Common Courtesy isn't so common

The other day me and the roomie came home from work and there was a girl smoking right outside our door.  Which places her right next to our air conditioner/heating unit.  So, the smoke flows right into the room.  My roommate went out and asked her to please re-locate to the designated smoking area.  Apparently, that was too much to ask.  She refused to move.  So my roommate asked her what her name and unit were.  She promptly told my roommate that it was none of her business.  This is not an acceptable answer to give when speaking to someone who outranks you.  So as to not lose her temper, my roommate just blew it off and came inside.  I am not one to let things like that slide.

So, I went outside to kindly ask her to move.  Now there were like 4 more people out there all smoking.  I explained to them that their smoke was flowing right into our room through the air conditioner and asked them if they would mind just taking a few steps away from the front of our door.  They all complied except the girl that already gave my roommate a hard time.  She still refused.  I wasn't leaving until I got her name and unit, as I told her I would be taking it up with her commander.  She finally gave me the information while screaming at me.  Again, not an acceptable thing to do to someone who out ranks you.  I decided after I got her name and unit, that was all I needed and would address the issue with her commander as there was no point in further discussion with her.  She proceeded to smoke a few more cigarettes.

The next day, both my roomie and I spoke with the commander.  The biggest shock was that she was a fellow officer, although only a second lieutenant.  I could have sworn the way she was acting that she was a private, although that's not really fair to privates.  I didn't know her rank at the time, but I knew I outranked her as I pretty much know all the female captains in the brigade and I definitely know all the female officers who outrank me, as it being the Army, the pool of female officers is usually smaller than the male counterpart.

She told her commander that me and the roommate attacked her and were screaming at her, and she didn't know who we were and thought we were NCOs.  Which is a lie, and not even a good one as we were in uniform, and last time I checked rank is displayed prominently on the uniform.  Not to mention, that at no time did we attack her, but just asked her to show a little courtesy to others.  If anybody would have asked to me to stop smoking in front of their room, I would have apologized for being such a bonehead and smoking in front of their room in the first place.  But then again, I wouldn't have had to been asked as I have enough common courtesy to not do that in the first place.  I wasn't at all surprised when the commander told me this wasn't the first problem they have had with her, and she is somewhat of a problem lieutenant.

In other news, I got a package today from Colleen and Leyla!  There was a little green man/frog thing in there that ribbits when you push down on him.  He also is a candy dispenser, which when you get the candy out it looks like he is pooping it out.  It quickly grossed out one of paralegals when I pointed that out and proceeded to then eat the piece of candy that came out of his butt.  I like the little guy and I put him right next to my Longhorns teddy bear in my office.  He makes me smile.

My little frog man

I created an uproar....

Sometimes, us attorneys are really good at starting an uproar.  We send out one little email telling commanders that they have to do something, and all hell breaks loose.  The reactions can be a little a ridiculous, as though I just asked them to go outside and run over a little puppy.  Which by the way, I would never do.  I love little puppies, but now I have gotten off topic.

So I was tasked with putting together an information paper on all the new guidance that has been put out by the Secretary of the Army regarding separating Soldiers (kicking them out) and reenlisting Soldiers.  With the mandate that the Army has to draw down its force, (apparently we are too big) the Army had to make some decisions about how that was going to happen.  It just so happens that they decided to get rid of Soldiers who have previously been in trouble over Soldier who haven't.  So, according to my records, we had quite a few Soldiers in our unit that met the criteria and according to policy should be barred from reenlisting.  So, I let there commanders know.  Some were pretty receptive and happy.  Others, not so much.  I always find it funny that a lot of commanders want to defend their Soldier's actions (which if its on my desk, is usually a crime) by telling me what good Soldiers they are.  It really is amazing to me how many "good Soldiers" get prosecuted.  If it wasn't for the "good Soldiers," I think I would be out of a job.

So that's pretty much how I spent my day, answering questions and emails from various first sergeants and commanders.  Other than that, nothing exciting happened today.  Afghanistan is still Afghanistan...

Sorry in advance....

I have to apologize in advance for this blog post.  It is going to contain a little complaining.  I really don't like to complain, especially on the blog, because nobody really wants to read that.  But, I'm going to as I feel it will be cathartic and make me feel better.  So, feel free to skip this post if you want...

