One more day done, baby, yeah! Actually, this week is going by wonderfully and quick – I think going home, even if only for a day and a half, was really all the refreshment I needed to keep going, trudging down that FLETC road. I am looking forward to the rest of this course with vigor! (Yeah, and pigs can fly…)

So anyway, today we had some more fun with non-lethal techniques, in which we learned the initial moves for some ground fighting. I think it is one of the few days that I didn’t go home with more than a few bruises. However, I did manage to toss Jen headfirst into the mat and she tried to make me feel guilty all day by complaining about her headache. Ooopsie.

Of course, she returned the favor (sort of) by doing one of the drops completely wrong and landing me right between her legs – a move I wasn’t quite prepared for! I mean, I’ve been calling here my “little spoon” all this time (I’M the big spoon), but I didn’t really think we’d get to public displays of affection so quickly… oooh-wee baby!

I will point out that I wasn’t as tough as some of the other students in our class today. One of the guys took our Radi today, by smashing him into the ground and throwing out his back. We had to clear the room and let all the health unit personnel go inside with all their equipment. A bit of an adrenaline rush, but Radi was walking again within twenty minutes. We were worried for a moment there because the other half of our class has thus far made two guys pass out, cracked one guy’s ribs, and sent another to the hospital. We didn’t want to be compared to the likes of them by having a major injury ourselves. Thankfully, Radi is the picture of health and was able to join us again in our firearms class.

Firearms was interesting today, to say the least. Now our targets actually look like real people and we are practicing behind different types of cover – barrels, cars, wooden scrims…so on and so forth. Next time we do this line of fire, those targets are going to be our instructors and they are going to try to riddle us with paintballs. This should prove to be rather amusing, if not intimidating.

After lunch today we had a rousing class of Questioned Documents (don’t ask; I don’t know what that means either), quickly followed by another round of 4th Amendment. The good news is that we have now completed our entire course on 4th amendment. The bad news is that we have our second legal exam tomorrow. Um, yeah. So now I’m supposed to be studying but I haven’t quite motivated myself into doing that yet. I promise I’ll get there.

Class ended at 4:30PM and then I got to run off to the PTD building (physical training division), where I donned my pretty blue PT uniform (they’re part of the smurf suit ensemble) and played in the weight room with Jen, Jonathan and George. It has been much too long since I last tried to get into a gym. Not that I really enjoy it, but anything that gets me out of this cement prison they like to call a dorm room makes me happy. It was actually quite nice to go out and play with my classmates. I gave them all the sarcasm they could handle and I believe they cracked a few smiles (or something). It’s a gift really…

So now I am back in my room after a fulfilling pasta dinner and I am trying to talk myself into studying for the exam and going to bed early. I think I’ll do that right about now. But I didn’t want to leave you guys out in the lurch again, like I did last week – for those of you who actually read this thing anyway.

Well my dear friends, lovers, comrades in arms, family members, and other assorted beings, I think I am trying to take my leave of you. But don’t you cry. I’ll be back soon enough.

For the time being, just remember that it is only 25 and counting…