Day 23/194

Tuesday, Week 4!
Yesterday was a good day. Work went well and since a few people on the team are on vacation this week, it has been pretty laid back and easy to narrow in on priorities.  After work I met up with my girlfriend from the night before and another girlfriend of ours for dinner in the city. I had an amazing quinoa, roasted beat and chicken salad with a pinot grigio. It hit the spot in addition to enjoying the company of the girls.

Kev text me that he was off around 8 PM and I gave him a quick call from the restroom of the restaurant to say hi ;) I told him I missed him, would finish up with the girls and call him when I got home. He understood that I needed girl time and it gave him time to study anyways, so he didn't mind. We normally start our evening chats talking about his day, mostly because I ask and have to know about how his day went before I can tell him about how great my Excel spreadsheet skills were that day! While Kev never makes me feel inferior to his academy life and genuinely cares about anything I say, I'll usually save the exciting details of my revenue accounting for last. However, tonight he saved the stories of his day for last and let me ramble on about everything I talked about with the girls and a little boasting about all the good things I had to say about him. I was "clucking" as Kev calls it, hens cluck! I know deep down he loves it though! ;)

So now, about Kev's day! He was able to sleep in until 6 AM because there was no PT. PT is scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week. When he first arrived at the academy, his class was split into two "companies" - Company A and Company B. Today Company A received their guns while Company B (Kev) had vehicle code all morning until lunch time. Kev says vehicle code is what they will refer to most as officers, and while they need to learn about other crimes, a lot of class hours are allocated to VC. After lunch they ran out to the drill pad to practice drill and marching for about 15 minutes. Kev says they run everywhere and while drill is nice to see everyone in unison, he can't help but think of the time he could be spending studying for the next test. After drill, he ran back to class for the rest of the evening, had dinner and then practiced their line up for the Fountain Ceremony the next day. Apparently that is when the inspection will happen. I misunderstood him the night before, because I thought he had inspection today. I am starting to think he just likes shining his boots and brass ;) He does talk about how strikingly shiny the Staff Officer's brass always looks and how impressive it is. Anyways, the Juniors and Seniors have to look flawless to show their respect at the weekly Fountain Ceremony. He said the Juniors line up against the outside of the quad to watch as the Seniors perform the ceremony and shine the brass names of fallen officers. Kev says it's a nice ceremony and a constant reminder of why he has to pay so much attention and try his hardest while at the academy. He said the most recent name on the fountain is from 2014.

Tuesday and Wednesday are always the hardest days of the week and when I miss Kev the most. Monday feels like I just saw him, but Tuesday and Wednesday feel like I still have a long time to wait to see him. By Thursday, I'm excited to see him on Friday, and on Friday I know I get to see him that night so I'm antsy all day! I hope when the Spring sun comes out and the weather warms up, it doesn't feel like such a monotonous week of waiting! I'll drive myself nuts! Anyhow, Kev is supposed to get his gun and pepper spray today (Wednesday) and have a gun safety class. Then he has to start wearing his vest everyday. I'm pretty sure this is the day every cadet waits for! Well, shooting and driving fast I would guess! I can't wait to hear all about it tonight!

- Mimi