Yesterday, was not a good day at all.  It started off normal, I walked to work and was sitting at my desk eating my egg whites checking my email at around 0700.  Around 0800, it all started to go down hill.  At 0800, I was typing up an email and the room went completely black.  I had forgotten there was a scheduled power outage that was supposed to last until 1600.  I should have just packed it in right there and called it a day, but I had meetings that I had to go to.  Meeting at 0830 went fine and lasted about an hour, which is about a half hour longer than that meeting really needs to be.  Which unfortunately, is a recurring theme every morning.

Me and the roommate decided to walk down to the PX and the boardwalk, as there is no point in sitting in the office when there was no power.  There aren't any windows, so it was like sitting in a dungeon.  That's a recipe for depression, so we got out of there.  We came back so I could go to Command & Staff (another meeting).  I was told by my boss not to brief anything when it was my turn to brief.  Of course right before it was my turn to brief, the XO (executive officer) looks at me and asks me if I am prepared to brief the 15-6 (investigations) tracker.  I told him no, and that I was told to brief "Nothing Significant to Report."  He just looked at me and shook his head in disappointment.  I love being set up for success!

The power was scheduled to come back on at 1600, but 1600 came and went in the dark.  I then was supposed to attend the CUB (Commander's Update Brief).  But when I showed up at the time I was told to be there, it was already half way through.  Again, being set up for success...

The chaplain was having a spiritual fitness BBQ outside of the HQ, and it was an actual BBQ.  It smelled wonderful, and reminded me of being home when you step outside and smell someone in the neighborhood is grilling.  So I ate some BBQ, and sometime while eating, the power finally came back on.

About now, it is 1800 and I decide to go in and check my emails and make sure there aren't any pressing issues since the office was dark all day.  Good on that front, so I decided to go get the roommate to walk home.  The roomie wasn't ready, so I told her that I would be in my office when she was ready.  Looking back, that was the choice that completely screwed my day....

As I was waiting in my office, I got a call from the CHOPS (Chief of Operations) asking if anybody in the legal shop was going to be around that night so a story board from an engagement that just happened could be approved.  Normally, this wouldn't be a problem as my boss normally comes in around 1700 and works til around midnight (try not to focus on the fact that is only about 7 hour shift, It will only make you see that some work more than others, and that revelation is a little infuriating...at least to me).  Well he is currently at another FOB, so the only lawyer around was me.  At this point it was now after 1900 and I told him that I was going on 12 hours of being at work; but, if he really needed me to, I could stick around.  He told me he would call me back.  About 20 minutes later, one of the LTs (Lieutenant) who works in the TOC (tactical operation cell) came by and said that the DCO (that one guy that I've mentioned before who has an impact on my resiliency) wanted the story board approved ASAP and wanted to make sure that someone from legal would be here.  Well that just sealed the deal, it meant I had to stay.  I tried to get an ETA on when the story board would come out, she said it probably would be about 3 hours.  So, that was going to put me there until 2200.

Around 2100, I called back to the TOC to see if there was an update on the story board.  The update was that it was going to be about 3 hours.  So, now that was going to keep me at work until around midnight.  Around midnight, I'm sure you can guess, no story board actually came out.  By midnight, I had now been at work 17 hours.  Needless to say, I was really tired.  I waited and waited, and then I waited some more.  It wasn't until 0230 that the damn thing finally came out.  So after 19.5 hours, I finally got to go home.  Which means I didn't get home in bed until 0300.

Luckily, this morning was Sunday morning and the meeting that I normally have every morning is not scheduled on Sundays.  So I got to sleep in.  I came into work at about 1100, and when I got there, my outrage of working 19.5 hours yesterday only got bigger.  As I logged into my email account, I saw that I was the only one that had reviewed the story board and the others who were supposed to review it hadn't even got around to doing it yet.  So, apparently it was so important that I stay up all hours of the night and review the story board the minute it came out, but everyone else could review it when they got around to doing so.  They finally reviewed it around 1130....

