Moving day to come....

I found out yesterday I do have to move to another building here on KAF. My new room won't have internet service - at least not right away. I am putting off moving for a few days until my current internet subscription runs out. Not sure how I will stay in touch after the move...

Groundhog Day... all over again

I went away for a couple of days up to Kabul, but now I'm back at "home" at KAF. And overall my life hasn't changed much. Went to work; went to a ceremony to honor fallen warriors; ate the same food at a different dining facility; still don't know if or when I'm moving to a different room.
I guess one thing has changed - I got my roommate to give me a haircut. Just a trim... had to be done. I am thinking about letting my hair grow out - I haven't had it long in a long time. It is layered now - I'm going to let the layers grow out first and then try to let it grow longer. I'm also thinking about letting my bangs grow out. I have always had bangs. My mom wanted me to grow them out when I was younger, but I would always leave the hair hanging in my eyes instead of pulling them back - so she let me cut them. It is hard to grow hair out in the military, because you have to conform to certain standards. Oh well... it's something to keep me occupied in the routine monotony of things.

Frowny face : (

I got my flu shot a few days ago. I almost never get sick, so when I do I think it is a big deal. It is the worst to be sick when you're away from home. I remember a long time ago when I was in college and I got a bad case of strep throat. I kept the door to my dorm room open so people could come in and check on me while I layed there burning up with fever. It was my first time really being away from home, and I didn't even know how to go to the doctor on my own! Obviously I survived. And this flu thing didn't have me bedridden or anything, but I was just not feeling well. You know the signs - headache, nausea, chills, sneezing, stuffiness. All I wanted to do last night was take a bath and crawl into bed. But no such luck here - I won't see a bathtub for a long while. No one was here to make me soup, bring me a cool compress for my head, tuck me in... I still had a bit of a headache this morning, but it passed. I am fine enough now. A little melancholy, but fine enough...

Time to get down to business...

I think many of us plan to work out all the time and come home from deployment in amazing shape, but in reality many of us do not. I started out with good intentions, but often I chose sleep over the gym - especially when working late so often. Well, I have re-committed myself to working out... maybe it has something to do with the recent arrival of our division command group and the Command Sergeant Major announcing we will be having weigh-ins and a PT test in the coming months... I am going to start a new workout program. The program also involves a diet plan, which is sometimes challenging here because we have limited selection at the dining facilities here. But I should definitely be able to find a protein and vegetable combination at every meal. Monday will be Day #1... hopefully I will be better at sticking to the workout program than I have been at writing on this blog every day!

Hairy business

My hair is growing. I knew it would. I'm trying to figure out how to manage it as it keeps growing. I wanted to grow it out before I got to Fort Drum, but it wasn't growing fast enough. So I ended up getting it cut really short. I thought about getting hair extensions before I left. Long hair just seems to be easier to manage when deployed.
Then to top it off, I see one of the captains getting ready this morning and she has a great short haircut! I really like it, and she got it trimmed here by the barber. Hmmm... Can't give in.
Where I will really have problems is with my bangs. I have always had bangs. My mom tried to get me to grow them out when I was younger, but I refused to put the long strands of hair back with barrettes. I always had straggles hanging in my face. So my mom finally gave up and had my hair cut back to bangs. Before it always seemed like my bangs grew so quickly - faster than the rest of my hair. Now that I want them to grow fast, they have gone into hibernation. I don't really like seeing my forehead, so dealing with keeping my bangs pulled back as I go through the awkward transition period between sort of long and long enough will be tough.

Sticktoitiveness (Stick-to-it-ive-ness)

So much for my declaration about blogging daily! I have been overcome by events lately and this is the ball I dropped. We have been working some long days and late hours, but tonight we got chased out of the office around 10 pm. I have to say I did have some time to blog a couple nights ago, but instead I decided to watch an episode of Hell's Kitchen I had downloaded from iTunes. No apologies - I enjoyed watching "TV"!
About iTunes and my internet connection... I decided I would buy season passes to my favorite television shows and download them to my computer so I can watch them when I free time (almost NEVER) or when I decide I am willing to trade an hour of sleep for an hour of mindless entertainment. The problem is my download speed here is practically in reverse! It takes a whole day, sometimes longer to download one episode. I have a queue of tv shows waiting to be downloaded now. So my computer is on all day and all night just so I can keep downloading the list. The good thing about the shows when I finally get to watch them is - no commercials.
I will definitely resolve to do better at writing and blogging. Who knows - maybe I'll get back to some poetry after a while.

