Day 31

Well, I did it. I stayed awake for 29 hours in my attempt to transition into a new timezone. I crashed hard...really hard before 8pm. Foolish for me, though, I didn't cover up or anything and I wore shorts. It may get down to the 80s for the low overnight here and 105F during the day, but our double-insulated "tents" are very well air-conditioned. It was around 2:30am when I got up, held a flashlight in my mouth and dug out the sleeping bag I was issued about 3 weeks ago. After that, I slept like a baby. I ended up with about 8-9 hours. But, it takes more than just one day to transition. Today, I was dragging hard. It hit 106F at the peak so that didn't help. By the way, clouds don't exist here. It is hot, blazing sun...always. Thank goodness there is virtually no humidity.

After breakfast, it was time for our brief to cover all things pay/benefit related. As far as my deployment is concerned, the "ticker" started the moment I stepped off the plane from Germany. Since I don't ever discuss future dates/movements here on this blog, I'll just say that in my orders to deploy, it is very specific to how many days this is...better known as "Boots on Ground" days. How nice of the pilot to circle until 12:03am the other night. Had he landed before midnight, I would've gained a day. Oh well..no biggee. After the very good brief and a presentation like none other from the Senior Chief, we headed on out. I wish all Senior Chiefs were like this one. He was clearly proud to be a sailor and took great pride in that. I loved it. He also said it's time to drop the "Hooah!!!" that we all picked up at our last stop since it's an Army thing and stick to the Navy's "Hooyah!" No "Hoorah", either.  That's the Marines.  Who knows what the Air Force says. I prefer "Aye, aye!!" We had one more brief but to be honest, it was a waste of time. I don't even remember the topic. I think I was dreaming of Dorothy or something. :-)

For the rest of the day, I just relaxed. I did find a new tool for my iPhone called MyFitnessPal. I want to start tracking everything I eat and use this deployment to lose weight and get in good shape. My passion is running so that'll be incorporated, too. It's hard to believe that only 2 years ago next month, I ran and finished my first 100 mile race. Then, 8 weeks later I did it again and 10 weeks later, I did it a 3rd time. Since then, I've gotten out of shape, gained weight, and despise looking at myself in the mirror, knowing where I was such a short time ago. The good thing is that I know I can do it. I just need to erase the bad habits that I've adopted and create yet again the good ones. This app let's you enter everything you eat and tracks it by calorie content, carbs, fat, and protein. It gives you goals based on your personal inputs. I've never actually tracked what I eat so closely but I will tell you that where I was on calories early on in the day impacted what I ate at dinner. Having something visual like this is a good way to hold me accountable. If I can make this a habit...eating right, it'll become routine and I will lose weight, I will feel better, and Dorothy will be happier when I return to Kansas. I only have  ____ months to get it done! Here's the link if you'd like to check it out. Consider this a little sidenote to my deployment journal.

I also spent some time at the USO today and got online...clearly the highest speed internet anywhere on this base. For those who like gaming, there were plenty of PlayStations and XBOX's to go around. Later on, the USO sponsored a Comedy Tour of 3 women who are traveling around many different military installations and performing for the troops. 2 out of the 3 women were hilarious and 1 was downright awful! Still, a good night to laugh. Even the moon was out high overhead.

That's really about it for today. I did get to see my family via FaceTime again this afternoon as they headed out to work and school as well as my parents. Technology is certainly a wonderful thing.

For those wondering if I'm ever going to actually work...yes.  Yes, I am. My traveling will soon end and I'll be working 10-16 hour days for the warfighter. My job will encompass being within the supply chain. Whether it's boots or a whole vehicle, I will be the local advocate/trainer/helper to make sure those troops have what they need. That is my mission.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 30

From now on, my day ends when your workday is about 3/4 done so my posts will be up a lot earlier in the day. If subscribed via e-mail, you'll continue to get the posts just after midnight each night.

SO....I've done it so far. I still haven't slept since Sunday at 7am EST...about 30 hours.  But, I'm heading there very soon. The goal today was to stay up all day, then crash hard tonight so I can shift to the new timezone.

