The last Saturday off... ahhhhhh...

Ohhhhhh what a fantastic feeling to know it's just around the corner... that time... the time to head back home.  It's probably one of the most relaxing feelings you can possibly know!  :)  Soon I will be sitting somewhere... with no responsibilities to worry about... drinking a beer by the pool.  What an awesome thought!  I've been gone 6 months and a week now, and yet it still feels like yesterday (to some degree at least).  It certainly hasn't felt like 6 months.  It may have felt longer to those at home who have been waiting for all of us for all this time, though. 

So... as I have been planning to do... the following is going to be a "somewhat" chronological depiction of the time here in pictures.  Some of these pics I'm sure you've seen before, but many you haven't.  So do enjoy my final blog post from the desert land of Iraq. :)

There I was... the first couple days in the desert... and what did I discover???  SKYPE!  What an awesome communication tool!  It truly keeps you as close as humanly possible across the thousands of miles between one another.

These are just a couple pictures from our times on Skype over the past 6 months.  There were some fun times here with those at work as well... A1C Phillips and SrA Kyles... just a couple of our fine young Airmen here. :) 

There was of course the living space here... mine as I call it... a POD.  The official acronym for the living areas are CHUs.  Believe it or not... I don't even know what the C in CHU means.  Combined or Collective... Housing Units.  Or... PODs. :)

Early on in the deployment Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, and Jim Lovell came to pay us a visit and speak for us here at Joint Base Balad.  It was definitely a monumental event for all in attendance!  We were certainly a captive audience to say the least.  What do you say Billy Marshall?  "Why I say... That was a fun time Sgt. Latshaw... yes... yes it was."  And it certainly was just that... an AWESOME time!!!! :)  Meeting the first Americans in space and to walk on the moon doesn't happen every day you know!

Then there was the Trace Adkins concert on November 2nd.  A grand time was had by all.  He put on a fabulous show for us, and as you can see from the picture he was quite personable... and TALL! LOL  He stands about 6' 6" or so.  Thanks again Trace!

Then there came the holidays... I don't have any pictures from Turkey Day, so I will move into the Christmas pics momentarily.  I'm having an issue getting my Charlie Brown Christmas tree to upload... but I'm not giving up yet!  LOL  I have a few other pictures to throw in here in the meantime. :)

Smile, laugh, kill... I wanted my picture with these 3 rocks for the longest time... then finally I got someone to take it one day when I had my camera at work with me. 

That was a fun one... there are a couple others later on that I thought were pretty fun to be a part of as well.  Fun is never really a bad thing to have you know, and this is one place it's really important to include it in your daily routine.  Otherwise, you're liable to just go crazy! Arrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!! Ha ha hee hee hoo hoo!!!!

Then what do you end up doing?  You take your picture with a Christmas tree that has a RADAR on top in place of an angel!!!! YIKES!!!  Now who wouldn't laugh about THAT? :) 

They did a good job with this poor old tree... which was real by the way.  The needles all over the command post would definitely make one agree. LOL  At first it looked more like a sad old evergreen bush that was already half in the grave, but our hard-

working Airmen made it come together as best as they could. Not bad I must say! Christmas morning was very nice... I held onto my Christmas gifts until then, too!  It wasn't an easy thing to do, either!  I had lots of them!  It was so worth waiting for, though.  It also just so happened to be on my day off, which made it that much more enjoyable!  The gifts were plentiful!  The blanket came well before Christmas, and it was just in time, too!  I was soooooo cold before it arrived.  I even got to try on a couple "non-military" clothing items that were sent to me as well!!!!  Now THAT felt GREAT!!!!  Good times indeed!!!  It was really nice to have a little bit of home in my pod for Christmas.  I am very thankful for all the wonderful gifts and treats I received from everyone. Thank you so much! :)

The holidays came and went as quickly as all the other days here, though, and soon it was January already!  January meant the NFL playoffs, and the Steelers were rollin' in them!!!  As you all know it didn't end well for my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers, as they were defeated in the Super Bowl by 6 points by the Green Bay Packers, but it was one hell of a ride they gave us once again!  As quickly as January came it was gone as well... it was a fairly cool month... but nothing compared to an Idaho winter!  February felt even colder to me honestly... at least the first part of it.   There was even a day I saw a few snowflakes or sleet mixed in with the rain.  This was the damage 4 straight days of rain caused here.  It was like this EVERYWHERE, too!!!  As you can see Mike was sizing up whether or not he would be able to make it across the "river". :)

Also in February there was a very special event that I was able to attend.  We had a guest speaker who is not only an accomplished author and a religious man... but he is a Vietnam veteran and a hero by just about any standard.  His name is Mr. Dave Roever, and he certainly did not disappoint!  :)

February was a month of knowing the time here was getting close to the end.  And as Februrary came to a close... there were things that had to happen.  Well... for me it was getting those all important pictures to remember the time by before it was too late.  Rolling into March the thoughts were really homeward bound!  Once you get into those last couple weeks it really starts to sink in.  It's almost over... and soon we will all be seeing our loved ones and enjoying the luxuries that being in the great U.S. of A.  has to offer!  I give a special thanks to my dear wife for being more supportive during the past 6 months than anyone could possibly ask for.  I also thank all my readers, followers, friends, family, and anyone else I've failed to mention for all the awesome support you've all provided to me and all of my comrades.

This won't be my final blog by any means.  I will certainly continue to blog in the future as it's not only enjoyable but highly therapeutic. :)  These last 2 pictures are our T-Walls in the Kingpin compound.  Farewell Kingpin!!!  Parting is truly such sweet sorrow, and I can say I've enjoyed my time here.  It's definitely been a learning experience and at times even fun! :)

Peace, Love, and Poker

P.S.... since I started putting this whole thing together... I have left Iraq and am currently in Qatar! :)

Winding down...

It was another nice Tuesday morning for sleeping in.  :)  As my time here in the desert comes to a close I have to think back to all the things I've done in my 6 months (now 6 months plus) over here.  I can remember the day I got off the plane like it was yesterday.  It was the middle of the night, and it was HOT!  That was early September... yet it seems not so long ago. 

Now it's early (almost mid) March, and it's almost time to leave.  It's certainly not going to be hot like it was when I first arrived here.  In fact, according to the weather forecast it's going to be COLD if anything... which I'm quite certain is rather rare for this part of the world by this time of year.  I was anticipating temperatures up into the 80s around now, but it hasn't happened except for maybe a couple days in the past 2 weeks where it got up to around 80ish... which was gorgeous by the way!  It's to be only a high of 64 on Thursday and remain in the 60s through the weekend with lows dipping below 40 even!  Oh... and by the way... I'm so not complaining!  That's my kind of weather for sure! 

