They're Testing Me... Right?

So this past week has dealt me every possible crisis a PL can get. Ok, that's an incredible exaggeration, but it sure feels like it. It's like some greater power said "Look, an LT doing well. Let's see how she deals with this!" and threw disaster my way. In the past week:

• I've gotten my ass chewed more than I have since I got the platoon
• I've fought with immigration on behalf of a Soldier's mother
• I've researched California paternity laws
• I've researched the legal requirements for eviction in Colorado
• I've written and rewritten the end of tour awards for my soldiers (we're getting there...)
• I did an accident report for one of my MRAPs hitting a parked Iraqi car (yes, it was parked)
• I pissed off the battalion TOC... repeatedly... but not on purpose!!
• I had my vehicle stop randomly and the mechanics couldn't tell me what was wrong with it. Luckily, this happened on the FOB, so no worries, but they still haven't fixed my truck...
• The truck I had to substitute for my truck doesn't have all the required communication equipment, so I've been having to relay through my PSG... not making either of us happy... and making communication with the TOC difficult...
• I spent all day running around doing errands and completing tasks and realizing at the end of the day I still hadn't completed anything on the "to do" list
• I had KBR "forget" about a mission with us so they scrambled to put a crew together and we still left 2 and a half hours late... they've known about the mission for a month... and we reminded them the morning of...
• I had to reorganize and resource a garrison command mission that isn't really mine but if I don't do it, I'll get yelled at
• Had 2 of my vehicles lose AC for no apparent reason. It's getting cooler, but 109 outside is still hot and AC is a must
• Had a tire blow out on my vehicle while out on mission
• I've worked 18 hour days regularly (today was only 16, woohoo!)

And now, to top it off, UT is sucking it up in their football game. This is the icing on the cake. I'm pretty sure that they're testing my resilience. Bring it!! Ok, well don't, cause things could be a whole hell of a lot worse, and I know that whomever you are that decided it's "Test Theresa Time" can make things so much more difficult... so please disregard my challenge. But do know, whomever you are, that I'm rising to your challenge!!! I've been kicking ass, mister. While I don't enjoy the ass chewings, I got this. With all the problems you've thrown my way, I've managed to not only work through it but do well. So while I'm stressed and tired, I got this. Take that, whomever you are!

Hugs?

So I'm realizing that something I seriously miss is hugs. It's not just the physical act of hugging that I miss (which I do, by the way) but it's being in an environment where hugs are natural, not looked at as odd, and don't imply anything other than friendship. Back home, it's natural to give hugs to friends when you meet up for coffee, when you're saying goodbye, or even just because. Even if it's the one-armed man hug plus handshake, there's still a hug. Here, hugs are taboo. Especially for the females. They automatically assume there is some sort of romantic relationship if you give someone a hug. So, alas, I have not had a hug in months and that sad fact occurred to me today. It's amazing how something as small as a hug can brighten your day and at the same time how something as simple as hugs is what I'm missing over here.

Today was ridiculous. It started out wonderful and productive: I did laundry, cleaned my room, worked out, snuck a long hot shower... definitely a good morning. Made it in to work and it seemed like the wonderfulness would continue. I got a surprise from the UT ROTC program: a whole box of UT ROTC gear! I'm psyched. I have taken to wearing the hat around the office and I don't know what I'm gong to do with 3 UT ROTC thermoses... I guess they assume I drink a lot of coffee. I do, but not enough for 3 thermoses...I can only use one at a time... Anywho, below is a picture of me with my UT ROTC cap and thermos with random UT memorabilia at my desk. Hook 'em!!!

So, after such an amazing and productive morning, the afternoon will follow suite, yes? Alas, no. I had to resolve 6 different soldier issues this afternoon ranging from a possibly suicidal spouse back in Carson to an ex husband's ex girlfriend living in my soldier's home (think about it for a minute then realize how messed up that is) to a soldier's mother being possibly deported and leaving her without a caregiver for her daughter. You seriously can't come up with this sort of stuff on your own. I want a reality TV show of my platoon. We would make a ton of money and then you could all see the insanity. I can see it now: "Distro! The Real Lives of Deployed Soldiers". It would be a hit. Today alone would be enough for multiple episodes. I knew I would be surprised by my soldiers but this is getting to an almost humorous level of insanity. Keeps me on my toes though and keeps the time passing.

