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!

SUNDAY, JAN. 18

Hi all!
Thanks so much for the letters! It was nice to hear from Andrew, and the Wertz' & Rachael & Gramma too. And guess what? SDI M. is letting me make a phone call to Grandma after final drill! (training days 25-30)
It has been freezing every night (20F-30F) and at 4am that's NOT fun. We also have to sleep with the windows open and it sucks.
When it rains, like it did a couple of days ago, it pours suddenly. We don't do PT or MCMAP in the rain, but we do march. We've got ponchos and flak jackets for that.
Mom, your salon looks amazing, and I love the color. Lilly, be careful with the Nitro :) (Ruby gets the Dodge Nitro when she gets out of training, and Lilly has just gotten her permit!) I hope Winston had a great b/day.
Tomorrow we get 4 more hours of free time just because it's Martin Luther King Jr's b/day:)
Yesterday we had out first pugil stick fights and we beat the daylights out of Platoon 4009. They matched all 50 of us and all 50 of them by weight, and when we were called on, we ran into the ring yelling our "war cry", and had at it, one on one. We are in constant competition with 4009, (knowledge, drill, pt, pugil stick, inspections, etc.) Every week we have a challenge, and the winner platoon gets to carry the series guide-on (flag). We haven't lost it yet.:)
The thing is, you're not allowed to cheer or motivate. If you smile you get in trouble; that's really hard when you're riled up.
I want to be at home as long as I can before MCT (she gets off for 10 days between boot camp and Military Combat Training unless she gets to recruit, which will extend her time by 2 weeks) but the only way I can do that is if my recruiter requests me as assistant. If you would get in touch with SSGT S. or G. N. and see if that's possible, I would really like that.
This week is swim week, and we have to wear all our gear:) I heard that it's hard, but hey, we're the O Company!
Lots of love, and miss you bunches,
Ruby

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16

Hey All!
Happy Birthday Winston! I can't believe you're 12!
G & M thanks for your letter, Lily too. I got a few good laughs out of both:) I'm doing GREAT at the martial arts (MCMAP) and my back is covered with bruises from the throwing techniques. Our platoon is REALLY good at drill, and our first inspection is this coming Saturday. We also start on the Pugil sticks!:)
Yesterday a girl got sent home because she cried every night. Another, because she flunked the 2 mile run. Our company has lost 7 girls! One of them was humiliated in front of the whole class today, because she took 6 packets of peanut butter from the chow hall. The C.O. read a citation aloud about how Marines do not lie, steal or cheat, then made her sign it in front of everyone.
To answer Lilly's question: typical dinner is, meat, mashed potatoes, vegetables, fruit, bread, salad and drink; jello if you want it. Sounds good, huh? Yeah, well, we've got like 2 minutes to eat, so you hardly even taste it. I've been about to die for some pizza and a Stick Boy honey bun with coffee! All I think about is food.
Time is going by a little faster and I can't believe I've been here 3 weeks!
Yes mom, SDI M. is latina, as well as my other DI SSGT L. We have 11 latin girls in my platoon. I love them. None of them have attitudes.
I got put in the Sand Pit for the first time today, and it was for someone else's mistake. I was also Quarter Decked 3 times for a couple of silly girls in my squad. Being Squad Leader, I have to take the punishment when any of my 13 girls screws up. It sucks, but hey, with more responsibility....
K. (Ruby's bunk mate) got promoted to Guide today and is doing amazing.
Well, I'll write more on Sunday. Gotta go.
xoxoxo Ruby