As you can see I've not been able to post my blog with my pics yet... but it's coming soon to a post near you!  It's nearly impossible to try and do it on the internet connection I'm currently using.  I'm lucky I can even get PokerStars to work or Skype in here.  Lately, however, it has been much better than in the past.  That's a good thing considering I've paid $59.99 a month for it!!!  It was the one luxury here I decided to give myself (along with several coffees and teas per day) during my time here.  I didn't really spend money on anything else, so to me it was worth the investment for the little conveniences. 

You can tell everyone at work is ready to go.  We're all tired... exhausted even.  It's to be expected.  I have been somewhat refreshed the past couple weeks for whatever reason.  It's not like I've been going to bed any earlier.  On the contrary, I've been hitting the sack after 11 PM just about every night of late.  Last night I was up past midnight even!  Of course, I got to sleep until 9 this morning, which felt FANTASTIC!  :)

I get to see my dear wifey on the 24th for the first time since August 30th.  I can't wait!!!  Then in April I'm traveling out her way, and we're going to visit my family for a week and then spending another week together as well.  That's going to be wonderful!  I'm really looking forward to it.  The break is going to be great... and very refreshing.  I'm going to do my best not to go overboard with living life when I get home.  I plan on continuing my running and working out on a regular basis from the first day back, too.  I don't want to lose what I've gained fitness wise here.  I want to continue to build on it.  :)

And that I will do... the only one who can stop me is me...

Peace, Love, and Poker

The next to last day off has arrived....

Yes... it's true!!!!  The time has almost arrived!!!  It's really gone by so fast... it's quite surreal!  :)  We had a dust storm for the ages this week.  It was insane!  I've never seen so much dust/sand in the air before.  It sure made breathing LOADS of fun!!!  But it passed, and it's been gorgeous outside yesterday and so far this morning.  :) 

This week went by very quickly... as have all the others here.  It's just the nature of it I suppose.  I couldn't see 6 months going by this fast if I even tried to imagine it, but I'm certainly not complaining.  Our replacements got here the beginning of this week, and we've been going full speed ahead to get them trained up to do the mission we've been doing so well since the beginning of September.  They are picking it up fast, and I would have to say they're going to keep it going without a glitch!!!

I have to say this has been a great experience for me... and although I'm VERY glad it's coming to an end I would definitely do it over again.  It's been well worth the time invested.  Of course the savings in my bank account doesn't hurt any, either!  :) 

A little later on today I'll try and post some of my pictures from throughout the deployment.  Some of them may have been on an earlier post, but I wanted to kind of do an online scrapbook of sorts of my time here.  So that's my plan for later on... I may end up with a few more pictures to post before these last days wind down, but the ones I have will give a good depiction of the time spent here.  :)

So... I wish everyone an AWESOME weekend!!!  I don't personally have a "weekend" so to speak, but I'll be back to that very soon.  :)

Peace, Love, and Poker

Happy Saturday!!!!

Yes... it's my favorite day of the week here again.  It's one of my last days off, too! :)  Of course, how can I not enjoy that???  Tonight is our end of tour party at 6 o'clock, and that's an AWESOME feeling!  I'm a little tired because I don't think I slept very well.  You see... I took the blanket off my bed to get it ready to be packed up today.  Well, I was cold all night!  I have the original blanket that was on the bed when I got here.  I'll put that one back on later. 

I've really enjoyed my time here, and I'm absolutely ready to go home now.  I thought the days would start to drag now that we're nearing the end, but they are still flying by just as quickly as ever.  Soon, I will hit the U.S. and have my car out of it's hiding place again and be able to slowly get back to normal life.  I'm sure that will take some adjusting.  I've been walking around everywhere on this base for almost 6 months, so actually DRIVING will be so much different... and soooooo enjoyable!  :)

I am going to try and get several pictures of different people and things the next few days, and I will be doing a "deployment in review" post which will be mostly in pictures.  I hope all my fine readers enjoy it.  I will have a few pictures you've seen already, and there will be many you haven't seen yet. 

I haven't really been able to think of much to blog about, though.  This writer's block is killing me!  I'll be back to write some more later... hopefully I have some fresh new ideas! :)

I saw a little kitten just a few minutes ago... and I felt so bad for the little guy.  He was meowing at me and looked really scared. :(  I don't know where the cats on base come from, but I'm sure his poor future is bleak here.  I want to go pick him up, but I'm sure it's not safe.  He was really looking scared.  I wish I could just take the little guy home with me.  Now I'm feeling bad... he was so adorable, too.  He looked so much like my little Crosby when he was just a wee little kitten. :(

The party was really cool.  We had a pretty nice awards thing... then our commander talked for awhile... then the group commander... the reality of it is setting in now... WE'RE GETTING OUTTA HERE SOON!!!  :)  I probably ate more today for one day than I have in a very long time, but that's ok since it's Saturday and my day off.  :)  With only 2 weeks left... you gotta enjoy what's left of it while you can.  I took a couple more pictures today, too.  Hopefully I will get them uploaded to a blog post soon.  I have some others I still need to get off my camera as well.  There is still plenty of time for me to do it... and if not here... when I get back home just the same.  I'll do my best, though.

Well... it's almost movie time... I'm finishing up a little poker action... an email to Anne Marie... and then I'm heading back to the room for the remainder of the night.  Just a couple more of these days off left... it's an amazing feeling. :)

Peace, Love, and Poker

Monday Monday... yes... it's really a song!

You really can't stop this day, just like the song says.  And that's just fine with me!  One more Monday is just about over and done with, and there aren't many remaining here for us.

Well... it's Tuesday morning now... this is kinda how it goes over here.  Monday was a blur as per usual.  I don't really have anything to blog about on my mind this morning, so it's going to be one of these random ones I post every so often. 

I found a sign posted outside the door, if you can really call a piece of paper a "sign", stating that there will be a bunk removed from the "pod" in the next couple weeks due to some transition thing.  Well... at 5:55 AM I totally misread the sign to say that they were going to be bringing one IN!  That was pretty damn stressful.  I couldn't possibly imagine another set of bunks in this already small space.  Taking one out, however, makes perfect sense!  It's still semi-stressful because I use that top bunk for storage.  Now I'm going to have to find somewhere else to put these items.  Luckily I'm planning on packing up the remainder of my things on Saturday, so hopefully they don't decide to come in before then. 

