ASVAB scores are in!

Practice ASVAB: 79
Actual ASVAB: 93

I was told I would have mid to high-80's, and I pull out a 93! I seriously thought I bombed the test because of all those damn questions about fractions, and electronic gizmo's and transmissions and whatever. I totally was expecting a "AFQT Score: 53" when Sgt. Locklear opened it, so I was blown away with my score. I'm expecting him to call me tonight to let me know if/when 25B is available, or 25F, and I guess I'll figure out if I'm shipping in 2 weeks or 2 months. The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards 25F because of what I'm being told by a few people that it's more hands-on stuff, so maybe a blog URL change will occur. That's OK because no one looks at this blog anyways, so it won't affect anyone.

Practive ASVAB, and possible change of MOS?

I just took the Practice ASVAB at the Recruiter's Office and I scored a 79, which they seemed to think was pretty good. They told me that I'd most like get Mid to High-80's when I took the actual ASVAB.. which I'm taking on Thursday at 8:30 AM. Too early for me, but I should get used to it. I didn't practice for the Practice, and don't plan to for the real one. Hopefully I'll do a lot better.

My RO, Sergeant Locklear was telling me that 25B is pretty hard to get into, because there's normally a large wait list for it, and introduced me to Sergeant Whatever-his-name-was that was a 25F. He was telling me 25B is basically a Help Desk type job, and 25F is more Hardware based. I know I've read before that some RO's like to try and get some recruits to switch their MOS to one they like better, but I think 25F might be better, plus the wait list would be substantially shorter. It's still up in the air. I was also given this huge packet of questions, 31 pages long, but only have to fill out about 15 pages. All about me, high school, friends, places I've lived, family, jobs, etc. It's like a normal application for a job, only it goes in-depth on the questions. I'm having trouble remembering my old manager's name, and I don't think I ever knew who my manager was at Western Wats, but it's understandable because I only worked their for 2 weeks.

I think I found a suitable track to run on that isn't located at a school. It's about 4800 Ft. long, but it's not oval, it's kinda like a rounded rectangle so I'll check it out tomorrow. I need to buy some shorts first, and maybe some cheap running shoes at Wal-Mart; World Industries skater shoes don't work well for running track.

My Workout Routine

I'm not a professional, I don't know how to do all these great work-outs, so I just do what I know. I can't do many push-ups, and people have told me to do as many as I can, then do them on my knees til I fail. Someone else told me to do Wall Push-ups, so I've been trying them out for now. Been doing them in sets of 40-30-20-10 with doing 30-20-10 crunches in between. Do that a few times a day and you really start to feel it. Hopefully something will come of it, who knows. Besides that I've been trying to find a nice track that I can run on. I'd run around the block or something, but a complete circle on the one I'm on is like 2.5 miles. I could always run to Wal-Mart (1.2 miles) and hang out there for a bit, buy a water or something, but I have this weird thing about running with traffic. Don't ask me, I just don't like to do it. A treadmill or (preferably) a track is what I'm more interested in. Hopefully I can find one soon and figure out what my time is for a mile, then work on improving that.

I managed to talk to my father about the idea of enlisting. Surprisingly, he didn't think anything bad of it, in fact he agreed with a lot of the things I relayed that the Recruiter had told me. He asked me to look into the National Guard before making any kind of decision, so I talked to a few people in the NG. What my father was telling me (although I highly doubt he knows much about it) is that the NG is stationed in the United States. Well, the National Guard is part of the Army, and can be deployed to Iraq or wherever whenever. It might be the smallest bit safer because of the chance that they could stay in the US, but if they're deployed, which is very likely, not at all safer than the Army.

Working Out Sucks

So I figure I'm not too physically strong, so I should work out a little. I do some push-ups, I do some sit-ups, and I think I'm not too good. Right now, as it stands, my Max:

Push-Up: 15
Sit-Up: 33
Run 1 Mile: N/A

Researching..

So today I spent the day looking at a bunch of posts on ArmyBasic.org and researching some stuff on GoArmy.com. I figure that I'd best be suited with a Field 25 (Signals) job, more specifically 25B which is Information Technology Specialist. My main duties would be:

• Identifying computer-user problems and coordinating to resolve them
• Installing, configuring and monitoring local and wide-area networks, hardware and software
• Compiling, entering and processing information
• Providing customer and network administration services such as passwords, electronic mail accounts, security and troubleshooting
• Constructing, editing and testing computer system programs
• Conducting data system studies and preparing documentation and specifications for proposals
• Assisting in the design, preparation, editing and testing of computer programs

I'm/I'd like to be a Computer Science major (whilst minoring in Japanese) and I figure this MOS would be perfect for me. Not only would it reteach me Networking fundamentals (most likely Cisco Networking), working with data, assist in running servers as an Administrator, and programming applications. Those are the primary things that the the Computer Science field is based around, and I figure by being a 25B I'd be one step ahead of the game in College.

Talking with the Recruiter

I remember during and directly after my Senior year of High School I would get the recruiters that would call my house and ask me, "Son, have you thought about joining the United States Army?" and of course I told them 'No' like most people do. I thought nothing of it, eventually moved myself to Utah for reasons unbeknownst to me and have ultimately accomplished nothing. Job - Quit. School - Decided to Wait. No job, but I still make my bills, barely. I figure right now, I can get a crappy job to hold me over til School starts in the Spring, go there for four years while still working a crappy job, graduate with a Bachelors in Computer Science, still have no money so forced to either live here or move back around home, and work a 9 - 5 Mon - Fri for the next, oh, I don't know, 45 years? Retire to some place nice for 20 years. The End. So cliché. No, I want more than that. I want a sense of accomplishment, and something that I can actually be proud of and tell people about when I get older. Unless I miraculously win the lottery, or marry someone famous, that most likely won't happen.

So yesterday for whatever reason I decided to go talk to an Army Recruiter. I know a few people in the Army, and I know they haven't said anything too bad about it. I talked with the recruiter for a good hour or so, he went through the normal routine of telling me all about the GI Bill, all about the College help, pay, ranks, etc. I feel pretty confident. On a forum I'm on (http://www.ArmyBasic.org/) I wrote:

I'm 19, no job, not in school, thought about school in the Spring (Computer Science) and I moved from NY to Utah for no real reason, but I figured it was because I wanted to get out and see the world. I'm contemplating joining the Army not only because of the great benefits of it, but because I want something to be proud of in my life. I haven't done anything monumental and I feel that if I enlist not only will I see more of the world, have an adventure and help me out quite a bit money-wise, but it will increase my strength mentally and physically and will give me a sense of accomplishment in my life. I want to do something with computers and understand that no matter what job I'm doing it's still a dangerous area.

And that's the 100% truth. I'm 19, and what other job let's you experience the things you do in the Army, and make that amount of money the Army can give you? Yes, the money is nice and can help, but no one should join and commit 8 years of their life just for it. It's always a factor, but it shouldn't be the main one.