Adventures of HG at NRTI

So today’s only day two here at the RAP (a.k.a. Ranger Academy Program) and I already feel like it’s been a week or more. I’ve met some great guys and our class is a tight-nit 20 person group. We did have one other girl in the class but for some reason or another, she’s gone. And then there was one. This should prove interesting. Last night was a little bit rough. I don’t know why but I only got about two hours of sleep. Surprisingly, the two hours was enough to get me going through the day-and then some. I’m sure I’ll sleep really good tonight as I went to gym after class.

Keep in mind that every day (with the exception of the next few), we are in class from 0800 (8:00 a.m.) until 1700 (5:00 p.m.). Today we got out about ten minutes early and I went home to quickly change and meet the fellas for a good workout at the gym. I sort of lost track of time, but I know we were there for a good couple of hours. I ran about a mile and a quarter in decent time and then spent the remainder of my time with some stairs and weights. If you’ve never done a stair-stepper machine before-it’s a beast (i.e. it will make your legs feel like they’re Jello). I actually did pretty good on the bench press too. I only have to bench press 48% of my body weight (I say only because I think the guys have to bench press 70%) to pass the physical fitness test, and I benched a max of 75 pounds today. :) Granted, it wasn’t the prettiest thing and my arms might fall off as I type, but that’s a number well above what I need and I’m confident that I can raise that number as we go through PT throughout the next five months. After the gym, the guys and I did the only sensible thing a person should do after working out, we went and got pizza! Hanging out with the guys gave us good bonding time to become the official RAP 20 cadets.

I also got my ID Card today! If you didn’t see my wall on Facebook, the whole process was an ordeal. I had 10 minutes in between lecture times and I had to run through two buildings, down a flight of stairs, hand in my paperwork, get my photo taken, wait for the machine to warm up and print, and then run all the way back to class. You won’t believe it but I made it just in the nick of time! Oh, and the reason I did this on a 10 minute break instead of our hour lunch slot? Because EVERYTHING in this town closes for lunch from 1200-1300 (12:00-1:00 p.m.) Craziness.

Today we also had a new instructor who I would like to mention because he was very funny and very knowledgeable. This is a guy who has 30+ years of experience in law enforcement. He’s retired four times and come out of retirement each time. He was a Deputy, Police Officer, Sheriff, Police Chief, you name it! This guy provided us with a lot of good information on the basics of policing and I’m looking forward to hearing more of his ‘lectures’ in the future. Our main instructor who runs the class also told us a little more about the jobs offered through NPS (National Park Service) and similar areas of employment. He was especially helpful in giving us information on how to search for these jobs. All in all-a very good day. Can’t wait to do it all over again tomorrow!

P.S.-It’s been snowing non-stop for three days now. I think we’ve accumulated at least eight inches in some areas. Oh yeah and the temperature at 1700 (5:00 p.m.) was 22 degrees and felt like 15. It’s only going down and I am not liking the cold. Crossing my fingers that PT (physical training) will be indoors!