May 9th

(Originally Posted on 2013/04/24 at indianajane87.wordpress.com)

I have a date for the ASVAB.  May 9th.  Hopefully all works out this time.  SSgt H believes everything has been worked out.  Just in time for the ball that weekend.  I almost don’t believe that I’ll actually be able to take it.

Aside from that news and taking Luna for a walk, I decided to test out something that would help prevent her from barking.  I found a blog that talks about training your dog and read a particular post that talked about “reactive behavior” and preventing it.  Even though I read it a couple days ago, I hadn’t gotten around to actually doing the little project until today.

Humans: 1 Dogs: 0

 I kind of like the “frosted” look and so far it’s actually doing the job nicely.  She came inside a couple times from the backyard excited because there was probably a dog being walked near the front of the house that she wanted to get a better look at… and to bark at.  Well, she got to the front room and realized she couldn’t see out the windows.  After doing that a couple times, I think she gave up.  Now if only I had learned about this sooner.  It would have definitely saved my sanity.  I wish I could do something like this for the backyard fence.

Took The Test... Sike!

(Originally Posted on 2013/04/16 at indianajane87.wordpress.com/)

First of all, I couldn’t decide if it was “psych” or “sike.”  I liked the look of “sike” better.  Moving on…

In my last post I said I was very likely actually going to be able to take the ASVAB.  Well, that didn’t happen.  I did the same ol’ song and dance of getting up at 0500 and got to the recruiting station by 0730.  There were five other people there (two girls, three guys) and as in the past, we are seen by the recruiter in the order that we arrived.  When it was my turn, I walked to his desk, told him my name and then said, “And the question is: am I on the roster?”

After he tinkered on his computer for a bit and looking at the printout of the MEPS roster, he saw that my name was on there but there was a strike-through on it with SPF and some other three letter mumbo jumbo.  So he called SSgt H.  After they finished talking he explained that the problem very likely (or actually) was that when they requested my MEPS documents from Indianapolis to be pulled, it was moved from Indy to the Los Angeles MEPS BUT it wasn’t switched from Marines to Army.  He said the computer was still showing I “belonged” to the Marines.

So he had me sign the same form that I would have been signing to take to the ASVAB site and made a copy of my social security card and driver’s license to send to MEPS so they can switch from Marines to Army.  I guess.  Hopefully that will clear it all up once and for all so I can finally take the ASVAB.  I believe I’ll most likely be taking it in LA instead of where I’ve been scheduled previously.  The recruiters believe it’ll make it easier to clear up any snafus if one comes up if I’m at the actual MEPS location.  I don’t mind.  It’ll be a later wake-up for me even though I’ll be getting back late.

Afterwards, I headed to Starbucks to kill some time.  The girl behind the counter said I had a very pretty jawline and that my hair cut compliments it well.  That made me feel pretty good about myself.  I have been struggling with liking my hair after I chopped off an unknown amount of inches a few months ago.

After running a couple of errands, I went to David’s Bridal and tried on dresses for the upcoming military ball (tried on about 7 dresses or so).  I ended up getting the first one I tried on.  It’s very elegant.  Much more expensive than I would have wanted to pay but I justified it by reminding myself that I paid only about $70 for the first ball and borrowed a dress for the second ball (free!).  I also hope to get my hair and makeup done because that’s something I didn’t do the other two times and want to look my best.  Who knows when the next time I’ll be able to wear a dress of my choosing to a military ball may be.  Well, that is unless my husband and I don’t end up being in the same unit.  I think women are allowed to wear dresses if they’re attending a ball where they don’t belong to the unit.  Not that I’m worried about that.  I’ll post pictures later when the time comes.

Coming back on post, the gate guard had me pop my trunk.  That was a first for me.  He said “Expect this to happen for a while.”  It has me wondering if this has anything to do with the Boston Marathon bombings and/or the letter tainted with poison sent to a senator.  Though I hadn’t heard about the latter until I got home and turned on the tv.  Kind of a hassle for me since my trunk doesn’t pop with the little lever inside the car anymore.  So I have to turn off the car, get out, and use the key to open it.  I felt a little bad for the people behind me waiting to get through as well.

When I got home, I took Luna for a walk.  We walked 3.78 miles, burned 318 calories and took a little over an hour to complete.

