VINCE

Other than running and doing the tape and playing various indoor competitive sports, I haven’t done any real workout in a month. I went to the gym today with no real intention of doing anything at all, but the weight room was nearly empty so a friend and I went in.

Much to my surprise, my stamina had increased tenfold. I was like the Energizer Bunny. And when I was done, I felt…high. It was an adrenaline rush I think. I probably could have kept going but I didn’t want to burn myself out.

By the time I get to boot camp I have to be able to routinely do sets of 20 pushups. Good ones. Every time we fall out of line, do something out of formation, or screw up in any way, including talking back, we get dropped down. I plan on behaving myself, but it’s good to be prepared.

I may have mentioned before that we have dogs in our unit. The Ruff Start program allows offenders to train rescue dogs for service as companions to the elderly and disabled out in the community.

Last week two of the dog trainers were taken to the hole for blowing each other in their room. I find it odd that they would let sex offenders keep a living animal in a room overnight with them. I’m not implying that there’s any dog fucking going on here…but they sure are given the opportunity.

One of the new dog trainers, I call him Kermit the rapist, has a first degree Criminal Sexual Assault. But just like the rest of the sex offenders, he says it was all just a misunderstanding. Oh, I gave him that name because he has a really high throaty voice, and much like a puppet, his lips never stop flapping. And also he’s a convicted rapist.

[ANNE: In the international development world, we don’t use the word “rape” even though it is used systematically to terrorize and intimidate entire communities. We call it Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, or SGBV. I realize that people are subjected to other acts of sexual violence, like having their breasts cut off. I realize men and boys are violated as well as women and girls. I know that various genders are violated in various ways by various other genders for gender-based motivations. But wasn’t that a boring sentence you just read? I think that by trying to cover all possible bases by using the term SGBV, the whole issue becomes meaningless. The word rape gives me chills. SGBV? Yawn. But maybe that’s just me.]