I'm stil pretty tired even though I slept quite a bit.  I'm actually debating a nap right now.  I don't know why 10 hours of sleep wouldn't be enough, but I am still pretty tired.  I'm wondering if I didn't sleep too long?  Although, I doubt that's true, you never can tell.  It could just be that I'm tired from almost 6 months of being deployed.  What a concept, huh???

I think I will finish my coffee and bring up PokerStars and play for a little while.  I might even head outside to the pavilion.  It's still really nice outside again today.  My bed, however, is more comfy! LOL 

There is one thing I have on my mind from yesterday.  I went to the dining facility to get breakfast, and the guy at the door told me I can no longer bring my coffee in.  "It's a new rule."  What the hell???  Is this not the dumbest thing you've ever heard???  They even serve coffee in there!!!!  I mean seriously... COME ON!!!  It's not like a restaurant where you're actually PURCHASING the beverage.  Everything is FREE!  So what the hell reason could you possibly have for not allowing someone to bring a coffee cup into the facility?  Perhaps they think there's a bomb in the Green Beans Coffee cup???  Who the hell knows... after all you can't get a cup of coffee from a Starbucks in an airport (in plain view of the security guards) and take it through the gates.  Nobody knew the reason... so one can only speculate.  I've heard a couple rumors, but I don't know for sure.  I would take my commander's idea probably above the rest.  He says he thinks it's because some individuals get their dirty coffee mugs/cups up under the spout of the coffee pot there and get their grubby dirty coffee nasties on it.  That halfway makes sense at least.  Someone else thought it was because 2 people spilled Grean Beans coffees in the morning, but that wouldn't prevent someone from spilling the UNCOVERED DFAC coffee just the same!  DUH!!!  DUMB DUMB DUMB no matter how you look at it.  I hate stupid rules!!!

Happy Tuesday... I have absolutely nothing else on my mind this morning. 

Peace, Love, and Poker

.....Hmmmm.... Part 2.

I'm having fun with this... so I decided to do a second one... this one is a little bit different, and it's something I didn't seriously think about until yesterday after being here 5 1/2 months.  *sigh*

Our scheduled workday is 0640-1900 (basically 7AM-7PM... vice versa for night shift).  Yes... that equates to just a little over 12 hours a day.  Everyone has one day off per week and one day where they work just 4 1/2 hours (which only started a few weeks ago).  So... going with the current setup... one works on average about 66 hours/week. 

Now comes the fun part... an average "shift" as far as doing the job out on scope is 4 hours.  Some folks sit 8 hours in a day if they work a double shift on another's day off.  In my position we split it differently and work one 6 hour shift on the other 2 people's days off.  Doesn't that make one ask a very reasonable and burning question?  "Why in the world do you need to be there 12 hours when your shift is only 4 hours long (on a normal day)?"  It's ironic that this is the very question I presented to myself (in my mind) yesterday after not really thinking about it for the first 25 weeks!  There's no real reason to make everyone sit here doing mostly nothing for the majority of the rest of their day... and believe me... it's a LOT of NOTHING!!! 

Here are just a few of the things people do in the time they're not sitting out on scope... The biggest one and most necessary is going to eat meals.  That one you really can't help regardless.  The next one that I think is pretty important is going to work out.  Now... in my opinion if you were only working an 8 hour day you would have plenty of time to work out on your own time rather than during the workday without having to give up precious sleep time or time spent talking with family, spouse, etc.  There is one more area that is relatively productive that folks use the time for... and that's doing schoolwork.  Those 3 areas are rather important... and again... would be done in one's personal time if they had more of it (say another 4 hours) available each day. 

Now we come to all the tons of hours of WASTED time... and there is A LOT!  The biggest time waster for people here... Video games!  Some of our folks sit and play video games almost the ENTIRE DAY!  Next comes two things that are pretty close to one another... watching TV and playing on the computer (which can include games, email, blogs (like this one), web surfing, shopping, and so on and so on.  The computer one is where I spend what's left of my day after I have taken care of the top paragraph's things (minus schoolwork since I didn't take any classes here).  Some spend it on the telephone calling home or wherever else... which in moderation can be productive but not when you spend almost your whole day camped out at the phones (not to mention you're not supposed to in the first place for more than 30 minutes at a time).  All of these things above would be done on a person's own individual time if that time were available. 

So... again I pose a question for you all to ponder... why the need to put people here 12 hours a day when they're not WORKING most of it anyway???  What does it really prove?  I know I can't put an answer to it.  Oh, and in case you were wondering, we didn't even get our first full day off until after 2 months here.  Go figure...  Something definitely needs fixing if you ask me.  It's too late for this time around, but it's not too late for the next or the one after that, etc.  I've done the research... working 12 hours a day and/or over 60 hours a week IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH!!!! 

The day off and the 4 1/2 hour day definitely are a HUGE boost toward recovery throughout the week... imagine if you had a day off and only had to spend 8 hours at work...

Peace, Love, and Poker

Things that make you go hmmmm....

Happy Thursday wherever you are!!!  I started to do my usual blog... my day this... and my day that... but then I got to thinking... why not something different today?  There are things you see... that you just wonder... why the hell do people do that???  So that's what at least the first part of my blog post is about. 

It makes me think back to when I was much younger, and when I say much younger I'm talking early 20s (ish).  I'm thinking back to when I first went to Turkey over 15 years ago.  I can surely recall one major thing about the base populace... about 90% MALE.  Fast forward to Iraq now... it's the same thing here.  I don't have to worry about this issue... this lack of females that the desert has to offer.  However, I wonder how the majority of the single male population fares in this environment.  It's a very interesting question to pose.  At any given time you will see girl X hanging out with as many as 8-10 guys at once.  That's a rather unusual thing to see back in the U.S., where the population is MUCH closer to 50/50. 

Also, you have the issue of the "General Order" here, which is basically legislation to prevent any contact between males and females (at least in an intimate sense).  IMO, you really can't legislate that because it's human nature, and they will find a way to "make it happen" so to speak, but God knows it does it's job for the most part.  Again, it doesn't impact me whatsoever.  I'm quite happy to see my wife on Skype, and that is enough to make my day complete.  But... here's what I see... which for the most part makes me laugh. 