I found this Facebook page for the LA MEPS.  Looking through the pictures has me pretty excited.

Third Time's A Charm... Hopefully!

(Originally Posted on 2013/04/15 at indianajane87.wordpress.com/)

As it stands, I may be taking the ASVAB tomorrow morning.  Eep!  That is, if I’m on the MEPS roster.  SSgt H and his 1Sgt were not able to get a hold of MEPS to verify that I am in fact on the roster.  It does show in their own system that I am projected to test.  The only reason I am planning on making the drive out tomorrow morning is because SSgt H explained that they found three accounts with my name.  They deleted two and used the remaining to project me for the test.  Also, he thinks that there may be something to do with the fact that the first time I processed, I used my maiden name and this time my married name, all with the same social security number.  He said he has never seen someone have as much trouble to test as I have.  Fabulous, right?  Lucky me.

I spoke with a lady at my former doctor’s office regarding the medical documents that I have been waiting on.  They sent the request out to an outside doctor that has the files but they saw that the request was still pending.  I asked specifically if they’d be able to send the documents concerning my ACL surgery from 2004 over to the recruiting station if/when they find it and she said they could.  So hopefully the recruiting station will receive the faxed documents tomorrow and that part can proceed (hopefully) without issue once it comes time to me going to MEPS for the physical.

I recently went for two 2 mile runs.  I suppose the first one was short of 2 miles, and admittedly not really so much of a run than a walk/run.  I had Luna with me for that one.  Yesterday’s run I did sans dog.  Barely made my time much better, though.  For some reason, the neighborhood runs just kill me.  And I’m still breaking in new shoes that give my pain in my shins and calves + the hills.

Prior to the run on the 14th, I did the Rittr Labs apps for push ups and sit ups.

Push up sets: 11, 11, 13, 11, 11, 9 = 66

Sit up sets: 28, 26, 29, 28, 28, 26 = 165

I was pretty close to muscle failure on the push ups.  And my chest is sore from them.  Today I took Luna for a .8 mile walk around the neighborhood in the gusting winds.  Not really worth posting the MapMyRun image.  Anyway, I need to end this post so that I can get to bed at a decent time.

Glitch In The System

(Originally Posted on 2013/03/29 at indianajane87.wordpress.com/)

I just got off the phone with SSgt H.  He said to not come in on Tuesday 2013APR2 for the ASVAB.  There is, for some reason, a glitch in the system with my name.  He believes it’s very likely that it’s caused from the request for the documents from the MEPS in Indianapolis.  He’s hoping to get it resolved by the 9th so that I can take it then.

I also don’t believe it’ll be likely for me to take the test at the ed center on post, which I understand.  It’s not in the system as a possible testing site and it’s run by the Army, not MEPS.  And the people that proctor the tests and the sites are employees of MEPS, not the Army. I’m just glad they seem to be doing what they can to get me able to test and aren’t making me come in next week only to find out I cannot test and go through the same thing as the past two weeks.

I am honestly glad that I did get more time to study.  Two weeks ago I was worried and stressing out because I didn’t feel prepared.  I had only had two weeks at that point to refresh myself on the math sections and that isn’t really enough time to let all that information sink in once again and have it memorized.

I have the ASVAB For Dummies book, and I’ve made myself flash cards.  In my previous ASVAB related posts, I’ve also found websites that can help me with my studies.  I feel like I have to get as close to, or better than, the 83 that I got in 2008.  I definitely owe it to myself to score as high as I can with these chances to study more.

ASVAB - Mathematics Knowledge & Arithmetic Reasoning

(Originally Posted on 2013/03/28 at indianajane87.wordpress.com/)

I mentioned before that I would be taking the ASVAB on Tuesday.  However similar (almost identical) to the previous week, I was unable to take it.  Last week a recruiter said he’d call me before the day of testing to confirm that the projection was successful.  Which he did.  So I woke up at 0500, get there by 0730 and again sign the document for the ASVAB.  However unlike last week, the recruiter (different than the previous week) looked at the roster that the 1Sgt (by the way, apparently he emails it to the office the day of the test… but I guess the last recruiter didn’t get it or didn’t look?) and did not see my name on the roster to take the ASVAB even though the projection went through in their system.  He said I could go to the testing site but the chances of me actually taking the test that day would have been 5% and then would have to stick around with the recruiter for 3 hours until the other three finished.  I opted to try again next week.  I joked that maybe the third time’s a charm.

