Locked In

I had the entire morning after the PFT class to work out on my own. I was neglecting my running due to my cold and knew I needed to get in a few miles today. After the class I ran 6 miles. I only intended on doing 5, but I felt fairly good after those and went an additional mile. By this time, the morning yard had been recalled because it was time for lunch. Fortunately, I had one more PFT Plus in the afternoon and after that I could either take it easy or do some more running. I did not want to eat a big lunch so I decided to have a banana with some peanut butter. This worked out very well because not only did it curb my hunger for the rest of the afternoon but gave me some much needed energy for the afternoon. After eating the banana I decided to wash my sweaty sweatshirt and tee shirt. I also decided to put on a fresh shirt for the afternoon session. Normally, I would have changed my sweat pants but I only have one pair for the PFT sessions which are my formal uniforms. This makes it almost impossible to wash the sweatpants during the week because it takes two days to dry completely. This week has been much colder than the previous week and also with the combination of my cold I wore my sweatshirt and sweat pants all week.

Even though I only have one uniform sweatshirt, I can get away with wearing some of my own sweatshirts underneath the proper PFT tee shirt. This makes it easier to keep the sweatshirts clean and fresh during the week but the sweatpants are a different story and I can only “air” them out during the week. I do wash them on Friday afternoons so they are dry by Monday morning. At this lunchtime I started my lengthy laundry process early by washing the sweatshirt and tee shirt. It makes a big difference to take off a sweaty shirt and replace it with a fresh one. I was ready for the afternoon session.

I completed my one rotation in the morning so I had no requirements to do another rotation in the afternoon nor did I have to workout during the class. I was feeling better so I decided to join in on the exercises. I was going along fine and at the very beginning of the second rotation the alarm went off. All of us “assumed the position” for the next 8 minutes. This is the longest I have been down since I arrived here. I don’t know what happened because there was no commotion on our yard so something must have happened on the other yard. It seems like something always happens on the other yard which ironically is the lower level one yard (technically I should be on this yard but it appears I was put on the level 2 yard for a reason – more on this at a later point) and for some reason they seem to have more problems on that yard then we have on this yard. Nonetheless we stayed down a long time and when we were given the “return to normal program” signal over the PA system we started the exercises again. Had this happened during my rotation in the morning I would have started all the way back to the beginning but this instructor picked up where we left off which was fine. I was able to get through all the exercises without any problems.

After the afternoon class I was debating whether or not I should do some more running. I did want to do a total of 10 miles for the day because I hadn’t done much running all week. I set out and did 4 more miles for a total of 10 on the day. I felt myself struggling a little more than I did in the morning so I stopped at 4 miles. It was time to go inside and do my laundry along with taking a shower. Now I do get priority with the shower because I am a “worker” so waiting is a thing of the past on workdays. In fact, yesterday I had to let two of my dorm mates go in front of me because I was doing my laundry in the sink. Sometimes I do my laundry in the shower but when there is a long line I try to do it in the sink. Yesterday, I did all my weekly laundry in the sink and it does take quite a bit of time. I was using my body wash as a laundry detergent because the smell is very nice – aloe and water lily – but I went through a whole bottle very quickly. I only have one more bottle left and the only way to obtain this is through the quarterly package program which I have exhausted until next quarter. Thankfully, we were given our twice a month issue of soap earlier in the day. The soap bar is a little larger than a travel size but smaller than a regular size. The only purpose for this soap is to wash my clothes and save me from using the body wash. This bar of soap most certainly does not smell as good as the body wash but it does get my clothes clean. When I say washing clothes in the bathroom sink is no fun but my only other choice is to wear funky smelly clothes. I would rather have clean clothes than smelly ones. The problem I have with washing all these clothes is finding a spot to hang them on my bunk. I managed to find a place for all of these and by the way the sweatpants are still wet and I washed them over 24 hours ago.

I finally finished washing the clothes and got into the shower. It is lukewarm which is better than cold but I sure can’t wait until I can control my own hot water – oh the little things. After the shower I did another one of those little things which make me feel better, I shaved. It certainly doesn’t sound like much but it goes along way in this environment. My workweek had officially ended and another week is in the books. The calendar turned yet another page to the last month of 2006. The next 30 days can’t pass soon enough but I will continue to approach each day as I have with a positive attitude and purpose.