I was walking to work... and back from work... at 2 separate times yesterday... and for whatever reason these 2 particular instances stuck with me.  First, there was a girl sitting outside the female dorm on a bench, obviously waiting for someone (presumably a guy or mulitple guys) because eventually I did see 2 guys come up to her and her get up and leave with them.  This, by the way, is a quite regular occurence here, which is why it's so funny to me.  The second time it was a guy waiting on the very same bench later in the evening, which is obvious what he was waiting for.  LOL  Again... too funny!!! :)  You see... the younger guys tend to follow the girls around like little puppy dogs here... and of course it's because the availability of women is quite meager, which has led to the age old term "Desert Queen".  However... every once in awhile I see it the other way around still... like you would in the states... the girl following the guy around like a little puppy dog.  It definitely makes people watching that much more interesting... seeing the interaction between members of the opposite sex and the manner with which they interact in an environment of what I like to call "sexual prohibition".  Even married folks who end up deploying TOGETHER, civilians included, have to abide by these same rules. 

I guess my real question is this... can you legislate this... and I would say love... but it's certainly not love that would drive any such relationship, even if the two people believed in it to the Nth degree.  In an environment such as this it is not real whatsoever.  1.  You're in such a close proximity to one another that it's bound to bring you and that individual closer than you ever would have been in a normal, more "free", setting.  2.  The odds are tipped too far in favor of the fairer sex... enabling them to have the ultimate choice of whomever they want to "partner up" with... where the guys lack that ability simply because it's a numbers game.  So even if 2 people were to claim they were "in love" after meeting in a place such as this, once they get home the freedom of choice of one or both of them will inevitably lead to the end of such a relationship.  Again, it's a numbers game, and the numbers don't lie. 

Ok... so I've managed to ramble in a big circle.  What I'm presenting is basically a psychological argument here.  Again, let me make it clear that this has absolutely NOTHING to do with myself.  I love my wife... and we have done amazingly well together during this time apart compared to others I know.  It's just something that intrigues me, perhaps because I was stationed in Turkey before as a single person, and I started to wonder if I did a lot of those same things.  Now, you have to remember this, too.  There was no General Order in Turkey.  You could go in and out of whomever's room or home you so pleased... so it wasn't quite the same... but the "numbers" or "ratio" was indeed very much similar. 

My real point... which I am working my way toward here... is based on everything I've talked about so far.  I know what the General Order is in place, and it's only for one single reason despite whatever the powers that be might tell you.  It's to prevent pregnancy.  PERIOD!  That much is obvious.  Now... you will hear the stories... of how many military members commit suicide either during or after a deployment.  This is 6 months for us in my unit.  Army folks do up to 18 months!  Can you really expect people to go against what is completely and humanly natural... possibly even NECESSARY.. for that long without serious psychological consequences stemming from it eventually?  I would love to see a study done of this nature... and I'm sure there have been several over time... that could correlate the data.  Everyone gets stressed during deployments... but the real bottom line is WHAT do they REALLY stress over?  Is it honestly work?  Or does it go much much deeper into the psyche? 

Just imagine... if you were deployed for however long with your spouse... and you're not even hardly allowed to TOUCH them!  I'd say that could be pretty damned stressful if I were in their shoes.  Interesting debate isn't it???

Peace, Love, and Poker   

Tuesday... and a better start to the day...

My last 2 days haven't started out (and/or finished) all that well.  Sunday was the day I inexplicably fell off the treadmill while running at 7.0 mph.  YIKES!  So now I have 2 tore up legs that need to heal.  I guess we'll see how it goes considering my track record lately of my apparently non-existant immune system.  The 2 large areas of the "rubber brush burn" are already not looking so good.  I'm not giving it more than a couple days before heading back to visit the docs after the last infection.  The captain I work for says it's this country.  He swears by it, too... that there's something here that just makes bacteria powerful, and I kinda believe him.  He's had to deal with a couple infections himself, and sure enough he got another one here (he had a really bad one here a couple years ago as well).  At least this time... it's an injury I can actually see!  That's half the battle. 

As for yesterday... well... it started out alright.  My shift in the morning went well... I won't go into the middle part of the day as I already blogged my rant about that yesterday.  The afternoon was MUCH better.  My workout really gave my mood a boost yesterday afternoon.  50 minutes of pure bliss, and intense I might add, on the elliptical can sometimes do that for you!  The evening was decent as well.  I just hung out at the rec center for a little while and then watched the movie Salt in the comfort of my bed while drinking my 2nd cinnamon orange tea.  :)  I was in bed ready for sleep by 10:30, which is pretty darn good for me on a night before I get to sleep in. 

So far today... I woke up at 4:45 to go Skype with Anne Marie from 5-6.  Then I went back to bed, and boy oh boy did I sleep in!  My alarm went off at 10 this morning, but I snoozed it until about 10:30.  I probably could have easily slept till noon!  But who wants to do that???  I mean, after all, I had already gotten in a very solid 10 hours plus of shut-eye!  :)  Now I'm just sitting outside at the pavilion on this mild cloudy mid-February day in the desert.  At best guess I'd put the temperature in the mid-50s.  It's nice... with a chilly breeze.  It looks like it sort of wants to rain, but it hasn't to this point.  The sun is even peeking out every now and then. :)

I'm playing poker and really NOT doing well today. LOL  It's just one of those days that we all have.  I had a few moments where I was tilting, which is never a good thing, and that's where I went down about $80.  I did manage to take 3rd in my tourney to make back a little bit, but I'm still a good $60-$65 down for the day.  I still have a little bit longer to play before I start getting ready for my short workday. 

You really can't beat having a 4 1/2 hour day every Tuesday!  :)  It's also one hell of a boost to whatever was getting you down the previous couple of days that's for sure!  :) 

Peace, Love, and Poker

Stuck again... Monday feeling like Monday...

Yup... that's how it feels here being stuck at this desk after my 4 hour shift just came to an end.  No lunch for me... nope... and I'm STARVED right now!  On top of it I have a headache and am extremely tired.  Great start to the day, huh???  My shift went well... but it's been downhill the last hour. 

I guess you could just say I don't deal wtih unexpected changes well at all... that's really the only way to put it.  Because if I did... I wouldn't feel like this at this moment.  Oh... I'd still have the headache.  I had it already before the end of my shift.  However, I wouldn't feel this angry and trapped in this seat if I came to grips with the fact that it was out of my control and that change, good or bad, is not only possible at every single moment of every single day... but it's INEVITABLE!!!

Why do we tend to buck change as humans???  There are many reasons for this in my opinion.  I have several of my own at least.  My worst one is having my planned routine fucked up.  There really is no solution to it.  That's why it's so frustrating.  You can't plan for something that you don't know is coming... that just might have a 1 in 10 chance of happening.  It's just not possible, so the unexpected is going to be just that... UNEXPECTED! 

