Hail Scholasticus!

I can almost see the finish line from here. Two of the three college classes I'm taking end next weekend. I might actually get a chance to breathe after that. Lately, my days are filled with company business during daylight followed by reading textbooks, writing papers, and taking online exams in the evening. Saturday and Sunday are usually my crunch time - that's when I hit the deadline for most of my assignments and the best days to atone for the week's procrastination.

Tonight is no different. Fueled by gallons of fresh, black coffee and an iPod filled with Black Flag, Lou Reed, and N.W.A., I will be reading and typing until dawn. In the morning, I'll crawl to the chow hall for eggs, Tabasco sauce, and more coffee; then use my new found energy to stagger across the compound to the trailer where my bed is. If I time it right, I'll stay awake long enough to undress before I fall into my Monday morning coma.

On the upside, one of my assignments this week was to watch Crimson Tide and then answer several essay questions about the leadership styles of the two main characters, played by Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman. Not a bad gig, watching DVDs for homework. I expect to have my degree complete before the end of the deployment.

Next week, I'll celebrate by cracking open a book that has nothing to do with school and then find my way back to the gym. My trips to the gym have screeched to a stop until the end of the semester next week (I actually still have a week or two left in my Behavioral Management class, but once the work load drops to one class, the gym becomes realistic again), but my morning runs have stayed pretty constant. I've hit a plateau with my 5K time, though. I have to integrate some interval training and speed work into the runs if I want to break the stalemate.

Time to sign off and get back to the books. This has been a welcome distraction, but unless my professors start giving extra credit for blog entries then this is getting me no where.

Hellion Six, out!