Re:Boot Camp

970528...Didn't do 3. Ship out 970602 if I can do 3 by then. I ended yesterday's journal entry stating that I could do it "with God's help." So, first of all, I'd like to point out that my inability to complete 3 pull-ups is not an indication that God failed me or does not exist. It's not even an indication that I lacked enough faith. While I do sincerely believe that God could have made me able to do 3 pull-ups by some miraculous work, I also believe that He usually chooses to use normal means to accomplish His will. It's the same reason that, though I believe God has the ability to save me and my children in the event of a car accident, I still choose to use seat belts. When I was unable to do 3 pull-ups the next day, I wasn't really surprised. I'm not exactly an expert in fitness and working out, but I can say with some certainty that sitting around worrying all day does not usually build up a great deal of muscle. My recruiter came b...

970527...Spent all day waiting. Couldn't ship out today 'cuz I only did 2 pull-ups. Praying I'll do 3 tomorrow. I can do it with God's help. Prior to beginning Boot Camp, it is necessary to pass an Initial Strength Test (IST). The purpose of this test is to make sure that you at least possess the bare minimum strength and stamina to begin training to become a Marine. The IST consisted of a 1.5 mile run, maximum sit-ups in 2 minutes, and maximum pull-ups. Later on in my time in the Marines, sit-ups would be changed to crunches because the Marines got soft! Just kidding, it's because it was determined that crunches were a better exercise and less likely to cause back injury. A Marine Corps pull-up is what's called a "dead hang" pull-up. This means that you begin with your arms fully extended, then pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar, then drop back down until your arms are fully extended once again. Later, in boot camp, I would often wa...

In late May of 1996, I was finishing up my junior year of high school. This meant that it was time for me to begin thinking about college. I knew that I was going to go to college, but I didn’t know where or, more importantly, how I was going to pay for it. I hadn’t exactly been a stellar student, content to do the minimal amount of effort in order to get whatever grade I deemed acceptable. In fact, I put a great deal of work into figuring out how little work I could do and still pass. For example, in my Calculus class, rather than paying attention to the teacher, I created a program on my calculator to tell me just how much or little effort I needed. I entered all of the grades I’d earned thus far, and then the program would ask me what grade I was trying to earn. I would enter a value and it would tell me the grade I needed on the remaining assignments for that quarter. Some might say that I should have spent that time paying attention to my teacher. They would be correct; I should ...