I ended Day 29 with us heading out on the buses to our temporary home. After 400+ seabags were offloaded the 767, we went on a 75min busride in the middle of the night, under police escort. Our bus was jam-packed...like sardines in a sardine can and it wasn't the lap of luxury. It was a city bus...hard seats, no room, and horrible suspension. Anyway, we eventually got to the camp and had our in-brief by the officer in charge around 4am. Good 'ol PowerPoint about the do's and don'ts of this entire region of Oz. Things like no alcohol, no sex, no spreading of religion...all no-no's under General Oder #1B. He also gave us a quick overview/tutorial of the base, a brief on the creatures who like to invade our stuff (lizard, scorpions), and what all is found here. Things like Taco Bell, Starbucks, Green Beans Coffee, Mickey D's...all here. Not what you expect...exactly...but close. The Starbucks resembles most closely a normal Starbucks back in the States. Afterwards, all of those seabags had to be offloaded from the semi outside, waiting for us. I got over there first, swung those doors open wide, and started heaving those big muthas out one at a time. Within minutes, we had a big chain to remove each and every bag. Drenched in sweat at the end, I quickly found my bags (because I spray-painted them) and took them inside our "tent." Our living quarters here are glorified half-moon-shaped tents with wooden floors. Open bay barracks with racks on each side...just like at my last stop where I spent 3 weeks. After making my rack with some sheets from home, I headed on out into the sand.  By this time, it was only 5:30am or so, so nothing was open but I scoured the land, taking pictures of some things and also of placards on the front of shops stating their hours for quick reference later.  I had breakfast then basically just wandered around till things opened.

Here, you can purchase WiFi for only $12 for the week. I found the place to buy it and then quickly picked up an Espresso Chai Iced Latte at Green Beans Coffee Shop. They have one of the wireless internet routers right there so I camped out for a bit and did some catch-up on e-mails and uploaded a bunch of pics. What a great drink that was!  Sooooo good! After a few hours, I took my computer back to the tent on the other side of the base then trucked my tail end back to the dining facility yet again...this time for lunch. I am really going to make a conscious effort to eat well and shed some pounds. If the dining facilities are going to be like this at my final destination, I am blessed. This one is the best I've seen and has countless options. I had a grilled chicken breast, a very healthy salad, a banana, and a cup of cranberry juice.

After lunch, I made my way to Starbucks but not for the coffee...for the WiFi. Back in Kansas, most likely the girls were stirring and getting ready for school. "This would be a perfect time for FaceTime, I thought." Sure enough, I got them. Amazing, too, is that being several thousand miles away, the connection was flawless, smooth, and picture/audio excellent. It was so great to see them again and talk to them. Truth be told...it was Dorothy that I just HAD to see. She was scrambling to get the kids off to school and in parallel, get herself ready for work. Everyone was doing well. Afterwards, Skype came in handy to talk to my dad and my youngest brother's family. Once I got everyone up to speed, my eyes were really beginning to get heavy.  Plus, all these walks in the 100F heat (but only 14% humidity) were gettin' to me. But, this is the point, after all, for this stop on the Yellow Brick Road. The point is to adjust to the climate and the new timezone prior to our final destination in Oz.

So here I am, evening colors were just sounded outside, and I can barely type this anymore. I'm going to head off to grab some dinner then off to bed I go. I am totally exhausted and my rack and sheets from home are calling my name.  Did I mention it was hot, blowing sand everywhere, and nothing but that for as far as the eye can see? NADA!!!

Good day, everyone. Make this week a great one!  I'm dedicated to do so myself.

