Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, Its Into The Field We Go!

Last weekend, San Antonio finally got rain!  It was crazy, each storm only lasted about 15 minutes but they were complete down pours and everything flooded!  The city has little or no drainage system so all the water pools in the streets.  It only takes a couple of minutes of hard rain for there to be standing water everywhere!  Thankfully the rain doesn't last long and the water quickly evaporates.  We were planning to go to Sea World but when the rain came we cancelled that trip and went to the Wax Museum, Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not Museum, and the Alamo.  We also saw the movie, Contagion, which was really good!  If you go to the Wax Museum and Ripley's you can buy a combo ticket for both.  If you buy it at the Ripley's museum it's $20 with a military discount.  If you buy it at the Wax museum, it's only $5 with the discount.  Don't know why, but we weren't complaining because after we walked through both museum's we decided they weren't even worth the $5 we spent!  Maybe our expectations were too high, I don't know but they weren't very entertaining.  We then walked across the street to the Alamo...good thing that place is free because it's really boring.  I've been there once before, in high school, but didn't really remember it.  Now I know I didn't remember it because it only took us 5 minutes to walk through the entire thing! 

Our last week in the classroom is FINALLY behind us!!  It seems like it took forever but it actually went pretty quickly!  It was a really busy week for everyone.  We started off Monday morning in the classroom and then had PMI in the afternoon.  PMI is Preliminary Marksmanship Instruction.  We marched to a field area on post and learned all about the M-16's.  We then go to practice clearing them, assembling, disassembling, and doing a functions test.  It was hot out but it was nice to be doing something that wasn't sitting in the classroom listening to powerpoint presentations.  We also practice two different drills to work on aim and breathing.  Tuesday we had an initial ASU inspection.  We all got dressed and one of our cadre gave us a quick once-over so we could make any last minute corrections before the actual inspection on Friday. 

(This is me in my ASU!)

We had a lot of homework and stuff due this week since it was our last chance to get everything done before we leave for the field.  If you can, try to get the online training done early and get it out of the way.  There are three different courses you have to do, CRM (Composite Risk Management), Terrorist Awareness, and GAT (Global something something).  The cadre wait to assign all the homework until the last week, it's frustrating because I would have liked to have been working on it sooner but oh well.  There is also a presentation everyone has to do, it's 5-7 minutes on whatever topic you want relating to the Army or health care.  I chose the History of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  Seemed interesting enough and wasn't too hard.  There was time set aside in the schedule on Thursday, Friday, and Monday before we leave for the field to get all of these done but our cadre didn't want to wait so over the last two weeks we've been doing some every day and by Tuesday of this week, we were completely done and got out early on Thursday and Friday!  If you are a nurse, there is additional homework for the Nurse track due this week also, although ours got delayed because they don't have the computer system set up correctly right now. 

Wednesday was a really long day.  We were in the classroom all day and then we had to attend a Commanding Generals reception in the evening.  Our entire company had a meet-and-greet with several of the Colonel's and Commanding General.  Each person was introduced to one of the Colonel's, we chatted briefly and then we were all able to walk around and mingle with some other brass in the Battalion.  It was ok, but we were all really tired and wanted to go home and eat and study for our final. 

Thursday was a short day since we were done with our presentations already.  The morning started out with EST 2K (Engagement Skills Trainer 2000).  This is a simulation weapons range.  We practiced zero-ing our weapons and did a practice qualification on the range.  One thing I learned is that I really suck with the M16!  A total of 40 rounds is used for qualification, 20 rounds in the prone supported position (on your stomach, weapon resting on sand bags), 10 rounds prone unsupported (removing the sand bags) and 10 rounds kneeling.  If you hit less than 20 targets you don't qualify, 20-29 is marksman, 30-34 is sharpshooter, and 35-40 is expert marksman.  Well they didn't explain very well the lanes on the range and I'm pretty sure my first 20 rounds I was shooting at someone else's targets.  Needless to say, I did not qualify.  We don't actually have to qualify to pass BOLC and even if you do "qualify" it doesn't mean anything.  We have several more opportunities to practice next week in the field though.  After M16's, we moved on to M9's-handguns.  Unlike the M16's, I did awesome with the M9!  Out of 42 rounds, I hit the target every single time and only about 3 shots were outside of center mass.  The instructors were telling everyone to watch out for me...I was just happy I wasn't completely inept at shooting! 

