change in location

I just got a call from my recruiter today, and he said that i was not going to basic at Ft Leonard Wood anymore, I am now going to Ft Jackson. That's in South Carolina. So I don't have to worry about the running anymore, it should be warm for the most part.

address - you better write!

Well, the countdown on my page now says about 8 days left, so I figure I should give you my address. Here's what I'm going to do. I'll give you my home address, so send it there, then my parents will send your letters to me, then when I write back, I'll give you my address at basic. So here's where you should send your first letter:

DJ Johnson

216 Tolley Dr

Beckley, WV 25801

Also, I don't know when I will get your first letter so it could be a while for me to write back. So don't expect anything for a few weeks at least. Don't worry though, if you write to me, I will write back. So you better write!

2 weeks

So now I have 2 weeks until i leave for basic. 2 weeks from today or tomorrow, I'm not sure. I think I will go to MEPS on the 3rd, and then ship out to basic on the 4th, but i could be wrong. This past week has been interesting for me. I started feeling really excited about going, and that turned to feeling anxious, and then when i struggled with running in the cold so much, I was feeling really nervous and worried. I won't be able to improve my running by much in just 2 weeks, but any little bit will help. Today though, I don't feel worried or (that) nervous or anxious. I just feel excitement. My life, since i graduated high school, has been pretty much spur of the moment decisions, even the big ones. I almost joined the Navy right after high school because i had no idea what i wanted to do. Then I decided to go to Word of Life Bible Institute instead. Since it was a full year program, i was working there that summer in the skatepark and i decided that I wanted to go to Bryan College in June, just a few months before school started. Now that I've graduated college, I found myself in the same situation, with no direction whatesoever. So I joined the army. Not that I didn't think about it, because I did. I spent about 2 months looking up information and finding out a lot about it, but when it came down to my recruiter asking if I wanted this job, I thought, "what the heck, I have nothing better to do, and this could be fun." I hope you all are laughing at how ridiculous I am now, but that's ok, my life is turning out ok so far! All of that to say, joining the army is something i never would have seen myself doing a few months ago, and it's nothing like anything else I've ever done. So I'm really excited to see what I will do, and what I will go through. My PT will come in time, when the Drill Sergeants are screaming at me and calling me names. Maybe that's what I need to get motivated though...

One more thing, I was recently asked if I have my address for basic yet, and the answer to that is, I won't have it until I get there. So my question to all of you, is would it be better to get my address on here, or facebook, or somewhere else? Give me your suggestions and comments.

Update on the PT test

If you haven't heard yet, my PT test last week was cancelled because of the weather. I know it sounds weird, and I thought the army didn't care about the weather at all, but my recruiter said that the risk assessment was too high. The only thing I can think of is right now I am a future soldier, and not really in the army yet so if I get hurt, the insurance won't cover it or something. Anyway, I'm supposed to take the PT test this saturday, but there is supposed to me more rain and maybe some snow, so we'll see what happens. One thing that is a little bit worrying is that I have a hard time running when it's below 50 or so outside. since most of my basic the temps will average below 30 I think, that will suck. So what that means is I have a little less than 3 weeks to get used to running in the cold on my own time, or else I leave it up to the drill sergeants to get me in shape....

EDIT: It was cancelled again. Today it is right at 35 degrees with rain and snow coming down. But the reason that the PT test was cancelled this time is my recruiter is going to Bridge Day. If you don't know, Bridge Day is kind of a big deal here, we have the New River Gorge Bridge, which is something like the biggest or highest bridge in the country. I'm not sure exactly, but there's a big party thing out there today. So now the plan is to do the test by myself on Oct 30. Which, if you've been paying attention, is like 5 days before I ship. So now i get a little more time to get in shape! Hmm, so there is some good news here.