Whew!

So I finally had some time to breathe after the beast that was Grad Week. Hello again dear readers. In case you didn't know, I finally graduated from West Point!! Wow it feels so weird being done. I don't miss the institution so much, but I really do miss my friends. My high school friends are great and all, but I've just grown up so much in the past four years that I can't really relate to them as much as I did in the past. To be honest, the thing I'm looking forward to most this summer is my road trip down the East Coast with some of my West Point friends later this summer-- that should be a blast.

So what is this new second lieutenant up to these days? Well, a whole lot of nothing really. For my first few days home, I literally did nothing but slug out as I was just way too exhausted from Grad Week to do anything. I've recently linked up with my best friend who just finished ROTC at USF and we've been going on runs together in the mornings while I do circuit workouts at home in the evening with the hopes that such workouts will put us in good shape for our respective BOLCs.

I've also met up with some old acquaintances such as one of my coworkers whom I worked with when I worked down at the pool. We actually went mini golfing today and ran into a rising cow and his parents. It was kind of neat and really shows how small the world is. I'm meeting up with her again tomorrow to go watch a movie-- anything to kill the time.

I also had dinner with my aunt and her family today and it was the first time my aunt and cousin legally bought me a beer. Still kind of weird though.

My 22nd birthday was also yesterday. It was cool for a variety of reasons:

1) I got free breakfast at Denny's
2) I'm now on the old man PT scale
3) I got to hang out with some old friends and now a Las Vegas trip next weekend is in the works.

All in all, Summer 2011should be a blast. West Point is finally over and life is seemingly finally beginning.

On Graduation Ceremony Practice

So I would've blogged yesterday May 19, 2011, but I was out with my parents all day and couldn't find the time to do so-- I'll blog now, but expect another blog later tonight too.

Yesterday we had our Graduation Ceremony Practice, which, surprisingly everyone was willing to undergo. I think my classmates and I are all getting really antsy and just want to graduate already. We practiced queuing up, taking our seats, and some people even got to practice getting their diplomas/commissioning certificate (not everyone go to do it because after the first few, you sort of got the gist of it). The most surreal part was when the Class President said "Graduating Class, DISMISSED!" and we all pretended to have thrown our hats in the air as is customary-- at that point, I realized "Oh wow, this is it!"

To close the practice, we heard General Martin Dempsey, Chief of Staff of the Army, give us a few words of encouragement about us entering into the officer corps. He showed us this cheesy video about us joining this "indestructible army," which is pretty standard Army promo material. What really got to me though was his talk on his three key tasks while serving as Chief of Staff of the Army: discipline, fitness, and trust. The first two are pretty self explanatory, but the last one got to me. He said something about how as an officer, or as a soldier in general, you have to have a lot of trust in a lot of people, whether it be your buddy next to you in a firefight, the medical folks who treat you when you're wounded, or even the support groups available in the unfortunate event something terrible happens. I really never thought about it that way, and I hope I can earn people's trust. It was kind of cool that he said he trusts us, and I hope I can live to that.

The commandant also spoke to us about how there are three types of people with jobs out there: the guys who have to do something (i.e. "I have to work a McDonald's"), the guys who are something (i.e. "I am an officer in the Army") and the guys who have the privilege of doing something (i.e. "I'm privileged to help these folks out") The comm said he fell into the middle ground as a new lieutenant, but hoped that in the future, we would all fall into the latter category, because it's not about us but about the folks we serve. I'll keep that in mind as I continue my career.

After the Graduation Ceremony Practice, I ran some errands and now I'm back. I can't believe I graduate tomorrow (tomorrow being May 21, 2011). So surreal...

Last Wednesday as a Cadet

So today is my last Wednesday as a Cadet (as I graduate and commission on Saturday). Before graduation, all of us graduating firsties have to go through a series of stations to out process of West Point, making the entire ordeal sort of like a crazy scavenger hunt. Some of the things we have to do to out process includes picking up our personnel file, our medical file, and our dental file, returning our issued cadet telephones, talking with the Department of Physical Education people to settle any money issues, talking with the computer people to get rid of no longer authorized security certificates on our computers, talking with the yearbook people to make sure our yearbook photo looks alright, and last but definitely not least, returning all of our issued stuff. The last bit is the event that's taking the longest to do, as the civilian workers get over tasked (1,000+ cadets trying to return stuff and literally only two (2) people working!) Over the summer, the civilians who issue cadets items get reinforced by teenagers who work for the summer and I can't imagine why they wouldn't do something similar to that right now; it would really help out a lot. For example, I showed up to turn in my stuff at 12:35 yesterday but didn't get helped until almost 3! Once I got up there though, I was in and out within 5 minutes tops-- just goes to show you how long the lines were you know?

We also had graduation parade practice today (I actually paused blogging while I went to drill, and am finishing up right now. The time is now 10:07AM). Drill, which is usually miserable in and of itself, was made even more so because of the rain, which fell hard at times. The drill leadership was also terrible, as it seemed like no one was in sync and no one really knew what to do. We ended drill practice just pissed off that we were out there for 3 hours and didn't really accomplish much. The parade field (aka The Plain) also looks like a mess right now because they decided to hold drill in the pouring rain-- with 4000+ cadets marching on wet grass, its no surprise certain areas look like swamps.

I also just got back from bringing the boxes I want to bring to Benning to the movers-- that line didn't take too long. I'm also bringing a trunk of stuff I'll need to survive the first few days at Benning with me in my car, as I'm going to drive it down to Benning this summer.

My parents also just arrived today in New York and I'll be meeting up with them later to attend the Supe's reception.

All in all, it's getting real-- Graduation is in 3 days!

"And the First Class is soo short...!"

So here we are folks: Grad Week for the Class of 2011. This last week of the semester serves as the transition phase from West Point the academic institution to Fort West Point the military training institution. As you may or may not know, West Point conducts most of its military training over the summer, and Grad Week is a time when the Summer Garrison Regiment (aka the cadets who help monitor the many different military trainings going on during the summer) settles in. Grad Week also serves as the time when the seniors (aka First Class Cadets or "firsties") start moving out of their rooms in preparation for graduation on Saturday. Most, if not all, grades have already been locked in by this time, so cadets should know if they're graduating. Somehow, I made it and will be graduating on time (finals or "TEEs" for Term End Examinations went fine for me-- nothing to write home about, though I did miscalculate what to study for on my Civil War Era America exam; who knew both essays I had to write would be on Reconstruction, a subject I glazed over while studying?)

