Deployment Update #3

Dear friends and family,

It's Friday, September 2nd. I was supposed to have a day off today, but learned late yesterday that I have HEAT training all evening (HMMWV roll-over training)... Oh well, that's the way things have tended to go and which is how I suspected things would be from the beginning. I have a lot of training to make up while being as involved as possible with my unit's validation exercises, so, my days off tend to be more like hours off! After I get back from HEAT training I'll have about 6 hours before I need to get ready for my next shift.
Anyway, I recently spent a day on the rifle range and qualified in all events, even though I only got 2 hours of sleep on the two nights previous... bleh.
Last night I was informed that I will get to go on pass before deploying. Gladly, Jen will be able to visit here for much of that time. Thank goodness I was so aggressive about getting my training done. Some others who arrived late like me haven't progressed as quickly and will likely have to remain in training, possibly miss passes and join the unit late overseas. Since I've been here, I've only missed one one-day pass. No biggie.
Thanks to all of you who have sent continued birthday wishes and cards. It is greatly appreciated! It is rather heart-warming to get a letter, card, package, text, call or email from home in the midst of this kind of environment.
Thank you to Janice for forwarding the cards and letters from the Rebel Alliance! I had a great time reading each one. I'll try to respond personally at some point. I love how you all dumped food or drinks on your letters at some point and pointed it out! Anne gets points for the weirdest, but most entertaining letter. I'm glad to know that I appear as an apparition in her house (kinda)... :p Viva la Resistance!!!
My kindle is now armed with: David Bowie: Starman, by Paul Trynka (currently reading); Holy Bible ESV; CEH: Certified Ethical Hacker, by Kimberly Graves; Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo; 1776, by David McCullough; The Rough Riders, by Theodore Roosevelt; Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing; The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett; The Lincoln Lawyer Novels, by Michael Connelly; The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins (finished); The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara; The Ender Series (Volumes 1-3), by Orson Scott Card; The Definitive H.P. Lovecraft (I read a story from time to time); The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris (finished); The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe (same as with Lovecraft); The New Jerusalem, by G.K. Chesterson; The Princess and the Goblin and The Princess and Curdie, by George MacDonald. Keep those book recommendations coming!
Musically, I've decided to dive deeper in to the works of David Bowie and Queen (for now). Last Christmas, I got Jen the first three Queen albums, because we had always liked their best ofs and a few mid-career albums and I wanted her (and me!) to experience the ealier ones, as a sort of "History of A Night at the Opera"). So, recently I ordered the next four albums (including the 40th anniversary edition of A Night at the Opera, which is fantastic). I also ordered the first five Bowie albums (well, starting with Space Oddity, because I'd heard his debut is not that great). I already had Hunky Dory, but it wasn't on my computer or either ipod I brought with me, so I now have an extra, if anybody wants it!!! Then, yesterday, because I loved Scary Monsters when my friend Brian loaned it to me, I decided to get the other albums all the way up to it (I think 7 or 8, total). If I like everything by Queen and Bowie up to the points I've already ordered, then I'll order more!!! It's a fun game. I've made it all the way through the Van Morrison and Rush canons in similar ways, as well as a few other bands (and in some cases I didn't make it all the way through, out of forgetfulness or because I ran in to material I no longer liked and didn't progress--unless I heard that there was a great album later on...)
If you haven't sent mail here by now, you should hold off. I'll try to let everyone know when the Kuwait address can be used. Don't send things there yet.
Contact me privately if you'd like the address.
All right, that's all for now. I've got to get the link to this blog out to everyone, shake up dinner, then get ready for training this evening.

Grace and peace to all.

Mike