HHG (Household Goods) shipped.  It's quite a process filling out all of the paperwork correctly and getting it submitted to the right office so they can send movers but I think I got everything squared away.  After lunch we had a quick brief in the classroom then went outside to practice our inspection D & C (drill and ceremony).  There are lots of specific things you do for an inspection, different commands that you don't normally get when you're in formation so we had to make sure everyone was on the same page so we didn't look stupid in front of our Captain. 

Friday we started off the morning with our ASU inspection, and we looked pretty good.  Everyone knew what was going on and we brought the whole show together pretty smoothly for it being the first one.  After the inspection we had our final (yes, there is a mid-term and final for the classroom portion but it's pretty easy and they give you a review that tells you exactly what to study).  All you have to do is pass with a 70% or better--50 questions, that means you can get 15 wrong and still pass!  On each the mid-term and final we only had one person in the class fail (and no, neither time it was me...)  If you fail, they just make you take it again until you pass...there aren't any real consequences for not passing stuff at BOLC because they don't want you here any longer so they do everything they can to push you out the door to your next duty station.  Since we were already finished with our presentations, once the final was over, we got our weekend safety brief and were done for the day about 1100. 

Kinsey and I ran a bunch of errands in the afternoon.  Lots to get done before we head out to the field and a few last minute things to buy.  Then we went and got massages at the spa on post.  It was pretty nice, even though I'm a little partial to my personal massage therapist back home, the lady did a good job.  After that Kinsey and I grabbed some dinner at Taco Cabana.  One of the cadre told me they had great margaritas so we figured we'd better try the place out.  Lucky for us, we showed up during happy hour so the margaritas were only $1.50!  Pretty good too and I don't really like lime margaritas.  Taco Cabana is interesting, it's basically fast food with a liquor license, but the food is far better quality than fast food.  After dinner we went across the street to see Lion King 3D in the theater.  What a great movie!  We enjoyed singing along to all the songs, even though there were lots of little kids in there, we had a good time.

Today Kinsey and I went to the San Antonio Zoo!  It's a pretty nice zoo, quite a wide variety and lots of vegetation and good exhibits.  I give it 4 stars out of 5.  There are only 2 zoos that have 5 stars, the Franke Park Zoo in Fort Wayne, IN and the St. Louis Zoo.  San Antonio did a good job though.  Tomorrow we have to finish getting our gear ready to throw on the truck for the field and then we are heading out Monday evening.  We come back on Friday's, have the weekend off and then leave on Monday again.  That will be the drill for the next three weeks.  We have land navigation, and shooting this week as well as some other random stuff.  I'm looking forward to it, should be a good time!  This is getting far too long so I'm done for now. 



    

Week 4: So Close...To The Half Way Point...

We just completed week 4 of training.  Only one more week in the classroom then we are headed out to the field.  We only had 3 days of actual powerpoints this week but it felt like it dragged on forever!  Monday and Tuesday were both SRP days.  I got my official military ID on Monday, nice to finally have that and Tuesday was immunizations.  I thought I was doing myself a favor by bringing a copy of all my immunizations with me to training in the hopes that I wouldn't have to get them again.  I was wrong.  Apparently, the military doesn't recognize any immunization before the age of 12.  Dumb.  I had to get 2 in each arm, a TB test in my forearm, and then they drew blood for titers.  So he started in my right arm, blew the vein and then moved to my left arm.  So I got stabbed a total of 7 times.  Not fun.  On top of that, the person in line before me got the last Hep A vaccine before they ran out.  So after we finished waiting around at one place, I had to spend half my afternoon running around to other various locations trying to get my last vaccine.  One thing I did learn about the military is it's very easy to not have to do your job.  If someone comes up to the desk you are working at and asks for something, all you have to do is tell them you don't do that, they have to go somewhere else for that.  Then, each additional person you come to says the same thing and you spend half your day trying to track down the correct person, in the correct location, all the while hoping they have the correct paperwork.  You can see how this might get slightly frustrating.  I'm really glad I have my car so I can at least get to where I think I need to be. 

