Day 1

Day one is officially done, and today I had the pleasure of experiencing one of the hallmarks of being in the military: shots.

Shots, probably the thing that I dread more than anything else in the military. I have bad a phobia of needles for as log as I can remember, and in my 10 1/2 years in the military has been on of those necessary evils.

I have received countless shots and blood draws through my time in the military and it never gets any easier, and today was no exception. Granted, it was the gauntlet like I received when I first came in, but still even one is an experience.

Today was only three immunizations with no blood draws so it was a good day compared to some. A little TB test which isn't THAT bad. Then there was my third in the anthrax series. The shot itself is different because it burns about 30 seconds after you receive it. The real downer for me with the anthrax vaccine is all my joints ache for a few days post-vaccine. It's not bad pain, just this dull ache deep inside my joints.

Then I received the infamous small pox vaccine.

I was born after the eradication of small pox in the US, so this was a first for me. The vaccine itself is a series of about 15 small pricks with a two pronged fork like tool. The real fun starts afterwards though. A small itchy open lesion that you can't itch, can't touch, and probably should barely look at. You have to make sure you don't touch it while drying off post shower.

I'm sure that over the course of the next few weeks I'll have a better idea what the small pox vaccine is like, but as of now, I'm just going off of what others have told me and what I've read.

In other news the adjustment to being on active duty continues. After the amount of training I have had since May, it's not at much of an adjustment, but it's never easy being taken from two weeks with your wife and family.

So far, I only have one additional item to my forgot at home list, my iPad Bluetooth keyboard. Thankfully my wife is going to mail it along with a headset to me. Thanks sweetie!

Until next time.