Yesterday was a crazy day. Here in Oz, not much was happening but back in "Kansas," my mind was consumed by the local school levy. It was our 5th attempt to pass it. If it didn't pass, $600,000 in cuts was set to go including lost teachers, a huge cut in busing (including my girls) and big pay-to-play fees. I've been deeply involved with the local levy committee since the 2nd attempt and voted via absentee over a month ago. Yesterday was the day and when I woke up this morning, the polls had just closed and fellow committee members were en route to the Board of Elections to await the results. Because my brain knew what was up as I slept all night, I slept horribly and woke up all night long, rolling over and checking my e-mail to see any and all updates then going back to sleep. In the end, we passed the levy!! It was a huge victory for us and after losing the May levy by 4 votes, we won this one by over 200 votes. That's great considering our committee was essentially out of money and very little campaigning was done and it's summertime back in "Kansas."
In the office this morning, I kept busy all day long. It's the same cycle I see every week with the ebbs and flows of activity. I'm either crammed with stuff or bored. More forward movement, as well, with the project I've been spearheading with my Marine colonel's support. "Comfortable" is a good word to describe how I feel right now in my position and simply hope to pass this well-oiled process to my future relief. I consistently see the danger that soldiers are encountering outside the barbed wire of my base and while I admire them and am thankful for them, I do not wish to be them. We all have our place and I really feel that I'm serving the warfighter well and making a difference. If I weren't, I'd really be struggling with justification of even being here.
After my normal Wednesday 5pm conference call with my counterparts Stateside, I gave Tin Man and Scarecrow a call after talking to Dorothy for awhile. A big box that I shipped home a few weeks ago finally arrived. Inside were birthstone pendants for both of the girls. Last night, Dorothy sent me a photo of them with them and they looked genuinely thrilled with them...not those fake kid smiles. They were really happy which in turn, made my night. So today, I just wanted to talk with them about them and find out how their 3rd VBS (Vacation Bible School) this summer was going so far this week. It sounds like it's been going really well.
Taking the stinky base shuttle back to my side of the base tonight, the new moon was in the clear sky...a sky that hasn't given one drop of precipitation since my arrival. I think it's amazing that I haven't seen a drop of anything since April. Absolutely nothing for over 3 months. I would love a good downpour right now. Anyway, I'm starting to close my eyes during times that I can and envision home. This envisioning of home and my family seems to ground me midday and calms me down. I can feel the stress and anxiety grow daily but thinking about them with my eyes closed...with no external distraction...they put me at ease. That's what I was doing tonight on the shuttle. It was an old school bus filled with Afghans and stunk so bad. I kept my cover on and my dark ballistic glasses and just shut my eyes. I prefer to keep my glasses on when I'm in their company so I can watch them closely while they can't see my eyes. I trust no one and question every movement towards and around me. I've heard too many stories of "friendlies" turning against coalition forces so dark glasses let me give the perception of the "tough American soldier" with my loaded weapon and allows me to keep a close eye on them. The overwhelming majority are completely harmless but I have no intention of being the next victim. Anyway, these little snippets of "me" time to escape home are becoming slightly addictive. They work for me.
Hey, did I mention that two weeks from this Saturday I will be promoted? Yep! I'm currently a Navy O-2 (Lieutenant Junior Grade) but will become an O-3 (Lieutenant). Today, I received my Oath of Office that I will state and swear to on August 20th while raising my right hand and then sign. My reserve center back home provided it and I'll send it on back afterwards. I'm really looking forward to this promotion. It has seemed like the day would never get here. Planning for it, I took one of my covers over to laundry today to have the new patch sewn on so I'll have the proper rank on there when it's time.
Goodnight, everyone.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Day 115
Today is one of those days where I really, really don't want to write. I woke, I worked, I didn't chew gum outside (it's Day 1 of Ramadan), and now I'm heading to bed. I wouldn't want a day to go by without a post, right? A post is a post is a post!
Goodnight, everyone.