Ok, my griping is done.  I left promptly at 1800 today, and didn't feel bad at all about the fact that I only worked a 7 hour day.  Me and the roomie ventured out around Kandahar and went to the British coffee shop to have a Cappuccino.  I noticed that they have a trivia night on Tuesdays, and I love trivia, so we are going to try to go that.  On the way home, we stopped by the USO and they actually had phones available so I called home to talk with my parents since Michael is in Guam and I can't call him.  Unfortunately, my mom wasn't home, so I didn't get to talk to her; but I did get to talk with my Dad!  Don't worry Mom, I'll call back again!  That was the first time I was able to talk with him since I left, so that was great.  So at least today ended better (and earlier) than yesterday.  Again, sorry for complaining, but I think I feel a little better now....

This post was extremely long, but here is something to look at...

Roomie and MSG Ryan enjoying the BBQ

Everyone enjoying the BBQ, even MSG Ryan who looks like he isn't

"slot machines" that are outside the British PX

British Coffee shop

Starting to feel better...

My day of rest really paid off, and I started to feel better immediately.  The antibiotics may have contributed to it too.  Luckily by the time I woke up the next day, my "Rocky" eye was all better.  The doctor said that it was my sinuses draining into my eye.  That sounds absolutely disgusting to me.

Back at work yesterday, I had  a promotion party to plan for.  My boss the BJA (brigade judge advocate) was getting promoted to Major.  I also had to use the day to get in as many "Daves" as I could, as after his promotion, I would have to call him sir.  He decided that he wanted pizza and doughnuts for his promotion, so I had to arrange to get that.  There isn't a pizza delivery service in Afghanistan, so I had to figure out a way to get 10 very large pizzas from the boardwalk to the office.  Luckily the Chaplain offered up his services of chauffeuring me to order the pizzas and then offered his vehicle again so we could go pick them up.  After he was promoted, everyone one just kinda hung around and ate pizza and talked.  All the Soldiers from the division OSJA (Office of the Staff Judge Advocate) came to his promotion, so it was really nice to get to talk with them.  I'm hoping for another mandatory fun game night soon, as the last one with them was pretty fun.

I got a package from my Aunt Jean and Uncle Andy yesterday too.  It was perfect timing, as it included a bottle of body wash from Bath & Body works and I was just about to run out of the bottle I brought with me.  It also had some breakfast biscuits (the fancy word for cookie, not actual biscuits) that were apple cinnamon flavor that I had never heard of, but are surprisingly good.  I am definitely a fan!

In other news the case that  was set to go to trial on at the beginning of April got a Chapter 10 (discharge in lieu of Court Martial).  So, I no longer have that to worry about.  I still have a guilty plea and an Board of Inquiry to eliminate a Warrant Officer at the beginning of April, so I'm sure I will be able to stay busy.

Here are some pictures from the past week...

A few Soldier from the BDE reenlist 

Me and the roomie hanging out in the bunker (try to not to focus on how sick I look, we were on our way to the Aid Station so I could get some medicine)

Package!

He is still Dave in this picture

And now, he is MAJ Amamoo or "sir"

It was inevitable...

Well, it finally happened.  I knew that sooner or later it would.  I am sick.  Being sick is never fun.  Being sick in Afghanistan is even less fun.  I have not been feeling well for about a week now, but was hoping that it would just go away.  Unfortunately, it just kept getting worse.

Yesterday, I was sitting in my office with the heat on and with 2 shirts, my uniform top, and my fleece on, and I was still sitting there shivering.  Anybody that knows me, should know from that sentence that something was wrong.  So I decided that after almost 60 days of working non-stop, that I was taking a day off to try and get better.  I went to the Aid station last night and saw one of the doctors.  They gave me a z-pack and some mucinex.  I'm hoping that does the trick.  Of course I woke up this morning with my right eye swollen shut, as it likes to do anytime that I have a sinus infection.  I took a picture of it, but I will spare you guys from having to look at that.  Think "Rocky" at the end of the movie when he is yelling "yo Adrian," minus the blood.  Like I said, not pretty.  Needless to say, I'm very glad that I was able to take the day off and didn't have to go out in public looking deformed.

The best part of my day off, was that I was finally able to "see" my husband today.  We were able to video chat for the first time since I left (Thankfully, my husband has seen the "Rocky" eye before and still loves me).  With the time difference between here and Hawaii, it is very hard to accomplish things like that.  Not too mention, he has pretty much been travelling since I left for Afghanistan.