I'm going to miss the many "And the First Class is soo short...!" quips in the Mess Hall. Every so often, the Mess Hall guy (formally known as the Brigade Adjutant) announces these little quips in addition to his normal every day announcements to remind everyone how short of a time the firsties have left until graduation. Today's was "And the First Class is so short....! (Response: How short are they!?) The First Class is so short they have fewer hours until graduation than the yuks (aka sophomores) have weeks at the academy!" It's finally all starting to set in. My parents come up Wednesday morning while my sister comes up Thursday. Only a few parades and moving out of my room separate me from graduation.

I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't a little bit anxious though. West Point flew by so fast. I hope I can do well as an officer-- only time will tell.

PS
Oh also, during Grad Week, we're waking up at 4:30AM every day to practice parading. Normally I'd be upset at this, as I hate waking up early to begin with (I normally wake up at 6:30am, so I'm up 2 hours earlier than normal), but I'm just way too excited for graduation. Only 5 days out!

"Lieutenants have two ears and one mouth for a reason"

As the school year draws to a close, more and more instructors are taking the time to impart upon us their words of wisdom before finals, and before we enter into the real army. Here's what I remember from what they said:

War and it's Theorists Instructor:
"Lieutenants have two ears and one mouth for a reason." Basically, I think he's saying for new lieutenants to absorb as much as they can and learn to do their job as best they can. I also talked to this instructor about writing a recommendation for me in order to come back to West Point to teach. Here's what he had to say:

"Citizen JEZ

I would be happy to do so.  You are exactly the type of cadet that we look

for to come back as a CPT/MAJ.  I'm excited that you are interested.

Respectfully,

Your Warfare and it's Theorists Instructor"

Pretty good praise from a lieutenant colonel right? I remember we were also talking in class about how being an instructor at West Point affects your army career and we came to the conclusion that for the most part, if you want to command a battalion one day, it may not be the best move for you. Keep in mind, however, that there have been some great general officers who have taught at West Point (notably General Petraeus and General Abizaid), but for the most part, it could kill your career as a commander and relegate you to staff jobs (for example, my Warfare and it's Theorists Instructor will be an officer on someone's Corps Staff after this semester is over). I don't know how I feel about that, but I know as a cadet, I've done much better as a staff person than as a commander. I guess we'll see how being an infantry platoon leader treats me-- I definitely do not have the knowledge yet to know if I want to be a staff officer forever, but I do want to keep my options open.

Law Instructor:

We really didn't talk too much about being an officer in my last Law class. I suppose it may be because our instructor is so young (30) and is a direct commissioned JAG officer, who has limited officer experience.

International Relations Instructor:

Funny thing, my International Relations Instructor really only told us to spend the time and write a good note to put inside of our hats, so when the little kids grab our hats after the hat toss on graduation day, the kids will be happy. He also said to put in $20 in there, since that'll be chump change to us pretty soon, but it'll really brighten the kid's day. I plan on putting in one $20 bill, a dime, and a penny, totaling $20.11, my class year. Maybe I'll buy my tossing hat (I want to keep the hat I've used as a cadet) later today and work on my note this afternoon...

Officership Instructor:

As you probably already know, I didn't have the best MX400 experience. I didn't see very much of my MX teacher, and frankly, would not trust his advice on how to become an officer. I wrote him as scathing of a review as I could while still being professional-- future classes should not have an instructor like him teaching them how to become officers. It is a disservice to everyone.

History of Civil War America Instructor:

"Your brain is not a vessel to be filled, but a flame to be kindled." On the last day of my Civil War class, while talking about Reconstruction, we started to talk about the education system. Somehow, we started discussing how to promote education within a community, especially for under-performing students. Such is a problem in my hometown, resulting in it being seen as not a nice place to live, especially with all the violence going on nowadays. It was brought up that smoking used to be popular, but through concentrated efforts over time, it became more difficult to smoke and thus smoking isn't as prevalent. Likewise, such a strategy can be used to promote education, but how to execute it is another story. I'll keep that discussion in mind, as I do want to return home someday and maybe help out in city government to clean up my hometown. There are good people that live there, but it seems like it's fallen apart in the past couple of years.

Oh, on an unrelated note, if you didn't know, I was the swim coach for the company's intramural swim team. From the begining of the season, I really didn't care if we went to Brigade championships-- I just wanted people to have fun and get a decent work out out of it all, as intramurals have an awful reputation of being a waste of time. Well, as it turns out, our company DID get to go to Brigade championships. Our Cinderella story did not end on the best of notes however (we came in fourth out of four in the championships), but what really got me was a note a swimmer sent me later that evening:

"Thanks, Coach.  Solid work.

Very Respectfully,

Sarcastic Cadet on Swim Team"

I always thought that this guy didn't like me because he was pretty sarcastic during the entire season. However, I really like how he referred to me as Coach. I didn't refer to myself as Coach during the season (I was always just ______, my real name), so I guess that was kind of cool. Would've been kind of cool if we had won Brigades, but it happens sometimes. Perhaps next year we will-- we've laid a solid foundation this year, so hopefully swimmers in the Class of 2012 will step up and win Brigades next year.

Lastly, I defended my thesis today and got a B+ on the thesis paper itself and an A- on my defense. I couldn't have done it without the morale support of the five people who sat behind me. You all know who you are, and thanks for being there!

And that's it-- that's the last of my undergraduate classes. All I have left are finals, a week of prades and moving out and then life truly begins.

The Future

Today we had a briefing from IBOLC (Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course), RTB (Ranger Training Battalion) and Office of the Chief of Infantry representatives and they laid out what was in store for us in the coming months. Basically, I need to get in the best shape of my life this summer if I truly wish to succeed in Ranger School. I'm pretty excited about it all, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. However, I already know some of my weaknesses (land navigation in particular), so I'm going to spend as much time as I can this summer practicing it. My roommate here at West Point is also pretty good at land navigation and did a great job teaching it to Yearlings when he was a Buckner Squad Leader, and we've planned to spend some free time here practicing. Hopefully, I'll do well in The Future.

Also, I submitted my thesis yesterday with little problems. I actually ran into my thesis adviser in the hallway, so I was able to submit my thesis in person to him. He looked it over and seemed pretty cool with it all, but we'll see how the defense goes-- my thesis defense is scheduled for May 6, 2011 at 2:00pm. The end is near.