Oh you'll hear people say... embrace change!  Why???  Some changes... sure they can be not only embraced, but welcomed!  Sitting here right now is not one of those, though.  What's to embrace about sitting hungry when you had your entire meal planned out only to find that you now have to wait at least another hour in order to go eat. 

I wouldn't care if I didn't plan on working out later... but now the time I eat and the time I planned to work out are going to be too close together.  I need at least 2 hours in between... and now I won't have that... which means cramps during my run... etc.  Not good!  Oh believe me I'm still going to try and do it.  It just might not go as well as I had hoped for.  As long as I don't puke I'll be happy.  :)

Anyway... sometimes you just have to vent and rant... so this is my means to do so.  It's a lot better than keeping these negative feelings inside.  That's for sure! 

Hopefully, I will feel better later today and will have something positive to write about.  For now... I have nothing else... especially since I already fell off the treadmill yesterday at 7.0 mph and tore up my legs.  This is an awesome week so far isn't it??? NOT!!!!  Until later...

Peace, Love, and Poker

Why does it work like this???

The day after my day off is often a day when I come to work feeling very tired and down in the dumps.  I guess it's just the realization that my day off is over... and then I have a 6 hour shift to sit during the afternoon on the most boring day of the week.  It's just one of those things I suppose that I have to deal with and press on from.  I know that the day after tomorrow I will be sleeping in again... so how can I really complain? :)

Yesterday was a good day.  I watched a couple movies.  The first one I watched was "The Town" with Ben Affleck.  It was really good... a different sort of movie.  I won't give anything away in case some of you reading this haven't seen the movie.  Just know it's definitely worth watching!  Then my roommate and I watched "Love and Other Drugs" last night.  That's a very good movie... I would say especially for the ladies.  It's pretty much a chick flick... but I think most of the guys will appreciate it as well. :) 

I didn't do a lot else with my day off yesterday... just relaxed.  I am about to go and work out now, and I'm hoping that will help to boost my spirits for the rest of the day.  It often does help out a lot... but when you're as tired and lethargic as I'm feeling today... I don't know if it will or not.  I really just feel like sitting here and doing nothing all morning.  UGH!   That's the very reason I NEED to go to the gym! 

I know it's impossible to be deployed for this long and never feel down... so I'm not all that worried about it.  Everyone has their moments and their days.  It's compeletely normal.  It's how you deal with it and overcome it that makes the biggest difference.  I plan to do exactly that right now in fact!  After working out it will be lunchtime along with time for ice cream Sunday!!!  How can you not enjoy that??? :)

Peace, Love, and Poker

Is it really Saturday already???

Did this week really just go by this incredibly fast? I'm sitting here on another day off in my room listening to music and playing a little poker.  It's nice... in here at least. LOL  Outside is a different story, though.  It's some sort of mix between dust, haze, fog, and clouds with a chilly breeze.  It's even tough to breathe out there at times, which leads me to believe it's mostly a huge dust storm that rolled in through the night.  UGH!  That on top of this cold I've been fighting all week is making it a bit rough, but I'm managing to hang in there.  :)

It's pizza day, of course, as well, but I'm really not hungry yet.  Funny, huh?  I think I'll manage to find somewhat of an appetite for Ciano's, though. :)  What do you think? hehe  After all, I've only got 4 more Saturdays left to enjoy those fine pizzas before I get to go home and have some REAL food!!! :)   The pizza is probably the most authentic food here, though.  It's comparable to just about any pizza I've eaten anywhere. 

What else will I do with my day off???  I'm quite content with this... just chillin' in my bed drinking coffee and listening to tunes.  Relaxation at its finest!!!  You really can't beat a nice relaxing day off... or simply having the option to do so.  I've really got to start packing up, though.  The weeks are passing by so fast I'm going to run out of time before I know it!  4 weeks is not a lot of time... especially when the days pass by like hours (sometimes minutes even!) 

My plan is to send stuff to my friend's house (my roommate actually) and keep only what I need until I get back.  I have a LOT of stuff I can send on its merry way to the good old U.S. of A. :)  It's hard to believe that I've actually been here 24 weeks!!!  That's almost half a year!  It's been a good deployment, and getting home will actually take a lot of adjusting to get back to normal.  However, I'm VERY much looking forward to getting back!  It's going to be nice to have my freedom to roam back once again!  I miss that probably more than anything.  It's tough to be cooped up inside the confines of the base 24/7 with a handful of places to go and things to do. 

Pizza day became calzone day instead.  I was again unable to finish my meal.  I think that might mean my stomach is shrinking. :P  It was very tasty, though.  Now it's almost 4 o'clock on my Saturday off... getting close to evening here already.  It's been another good day... nice and relaxing... just what I needed, too!  Now I think I'm going to watch a movie on my computer... and rest.  Then it will be time to skype with Anne Marie! :) 

Happy Saturday everyone!!!!  Whatever you do today... make sure you have a good time doing it!  :)

Peace, Love, and Poker

I'm having those damn midweek blues again!

It's true... as much as I try not to let the negativity creep in it still happens once in awhile.  Today is one of those times.  I didn't sleep all that well last night... I felt like I was awake a lot through the night though it was probably only a minute or two at a time.  It was a good day yesterday, but as you can see in my blog post from yesterday I received some bad news.  That also has something to do with my feeling down right now. 

I'm thinking about a lot today... especially where I'm going to live when I get back.  It has to be something nice for both myself and Anne Marie, and it needs to be pet friendly.  I also have certain amenities that I want, and I'm not going to be happy if I can't have them.  I want a pool/spa and a fitness center for sure... along with a washer/dryer and a  dishwasher.  Those are things I'm used to having, and I've been willing to pay the extra rent for a nice enough place to have those things.  Now... if I'm forced to rent a HOUSE I won't have any of those except maybe the dishwasher, and I'll have to PURCHASE my own washer and dryer.  UGH! 

I am also considering giving up my 2 cats at this point as well.  It is an extremely sad thought, but if that's what it takes in order to be able to move into the kind of place I want to live in then I guess I will have to do just that.  I'm pretty sure they would have a good home... provided the people they are staying with would want to keep them.  :(  That is my last resort, however, and I also know Anne Marie would be so very upset as well.  We love all 4 of our pets very very much. 

So it is this Wednesday morning that I'm feeling quite a bit of stress over what's going to happen when I get home from here.  How ironic, huh?  The one thing you look forward to the most is turning out to be the most stressful thing in the near future.  I will continue my search, however, and I won't give up until I've exhausted the many possibilities that are still out there!  Until then... I'm going to do my best to keep my chin up...