He ain't heavy... he's my brother

I think of the Army - and the military as a whole - as a big family. Sadly today I had to say goodbye to one of my military brothers, a young Marine. It is an unfortunate but true fact that men and women lose their lives while serving in combat. Here at Kandahar we have ceremonies to bid farewell to many heroes as they are sent off on their final trip home. "Amazing Grace" played on the bagpipe always brings tears to my eyes. Hearing that music as I watch a group of Soldiers shoulder a flag-draped coffin and carry a comrade onto a waiting plane creates a lasting impression. No matter how often it happens, I am always touched, always proud of being part of an institution that honors its fallen heroes in such a way, and always tremendously overwhelmed by the sacrifice of one life, one family, one nation, one coalition.

4 to 1

I got back to my room tonight and had it all to myself for a moment. It's a rarity these days now that I have roommates. I have gone from being one person living in a 4-bedroom to four people living in one room. It takes some adjusting. We are all on different schedules and I think most often I am the last one in at night. So all the other gals are cozily tucked in their bunks reading or computing while I come in and try to get settled. I don't think I'm a great roommate. I'm loud - mostly because I'm naturally clumsy, so I'm always dropping something or knocking something over. And our uniforms don't help - all the Velcro ripping noise from trying to get into a pocket. But tonight I left work early (early being 8 pm) so I could stop at the PX before it closed and look for a little clip-on fan. I didn't find one, by the way. So when I got to my room - YAY! I was the first one back. I had some alone time.
One of my roomies just showed up a few minutes ago. The first thing she said to me was, "Are you alright? You aren't sick, are you?" :) She was surprised to see me home so early. Now I just have to fall asleep early, so I can get up early and go to the gym. If I make it back from the gym by 5:30 am, I will get the showers all to myself! Funny how your perspective changes and the simplest things bring you true joy.

Another day in Paradise

I think my new temptation is the Frozen Mocha Frappe from Green Beans Coffee. It is a drink and dessert all in one. So good... I don't want to know how many calories are in one! I guess Active Duty military can go online to the Green Beans website and sign up for free coffee - it's called something like "A cup of Joe for a Joe." I will have to check it out. But I bet it's only for regular coffee, which I rarely drink. Hmmm... http://www.cupofjoe.com/coj/index.php

I found out I will be staying in the room I'm in now, so I finally pulled out my foam pillow and my soft sheets and traded the sleeping bag in for some comfort. Pictures of my current Home Sweet Home are posted. Don't know if anyone can see the little stuffed lamb sitting on my bed. It is the last stuffed animal my angel dog Cassie had, so I brought it along for a little comfort. I still get tears whenever I think about saying goodbye to her. I also brought along the small silver pendant that holds some of my dad's ashes. I try to bring him along whenever I travel. I get sad thinking about losing my dad as well. I guess that's why I like to keep the little remembrances close.