Therefore, five days from today I hopefully will be finally taking the ASVAB.  Four days of studying.  I found a few random websites to hopefully aid in my studies.

Everything You Need To Know About Fractions

Decimals

Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages

Math Word Problems

I view this as the Universe saying I better get a pretty awesome score with all these extended chances to study.  But I also hope that I get to take it soon and move on to the next step!

Today's Grand (Mis)Adventure

(Originally Posted on 2013/03/19 at indianajane87.wordpress.com/)

As you may have seen in previous posts, I was scheduled for the ASVAB… Well, let me start from the beginning.

Woke up around 0500 and got myself ready.  I left the house at 0610 and made my way off post.  It did not even occur to me that there might be school buses driving off post for the high school students.  I got lucky and was stuck behind one going 45 mph in a 60 mph zone with minimal passing lanes and oncoming traffic so heavy, passing that way wasn’t an option.  But I was patient and waited for my chance, which happened after the bus stopped to let students on.  Another car behind got right up on me obviously wanting to go faster.

I have only had one speeding ticket and do not plan to receive any more.  So I try to stay at the speed limit or 5 over.  And no more than 10 over if possible.

They pass, speed off, and I continue on my way.  Probably 10 minutes later, I see the same car pulled over by a cop.  I laughed inwardly to myself because being pulled over definitely did not get them where they were going any faster than if they had gone the speed limit or a little faster.  Not 80+.  Sweet justice!  Crazy and/or bad drivers is one of my pet peeves.

Anyway, I get to the recruiting station right around 0730.  I see two other cars with people sitting in them so I waited around in my car figuring the office was probably locked.  Around 0740 I decide to get out and check.  Locked.  So I go back to my car to wait.  Not too much longer a car pulls up right next to mine and a recruiter gets out.  I still hang back until one of the guys that had been waiting in one of the two cars comes out from the office toward my car.  I opened my door to see what he had to say knowing it’d be to inform me that I could go inside.

The three of us wait inside while the recruiter pulls up some paperwork.  We each are called up to confirm our social security numbers on the sheet and sign in three places.  Before we left, we were handed those sheets folded into an envelope with our last names written on the front.  We then leave and get into one of the government vehicles and head off stopping first at a gas station nearby.  The guy in the front passenger seat got out to smoke while the recruiter filled the tank.  The guy in the back seat with me started to talk to me by introducing himself and then asking if I had taken the ASVAB before.  Beyond that, the trip was quiet.   Well, except for the recruiter singing somewhat quietly to the radio.

About 45 minutes later, we arrive at the school where we were scheduled to take the test.  Before sending us into the room, the recruiter handed each of us his business card.  Thank goodness for that!  I’ll get to that in a second.  I go in and take a seat until the guy proctoring the test calls me up.  I hand him my photo ID, social security card and the envelope from the recruiting station.  A minute later and the guy tells me I’m not on his roster for today and that I wouldn’t be able to take the test.  My reaction was something along the lines of a confused “Oh really?”  I walk out of the room, pull out the business card and call the recruiter’s cell phone.  He’s just as surprised as I am.  He comes back into the building and makes a few calls.  He then tells me that it was a “failed projection.”

Thankfully he was nice enough to take me back to the recruiting station instead of making me wait 3 hours for the two others to finish since I drive an hour just to get to the station.  I was able to ask a few questions about jobs and various other things on the drive back so at least my day wasn’t completely wasted… right?  We get back to the recruiting station and I’m rescheduled to take the test for next Tuesday.  I like to look at the silver lining of this that I get another week to study.  And I’m honestly not surprised something like this happened because, well, we’re dealing with the military here.  You get the “hurry up and wait” and things going wrong for no reason.

And that was my morning.  I made it back on post around 1130 and was confused when the guy at the gate said “good morning” thinking that there was no possible way it could still be morning.  Long morning.  Also, apparently I had to be really elaborate about my morning and write in the present tense… or some weird, mixed up version of it.  Sorry about that.

Stopped to smell the desert wildflowers.

