Gathering my thoughts

29th June, 2004

Before the army, I never really bothered reading books. I considered it a waste of time. One day I was sent to our battalion's base to guard there for a week or so. "Get yourself a book, it's boring out here", said one of my teammates on the phone when I was on my way to the base. You guard 4 hours and the rest 8. During these 8 hours you either sleep or do... nothing. People get bored easily, therefore books are a good, efficient way of spending free time. I decided to follow his advice and bought Michael Crichton's "Timeline" - I got carried away - it was the first time I didn't look at the page number while reading, or said something like: "one more page and that's it!".

Lately, I've been thinking about how I'm gonna spend time in the army in a productive way. It would be a good idea to study, read books, train my muscles - I've got 2 years to serve. That way, after I finish the army, I will feel that I've done something during my military service that contributed to my life.

This afternoon I was transferred to the settlement of Adora. My team is here.

My mom said that August flights are fully booked, but that I can be added to the waiting list. Meanwhile, I'll ask my commander about the possibility of flying to Germany. He'll find out if it can be authorized.

Tonight my Angel replied to my SMS even thought she wasn't allowed to. She said she can't live without writing me and that she would do anything to meet me this summer!

Earlier today, the electric fence surrounding the settlement has triggered the alarm. We had to put on our equipment (I had to wear MK77 - a heavy radio (12kg's) on my back) and run uphill about a kilometer in the heat of the sun. As usual, it was a false alarm - even a bird that touches the fence would trigger the alarm. That's why everybody calls it a "Smart-dumb alarm system". I guess I didn't sweat that much since the first days in the army, the days when you undergo basic training. Hope it won't happen again.