We had PT Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week.  PT days aren't much fun because we are up about 0430.  It's nice to get the work out in but it's so early and makes the day that much longer.  We had our CBRNE exam on Thursday.  CBRNE stands for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives.  Basically, we learn about all the various possible attacks, what could happen, what to do if one does happen and how to treat it, and what to look for to prevent it.  The test was pretty easy, it's open book, open note, and they pretty much give you all of the answers in their lectures when they say, "PUT A STAR NEXT TO THIS, YOU'LL PROBABLY SEE IT AGAIN!"  Friday we had our midterm exam.  Again, pretty easy.  They give you a study guide and if you know the information on that you'll do fine.  I think you have to get 70% or better to pass.  Only one person in our platoon didn't.  We are also doing presentations as well.  You could pick any topic you wanted, as long as it relates to military or health care and you have to give a 5-7 minute brief on it.  I'm doing the History of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  I thought it would be good to learn about it, since I'll be moving there in 2 months.  They have a couple of days set aside at  the end of this coming week to do all the presentations but our platoon cadre (cadre is the "faculty" for our class) decided that if we split the platoon in thirds and crank out some each day then hopefully we won't have to come in those last couple of days!  Everyone is on board for that.  I haven't given mine yet, but probably Monday or Tuesday. 

My roommate, Kinsey, won a party at a place called Howl at the Moon.  It's a dueling piano bar here in San Antonio on the river walk.  So last night was the big night.  It was for her and 100 of her closest friends so she invited her whole platoon (she's in 6th) and then told them to bring all of their roommates.  Basically we got in for free, got some free food, and then got two tickets for $1 drinks.  It was a pretty fun night, lots of singing along and drinking, always a good combination!  Today I think we're going to Sea World but we don't have definite plans yet.  Sea World lets military personnel in for free (only once per year) so that should be really fun!  I've only been there once, when I was little, and from the stories I've been told, I cried when Shamoo splashed me...he was supposed to be my friend...I probably wouldn't mind being wet today though, at least it would cool me off!

This coming week, (our last week in the classroom!) we have our ASU inspections, we are going to be learning weapons (oh boy!  hand guns and rifles!), we have our final exam, a couple of assignments due, the last of our presentations, and that's about it!  Hoping it cools down more before we head into the field, although it has been getting better.  That's about it for now!

Week 3: Let's Beat it to Death

Week 3 is done and behind us now and everyone is very thankful.  It was another exciting week of death by powerpoint.  They are very good at making things incredibly boring.  We are only meeting in our classrooms now with our platoon.  Each platoon does their own thing, which is nice that we aren't in a group of 316 anymore.  Now we are down to 4 squads, a total of 51 soldiers.  This past week I was chosen squad leader for first squad.  I pretty much did nothing.  Mostly, the job consists of handing down information as we get it, or going up the chain of command if there are questions from squad members, making sure everyone is there in the morning and comes back from lunch, and this week I had an additional duty of helping plan our weekend squad party!  This week we also had to come up with a platoon motto.  The military is very big on motto's and they are frequently yelled when the group is called to attention.  When we are together as the Brigade, the motto is "Panther Pride", when we are Alpha Company, 187th Medical Battalion, it's "Train to Save" and when we are just 5th Platoon, it's "Plead the 5th". 

We usually get done early each day, as our civilian and military instructors tend to go through our daily material much faster than the allotted time.  Great for us!  I was very productive this week during down time.  I found the JAG office on my lunch break and got a POA (power of attorney) for my HHG (household goods).  So the movers have permission to get my stuff from my parents house and move it to Maryland and store it until I get there.  I also went to clothing and sales and got my ASU (Army Service Uniform or dress blues).  I had no idea what I needed going in, fortunately, one of the ladies working was extremely helpful.  I told her I needed everything for the uniform and we walked around and she picked up all the necessary items, got the correct sizes and then we went over and got the uniform tailored.  I can go pick it up this coming Tuesday and once I have all the correct pins and accessories in the right places I will take a picture and post that as well...it should look something like this...

    (http://www.army.mil/asu/)
 

My uniform will have maroon shoulder boards and braids on it as that signifies medical, and I won't have as many ribbons or pins and we wear the beret instead of the cap but you get the idea.  The shoes are horribly uncomfortable...and each pair I tried on was worse than the one before it.  We have to have this uniform for one inspection.  We don't even wear it for graduation.  It ended up costing me close to $500, all for one inspection.  All new officers are given a one time clothing allowance of $600 but I blew that a long time ago on ACU's (Army Combat Uniform--the camo).  Other than my exciting errands, I had a very uneventful week.

