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
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
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
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
Friday, February 18, 2011
.....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
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
Thursday, February 17, 2011
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
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, February 15, 2011
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
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
Monday, February 14, 2011
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
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
Sunday, February 13, 2011
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
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
Saturday, February 12, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
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
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
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
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
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
Sunday, February 6, 2011
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. :)
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;
'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
Friday, February 4, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
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. :)
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. :)
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
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
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
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
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