Joseph Babitsky

Incoming Rook Tip: Laundry/Linen/Dry Cleaning Services

Hey there everyone, as the title says, this post is aimed squarely at incoming rooks, so sorry everyone else!     

Alrighty, so for you future rooks, if you're like me, you recently got a letter in the mail talking about laundry, linen, and dry cleaning services. And, if you're like me from last year, you're probably wondering if these services are even worth what they cost. Now, I only had the dry cleaning service myself, and I have to say it was definitely worth it (in fact, I'm signing up again for it this year!) 

Your uniforms tend to get dirty pretty quickly, especially during the warmer months at the beginning and end of the school year, so you'll want them cleaned pretty regularly. Having the dry cleaning service also saved me a ton of time in uniform prep and inspection prep. Whenever you bring a shirt or a pair of trou (those are uniform pants, y'all will learn the lingo when you get to Norwich) in to be dry cleaned, be sure to tell them "military crease and heavy starch."

That way, when you get them back, you've got perfectly pressed and inspection-ready uniforms! Granted, I've had to reiron my shirts a few times when the dry cleaning service put in some railroad tracks (two creases on the sleeves) or missed some wrinkles, but overall it saved me a ton of time. 

In regards to the laundry and linen services, I can't speak for how good they are, but I made out just fine without 'em (I prefer to do my own laundry and sleep in my own sheets anyways.) 

Hope this helps to inform some of your decisions and answer some questions about the upcoming year! 

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-PVT Babitsky

Summer Update

Hey everyone!

It's been a while since my last post, so I figured I'd update you all on what's been going on since I left the Hill. 

For the most part, I've just been relaxing and enjoying weather warmer than 60 degrees (though I'm starting to miss the cooler weather, now that the heat and humidity seem to be conspiring against me.)

I've been keeping up my service as well! My dad and I recently volunteered with an organization that I hold very near and dear to my heart, Attitudes In Reverse or A.I.R., which aims to raise mental health awareness. We helped out at their annual 5k walk/run here in New Jersey, and had a blast doing so! I recommend checking out their Facebook group and seeing what they're all about (feel free to ask me about them as well!) 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/115778145109677

 

In keeping with my promise, here's another tip for incoming rooks: 

When you're packing/picking up things for Rookdom off of that list the school has on their site (http://www.norwich.edu/admissions/rooks-what-to-bring/) I recommend bringing more of just about everything. Now you're probably wondering: "Why on Earth would I want MORE stuff than I need?" The reason behind this is due to the fact that if your stuff doesn't get lost (trust me, you'll lose things, either because you're rushing around and forget where it is, or it gets all dirty/muddy/unservicable during training) then you'll have extras in case some of your rook buddies forgot something. Sharing equipment with my rook buddies definitely happened a lot throughout the year, and by the end of Rookdom, I was glad I brought too much of everything. 

Keep on enjoying summer everyone! 

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-PVT Babitsky

End of Freshman Year

Well, this is it. My first year of college is officially over. 

It's a little odd, it feels like just last week I was heading up to Norwich for Rook Arrival Day and now I'm relaxing at home like I never left. 

This year has certainly been memorable, I've gone through some tough challenges, physically and mentally, and I've made a ton of new friends and had a bunch of awesome experiences. 

I'm definitely looking forward to relaxing and studying abroad later this summer! 

Now I'm sure at least one of you are now wondering: "What about your blog Joe? What are you going to talk about now that you're not at Norwich for the summer?" 

Glad you asked!

I'll be blogging- albeit a bit less frequently- about what's going on with my summer, cool stuff about studying abroad, and I'll try to make a post or two solely concerning tips for incoming freshmen (and especially incoming rooks.) 

As usual though, don't hesitate to ask me if you have a specific question about anything! 

Time to continue my summer! 

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-PVT Babitsky

End of Classes

So yesterday was the last day of classes, and I have to say, it's a bit of a surreal feeling knowing that I'm not going to be going to classes next week. 

I'll talk more about this in a later post, but I seriously can't believe how quickly this year went by. 

At any rate, it's now crunch time for finals! I've been fortunate, having mostly papers, projects, and take-home finals so I don't have much to study for (I'm only taking a single final tomorrow, then I'm heading home) but I'm still going to ensure that my knowledge is polished up so I can ace this last exam! 

My tip for next year's freshmen (I'll try to post more of these throughout the summer, and more frequently as we get close to the beginning of school): Don't procrastinate those final papers and projects! If you leave them all to the end, you won't be able to focus on those finals that you have at a specified time, which means you'll do worse in more subjects simply because you left yourself with a pile of work and very little time.

Good luck to everyone who's got finals this week, hope everyone does well! 

 

Catch y'all later! 

 

-PVT Babitsky

Junior Ring Weekend

Lemme begin this post with a word of congratulations to all of the juniors who received their rings this past Friday! 