Osama Bin Laden is Dead

Perhaps the death of Osama Bin Laden will give this nation that peace it so longs for-- only time will tell.

It's May 2011

Today is May 1, 2011. I say again, 2011. That means graduation is 20 days away. Who would've thought that this time would finally come? I can still remember back in July 2007 thinking that May 2011 was light years away-- and now it's finally here.

Tomorrow I start my last week of undergraduate education. There's not much left in this school year in terms of actual learning though. Some highlights of this week include submitting my senior thesis and this Model UN thing we're doing in my International Relations class. We're basically pretending we're the UN Security Council discussing Libya. I get to play South Africa, so you can imagine that I'll be bringing in a soccer ball and a vuvuzela to our little mock UN cession tomorrow. Overall, it should be fun.

I also defend my thesis on Friday May 6, 2011. I still don't have any idea on what to call it, so if you have any suggestions for me, feel free to post: my senior thesis topic is the American Airborne on Sicily during WWII.

Wow-- it's already May 2011. Just wow.

Special Olympics

Today, I volunteered for the Special Olympics. While West Point hosts the Hudson Valley Regional Special Olympics every year, this is only my second time volunteering for it. I must say, it was a blast: the weather was gorgeous, the people were friendly, and I feel the entire event was generally well executed.

The athlete I was escorting is diagnosed with autism, but it didn't change who he is as a person. Like every teenage guy, he was still chasing girls and hoping to beat others in sports. His family was also very supportive of him. I can't say for sure, but I think they were Dominican-- they spoke Spanish amongst each other alot and even thought I knew Spanish! I seem to get that alot-- every country I've visited, I've been confused for a native. Little do they know I only fluently know English and can barely speak Portuguese or Tagalog.

All in all a good day. My thesis is due on Monday, so I'll probably be working on that later tonight. Almost there! It's May starting tomorrow.

On Leadership

So I'm pretty upset right now. I don't normally like to complain about West Point. For the most part, I can say confidently that I've enjoyed my time here. Even through all the tough times here, I can say I've made the best of it all.

Well, fast forward to second semester of firstie year, a time when one would think would be the best time for a cadet. To be fair, firstie year has been a blast-- I've gotten to go out a whole lot more, got to truly meet people, and learned a whole lot. I'd like to take this time now to blog about leadership.

I'm no army officer or anything and I'm just a cadet (for now), but I was always under the impression that officers had to take care of their subordinates. Well, recently it seems as if I've been marked as a bad cadet all because of MX. Don't get me wrong: I really wanted to like MX after reading up on it in the Redbook (see previous post). I'm a little anxious about taking command of a platoon, so I was really looking forward to all the officer development stuff that MX was supposed to teach.

Anyway, good news is that I passed MX with a C. Not exactly where I wanted to be, but passing nonetheless. That should have removed me from Academic Flag status, as MX was the only reason I was on Flag status to begin with. Knowing that, I put in for pass for this weekend and was initially approved with the caveat that I still had to submit an Exception to Policy Memo, which is just like it sounds: a request to bend the rules for a specific reason. I didn't think I had to submit one because I felt I wasn't flagged anymore. Here's what the officer in charge of me replied back with:

"CitizenJEZ,

Commanders flag and lift flags as per USCC Card 501 para 1 and USCC 351-2 para 104, sub-para K, 6, f and g.

LTC X, or myself or SFC Y as her agents can lift your flag.  Our stated requirement for lifting the flag was to be passing at 15 wk grades; since it isn't 15 wk grades, I'm not inclined to lift your flag yet.  I'm not about to waste my time placing and lifting flags on cadets based on their whims about whether or not to submit their MX400 assignments or perform their other duties.  See below for my original e-mail traffic on this topic.  Please do not inform me as to your current status; I decide it, therefore, I am well aware:  See you file in TIS (HTML); you are indeed flagged.  Guess I'll have to deny that pass.

-Officer That Approves CitizenJEZ's Passes"

I suppose he got the wrong impression of me telling him that I didn't think I had to submit an Exception to Policy Memo. Nonetheless, my pass has been denied. The worst part of it all? 15 week grades are due sometime next week I believe, so he totally denied my pass out of spite. Where is the whole "quick to praise, but slow to reprimand" aspect I hear so often preached? When I sought this officer's advice on how to go about dealing with my MX issues, he flat out ignored my request. However, when I try to stand up for what I believed was correct, the officer plays the rank game with me and I inevitably lose.

Where's the leadership in all of this? I'm trying to keep an open mind about this all and see his point of view, but I'm just not seeing it right now. Hopefully ten years from now I'll be able to think back to this point and be like "Wow, he was right the entire time!" but for now, I just don't see it.

Oh well-- I'm helping out with the Special Olympics tomorrow anyway, so I wouldn't have the time to go on pass. Also, my thesis is almost done, so even though I got punked by an officer, I still think overall I'm doing well. I'm for sure going to graduate, and at this point, May 21, 2011 couldn't get here any sooner.

Cadets Always Win.

PS
Ok, seriously this time-- I will try my best to blog every day. I've just been busy over the past few weeks.

Deficient

From the USMA "RedBook" (i.e. course catalog)

"MX 400 is a capstone course that challenges cadets to reflect upon, integrate, and synthesize their experiences in the six Cadet Leader Development System domains as they commence the transformation to commissioned officership. Cadets will achieve a thorough intellectual understanding of the four clusters of expert knowledge of the military professional--military-technical, moral-ethical, political-cultural, and human development. Successful completion of this course will enable each cadet to achieve competence and confidence in a new self-identity in the four facets of the role of a commissioned officer--a Soldier, a leader of character, a servant of the Nation, and a member of the profession of arms. Each graduate will be capable of executing the fundamental practices of the military professional--the repetitive exercise of discretionary judgment in decision making and taking actions that fulfill the moral and legal responsibilities of commissioned officers. Upon graduation, each new 2LT will be fully prepared for the immediate challenges of junior officership and capable of a lifetime of professional growth as an officer in the United States Army."

One would think this would be a great course, but unfortunately, it's not uniformly executed. I've heard of some people having great instructors and others not. I fall into the latter category. The biggest pet peeve I have with my instructor is the fact that he emails us that we don't have class during first hour class and for folks that have first hour class, it's hard to check our email during class. Thus, half the class shows up to MX thinking there is class only to be "pleasantly surprised" when there isn't class. I'm all for class drops, for sure, but not for having my time wasted waiting for a class to never start.

