the 4th

independence day used to be a minor annoyance as the neighbors would set off little fire starters and smoke up the street. but that's what kids (or adults that seem to think they're kids) do right? there was always the big pretty display in the evening so it wasn't so horrible.

in retrospect, i probably should have picked another time to be home. while i understand the explosions i hear are just fireworks, i still get nervous. i start wondering what happened; should i go help someone? i make a quick assessment of the structural integrity of whatever structure i'm in; would it stand up to a rocket? if i'm not in some sort of building, i catch myself looking around for one...preferably one with solid walls and no windows. i'm hoping in time, this will pass. i guess i'll see this time next year.

vacation hasn't all been fireworks though. the first week and a half were spent relaxing and getting some perspective. that place 1/2 way around the world that's dominated my life for the last half a year seems so far off and insignificant from the states. how could anyone here understand what it's like?

perhaps it's better that they don't. if americans understood nice and sheltered we are over here, perhaps they'd settle with what we have. war isn't on our doorstep.

perhaps if they saw the corruption that permeates the afghan government, they'd accept what we see here as an inevitable part of maintaining order.

yes, america has a pretty good thing going. but this is no time to slack off. we've been politically asleep for far too long. wake up you slumbering giant; shake off the chains of tyranny emplaced while we were asleep. the revolution is coming, and i certainly won't try to stop it. for a couple weeks i've once again heard the drums of change. the beat is inspiring and challenging. it calls to me; tells me to keep the violence that's so prevalent in other places at bay. the larger the group of revolutionaries, the less likely things will end in blood and tears. how many will make their voices heard? as always, time will tell.

home

well, i'm in the states for a couple weeks of leave. this means i may or may not be writing much. i'm leaning toward the no option at this point as i doubt people want to hear about what i'm doing at home. anyway, i'm going to get back to enjoying my free time. later.

planes and such

so i finally got a day off...yay! the break has been fantastic; just getting to sleep in has been nice. anyway, this is the last day off i'm going to have before i begin my travel back for R&R. there are a few more days of work between now and then, but they shouldn't be too horrible.

i've been trying to teach my 'radio guy' everything he needs to do while i'm gone. we'll see how much he retains.

once i hit the airport in atlanta, the clock on my leave starts; i get 14 days. i plan on seeing as many friends in that time as possible. when i'm not seeing friends, i'm going to do absolutely nothing. it will be fun.

it'll be nice to be somewhere that's not so hot too. the last few weeks the temperature has been around 105. heat indexes have been in the 120s. you know it's hot when breezes make you hotter instead of cooler.

anyway, i'm going to get back to my day off. i might blog while i'm traveling if i can find an internet connection. if you don't hear anything from me, it's because i haven't found one. later.

busy

i'd gotten used to posting something on my days off. well...the last time i had a day off was the last time i posted nearly a month ago. actually, i still haven't had a day off; i'm writing this over lunch. this isn't cause for concern though. as i've told people before, no news is good news. if something happens to me, the army (and the red cross) will notify someone within 24 hours.

anyway, on to the reason i'm taking a quick break from my lunch... my leave is coming up soon. exact dates are impossible to predict, but i expect to be home around the 20th (very rough estimate). i'll be sure to call someone from the airport in atlanta with more detailed information. until i get there though, i have no idea when i'll get home.

well...i've gotta get back to work. write you later.

ps

so with all that goes on around here and the lack of media, it gets easy to forget holidays. like today when i totally forgot it was mother's day until i hit chow this evening. they actually served decent food! it was pretty awesome. the only problem with them having decent food is you end up getting everything and not being able to finish it all. oh well, it was worth it.

to all you mothers out there, happy mother's day; i hope it's a good one. as the old outback song goes:

no one ever loves you like your mum, mum
even when she whacks you on your bum, bum

i forget the rest...

anyway...write later

better

i got my 'second' back this week, and it's been pretty sweet. all those little things i didn't have time for before i've been having him do. i'd forgotten how nice it is to have help. i'm also busy spinning him up on what he has to do while i'm on leave. i don't envy him; it'll not be fun while i'm away. he can handle it; just not fun.

i also got the package from ashley and some of the guys at work this week. thanks to the blanket, i've finally moved out of my sleeping bag. not that sleeping bags are that horrible, but sheets and blankets are nice. i've been steadily working my way trough the snacks too :)

one more week down. i still refuse to count the time left; that's just depressing. i'll just be happy another week's over. and that today's a day off; whee!

well, volleyball's calling my name so i'll take off. all you boys and girls at home do something fun for me. laterz

one less thing

back in the states when we were forming the unit, the headquarters platoon sergeant position was like a hot potato; no one wanted the job. after some consideration, it was determined that i was the least busy of the available candidates so i got stuck with it. queue sarcastic yay. then we got here, and my workload skyrocketed. suddenly i had a bunch of equipment to maintain, reports to submit, improvements to make.... those other candidates i was speaking of were still busy, but not nearly as busy as they had been. basically, their jobs got less demanding while mine became more so. i consistently work longer hours than the others just from my IT and commo job than the others do with theirs.

well, i finally caught a break. i'm no longer the platoon sergeant. queue me tossing the hot potato. but the strangest part of all...i actually got used to the position. in the couple days since i've been relieved of the burden of leadership, i've caught myself starting to do something that's no longer my job out of habit. plus i've grown a certain affinity for my former underlings, and still feel protective. hopefully in another week or two, i'll have let go. i could certainly use more free time, and less stress.

well, i should get off here and try to relax a little. that's going to be a little more difficult as i started drinking something that has artificial sweetener. i didn't realize it until i'd had a few sips and noticed it tasted funny. the headache is already setting in (i get headaches from artificial sweeteners)...ugh. why can't people just use real sugar?

wow, i'm having trouble concentrating. i think i'm going to go lay down for a while. later peeps.