final countdown
Well, we’re getting there. In four days and a wake-up I’ll hit the road for the big drive north — 25 hours of I-95, 2 overnight rest-stops, and 3 planned exits to fill up on gas and vittles at Sheetz, whose made-to-order burgerz on a pretzel roll absolutely rock my world.
Aside from spending too much time on Sheetz’s website, what else does one do in their final days of absolute freedom, you ask? Well, label socks and underwear, for one. In preparation for OCS, I’ve had the privilege of expending a ridiculous amount of time, energy, and dollars on the most basic of basics. Also, permanent fabric markers. It’s like a crazy cross between getting ready for overnight summer camp and for back-to-school. You’re welcome, Hanes & Sharpie. Drink it up.
Other special end-of-days activities: sitting by the pool, sitting on the beach, eating lots of dessert, a little bit of extra “gouge” memorization, and trying desperately to get used to waking up well before dawn.
I’ve also gotten a few letters from a friend currently at OCS, just six weeks ahead of me. Everything seems to be going according to plan for him, which is about the best news I can hope for. It tells me that I’m about as prepared as I can be (if he didn’t hit unexpected snags due to lack of preparation, it’s reasonable that I won’t either, since we did a bunch of preparation in tandem), and that takes a little pressure off. It’ll be what it’ll be, and it’ll probably be fine. Also, he said the food was great, so bonus there.