Most of the time, my instructor emails us telling us of a great video clip he found online and wants us to watch. That's cool too, but these video clips could definitely be shown in class just for the sake of the instructor having a class presence. Us watching it in our room is not very effective and doesn't build any rapport with the rest of the class.

Around here, MX is known to be a pretty easy class: you show up, you put your thoughts on officership down on paper, and you walk out with a decent grade. Well, silly me currently has an F in the class. I forgot to turn in a pretty big paper (20% worth of points) that was due before Spring Break started and thus, I'm pretty deep in the hole. I totally had the assignment  being due written down too, but I guess with Spring Break being around the corner and with my previous experience with my instructor telling us to not worry about another assignment that was due because he'd just make it due later, I decided to not do it. I still had to turn the assignment in however, but I didn't get any points for it (well maybe 100 sympathy points out of 200 possible).

Where does that put me? Well, right now I'm listed as deficient, meaning I have lost all privileges. That really blows, not really because of the fact that I can't go out but because of the fact that I lost the ability to, if I so chose. I hate it when I lose, and if you know me well enough, I always say "cadets always win," but it looks like I lost this one. I was supposed to go to Washington D.C. too, with a visit to the White House involved, but because of my grade in MX, I wasn't allowed to go. I tried to appeal too, and here's the verdict:

"

CitizenJEZ- Your Tac Team has DISAPPROVED your participation on the following trip:

APAC Asian-Pacific Club to Washington DC, 01 Apr 11 - 03 Apr 11

The Tac Team provides the following remarks with this action:

F in MX400. Turned in Essay #12 ridiculously late. Has ability to improve but has not received another grade since.

This disapproval supersedes any previous decisions concerning this trip."

I agree with the first statement-- I do have an F. However, the third statement is totally false: I submitted three other assignments before the grading window closed, but they weren't accounted for. I offered that as evidence as to why I should be good grade wise, but my appeal for an exception to policy was still denied. 

I'm going to talk to my instructor, face to face, next time I see him. I already missed out on fist bumping Obama, but it's not about that anymore. I want him to explain to me why I'm deficient, because I still don't see how I could be.

Milestones

Remember how excited I was as 100th Night approached? Well guess what-- today, March 31, 2011 is 50th Night. As Spring Break ended two weeks ago and our last APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) as cadets was administered last Monday and Tuesday, there are no milestones left really until Graduation Day.

Unless of course you have a capstone or thesis due. Then, I suppose one still has those to overcome.

I really should be writing my thesis as well, as I have to have a full rough draft in by the end of the week, but I figured that blogging will get the thesis juice flowing. It's been a while you know, but it's actually a good segue into my next topic: Spring Break.

So for Spring Break, I traveled to Sicily with the History Department. Lucky for me because a) it was a fully funded trip to Sicily and b) because my thesis has to do with paratroopers in Sicily during WWII. We got to travel all over the island, hitting up the cities of Siracusa, Catania, Troina, Aggrigento, and Gela, among others. Like all my traveling experiences (I've been to Japan, South Korea, Brazil, the Philippines, and now Sicily), I never fully appreciate the place while I'm there. While I was in Sicily, I thought the place was very backwards. The cities could be hardly classified as such, as they were very small and consisted mainly of homes. I don't think I saw one highrise while I was there. Moreover, there were old, run down stone buildings everywhere, which I thought weird, as I'm used to old buildings like that being demolished to make room for new buildings. Now as I reflect on the experience though, I feel that Sicily would be a nice place to retire. The people there live very simple lives, with many people being farmers or shepherds. The country side is also very beautiful, with rolling hills everywhere. Their road system is like spaghetti though, and its easy to get lost, but I suppose if I'm retired, I'll have little reason to leave home.

I wish I could show you the photos I took of Sicily, as the place reminded me of the landscape of Northern California (my home town area), but silly me forgot my camera on the airplane coming back from Sicily. I tried in vain to recover my camera (filed a claim, revisited the lost and found multiple times, etc) but I suppose that ship has sailed. Oh well-- gives me more reason to come back to Sicily right?

I can't believe that my last Spring Break as an undergraduate is in the rearview mirror now. I can't believe the next APFT I take will be as a second lieutneant. Time is flying. My cadet milestones are limited.

Guess I should work on that thesis now...

"No plan survives first contact with the enemy"

Or for you non-brutal types: "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning how to dance in the rain."

I had a heart-to-heart with my 100th Night Date today about 100th Night. Our last night together was less than optimal. I was upset because it appeared that she was unappreciative of my efforts for that weekend. Before we drifted off to bed, I asked her what she thought of the weekend, expecting to hear nothing but "it was great" as a sign of social tact. On the contrary, she told me exactly what she thought, but ended it all with "I still had a great time."

So yes, I really was upset over it, but I was a little girl about it all and became passive aggressive our last night together and didn't express how I really felt. Funny because I vented to my best friend about it on my drive back to West Point and the first song that played on the radio as I was driving back was "Fuck You" by Cee Lo Green. Perfectly apt given the situation no? I then talked to my roommate about what happened, about some of her concerns over the weekend and he told me that you can't expect everyone you hang out with to act like a cadet and that you have to be able to adjust to their abilities. One of my date's concerns was that she felt that everything was rushed. I didn't think so, but I suppose its because I'm used to having everything planned out to the minute whereas she was more used to going with the flow. Given that it was supposed to be a relaxing weekend, and given that I did stress out over missing hard times, I suppose a mix of both should have been in order.

Getting that off my chest was good and I think my relationship with my 100th Night Date is better off because of it. I think that this is one lesson that will serve me well in the future. I can't just dwell on the fact that my well thought out plan wasn't unfurling as it should or that the storm was coming. I need to be able to survive first contact with the enemy, learn how to dance in the rain, and learn to just have fun and still win.

All in all though, to be completely honest, I did have a blast over 100th Night Weekend, inaccurate planning and grumpiness and all. It has definitely made me even more jaded that's for sure. Graduation Day couldn't come any slower!

100th Night. 100th Night Complete. Please be seated.

So the deed is done: 100th Night Weekend is official over and what a weekend it was. It's always nice to see a well planned plan executed successfully, even if not everything went according to plan.

