or any physical pain, but turbo sluggish and relative uselessness.  Uselessness is not mentioned in my Duty Description.  Dinner rolled around, I ate light because I wasn't really feeling it.  Again, 15-30 minutes later almost completely useless. 

 

The day finished up, with me barely making it.

 

Thursday, February 2nd, back to the Mother of All Coffees.  Like a boss.  Surprise surprise, I have a caffeine dependency.

 

Life lesson learned: Don't just jump into the deep end.  I wasn't ready to cut out sugar and caffeine at the same time.  Also, maybe the stresses and schedule of this deployment don't necessarily make it a prime time to look to self-imposed dramatic lifestyle changes.

 

Second life lesson learned: Coffee is delicious, and it will remain my vice.

 

The K