Hell Week

Oh manwhat a week! It has been extremely crazy, and its not even over yet. The week began Sunday afternoon at four when the tradition of Hell Week began. Hell Week is something that happens the week before March to the Brazos. At March to the Brazos the freshman get the rights to be sophomores in their respected outfit. In the Corps you dont just become something, and nothing is handed to you. Everything is earned. By everything I mean everything down to the underwear you wear to the haircuts you get. To make Hell Week be true to its name the upperclassmen put the freshman into extreme levels of stress. This week they took away a lot of our things and we learned to live with the bare minimum. We took 109 second showers, (as a class of 18 males), we had to do everything VERY quickly, like brush our teeth and get dressed into full uniform without brass on it. It doesnt sound too bad, but it got crazier as the week progressed and they took away more things. Friday afternoon we got smoked (smoked is a term meaning punitive physical punishment like a million pushups, sit-ups, etc). Well, we went to Spence Park and started out by doing buddy carries, (where you run with someone over your shoulders), and we did pushups, monkey bar exercises, running, and pull ups. Then the crappy part.we had to low crawl in a river of sewage. We low crawled, then we did back crawls, and then we did 109 sit ups while sitting in the sewage. In case you didnt know, sewage tastes nasty. (And the 109 thing..we are class of 09 so everything we do pertains to this number). Well, March to the Brazos was this morning. The entire Corps collects money for the March of Dimes, and the March to the Brazos River, I guess is just a way to show what we are doing. Well we marched for about ten miles. We got there, got smoked, they gave us our sophomore brass that we wear on our uniform to show what year we are, and then we marched back. It was crazy, but kind of cool at the same time. It was cool marching there, because we marched through highways, back roads, then brush, trees, mud, etc. Then we got what wed been working for all week. But then.we had to march back, and it had gotten really hot, and we were all really tired. Well, I am back in my room now, my legs hurt, and I have blisters on the bottoms of my feet from all the walking (and running), and I have little red spots all over my legs probably from the sewage. I also only got about 2.5 hours of sleep last night, so I am very exhausted, and ready to go to sleep! At least phase one is over. Now on to phase three and four. In phase three we will earn the right to call upperclassmen by their first names and we earn the right to be called our first names, and not fish. Then in phase four we earn the right to be an actual part of the outfit, and we get our outfit t-shirts. I know a lot of people are wondering why I put up with all of this. I am so glad I cam back. I have never felt a sense of accomplishment like I do here in the Corps. You learn not to take anything for granted, and you learn about responsibility, time management, and integrity. Nowhere else can you learn these things in one place, especially to the extreme that I am learning them. I am going to try and put some pictures up from today if I can. This blog probably rambles on and probably doesnt make sense at times, but keep in mind I am running on 2.5 hours of sleep. After Tuesday everything is over, and Ill be a sophomore in B Company!!! Wednesday and Thursday there are no classes, and Friday I have my first final. I am shooting for above a 3.3, so wish me luck. Gig em, and as always, take care.

April Showers

It's raining outside. I love it. It is definitely April weather, complete with thunderstorms. And...its Thursday, meaning all I have to do is make it through Friday (which are always questionable), and then its the weekend, meaning.... dancing at MARGARITA ROCKS!!! I'm pretty excited. Aggie Muster is also tomorrow night...never been, so I guess I'll get to see how that goes. Muster is one of A&M's may traditions. What happes is that 'On April 21st, each year, on the anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, Aggies gather together, wherever they are, to commemorate fellow Aggies, who have died during the year. This tradition was begun April 21, 1903.' (<-- I had to memorize that.) So, whenever I die, no matter when it is, I will be commemorated by my Aggie family. I think thats really cool, and thats one of the things that makes A&M so unique from other universities. Lately, things have been going pretty good. I have basically one week and one day left of the Corps. Next week is going to be pretty bad, mainly because we are earning everything to be a sophomore. We've have been doing training drills lately, to get ready to train the fish next year, and I have really surprised myself at how mean I can be sometimes. I like it. :) Of course, its only when I have to be....I'm not a mean person....usually. My brother would probably argue otherwise. Speaking of...I got to see my family over the weekend. I went home Thursday for Easter. I saw basically everyone, including family I hadn't seen since Christmas. It was pretty cool. I wish I could go home this weekend for Christy's quince, but I won't be able to :( I love seeing everyone at home, but I can only be there for so long before I get annoyed at certain things. So much goes on behind my back that really pisses me off. My aunt has mood swings that really get on everyones nerves. I try to get my brother and sister away, because I know they get annoyed with a bunch of crap as well. I feel bad for them sometimes, but I tell them just to work hard so they can get out of there. They get the raw end of the deal, and I feel bad being so far away from them. I care about them a lot, and I hate seeing them upset. It is my sister mainly that is upset when I go home. I hate it. She has been talking about coming to A&M, and that would be so awesome if she can make it. We would have a lot of fun down here together. As for Tony...I don't know what he wants to do. I honestly don't think college is for him, as of now anyway. Maybe he could join the Marine Corps....live out one of my other dreams. Anyway...I've bene planning my summer, and it doesn't look very fun. Final Review is May 13th....I will go home that day. On the 15th I will start a May mini-mester class (Intro to Theater). I'll be home for arounf three weeks. During that time I have two graduations: Bridgeport and Northwest. I know like 10 people graduating from BHS and one (Maria)from NHS. Then at the beginning of June I will come back to A&M to start my Summer I classes. I am signed up for two classes right now, but I may go down to just one, depending if I find a job, and how much time I work. Then in July I will be taking more classes, probably one or two, depending on my schedule. I should get aorund 12-15 hours this summer, making me a Junior, and leaving only one year till I get my AGGIE RING!!!! WHooP!! Anyway...school...thats what my summer consists of, however it should be kind of fun since I will be living with a friend in his apartment, working, and no Corps to worry about. I'll have lots of time to utilize the rec as well, and I will have a car down here. My brother is having his quince this summer too, so I will be going back and forth to help with all the planning as much as I can. I am just ready for the summer to get here. The summer brings new routine and fun (hopefully). Guess thats all for now...until next time, take care.