100th Night Weekend started innocently enough with a regular school day. It was rainy that morning, so I guess you can thank the Class of 2011 for "making it rain" that day. To be fair, I did spend quite a bit this past weekend (more than a months salary, but my monthly salary isn't very much to begin with, so don't let that fool you). Nonetheless, it was still a fun weekend.

The Secretary of Defense came and spoke to us that afternoon and talked about how we were entering a military that's the most capable since ever basically, but also very stressed because of all the demands placed on it. I really like Secretary Gates because it seems that he genuinely cares for the troops, a feeling I never felt for Secretary Rumsfeld.

After hearing Secretary Gates speak, I was done for the day. I wasn't scheduled to meet with my 100th Night Date until about 5:00pm, so I spent a bit of time in the room getting ready, packing, and cleaning. It's pretty funny to note that my roommate and I cleaned the most we've ever cleaned that afternoon simply because we'd have company (i.e.girls) over. Our room looked pretty spic and span at the end of it all.

I then left the barracks to go up to my car. Along the way, it started raining again, and as I neared my car (about a mile away from where I live-- up hill too) the rain had turned into snow flakes. Luckily, as time would tell, it would be a great weekend and it only snowed that afternoon/early evening.

So I get to the train station and meet up with my date on the train. As it was a Friday evening, the train was pretty packed, but probably not as packed as it could have been due to the crappy weather. I was pretty tired at this time, so I dozed off on the train for a little bit. Before you know it, we were at Grand Central Terminal. While there, we picked out a bottle of pinot grigio and a fruit tart to share after dinner that night.

Speaking of dinner, we went to the Top of the Tower Restaurant. I read reviews on it saying that the view was gorgeous but the food was mediocre, so I didn't expect too much, but I was pleasantly surprised. The view was great! At 26 stories up, and every table right next to the window, every diner has a commanding view of the sights of the East River. The food was also very good-- I had short ribs as an appetizer and salmon as the main course while my date had muscles as an appetizer and gnocchi. I was laughing at my date's misfortune as she tried one of the peppers included with her muscles-- a little too spicy for her I suppose. I don't do spicy food well at all (I sweat profusely, even with mildly spicy stuff), so I flat out refused.

That evening, we didn't do much but enjoy each other's company over dessert and wine. A pleasant experience for all.

The next day, Saturday February 26, 2011, we woke up bright and early in order to get to my date's 10am hair appointment down in Chelsea. I'm so glad I have a smart phone now, as it's GPS feature has saved me more times than I can count. It didn't take too long for my date to get her hair done, and she looked ravishing afterward and you could see that even getting her hair done gave her a great boost of confidence. After that, we decided to get lunch. I was in the mood for Korean, Korean Ramen in particular as I developed a love/hate relationship with it after my trip to South Korea this past summer (a story for another day, maybe off the record), but we decided to settle for Vietnamese food instead.

Still having some time to kill, I was somehow dragged into window shopping. As my date looked at clothes, I thought it was kinda funny seeing other guys in the women's department searching around for a chair to sit on while carrying bags in both hands. Yo comprendo.

Finally it was time to go to West Point. We were both tired, so we both were under the impression that we would both fall asleep on the train. I kept up my end of the bargain and did fall asleep, but my date was so anxious for the event that she stayed up the entire train ride up/played with the little kid from across the aisle. Great-- a five-year old kid has more game than I do...

At West Point, after changing, my date got to meet my roommate, his girlfriend, and all of my other friends as well. First, we all took photos, as is customary, of which I still have to show my mom. I'll probably forward her those photos after I type up this blog. Before dinner actually started, we had a cocktail social hour, which was a good idea, but poorly executed I think. It was very crowded, and I felt like I was in a club more than I felt like I was in a formal setting. It is kind of funny seeing college aged kids like myself pretending to be older. All I was missing was my pocket watch, cane, top hat, and monocle. Lots of fun now that I think about it.

Dinner was nothing to write home about, as it was the same "formal food" we've eaten at every other formal weekend I've had at West Point. As is customary, we also had a guest speaker, this time it was GEN Cody, former Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. He acknowledged that many of us really didn't care what he was going to talk about, as we all just wanted to go back out and have a good time, so he kept it short, sweet, and very humorous. He was right-- I don't remember what he said, but I know he said it well and he kept my attention.

After dinner, it was time for the 100th Night Show. For those of you who don't know, the 100th Night Show is a musical written, directed, produced, and acted out by firsties with a lot of inside jokes poking fun at our time at West Point. I thought it was just ok-- I've seen the 100th Night Show for other classes and I thought other classes' show had better singing and acting overall. Nonetheless, it was MY class's show and I'm glad I got to see it.

Following the show, it was time for a nice, quiet ride back to the city. We had a transfer before getting into the city though, but after that transfer, I was out the entire time. We didn't get back to the room until past 1 in the morning. Way too tired from the day's events, my date and I just passed out asleep.

Overall, 100th Night Weekend was a blast as it truly showed that our time at West Point is slowly drawing to a close. It really isn't about the fancy clothes, the hot dates, the rings or any of that-- all of that is just icing on the cake. West Point is about the bonds and friendships you form with your fellow classmates and it is truly an experience that cannot be replicated at any other institution I think. I know that at our 20 year reunion, we all will probably draw upon our 100th Night experiences with fond memories and laugh.

(This was definitely my longest blog to date-- a lot happened, and I wanted to write it all down)

100th Night is Finally Here

So after 1300 or something days

(edit: February 28, 2011 12:31AM)

So I never even finished this blog, as I was too busy with other stuff I guess as I was typing this on February 25th, when I was originally writing it. Oh well-- just read the next blog I guess, as it covers most of what I was going to blog about anyway (I think-- I can't really recall where I was going with this blog). While I could delete this blog, I feel that it is noteworthy as it was an attempt at blogging that was interrupted. Might be something I'd wanna look back on in the future you know?

100th Night is a Go!

Today I bought a new shirt, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a new razor, and an air freshener refill for the room. Funny story about the razor though. Last night, in an effort to find something to do aside from homework (which I have yet to do still), I started to shave my beret some more. It's common practice to shave one's beret (i.e the hat the army wears around in garrison) to give it a more "professional" appearance, so I started to do it some more. I won't have to wear a beret until graduation day, but I want to look as bad ass as possible before then and not have the chef hat thing going on. Anyway, as I was shaving, I must've pressed so hard that I broke the connector between the blade head and the holder. It's alright though-- I've had the holder since I was 18 (at the time, Gillette sent you their Gillette Fusion razor as sort of a "birthday" gift to you) so it was definitely time for a new one. I've liked that razor so much that I got the same one (I bought the Gillette Fusion Proglide Power-- what a mouthful!)

