random

I really want to start writing more personally and less politically, but honestly my personal life doesn't hold much lately but dead ends and rabbit holes. But, hopefully things will turn around and I can start writing awesome things about my personal life again.

I'm picking up my mom this weekend and seeing my sisters, aunts, niece and nephew, which I'm looking forward to.

I'm home for lunch right now, which is unexpected. We were supposed to brown-bag it today, but then we realized that some people didn't have the right headgear. Actually...this is interesting (and by "interesting" I mean, one of those "only in the army" things)...

We are going to the "field" today. Literally a field, an open field, where we're getting a class on something we all already know. Now, normally we wear barrettes, but we were told we could wear our patrol caps (PC). What's the difference? Well, barrettes take two hands to put on and PC's only one. But in all honesty, there really isn't much different about them when we're talking a two hour class. BUT...for some reason, Army culture holds that the PC is vastly superior. The funny thing about this is--even people who NEVER wore a PC regularly (pre-2000) will make the claim that it is "much better." Why? My opinion is because the barrette is still considered effete as it is french. Also, much like the anti-powerpoint tide in the Army, it's an easy way for someone to gain "street cred" in terms of the Army to say something like, "Shinseki didn't know what he was talking about. The barrette should have been reserved for Special Forces and Rangers." The opinion is the Army equivalent of the yellow ribbon--a way to show solidarity with a group you're not a part of while not actually DOING anything to help that group.

Why do I bring this up now? Because there are four people who didn't have a PC today (including myself) who are now jumping through our asses to find ours so we can wear them for all of two hours in the "field". Ugh. Army norms kill me.