A Nice Surprise

On my trip to Afghanistan I read the book "The Descendants".  It was really good, and after reading I really wanted to see the movie.   When I went to the bazaar the one and only time, I bought a copy of it.  Now when I say a copy, I don't mean one that you can go buy at Walmart.  It was a bootleg, or so I thought...

When I got it back to the RLB I put it in and snuggled all up to the computer expecting to look at George Clooney for the next 2 hours.  Sadly, what I got instead was some horror movie that had a title close to the Descendants, but was definitely not "The Descendants".  So, I was a little sad.

I tell you all that, so you will understand what a wonderful husband I have when I tell you that today, I got a package in the mail from Amazon.  At first, I thought the flat sheet (exciting I know) that I ordered a couple of days ago made an extremely fast trip to Afghanistan, but then after I opened it, I saw "The Descendants".  The REAL one!  It had a note in the box saying it was a gift from my Husband.

So, I must cut the blog short so I can watch my movie!

a fun new device....

So as I have mentioned before, one of my goals during this deployment is to lose 30-40 pounds.  We had a weigh in yesterday (I HATE weigh ins) and since arriving here in Afghanistan I have lost 12 pounds.  So that made me very happy.  But, I still hate weigh ins.  I could write a whole post on how the weight standards are from the 1940s when nobody had any food, and they are probably a little out of date, but I won't.

So anyway, I still have a considerable amount to go.  I found this little device online, that seemed like it would come in handy.  It is called the Fitbit.  Apparently it is like a fancy pedometer but it also tells you how many calories you have burned throughout the day.  You can also wear it while sleeping and it monitors your sleep.  Which in my case, it will tell me that I don't sleep very well, which I already know.  I mostly bought it because I am walking everywhere and this way I can tell how far I walk in any given day and how many calories I burn.  And knowing myself, I will end up walking more places and burning more calories as I will try to beat my previous days numbers.  I'm just competitive like that, even with myself....

So, I'll have to let you guys know how useful this thing is.  So, stay tuned...

The Combat Patch

Well, it finally happened.  I finally got my patch ceremony!  For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I'll explain.  In the Army, all Soldiers wear a patch on their left arm which signifies which unit they are assigned.  Some Soldiers also wear a patch on their right arm.  The patch on the right arm signifies former wartime service.  Everybody refers to it simply as the combat patch.  A Soldier is only authorized to wear a patch on their right arm if they have deployed to a combat zone.

Until today, my right shoulder was bare.  Now, I could have put the patch on the minute I stepped off the plane in Afghanistan, but I was holding out for my combat patch ceremony.  Secretly, I was hoping there would be cake!  While there wasn't any cake, I'm glad I waited for the ceremony.  It was kind of cool standing out in formation with all of the other first time deployers and watching the commander put everyone's patch on.  I will always remember the day I got my combat patch.  I'm cheesy, I know!

There is a tradition in the Army anytime you receive a new rank, combat patch, airborne wings, etc., that once the new thing is put on, you then get punched in it.  This practice is frowned upon officially.  So, after the commander put on my patch he just shook my hand.  I really wanted the full experience, so I tracked down the 1SG and made him punch me.  He didn't want to do it....

I was in the front of the formation, and then they made us do an about face

And now I'm in the back...

Everyone waiting for the Commander to show up (I'm in the middle of the back row)

Still waiting...

getting closer...

It was pretty bright out there, hence all the squinty eyes

My turn to get my patch

And I got my patch!

Shaking the 1SG's hand

The first time deployers from Wings Legal

1SG getting ready to swing

1SG "punching" me

7 hours later....

So the Art. 32 (if you are confused about what this is, read the last post and if you are still awake after that come back and read this one) was today.  It only lasted 7 hours, which really isn't that bad as Art. 32's go.  I've been in shorter ones, and I've definitely been in longer ones.

It really is pretty amazing how sometimes how we in the Army get things done.  Most of the time with any court-martial, the government always has to deal with witness travel.  As we in the Army are very transient bunch, people who are at one location when a crime occurs are rarely ever still in that same location when the case is brought to court-martial.  Witness travel is where the "fun" so to speak comes in.  It is usually the bane of every trial counsel's existence.  As the representative of the government, it is the trial counsel who must ensure that all travel is coordinated and all witnesses are present.  In my almost 4 years in the JAG Corps, I cannot think of one court-martial, where there wasn't at least one witness who had to travel back for the trial.