Peace, Love, and Poker

How is this right???

Well... something that has happened to me pretty much yesterday has led me to writing a blog post.  I don't know how some people can sleep at night knowing what they do to other people without even a second thought.

So... before I left for this deployment I was looking for a new place to live.  I didn't know for sure if I was going or not, and my lease in my apartment was running out.  Also, with my wife moving out to Idaho we would now have 4 cats instead of just my 2.  It's really difficult to find anywhere that will take animals let alone FOUR! 

We had a place that was willing to work with us and our pets, which was awesome.  It was just the sort of place we were looking for, too.  The move-in date was going to be Nov. 1st if I didn't go on the deployment, and they said just to call back when it got closer to my time to coming back in order to get a new date set up. 

Now, all of a sudden, they WON'T let us have our 4 cats anymore, and they say it's because at the time their residency was low, and now it's not.  So this is an economical decision obviously.  Even though they have places available for rent they are not going to allow us to rent from them now after previously saying they would. 

This was our only real outlet in Boise... and it had everything we wanted in a community.  Now the only option is to rent a house???  Great!  No amenities... yardwork... I prefer to PAY for these things and enjoy them rather than either not have them or do them myself.  Am I being whiny?  Sure I am... I'm very upset.  I'm upset to the point that I've sent the complex manager an email practically begging for their help.  I'm about in tears here because right now when I get back to Idaho I'm HOMELESS.  I'm even considering getting rid of my own 2 cats so I can have living space of my choice because I certainly know Anne Marie would NEVER let her babies go. 

I am really feeling helpless right now being all the way over here... even if I will be home in 5 weeks.  I'm going to have to spend the time I'm supposed to be relaxing and recouperating looking for a place to live now!!!  I know Anne Marie will help the few days she will be visiting before she returns back to New York and to work.  It doesn't change the facts of the story, though. 

There is no loyalty in ANY business regardless of what it is.  It's just the American way in our day, and it's getting even worse.  They had no problem with renting to us 5 months ago, but since the economy has picked up a little they kick us to the curb.  If my plea is not answered with a positive result I plan on putting their name and their property management company's name on every apartment site I can find with a horrible review not to mention tagging them with several search tags tied to a very negative blog post in regard to them. 

After all, if they can do that to me... I can certainly return the favor...

Peace, Love, and Poker

The big day has arrived!!!

Here we are... Super Bowl Sunday!!!  The Steelers and Packers will play for the Lombardi Trophy tonight in what promises to be a doozy of a game!  Of course, I would graciously accept a Steelers blowout as well. LOL  However, I'm not seeing that happening at all... so may the best team (the STEELERS) win. :)

Today is a rather slow day at work.  It feels kind of empty here today, although there are plenty of us here.  I just don't seem to know where everyone's at this morning.  Surely nobody's outside as it was 29 degrees this morning!  BRRRRRR!!!  Yes... that's about as cold as it gets here in Iraq, but nonetheless it's still COLD!

It was a very enjoyable day off yet again... and obviously it has already come and gone leaving just 5 more in its wake.  23 weeks have passed since I set foot on Iraqi sand.  In just 3 more weeks March will be here... and it will be time to start making sure everything is packed up and ready to go.  I think I probably need to start the packing process NOW!  As fast as weeks go by here... it will be Saturday again before I know it, and then I'll be down to 4 weeks... and so on and so forth.  I was thinking it was time to start packing when there were 9 or 10 weeks left!  That seems like it was just yesterday. 

It's funny how this deployment has followed the NFL football season.  The first week here was week 1... it's been a fun ride to this Super Sunday (or early Monday as the case is here).  I think back to the critical moments in the Steelers' season, and really one game in particular comes to mind.  It was a game they had no business winning.  They lost it several times over.  It was the Buffalo game.  That win is, in my opinion, the one that put the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.  You might ask, "How could a win over a team that only won 4 games all season do any such thing?"  I will explain...

First of all, had they lost to Buffalo the Baltimore Ravens would have taken first place in the AFC North, and the Steelers would have been relegated to playing on the road against Indianapolis and Peyton Manning rather than having a bye week and a home playoff game (which, ironically enough, was against those same Ravens).  Had they been fortunate enough to win that game they would have been rewarded by traveling to New England to play the nemesis Patriots, who have had the Steelers' number over the past 10 years. 

Also, who's to say a loss in the Buffalo game wouldn't have caused a downward spiral resulting in the Steelers missing the playoffs altogether???  It's a definite possibility. 

Just think about that for a few minutes today... especially if you're a Steelers fan... how very important it was when the wide open Buffalo receiver dropped a perfectly thrown ball in the end zone in overtime of that game.  That single play in particular was the key to the season.  Oh, there were a few other times that game was apparently lost as well, but this one was the big one!  It's not every day a receiver drops a perfect pass with no defender anywhere near him in the end zone in overtime.  I don't care if you have 2 wins or 10.  Perhaps it was fate.... or maybe, just maybe... Myron was watching. :)

'Twas the Night Before the Super Bowl
 
'Twas the night before the Super Bowl, when along the gulf shore,
Steelers fans were praying for "just one more;"
 
The players were nestled all snug in the sack,
With visions of number 7 against the Pack;
 
Coach Tomlin was young, but wise for his years,
So I drifted off to sleep without any fears;
 
When at the stadium there arose some strange chatter,
The Packers feared, what was the matter;
 
We heard "Okel Dokel", we heard "Double Yoi,"
We jumped from our beds, our hearts jumped for joy;
 
He stood at the fifty with a grin ear to ear,
Steelers fans everywhere started to cheer;
 
Then in an instant to our surprise,
This little old man had tears in his eyes;
 
He went to the booth and there took his chair,
While Terrible Towels waved in the air;
 
Then over the airwaves came his shrill voice,
The Steelers Nation began to rejoice;
 
He said, "I am back, but you know I can't stay,
I just had to see my Steelers play;
 
From my home up above, I have a great view,
But I wanted to celebrate here with you;
 
So bring on the Pack, we'll send them a flyin',
On the way back to Greenbay, they will be cryin';
 
Ben, Hines, Troy , Wallace and all of the rest,
No matter the outcome, to me you're the best;"
 
The airwaves went silent, the stadium still,
Was this just a dream, it seemed so real;
 
In our team we have faith, in our team we have hope,
But the game's not the same without Myron Cope; 

This poem was in an email my sister forwarded to me... Myron... #7's for you!!!

HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!!  Keep those Terrible Towels held high!!!  It's time to climb the "Stairway to Seven!" 

Peace, Love, and Poker

Can I get a big TGIF????

Yes!!!  It's Friday once again!!!  This week was a complete blur, too!!!  That leaves only 5 more weeks... 5 more "Fridays" so to speak left in the desert.  Did I mention there's only 3 hours left before I'm off work again??? :) 

So... did anything significant happen between my Fridays?  Well... there was at least one thing.  I went to see a compelling speaker, who's book I happened to have in my possession thanks to my dear wifey.  The author of this book, aptly named "Scarred", is Mr. Dave Roever.  He was here to speak on Wednesday evening at the main base chapel.  It was an honor to meet him.  He signed my wife's book (which he had signed at one time in the past) TWICE... and wrote a note to each of us inside each cover.  It was AWESOME!!!  I also got two pictures with him when he first arrived.  I will be posting them very soon... most likely tomorrow while I'm not working. :)

What else happened this week???  I can't really think of much that was different from any other week right now.  The late show day time was moved to 2:30 PM this week, which is amazing!!!  That really set the tone for the past couple days this week I think.  It was that extra sleep that really energized me and got me through what's been a very cold and rainy week here in a typically fairly warm place... even in winter.  Today marks the 3rd straight day that it didn't get to 50 degrees.  Tomorrow looks to be rainy and much of the same... somewhere around 45.  I'm actually not complaining, though.  I think it's enjoyable to have a little winter like weather for a change.  It's pretty much how it is in Boise this time of year and probably similar to what it will be like when we get back. 

My plans for tomorrow are the same for the most part as most of my Saturdays.  I sleep till 8.  I hit the boys room... swing by the gym and weigh myself on my way to breakfast... and have a nice big breakfast of tasty goodies... omelet, hash browns, bacon, biscuit, french toast with fruit topping, and OJ.  That's my weekly morning treat after eating the same thing for the rest of the week's earliest and most important meal. :)

After breakfast I will be on Skype with my sister and then probably call my dad.  After that... maybe some poker and then it will be pizza time!!! :)  I would like to think I might work out at some point, but I never do... with the exception of one 30 minute elliptical workout one Saturday long ago.  After lunch I will relax and maybe fire up the poker again and could even write another blog post!!!!  Keep your eyes peeled! ;) 

Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind at any given time simply because it's my DAY OFF!!!  That means I can do whatever my heart desires at the time throughout the day.  :)  I will definitely be seeing you all here again very soon!  It's only 2 more days until SUPER BOWL time!!!!  HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!  Oh yeah... I got the brand new version of the HERE WE GO song last night, and it didn't disappoint!!!  15 years and going strong!!! 

Peace, Love, and Poker

It is REALLY Groundhog Day!!!!

Yes... it's true... it's February 2nd!  This is Groundhog Day... the day that Punxutawney Phil predicts the outcome of the rest of our winter.  I'm pretty sure he usually sees his shadow, though, that way he can bless us with 6 more weeks of winter. LOL  I'm pretty sure Iraq has already been blessed with more winter, and that's just fine by me.  I wouldn't complain if it stayed in the 40s and 50s until we left as long as I don't have to endure ANY hot weather before mid march... and by hot I mean 80 or above. :) 

But Groundhog Day is much more significant here than it's ever been to be before.  It's only because of the movie, but it is so true that every day here from week to week is virtually the same.  In essence it is Groundhog Day.  So it's rather ironic to me that it would actually be Groundhog Day for real... giving me a great reason for a blog post! 

Yesterday was actually not the same as all the other Tuesdays here.  It was possibly the most relaxing day I've had out of my over 140 days I've spent here!  It was the first of a new system for our late show at work day... coming in at 2:30 in the afternoon only to work the 4 1/2 hours (4 of it on scope) and then leave.  It was AWESOME!  I stayed in bed the entire time with a few necessary exceptions.  I thorougly enjoyed every minute of it yesterday.  I can't wait to do it again next Tuesday!  :)

It's really dark and dreary outside today.  It looks like it might rain the whole day here with the temperatures not getting out of the 40s.  I am just now dry from my walk to breakfast and back this morning in the rain.  It's kinda nice... to have what would be similar weather to Idaho for this time of year.  The weather was MUCH nicer here this fall and winter than I ever could have imagined.  And now... with just a little over 5 weeks left... I'm thinking I might get out of here just before it really starts to warm up. :)

In just 4 days the Steelers will go for what is now being called the "Stairway to Seven".  It would be their 7th Super Bowl win if they win.  What an amazing feat for any franchise!!!  It just so happens to be the team I cheer for who plays in the area where I spent my first 19 years of my life growing up!  :)  In fact, I have some inside information that might be of interest.... someone told me this year if the groundhog saw his shadow it might be a prediction of something other than the weather... 

HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!!  :)  Happy Groundhog Day everyone!!!

Peace, Love, and Poker

Ahhhhh... relaxation!

That's one word to sum up today!  It was very much relaxing!  I woke up at 4:45 to go Skype with my dear wifey at 5.  Then I went back to bed at 6.  I slept until about 10:15.  It was great!  I got up... got some coffee... ate my breakfast in my room... got back in bed and turned the TV on and got my computer.  I played some poker for a couple hours and then it was about time to get ready for work and grab some lunch along the way.  It was one of the most relaxing mornings I've had since I've been here!!!  I loved every minute of it, and my shift was over so fast I was back "home" before I knew it!  :)  Tuesday = A+!

Tomorrow is sort of a special day... there's an event going on here that's actually going to be dear to me that I am going to attend.  I'm only keeping it a secret because I think it will be an amazing surprise for Anne Marie when I finally get to see her.  I hope I can keep it a secret that long! LOL  It's not going to be easy, but I know she will think it's awesome. 

Tomorrow is also a day that's very much ironic in our lives here in the desert... as every day seems the same from week to week.  Tomorrow is GROUNDHOG DAY!!!  You can definitely count on a blog post from me at some point tomorrow in regards to this pseudo holiday of ours that is February 2nd.  In honor of this day I really would like to find a copy of the movie and watch it sometime tomorrow.  I think it is most appropriate (and funny, too). 

That's really all I have to ping off of you fine readers this evening.  I will now be hitting my book for a few and then it's off to sleepy land.  Until tomorrow...

Peace, Love, and Poker

January coming to an end... and I'm not sure how I'm feeling today...