Goodnight, everyone.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Day 114
I don't know the official diagnosis of bi-polar, but I would guess it is characterized by lots of erratic lows and highs with not much control over it. If I'm right, my bet is that you might consider me bi-polar. I'm not, of course, but when I say this deployment is characterized by very low lows and moderate highs, I'm not kidding. It is every day for itself without fail. Today was a better day than most and I can't really tell you why. I woke up and stared it straight in the eye like every other so who knows. The normal banter between myself and the others in the office was back to normal again. I will say that it helped that the U.S. Marine colonel (the boss of our organization for the entire country) called very early on in the day needing "my" help and praised me pretty heavily for being the expert in what I'm handling over here. That was pretty cool to get that kind of feedback from an O-6 to an O-2. Little 'ol Navy Reservist me...from an active-duty Marine commanding officer. Yea, that was pretty darn cool that what I'm doing is being noticed. I suppose the best part is what he was calling about. It was regarding that point paper I wrote a few weeks ago about a major problem I saw and the solution I see, clear as day right in front of me. He was prepping for a call he was going to have tonight with the higher-ups back in the States and my point paper was the ammo in the barrel. We'll see how that call went when I get in tomorrow. I hope he got somewhere with it.
As the day wound down and the East Coast awoke, I made a round of calls back home. I hadn't talked to Tin Man and Scarecrow in quite some time so I finally got to talk to them...always a blessing to say "LUMU!" to them! A very quick chat with Dorothy as well. I also finally got in touch with my aunt who is in the hospital and should be released in a few days. If I were in the hospital, I'd think a call from Afghanistan would be pretty cool and so did she! After that and 3 attempts, I finally got a hold of my only remaining grandparent. She's 86 years young. I think the call from here was a little bit more "shaking" than to my aunt. She really didn't see it coming and didn't expect to hear from me until I was face-to-face with her. That really was a priceless conversation and I'm glad she finally answered. As the night wore on, my boss and I called it a night and headed on back to our rooms. It was Mongolian BBQ at the dining facility so I had a pretty satisfying meal tonight.
Back in my room, it was more and more e-mails and messages with my many friends were ran or volunteered at the 100-mile race back home in "Kansas." I swear...I just can't get enough of it. Again, the true colors of a great so many friends shown through. I'm very thankful to be a part of that community. Afterward, a quick sweep of my room and clean-up, a shower,and here I am...listening to some classical music streaming through my iPad. That portable WiFi hotspot I set up is barely hanging on but it works. Talk about a smart investment that was a total shot in the dark before I left "Kansas." I had no idea what to bring with me but that little Apple Airport Express has been THE creature comfort that no one else has and let's me best enjoy the few hours I get alone each night.
Oh yea...no more July. Hello August. :-)
Goodnight, everyone.
As the day wound down and the East Coast awoke, I made a round of calls back home. I hadn't talked to Tin Man and Scarecrow in quite some time so I finally got to talk to them...always a blessing to say "LUMU!" to them! A very quick chat with Dorothy as well. I also finally got in touch with my aunt who is in the hospital and should be released in a few days. If I were in the hospital, I'd think a call from Afghanistan would be pretty cool and so did she! After that and 3 attempts, I finally got a hold of my only remaining grandparent. She's 86 years young. I think the call from here was a little bit more "shaking" than to my aunt. She really didn't see it coming and didn't expect to hear from me until I was face-to-face with her. That really was a priceless conversation and I'm glad she finally answered. As the night wore on, my boss and I called it a night and headed on back to our rooms. It was Mongolian BBQ at the dining facility so I had a pretty satisfying meal tonight.
Back in my room, it was more and more e-mails and messages with my many friends were ran or volunteered at the 100-mile race back home in "Kansas." I swear...I just can't get enough of it. Again, the true colors of a great so many friends shown through. I'm very thankful to be a part of that community. Afterward, a quick sweep of my room and clean-up, a shower,and here I am...listening to some classical music streaming through my iPad. That portable WiFi hotspot I set up is barely hanging on but it works. Talk about a smart investment that was a total shot in the dark before I left "Kansas." I had no idea what to bring with me but that little Apple Airport Express has been THE creature comfort that no one else has and let's me best enjoy the few hours I get alone each night.
Oh yea...no more July. Hello August. :-)
Goodnight, everyone.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Day 113
Normal time wake-up today so I could get into the office, get what I needed to get done, and get out. Many of my friends were heading into the night on their 100-mile trail race back home, too, so I was searching for updates constantly. Once I finished what I needed to today, I headed over to another part of the base for a going-away cookout for a fellow sailor of mine who is from my reserve unit back in "Kansas." She just found out she was picked for Chief Petty Officer which is a HUGE deal for enlisted folks in the Navy. Once I go home and start drilling again, we'll both be in the same unit again. So, it was certainly a priority for me to head over and send her off. They had quite the setup, too. They were roasting potatoes on the grill, had AWESOME barbecued chicken, and the Afghans who work there made Afghan bread (naan), homemade curry (they were cooking it over a fire right there) and homemade salsa. Both that salsa and curry sure did have some heat! A little much for me so thank goodness I had some naan to take the heat away. The whole cookout was a huge mental load lifted for me. Being around a bunch of sailors certainly has its perks when I'm never around them. It was great, too, just to get out of the office and relax.
