Dear friends and family,
Here is another update! I want to focus on the food I'm being treated to here during pre-deployment, as well as what I feed myself in-between meals, for those who may be curious.
First of all, the food is usually pretty good. When I'm able to eat in the DFAC (dee-fack; Dining Facility), breakfast usually consists of: (2) boiled eggs, (1) biscuit, (2) sausage patties, (1) bowl oatmeal, (1) cup yogurt, (2) glasses of Lime Gatorade, (1) apple and/or pear, (1) grapefruit, strawberries, honeydew or grapes. Occasionally a pancake or two and some syrup sneaks on my plate somehow. Lunch and dinner are usually very similar to each other, though the entree for lunch is usually different that of dinner on a given day. Entrees (that I'm willing to eat) include: fish (baked or fried), spaghetti with meat sauce, chicken (baked or fried), roast beef. There are a few others I can't think of ATM. Sides include: (1) salad (usually with a romaine lettuce base, but sometimes I use a green bell pepper base or cucumber base just to break it up a bit--either way I usually have a huge salad; add tomatoes, chopped broccoli, spinach, Italian dressing, bleu cheese or oil and vinegar), (1) apple and/or pear, (2) glasses of Lime Gatorade. Occasionally I also have an orange with breakfast and/or lunch and/or dinner, but they usually look unripe and I pass... Sometimes at lunch or dinner time a dessert accidentally appears on my plate (like cake with peanut butter frosting or peach cobbler) or a soft-serve ice cream cone jumps in to my hand.
On most days, I skip one meal, instead partaking of a Shakeology "Green Berry" meal replacement shake. This is mostly because I'm too lazy, tired or busy to make it to the DFAC for all three meals, but also to make managing my weight easier (the shakes are very nutritious, but very low in calories). On some days I'm very active and caloric intake is of no concern, while on others I'm mostly doing indoor computer work, burning far fewer calories. I also drink an additional 32 ounces of Gatorade on most days, as well as 100-250 ounces of water.
It's now been more than two weeks since I've had a drop of alcohol. While I wasn't an extremely heavy drinker, on most days I found time to enjoy beer, spirits or wine. I have mostly found that I'm too busy, tired or occupied struggling to acclimatize to the the elements to miss it. I've also had VERY little caffeine. We're talking about a couple of glasses of Lipton Raspberry tea when the Gatorade was out at the DFAC and a half cup of coffee on a 24 hour shift I pulled a while back. I wasn't super heavy with caffeine either, but usually had some every day. Again, I mostly have not missed it. I have intentionally steered clear to try to make acclimatizing to and dealing with the heat easier.
I have tended to exercise every other evening when the sun goes down. It's usually still very hot, but is just a little more pleasant without direct sunlight. Sometimes a breeze kicks up and, even though it's hot, it still helps evaporate sweat, helping me cool. I usually do some chin-ups, pull-ups and toe-to-wrists on the bar (if you're curious about toe-to-wrists, hang from a bar, then, flexing your abs and slightly flexing your arms, bring your toes up to your wrists and hold for 3 to 5 seconds. This is an amazing and difficult ab exercise). Then I do some sets of push-ups, then additional ab exercises before running 2 to 2 1/2 miles. Before coming here I tended to run 3 times a week, from 2 to 8 1/2 miles. I find I just haven't had the energy for distance running in this environment yet. It's 9PM here and still 100 degrees...
Two nights ago I was dumb and did a set of 100 sit-ups after a 2 1/2 mile run. I happened to be a little less-well hydrated than normal and to have been taking a health supplement (chia seeds), which lowers one's blood pressure a bit. Well, a minute or two after completing the sit-ups and getting to my feet I passed out!!! This was a cause of great concern to the members of my new unit out on the track at the time, let me tell ya! I was only out for about 2 to 3 seconds and a nearby buddy helped me to settle on the ground gently, so I wasn't hurt. Hey, I told him I as going to pass out. He was like, "you're all right" and then he saw my eyes roll back in my head and me start to go down. I was taken to the emergency room where they took blood and urine samples, gave me a saline IV (though my hydration wasn't terrible) and administered an EKG (which was normal). Everyone who came in to my little area was very curious about my heart-rate, which was in the mid-30's. This is a bit low for me, but not by much (my resting heart-rate is usually in the low 40's because I run a lot). I was supposed to schedule a 48-hours follow-up, but when I called in the best they could do was two weeks out! Anyway, I'm fine. I took the doctor's advice and took the next day off of PT, which for those following along, you'll know that was my normal night off Pt anyway, and did my normal routine again last night with no complications.
Thank you to those of you who have sent me birthday wishes. I hadn't been given my mail in a while, so I received a bunch today.
Keep those book suggestions coming. I'm finishing the Hunger Games Trilogy at this time and soon will start on The Lincoln Lawyer or possibly the Ender series or maybe a biography (my favorite genre) or history (my second favorite).
Heh heh... today, after dinner, I realized I had locked myself out of my room, so I'd have to wait for one of my two roommates to return, which I thought wouldn't be longer than 3 hours (and in time to get ready for my midnight shift tonight). I decided to go on a long walk through parts of this post to just get out a bit, see the Fort and further acclimatize. While out walking I did a lot of thinking and prayed for many friends and family and for my situation too. I love being alone sometimes. I made it to the very edge of post and walked along the fence a while, behind some colonels' houses. I felt a pang of sadness as I looked out on El Paso and the mountains, knowing that I do not have the freedom to be out there, going where I want and doing what I want. Still, being here on pre-mobilization was my choice and I'm glad to do it. Besides, most of us, if not all, are not often truly free to go where we want or do what we want, not even when we aren't on military orders, now are we? Because I have to make up so much training that my unit did from April to July, I likely will not even get off post when the unit is given passes. This is okay, as it means I was at home while the rest of the unit was already mobed!!! Perspective.
Things continue to go well with assembling my E-6 packet. My request to get a change of rater NCOER from my last unit (not required for the packet, but far better than getting a memo from my new commander explaining the omission), even though I was at the unit a day shy of being eligible for one, was finally approved and I was even allowed to write it myself!!! Naturally, it is positively glowing... My rater will probably make some edits, but, in the Army, when you are asked to write your own evaluations, never say no! If you can write your way out of a paper bag, have some confidence and some actual accomplishments to write about, it will always go better for you... I'm just waiting for the signed NCOER to be returned to me and for a couple of awards to be finalized before updating a couple of forms with my point totals. I should be in time for the October board.
I'll sign off now. You each have my love. Thank you for your prayers, thoughts and messages. Every little bit is helpful and greatly appreciated.
Mike
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