i'm just in it for the clothes and the food

woo... bizzy-ish.

I've been in Kuwait for a month, and I'm getting settled.  I had to go to Arifjan a couple of times, and bought a set of plastic drawers and a wardrobe thingy for hanging clothes.  My little space is quite comfortable for me, though I can see where others might not be as thrilled with what is offered.

We've had moments of being crazy-busy, but mostly it's quiet.  This will change, I'm sure, but for now I'm enjoying the lull.  The camp is periodically packed with transients moving north or south, which is a little annoying, since they clog the chow lines and drink up all the Gatorade, but it's bearable (though we've taken to calling the USO tent "Club Marine").  They're why we're here, though, so I try not to bitch too much.

I think I'm fitting in well here.  I get on well with the major who's the acting team chief (the team chief has been TDY doing other things for a month; he's supposed to be back very soon), and I think everyone here seems to like me.  There are always moments of tension, but they pass.  One of the majors calls us "The Island of Misfit Toys," because all the officers were cross-leveled in -- none of us belong to the unit when it's home.

I've been spending a lot of time making web graphics.  I have great plans to redo my website, but I get distracted by other, sillier things.  You know... sleep, work, chow, taking my laundry to the cleaners (which I need to do tomorrow).  And Buffy and Dead Zone on DVD... it's like watching TV, or the TiVO DVDs my husband sends me, but without commercials!

Almost chow time again, and then I can go crawl back into my hooch.  Life is good, so far, and it'll be getting cooler soon.  Now I just need to get motivated to go to the gym, and I'll be set.

well, i'm here, and apparently i'm staying

I got to Kuwait last week.  Either I misunderstood or I got some bad info, but I'm not going to Camp Victory North after all; the team is at Victory South, which is here in Kuwait.  I'm actually typing this from the palatial MWR tent here at Victory South, which I would abbreviate V.S. if not for the unfortunate and entirely inappropriate confusion with Victoria's Secret.

It's a little desolate here, but I have about 25 times more space in my tent than I did in the barracks at Arifjan, and there are only two people in there with me, as opposed to the 30-odd at Arifjan.  I just need to accumulate some furniture for storage, because the only thing I have in there is a bed.  Well, there's some extra stuff they had, but still... no shelves, nowhere to hang anything.

The work is going to be tedious, and I think it'll come in spurts.  I'm working with nice folks, though, so I think it's going to be a good thing.  It's quieter here than Arifjan, and less crowded.  This is definitely a good thing.  I like people, but only in small doses.

i'm such a slacker

I haven't updated in a dog's age.

I fly out in the wee sma' hours of Monday morning.  I leave Fort Dix at 1700 Sunday.  I can NOT get myself motivated to pack.  I'm paralyzed by apprehension.  It'll all get done, but oy.  I don't know how.

Yes I do.  I won't sleep for a day or so, and it'll all get done.  Somehow.  Gah.

reasons why it's not so bad to deploy mid-month

1. The Fantastic Four opens July 8th.
2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens July 10th.
3. The new episodes of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Battlestar Galactica premiere July 15th.
4. The new Harry Potter book comes out July 16th.

Hey, just trying to make a little lemonade over here.

vicious circle

I've been trying to outprocess this week.  When you deploy as an individual from Ft Dix, you have to complete an outprocessing checklist, and you can't go to the next station until you complete the one before it.

I got through three stations before I stalled.  See, there's this form that has to be filled out at SRC (Soldier Readiness Check).  It contains information that can be used to identify you in the event of your capture.  Once you fill it out, they scan it before you fly, and you carry a CD with you.  Also, there's this agency on post called MATOPS (Military Assistance for Training Operations).  They manage, schedule, and track training.  Finally, there's ITO (Installtion Transportation Office).  That's where I go to get scheduled to fly.  Remember these three facts; they're all related.

So I got as far as clearing through MATOPS, when the NCOIC told me that she wouldn't sign off on my paperwork, because I didn't have my recovery form filled out.  I went to SRC to fill it out, and they weren't equipped to do fingerprints.  So I went to the installation security office, and got my friend to fingerprint me, and took the form back, where I was informed that they didn't have the facilities to scan the document, but they wouldn't do it until right before I flew, anyway.