After the cookout, I headed back to my room where I was glued to the refresh button on my computer as I anxiously waited for my good friends back home to finish their 100 miles. The race back home has a 30 hour time limit and dawn was breaking around this time back there so they were starting to come in. Once dinner time rolled around, I went and made up a to-go box and brought it back and put it in the fridge. This was much easier to do rather than get cleaned up after my run to go eat. So once most of my friends had finished, I laced up my absolutely destroyed shoes and hit the road for 10 miles around the base...stopping 4 miles in to call Dorothy who was en route back from the beaches of North Carolina...her yearly trip with her best friends from that area.
Back in my room, I continued on my monitoring of my friends back home and ate my dinner. One thing I thought as soon as I returned from my run tonight was that I really didn't remember much of it at all. I was mentally not there...my mind was consumed by everything back home...not just my friends and the race but Dorothy and the girls, too. I also ran all 10 miles tonight to a collage of Casting Crowns songs from 3 different albums. It was great to run to them, exclusively. I'll have to do that again sometime.
Well, I am pooped and ready to hit the sack. If you are reader of this blog and were involved in the race this weekend either by running it or volunteering, I hope it was all I remember it to be. It is an amazing event and life-changing to those who immerse themselves in it. I will be there next year, either running or volunteering from beginning to end.
Goodnight, everyone.
After the cookout, I headed back to my room where I was glued to the refresh button on my computer as I anxiously waited for my good friends back home to finish their 100 miles. The race back home has a 30 hour time limit and dawn was breaking around this time back there so they were starting to come in. Once dinner time rolled around, I went and made up a to-go box and brought it back and put it in the fridge. This was much easier to do rather than get cleaned up after my run to go eat. So once most of my friends had finished, I laced up my absolutely destroyed shoes and hit the road for 10 miles around the base...stopping 4 miles in to call Dorothy who was en route back from the beaches of North Carolina...her yearly trip with her best friends from that area.
Back in my room, I continued on my monitoring of my friends back home and ate my dinner. One thing I thought as soon as I returned from my run tonight was that I really didn't remember much of it at all. I was mentally not there...my mind was consumed by everything back home...not just my friends and the race but Dorothy and the girls, too. I also ran all 10 miles tonight to a collage of Casting Crowns songs from 3 different albums. It was great to run to them, exclusively. I'll have to do that again sometime.
Well, I am pooped and ready to hit the sack. If you are reader of this blog and were involved in the race this weekend either by running it or volunteering, I hope it was all I remember it to be. It is an amazing event and life-changing to those who immerse themselves in it. I will be there next year, either running or volunteering from beginning to end.
Goodnight, everyone.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Day 112
And so today marks 16 weeks since I hugged my family goodbye. Luckily, it won't be 16 weeks until I see them. Yep...we're in double digits, folks...countdown, that is. Just barely, though. Today was a mixed bag so let's get the ugliness out of the way first.
It wasn't even mid-morning when the enlisted guy in my office got up, walked out and shut the door behind him. I knew what was up immediately. The senior officers clearly orchestrated this and wanted to have a private chat with me. I'm not going into the details but to say it was 2 against 1...me. It got me really upset and luckily, we were interrupted after about 15 minutes in. It was a losing conversation from the word "go." Have I mentioned I hate it here? Today, that fits. Enough of this tonight..it just gets me upset.
As lunch arrived, we had all pitched in for some Pizza Hut to say goodbye to one of our civilians across the hall. After lunch was our weekly staff meeting and then I headed out. No need to stay around an office when my work is complete. Running away from the problem? You better believe it. If confronting it would help, I would. It's a losing game all the way around.
Back in my room, I was feverishly following my hometown 100-mile race. So many friends in it and volunteering, I really wanted to be there. Even now as I type, it's mid-afternoon and many of my friends are approaching the 50-mile mark and I'm sitting here, ready for bed and writing 7000 miles away. I belong on those trails today, that's for sure. A few days back, the owner of the specialty running store in "Kansas" asked me if I'd like to record a secret message and he'd play it just before the start..not even the race director would know. I'm a finisher of this race and deeply involved in the local running community. So, I wrote down what I'd like to say yesterday and recorded it with my iPhone and sent it to him. It was that easy. If you're friends with me on Facebook, it's posted there. I can't post it here because once again, it would make this blog non-anonymous. Wish I could... but I can't.