I decided not to write during the period of after count and until dinner because I needed a bit of a break. I normally write during this time but I decided to real all of the mail I received. My mom has been incredible with the amount of mail she has sent me. She sends me all kinds of articles on the prison system and about problem gambling. She sent me an exceptional newsletter form the National Council on Problem Gambling. I have corresponded in the past with the Executive Director of this organization who is a very kind person and helped me when I was on the “outside”. I was very pleased to read about some pending federal legislation aimed at Problem Gambling. Yes, it is only pending, but I feel it is a step in the right direction for awareness, research, prevention, and treatment of problem gambling. Whether or not it passes remains to be seen and if anyone is interested please do a Google search on HR6009 – the Comprehensive Awareness of Problem Gambling Act of 2006.

The dinner last night made my vegetarian special meal all the more worthwhile. It was Mexican night with beef tacos on a soft tortilla shell. Of course, my tray did not contain any of the beef but it did contain a generous portion of the Mexican rice and beans along with the salsa. I was also given three tortillas instead of the standard issue two for everyone else. I could literally eat this meal four times a week and eat pasta in a marinara sauce the other three nights and be very happy along with being very satisfied. I was stuffed at the end of the meal and the guys on the food service line took care of me as well. It is truly hit or miss with some of the dinners. Sometimes I am just given the two tubes of peanut butter to replace the missing meat and told to move on. Other times I am given generous portions and am very satisfied. I guess it depends on who is working and what the meal is for that particular day. Last night was a very good night and I didn’t need any further food for the evening.

When I got back I decided to write and one thing lead to another. By the time I was finished it was after 9:00 pm and almost time for bed. Last night was not a work night so I stayed awake until after 10:00 pm and went to sleep without any cold medication. I still slept in my full sweatpants, sweatshirt, and socks because I have gotten used to it. It is also comfortable so I will stick with it. I performed my normal Saturday morning routine waking up at a little past 6:00 am and staying in my bunk listening to the radio. As we set out for breakfast the CO had a message for all of us. He told us that the CO’s would be going from dorm to dorm checking to see is everyone was on the properly assigned bunk with the properly assigned locker. Those that were not would receive a write up – form 115. These are very serious and can add to an inmate’s sentence by 90 days. It was very nice that the CO gave us the “heads up” because many of my dorm mates had to move lockers all around the dorm.

Breakfast contained a meat entry and I had to play my vegetarian special meal for one of the very few times. Again the guys on the food service line took care of me by giving me two helpings of farina and a double serving of roasted potatoes. Again, I was very full after this meal and was kind of concerned about whether or not my food would be properly digested in time for my workout. Well due to the inspection of the dorms our morning yard was cancelled and we were effectively locked down for the day.

The CO’s arrived in our dorm mid morning. They checked everyone with their official roster. They only checked a few lockers – not mine or my bunkie’s – in our dorm because our dorm provides very little – in fact – no problems - to the CO whatsoever. Again I have been very fortunate to have been placed in this dorm because we have the proper balance of young and older inmates. The key is everyone does respect each other quite well. Our inspection went well with no problems and everyone on the proper bunk. However, once the CO’s departed - all those who got on the proper bunks went right back to the way they had it before by moving their bedding and lockers to the previous bunks. If there was a surprise inspection many of my dorm mates and many of the other dorms would be in trouble which would be an enormous amount of paperwork for the CO’s and I’m sure their time is better doing something else.

Now I knew I would be locked down for the day so I finished the James Patterson novel – BLACK MARKET which had many twists and turns at the end. I didn’t see any of them coming and once again I enjoyed his novel. After this I decided to take an early shower. I noticed the water was much hotter than when I previously took one most likely due to the fact that no one in the entire yard didn’t take one yet. I enjoyed the hot water even though I didn’t really need it. My laundry was limited to only underwear because there was no sweating today so my shower session went very fast. After this I knew I had to catch up on my correspondences with my very dear friends. I composed five letters this afternoon and it helped me so much both with my thoughts and with passing the time so quickly. It was already 4:00 pm by the time I finished. While I was writing, I was interrupted because my package was retrieved. I was very relieved to finally get some food and real razors along with a lamp for my bunk. I was a little mystified because not everything that I placed on my order had come in the package. There wasn’t a light bulb with the lamp, there wasn’t any shaving cream and some food items were missing. I was happy to receive what was in the package but I do need to speak with my wife to ensure she wasn’t charged for those items that were missing. I received the five boxes of nutrigrain/granola bars and had to have two of the bars as soon as I got them. Again, the simple things in life help so much. I put everything away in my locker and was a little disappointed that those items cost so much. Oh well, now I don’t need any of the fixed items like the lamp, CD player, adapter, extension cord, gloves and my next package for the next quarter should contain mostly food items. I am blessed to have the support so I can receive these items because so many of my fellow inmates don’t have any support at all.