My Life is Very Boring

The days have been moving along quickly and without much excitement. Our canal has been fixed, but we are still on "restrictive measures". What does that mean? We still have to take "combat" showers and there is still a limit on how much laundry you can wash. But, on the bright side, the pool has reopened. Something just doesn't sound right about that. I don't know about other people, but I would rather be clean in fresh clothes than frolic around in my bathing suit at the pool.

What else has been going on lately? ... I donated platelets again yesterday... My mom is sending me some care packages, so I am very excited about that! ... Besides work and sleep, I don't do much, and since I can't talk about work, this blog isn't very interesting. Sorry! I got a brochure from the University of Maryland Online, so I am going down to the Education Center to sign up for Tuition's Assistance.

Yeah...that's about it.

Water Shortage

In a previous post, I mentioned a water shortage. Well, my bad. I shouldn't have blamed the Air Force. Turns out, there is something wrong with the pump in the nearby canal we get our bathing and drinking water from (after it is filtered, of course). I hear it should be fixed in about a month, but until then we are going to be hurting. They are cutting off the water in all the toilets, forcing everyone to use port-a-potties. There are time restrictions on the showers and in some other buildings, they have shut them off completely. There is a new rule about how often you can wash your laundry. The pool is closed of course, but who cares about that? After being spoiled on this FOB for 5 months, it will be quite a downgrade from what I am used to, but I'll deal. As long as they don't run out of drinking water, we'll be okay.

I have off work tomorrow!

I just saw a mouse in my office. Now, I know I am a soldier, in the Army, in Iraq, but...EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! **I hope it doesn't get into the wall locker I keep my snacks in**

Day Off YAY

Yesterday I had off and made my way down to the hospital to donate some platelets. Here is one of the pictures that the Air Force MSgt that works in there emailed me. It is just a little trailer off the main tent of the hospital, with sandbags stacked around it.

The whole process took about 2 hours. It was really uncomfortable when the machine was putting my blood back in me, I was cold and my lips were very tingly. The Air Force medics gave me Tums to suck on while I was doing it, something about the calcium in them helping the tingling sensation. I like that place. The whole time, the people that work in there make it seem like your some big hero for donating, probably so you'll overlook the discomfort of it and come back. On my way out of the hospital, I got disoriented and almost walked into an operating room, while there was some kind of procedure happening in there! A Staff Sergeant saw me heading in that direction and steered me towards the exit. There wasn't even a door or anything. It's really confusing in there, but I guess I will get used to it.

The large amount of new Air Force people that just came in are starting to affect my life. There is now a water shortage on the post, and they won't even let us wash our hands before we eat in the DFAC. We have to use that hand sanitizer stuff, which is sure to work wonders on my eczema. This afternoon, there was no water in the living areas. Thankfully, I had already taken a shower, plus I brush my teeth with bottled water anyway, so that wasn't too bad. They say the water is safe to brush your teeth with, but the last time I was here, there was fecal matter in the water that came out of the sinks, so I think I will stick with the bottled water. :)

Shower

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the shower that we had the last time we were here and the ones we have now. I am disgusted =D I guess I shouldn't complain too much about being here, because it could be worse, but I still will.

Moving Day

Yesterday, after work, I moved down the hall to a new room. I think this room is a lot better than my old one, twice as much space, not as many roommates. My former roommates were very catty with each other. I didn't have to deal with it because I was always working, but their arguing woke me up a few times, and that's never a good thing (IYsleep). Plus, one of them works at the DFAC, so she always smells like whatever they cooked that day.

Ramadan

Next week starts the month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan. Eating, drinking, smoking and sexual intercourse are not allowed between dawn and sunset. During Ramadan, Muslims are also expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam by refraining from violence, anger, envy, greed, lust, angry and sarcastic retorts, and gossip. I guess that is not the case with the extremists that live around our base: the *fireworks* have already started increasing. We now have to wear all of our body armor (pictured on right) while we are outside of the hangar or our sleeping quarters. At least it isn't 100 million degrees anymore, so it's bearable.

I got my first look at my evaluation this evening. It is called an NCOER (Non-Commissioned Officer Evaluation Report) and it is a two-page report that my supervisor fills out, stating how I am doing, what I need to improve on, and what my potential is. It was actually really good. Kinda scary, my supervisor thinks they need to move me out of my section and put me in charge of an entire warehouse. It's flattering that he thinks I'll do a good job, but I've been in charge of my own section for the past 3 years and I am pretty comfortable here. I work in my own office and everything is set up the way I made it and like it. When things go wrong, there is no wrong to blame but me, but when I do a good job, there is also no one to share the credit with. I like that. I am a glory hog.

