sevenhelz

Okay, first off, I'm totally still in the honeymoon period of the T.A. and was thinking of leaving this post a while, but hell, I'm enjoying myself now.

So. You know how I've been depressed on and off forever and ever? I'm not like that with the T.A... The lack of decisions (what clothes to wear, what to do with your day etc), the routine, the regular food, the exercise (and encouragement to get fitter, without pressure to keep up with other people), having something productive to do, and knowing that you're surrounded by people who will do their best to take care of you (in their own special way lol) is just awesome.

People... In the band there are a few ex-regs, a few who've been in the T.A. for years and years, and a fair few who're new to the whole army thing. Obviously I'm one of the latter, so I know that we're all a bit like, woo, there's all these rules we're not being properly taught, and what exactly do this company we're part of do? (Interestingly, it turns out the infantry who train in the same building have been told not to play with us might be a bit sad that we've stolen a room from them, but it's not our fault so as long as we "integrate" it'll all be fine. Integrating involves lots of drinking, apparently)... Anyhow, the new kids vary a lot in how helpful they are to one another and the other banders, but all the people who've been in a while do take care of us. Our PSI's pretty protective, and while there's a lot of joking about how bad we are at marching, everyone who's done it before is very supportive of those who haven't. And so on. It's a really pleasant atmosphere to be in, and even if the music for the night is not that exciting (for me), I still love going for a blow. Tuba players' sense of humour works for me, and we get paid to play! Living the dream, I tell you.

C Company (who we're technically part of, but in a lot of ways we're set apart from) is slightly different - it's unnerving, for me at least, to go in to a drill hall full of tall boys taking apart guns, and look for the one who looks meanest has the stripes to find out more about, well, the company. It's much easier to join them in the bar later, when there are less of them and they're obviously more relaxed. This is what I tried last night, and I got on well with a reet few people. I even made the mardy staffsarnt smile. Some of the lads are not massively trustworthy, but anyone with stripes definitely has a protective streak.

Another thing I'm really liking is the possibilty of advancement/placing where  you should be. Obviously I haven't gone through basic training yet so I have yet to see where this can take me, but several people have noted my RSW results (which were excellent to good) and decided I could go far. I'm not being pressured, but encouraged to join the company as well as play in band - and band would always be prioritised, for the benefit of everyone concerned really :-)

Then there are the phrases they use; crack on, no dramas.

So yes. With all that, there's a lot of promise in the T.A., and let's not forget the things I'm quickly discovering make me horny; muscles, uniforms, dangerous men who choose not to be dangerous, and so on. I really haven't sustained this level of arousement for this long in... um.... anyway. It's fun :-) and all the recruitment bollocks they give about finding out more about yourself? Actually, kinda true. Rest assured, the T.A. is awesome, and if you know any clarinet players in the Huddersfield area, you should send them along to the band.
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