Day 29 - Goodbye America

We pulled into the airport, a private side as we were skipping the whole security thing and concourse. After all, we were armed! Approved containers of Purell? Heck, we could bring a whole jug on this flight! As we walked into the hangar bay, a thunderous applause broke out. The local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), Boy Scouts, and legions of volunteers were there. They formed a tunnel for us and the applause did not end until the last sailor entered that room. (it was cool to be the first sailor in the room, by the way!) Shortly thereafter, they welcomed us and a 2-star Army General  thanked us and wished us luck. For the next hour or so, we mingled, had pizza and assorted snacks. They also had some handmade gifts for us, Girl Scout cookies, a “Dang-it” Doll (shown here) and I was offered a New Testament Bible no less than 10 times…no joke. As the time to board approached and the chartered Boeing 767 awaited only a few yards away, out came the flags. Every single person there formed a tunnel onto the tarmac, directly pointed at the plane, and no less than 50 flags were flying in the cool night breeze. Name by name, sailor by sailor, we walked up and entered the tunnel. But first, a lady stood there like a sentry and hugged every single one of us. I thought that was it until it was my turn. As I walked, the hairs on my neck stood at attention as lady after lady stood in my way, insisting on a hug and thank you. Along the sides were men and women of all ages, holding out their hands, wanting to shake our hands and a blur of “Thank You’s” filled my ears. No less than 10-15 hugs, I’d say. At the end, there was a dark void between the tunnel at the steps into the 767. At the end of that darkness waited the 2-star General from before and the Navy Chaplain from the base whom I heard preach twice in the past 3 weeks. They shook our hands and we boarded. Inside the plane, plastic American flags were hanging and patriotic buntings. All of the flight attendants wore red, white, and blue ribbons, too. I found a window seat, no neighbor and settled in. Just prior to take-off, the Chaplain came aboard and prayed for us. I really do like that man. I wish he could come along! So at a few minutes before 1am, the tires left U.S. soil.

I was out within 15min, boots off, and curled up to the window. I tossed and turned for the next 6 hours. 6’2” me doesn’t fit well in airplanes. Still, I got 6 hours of sleep and awoke just in time for…breakfast? My body said breakfast but lunch we were served, after all, we were landing in Germany for a brief layover to refuel and stretch our legs. They are 6 hours ahead of Kansas so it was a late lunch, actually. Truth be told, that was a great lunch. We landed in Germany, my first time ever, and it reminded me so much of home. Rolling farmlands and I’m sure a few wineries down there, too, just like home. It was a beautiful landscape. I quickly shot off a text to Dorothy to let her know I arrived safely and she spread the word to family.  Texts are billed a la carte so no unlimited text-sending anymore. We were then taken to a building on the airport property but not in the concourse. We were totally kept apart for security reasons. We were still accompanied by military working dogs, too. They joined us when we left the U.S.  I assume they are here for bomb-sniffing, etc. After about 90min of downtime and a bratwurst, we were back onboard. New crew on this flight but just as red, white, and blue as before.  Oh yea, the funniest thing as we landed in Germany: you know how they tell you to secure loose items before landing? Imagine hearing “Ladies and gentlemen, please secure your weapons prior to landing.” Laughter broke out after that one.

We landed after about 5 hours or so and more buses awaited…so were our 400+ seabags we had loaded on those 1/2 ton trucks back in the U.S. By this time, it’s just a few moments after midnight local time. We boarded the buses for our long ride to our next stop along the Yellow Brick Road. It’s not Oz, but it is the last stop before Oz. Oh yea, it is HOT here and there is nothing but sand...everywhere. Not a hint of color in sight. Now for my next challenge...stay up all day long. While my body will want to sleep, I need to transition into a new a very different time zone. Green Beans Coffee, here I come!

Goodnight, everyone. (or good morning to me!) :-)

Day 28

Yes, a day late but better late than never, eh?  Back on the Yellow Brick Road…

One good way to define this day? Boredom to the extreme. Saturday morning began late and quiet. Many people had stayed out overnight, getting a hotel, etc. so the barracks were pretty scarce. For those around, we were packing our seabags and often, you’d see someone jumping up and down on one, trying to get it closed. On average, we all had 4 to pack and take further along the Road. Once packed up, we commenced the cleaning of the barracks which hadn’t been done in 3 weeks. Dust bunnies, galore! Outside, my other sailor friends were bag-dragging their seabags to one of four ½ ton trucks staged to take our bags to the airport. Yep, it’s time to get this show on the road and move very close to Oz.