It's hard to imagine we're already over halfway through September... 6 months left! Virtual hugs to everyone!!!

I want a kitchen!!

I'm tired of eating at the DFAC. Sure, there's "variety" but I want to cook some healthy, colorful vegetables and some flavorful dishes. I know many people make fun of me for liking bland food, and it's because I don't do spice well, but I still like flavor. Sitting on a steam table does not increase the flavor or nutritional content of food; in fact, it has the adverse effect. Over the past year and a half in the army, I've only had a kitchen for 3 months and while you can live off the DFAC, I cannot wait to have a kitchen again. A full kitchen this time. Where I can back and cook and just enjoy the wonders of food. Yes, that sounds divine.

The past few days I've been extremely productive, but the "to do" list never gets shorter. A lot of last minute "oh I forgot about" and "can you please take care of" tasks came my way. So while I know I'm getting a lot done, it's frustrating to look at the to do list and not be able to cross anything off after a day of work. I'm working on awards for my Soldiers for the end of tour which is interesting. That's right, I have to submit the awards now for them to receive them in March... go Army? So awards, with different bullets (4 per award) for 38 Soldiers... let's do it! They completely deserve it, so it's worth the effort on my part, even if it is a lot of writing.

Other than that, there's not a whole lot special going on right now. Busy as all hell and trying to find time to sleep, but I think that's the nature of a deployment. I need to get back to writing awards and get some sleep. Love you all!

Smurfette?

Ok, so I know I posted earlier, but this anecdote was too random and humorous to not share. So I was sitting in my room relaxing, when one of my soldiers came and knocked on my door and invited me to join them in a BBQ. They had "acquired" a grill and had used our connections with supply to get steaks, burgers, and all the necessary sides. After 3 months of the DFAC, I was definitely excited to have some semi-decent food. I joined in the evening festivities. Turns out the majority of my platoon was there, so it was a good, fun gathering. However, once I started relaxing, that's when the prank happened.

Now, to provide some background, my soldiers have a history with their PLs and have only taken the time to develop pranks for the lieutenants they actually like, so it's an odd form of a compliment that they took the time to prank me. And it was actually somewhat clever. One of my NCOs doused me in blue gatorade and announced "See, now she's officially Smurfette. She's blue!"Which, when you think about it, is surprisingly an apt nickname: I'm a short blond female in a group of males. They got a kick out of it and I'm now, apparently, "their LT". Guess I wasn't before? Oh well. No real harm done, just had to go shower again. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't bad and actually pretty witty.

Now, after my most recent shower to get rid of the sticky sweetness that is gatorade, I shall head off to bed.

Snuck Out Early... Shhhhh!!!!

Yeah, so I definitely left work early today. Not that my hours are even remotely normal, but I tend to stay at the office til at least5 (usually later) but today I just didn't return after lunch. I decided I needed some me time. I may have a little bit of extra work tomorrow, but I'm already feeling that this was a fantastic idea. Had time to run to the PX for a foam mat for my bed (the egg carton-y type) which is making my army mattress a million times more comfortable. I also grabbed some basic necessities, so that was productive. On my way out I ran into one of the Drill Sergeants I worked with last summer back in Ft. Knox; small army. It was great to see him again. He went straight from being on the trail as a drill sergeant to being deployed so I'm sure he's ready for a break; being a drill sergeant is no joke. He's working on Division staff over here and he's bored out of his mind, but it was definitely great to see him. After that random encounter, I then returned to my room and watched Disney's Hercules. I'm a kid, oh well. I'll probably work out a bit, shower, possibly watch a chick flick... maybe Shakespeare in Love... or maybe continue the Disney trend and watch some Mulan. We shall see.

Its divine to be back in my room early. I'll probably guilt myself in to doing some work while home and then emailing it to myself at work, but I'm relaxed, my boots are off, my hair is down, I'm eating M&Ms, and things are quite good at the moment.

