I just successfully completed my calculus midterm, and I think I did rather well. For the majority of the material I just thought back to calculus last year, which was the most enjoyable math class one could ask for, and used what I had already learned. I think I at least passed, which is good. I definitely feel much more lighthearted and happy now, and I'm psyched for everything else this week. Tomorrow I have my furniture seminar, which is more of just a challenge to stay awake than an actual class. Then I've got calculus. After that, I'll muster at 1430 to head over to the ocean for some sailing with the battalion. The good thing is that through trial and error I now can confidently rig a sailboat and sail in the ocean. Definitely a cool skill to have. 

Sailing is just now becoming enjoyable to me...some previous experiences this semester made it seem like more a pain than a hobby. On my second time out, I was paired with another Midshipman who had no idea what he was doing, and things went bad quick. It was an extremely windy day, and the seas were kind of rough. We successfully sailed about 2 or 3 miles offshore, and then we had an unsuccessful tack, which is basically doing a 180 spin in a boat. The main beam swung around (with considerable force, I might add) and nailed me right in the back of the head, and the boat capsized. Through all of this, my life preserver is one that is designed for a 3 year old and not a grown man. The life preserver's straps were also gone...I had been the last to the life jacket bin that day and consequently got the worst one. So by this point I'm 3 miles offshore, I'm recovering from being nailed in the head by a metal rod and my life preserver has come off of me. It's kind of a sink-or-swim scenario so I helped the other Midshipman get the boat turned upright and then we got back in...only to realize our tiller had fallen off and floated away. I spotted it about 10 yards away and went and retrieved it. After getting nailed in the head a few more times and having some more near-capsizing experiences, my Executive Officer rode over in his motor boat and decided we needed to be towed back to shore. So he towed us back to shore and ended our miserable sailing experience. I will say though, two people bond VERY quickly when thrust into these situations. Since then, I've learned a thing or two about sailing and actually enjoy it. 

Here's your (and my) motivation for today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjtSXJGxMNE  

It's a video of U.S. Navy F/A-18 low altitude training through the mountains. This video confirms that I will definitely have the BEST job in the world. I hope you all get as much motivation from that video as I do. God Bless America. 

With that, I'm going to bed.