Travelling tales

I know I said I would write every day and I have already skipped a couple days. Sunday night I was up in Kabul visiting ISAF Joint Command headquarters. I brought my computer along, but I did not have internet access. I have posted a picture of the accommodations for transient/visiting personnel. This is a pretty typical setup - tent with bunk beds. Some places issue linen. IJC did not. I had heard from a workmate that someone who visited IJC the previous week returned with a case of bedbugs. YIKES! So I washed the blanket I brought with me and all the clothes I wore in the bed as soon as I returned to KAF - just in case. No itching - I think I'm safe! Several bunks are empty in this picture, but by the end of the day all had been filled by incoming travellers, including a group of Egyptian women who were less than impressed by the IJC hospitality. One of them actually broke down in tears as she walked in and sat down on her bunk! While the visit to Kabul was great for meeting contacts and linking up with a number of former classmates, it was good to get back to KAF and to my own bunk. (I will post pictures of my room in an upcoming blog.)
I returned from Kabul Monday and today (Tuesday) I had the opportunity to go to the Afghan Army's 205th Corps base nearby. What an experience! The base is a quick ride from KAF but I got the chance to see a bit of "real Afghanistan." Unfortunately I did not get a chance to take pictures during the ride, but maybe in the future.... We drove through a small Afghan bazaar area - this is a martketplace - with shops and food stands lining both sides of the road. I also saw a little playground and several Afghan boys running and playing in the dirt along the way. As we approached the base I saw old Soviet barracks from the 1980s when Soviet troops occupied Afghanistan. The buildings are cratered in some places from old fighting, but that is where many of the Afghan Army officers and their families live. I also passed a huge Soviet vehicle "graveyard," full of tanks, trucks, air defense artillery systems, etc. that the Soviets left behind when they withdrew in 1988-89. Wow. I was happy to know I own stock in Ford Motor Company when I saw the huge fleet of new Ford trucks and SUVs the Afghan Army drives. :)
Accompanying us on the trip over was an interpreter who I took some time to speak to throughout the day. He was born in Kandahar City but moved to California in 1979 when the Soviets moved in. Normally he works just translating written documents between English and Pashtu or Dari, but today he got to do some in-person work and it was nice talking to him and hearing about his love for Afghanistan even though he left it so many years ago. He may never move his family back, but he is still vested in the outcome of what we are doing now in this country.

Laundry night

Tonight I am multi-tasking - typing while I do laundry. We have our own little laundry trailer here with six washers and six dryers. So I am sitting on a box and watching my dryer so the vultures in the washer area don't come over here and take my clothes out while I'm not looking. We also have a laundry service where you can drop off a bag (no more than 11 pounds) and pick it up cleaned and sort of folded a couple days later. Not a bad deal if you don't mind your dirties being toted around and handled by complete strangers. So for now I will just sit here on my box and wait. At least I may get to sleep earlier by doing my writing now.
My internet connection keeps dropping out while I'm sitting in this trailer. I am one unit away from my own hooch where my wireless router is, but the signal keeps going out. Our internet service is provided by either Russia or Iran. I'm not joking... I just can't remember which.

[clip] The legendary Col. H. R. McMaster

About winning...

Americans want to win. Everyone wants to win, but Americans REALLY want to win - and hate to lose. In Afghanistan I think we (as Americans) have to reconsider our definitions of winning and "success." I often listen to groups of people talk about what WE want to have happen in Afghanistan, about what is right for Afghanistan. But what makes it right? Is it right just because we say so? Now we have to make it right for Afghanistan, even if we don't agree with what the Afghan people say they want. It's the only way we can leave here "successfully."
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I went to a BBQ tonight at the CJIATF compound. Brigadier General McMaster (here is a link to another blog about the general being assigned to Kabul: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a76c4781e-f167-417c-85c4-dc675520fc19&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest) was here to attend some briefings and meet with people. I "know" BG McMaster from the Unified Quest exercise I participated in during SAMS. I wanted to say hello to him, but I had to leave unexpectedly for a CJ5 PowerPoint emergency and he was sitting down and eating when I walked out - so maybe I will get the chance next time he's in town.

So I have been meaning to start this blog for a few days, but I procrastinate often. Better late than never? I guess we'll see...
I flew into Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan - the heart of "Taliban country" - on September 11, 2010. A few years ago I was in a briefing with then-MG John Custer III. He talked about a past deployment and how he kept all his notebooks from that deployment, telling us he wrote something every day and encouraging all of us to do the same. So I am going to give it a try.
I am in the military - but this won't be a strictly military-themed blog. I titled this blog random thoughts because I don't intend to have a theme. I just want to write about whatever comes to mind each day - commenting about an article I find interesting, venting my feelings, sharing a rare brilliant idea - whatever random-ness that emerges.
I will try to post pictures often, though I don't know how interesting they will be given my current location and circumstances. I live in a small room in a slightly larger building with six similar rooms and a community bathroom. That building is one among a hundred or so similar metal builidings that make up the mod housing area at KAF. It's not bad - I have electricity, A/C, and obviously internet access.
I will do my best to stick to daily posts and look forward to comments from anyone who sticks with me through the journal journey...