HOW I CAN TELL THE DAYS OF THE WEEK

Hello all! It's Sunday, which means I get to sleep in for one day of the week. The rest of the week goes the same but Sunday means a half day off. I hope we work ourselves into getting every Sunday off. I guess I'll have to make that happen for my Department.


I've been interviewing all of my enlisted personnel to get a better idea of their past military experience, what they do in civilian life, their family life, and their future plans for the military. It's been a good way to get to know them better, to be aware of their state of mind while here, and to suggest ways to get them promoted or to achieve whatever their goals are. They are all a great bunch of folks. Wow, do they work hard.

Sundays are generally more relaxed with a 1:00 staff briefing. Normally we start our briefs at 0730. We go around the table and generally pass word on our Department or Company status. The S-2 (Intelligence) also puts out word on recent events outside the compound that we have general interest in. Occasionally, he'll put on a brief about another country for our general education. It's all quite interesting to learn about their population, ethnicity, economy, politics, and other tidbits that can't be mentioned here.


It was a beautiful day, with nothing but sunshine and temperatures in the 70's. Much like Atlanta today, I suspect. I'm just waiting for the temperature to soar. I try to get out of the office for breaks and to see what's going on around the base but for the most part, I am office bound.


I did go swimming last night. Other than forgetting my goggles, it was a nice outing. It's not easy trying to swim with your head above water. Today I did some quick pull ups, dips, and sit ups before dinner. I have to feel like I want to eat. Tonight I tried their Phillipino cuisine, which wasn't bad. It's not like what I remember in Spain when the Phillipino wives cooked up some great treats.


The dentist and I were coming back from dinner (I usually have a vehicle and give him a ride) and asked him to help me move some furniture around from my old room to the one next door. I am going to set up my deputy in the middle room as my old end room gets too dusty. When I opened my old room it almost felt like I was at the beach. Sand was everywhere. When we tilted the wardroom on end, sand poured off the top onto my clothes and boots. It's really quite hilarious. You can only laugh at the situation. So now my deputy will have a less sandy room with better furniture. Oh by the way, Supply has control of all of the rooms so I can make those things happen.


Another suicide took place earlier this week. We can always tell because communications get shut down until the next of kin are notified. It wasn't on our base but in one of the others in the AOR (area). It's sad that they don't see what good things life has to offer them after Iraq. The military is very concerned about this as are all of us individually. Thankfully, I have a mature bunch of sailors that have good lives and people waiting for them at home. Some of these young folks can't picture their lives outside of their current situation. I know I have a loving family and friends waiting for me back home along with a lot of fun things I want to do.

We had a 5K fun run the other day and mst of my Supply folks were running. I was encouraged to run with them but I don't like running first thing in the morning. So I got up early to see them off, then walked to the dining hall and proceeded to stuff myself, then meet them back at the finish line. There they were, all feeling very proud of themselves, and me feeling very fat and guilty for not running. So I'll do the next one with the group, creaky knees and all. At least I'll feel better when it's over.

I still need to get that golf thing going......

I think that's enough for tonight. It's almost bed time. Oh yeh, I can also tell it's Sunday because I change the bed sheets and wet mop the floor every Sunday. You'd be surprised how well I sleep on such a crappy mattress. The only problem is when I wake up in the morning and have to flee to the ablution trailer to take a pee. I do miss the convenience of a bathroom in my house!! Oh another story. We have a watch post set up at one of the main berthing areas for our Battalion. Their little post faces the bathroom trailer. Apparently the watch standers were keeping score of how many times each person was going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Somehow word got out so that game is over for now.

Good night everyone!!