TUESDAY, JAN 20

I sent a questionnaire of sorts to Ruby as a fun way to find out a little more about other things we might otherwise not know. Here is the questionnaire and her answers, plus a letter she wrote on the back. We are SO fortunate to have such a communicative daughter!

What I like best about my DIs is: Ha! That's funny. Everybody hates ALL the DIs. But DI M. is cool cuz you can tell she LOVES the USMC.

What I dislike most about them is: The way they stick their noses up at everyone.

What scares me most is: Hurting my feet. I'm scared I'm gonna get them hurt on the Crucible hike. The boots kill.

I am proudest of: My dead hang (1:33) and sit ups (121 in 2 mins)

The recruit I admire most is: Big Lee
Because: Shes got so much pressure on her as guide, so much responsibility, but she NEVER thinks of herself. Only of all the others.

My worst moment so far was: At 2am on my first Rifle Watch. I "knew" I had made a big mistake and that there was no way out. The regret was like a big rock hitting me. I cried for an hour. Everyone did :)

I'm happiest when: Big Lee says, "Ma'am, Plt. 4008 has granted permission to enter the chow hall, Ma'am."

I'm loneliest when: I wake up in the morning. All I can think about is hearing Mom in the kitchen and saying "Good Morning" to somebody. I'm good after an hour or so, though.

The most punishing thing so far was: Getting quarter decked!! And sitting cross legged all day. It hurts like mess.

At meal times I: I eat as much as I possibly can, and try to enjoy it.

Church is: Refreshing, happy and makes me miss dressing up.

As time goes by: I start setting goals instead of just trying to get by. I start thinking more about the girl next to me, and I start to enjoy the little things.

After almost 4 weeks I'm: Building confidence, and looking forward to graduation.

The funniest thing I heard/saw was: OK, we wear "skivvie" tops and bottoms (green PT gear) to bed at night. Well, at class last week, F. was "volentold" to stand up and tell everyone (including the CO) what the official PT gear of the Marine Corps is called. Well, F. popped up confident as could be, and yelled, "Skimpy tops and skimpy bottoms, and white socks, Ma'am!" We about imploded from trying to not to bust out laughing.

Today we got to hear most of Obama's speech on the radio. I thought he did a pretty darn good job, to be honest. I also cut another recruits' hair (not such a good job).
Right now I am at the top of my platoon in PT (physical training) which means that if I keep it up, I'll graduate "Iron Marine" for my platoon. I REALLY want it. Honor Grad. would be nice, but there's way too much brown nosing and sacrificing letter-writing to think about that right now. Besides, so early in training it's best to try to lay low. I'm finding that out. Don't worry, I'm still going to do my best. :)
I can't wait till January 31st! That's when we become 2nd Phase and get to blouse our pant legs into our boots! No more being the babies int he barracks. You see, Forming and Processing recruits wear cammies and sneakers. 1st Phase recruits wear cammies and boots with the legs rolled up at the bottom. 2nd Phase wear their pants bloused and 3rd Phase wear the dog tags and Marine name tapes. So you can always tell where the recruits are.
Today at dinner I ate: a stuffed pepper, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn and peas, a banana, pudding and Gatorade in about 5 MINUTES. Yep, with my new strategies for stuffing my face, I've risen back up to about 130 lbs. :)
I'll write soon, gotta go. xoxo Ruby
Some may know this, but Ruby would shovel food in her mouth at such alarming rates and proportions it would drive me crazy. I finally told her one day that I was going to let her feed herself with the beach play shovel!