This Article 32 was no exception.  The victim, who got his jaw broke in 2 places, is back in the states recovering from his injuries.  While he didn't have to travel back for the Art. 32, as a witness who is declared not reasonably available can give telephonic testimony.  However, this luxury does not apply at a trial, as the Accused's 6th Amendment right to confront the witnesses against him always wins out over a witnesses unavailability.  So, while the victim gave telephonic today, when the trial happens, he will have an all expense paid trip back to Afghanistan so he can take the stand and testify.

The victim wasn't the only person who isn't located here at KAF.  Pretty much every single witness set to testify is located at another FOB.  My co-counsel and his paralegal are also not located here at KAF.  So all of there travel had to be coordinated.  They were all supposed to fly in yesterday, but with weather, flights often get cancelled and they couldn't make it out.  There were also no flights that they could get on this morning, so they hopped on a convoy.  It really is amazing how we make things happen in the military.  One has to wonder why the IO thought it was a good idea to hold the Art. 32 here, when pretty much everyone except for myself and the defense counsels had to travel to come here.  It probably would have been easier for us three to travel than 8-9 people that came here, but it's the Army.  Sometimes we make things harder on ourselves only to pat ourselves on the back for being able to work through adversity.  But I digress...

Preparing for an Article 32

I spent most of my day today preparing for an Article 32 Investigation for an upcoming court-martial.  For those of you who aren't up on the UCMJ (uniform code of military justice) lingo, an Art. 32 Investigation is similar to a preliminary hearing in the civilian world.  It happens after charges are what we call in the military "preferred".  Meaning that the soldier has been officially charged with certain crimes.  If the commander's recommendations are that the case be tried by General Court-Martial, then an Art. 32 investigation must be done.

The brigade commander then appoints an officer to be the Art. 32 Investigating Officer.  He kind of acts like a judge during the investigation.  It is called an investigation, but it is really more like a hearing.  The government (me) calls witnesses to testify and submits evidence for the IO (investigating officer...we really love abbreviations and acronyms in the military) to consider.  The government never presents the whole case at these investigations, usually just enough to meet the burden.  The burden at an Art. 32 is that the government just has to show probable cause to believe the Accused committed the crimes that he is charged with.  It's a really low burden.

Defense counsel usually never calls any witnesses at an Art. 32, and usually just uses the investigation to cross examine the government's witnesses and get a look at how the government will go about proving up its case.  They are usually also very beneficial to the defense in that the witnesses who testify at the investigation give sworn testimony, so its just one more opportunity for witnesses to say something different which they can use to impeach them later.

The Art. 32 is supposed to be one of the checks in the system to make sure that Soldiers are not just thrown into a court-martial without proper grounds.  I think for the most part, it fills that role.  However, the decision of the IO isn't binding on the Convening Authority (the guy who decides to refer the case to a court-martial, usually the Commanding General).  So, that means that even if the IO doesn't think there is probable cause to believe that the Accused committed the crime he is being charged with, it can still go forward to a court-martial.  I'm not a fan of going against the IO's recommendation.  I feel that if the government cannot even convince one officer that there is probable cause to believe that the Accused committed the crimes he is charged with, then it is highly unlikely that the government will be able to convince a panel that the Accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  But as the prosecutor, I rarely get to make the final call and only get to give my opinion.

So now that I have put everyone to sleep with that little Military Justice class, I think that I'll move one.  This Art. 32 shouldn't take too long (some I have been a part of have gone on for days).  I'm really only expecting this one to go on for maybe 5 hours.  Which in terms of an Art. 32 isn't too bad.  This case is a pretty straight forward aggravated assault case.  One Soldier was drinking and sucker punched another Soldier, breaking his jaw in 2 places.  There were many witnesses, and the one Soldier freely admits that he punched the guy, so I don't forsee any problems with meeting the burden at the Art. 32.

So that's what I spent most of the day on.  The other part of my day was making sure another Soldier was served with his referred charges (meaning his case has been sent to a court-martial, although it was only referred to a Special Court-Martial, so no Art. 32 is necessary).  I think that case will actually be disposed of rather quickly with a Chapter 10 (discharge in lieu of court-martial).  I would explain that process, but I think that I've bored you with enough military justice for one blog post...

