Livin' La Vie DeLucca

Somewhat Settled

2009-07-18T13:11:00.002-04:00

Well, I made it through Basic & Individual Training. Now I am at my first duty station. No. My wife isn't with me yet. She'll finish her degree at the Art Institute of Atlanta in December. In the meantime I'll be lonely & hopefully motivated to becoming the best soldier I can be. Tunde is planning to come here in January, but that may change. I am projected to go to Iraq soon after with my PsyOp Group. Ya'll just keep praying for me that I will oneday be reunited with my wife. I do miss her dreadfully. OK, that's enough catching up for now.
I need to do some research.

Home 4 the Holidays!

2008-12-22T19:36:00.003-05:00

So nice to be home for the holidays. I'm on block leave from Basic Training for the Army. I don't like it. I didn't expect to like it, but I just had to make that statement. It's making me into a warrior, though. I had made plans to be busy training and improving my physical endurance. The last 2 days before I came home changed my mind. The drill sergeants were especially brutal because they knew we'd have 2 weeks to recover. So now that I'm home, I'm being pretty lazy and enjoying it. I realized that no matter how good a shape I'm in, I'm gonna push myself to the point of breaking. So now is a good time to eat and heal and enjoy the simple pleasures in life. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Due Date

2008-11-14T09:32:00.003-05:00

Well, it's Friday the 14th. A few more days before I leave for Basic Training. I still haven't gotten my running shoes yet. They're expensive. I've put it off too long. They should have been broken-in by now, but I've simply procrastinated. I had other bills to pay. It's always like that with money. There are always things that you definitely need but put off because of pressing bills. It's the crisis thing. There is no actual deadline for buying the shoes except my leave day. The bills have an actual due date. Now I'll be going off to boot camp with shoes that are not broken-in, simply because I never set a "due date" for buying them. Maybe I should type them on a paper & put them on the side of the fridge like we do the bills. It's one thing if it's a new phone, or ipod or something I don't neeeeeeed, but to put off buying something that I have to have... that's silly. My feet are important. I'm going to be using them alot from now on. I'll get the good insoles too. Hmmm. Due date. I think I'll start putting a due date on everything I want to buy so that I can set priorities & a goal timeline. When it gets to the date & I still haven't done it, I'll reevaluate the item & decide if it's a want or need & how critical of a need it is. I'll juggle it along with the bills.

Momentous Day

2008-11-05T15:08:00.003-05:00

I imagine many people think yesterday is a momentous day. It is the day that the United States voted a black man into the office of Presidency. I must admit that I did not vote for Barack Obama. I did actually vote for a black democrat from my home town (Judge Al Johnson) to a governmental position, but not for President. He's a good man.
It has been said to me lately by a very close friend that she could never join the military and fight for our country because "her people were forced to be here. She didn't have a choice to come here." Well, certainly she hadn't thought that through very much. I mean, I had no choice to be born here either. I was just lucky. I hope she (especially now) feels absolutely lucky to have been born in a country where even a man, whose ancestors were slaves, can become the leader of the free world. No one in America that is of sound mind or body has any excuse whatsoever from now on. Yesterday just destroyed any excuse that anyone could possibly use (except sex). Granted, we've never had an Asian, Jewish, or Hispanic president, to my knowledge, but they were never lawfully enslaved in our country either. For the black man to go from slavery to Presidency is a profound statement of freedom and opportunity. That should be an image of pride that every American can uphold. I mean, ashamedly, people have even felt comfortable enough in my presence to present their racial bigotry, feeling confident that they are the majority. This should be an eye-opener. Never mind. Those ignorant people will rarely open their eyes to reality. But it is certainly comforting to know that those racist pigs are definitely not the majority. In fact, as I looked out amongst the crowd at Obama's victory party in Chicago, I noticed that a very small portion were even black at all. People of all colors were equally elated with our choice for a new President. I am certainly proud to be an American today.

Image

2008-11-03T08:31:00.002-05:00

I'm in the process of revamping my image across the board. Tunde cut my hair & I made a photo that I've put on my site & facebook. It's not the best pic, but it'll do for right now. I need to do one professionally, so noone takes it as a joke. I'm a soldier now. Some people will think I'm a joke in the essence of who I've become, or just the thought of Drake DeLucca being a soldier, but I shant give them fodder. I'm serious now. It's time to be taken that way. I've been a jokester my whole life. It'll be a hard habit to break, but It's time to be all that I can be.

Nervous

2008-10-29T10:59:00.002-04:00

I was watching a few clips of Palin & McCain today that made me a little nervous. I couldn't help it. They both have a nervous quiver in their voices that made me take note. And I, being an empathetic creature, felt a little nervous for them. It's not that I had a reason to, it's just my human nature. It's like when someone yawns. It's catchy. You might not be tired at all, but for some reason you find yourself yawning. When they're nervous, I'm nervous. I don't like that feeling. Why are they so nervous? It all just makes me wonder. Obama seems so calm & cool. How can he be so calm & cool when the race is so tight? Sure he has a few points over McCain in the polls, but Democrats historically actually vote less than Republicans. Or is something else giving him confidence & making his opponents nervous? Hmmmmmm.

Costumes

2008-10-27T01:02:00.002-04:00

Tunde & I just made our costumes for Halloween. Fun. She's Tinkerbell & I'm Peter Pan. Interesting how similar we are to those characters. I didn't realize it till today when we watched the movie.

How You View Yourself

2008-10-25T12:18:00.004-04:00

It's funny how we define and therefore view ourselves. I've always defined myself as a singer. All of a sudden I join the Army & define myself as a soldier. My whole character changes. I stand a little taller. My expression is not quite as light-hearted. I'm not sad, but perhaps a little more serious with a look of responsibility. I may have to change all my pictures on my sites that identify me. Instead of someone who's here to amuse and entertain you, suddenly I'm here to protect you. That's different. I'm a soldier.

PT at the Recruiter's office

2008-10-24T00:53:00.000-04:00

I did my initial PT test today at the recruiter's office. 1 mile, 1 minute of pushups, 1 minute of setups. I did a 6:24 mile, 49 pushups & 42 setups. Nice. I beat all the kids that were joining. The guy behind me puked after the mile, trying to keep up with me. Another guy puked twice in the middle of the mile. I only have to do 50 pushups at the end of BCT. I'm starting pretty good.

Celebrity Hit Club

2008-10-23T07:40:00.000-04:00

I have had to quit my band, of course, because I will join the Army on Nov. 18th. They are such wonderful guys. Ronnie announced last night that they have a tour of all the House of Blueses next year. They also may be the house band for Tyler Perry's new show. This is the first time I've ever been involved with a group that's probably really going places & I have to leave. It makes me wonder what God is up to. He obviously is not wanting me to go that route. It's not like I can go AWOL. It's not an option.
It makes me wonder if I joined the Army out of lack of faith in His ability to provide for me in my chosen field. Whatever the case. I'm in the Army now. I shant look back. I will be all that I can be in the Army.
God, please bless the Celebrity Hit Club. Take them to incredible heights. They have the potential to be an incredible group. Wow. They're already incredible. They have the potential to be one of the best. Thank you for the opportunity to perform with them before I leave.

1st Blog.

2008-10-22T13:50:00.000-04:00

Today I started blogging. I've done this more for myself than anyone else. I just want a record of things. I've had numerous journals in the past, but they all get lost because I travel & move often. This should be easy not to lose.