One of our squad members is permanent party (meaning she is stationed at Fort Sam).  For those soldiers who are stationed at Fort Sam, they are not authorized to live on-post with the rest of us in the hotel, they are required to find their own housing.  So our squad member living off-post invited the squad over for floating the river and bbq.  There is the Comal river in New Braunfels (just outside of San Antonio) and you can rent toobs (as the Texans spell it).  A bus picks you up and takes you to the river where you hop in and float down to an end point where the bus picks you back up again.  They have special "toobs" with coolers tied down so you can bring all your booze along.  It took about 3 hours to float down the river, we all tied our tubes together to stay as a group.  A new city law was passed that drinking is no longer allowed on the river, fortunately for us, the law hasn't gone into effect yet.  We wanted to make sure we got our floating in before it did!  The bbq was great as well.  Nice to have real food, and not chow from the DFAC or a frozen dinner from our room.

(This is our group!)

We have Monday off this coming week as it is an SRP day.  SRP is Soldier Readiness Program.  Half of the company, Platoons 1-3 have stuff tomorrow and platoons 4-6 have stuff Tuesday.  So we get the day off tomorrow.  Basically, we have to get our CAC cards (military ID's) and immunizations and other random admin stuff taken care of.  It's going to be a long day of 'hurry up and wait', good thing I have my Kindle to read!!  Thanks mom and dad, I really like my birthday present!  So far, since we've been here, we haven't had a full 5-day work week yet.  I could really get used to having 3-day weekends all the time!  It's going to be strange when we finally do have to go all week but not a big deal. 

Tips: If you have to go to any of the offices on post for something (like JAG) and you have extra time at lunch, get it taken care of as soon as you can.  Many times there is quite a wait and the offices usually close around 1600 and aren't open on the weekends.  It can be a challenge to get things you need when you're working more hours than they are open.  I waited about an hour at JAG for my POA, we had an extended lunch that day though because we got done early with our morning briefs. 

Everyone needs to float the river at least once when you are in San Antonio.  Make sure you leave any valuables in the car though, especially expensive sunglasses!  Glass isn't allowed on the river so make sure you have cans.  Lots of things were lost from the tubes when we went through the tube shoots and over the waterfall.  We used the booze tube for all of our flip flops and other random stuff and that worked well.  We did have to swim after one persons shoes when they tried to float away.   

Corpus Christi and Padre Island: Part 2

After we left the USS Lexington we went to the Texas State Aquarium and saw some sharks, dolphins, otters, sea turtles, hawks, eagles, and some other aquatic sea life...

(Me standing in front of the Texas State Aquarium!  It had a cool waterfall that cascaded around the entrance)

 (One of the sharks we saw)

(These were some of the jellyfish in the tanks though we did see them in the ocean as well)

(They had 3 bottle-nose dolphins and held a show every afternoon but we just missed it when we got there)

(One of the rescued sea turtles on display, it was recovering from an accident but could not be released back into the wild)

(This was one of the sting rays, they had some smaller ones in an open pond you could put your hand in and pet as they swam by)

This was pretty much everything from the aquarium.  We saw a few other things but it was pretty small.  I was expecting something on the same scale as the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago so I was slightly disappointed they didn't have more but what they did have was pretty cool and it wasn't very expensive.

After the aquarium we went back to the hotel to regroup and eat and then we were planning to go to a museum but found out once we got there it was closed.  It actually worked out in our favor as we made para sailing appointments for 5pm.  Only after we were out bumming around did we realize the place we made the appointments with was 45 minutes away because we had to go out to Padre Island and drive the the north coast, Port Aransas.  So we took off for that right away.  Along our drive to the island we drove up Oceanside Dr.  To people in Milwaukee, it was a lot like Lake Shore Drive in that every residence was a mansion right on the coast!  They were HUGE!  Really cool to see them all, and lots of construction going on and additions to the already ginormous homes. 

We arrive in Port Aransas and found the para sailing dock and waited for the boat to get back.  The boat pulled in and we hopped on board and took off.  We never actually went outside the break wall but there wasn't any need too, plenty of open space and beautiful to see from so high up!