The remainder of the day was spent in a singular room, quarantined on base. Yes, we were not permitted outside the gate. Just to be safe in case someone might get cold feet before leaving the country, everyone must stay aboard. I was one of the first to that room. Why? Well, there are only so many outlets to charge my electronics and ensure I’m fully charged for the 14 +/- hours of air travel. Yes, I am Type A through and through.  Throughout this day, I watched a few movies, shared a pizza, and had countless phone calls with friends and family. I even connected via FaceTime a few times. As bedtime for Tin Man and Scarecrow approached, I tried to emblazon my chest with a breastplate of strength for I knew this bedtime prayer might crack what armor I had. Scarecrow was first. She sounded very happy and told me about her 2^nd day of birthday celebrations where she spent the better part of the day with my mom doing whatever she wanted followed by the Mother/Daughter Banquet at our church along with Tin Man.  I prayed and told her I missed her and loved her. I nearly lost it but held it together. Next up: Tin Man. Tin Man had felt sick at the banquet but now felt good…claimed it was the heat at the church. (Tin Man, be advised should you ever go to combat training in 90F heat, wearing 60lbs of body armor!!! Ha!) Anyway, we talked about the day where she spent most of it alone with Dorothy. Great mother/daughter time! As we closed in on the dreaded goodbye, I told her I won’t be able to call anymore and pray with her each night. That opened the flood gates as I told her I missed her, loved her and thanked her for being such a big help to Dorothy so far and for being brave and a big sister/leader to Scarecrow. We cried together. It broke my heart in two and I told her it was OK to be sad and cry, as I was, too. (Oh geez…here I am typing this blog draft at 39,000 feet in the air somewhere over the earth and my eyes are welling up again.) We said goodbye.  Then the buses showed up along with the Patriot Guard motorcycles, adorned with Old Glory flowing behind them. (shown above from my seat on the bus) They were here to escort us to our flight. As midnight approached, we headed on out.

Day 27

We were given a gift today...a day off to do whatever we wanted. I celebrated first by not raising a blade to my face. Time to give my skin a break from shaving. I spent the morning at breakfast and then back in our barracks getting my gear in order and cleaning my stuff up, doing some laundry, and getting rid of things I don't need. By 11am, I was on the shuttle, bound for anywhere off base. My goal? Spend the day alone. As I type this now, my barracks is normally dark and snoring abounds. Not tonight. Lights are on and most folks are still out. Many got taxis and are living it up. Liberty doesn't expire until 7am tomorrow morning so they're maximizing their off-time. Not me. I value routine and a good night sleep.

First stop was to the base exchange where I picked up a power converter. As I will travel along the Yellow Brick Road, I will need it to charge things up like this computer and my iPhone and iPad. I also picked up a clip-on light that I can use in the dark to head to the bathroom, etc. Also in my travels, I will be in places where I have to go outside a short distance to get to showers, bathrooms, etc. I then headed off base and to Chick-Fil-A. I'm not a fast food kind of guy, but I do love Chick-Fil-A. #1 on the menu to be specific and with a Diet Lemonade, easy on the ice. While there, I checked movie listings and Thor is the big release this weekend but if you remember, I saw the advance screening a week ago. Another movie, "Something Borrowed" opened today which is a great chick-flick or a date movie. I REALLY wanted to see this with Dorothy. I called her and she encouraged me to see it and then she'll go see it. So, I guess I kinda had a virtual date with her. I was one of nine people at the 1:30pm showing and the only man. No biggie...it really was a good movie and I highly recommend it.

After that, you know it! STARBUCKS!!!  I am perfectly content with camping out at Starbucks for several hours. Plus, they started their Frappuccino Happy Hour today. Between 3 and 5pm, 1/2 off. So, I got myself a Mocha Coconut one and fetched me a big comfy chair. It was a great WiFi signal so I decided to catch up on one of my favorite shows, Coming Home. It's about military homecomings. "Now why in the world would you watch THAT?!?!....especially when you miss your family so much???"....you may be asking. Good question!  Well, it reminds me of home, puts a smile on my face, and gives me encouragement to press on so that one day, I'll be that dad walking off the plane at the airport. What really chokes me up and did a lot more today was when kids on the show that are close in age to mine start crying about how much they miss their dad. That gets me every time. The homecomings themselves put a grin on me from ear to ear. I just love that show. If you want to check it out, it's on at 10pm every Sunday on Lifetime. They are available to watch online, too, at Lifetime's website. Piece of cake.

Speaking of cake, tonight was Scarecrow's birthday party and my whole family came over. I hung out at Starbucks long enough so that I could FaceTime with everyone. So, when it was time to sing Happy Birthday and blow out the candles, I video-conferenced in, they turned the computer towards the cake and I sung Happy Birthday to Scarecrow along with everyone else. It was priceless!!!  Plus, she got her ears pierced today, too, and I just HAD to see them. After the song, I basically talked to everyone at the party for a bit. It was good to see everyone. After saying my goodbyes, I started my 2 mile walk back to base.

