Under normal circumstances I would be freaking out to make sure my room is spotless, but I don't have much to worry about. I keep my room very clean anyway, so it may take a little longer than normal to clean, but it shouldn't be too bad.
Spencer, Preston; have you been practicing your Mario Skills yet? If not you better get on it otherwise all the hype I put up for you will be for not. (Also, let me know which days you two want to sleep over so the Gamecube can be available. Or if you don't want to play Mario Party or Mario Kart (it'll be with two girls from the ward. They're decent, but they're more entertaining to beat than in competition) let me know and we can just chill in my room.)
Anyway, this past week has been pretty much relax for me. I gave double reds at the blood drive (I thought that was going to take like an hour, but it only took 20 minutes or so. And they had a little light to tell me when to squeeze and when not to, and a progress meter, so I didn't have to think at all! It was lovely!). I did well (I think) on my third Poli Sci 170 exam, so that was a relief. And I pretty much just chilled for the past few days.
I will say that Air Force was pretty exciting this week. On Thursday we had our final parade (nothing fancy. I basically stood at parade rest and attention for about 15 minutes and then marched around a soccer field and back into parade rest for another 10 minutes.) and our end of the year awards ceremony. Last semester only a few cadets won awards (we get little ribbons to put on our uniform) and it was a little depressing because a lot of people deserve awards but don't get them. This semester though, almost everyone got at least 1 award. I was able to come home with 4 or 5! I believe one was for my scholarship, the other was for being super academic, the other was for being in the Arnold Air Society (a national club here), and one for being super on my PFA (my big physical test I took). I might be missing a few but I am hoping to have them on my uniform when you guys get here so I can show it off to you!
The other cool thing was something called "Dining Out". It is essentially a really nice formal military dinner. In the past they did it at the Wilk Ballroom but this year we went up to Fort Douglas in Salt Lake. It was really nice! Everyone was in uniform and showing off their dates and ribbons (I didn't bring a date because I didn't want to/they said we couldn't bring dates until like 4 days before the end of the sign up so I didn't want to waste my time and energy trying to find a date that I didn't want to bring in the first place. Also, I didn't have time to go and grab my ribbons on Friday so I wasn't wearing any, but a lot of people weren't, so I didn't feel too left out) and it was at this really nice conference center that had nice white walls and on one side old fashion oddly-shaped-brick-and-mortar wall. It had a nice atmosphere to it and the food was delicious! The caters had super big portions and the food was delicious (so much better than BYU Catering!) We had a guest speaker talk to us. His name is Lt. Colonel Rex Vanderwood, Commander of the 647th Air Base Group and Deputy Commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. He was a lot of fun to listen to because he and our Colonel are good friends. He talked about how to overcome failure and the need to always be prepared. So it was nice to listen to him joke and talk with us. We also had a really cool POW/MIA ceremony. During Dinner and the Grog the President (Cadet Colonel) and Vice (Cadet Deputy Colonel) would make jokes about stuff in ROTC, like how the Drill Team cheer sounds more like the fashion line Carhartt then "grarat" (it's supposed to sound like a dog growling).
The most prominent thing about Dining Out is something called "The Grog". The Grog is a practice used in all military bases and is essentially military hazing that affects even the most senior members. What it is is this: Imagine a giant porcelain toilet bowl (yes, a toilet bowl) filled with a nasty concoction that essentially depends on the head table decided to be in there. It can have any number of ingredients in it; for example: Soy Sauce, Chili Powder, Lemon Juice, Jalapeno Peppers, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt, etc., and it's all blended up into a liquid. This year's Grog was essentially yogurt, like 7 different Jalapeno Peppers, and I think some salt and maybe a pinch of sugar. Here's a good example of the Grog (not all of them are this nasty by the way, and ours was liquidfied.)
To get the honor of drinking from the grog, you have to have some infraction of the rules. If someone notices that you have infracted a rule, you can stand up, yell "Mr. Vice, Point of Order!" and then proceed to explain why the said cadet should be groged. If the Vice (2nd in command) agrees, then the cadet has to march up to the table and prepare for the groging. Sometimes they can defend themselves, but most times they can't. But there is proper procedure on how to drink the grog. First you have to Salute the grog...
Then you fill up the cup with the grog...
Then you must do an about-face (Turn around) and yell "TO THE MESS!!!!!"
You then drink the grog without removing the cup from your lips (if it does you may have to do it again)....
And after this is all done than you have to tip this empty glass over your head. If a single drop falls out, you have to do it all over again...
The Final Step is marching back to your seat. But once you get there, you have to yell something that the Vice told you to say. Some of my personal favorites of the evening were "Ooooh! I like it like that!", "Never fear! I have arrived!", and "The Fun has arrived!!!"
And that's the end of the grog! Now you can be groged multiple times during the evening depending on how many infractions you break (i.e. Not having someone watching your date, not having a fully charged glass, doing something stupid during the evening and the semester, etc.). I didn't get groged thankfully, but a bunch did. Our Cadet Colonel from last semester got groged about 4 or 5 different times! Ah.... it was fun!
Well, that's pretty much it. I would be happy to tell you more. Just ask when you guys get here! Love you lots and hope to see you soon!!!!
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