He Went Where?!

One of the several reasons I was drawn to Arsenal when I first became a fan was a certain French player known as Thierry Henry. Actually, his skill was probably the only reason I started tracking Arsenal and then I fell in love with other aspects of the club.

Anyways, a few years ago the legendary Henry moved to Barcelona, a semi-favorite team of mine, and although he was good, Barcelona has a lot of stars and Henry didn't shine like at Arsenal.

This summer I was in basic training for the army. A soccer fan stuck without soccer news in a World Cup transfer window. I knew I was bound to miss some transfers, but I thought I had been pretty much caught up back in September (had a few surprises there, but none too drastic).

Yesterday I found out I had not been completely caught up. While I was learning to be a soldier, Thierry Henry transferred to Red Bull New York. The MLS. The US. There must not have been a lot of fanfare about it because it took me six months to find out.

I guess Henry's move shows that US soccer has a long way to go. Yes, we can get excited over David Beckham, but Henry's career is just as illustrious. And he's actually won a World Cup Trophy.

I don't know if I can accurately describe the shock that came over me with the news of Henry's transfer. I now finally realized why I hadn't been hearing about him at Barcelona. He wasn't there. He's in the US. You can probably figure out what I'm gonna try to do with some of my summer with Henry playing in the MLS......

What I learned in BCT Land

-Almost every difficulty is 90% mental
-Its harder to throw a grenade than in the movies than what they show. It's harder to do a lot of things than what they show in the movies. And after basic you know what is going on in movies and you critique it.
-Moving and shooting is a lot of fun.
-Run every comment through the internal hamster before saying.
-Being dependable earns you respect, but it also means you end up with extra duty while covering for people.
-Attention to detail. I can't say that one enough.
-It is possible to go 2 months with jello and chocolate milk as your only desserts.
-Adapting to change makes you 500x stronger.
-Don't trust the DFAC menus: you'll be disappointed when they don't have whatever the menu said they would.
-It is possible to sleep IN, not ON, your bed and still make it quickly in the morning.
-Sleep deprivation sucks.
-2 months without soccer news is a long time and it is a big deal; especially during a World Cup and a post-World Cup transfer window and kit changes.
-Dripping beads of sweat is possible on a daily basis. SC had one of the hottest summers on record.
-Every drill sergeant says their way is the correct way. Sometimes you change methods based on who is around.

The Best Cookie I Ever Had

Step, heel, step, heel, step, heel, step. My tray was parallel to the marching surface and I was at chow hall attention. 9 weeks into basic training and my platoon and company was finally allowed to eat desserts. My luck meant there was never any desserts left by the time I got through the line. But that one fateful evening, my luck changed. There were M&M cookies. That was the best cookie I ever ate. It was just a packaged,generic cookie, but 9 weeks without one made it taste wonderful. I know I've tasted better cookies, but deprivation makes everything taste better. Jello and chocolate milk can only last one so long. And don't even get me started on the day there was breaded shrimp for lunch. I ate mine and someone else's.

In other news, Arsenal drew with Sunderland 1-1 today. Tomas Rosicky came on as a sub for Cesc Fabregas who was injured. I love Rosicky, but I hope Fabregas's injury isn't too serious. He's a vital part of Arsenal right now. Nebraska absolutely kicked Washington's butt in college football. I got grape tomatoes from the commissary and they are amazing. Tomorrow is Sunday and I have nothing planned except to go to chapel.

Answered

Remember that post the other day about God keeping his promises? Well, I have a story from basic that God keeps his promises and answers prayers. The night before the 12k full gear foot march God and me were talking. I wasn't too sure I would be able to make it because full gear meant carrying around half of my bodyweight. The next morning I woke up with the Backstreet Boy's song "Yes I Will" in my head. The chorus part that says "Yes I will take your hand and walk with you." God walked the entire 12k with me. I don't know if I would have made it without him. I made it with the wonderful mega-huge blisters on my heels. I got my answer. And we got to change into pt's early that day.

The Game

It killed me to have to leave for basic in the middle of a World Cup. I almost cried the day I received the final results in the mail form my parents because I was so happy to get them. Spain 1-0 Netherlands. I wish I could have seen that game and a bunch of the others leading up to it. I watched Spain 1-0 Portugal the night I was at MEPS and it was such a beautiful game. Even with C. Ronaldo playing.
I also spent a lot of time thinking about Arsenal. On runs I would tell myself I was keeping up with T.Rosicky. I sang the Theo Walcott chant in my head almost daily. My weapon was christened Arsne Wenger. I wondered about transfers and what the new kits looked like. Seeing what happened during the transfer window shocked me a little, but I'll get used to it and the new players we got. Surprisingly, the home kit that was leaked in June was almost accurate so that wasn't a shock. The white collar will take some getting used to for me, but its a sweet kit.
I missed being able to kick a ball around. I missed the game. And the first thing I did when I got my cell phone back was check the scores.

Promises

The only good message I heard in chapel in basic was given by a chaplain candidate at the beginning of my week 6. It was taken form Joshua 14.6-15 and discussed Caleb's waiting 45 years for his promised land. The chaplain's 3 points went something like this:
-Stay Positive
-Stay Patient
-Stay Persistent
It's crazy to think that Caleb waited 45 years to get his promised land. He watched his generation die but still kept going. It must have been tough to watch everyone you know die. Anything I went through in basic couldn't have been as hard as what Caleb went through. So I too, could stay positive, patient, and persistent in my prayers. God keeps his promises.

Chapel in basic was interesting. At 0930 there was a Bible study that was a lady going through a dvd series on the basics of Christianity. At 1100 real chapel started. We sang, mostly really simple choruses like "Lord I Lift Your Name On High" and the chorus to "How Great is Our God". Then we had a short devotional type message. There were several times I didn't agree with how the text was used and sometimes I didn't get the point of the message. Then there was the week It was basically a candidate talking about how she wouldn't have been in the army if it wasn't for God. At the end of the service there was a altar call for salvation and rededication. The first few weeks there were loads of people going up for both sides, but as the weeks progressed most went up for rededication. Chapel wasn't much for the good spiritual diet, but when you barely have time to think its about all you can manage.

Guess Who's Back

Two and a half months and I'm back and hopefully posting more. Basic was a lot of fun, but hard at the same time. I definitely wouldn't do it again if I had the choice. I'm in AIT now and have a laptop to post from. A mac to be specific. I'll write more later about my experiences at basic. I was so happy to hear of the World Cup results a week after they happened and I got so excited when I was able to see the Arsenal results last week.