Along the way, I needed to grab some dinner and a place called Zoes Kitchen was along the route. It looked good from the outside and their online menu looked like a place with fresh ingredients and things like hummus which I love. I headed on in and had their Spinach Quesadilla (spinach, scallions, feta, and a side of homemade mango salsa) with a side of their homemade Marinated Slaw (feta, scallions, light vinaigrette). What a clean, light, satisfying meal. Winning! :-) A short walk later, I wandered aimlessly around Wal-Mart, picked up some organic Clif Bars and headed on back to base to catch the last 9:30pm shuttle.

It was an awesome day. I sought to just get away from everything, unwind, spend time with family, and be under no time constraint of any kind. Mission accomplished! Guess what, I smelled that honeysuckle again along my route. :-)

Before I go tonight, one important note: I was informed that over this weekend, we are going to lose our WiFi connectivity. Since I really don't want to type this blog on my phone, I'm going to take a few day break. So, Days 28 and 29 will NOT be posted. I should be able to restart again with Day 30...fingers crossed.

Have a great weekend, everyone and Goodnight!

Day 26

Hurry up! Wait....  Hurry up! Wait...  Such is the Navy way and probably common throughout the military. Today, we met up at 8am and were immediately dispersed in 4 different directions. One stop to the supply shop to see if we needed to turn anything unnecessary in. Nope! Next stop was to the medical office to pick up our medical records. They were done being reviewed so we picked them back up. Next was a survey being conducted by "Big Navy" regarding our deployment experience thus far. The survey covered essentially the whole Yellow Brick Road up until now. Lastly, since we have finished our M4 rifle quals, it was ready to be turned in if we are not taking them to Oz, which I am not. I had cleaned the heck out of that weapon last night but they still found all kinds of carbon. Eventually after waiting in line for well over an hour (remember hurry up and wait, right?), I turned it in to the armory. Nice to not have to carry that thing around anymore. I do love that weapon, though. Loads of fun. After an extended period of dead time and lunch, it was time for another rollover.

If you remember back a few weeks ago, I did the Humvee rollover trainer where we were inverted in a vehicle and had to escape in full body armor. Well, the newest vehicle on the block is the MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle. It is a mammoth vehicle created directly as a result of our enemy's method of attack on us, the roadside IED. By now, you should know what the IED is. I've been talking about them for days. The hull of this vehicle is V-Shaped to divert the blast outward from underneath the vehicle instead of up where the passengers are. (here's a press release from the Army about the MRAP and this rollover trainer) I have also included a generic stock photo on the right. It has saved countless American lives since it was introduced. As part of my training to go to Oz, all sailors, soldiers, and Marines are required to do this training. Up until now, this rollover training happened at my next stop on the Yellow Brick Road but a brand new trainer arrived within the past week here so we became the first class to do it. The first evolution spins us on our side. Well, in this vehicle, the passengers are sitting, facing each other so in a side rollover, one person is suspended in the air and the other on the back. I was on my back so I unbuckled from the 4-point harness, stood up, and helped the other person down. Then, all of the passengers had to exit out the roof, or the gun mount hole since we're on our side. The next rollover was a full 180 inverted roll. Remember, we are in full body armor, and upside down. Everyone inside the MRAP was struggling to break free but the weight of their bodies plus the armor made it difficult. I was the first to cut loose and I tried to brace my fall on my head.  I wasn't so lucky. All I heard was a ratcheting crunch in my neck. Ever have an adjustment by a chiropractor? You know how it's loud in your inner ear? That's exactly what it sounded like. It wasn't necessarily painful but it did scare me. Tonight, it's a bit sore but no other side effects of any kind. Once I got down, I crawled out to the back, opened up the two armored doors and helped get another person unbuckled so they could get out. Wowsers....what a ride!

It wasn't until after 6pm that we returned back to home base...more like 6:30pm. Since the galley closes at 7pm, most of us dropped off our armor and headed for dinner. After a brief stop at the mini-mart afterwards to get myself a Starbucks DoubleShot Energy+Coffee, I headed on back to chillax. Some FaceTime with Dorothy, Tin Man and Scarecrow and even a runner-friend FaceTime'd me a bit later. Online chats, exchanging texts..it was a busy night while blogging in parallel.