Why do I say this?  Well, let me tell you.  Overall today was a good day, and it's almost over.  That's the good part, but I have a dilemma of some conflicting thoughts, and it brings me back to something my Psychology professor once asked us in one of her very first lectures... "When this question is posed which of these do you generally tend to do?  Do you do what you SHOULD do more often, or do you do what you WANT TO do more often?" 

It's really a most interesting thing to ponder.  I would imagine that many people go through life constantly doing what they SHOULD do.  My question to any of them would be this... are you truly happy?  My guess is that about 90-95% of them are not happy with their lives that way.  She also said that the happiest people are the ones who do what they WANT TO do... simply because then you're living your life for YOU, not for anyone else, and you own the decision, therefore you will feel no resentment toward the person or thing that you did that you really never wanted to do anyway.  Therein lies my dilemma today, and I often go through this sort of thing, which in the world of psychology they call "cognitive dissonance". 

By definition cognitive dissonance is your brain conflicting between 2 things... it can be any 2 things... let's make it very simple.  Take food choice for instance.  You can have the tasty cheeseburger and ice cream, which is what you REALLY want, or you can choose to have the grilled chicken and rice, which is a much healthier choice, but at that moment it sounds about as good as eating a cardboard box.  Now your brain has 2 thoughts that are conflicting. 

I'll be the first to say that I more often than not choose the "want to" side... probably about 75% of the time, and sometimes that gets me into trouble, especially considering my line of work.  In the military you mostly do what you're told, which results in doing what you "should" do.  Most of those things... I deal with and press on just like everyone else.  There are those few times, however, that I go against the grain and do something else instead.  Just in the past 3 days there have been 2 such instances, and I'm quite certain they have not gone unnoticed by my supervisors. 

Saturday was our end of month party/awards thingy... and it was my day off.  Therein lies an obvious conflict, but add to it that the time to talk to my wife on Skype was right in the middle of the party time!  Now we really have a problem don't we?  So... I had already made up my mind not to go... and I didn't go.  There have been no consequences as the event was not mandatory... however... it was brought up to everyone by the commander himself that although these things are not mandatory everyone who is not engaged in WORK is to be there.  No mention was made of those who had the day off... but it's one of those gray areas if that makes sense. 

The second thingy was today... it was a promotion ceremony, which is not mandatory per se.  BUT... it was expected that if you were "not doing anything... for instance sitting on scope" then you were expected to be there.  Well... after sitting basically 2 shifts today... I decided my workout was more important than the other thing, and I didn't get back in time to go.  EVERYONE was gone, too!  I was even told that people were asking where I was at there... which is a pretty good indication that I could be in some kind of trouble come tomorrow.  Luckily I will probably be able to avoid it at least until Wednesday, since tomorrow is my 4 hour day, and I don't go in until 2:30 PM.  I'm willing to accept whatever it is that comes my way.  I made a conscious decision to do what I did knowing full well it could contain some, albeit minor in the whole scope of things, consequences. 

So again I ask... do you do what you want to do, or do you do what you should do???  There are few things I can rate higher in my life at this time than 1.  Time with my wife, which is really what helps the most to get me through my days here.  And 2.  Working out... because being fit and STAYING fit is extremely important not only for my health but for my being able to retire from the Air Force in less than 2 years.  The 3rd thing... which is really #2 for me when I'm at home is school... which I am not doing over here simply because I don't feel like I have the time or the energy for it. 

These are the things foremost on my mind tonight as I get ready to turn in for the night and catch up on some much needed sleep.  So... keep in mind... I've been told nothing of any "punishment" or anything like that... just thinking it's a possibility... and my day overall was a VERY GOOD one!  :)  I don't want to remove the positive things from this fine Monday... Take care and maybe I'll post more in the morning, since I will have the time. :) 

I leave you with this to ponder the next time you arrive at a point in your life where a decision causes you "cognitive dissonance".  Will you do what makes YOU happy... or will you do what makes others happy?

Peace, Love, and Poker

The last Saturday in January!!!

Yes... it's true... another month is coming to an end, and it's gone by the fastest of all of them thus far!  Tuesday will be the 1st of February, which marks the last full month here.  That's definitely something to look forward to!  :)  This day off... marks the end of week number 22.  22 weeks!!!  That only leaves 6 weeks to go!  6 more Saturdays off.  Then it will be about time to bid farewell to Iraq.  Of course, the exact date is unknown... sometime in March... but the countdown estimate is close enough to be satisfying. :)

It's raining AGAIN on my day off.  It seems rather odd that Saturdays are the only time it ever seems to rain here.  This is the 6th or 7th one so far, and it's only rained maybe that many times plus one or two!  I don't mind it... nor am I complaining, though.  I actually happen to ENJOY it.  The rain is refreshing, and it's a nice change of pace having a little moisture in the air.

Ahhhh... the pizza was delicious as always!  Billy was nowhere to be found today, so I went solo in the drizzle today.  I did my best to avoid the mud puddles along the way on my 20+ minute jaunt in the rain.  It was well worth it, though.  I even enjoyed a Beck's non-alcoholic beer.  Yes... it's true... N/A beer is the best one can hope for here.  It's good to get the flavor of it every once in awhile. :)

I then trekked over to the post office to take care of mailing a nice surprise out ot my dear wifey. :)  I know she will appreciate that... at least I hope she likes it! LOL  Pretty soon I'm going to have to decide what to consolidate and send (errrrr... yeah... where is home?) somewhere I guess. Hmmm... where??? I don't have a home right now!!!  I'm sure I can figure something out.  I have enough peeps in Boise surely I can send my stuff SOMEWHERE!  :)

After I walked back, I went over and got my first haircut since Christmas Day.  The barber was very careful of my "scar" on the back of my neck/head.  I was grateful for that.  I certainly don't need another one of those things anytime soon!  That infection was HORRIBLE!  It's one of the worst ailments I can ever remember enduring.  I'm just glad it's over with... and hopefully gone.  It's been 2 weeks now since the bandages came off for good and it was allowed to close up.  The haircut did feel good, too.  :)

Now I'm back in my cozy "POD" sitting on my bed writing this blog post and playing a little poker.  I'm also drinking my cinnamon orange tea as per usual. :)  I'd say it's been a pretty good day off to this point, and it's almost time to Skype with Anne Marie!!! :)  Next week at this time not only will there only be 5 weeks left, but the next night will be the SUPER BOWL!!!!  GO STEELERS!!!  :) 

I hope everyone has an awesome Saturday!!!  If there's snow wherever you are... know that I wish I were there to enjoy it!!!!  I miss my winter over here...

Peace, Love, and Poker