Best Friend

Lorein called me at work today so I could hear what Carter had been telling her all day. Needless to say, it made me feel pretty neat. I guess all that train track building is paying off!

San Antonio Zoo

We went to the San Antonio Zoo today and had a great time. It's actually a really good zoo, despite the fact there were no giraffes or gorillas. The exhibits were well done, and the animals were close enough you could actually see them. Plus, the animals were out and about today (I've heard it's different on a 100 degree summer day). The reptile house was A+ and the train was well worth $3.00. The highlight of the day was when we were in the aquarium. We came up to one of the tanks, and Carter said, "It's a lionfish." And they were lionfish! I have no idea how he knows that.

As you can see, Carter loves elephants, but apparently the hippos were quite forgettable.

Administrative Law

I officially hit two months in the office today, so I figured I should blog about the milestone, especially since people keep asking me what it is I do exactly. First off, let me say that I really like my job. On our anniversary a couple of weeks ago, Lorein turned to me and commented on how much happier I am this year as opposed to last. And today (which I had off since the Army turns all three-day holidays into four-day holidays!), I even spontaneously told Lorein how much I like my job. I know I've only been here two months, so things could change, but it's a good sign. All I know for sure is that I am so so so so happy I left the law firm. I did everything I could to avoid having to join the Army, but, as of right now, I'm really glad I did.

As for my schedule, I have PT (physical training) every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On those days, I report at 6:30, work out with the other Soldiers in my office until 7:30, shower at the gym, and get into the office by 9. Tuesday and Thursday, we have to be in the office by 8. The position I'm in right now, Administrative Law, lets me leave pretty much at 5 (1700) every evening. I'm usually pretty tired when I have to get up in the morning, but I actually really like being forced to work out. I'm getting into much better shape and I wouldn't have the motivation absent the push from my co-workers.

I'm attached to the Army Medical Department Center and School, which is where the Army trains all of its medical personnel. And it's actually being expanded to include medical personnel from all branches of the military. I work in the Administrative Law department; basically, we're the general counsel for the med school. Our main focus is on ethics -- conflicts of interest, financial reporting, training, etc. There's a lot of issues with the doctors getting invitations to speak, working in other jobs, etc. We also help draft and review all the contracts between the med school and other organizations, which means I dabble in fiscal law as well. The other big portion of my job is reviewing investigations to make sure they're legally sufficient. The med school has to get my approval to kick somebody out of the Army, hold somebody financially liable for missing/damaged government property, etc. In addition, I review all the investigations into misconduct to make sure they were done correctly. It's really interesting because I get something new everyday, so it's never boring. On the other hand, it can be pretty difficult because there's so many regulations I have to sift through sometimes to find the right answer. Luckily, my supervisor (who's a civilian attorney) has been doing this for awhile and can usually point me in the right direction. I was pretty excited the other day, though, when I got a call from a Major and I actually knew the answer to his question. At least it shows I'm learning! So, that's what I do right now. My boss told me, however, that I'll probably move this Summer into a trial counsel role, which means I'll be prosecuting criminal cases.

By the way, I get promoted to Captain next week, so I won't have to hear everybody call me "LT" anymore or see them smirk when they salute me. Plus, I'll get paid more, so that'll be neat.

I hope that answered people's questions, but if it didn't, tell me what you want to know and I'll try to provide an adequate answer.

By the way, the picture is meant to show how strenuous Army life can be :)