As the evening approached, I grabbed a shuttle bus and headed back over to the other side of the base where I got in line to meet some celebrities as part of the USO Summer Troop Visit. After waiting in line for 2 hours, I shook hands, got my photo taken, and got autographs from Jon Stewart, 6'9" retired NBA star Karl Malone, and illusionist David Blaine. I'll tell ya what...Jon Stewart is both hilarious and short! 5'6" is tiny next to Karl Malone. Whether you like or dislike Jon Stewart (you probably love 'em or hate 'em), he's over here supporting and thanking the troops so I'll give him props for that. His way of pumping up the troops was awesome, too. Since I keep my blog kid-friendly, I can't share! :-)
Afterwards, I walked out of the huge tent to catch the bus back. Windy as heck out tonight! So as festivities were going on inside, outside was quite the different event going on...another fallen comrade and another casket rolling to the flight line for the long trip to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, en route to HOME. Ugh...it never gets easier, in case you're wondering. I'm so sick of fellow countrymen dying over here...and most Americans don't even know. I knew about this one earlier today because a sergeant I work with on my projects had to cancel our meeting because he was going to be involved in everything regarding this soldier's death, including the loading of the remains this evening onto the C-17, bound for Dover.
Well, tomorrow is Sunday, the day of the double-edged sword. Time off and too much time in my head. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Hopefully a good day...I could use one.
Goodnight, everyone.
It wasn't even mid-morning when the enlisted guy in my office got up, walked out and shut the door behind him. I knew what was up immediately. The senior officers clearly orchestrated this and wanted to have a private chat with me. I'm not going into the details but to say it was 2 against 1...me. It got me really upset and luckily, we were interrupted after about 15 minutes in. It was a losing conversation from the word "go." Have I mentioned I hate it here? Today, that fits. Enough of this tonight..it just gets me upset.
As lunch arrived, we had all pitched in for some Pizza Hut to say goodbye to one of our civilians across the hall. After lunch was our weekly staff meeting and then I headed out. No need to stay around an office when my work is complete. Running away from the problem? You better believe it. If confronting it would help, I would. It's a losing game all the way around.
Back in my room, I was feverishly following my hometown 100-mile race. So many friends in it and volunteering, I really wanted to be there. Even now as I type, it's mid-afternoon and many of my friends are approaching the 50-mile mark and I'm sitting here, ready for bed and writing 7000 miles away. I belong on those trails today, that's for sure. A few days back, the owner of the specialty running store in "Kansas" asked me if I'd like to record a secret message and he'd play it just before the start..not even the race director would know. I'm a finisher of this race and deeply involved in the local running community. So, I wrote down what I'd like to say yesterday and recorded it with my iPhone and sent it to him. It was that easy. If you're friends with me on Facebook, it's posted there. I can't post it here because once again, it would make this blog non-anonymous. Wish I could... but I can't.
Afterwards, I walked out of the huge tent to catch the bus back. Windy as heck out tonight! So as festivities were going on inside, outside was quite the different event going on...another fallen comrade and another casket rolling to the flight line for the long trip to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, en route to HOME. Ugh...it never gets easier, in case you're wondering. I'm so sick of fellow countrymen dying over here...and most Americans don't even know. I knew about this one earlier today because a sergeant I work with on my projects had to cancel our meeting because he was going to be involved in everything regarding this soldier's death, including the loading of the remains this evening onto the C-17, bound for Dover.
Well, tomorrow is Sunday, the day of the double-edged sword. Time off and too much time in my head. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Hopefully a good day...I could use one.
Goodnight, everyone.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Day 111
Today was a very blah day and besides the two wonderful care packages I received, there isn't much to share today. Friction ramped right back up again in the office so mostly, I just kept my mouth shut today. I'm finding it more difficult to get through the days and maintain my sanity. The details, though...really don't want to go into it tonight.
Anyway, many thanks to you who sent care packages my way...they hit the spot and are so very appreciated. That's really all I want to talk about today. Have a great weekend!
Goodnight, everyone.
Anyway, many thanks to you who sent care packages my way...they hit the spot and are so very appreciated. That's really all I want to talk about today. Have a great weekend!