I'm gonna look so fresh and so clean clean. 100th Night is a Go.

What a Weekend

While it's a three-day weekend, I opted to stay at West Point because

A) I had no one to hang out with
B) I want to save money
C) I have work to do since I won't be able to do it next week because of 100th Night.

Today, I literally did nothing. I did watch the infamous "The Human Centipede" movie though and oh my gosh I regret seeing it. It was so gross, but I have to admit they did allude more than they actually showed, so I guess in that regard it did its job. However, it was still pretty gross.

On a brutal note, the cops at the end of the movie need to practice room clearing some more. Maybe if they did that, they wouldn't have both died in the end.

In an effort to entertain myself while folding laundry, I created a new playlist dubbed "Dance Mix." It's basically just a bunch of Deadmau5, Justice, and Daft Punk songs, but it still gets the job done (I recently started listening to a bunch of Justice songs). Anyway, check out this new playlist:

"Aerodynamic" by Daft Punk
"Around the World" by Daft Punk
"D.A.N.C.E" by Justice
"Ghosts N Stuff" by Deadmau5
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" by Daft Punk
"Like a G6" by Far East Movement
"Moar Ghosts N Stuff" by Deadmau5
"One More Time" by Daft Punk
"Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO
"Phantom" by Justice
"Phantom Pt. II" by Justice
"Stereo Love" by Edward Maya
"The Time (Dirty Bit)" by Black Eyed Peas
"We No Speak Americano" by Yolanda Be Cool
"You and I" by Deadmau5
15 Songs, About 1 Hour

Hopefully that new playlist will get this blog hits again-- we've tapered off in the past week or so, but maybe that's due to the fact that I haven't been updating as much. I'll do my best to update more consistently.

Lord of the Rings

Right now I have a sudden urge to want to watch the Lord of the Ring trilogy, particularly The Two Towers all because I was talking to a friend about horses. She's on the equestrian team at her school and she was excited because today being Friday meant she would get to go out and ride. I thought of the following youtube videos just because of that thought:.

Youtube search the following when you get a chance:
"Amazing Horse Sweet Lemonade"
"Riders of Rohan"
"Helms Deep Charge"
"Haldir's Elves Helms Deep"
"Helms Deep Part I"

Maybe its a sign that I'm embracing this whole 3d ACR (armored CAVALRY regiment) thing after all?

Oh and surprisingly, I was able to finish that Clausewitz essay and still have a great day today. Great as in I survived and nothing bad happened. I'll still take it!

Tomorrow, I have to inspect uniforms and TA-50. Hopefully it won't take too long, as I deeply value my weekends and it seems like more and more things are occurring on weekends that take up what little free time I have. Oh well.

And the First Class is SOOO short
(How short are we?!)
The First Class is SOOO short they have fewer days at the academy than Jay-Z has problems (it's 98th Night tonight!)

"Thayer Week"

For this blog, I'll introduce a a little West Point jargon:

"Thayer Week"
Thay-er Week
Noun
A particularly busy academic week wherein WPRs (written partial reviews; i.e. "tests"), papers, and/or labs all come one right after the other. Named after COL Sylvanus Thayer, "Father of the Military Academy," who revamp the academic program during his tenure as Superintendent (i.e. college president) of West Point.

So this week was my first Thayer Week of the semester: I had 10 pages for my thesis due, a WPR for Law, a paper proposal due for my Civil War class, and tomorrow, I have a paper due on Clausewitz's view on attack and defense.

I have yet to start on my Clausewitz paper.

Not to mention that this Saturday, we all have a uniform and TA-50 (i.e. military equipment) accountability inspection. I was under the impression that I would totally have this weekend free, but silly me-- we don't! Considering that I already have both my branch (military intelligence, infantry branch detail) and post (Ft. Hood), academics are pretty much pass/fail for me because my grades don't really affect anything anymore. Of course they could affect my chances for graduate school, but at this point, I don't even know if I WANT to go to graduate school. I heard that bachelor's degrees are the new high school diploma and master degrees are the new bachelor's degrees in terms of standards for desireable jobs, but I really don't see myself as an academic or a scholar. I feel that me pursuing these academic goals just to make myself more marketable for a job is tarnishing the good name true scholars may have.

However, since I'll be in the Army for at least 8 years anyway and because of the whole Post 9-11 GI Bill thing, I'll get free in-state graduate school, so I suppose I should try my luck at a good state graduate program. But what to take? I don't know if I'd want to take up history again, my major here, because let's be honest-- it really is kind of boring. Maybe psychology? Counseling? Businness? Criminal Justice? Civil Engineering? Who knows? I guess I'll cross that road 7 years from now when that stuff is more tangible.

Gosh, I REALLY don't want to write this paper. Is it graduation yet?

100th Night!

What do you know? Today, February 9, 2011 is literally 100 nights away from graduation (graduation day is May 21, 2011). With that said, actual 100th Night Weekend is really closer to 85th Night, but its whatever. Semantics.

I also had a pretty eventful yesterday in terms of Facebook status updates. Here were my statuses yesterday:

Your message (Subject: Battle Command Essay Submission) was deleted without being read on Tuesday, February 08, 2011 10:58:50 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).

I love MX.

MX (short for MX400) is a class on officership that is a legitiamte 2.0 credit hour class here at West Point. It's really a hit or miss kind of class: sometimes you get a good instructor and it'll be a great time where one can gain valuable perspective on what it means to be an officer but other times (arguably often times) you get a crappy instructor and the class is a waste of your time. I fall into the latter category. I had an assignment due for the class on "battle command" (whatever the heck that means! I still don't know what "battle command" is exactly) and so I submitted it via email, as per my instructor's guidance. Whenever I submit stuff via email to instructors, I always add a read receipt to it just so I know he received it. Much to my surprise/amusement, I get the above notification sent to me. Shows how much this instructor cares about the class right?

So I try to order graduation invites, and I get an error: "Sorry, you are not in the Class of 2011." This does not bode well for me.