It's frustrating to be over here during college football season because I can't watch the games! My living area doesn't have access to AFN, so even if I got myself a TV, I wouldn't be able to watch the games. And with the time difference, I would have to go to midnight chow and sit in the DFAC for hours in the middle of the night to watch the games... so I don't do that. Ward has taken to taking pictures of the game and texting them to my google voice number, so that's working. I get game updates and pictures! The Longhorns are doing fantastically this season, if you were unaware. One of my buddies over here is a Virginia Tech fan and he has had a bad 2 weeks... they lost to James Madison yesterday. Anyone ever heard of James of Madison? Yeah, neither have I. There goes their top 10 rating! Poor Virginia Tech... actually I'm not even remotely distraught and just psyched that my boys are doing so well and that Gilbert is shaping up as a comfortable Quarterback. Hook 'Em!!!!

So, I don't know how many of you were aware of this, but my unit has been scheduled to go to Afghanistan a year after we get back from Iraq. I've had that on the back burner the whole time I've been here: as soon as we get back to the states we'll have to start training. However, we got the most fantastic news: we're not on the patch chart anymore!!! What that means is when we get back from this deployment, we won't have orders for our next deployment!! It's an incredibly exciting realization that many soldiers are finding. Arny Times just did an article on the phenomenon because installations back in the states aren't used to having so many soldiers at home. They're frantically running around and finishing barracks and expanding the commissaries and such because of the influx of soldiers coming home. To me, that is the best possible problem any garrison commander can have: too many soldiers coming home. While there are still a ton of soldiers over here, the gradual closure of Iraq is creating an influx of soldiers so we can give them dwell time and rest time.

Well, I shall head out to do some working out and some yoga then grab some dinner and watch a girly movie! Yay for afternoons off!!!

Ups and Downs

It's amazing how things can be so good and so bad all in the same day. It's somewhat ridiculous. On the good: great meeting with my NCOs, had a good meeting with my CO and we're on the same page, got mail, read one of the best articles ever, and had an all around good day. This joyous day was dampened by the news that 2 soldiers died yesterday. Not mine, not in our area of operations, but it still happened. I actually had to search through the news to find the article though; it's not readily accessible. Of course, we're not here, so why would soldiers be getting hurt?

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/09/07/iraq.us.soldiers/index.html#fbid=FBpnsvIIprD&wom=false

Please say a prayer for the soldiers' families and for the soldiers still in critical condition. Not that these soldiers are any more or less important than any of the other soldiers who have died fighting in this war, but it just doesn't sit right with me that their sacrifice is being completely ignored.

On to happier things. Like mail! Ward and Martha, I am now officially decked out with UT. You're the best. I love it! The magnet is definitely on the outside of my door, indicating the longhorn that lives here, and the flag is hung up on my wall. Hook 'em!! Pat, the package you sent was a wonderful surprise. Thank you! You managed to fit in some snacks that I didn't know existed but are now suddenly some of my favorites. It's always wonderful to get treats that you can't find out here. Mama, we've already talked, but the hamster dance card is still making me smile and I'll open it to dance along with the music to put me in a fun, silly mood. It's awesome.

I must now head off to sleep. It seems like no matter how much time I get to sleep, it's never enough. Silly Iraq. Love you all!

Sometime change is painful

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been working some crazy hours. The new CO has been giving my platoon (and therefor me) a lot of attention and adding a lot to the perfect, neat organized schedule I had made... so it's currently all wonky. To someone who likes this organized, it's a very sad thing to go in and mess up her pretty, organized calendar. Just sayin. In the long run, I do see the logic for most of it, just crazy schedules for now... and not calming down again in the foreseeable future. It will be ok.

While on mission the other day, the following transmission came over the radio. Even though I know exactly what it means, taken out of context it cracked me up:

"Little Fingers, how're things in the Sherwood Forest"

"I've got a ninja milking a cow, but no Robin Hood yet"

"Roger. Keep eyes on"

Now, that little conversation made complete sense to me, but I'm sure the images in your head after reading it are different than the reality. My guys have come up with unique naming conventions to keep things as light-hearted as possible and I think they've done a great job. :-)

Ummm... even though it's been a while I don't really have a whole lot to share that I can share. I'm psyched that Ramadan will be over next week, that's a definite plus. I don't know why some people take a holy month of penitence and decide it's the time to go harm others, but apparently they do. Makes no sense o me, but killing each other because "my religion is better" has never made sense to me either.

I love you all and think about home constantly. I will hopefully update you again soon with better anecdotes.