After all that and a giant burrito for lunch, I took Luna out for a walk.  I grabbed a bag and packed the normal dog walking essentials and her water bottle (has a detachable part to pour the water into for easy lapping) and a bottle for myself.  We completed six miles.  It wasn’t too hot but it was just enough that we took our time and took plenty of breaks for shade and water.  I’m really loving this mid 70° weather.  When it hits triple digits, it won’t be as fun, at least in the middle of the day.

Upon coming home, Luna found her water bowl, drank a little and then laid down beside it.  Poor puppy!  But an entire morning in her kennel made her antsy.  All in all, not the day I foresaw having but not terrible either.

ASVAB - General Science

(Originally Posted on 2013/03/17 at indianajane87.wordpress.com/)

I’m a visual/hands-on learner.  So while reading through the General Science section of the ASVAB For Dummies (AFD) book, I decided to look up the charts about what I was reading about.  There is way too much to memorize in the subject that even though I hope to do well so that I can get a MOS that I would enjoy, I’m not all that worried.  I’m hoping a lot of it comes back to me when taking the test.  And if not, then I’ll be making a lot of educated guesses!

Types of Clouds

Layers of the Earth

Animal Cell

Plant Cell

Scientific Method

Classification of a Grizzly bear using Linnaeus’s System of Classification

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species = King Phillip Came Over For Great Spaghetti

According to the AFD book, you need to know these three units of measurement (hooray for the metric system):meter (m) is the unit of length, liter (L) is the unit of volume, and gram (g) is the unit of mass.

I know I learned how to convert temperatures from one scale to another but I saw the formulas and barely recognized them.  Another thing the AFD book says to commit to memory. So here you go:

To convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit:

F= 9/5C + 32

To convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius:

C= 5/9(F-32)

And I’m really hoping there’s nothing on the Kelvin scale but here it is anyway:

K= C + 273.15

To go from kelvins to Celsius, subtract 273.15 from the kelvin temperature.  (I don’t think I’ll be memorizing this before Tuesday!)

I should be able to make educated guesses on a  lot of the other parts of this subtest.  A lot has to do with vocab and root words.  And a lot of it is common knowledge.  There’s also a lot more to this chapter in the AFD book but this is what I felt I needed to see visually.

Credits for Images:

Layers of the Earth, Animal Cell, and Types of Clouds

Plant Cell

Scientific Method

System of Classification

Studying For The ASVAB

(Originally Posted on 2013/02/27 at indianajane87.wordpress.com)

As I said in my first post, it’s been a while since I’ve taken any math classes.  The last math class I took was 2007 Fall semester.  When I took the practice test a little over a week ago, I felt like I was staring at a foreign language during the arithmetic reasoning and mathematics knowledge sections.  So many terms that I couldn’t remember.  All the equations I knew went with certain terms but I couldn’t quite remember exactly how they went.   If I expect to do well, even remotely close to the 83 I got in 2008, I’m definitely going to need to brush up on pretty much all areas of math.

I found a cheat sheet for ASVAB AFQT For Dummies online.  This cheat sheet specifically pertains to the math sections.  It has one tip that I used to do before taking a math test.  Before the test begins, write down on the sheet of scratch paper all the formulas you memorized so you don’t forget during the test.  Before I can even ever do that, I have to re-memorize all of the formulas.

Found a random math problem generator.  You’re able to choose from arithmetic, algebra, and calculus choosing the specific topic within each.  With algebra, you’re able to choose the level of difficulty for each question.  They’re multiple choice questions, like the ASVAB, so that could help you practice.  It took me a moment to figure out how they let you know whether you’ve selected the correct question or not.  If it’s correct, it highlights the answer in green.  If it’s incorrect, it highlights in red.

Third grade scarred me from doing fast addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  Just those short problems.  We were given a sheet of paper filled with addition problems.  Stuff like 6 + 8 and 2 + 2.  Really easy stuff.  You had to fill them out in a short amount of given time.  I forget how long you had to complete them.  Only a couple minutes.  Once you mastered addition, you moved on to subtraction the next day.  If you failed to complete the paper correctly, you had to re-do the type of math problems.  I believe I stopped at multiplication and didn’t progress to division.  I didn’t apply myself to memorize them as I should.  Instead I used my fingers to count from the equation below it that I recognized.  Incredibly ineffective and time consuming.  I’m absolutely sure I cried in class because I was one of a few to still be on multiplication while everyone else was on division.  Therefore, I am going to commit myself to memorizing these simple equations to guarantee that I solve simple math problems to save time and allow me to focus on the harder equations.  Third grade scarred me because to this day, I see math problems, whatever they may be, and my mind instantly closes off and I tell myself that math just isn’t my thing.  It’s never too late to change the way you think and view things, though!  Therefore, I found math flashcards (definitely geared toward elementary students) to practice with.  (You get a star for a correct answer!)

