So, he's gone. Now I get to be alone for several hours every week day just as I've been waiting for. Is it as great as I expected? Eh... maybe not quite, I wasn't really expecting much. At least I get to turn the tunes up really loud, it sounds more powerful that way. But I'm still listening through headphones, I don't crank it up on speakers so loud that the neighbors hear it or anything like that.

It was the day before yesterday. At first I wasn't gonna go, but I changed my mind. This place was in a city about a half hour drive away, it was some kind of office, I'm not really certain. There was one for the navy, the corps and the army side by side. There were a number of us: me, my dad, my mom, my brother, two of his drill sergeants, another recruit who showed up fairly late and some guy who, apparently, was a recruiter; my dad and I both thought he was another recruit because he didn't look much if any older than 20. The sergeants did most of the talking while we were there, mostly explaining things like what to expect in training, writing letters and everything of that nature.

I didn't think I'd find it emotional, it's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't love my family. But it really cut me open when they were about ready to go and one of the sergeants talked about how some of the recruits he sees are just uncaring and have no respect for their parents when their about to ship out. I don't know what to call the feeling, but it was something painful. It made me reflect on how I've been emotionally distant ever since I was about 10 and how I got into all those furious moments with my mom as a teenager, and it really cut into me. But it wore off after 2 hours or so and I just feel back to my old self.

He didn't really leave that day, but they took him to a hotel to attend some kind of ceremony for the transition from poolee to recruit in a big city 70 miles away. My dad asked me if I wanted to go to that, but it was being held at 8:30 AM and he said we'd have to leave at 6 to get there in time. For him, leaving that early and driving 70 miles out for his job is pretty typical. But I wasn't down for it.

Somehow I not only woke up earlier than 6, but I got up only about 15 minutes after he left. I probably did have the energy to attend the ceremony, but I just didn't want to. After that he boarded a bus with a bunch of other recruits which took them to the airport to fly down to Savannah, Georgia. The boot camp is at a place called Paris Island, I suppose the plane couldn't take them directly to a military base because it was a commercial airline. If he makes it, he won't be back until June.

Now, it's that pivotal time. I'm getting ready for it.