 (Me standing next to our para sailing boat!)

 (This is how high up were were, pretty high!)

 (The view of Port Aransas from up in the air)

 (My roommate Kinsey and myself, we did a double ride so we got to go up together...it was also cheaper)

(We saw 3 dolphins in the harbor!! It was so cool!  The boat driver dropped us down close to the water and was trying to get us right on top of them but they disappeared for a little while.)

After we came back into the boat, the dolphins surfaced about 5 feet away from us, it was awesome!!  We couldn't move fast enough to get a picture of them at the point as Kinsey's camera had just died and then they disappeared for good.  It was so cool to see them from so high up though and then up close and personal a few minutes later!  We had just been talking before the ride about whether or not we might get to see some and then decided that we probably wouldn't since we weren't leaving the harbor.  Guess we were wrong though! 

After our Para sailing adventures we drove back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner.  We had gone to the commissary before we left and bought lots of food and packed a cooler so the entire time we were on vacation we actually only ate one meal out.  It worked out well and saved us quite a bit of money.  We decided our one meal out was going to be a good seafood dinner, after all, how can you go to the coast and not eat seafood?!  The lady at the front desk of our hotel recommended a place called Landry's Seafood and it was an excellent choice!  A bit pricey but amazing food!  I got Tilapia with scallops and shrimp on risotto...AMAZING!  We also got a crab cake appetizer that was incredible! 

 (This pic is a little dark but Kinsey and I were waiting for our table so we went out to watch the sun set on the city)

sun bathed for a while, Kinsey more than myself because the sun isn't my friend, I just burn. 

 (One of the pelicans that was eating breakfast right next to us)

 (We didn't make it to the beach early enough to watch the sun rise but it was still pretty beautiful!)

 (Just another beautiful picture of the beach)

 (Me standing in the Gulf of Mexico!)

 (It was so weird to drive on the beach, the sand was really hard but got softer closer to the dunes, we almost got stuck in some soft sand and had to rock the car to get backed up...got thing I have experience doing that, although usually it's because I'm stuck in ice, not sand...)

(Looking down the endless miles of beach, it went on forever in both directions!)

After a few hours at the beach we headed back to the hotel to shower, check out, and drive back to good ol' Fort Sam Houston. It was a great weekend and I'm so glad we went!  Definitely a trip anyone should take if you find yourself this far south!

Tips:  Make sure you get all your paperwork in on time if you're planning to take a vacation anywhere!  If you don't have it in, or it's not correct, you might not get to go.  Pay attention to everything the cadre tells you to turn in and get it done early so you don't have to worry about it.  I wasn't planning on driving initially, someone else was so I didn't turn in a TRiPS form or POV inspection but then discovered Thursday before we left that I was going to drive so we were scrambling to get everything in.  Fortunately, they were ok with us getting our stuff in right before we left, they very easily could have said no and put the kibosh on the whole weekend!

Corpus Christi and Padre Island: Part 1

This weekend we had a 4 day so my roommate and I took off on Friday around noon for Corpus Christi!  We got there mid afternoon and started looking for a place to stay and things to do.  The first place we checked was a Holiday Inn on the coast and were told that a basic 2 queen bed room was going to be $189/night!  We decided that wasn't going to work so well so we started calling every hotel we could find until we got one for $70/night...much more reasonable.  We got checked into our hotel room, got stuff unpacked and then started looking for things to do in our Texas visitors guide.  We discovered a place called Horses on the Beach that was located on Padre Island so we called and got reservations for an hour and a half long horseback ride on the beach at sunset. 

That's me on my horse, Tatonka.  It was a really fun ride, it's too bad the sun sets over the dunes instead of the ocean since we were on the east side of Texas, but still really fun. 