I also received an email last night telling me that graduation invitations are now available for purchase. Having some extra time between not studying and dicking around, I decided to go over to the website and check it out. Much to my surprise, I didn't have access to the website because "I am not in the Class of 2011." I am in the Class of 2011. Go figure.

 I also had my first day of intramural swim practice today. I'm coaching the team, but I still do the workouts too for my own benefit and man was I smoked! By the time spring break rolls around, I'll be in the best shape of my life!

Posting Results

Bottom Line Up Front: I'm going to Fort Hood and will be assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR).

So last night was Post Night, where we firsties get to choose our first duty assignment based on order of merit (i.e. class rank). I'm kind of low in the OML (169/271) so it really was a nerve racking time for me. Needless to say, I didn't get any of my top choices (all the airborne slots went out-- go figure) so I went for the next best thing: 3rd ACR. I really don't know much about the unit, but I've done a little research and they seem pretty cool. Apparently, George S. Patton was in it at one time. Whether or not I'll be as famous as him is still questionable, but I look forward to the adventure.

Oh and the stetson and the spurs thing characteristic of cavalrymen? I think that will take a little bit to grow on me.

I'm Not Dead

To all my loyal readers (yes I'm talking to you Palm user. I see that you visit my blog almost everyday),

I'm not dead. I just haven't had the time or energy really to blog. I'm kind of jaded right now and really eager for Post Night, which, interestingly enough is in 17 hours. I'll post a new blog later today to document the festivities of that night.

Get excited.

Wow

A lot of Old Grads (i.e. West Point alumni) tell me to start taking photos now, because Firstie year will be over before I know it. I'm really starting to believe them now. In a few days, I'll find out where I'll be stationed upon commissioning in May. This is really an exciting time. I've been talking to quite a few people, trying to get some advice into where I want to post. So far, it's been back and forth between Ft. Hood, TX and Ft. Bragg, NC. I'm not sure if I can get to Ft. Bragg based on my class rank within the Infantry order of merit, but we'll see. From what I've gathered, it's still a good match for what I want to do.

I'm also working hard (or hardly working) on my senior thesis. I'm going to write about how Operation Husky served as reality check for the airborne paratroopers. Really, I just love everything airborne, and thought writing about them would be cool. I guess it's kind of neat to read up on them, but I could do without the actually writing part of a thesis. Let's hope I can do well in this-- if I don't write a decent thesis, I may not graduate on time!

Yesterday, I drove to Connecticut and let me tell you, driving through there at night is quite the trip. With the state routes so secluded and winding through dense woods, it can be a little creepy and a little "Blair Witch"-esque. It is a nice drive though, especially at night with no other cars on the road. It almost makes you feel like you're a race car driver.

I got back to West Point pretty late last night (around 3:00am) and got "randomly" searched at the gates by the MPs. I'm sure the MP just saw the cadet base decals on my car and decided to snipe me. How do I know this? Well, there was a car right ahead of me and he didn't get randomly searched. I thought at first maybe because I was coming in so late they would search whoever would come in at that time, but again, I was searched and the person in front of me was not.

The MP was pretty cool about it though. As he filled in his paperwork, I used the portapotty right next to where I had my car parked during the search, and by the time I got out, he was almost done and I was on my way. It must suck working graveyard as an MP: it was cold out, no cars really coming through, and overall just boring. I hope those guys stay warm.

Today was a lazy day of watching episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, playing Final Fantasy VII, and watching "Surviving the Cut: Ranger School" on youtube.

I'm getting excited for things to come.

Doxycycline

It's 8:43am right now as I'm typing this, and though the day is not done just yet, I feel this day will be pretty slow, so I'm blogging now.

This morning (i.e. less than an hour ago) I threw up. Not in class or anything, but I wasn't feeling too hot, so I excused myself from class and was praising the porcelain god as it were. I'm on Doxycycline (look it up) right now for my mild acne, and that, coupled with Differin has been working a lot, and I think I'm getting better. I hope to finally grow out of this whole teenage acne thing, but we'll see.

Anyway, you're supposed to take Doxycycline with food, so this morning for breakfast, I had two pieces of sausage, a cup of tea, and a glass of water. I normally try to eat something in addition to my daily cup of tea and glass of water so I could meet the requirement for the Doxycycline. Something happened I guess and before you knew it, I was spilling my guts out.

I'm ok now in case you were wondering, but don't have me tell you all about constructivism and how it relates to International Relations (that's what we were learning in class at the time I threw up). I know nothing about it.

Priorities

These past few days, I've shifted my priorities a little bit. A big reason as to why this is all happening is because senioritis has hit, and it has hit hard. Like high school, being a second semester firstie here at West Point makes you kinda jaded and all you want to do is go out and have fun.

So with that said, my priorities have shifted a little bit.

For example, this past Thursday, the firsties in my company were scheduled to take their company photo for the Howitzer, our yearbook. Well, only a handful of firsties showed up (12 out of 33) and because we had less than half, we weren't allowed to take our photo until we got more people. We called some of our friends and told them to muster everyone they could and eventually they all came down, albeit a little bit late.

We also had a company wine tasting event that Thursday. Everyone showed up on time for that one. Needless to say, based on the culture within Company C-1, our priorities were just where we wanted them to be.

Last Friday, we had to wake up pretty early because they were doing something to commemorate the 30 year reunion of the Iranian Hostages that we (as in the best soldiers in the US Military) failed to rescue during Operation Eagle Claw. Apparently, after they were released back in the day, the first stop they visited after hitting stateside was West Point. Now I know if I were held in captivity for who knows how long, the first place I'd want to visit would be my hometown, not some random Military Academy. Because of their visit at 9 or so, we had to get up at 6 since we couldn't have classes going on during their little parade (cadets were forced to serve as a backdrop for it). As I had an Honor Board to help run, I didn't go, but from what I understand, sentiments were mixed about the whole thing. Some said that the event was very meaningful and kind of neat to be a part of while others saw it as a waste of time since the Iranian Hostages didn't even parade really, just rode in a fan down the aisle the cadets formed for them. Knowing me, I'd probably agree with the latter, only because I wouldn't even be able to take a photo of the hostages, only see them pass by in a random van.

I also had to speak with my Thesis Adviser on Friday afternoon. The night before, when I was tired and all, I had to muster together the energy/coherence to write together a thesis proposal for him. Couple that with waking up early that Friday afternoon, and it made for a rough Friday.