Goodnight, everyone.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Day 110
Day One-Hundred and Ten. Hmmm... It's very, very close to the time when I may be starting the countdown. I've said before that I'm not doing a one-year deployment nor a 6-month deployment but in between. Because I can't elude to a return date for security reasons, I'll clue you in relatively soon to my commencement of my double-digit countdown. Still triple-digits today but double is around the corner. :-)
Again, nothing much to talk about from the office today. You know by now that my days are not very exciting. I have work to do and meetings to attend, but it's just not worthy of writing about. In the middle of it all, I jumped online to wish good luck to many, many of my friends back in "Kansas" who are running our hometown 100-mile trail race. It's one that I finished in 2009 but have been involved in, in some way since it's inception in 2007. This is the first year I won't be there. I'm doing my best to be there virtually, though. I'm even going to write an article for the next trail-running newsletter that I started and was editor of up until this deployment. Looking back, I could have remained the editor while deployed but the girl who took over is doing a great job. I do miss it, though.
I filled in for my boss first thing this morning at the morning brief with the colonel. This is the brief where you find out about anything that happened overnight, war-related. If it happened, it'll be briefed here. No military personnel were killed but there was one injured who is on the way back and will be awarded the Purple Heart. There was another incident that involved very foolish Afghans. I'd love to give details but even being anonymous, I just can't talk about that stuff...those are reserved for talks around the dinner table with friends and family back home. Let's just say that when American forces fire warning shots to stop your charging and accelerating vehicle, you'd better stop. No? Well, that's just foolish. Filling up old vehicles with bombs and driving them into people and buildings is very common so no chances can be taken.
Everyone has heard of Converse shoes but have you heard about customizing them? On their website, you can customize a pair of their classic sneakers. The side panels, the tongue, the laces, the eyelets, the colored piping around the rubber sole, and even put a name or initials on the heel. Colors, patterns, you name it. Well, "Dorothy" and I talked after I built some designs and I'd say that Tin Man and Scarecrow are going to be very happy with their Back-to-School shoes this year. :-) I can't wait for them to get there...3-4 weeks which is perfect...just in time. Even a little bit of patriotism woven into the design.
Well, it's about that time again and time to hang it up for the night. We were in the office tonight until past 8pm so it's already almost 10pm and I'm in great need of some classical music to put me to sleep. While my girls are at horseback riding camp, Dorothy is at the beach, I am heading to bed.
Goodnight, everyone.
Again, nothing much to talk about from the office today. You know by now that my days are not very exciting. I have work to do and meetings to attend, but it's just not worthy of writing about. In the middle of it all, I jumped online to wish good luck to many, many of my friends back in "Kansas" who are running our hometown 100-mile trail race. It's one that I finished in 2009 but have been involved in, in some way since it's inception in 2007. This is the first year I won't be there. I'm doing my best to be there virtually, though. I'm even going to write an article for the next trail-running newsletter that I started and was editor of up until this deployment. Looking back, I could have remained the editor while deployed but the girl who took over is doing a great job. I do miss it, though.
I filled in for my boss first thing this morning at the morning brief with the colonel. This is the brief where you find out about anything that happened overnight, war-related. If it happened, it'll be briefed here. No military personnel were killed but there was one injured who is on the way back and will be awarded the Purple Heart. There was another incident that involved very foolish Afghans. I'd love to give details but even being anonymous, I just can't talk about that stuff...those are reserved for talks around the dinner table with friends and family back home. Let's just say that when American forces fire warning shots to stop your charging and accelerating vehicle, you'd better stop. No? Well, that's just foolish. Filling up old vehicles with bombs and driving them into people and buildings is very common so no chances can be taken.
Everyone has heard of Converse shoes but have you heard about customizing them? On their website, you can customize a pair of their classic sneakers. The side panels, the tongue, the laces, the eyelets, the colored piping around the rubber sole, and even put a name or initials on the heel. Colors, patterns, you name it. Well, "Dorothy" and I talked after I built some designs and I'd say that Tin Man and Scarecrow are going to be very happy with their Back-to-School shoes this year. :-) I can't wait for them to get there...3-4 weeks which is perfect...just in time. Even a little bit of patriotism woven into the design.
Well, it's about that time again and time to hang it up for the night. We were in the office tonight until past 8pm so it's already almost 10pm and I'm in great need of some classical music to put me to sleep. While my girls are at horseback riding camp, Dorothy is at the beach, I am heading to bed.
Goodnight, everyone.
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