After some army craziness that I will elaborate on further, I ended up spending all day yesterday in the armory cleaning guns. There are two rounds of cleaning that the guns go through, the first is simply opening up the gun and removing the Michlal (which I think is the bolt in english) and dipping the two of them in an oily, turpentine-smelling solution and brushing them down. I had this down to an art by the end of the day, they were teasing me for being so fast. The second, which is more fun and less smelly, is dismantling the michlal and cleaning and oiling all the smaller parts. I didnt get to do this as many times, but perhaps next week.
As for how I found myself wearing a pitiful plastic apron and dipping guns in oil- it is a story that makes everyone that has served in the IDF sigh and say "Welcome to the Army, Kf".
Sunday morning I showed up at a base an hour late, which turned out not to matter because no one noticed, and sat around for a few hours until I finally got called into an interview. Ten short minutes later I was jumping for joy because I got the job I really wanted and they are going to train me to be an airplane technician!! This a) means I get to not only get to touch an F-16 but become intimate in a way that makes my brothers drool. Ha. and b) I get to go back to the base where I had basic training and talk to my Mefakedet's like we are both normal people which not-so-secretly thrills me and c) I get to wear a cool jumpsuit.
But as my training doesnt start for another week, it also means they had to find something to do with me so I dont go soft with a week's vacation. So they sent me to a base that is close to home (only two hours by bus! oh joy) to do, well, busywork.
So I get to my new base on Monday, thrilled to see at least 8 F-15's flying overhead, and spent another few lovely hours sitting around before they were like "Uh, we cant process you today, too much going on, come back on Wednesday". Sweet.
I enjoyed my time off, and then headed back again on Wednesday, this time an hour and a half late, and it once again didnt matter In fact, I had timed it perfectly because about 20 minutes after I got there, they needed the room we were waiting in so they sent me and six other girls off with a man named Michel. Michel gave us to his adorably nerdy secretary who then spent the rest of the day shuttling us around the base to get our clearance form signed. They sent us home at 4:30 with instructions to be back on base at 7:30 every morning. I am still trying to get them to give me a place to sleep as this means I have to be up by 5 am.
Anyway, by now its Thursday, I arrive on base and after making me sweep the dirt for like 40 minutes they sent me to the armory where I became Forrest Gump. Oh and they also made me mop the dirt. Dont really know whats with them and trying to clean the ground. Especially since they kept making me use horribly corrosive un-environmental chemicals.
Anyway, I am off for Shabbat and enjoying all my free time although it does feel really strange so fresh out of the lock-down that is basic training. But as I am very quickly learning, nothing the army does makes sense but is working out ok for me so far so I am not going to complain.
Oh and to the 30+ people who are going to be in my house for Thanksgiving- I MISS YOU ALREADY! My roommate is planning a small Thanksgiving dinner, but it is just not going to be the same without my Momma's massive turkey and my dad's mashed taters, and Shosh's biscuits, and Aunt Z's sweet potatoes. And Nat, I am making pumpkin pie just because I cant imagine Thanksgiving without it. In fact, its hard to imagine Thanksgiving without the family craziness, so YOU BETTER CALL ME!
No comments:
Post a Comment