(This is my roommate, Kinsey and her horse, Tortuga)

After our sunset ride we headed back to the hotel.  Saturday morning we got up and headed to the coast to tour the USS Lexington (Lady Lex), a WWII Aircraft Carrier, also nicknamed "the Blue Ghost" that was retired in 1991 and given a permanent home in the Corpus Christi Bay.  The ship is a 910ft, 16 deck, 33,000 ton ship.  It was really awesome to tour!  We started out below deck and went through most of the main areas of the ship including the galley, sailor's quarters, dental clinic, Sick Bay, engine room, chapel, barber, female berthing quarters (this is the first ship that females were allowed on), and post office.  Then we headed up to the Flight Deck where they had about a dozen different planes from the WWII era parked.  We walked around those and got to sit on some Anti-Aircraft Guns, then went ventured up into the Captain's Cabin, Navigation Bridge, and Pilothouse.  We were also able to check out Officer's quarters as well as a Pearl Harbor Exhibit.  The Officer's quarters weren't much different than the sailor's quarters, a little more storage space though. 

 

(Just about to board the ship)

(The Rising Sun with the black border is the exact location where on 5 November 1944 a Japanese Kamikaze plane, Code Name Zeke, crashed into USS Lexington, killing 50 of her crew and injuring 132)

 (I decided to see just exactly how much room a female sailor had for sleeping quarters, in the Female Berth, for males to enter, they required a female escort and were required to shout "MAN ABOARD!")

(This is the amount of space each sailor got, one tall locker for uniforms and a few smaller ones for the rest of their gear)

(Waiting for my lunch in the galley, the picture below is the menu served on Christmas in 1956)

 (Dental clinic - there were about 4 exam rooms, a lab for making false teeth, and an x-ray room)

( I thought this was funny)

(Post Office)

Part of Sick Bay

(Loved the wall of bed pans and urinals)

 (The Chapel) 

 (Looking out from the Flight Deck...all the little white dots in the water are Jellyfish!)

 (Some of the planes on the Flight Deck)

(US Army Cobra Helicoptor)

(Sitting behind an Anti-Air Craft Gun)

(Sitting on the Navigation Bridge)

The adventure will continue with the Texas State Aquarium, para sailing, and swimming in the Gulf of Mexico in Part 2...

Who Needs Sleep Anyway??

This morning started at 0415 when we got up to meet on the PT field for a brigade run at 0445.  I am part of Alpha company of the 187th Medical Battalion (the picture above--though the one above is a different class), which is 316 soldiers.  The brigade is comprised of about 1,000 Air Force soldiers, 1,000 Navy Sailors and about 2,000+ Army soldiers for a total running this morning of 4,329 troops!  It was a pretty awesome sight to see that many people running in formation!  We started at the PT field and then took off down the road for our 3 mile run.  Along the way, the Army band was set up on the side of the road, playing all kinds of music for us, including the Army song and Lady Gaga...it was awesome!  The whole point of a brigade run is esprit de corps, which is basically for morale.  The goal is to see which company can be the loudest.  The reason there were Air Force and Navy joining us is because Ft Sam is where all medical personnel train and also because Ft Sam is now Joint Base San Antonio when the Air Force and Army combined earlier this year.  So we had medics (68 Whiskeys), BOLC officers (my group), Captain's Career Course officers, as well as a variety of other companies.  It was a good run, not too hard, just hot!  I've never sweat so much in my life!!  After the run we had time to run back to the hotel for breakfast and a quick shower before class. 

We broke up into our platoon classes for the morning today.  We had briefs on Army weapons and vehicles, and a few other topics before breaking up for lunch and rejoining as a company in the auditorium for the afternoon.  We had 2 briefs for the afternoon on Military History.  I was kind of excited for these briefs because I really like Military History and thought they would be very interesting.  Turns out I was completely wrong.  They were SO dull and boring!  The first one talked about the importance of knowing military history and how people our age don't care about history anymore and soon it will be lost.  right.  the second one was about a half an hour worth of information on a 12-15 page paper that we will have to write in 4+ years when we attend the Captain's Career Course on a Battle Analysis.  Basically, the point of them telling us about it now was because they think we suck at writing so much they wanted to make sure we had ample time to think about it and get it written.  Huge waste of time on both of them.  Then we got ANOTHER safety brief, we had 3 from various commanders during our morning run and one from our platoon advisor already so that made this our 5th one for the day.  We were then dismissed to enjoy our 4 day weekend!  Got to love the holidays!  We (my roommate, Kinsey and her friend from the July BOLC class) have mileage passes to go to Corpus Christi for the weekend.  We haven't made any official plans yet, not sure if we will use them but it's nice to have the option.  We might just go for a day or two.  We'll see!