It looks like we're getting some free time tomorrow to unwind. It's Scarecrow's Birthday Party tomorrow night so I hope to FaceTime in to that to sing her Happy Birthday. It's also Military Spouse's Appreciation Day tomorrow. While one day is designated, I appreciate Dorothy 24/7/365. We are certainly a team together serving our country. I am but 50%.

Goodnight, everyone.

Day 25

Grenade launching and live convoy operations were the order of the day...oh yea, another new MRE lunch, too. Today: chicken and dumplings. But first, I was woke up a few times overnight as big, thunderous storms came through overnight. The silence from flash to thunder was virtually non-existent so I knew it was right on top of us. By morning's light, it was tapering off and the day ended up being glorious...upper 70s, low humidity, and sunny skies. Perfect.

For the convoys, we headed out twice. There are 4 platoons within our company so that's 8 total trips. I'm in the 4th Platoon so we went last each time. The way they work is this: we had 6 Humvees, a SAW machine top mounted up top, and everyone was locked and loaded with blank rounds in our M4s. Communication checks, pre-briefs, and everything that goes into a convoy in Oz was done. There was a team out on the course that would do a multitude of things: set off roadside IEDs (bombs), dress up in "Oz" garb and walk out towards us (we'd have to slow down and if they didn't move out of the way, we challenge them...no compliance, they risk getting shot), and on the 2nd convoy later in the afternoon, we had a mission to meet with the police chief of a village. As we pulled up to the police station and checkpoint, they (insurgents) took out our commander...shot on site. Our entire platoon immediately dismounted (got out of our Humvees) and took our security checkpoints behind cover. That's when all Hades broke loose. I was in the last vehicle and we had just crossed under a bridge. On top of the bridge was a guy who looked like he was holding a push-button device...commonly used to set off a bomb. I pointed my rifle at him and shouted to him to put up his hands and leave them up. Had he not complied, he was going to get a bullet in the head. He did comply but soon after, an explosion happened behind him and another insurgent appeared with a RPG (rocket propelled grenade launcher). That's when he ducked down out of site then appeared with a weapon. Lights out for him! Both myself and the gunner atop my vehicle took him out. By this time, yellow smoke was filling the air. I'm guessing it was meant to simulate some kind of tear gas...not sure. I continued to scan the area looking for bad guys and saw no more. The RPG guy was taken out by another one of our gunners. The guy on the bridge who we took out all of a sudden had his hand flop out over the bridge...simulating he in fact was dead. We all got in our Humvees, called in the Medevac to notify of dead and wounded soldiers and we returned to base.  Talk about getting the adrenaline pumping!  I had not shot my rifle on the burst mode (3 automatic shots) until today. That was fun.

In between the convoy ops, I received some grenade training. Basically, it was familiarization and practice throwing them...from the standing, kneeling, and laying down positions. Believe it or not, it's tougher than you think to properly toss a grenade at the enemy and they do NOT soar like a baseball. We also practiced crawling up to a bunker, burning off the grenade for 2 seconds, and then tossing it in the bunker...then finishing off anyone who may have survived that blast.

Today was an awakening of sorts. As I rolled around in the dirt while attempting to launch a grenade and through the countless other evolutions I've been involved in during the past three weeks, I have learned some things about myself and have come to peace with them. First off, this has been a great experience thus far. None of these things would I ever do on my own as a civilian. It is only because of my deployment to Oz that I have received this training. I have done everything to the best of my ability but often, I can tell that God did not gift me with the talents of a front of the line soldier. I am not fast on my feet. I am not agile. I am, for the lack of a better word, clumsy. Tall and clumsy. I get the job done but should never be that warrior on the front line. I am best in a support role, in leadership, in areas where I have strengths. It is true, everyone has their calling and is good in some things, excellent in others, and downright horrible in others. I think I've seen a little of all these things in the past three weeks. In the end, though, I have gained a new appreciation of those who defend our freedom from the front line and put their hind-side on the line for us, day in and day out. We as Americans should be ever-grateful for the sacrifices of the many. Most are college age and fresh out of high school. My job in Oz will be one of support. My "customers" will be those front-line soldiers.  Helping them get what they need, train them in the systems set up to get them those items, and get involved when they needed something "yesterday." I am looking forward to serving them to the very best of my ability!

Time for bed. Goodnight, everyone.