 

So traditionally, Junior Ring weekend is a time of celebration/partying at Norwich, in order to honor the juniors who received their rings at the start of the weekend. However, as a Christian (and a non-partyer) I opted to hang out at my pastor's house for the weekend with a bunch of friends (conveniently located within walking distance from campus.) 

 

And what a weekend it's been! 

 

We kicked off the weekend by helping out my pastor with some yard work (along with some wrestling, as inevitably happens when you've got a bunch of guys in the same place) and then moved on to an epic Nerf war around the house. We also watched an awesome movie (To Save a Life, I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it!) and played a ton of Halo/Wii games/board games. 

Overall, a thoroughly awesome weekend, and it's not over yet! 

Hope everyone else's weekend has been as awesome as mine, and congratulations once again to all the juniors!

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-PVT Babitsky

Easter

Hey everyone, I know I'm a tad late, but Happy Easter to you all! 

Being Christian, Easter was definitely a big day for me, and I'm really glad I got to spend it with my pastor and his family and some fellow cadets from Norwich. I spent my time there just hanging out, doing a bit of homework (and falling asleep on my homework,) and ended the night with dinner at Applebee's and a great game of Catan (if you've never heard of the game, go look it up! It's really fun.)

 

So yeah, short little post on how I spent my Easter Sunday. Hope you all had a good one as well! 

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-PVT Babitsky

Warrior Spirit Powwow

Today was the first ever Warrior Spirit Powwow at Norwich, and I was fortunate enough to be in attendance for the entirety of the event!

I've got to say, this being my first actual encounter with authentic Native American culture, I found it to be quite the interesting experience. We all grow up with some sort of preconception of what we think "Indians" are (coming from an area with a high concentration of Indians from India, I generally prefer to use the term "Native American" to avoid confusion) but this powwow definitely blew all of my preconceptions away. 

Over the course of the day, I came to realize how little I actually know about the culture, and just how deep, complex, and diverse it is. Watching the traditional dances and listening to the accompanying music, I found myself drawn into a culture that many never get to experience. 

If any of you ever get the chance, I highly recommend attending a powwow! Below are some pictures I snapped during the day's events. (Or maybe just one picture, I still can't seem to get this in-line image uploader figured out.)(Edit: Or maybe no images, because apparently the image uploader is refusing to work.)

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-PVT Babitsky

 

Midweek Movie Night

Today I watched The Passion of the Christ with a few of my friends from NCF (Norwich Christian Fellowship) and I have to say, it was absolutely an incredible movie. 

As a Christian, the movie really visualized the story of Jesus' crucifixion that I've read many times in the Bible, and I have to say, it was definitely the most powerful movie I've ever seen in my life. 

I'm not ashamed to say that I cried during the movie.

Being reminded of Jesus' sacrifice for those that have accepted Him, especially this close to Easter, certainly has impacted me, and reminded me of the ideal that I should be living up to as a Christian. 

I highly recommend the film to anyone who hasn't seen it, and if you have already, watch it again. 

 

Catch y'all later.

 

-PVT Babitsky

Newsboys Concert and RPI Drill Meet

As the title states, this post is about two events that I recently attended.

First up, the Newsboys God Is Not Dead tour came to Barre, VT this past Thursday!

For those of you who don't know, the Newsboys are a Christian rock band, and they played a concert with 3 other Christian bands (Anthem Lights, The City Harmonic, and Abandon.) And the concert was AMAZING. It was the first real concert I've ever attended, and it was an awesome time of worship and just rocking out. 

I certainly hope I get the chance to attend another one of their concerts!

 

The next event (which I just returned from) was the AFROTC drill meet at RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.) 

For those of you that know me, you know I've been to quite a few AFJROTC drill comps in my day, but this was my first AFROTC comp. It was definitely a new and interesting experience, and it was a ton of fun competing, watching other teams compete, and just hanging out/exploring the campus with my teammates.

Definitely can't wait for RPI's comp next year! 

 

It's definitely been an action-packed past few days (especially since I spent 2 of those days down with a GI virus) and I'm glad tomorrow's Sunday so I can rest and regroup.

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-PVT Babitsky

Spring Break

Hey everyone, I made the determination that I don't post enough when I'm on break (read: at all) so here's a quick update on my spring break!

Unlike many people, I didn't go anywhere warm or full of non-stop parties for spring break, but instead just came home to good ol' New Jersey. Not that that stopped me from enjoying my break, mind you!

It's still a good 10 degrees warmer here than it is up in Vermont, and that's more than enough for me. I got to hang out with friends, visit my high school JROTC unit and help them prep for their drill comp this Saturday (good luck guys!) and saw a movie. 

What movie you may ask? The Lorax. (I didn't pick the movie.) I was skeptical at first (I'm not a fan of animated movies) but it was surprisingly good! A lot of the jokes had double meanings for those who were older, and the entire movie was actually an excellent commentary on the importance of preserving the environment (as anyone who read the original story would know.) 

All in all, a break well spent, and it's not over yet! 

 

Catch y'all later!

 

-PVT Babitsky