Praying...And Then Praying Some More...

I really should try to post more than once a month. A lot happens so quickly and I get overwhelmed, and then realize that I haven't updated for my avid readers. I guess the last time I left off it was still March...things were still going smoothly....and there were over 50 days left until final review. Only 30 days now. Things aren't so smooth, and as a matter a fact they are very rocky. Well...I had to drop Calculus. It was probably mainly my fault. I let myself get behind, and it was too hard to catch up. I probably could've caught up, if I would have put forth the effort early, but...I didn't. I went to Margarita Rocks for the first time on Latino Night...I had a lot of fun. I went with some Corps friends, and we all had a blast. I applied for Executive Staff on one of my organizations (MEDALS). MEDALS puts on a high school conference at A&M for mainly minority students form schools around Texas. Well, was interviewed and I got the position....I am Director of Finance. I was really excited about that, and I met everyone else on staff, and they are all really cool. I am the only male. That situation seems to happen often, and I haven't quite figured out why. Last week was Senior Hell Week. It started out by all the fish stealing our Commanders stuff out of his room. By stuff I mean everything he owns down to his underwear and bedsheets. We even took his Aggie Ring and Senior Boots. Yea, well he and the rest of the seniors were pissed. We had to complete all these crazy assignments and we got smoked a few times. But it all ended Friday on good terms, and resulted in them 'dropping' with us, meaning they told us their first names and we told them ours....its tradition, and we usually address them by Mr. or Mrs., whatever. And the stealing of the stuff is tradition also. Every fish class steals their commanders stuff and they go through hell basically until they give up, or until the end of the week. We made it till te end, and honestly there were times that I wanted to give the stuff back. We had to switch roomates through that whole process also, and I got put with Johnathan (Urbanosky). When I first got in there I really did not have much to say. We aren't similar. He is a country boy who likes hunting and fishing, and 'white' people things. He's a redneck in other words, and I don't mean that offensively. People call him that, and he calls himself that. Anyway, by the end of the week we both knew each other a lot better and had a lot to talk and joke about. It was a good experience in that sense. Friday night was the start of Parents Weekend. My family couldn't make it because my uncle was still in Mexico. He went for his Grandpa's funeral. And Thursday I received some bad news that would have me traveling home for a funeral. My friend from Upward Bound, Bioleta Garcia, was killed in a car wreck in Decatur. Nancy called my phone and left me a message. I immediately called my aunt and asked her if she knew anything about it. She said no. (which was a lie, as my Grandma later informed me. She had known since it happened and didn't call me, knowing how good of friends me and Bioleta had been in the past) Anyway, I am over that part. Talking to my aunt I just broke down. I couldn't believe it. I had not seen Bioleta in a while. I knew Bioleta since the ninth grade. We both entered Upward Bound together, and we went to the same church in Bridgeport. We spent the summer together at UNT, we worked together last summer, and also went to DC as a group with UB last June. We had a lot of good memories and a lot of inside jokes. We became the closest probably my sophomore year. We spent hours talking on the phone, or on MSN, mainly about nothing. I nicknamed her Poca-Tonta...the Poca because she looks like Pocahontas...the Tonta because she was so retarded. I loved making fun of her because it was so easy. In DC she flushed her cell phone down the toilet by accident. When she appied for a job at Pizza Hut she had to take the multiple choice test...well you aren't supposed to write on the test- she did. And she had little side notes next to some of her answers. I asked her what those were and she said explanations to her choice of answer. She was so crazy. We grew apart as we got older....and now I regret that more than ever. I went home Sunday, went to the memorial Sunday night, and the funeral Monday morning. She was buried in her wedding dress, because she was engaged, and three months pregnant. They played a video slideshow with her pictures and the first song they played was 'Who You'd Be Today' by Kenny Chesney (the song currently on my profile) I broke down once again. I don't know why people die so young. I have been to so many funerals, you'd think I would be used to death by now, but it seems that it gets harder and harder each time. The part that sucks though is that I am only 18 years old. I have been to over 20 funerals and I am still very young. I will go to another one, unless I am next to go. It could be any day. I'm just scared to think of who it could be. I pray its not one of my family members. I don't want to see anyone die. I don't think I could handle it. I really don't and I am almost in tears just thinking about it. I don't know what I would do. I got to see Desiree, and after she left I just thought so much about how much I love her. She is me in a females body. She is so amazing and if something happens to her, or my sister or brother.....please God, I can't go through something like that. I am so scared. I understand what happens when someone dies. I am not scared of death, really, but I am scared I guess of being able to cope with the loss. To all my friends I love you all. I wish I could take everyone out to eat and just talk and hang out. I wish I didn't have as much to do so I could make time to do that. But I don't. So, please be careful wherever you go. God Bless you.

Well, I'm going home again tomorrow for Easter. I'll be back Sunday to finish up the year. Until then, take care...really.


OKAY....Bioleta was not buried in her wedding dress. Someone told me that, but I guess they were wrong. My bad.