I had a date on Friday night, but since I was so tired from the day's events, I took a nap immediately after speaking with my adviser. The date I went on was pretty fun: we went roller skating, which I haven't done since senior year of high school. We also went to the diner that was right next door, and for what you pay for, you get a decent amount of decent quality food. I'd recommend it (it's Zagat rated too-- who knew?)

After eating, we went down to the river front to look at all the icebergs floating past when suddenly, we run into a wild fox! I've never seen a live fox before, and it was kind of neat seeing him, especially because my friend goes to Marist and their mascot is a fox.

I then took her back to her place, where we hung out a bit. I also got to meet her housemates. Nice folks and very welcoming.

As you can see, my priorities are not set either. I should've been working on the Law paper I have due on Wednesday or on my thesis, which I have 5 pages due on Thursday, but what can you do? You make your decisions, you live with the consequences and you just live.

PS
Oh, and I'm only going as friends with the girl I asked to 100th Night. We kind of had a falling out. Again, our priorities didn't match up. She was focusing on school. I was focusing on a relationship. Common knowledge would suggest she made the wiser decision, but only time will really tell.

Cadets Always Win (?)

So today, I almost had a heart attack.

Not really. But I did almost lose my driver's license. Well, to be fair, I did, but someone found it. Apparently, it fell in the snow (probably on Sunday night when I used my car last) and someone found it. My iPod fell in the snow that day as well (don't worry-- it still works), and my driver's license must have been on my lap when it fell out (you have to show ID to get back on base). I only realized that I was missing my driver's license because I was actually in the library today doing work today for my senior thesis. When using WIFI here at West Point, you need to use your military ID to log into the system. I usually put my driver's license behind my military ID and today, I realized it wasn't there.

In any event, some guy messaged me saying he has it and I'm going to pick it up tomorrow. Cadets Always Win.

Or do they? I may have alienated a very good friend of mine today. I overreacted because of another past, romantic event, which we shouldn't delve too deep into here. We'll see if I can salvage this.

Oh and I just noticed I got five views from Denmark today. That's pretty neat. Hey, if you enjoy my blog, feel free to say hello, lest I consider you anonymous readers creepier than you already are, as all I do is just write my thoughts to end the day.

Decisions

The Army has a "Career Satisfaction Program" and it's broken down into three parts: ADSO (Active Duty Service Obligation) for Branch, ADSO for Post, and ADSO for Grad School. You can choose two of the three. Basically, with ADSO for branch and post, you can get your desired branch or post for an additional three years in the Army each. I already ADSO'ed for branch (I'm military intelligence, branch detailed into the infantry FYI), so that stretches my normal active duty service obligation from five years to eight years (coming out of West Point, you already owe the Army five years on active duty, three years in the reserves. Me ADSO'ing for branch just changes my three years of reserve time into active time.)

I don't think I'm going to ADSO for post though because I wouldn't be at that post for very long anyway, considering the whole War on Terror and everything. So basically, it's just not worth it to ADSO for post.

Now ADSO for Grad School, colloquially known as GRADSO. Basically, if I choose to stay in for three years past my normal service obligation, and elect to GRADSO now, while still a cadet, I can go to any graduate school program in the nation on the Army's dime. I'd just have to pay back 3 years for every year I'm in grad school, so basically, I'll tack on an additional 6 years to my Army service obligation.

A Visual Representation of what I'd owe if I GRADSO'ed:

5 years (because of West Point)
+ 3 Years (because of ADSO'ing for post)
+3 Years (to be eligible to GRADSO)
+2 Years (in Grad School, earning my normal Army salary, basically living as a civilian)
+6 Years (because of GRADSO commitment)
=19 years in the Army.

YIKES! 19 years in the Army is a lot to consider, and given that after 8 years, I'll have the Post-9/11 GI Bill anyway, where I can go to any state funded school for free, the GRADSO program is looking less and less appealing. To top it all off, I really want to join the FBI after my Army time is up, and because the FBI has an age limit of 37 when applying, if I do GRADSO, I'd be too old to apply.

So yeah, I don't think I'll be GRADSOing,

In other news, we select our first posts on February 3rd. I sort of have an idea of where I want to go, but am not entirely sure yet. Here's what I'm thinking so far:

1) Italy
2) Bragg
3) Richardson

As you can see, I want to go Airborne. We'll see what I can get though.

Mixes

So today was a pretty chill day: woke up at 10, had brunch, chilled in the room. I also made some new playlists for my iPod.

Workout Mix (25 Songs, About 1 Hour, 40 Minutes)
"Airplanes (Part II)" by B.o.B
"All I Do is Win" by DJ Khaled
"Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa
"Bulletproof" by La Roux
"Clothes Off" by Gym Class Heroes
"Damnit" by Blick-182
"Day 'n' Nite (Nightmare)" by Kid Cudi
"Daylight (Remix)" by Ninjasonik
"Drop It Like It's Hot" by Snoop Dogg
"Feeling This" by Blink-182
"Forever" by Drake
"Forget About Dre" by Dr. Dre
"Gotta Get Thru This" by Daniel Bedingfield
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" by Daft Punk
"Headstrong" by Trapt
"Imma Be" by Black Eyed Peas
"Lose Yourself" by Eminem
"My Dick" by Mickey Avalon
"Not Afraid" by Eminem
"Remember the Name" by Fort Minor
"Run this Town" by Jay-Z
"Stronger" by Kanye West
"There's No Sympathy for the Dead" by Escape the Fate
"The Way I are" by Timbaland
"We R Who We R" by Ke$ha.

Driving Mix (20 Songs, About 1 Hour, 20 Minutes)
"Animal" by Miike Snow
"Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa
"Bullet" by Rhymefest
"Cooler than Me" by Mike Posner
"Daylight" by Matt and Kim
"Electric Feel" by MGMT
"Embrace the Martian" by Kid Cudi
"Ghosts N Stuff" by Deadmau5
"Gimmie Shelter" by The Rolling Stones
"Good Day" by Nappy Roots
"Goodbye" by Wiz Khalifa
"Magic" by B.o.B
"Make Her Say" by Kid Cudi
"Moar Ghosts N Stuff" by Deadmau5
"Shots" by LMFAO
"Stereo Love" by Edward Maya
"Stronger" by Kanye West
"Take the Reins" by Tsunami Bomb
"You and I" by Deadmau5
"Your Woman" by White Town

Use them as you see fit.