Deployment Update #5

Hey friends and family,

 

I've been here on Arifjan for a little more than a week now, though it feels like far longer. Today is my first day off, though I won't be shocked if I have to go in to work. This is a pretty intense time, when my unit is trying to get going and this could be the busiest time of this deployment, along with tearing down to head home, potentially.

It was hard flying out here on my birthday. Just felt pretty lonesome. I reread all the birthday cards that had been sent in time to Fort Bliss though, which helped a lot. Seeing Jen for almost 4 days a couple of days ahead helped a lot too.

It is very hot and very sandy and dusty here, all of which is hard to get used to, though I'd say I am steadily getting used to it every day. The toughest thing about the climate is going from intense heat outside to intense cold inside numerous times, all day long, everyday. I'd far prefer it if the air-conditioning were dialed back, but I guess most people like a lot of A/C. Otherwise, maybe the silent, suffering majority isn't getting what it wants. Could be.

A friend recently asked what my day typically "looks like," so I'll try to describe that here. I get up between 2 and 4 in the morning, Kuwait time. Depends on how much sleep I needed and what I want to do before work. I always work out or run before breakfast, but sometimes I read, study, check email and/or make phone calls in that time frame too. Phone calls are interesting... To make a free call to most area codes in the USA I just have to find a military post somewhere close by and make a DSN phone call to their "morale call" line. Then I enter the number of the person I'm calling and I have a free connection, lasting from 10 to 20 minutes. If the time expires I can try calling again. Sometimes it takes upwards of a half dozen attempts to make a single connection, depending on a variety of factors. Sometimes during calls, I will hear other people's conversations faintly or hear them dialing numbers. I head in to breakfast between 5 and 8 in the morning, depending on what I wanted to get done beforehand. My only workout buddy, so far, is Specialist Cucinotta, who goes by the nickname "Maxwell Jesus" for reasons it would be hard to explain. You'd just have to be here. Well, not even then. I'm not sure I entirely understand. We have good discussions about science, religion, music, fitness, nutrition and many other things. In many ways we are kindred spirits. Other members of our unit think we're very weird for talking about the seeds we ingest, like chia and hemp and for other discussions. If it's not sports or members of the opposite sex, discussions around here are highly suspect. In other ways we butt heads. It's a challenging dynamic to maintain the boss/worker/soldier/leader relationship with him while being his friend too. He's a good kid. I'm one of the only members of our unit he'll hang around with and talk too, so maybe that's why I'm here--'cause he needed a buddy. Yesterday on a 2-mile run outside, my nose and throat were positively burning with sand by the time I was done. You can't see further than a 1/4 mile or so in any direction because of all the dust in the air all the time... Bleck. I almost always shower and take care of all hygiene (shaving, tweezing the hair around my ears to make my haircut last longer, etc.) before breakfast. They won't let you in the chow hall if you're too sweaty (a good policy) and I am a copious sweater...

For breakfast I've been sticking to mostly fruit (kiwis, plums, canned peaches--apples and pears seem to always have a horrible, mushy texture and oranges have freezer burn), juice (an orange/apple/grape mixture I concoct by holding the lever of each for 2 to 3 seconds--yummy), oatmeal (instant, because the stuff they serve on the line is like snot), sometimes a couple of boiled egg whites and a half cup of coffee with honey (pretty tasty--not sure why I never thought of this at home). Sometimes I eat a few fingers-full of smart start cereal dry (don't really like milk).

Ummm.. then I either catch a ride with one of the few folks who have a fleet vehicle or on a bus (busses here are shaped like Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine and we call them Scooby Busses a lot--can't tell you another name we use) to work. Have to be there by 09:00 most days. That's a nice, late start time for the military. Not sure what schedules will be like after the G6 (my section--IT) gets all the commo (communication gear and systems) stood up. At work we've been installing wiring all over, installing, imaging and configuring computers, going to courses to get certain rights, privileges and access for those that need them and are eligible and stuff like that. Right now, the huge building we're setting up in is very dusty and somewhat chaotic. Leadership should have sent a massive cleaning detail through the first day, but no. Instead, I guess they're relying on everyone to clean as they go, but nobody really wants to, waiting it out until someone else breaks down and does it, I suppose. I'm having a good time during this set-up phase, but it's hard work and I'll be glad when it's over too and hopefully I can get a little more relaxation and maybe do some studying at work.

Lunch is between 11:00 and 13:00. Dinner is between 17:00 and 20:00. We head to the barracks (called "The B") around 20:00 to 22:00. I read and pray after showering until I fall asleep, anywhere between 21:00 and 1 or 2 in the morning. Just depends.

Thanks to my super cousin Jed, who ran around El Paso in his free time the night before we flew out, I've had a power adapter ever since I got here, so my gadgets (laptop, ipod and kindle) have all had juice at all times. This has helped considerably with my sanity. Thank you, Jed!

The other day I got to see my brother Noah for the first time in many years, like 10 or 11, we think. It's been far longer than that since he began living over here. It's really cool having him nearby. We caught up a bit, eating at a favorite restaurant of his on post. We chit-chatted about Army stuff and things particular to this post, discussed family, interests and things like that. It was a joy to see him and very comfortable. I hope to get to see him from time to time, but I don't know how often that will work out.

Yesterday and today are kind of tough because it's my anniversary. It's 34 hours long this year because of the time difference between Jen and me. He said it well yesterday: she hoped talking to me wouldn't make her feel so sad, but she was still glad to talk and hear my voice. I felt the same. Sometimes it feels like it would be easier to just ignore the things I'm missing, but I will try to embrace the pain and keep missing the things I miss until I'm back home. I think that's part of love. You stick with it even when it hurts or doesn't make you completely happy.

Jen brought home a rabbit a couple of days ago, so he's our Anniversary Rabbit, if he gets along with Echo and Jen keeps him (maybe she's already decided to). I'm pushing for the name Trumpkin (the Aslan-loyal dwarf from Lewis's Prince Caspian) to coincide with our dog Nikabrik (the disloyal dwarf). We'll see how that goes. Jen usually likes to get her mom's blessing on pet names.

 

That's all for now. Love and miss you all,

 

Mike