A few weeks ago life got considerably better. I'm now in a room that used to be a Col's single room. I share it with my most awesome previous roommate from the room I left, Amanda. For now we are 2 peas in a pod, but our 3rd roommate gets in soon. It's funny to hear myself say "Hey Manda... are you there?" when I get home. People ask me "So how is Amanda?" and now I'm like "Me, or Amanda?" My bed is set up as my cave, with Christmas lights inside. It's heavenly and I am much much happier in this space.
The other day I was coming back from the gym wearing shorts and I was carrying my magazine, a water bottle, my nano, and my ID carrier/"wallet". I was fumbling to wrap my earpiece chords around my nano to consolidate my stuff when an Army Col walked by me and I only saw his rank as he was about to pass me. It was too late to salute so I gave a big head bob and made eye contact to acknowledge him. He turns to me, stops walking and says "Excuse me but WHAT are you supposed to do??" I shifted my stuff to the left and I said, "Salute you sir" then I saluted the douche bag. I felt like saying "If I could f**king carry a bag on this base all my sh*t would have been in a bag and I would have easily saluted you." I think the officer Army rank needs to remain on the collar anyway - it's too hard to spot in their uniform pattern and it blends into the middle of the chest. That kinda crap always leaves me with a "f**k the military" attitude. I never want to be that guy. Do you know how many people don't salute me? It's because people walk everywhere and there are too many people walking by to pay attention to and I realize that. Plus this is a war zone - why are we saluting here anyway???
Work-wise things have picked up. Inpatient care is basically the same, but I've been seeing a few more individual appointments. I've also met the new Army RD here and we are putting our heads together for National Nutrition Month. Some of the FOBs have requested education so I'm setting that up and today I counseled some guys at COP Michegan on the Pakistani boarder in the Korengal valley. That is one of the most dangerous places in this war. There was a movie made about it that we watched in Nut Med a few weeks ago - Restrepo. http://documentaries.about.
I feel very grateful for my family and friends who have sent me care packages and cards... it means a lot to me. Vegan baked goods make me very happy! I'm still keeping up my Veg DPG newsletter responsibilities and I'm trying to gather up AD vegans to write a little article about being deployed as a vegetarian. There are plenty of us here. I'll get that done eventually. There has been some talk of force-shaping for officers... I'm not worried about getting booted but it has led me to re-shift focus on school. So back I go to the goal of finishing my masters degree while here. I may have to hold off on my last class until I get home... we'll see how motivated I am. I've met some great people here and I'm having fun. There are days I want to run away, but in some ways, I can't believe how much I am enjoying myself. I have my core crew, and a standard lunch and dinner date that keeps me smiling. I'm very lucky to have built these relationships in Afghanistan. :)
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ReplyDeleteOk, "So Far So Good", to start with, What and why are the men growing their mustaches for in March? I can only think of a dirty reason...
ReplyDeleteI am so grateful to hear you finally got a place to call yours with another Amanda, sleep deprivation experiment over for now. Yeah!
On to the Army Col. I hate to inform you, jerks are not limited to the military. I am sorry he was so cranky with you, besides, you do not know what he was dealing with at that moment, his wife just left him, he just heard the news his friends were killed, he just got yelled at by his boss, he had to make some horrible war decisions.....let his bad attitude go with him, it is his business. Imagine how miserable his existence is if he is that cranky with you, he probably has few friends.
I did get to see that movie, "Restrepo" you can see it on Netflixs. I had to watch it in small segments, as it affected me so much. The soldiers we so young, dedicated and honest but the war seemed so random and un-clear as to who to target, what was the goal and what is the United States doing there? None of the soldiers really expressed their views on the war in the whole movie, that seemed odd.
It is hard to see a child begging.
What is force-shaping for officers?
I am glad to hear you are considering getting back to your schooling. I know this has been a long hard transition for you in such crazy conditions. I am proud of you for keeping your goals in mind. You will be proud when you have that Master's Degree completed. I can see you in cap & gown now, proudly accepting your diploma, even if is comes on the internet...lol
Keep your body armor on and get back here quick! Love & Happy Valentine's Day! Maureen
Ah, "March Moustache Madness" (although your guys are starting early). It goes along with the basketball pools. Our docs in Iraq did it. At the end we were treated to a slide show comparing our hospital moustaches side-by-side with those from history. Even the female providers jumped in at the end with cut-out versions (just for the photos). Silly morale boosting activities.
ReplyDeleteDid you guys vote for a Cupid to deliver valentines? Ours was a huge fund raiser for the booster club and our Trauma Czar was selected - made the rounds in a big diaper, wings, crazy wig, bow/arrow & huge cigar.
As for the Army Col - sorry, but what an ass. He probably just assumed you weren't even a fellow officer (let's face it, you are blessed with "young" genes). Why no gym bag allowed? I hated that "salute even while in PT" rule. Don't always recognize a person while in PT.
Hang in there!