Better To Be Prepared

(Originally Posted on 2013/02/23 at indianajane87.wordpress.com)

Today I’m sore from yesterday’s push ups and running the past two days.  It’s funny, perhaps it’s a combination of these things, but I feel that running is toning my legs much more than squatting with 95 lbs.  When I told my husband [C] this, he said, “Don’t let Rip [Mark Rippetoe] hear you say that!”  Well, in all fairness, when I run, I’m carrying much more weight than when I squat with 95 lbs fairly stationary.  Maybe once I advance in weight for squats, and once I become better accustomed to running, I will see it the other way.

Anyway, I’m debating going for a run today or just taking my dog and the dog I’m watching for the day on a long walk (about 4-5 miles).  I’m thinking the latter just to give my knees a break.  Even though I take short strides, running is after all high impact and I don’t want to overdo it too quickly.  Like I said before, I haven’t been running consistently in the past.

Here’s an interesting article that breaks down what happens to your body during a run.  Thought I’d pass it on to my readers.  If you’re struggling with your runs, keep pushing.  It’ll get better in time.  This is both a self-reminder and one to all of you!  And if you’re interested, here’s another one that goes more into dopamine.

Truth be told, I’ve been horribly slacking on studying for the ASVAB.  I know, I know!  Putting it off will get me nowhere except maybe a MOS I don’t want.  I was always the put-it-off-til-the-last-minute type of student.  Cramming just adds unnecessary stress and I won’t remember half the stuff immediately after taking the ASVAB if that’s how I go about things.

New Blog, New Post, New Journey

(Originally Posted on 2013/02/22 at /indianajane87.wordpress.com)

I’ve decided to start a blog.  A blog about my journey becoming an Army soldier, fitness/weight loss, and general well being. We’ll see where these subjects take me!

My current weight is about 150 lbs.  At 64″, I cannot exceed 147 lbs for Army height/weight standards.  However, my ideal weight is somewhere between 130-135 lbs. In later posts, I’ll keep track of my progress on push ups, sit ups, and the two mile run to see how I improve.

For females in my age bracket, the minimum for push ups is 17; sit ups is 50; 2 mile run is 19:36.  As of now, I can do a little more than the minimum for push ups.  Same for sit ups.  Both still need work.  But what needs the most work is the 2 mile run.  I’m more of a short distance sprinter than endurance runner having played soccer for 13 years of my life.  No excuses since practice makes perfect.

I talked to a recruiter on Tuesday 2013FEB19 and got the paper work rolling.  They sent me home with some “homework” to complete for when I come back in.  It’s a huge stack of questions.  I’ve completed most of it except for the references.

Since I went through the MEPS process back in 2008 but with the Marines, the recruiting station had to request the documents from the MEPS in Indianapolis where I originally processed.  If the recruiter was not made aware of a previous DEP loss, they would have gone through most of the steps only to be stopped because instead of saying I would be enlisting with the Army, it would have said I was enlisted with the Marines, or something to that degree.  So if anyone out there was a DEP loss from another branch trying to enlist into a different branch, make it known to your recruiter that this is the case.  Anyway, they told me it would take 10 days for those documents to arrive at their recruiting station.  So until then, I’m filling out the questionnaire and studying for the ASVAB.

On my first visit, I took the practice ASVAB.  In 2008 I had gotten a 60something on the practice and an 83 on the actual ASVAB.  I knew that I would do worse on the math sections of the practice test since it has been several years since I’ve taken a math class.  The saying is true: Use it or lose it.  I most certainly lost it.  I ran out of time on both of the math sections with questions left to answer and ended up with an abysmal score of 40.  Fairly embarrassing for a college grad.

So for now, I am working out, studying for the ASVAB, and getting in contact with people to inform them that I am using them as references so they have a heads-up that they may be contacted.