COT class 10-03

mobro · Feb 10, 2010

thanks carolinapooh! i think just the fact that i'm not sure what i'm getting myself into scares me- i have visions of being yelled at for various reasons and trying not to cry! i'm almost positive that it won't be as bad as it seems in my head so it's nice to read a few encouraging words. (i'm also a very particular sleeper with four pillows and a white noise maker in my room so having an extra pillow might just make up for the sleep deprivation i'm anticipating!)

on a side note- i'm coming from atlanta, about 3 hours from maxwell. would there be any advantage to me staying the night before at a nearby hotel or would it really matter if i drive in the day of?

rghbsn, BSN, RN · Feb 10, 2010

You are supposed to be there between noon and four. I would just drive there the day of, what are you going to do for half a day if you stay at a hotel? Just my opinion.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Feb 10, 2010

thanks carolinapooh! i think just the fact that i'm not sure what i'm getting myself into scares me- i have visions of being yelled at for various reasons and trying not to cry! i'm almost positive that it won't be as bad as it seems in my head so it's nice to read a few encouraging words. (i'm also a very particular sleeper with four pillows and a white noise maker in my room so having an extra pillow might just make up for the sleep deprivation i'm anticipating!)
on a side note- i'm coming from atlanta, about 3 hours from maxwell. would there be any advantage to me staying the night before at a nearby hotel or would it really matter if i drive in the day of?

That would be up to you. I drove from North Carolina to Atlanta and treated myself to a night in the Atlanta Sheraton (one last night of civilization, if you will!), then went to Montgomery the next day and spent the night in billeting - and then went in the next day after a very leisurely morning at around two p.m. I liked not having to rush there the day of checking in. Had I lived close like you do, I think I would have done the same thing, if for no other reason to just take my time in getting there - but that's up to you.

I was also terrified that if I drove in there that next day, I'd end up with a flat or in an accident, and then I would have had to have called and done the whole, "I won't be there today because I have a flat", and I didn't want to deal with that. Paranoid? Well, yes, but I know how Murphy's law tends to kick in when you least need it to or expect it.

Also - I just remembered that our room was COLD. I ended up buying Air Force sweatpants and a sweatshirt (the only things besides a uniform that you can wear in the dorms, so I highly recommend getting a set when you get there) and I slept in them every night because the room was freezing - and I was there in October when it was ninety degrees. It didn't get much better in mid-November, when it was thirty at night and frost was on the ground. There's a thermostat in each room but I don't think you really control the temperature - we turned it up to ninety and the heat NEVER got better. So one of those cotton thermal blankets might not be a bad idea; if I had it to do over again, I would take one. All that's on the bed is a thin blue bedspread and a sheet. They did bring us an extra blanket, but I was still cold, and I'm not really a cold natured person.

And about the Tupperware container - we had cereal, M&Ms, granola, instant coffee, creamer, Pop Tarts - it's not that they have to be SEALED, it's that it can't be anything that doesn't fit in the container, and it's for pest control purposes. One of the girls who lived across from me would have DIED without her peanut M&Ms, and I bought a bag of chips from the commissary once! We used to have hall parties when we'd study - everyone would bring something from their box.

Take a big cup (sounds stupid) because we also had powdered stuff, like KoolAid and Gatorade, and there are ICE MACHINES on the halls that you can use. Nothing like a big glass of Gatorade before you go to bed, believe me.

And do not sweat the uniform thing. I repeat this because I know it's a stressful thing for nonpriors. They'd actually prefer you DON'T study AFI 36-2903 (the reg governing uniform wear) so you don't get any bad habits, so you do not need to know anything about any of it. That's what your priors are for.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Feb 10, 2010

oh, and i think i read this somewhere but is there a weight limit for moving? and how do i know if i'm close to it? i don't have that much stuff but a couch, dresser, bed, etc starts to add up. and how much of a pain is it to set up moving for dates you need? i'll have to have my mother be in charge of it since i'll be moving while at cot, i guess, but she works too so it'd have to be around her schedule...
like everything else does this all seem to work itself out? i guess i should have learned by now that it does but it's stressful and anxiety inducing!

The weight limit - for 2nd Lt's with dependents it was 12000 pounds, and we had a 2500 square foot house of furniture and crap, and we only had 9200 pounds (including a plasma TV and a big old big screen - one of the old Sony Trinitron 32" ones that weighs about - literally - a hundred pounds - two beds; about a hundred books; full living room furniture; my husband's big Craftsman metal tool chest thing, the five foot tall one with the drawers; MY CLOSET - you get the idea). So yes, it does add up, but you'll be fine with just the usual stuff. I think without dependents it's about 7000 pounds, so you won't even come close.

And your mom will end up having to take a day or two off work, because they don't do this stuff on weekends (at least our movers didn't, and I was told at TMO that they don't) and what they do is they come one day and pack it, and then they come another day and crate it up for shipping. I know that sucks but it might be necessary.