Everything else is going good, or as good as can be expected in a war zone....

Mandatory fun is more fun in Afghanistan...

In the Army we have what most people like to call "mandatory fun".  It's usually some office event that in theory is supposed to be fun, and everyone is required to attend.  Now when you are just living your everyday life, and have better things to do, these events are rarely ever fun, or something that you want to do in your spare time.  Now, if you are deployed to Afghanistan and have nothing better to do, these events really aren't that bad.

Tonight we had the DJSA's (deputy Staff Judge Advocate) promotion celebration.  It was at 2000 on a Saturday night.  Back in the states, the mere timing of when the event was set to take place would automatically qualify it in the category as "mandatory fun".  In Afghanistan it doesn't really matter what day it is, or even what time it is for that matter, every day is the same, so something that would fall into the "mandatory fun" category at home, can just be fun here.  Like I said, anything that breaks up the monotony is always welcome.

There was pizza and cake.  Everyone said that the pizza was delicious.  I wouldn't know, as I showed incredible will power and I didn't eat any.  I have lost 11 pounds so far, and I really didn't want to go backwards.  Plus, I was saving the calories for the cake...

After pizza, we all played Cranium.  I have played this game many times before, but all times included alcohol.  I think that I am definitely better at this game when drinking.  As if there was any doubt in your mind, my team won!

Here's some pictures from the night...

My good friend Caitlin who always makes me feel really short

SFC Blackall enjoying himself

The SJA in serious talks with one of the Captains

He was trying to leave before Cranium but got shot down by the SJA once she saw what was going on

Lawyers are surprisingly not very good at charades

Playing a little cranium

More charades

Lawyers are even worse at "drawing"

Group photo--82nd Airborne Division OSJA plus 25th CAB Legal

DSJA cutting his cake

One more pic before we left, she is crouching down this time...

We like urban legends in Afghanistan too...

If you have been under a rock for the past few days, or not on Facebook, then you may not have seen all the pictures and talk of brooms standing up by themselves.  People keep going on and on about how their broom can stand up by itself and that is all a result of the equinox.  Now if you have looked at a calendar recently, you already see what the problem with those claims are.  The Vernal Equinox hasn't happened yet.  This year it is scheduled for 20 March.  So, obviously, if your broom can stand on its own today then it can't be because of the Equinox which hasn't happened yet.  I won't even go into the fact that the whole idea of the Equinox changing the gravitational pull to such an amount that objects can stand on their own, is a little silly.

So, while it is a pretty cool party trick, and really just fun to do in your office while deployed to Afghanistan, that's pretty much all it is.  Sorry to burst anyone's bubble.

Look!  No Hands!

In other news, I lost 2 more pounds!

Something to break up the monotony is always good...

Today we had visitors to the Brigade legal shop.  Our BDE has 2 paralegals that are not located with us at KAF but are at outlying FOBs with their units.  We flew them into KAF today so they could attend the monthly paralegal training that Division was doing.  It was really nice have 2 new faces in the office today.  It's strange what becomes exciting when everyday becomes the same.

While they were here, I treated them to lunch at Mama Mias.  That is the pizza restaurant on the boardwalk.  It's not great, but it definitely beats DFAC food.  Plus one of the paralegals is at one of the FOBs that we have been having issues getting supplies to, and that includes food.  So her food choices have been getting smaller and smaller, so I know she enjoyed her pizza!  Anything I can do to help the morale of my Soldiers, I am more than happy to do.

I got a care package today from Mike & Jody, and they must have a 6th sense because they sent me more birthday cake oreos and I only had like 4 left from the ones that my mom sent.  Perfect timing!  I also got a little teddy bear and travel mug, both of which have Longhorn stuff on them.  I ALWAYS love Longhorn stuff!  They also threw in a couple of People Magazines, which was greatly appreciated as I'm pretty sure that I have now read everything on the internet....

I also got a big envelope with artwork in it from Michael's Aunt Liz's class.  They all drew pictures of a Soldier, and made a big heart Valentine.  Apparently, letter mail takes a long time to get here, but a package can make the trip in about 5-7 days.  The mysteries of the mail system.  I'm still on the lookout for my little cousin Carter's painting that was sent to me that has never shown up.  I haven't given up!

