Wow, it's been awhile...
I just realized how long it has actually been since I last wrote anything of substance in this journal. Yeah I added the occasional petition, and I'm a sucker for most of the quizzes that others add, none of my personal thoughts have been shared. I feel the need to change this, so my goal is to post one thought a day until I no longer have access to the internet. I suppose that's not really that high a goal considering how little time I have left in Iraq... but in some ways it will be, considering the last real post was back when I came back from leave.
My time here is almost up. Everyone's being shuffled around, people are starting to get excited, and some of us are already down in Kuwait awaiting the rest of us. What does that mean for me? Not much actually. I'm still working my same 12 hour shifts at night and am really not thinking about my redeployment. It will happen when it happens, and I'm content to know that I'll be home soon, i.e. within a month's time.
I really have mixed feelings about coming home. I mean, yeah it will be great to be out of here finally and get on with a life that I was forced to put on hold for a year. But then again, the money's really good. And I admit it, I'm a money grubbing whore, I probably place too much emphasis on it. I still haven't reached my goal of keeping my account at a certain level, it's always about a grand below my goal. But I guess that has to do with my new Overstock.com addiction. I really need to start making some real money when I return, start the business that I've invested so much money in learning.
JR's been down in Kuwait now for a week. I have succeeded in not going insane without someone to talk to about everything for as long. He's lucky he's not on LJ to hear me bitch about him, but he did promise to drop a line when he arrived safely down in Kuwait. Here it is a week later and not even an email. I really don't think that they're so busy down there that they can't call home. Hell, it's even easier to call in theater, just pick up a damn DNVT and dial my number...
Anyway, I've noticed that I've become somewhat accident prone recently. I really don't know what's up with that. I'm not a clumsy person, I do everything with a highly developed precision that others have commented on before. But I've apparently started losing that precision, as first noticed last week when I almost twisted my right ankle. But at least I was navigating a steep slope and in the mud. That I could at least understand injuring myself. Tonight though, I succeeded in fully twisting my ankle on relatively flat ground while walking up to work. I was once again reminded how much it sucks to be in the only section in my unit that has no HMMWV. Although I am quite surprised with how well this Alleve stuff works. I'm still on my first dose and can bear the pain to walk. If it hurts like this still when I get off shift though, then I'll have to go to the Aid Station and get it wrapped in gauze or something.
I just realized that my new found clumsiness might be stemming from my apparent exhaustion. Upon further reflection, I think that my exhaustion is stemming from chronic dehydration. I must thank btfldomie1978 for posting that wonderful fact sheet on Water vs. Coke. It was rather insightful. I've always been an avid soda drinker all of my life, especially in while in junior and high school. I decided back at the beginning of this deployment to cut back on it drastically, and I think I've accomplished that goal. I can't remember the last time I had coke, but I haven't been able to give up my Sprite. That's still my nightly drink. As for water, I guess I've always realized that I don't drink anywhere near enough, but it just seems that I'm not thirsty enough to. I guess that means that I'm going to have to start forcing myself to drink more.
I could ramble on for a while on a bunch of random topics, and while a select few of you will wish I had, since outbursts such as these happen so rarely, I feel like I've shared enough.
My time here is almost up. Everyone's being shuffled around, people are starting to get excited, and some of us are already down in Kuwait awaiting the rest of us. What does that mean for me? Not much actually. I'm still working my same 12 hour shifts at night and am really not thinking about my redeployment. It will happen when it happens, and I'm content to know that I'll be home soon, i.e. within a month's time.
I really have mixed feelings about coming home. I mean, yeah it will be great to be out of here finally and get on with a life that I was forced to put on hold for a year. But then again, the money's really good. And I admit it, I'm a money grubbing whore, I probably place too much emphasis on it. I still haven't reached my goal of keeping my account at a certain level, it's always about a grand below my goal. But I guess that has to do with my new Overstock.com addiction. I really need to start making some real money when I return, start the business that I've invested so much money in learning.
JR's been down in Kuwait now for a week. I have succeeded in not going insane without someone to talk to about everything for as long. He's lucky he's not on LJ to hear me bitch about him, but he did promise to drop a line when he arrived safely down in Kuwait. Here it is a week later and not even an email. I really don't think that they're so busy down there that they can't call home. Hell, it's even easier to call in theater, just pick up a damn DNVT and dial my number...
Anyway, I've noticed that I've become somewhat accident prone recently. I really don't know what's up with that. I'm not a clumsy person, I do everything with a highly developed precision that others have commented on before. But I've apparently started losing that precision, as first noticed last week when I almost twisted my right ankle. But at least I was navigating a steep slope and in the mud. That I could at least understand injuring myself. Tonight though, I succeeded in fully twisting my ankle on relatively flat ground while walking up to work. I was once again reminded how much it sucks to be in the only section in my unit that has no HMMWV. Although I am quite surprised with how well this Alleve stuff works. I'm still on my first dose and can bear the pain to walk. If it hurts like this still when I get off shift though, then I'll have to go to the Aid Station and get it wrapped in gauze or something.
I just realized that my new found clumsiness might be stemming from my apparent exhaustion. Upon further reflection, I think that my exhaustion is stemming from chronic dehydration. I must thank btfldomie1978 for posting that wonderful fact sheet on Water vs. Coke. It was rather insightful. I've always been an avid soda drinker all of my life, especially in while in junior and high school. I decided back at the beginning of this deployment to cut back on it drastically, and I think I've accomplished that goal. I can't remember the last time I had coke, but I haven't been able to give up my Sprite. That's still my nightly drink. As for water, I guess I've always realized that I don't drink anywhere near enough, but it just seems that I'm not thirsty enough to. I guess that means that I'm going to have to start forcing myself to drink more.
I could ramble on for a while on a bunch of random topics, and while a select few of you will wish I had, since outbursts such as these happen so rarely, I feel like I've shared enough.