It's been awhile

I just read an email from "Kim" asking me if I was ok, if I had been called back up, and to please post an update. Sorry it's been a really long time since my last post! I did start my first semester of college at the University of Missouri in Columbia and it went great. I got straight B's which was a little disappointing but not unexpected. A lot went on that really kept me from focusing enough on school. As some of you know I met a wonderful guy, Rick, while deployed last year. When we got back to the States we made a few visits back and forth from my home to his in Colorado. We really wanted to give the relationship a chance in the real world. Well things were better than ever! He went Active Duty and was stationed in Tennessee. During my semester at school I made a ton of trips down there and we ended up getting married March 31st. Two days after the wedding I had to rush back to make it to class on time, weird right? I finished out the semester and moved to Tennessee with him. Last week Rick deployed again and I have come full circle. I am back in Missouri and just signed up for classes at Columbia College. I am looking to at least get my A.A. knocked out while he's gone. Wish me luck...

Scare tactics in the Army

As many of you know I just came back in October from a year in Iraq after being called up out of the IRR. Well I'm trying to live out the last 9 months of my IRR contract quietly and concentrate on school. This week was going pretty well...my boyfriend, Rick (we met in Baghdad), came to visit on the way to his first duty station. I took a couple exams and did pretty well. All in all I was feeling pretty good about life in general. Then I got a call from my IRR Career Counselor who asked me to come in to talk to him since the IRR is making some big changes. As it turns out the IRR realized they had a very ill-prepared Inactive "Ready" Reserves force and they are changing the whole system. Now it will be called Individual Warriors and we'll have to muster 1x a year, get PT tests, and be ready for more stateside call ups. No problem, great idea...at least I'm done in like 9 months. Now I was told that I'm nondeployable for 1 year after returning from a deployment and I asked him if this changes that. He said yes! He said that since technically the component is changing I will once again be deployable, less than 6 months since returning. I think he's lying to me to try to get me to join a Reserve unit till my time is up (he says he can guarantee 2 yrs of nondeployability) and I think it's very messed up! Tell me what you think...

The first of many mistakes

All right...a lot has happened since I last posted. I have since readjusted to normal life, become a total bum for the last couple months and become a bit of a jet setter. Southwest.com has been hooking it up on $50 fares! I've travelled back and forth between home in Missouri and visiting my wonderful boyfriend in Colorado. I have definitely been making the most of my time before college! Rick took me snowmobiling for the first time(so awesome!), to a hockey game (the Avalanche won!), and to the best New Years party at his dad's. This has been more than I ever hoped for my 3 months in between Iraq and school.

But, alas, reality had to set in eventually and I had to buckle down and get ready for school on Tuesday. I was stupid and didn't sign up for the first Winter Welcome so when it came time to sit down with an advisor and pick classes I realized what slim pickings an incoming freshman has. I expected to have all sorts of math and science type classes...I didn't get those but I think I got even better! I got an intriguing sounding Ethics class: Social Deviance. I totally dig the idea of this class, I think I'll like it. I also have an English class that will introduce me to a bunch of literature I've been meaning to read anyway. Things happen for a reason...I wanted to see Rick so I missed the first Winter registration but I think I will like these classes more anyway.

I got a good dose of duh the other day trying to buy schoolbooks. I went to the bookstore a week before classes start and priced out all the used books then went online that night to see if I could beat the prices. Within 3 hours when I went back to make the purchases they were almost all sold out! I bought the last 2 that were still better priced than the bookstore which were a great buy! If you need books check out www.bradsbooks.com cause they were awesome. I saved $50 on the 2 books and they arrived in great condition within 3 days, I was floored. Anyway, I went back to the University bookstore to buy the others and found that almost all their used copies were gone as well! I didn't have enough time to order them online by that point so I had to buy new...suckee. Oh well, I learned the hard way and I'll remember next semester for sure. And I have all my books (yay!) and have already started reading the preface in each. Can you tell I'm a little excited to start school? Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me, I start Tuesday and will blog again to let you know how it goes!!

Donate to my college fund!! pleasepleaseplease??

Kay, before anyone gets annoyed with my new “Donation” button on the right, let me explain. I am starting college in January at the University of Missouri – Columbia and the military will be able to help me out with some of the costs of my first year but after that I’m on my own. I read a neat story about a college kid in Boston back in the 90’s who got a short piece in the Boston Globe. He asked everyone in the city to donate a penny to his college fund. He got a bit of publicity from the paper and the local news station did a small piece on him. Well a bunch of people sent him pennies and more. He was able to pay for college and even had enough extra to donate it to the local Boys and Girls club. Now I don’t know if I can get that much publicity but I do know that if everyone who reads my blog can take a minute to donate anything (a penny, a quarter, a dollar) then it really can help a lot with the costs of college. I also thought it would be an easy way for family and friends to help me do something good for myself. So I am hereby asking everyone to stop giving traditional birthday presents or Christmas gifts. Instead, pleasepleaseplease take just a minute to donate to my college fund instead. It’s through Paypal, one of the most secure online payment methods. It’s easy to do with a credit card and only takes like 2 minutes. I really appreciate anything anyone can spare…even just a penny. You can also check out my Iraq blog and see how everything goes this last month or so!

From war to college

Just a little background:

I've been in Baghdad, Iraq since November 2005 and will be back in the States sometime in October. I used my time in Iraq to pay off all my debt and get ready to finally start college. I just found out that I've been accepted at the University of Missouri - Columbia and couldn't be more excited! I graduated high school in 1999 and am just now staring college. At this point I think I want to go for communication (maybe for a future Public Relations job?) or teaching. I'm not 100% sure what I want to do but isn't that half the fun of being a freshman? Knowing I still have time to decide? I hope you enjoy my blog and have a good time sharing in my next four years. It all starts in January so I've got until then to find all the college money i can. If you have any good suggestions on how to find grants and scholarships, please let me know. Thanks for reading...talk to you again soon!

~Stacy