Apparently, "Everyone look at the camera" was not enough direction

There is never an inappropriate time or country to represent for Texas!

The cute Valentine that I received from Liz's class.

Today was a good day...

So nothing really exciting happened at work today, but it was still a good day.  Right before I was getting ready to leave for the day, another Soldier stopped me in the hallway and told me that I looked like I had lost weight. I love it when people tell me that!

And I just got to speak with Michael so, it was the perfect end to the day!

Still working on getting some excitement for the blog....

Today was another day...

I was a little down in blog post yesterday, and I am sorry for that.  I try not to complain too much, as nobody wants to read that.  Although it didn't start out all that well, today ended up being a good day.

I had my resiliency meeting this morning at O'dark thirty.  One of the bosses was in a horrible mood (I guess he wasn't feeling very resilient) and decided to make everyone else miserable.  That's always a barrel of fun!  I am usually pretty good at brushing off others bad moods around the office, as I don't see any point in joining in the misery. But he made sure that I couldn't brush it off, when he made some snide remark about me only working 4 hour days.  Now if I wasn't currently working around a 12+ hour day, 7 days a week, this wouldn't have bothered me, but I am, so it did.  The irony of the fact that he was making snide remarks in a meeting where we are trying to come with ways to improve Soldier's morale, is not lost on me.

Around lunch time, the day took a turn for the better.  I got another care package this time from my cousin Debbie and Aunt Helen.  It was completely unexpected, but it lifted my spirits right up.  I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I just can't express enough how grateful I am for all the care packages that I have received. It really goes a long way in boosting morale, especially on days when it feels like the command doesn't care or appreciate the work that we do.  So, a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has sent me a care package!

In other news, my very fancy double wall tea tumbler that I was so excited for, exploded the other day.  That was pretty tragic.  Luckily it was only the inner wall, as I'm sure I would have been injured had the outer wall blown.  And that definitely would not have qualified for a purple heart!  I was pretty disappointed as that tea tumbler made it so easy for me to brew my loose tea leaves as it had a strainer built right in, and it was pretty to watch the tea leaves float around as I drank the tea.  I wrote an email to the company with my sob story, and they are replacing it free of charge.  I don't even have to send them in the defective one.  Which is good, because that would be a hassle.  In the mean time, I remembered that I brought my thermos that has a strainer attachment so I use that.  Although, it does not provide me the same joy as it is stainless steel and I can't watch the tea float around.  But from a safety perspective, I can guarantee that the stainless steel isn't going to explode (although I don't have any science degree to back that up).

I have been derelict in my picture taking duties, and I will try to rectify that situation soon.  I just keep waiting for something to happen so I can give you guys excitement.  You may have to settle for something short of excitement...

A lonely day in Afghanistan

Today was not a good day.  I don't know what it was about today, but for the first time while in Afghanistan, I felt completely lonely.  I spent pretty much the whole day being surrounded by others in my office, so I'm not sure why I felt this way, but I was lonely all the same.  In the words of Scarlett O'hara, tomorrow is another day...

I finally got everything booked the other day for our Europe trip for my R&R.  So that is quite exciting.  And, I was able to book everything for less than what I thought it would cost, which is always a bonus!

I don't eat dinner anymore.  I have found that the dinner at the DFACs here usually isn't worth the calories.  Plus, usually after dinner I go back to my RLB and it's not like I have all that much room, so my only option in my room is to lay on my bed.  Which means, that my dinner just sits there and molds itself into new fat in places where I don't want it (Not that there are really any places that I "want" fat).  So, I made the executive decision (as I like to think of myself as the CEO of myself) that I will not be eating anymore dinner.  Breakfast, Lunch and a little snack from my care package goodies before I set out on my 1.2 mile walk home is all the food I need in a day, and that's not even counting all the dust I eat while walking around outside...

Tomorrow I have to be at work extremely early for my "resiliency" meeting.  In the Army we love our meetings, sometimes we have meetings about meetings.  Last time we had this meeting, it was pouring down rain and I had to cross a river to get to work.  Luckily this time, no canoe should be required as it is bone dry out there now.

And, if the fact that I wrote this blog wan't enough evidence, I am still ok.  With all the craziness that has been going on here in Afghanistan, certain security measures have been put in place and we are all on alert.  Don't worry, it will give you wrinkles!