Sgt. Ashbacher? Beleive it or not...

About a couple weeks ago, I decided to check out the benefits for the army and get a little bit of information. Last Wednesday, I found myself on a bus heading to Des Moines. That night I took the exam called the ASVAB which qualifies or disqualifies you for the job you want and the following day I was examined for everything under the sun that could be wrong with me and took my physical and swore in. The categories on the ASVAB include: general science, arithmetic reasoning, word knowledge, paragraph comprehension, mathematics knowledge, electronics information, auto shop, mechanical comprehension, and assembling objects. Most of the questions on the test are rather questions of common knowledge. I did very well for a junior in high school. The average is about 35 and I scored a 71. The test took about 2.5 hours. After that we headed back to the hotel to eat and get some sleep. They told me that I could qualify for any job that I wanted. Everything seemed to happen to me so sudden. I could believe that I was actually at MEPS, making everything final.

Patience is one quality about my personality that came very useful in Des Moines at MEPS. I felt like all I did was wait, wait, and wait some more. Everything was so secure and safe. I never thought that I would ever do anything like join the army. Wake-up call was at 4:15 on Thursday to get ready for the physical. We ate breakfast and were on our way. When we got there, we had to line up and take attendance. We then met with our sergeants about the plans for the day. We then started our physicals.

I learned that if something wasn't that important about your physical history, just not to say anything about it. The less you say the better. My sergeant told me my favorite words are no and never. I felt bad not telling them, but just wanted everything to go quicker. I had my blood drawn to test for AIDS and other diseases, used a breathalyzer, had to take a hearing and eyesight test, peed in a cup to test for drugs (primarily marijuana), took a pregnancy test, had an interview with the doctor, had a head-to-toe examination, and perform exercises in front of a doctor and a nurse with my undergarments on to test my muscle capability.

All of that took about five hours. I was tired and felt violated with everything I had to do. Next, I met with a guy to discuss my job availability. He told me that the job I wanted, Health Care Specialist, was open and was the last spot available. I was very relieved. Seeing that I won’t be leaving for a while, there aren’t too many jobs to pick from because the date is so far ahead. He set up all the paperwork and I had to sign an endless amount of papers. The next eight years of my life are planned. Just saying that makes me nervous. I can’t believe I committed to such a big thing. I was fingerprinted and then had to take a survey.

My day was almost over, but before I left the most important part still remained; swearing in. After all the paper work was signed, my physical was over and done, I had to memorize a phrase that I had to say with my right hand raised in front of other members of the military. Swearing in meant that this was it and there is no turning back from here. I currently leave for basic on June 30, 2010. Wish me luck.

El verano esta viniendo!

Summer is almost here and with that said many parents are worried that they won't be able to handle the expenses. During the summer, kids in elementary school, middle school, and high school tend to rack up the parents' bill with camps and summer activities. For kids that are still fairly young, not being a daily attendee in school takes a whole new impact on parents. This means that they have to have constant supervision by them or someone else. Babysitters are often needed when in this situation, but most of them aren't cheap. Some charge up to minimum wage or charge per child. Parents might need to rethink whether going out for a night together is actually worth it, considering the total price of everything.

For high school students, it's a whole new story. They run up the bill with things like sports camps, hosting get-togethers, money for going out, pool passes, and things like such. In high school, there is a lot of competition between sports players and who's better and that's why more teenagers hope to go to summer camps so they are ready for that sport before the year actually starts. Summer is also a time for the reverse affect to occur. Getting a job during the summer is something that every teenager should have to do to reduce the cost of everything.

Summer is a prime time for families to take trips to places with each other. It's really the only time of year where they have enough time to do whatever they want without worrying about time. Now with limited budgeting within families, they are debating whether to go or not. They are now searching for places closer to home where they can do similar things, rather than spending the money to travel (especially considering the money it takes for gas money these days).

If you find yourself in a tough position as a parent, there are ways to tell your children that there are other options. They may be disappointed, but assure them that everything is okay and for them not to worry. Many kids love to go to the local pool so you could buy a family pool pass, which assures that you all could have a lot of family time. Another option is to offer a trip to a local theme park once or twice. It may not be as nice as the one you normally attend in a different state, but they are sure to have a good time regardless.

Superior Relationships 101

Finding a stable relationship is something most everyone struggles with. Any highschool relationship is normally pointless and inane. Sorry to break it to you ladies and gentlemen, but most high school relationships don't last more than a week. According to suite101.com, there are seven terms you need to drill into your brain about any relationship.
· Freedom
· Respect
· Commitment
· Trust
· Healthy conflict resolution
· Support
· Equality

Unfortunately, relationship usually don't last very long becuase people fail to sustain them. There are so many distractions that can keep you from having a long-lasting relationship (friends, family, work, addicted to only the physical part of the relationship, drugs, basically anything). A relationship should not be revolved around giving. Doing something for him or her is something that should happen in a relatioship often. Something as simple as buying flowers for them or setting up a date sometime can often spark the relationship and prevent the flame of love from burning out.

Avoid arguments and fights as much as possible. They can only lead the relationship in the wrong direction.

Tearing down the projects of Chicago

Due to low income many chicagoans families have lived in trashy, public housing, but now due to the poverty in Chicago, the city has been having to demolish them because they are getting too overwhelming. Instead of having poor, low-income housing, the federal government is making better quality housing for people. By making Chicago look like a wealthier city, they are tearing down the projects in order to have land to construct million dollar houses. Due to the raised price in housing, Chicagoans are now moving out of the city to similar cites nearby, such as Cedar Rapids. There was a drive-by a couple weeks ago in downtown Cedar Rapids. The shooter's name is "Derrick Roberts who was arrested Friday under suspicion of attempted murder, intimidation with a weapon and willful injury", says the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

That shooting might be a sign that more violence is arriving in this city because of the new Chicagoans. This was something that would go on anyways, regardless of whether the Chicagoans are moving here. I think that violence is something that Cedar Rapids needs to pay more attention to. Even though it is hard to stop someone before they are about to kill, it can be stopped and I believe that it should be. I feel as if demolishing the projects of Chicago is something that the government shouldn't do because when they replace it with one person's house they aren't doing things in order to please the most people as possible, which is what they should be doing.

To see a slide show of some of the largest projects in Chicago, check out this link.

http://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF00989E1E001700992665/