My First Trip to the Hospital

I made it down to the hospital this morning for my platelet pre-screening. I filled out the proper paperwork and then they took some sample from me to make sure my body was healthy enough to donate. I have been turned away a couple of times in the past at the Red Cross in Savannah, once to a low-grade fever and twice to low iron levels. While my iron was on the low side, the medic said I would be okay to donate. He got very excited about the results of my platelet count. From what he told me, the average count is around 250 and I had "300-something." The rest of the tests they are doing on my blood take a few days. They're going to send me an email when the results come in, so I can make an appoinment to donate.

While I was there, I also met with an Air Force Captain about my interest in volunteer work. He gave me a tour, which didn't take very long; the hospital is not much more than several connecting tents. The TV show MASH is slightly before my time, and I've never seen it, but I imagine it looks something like that. It was slightly jarring to see all the casualties there. I saw someone that had gotten his legs blown off, probably by an I.E.D. (improvised explosive device) and while I was there, a helicopter came in with some more casualties. Most of the injured people I saw there were local Iraqis, actually. I know this sounds bad, but it made it easier to be there. If I saw dying American soldiers, I think it would be harder to handle. It would remind me too much of people in my own unit. But, we'll see how it goes; I only have one day off a week, so I don't know how much good I'll be.

Other than that, things have been business as usual. Work is work, and every day that passes is one closer to the day I can leave this country. Next month is Mark's birthday, so I am looking on the Internet for things to order for him. He has decided to take R&R afterall, and he will actually get to be home for his birthday.

This picture is one that I took on our flight line, just as the sun was coming up. The strange looking planes you see are called Sherpas. We share our hangar with quite a few different type of aircrafts.

Same Shift, Different Day

I changed my mind about my shift hours. It's not too bad after all. By the time I walk to work, the sun is about to set, so it isn't too hot anymore and by the time I get off work, it is just starting to heat up. The temperature is getting a lot milder, too. Once I have my outdoor thermometer set up, I will know exactly how much cooler it has gotten.

I also now have the opportunity to do PT (exercise) with my soldier on a daily basis. I am getting her ready to go to the Promotion Board to get promoted to Sergeant. They grow up so fast! I am going to smoke the hell out of her and get her in the best shape of her life. I made a PT schedule this morning that included lots of 2 and 4 mile runs, abdominal, and upper body workouts. I've lost my extra fat and now it is time to tone it up. I am going to come home looking like some kind of body builder. It is going to be disgusting. :-)

I am going to go down to the hospital next week to donate my plasma. If it isn't too traumatizing to see all the war victims, I think I might volunteer down there on my days off. Starting today, my day off is Tuesday! I am trying to become a better person while I am out here, inside and out. I am waiting for information from a college to take online classes, too. Right in the middle of my shift, around 2-4 am, there is usually absolutely nothing happening, so I figure I could get a few college credits taken care of. It will make the day go by faster anyway.

The picture on the right is our 1SG's way of being funny. I try not to look at it, because the number is so high, it's depressing. That picture was taken before I went home on R&R, so it's actually not that high anymore. I still don't want to know what the number is.

If You Have Time To Read This Blog, You Have Time To Do This

I discovered this today: www.thehungersite.com if you go to this website, and click on the "Help Feed the Hungry" link in the center of the page, the company that runs it will donate 1.1 cups of staple food to the needy. You can go to the site and click the link every day; there is no limit! It takes about 3 seconds to click on it, so what are you waiting for?

Back in Iraq

I got back from R&R the other day. It was such a tease and only made me want to be home for good even more!! I did enjoy the break though, and I got to see basically my entire family and all of my friends. I had a lot of fun, as well. The traveling back was exhausting and now, two days later, I am still recovering from it.

It is nice to see most of the people in my unit again. I did miss them, even if I didn't miss this place. It is still as hot as ever. In a couple of months, it should be cooling down considerably, so I am counting the days until then. When it gets cold, I will complain about how freezing I am! But I am prepared for it: I already have a heater stowed away in my office and am starting my hot chocolate stash.

I am slightly irritated with my Platoon Sergeant, again about the shift hours. I won the last argument and was happily working 0100-1300 (1am-1pm). I found out about an hour after I got back to our base that my shift is now 1900-0700 (7pm-7am). I feel like they waited until I left so I couldn't say anything about it. I have already started another campaign to switch my shift. It is a little trickier this time, as I now have an "assistant" who will be doing my job for the 12 hours I am off, and I need to accomodate her too. We'll see what happens.

Miss you guys already. See you next summer!!!