So I go back to MATOPS, where I'm informed that without the scan, they won't sign off.  They won't scan until I'm ready to fly.  I can't get scheduled to fly until MATOPS signs off.  And round and round and round...

I finally had to get the HR director on post involved (though I didn't go to him; he was walking by me and heard me on the pone with MATOPS, trying to explain everything to them), and now the MAT understands that they need to sign off after the form is complete but before the scan.... or I think they do.

Rumor in the barracks had the next flight out as July 19th.  I heard on Friday that that flight is full, and the next one after that is August 1.  It's not my fault that I didn't get on the flight for the 19th, but this is just getting ridiculous.

done. donedonedonedone.

I finished MOUT today.  If they don't give me credit for this one, I will personally seek out the OCs (observer controller).  The training was good, but one of the trainers was remarkably unprofessional at the end of the day.  One of the officers in the unit I was training with was "KIA" during the practical exercise.  The "dead" were instructed to take their gear off.  After endex, he was walking forward to recover a canteen he'd lost, and one of the OCs told him he needed to put his gear on right now, and that he needed to "get under the supervision of an NCO."  SO uncalled-for.  You just don't say shit like that in front of soldiers; it has to be the most inappropriate, unprofessional thing I've ever heard come out of the mouth of an OC here.  They've been nothing but professional and motivated, everywhere but this range.  They're motivated out there, and they know their shit, but this incident, combined with the story they told about me last time I was out there (I was having a problem with the heat, and they told the major at the training cell that I "refused" to put on my gear -- they never asked me to!  I hate those games...) has me seriously doubting their professionalism.

It's over now, though.  I still have a headache, but I'll be better in the morning.

things i just don't get

I've been tagged by Lorelei Long of An American in Italy, so here goes:

1.  Ponchos.  I mean, really.  If you want to look like you're wearing a tent, bring back big sweaters/t-shirts and black leggings with flats.

2.  Katie Holmes.  She almost never changed her expression, throughout Batman Begins.  Gah.

 

3. Reality TV.  Good grief, couldn't these people just wank on their blogs like everyone else?  Except for the ones on Bravo... except for the "Moms & Dads" shows.  That's just child exploitation.

4.  Internet spam.  Who answers this crap so the rest of us keep getting it?

That's all I can think of at the moment.  I guess I just shake my head at the rest of the world and drive on.  I'd tag someone, but I don't really know anyone on the Milbloggers ring, so I guess I'll let it rest here.

So my first anniversary is officially over, but I'm still here with my hubby, and he's looking gooooood.  Later...

time so short, need so great

I'm home on leave with my sweetie.  Well, technically not with him this very second, since he's out at the local bar, and I wanted to stay home, but I am in fact in my own house with all my stuff, and came back from a lovely party at a friend's not too long ago.  Golly, I love my friends.  I always have the best time with them, and being there, with my beloved husband, is about the best thing I can imagine (and post publicly).

I go back to Dix on the 21st, and have my last training day on the 28th, after which I'll ship as soon as possible.  I can't wait to get it over with.  The agony has been prolonged enough.

so much for that.

I have to redo MOUT.  No leave for me (yet).  *sigh*  Here we go again.

so close...

I just turned in my leave form for next week.  I'll leave Monday and come back Sunday night for my flight the following Monday (assuming I get a seat on that flight).  Wolfie's going to come down this weekend and help me pack, then drive home with me, and I'll fly back.

I got to talk to a soldier here in the dayroom about where I'm going.  He says it's pretty nice; don't have to wear armor and helmets all the time, you can buy mountain bikes to get around (which would be killer PT), yadda yadda yadda.  He did recommend a shoulder holster, though, because the tactical holsters like I posted yesterday can get mighty hot, plus you lose the use of that cargo pocket.  My wallet has lived in the cargo pocket every time I put on BDUs since 1986 -- not being able to use that pocket is jarring.  And there's a website called Holsters.com.  If I can't find it there... it's probably someplace else.

One of the guys recommended a Galco holster, but I worry about the leather rotting from the sweat.  This Safariland product might do, though.  I'd like to try them on before I buy, so maybe I'll go shopping with Dad while I'm home.

The thought of packing is a little daunting, but Wolfie will help.  It'll be better if I break it down into easy to digest chunks, but still... packing sucks.  At least I'll have company on the ride home.