I'm settling in I think

Now, if I can just keep up with my college classes, I should be good to go.

Work feels slightly less overwhelming, which is good. It will get monotonous, I am sure, but isn't that normal with any job? Ok, except for the getting shot at by mortars by evil insurgents bit.

I got a new room, with only 2 other roomies. Which is nice. They work opposite shifts, so only one is in the room at any part of the day. So there's fewer to disturb when I come barging in with body armor and such at 0730. And these roomies aren't nosey, which is also nice.

Today I will get my mailing address, so Ziggy and anyone else can send me things. Since my suitcase handle is broken, I may have to acquire a new suitcase for the trip home. Hopefully I won't have so much stuff for the return trip. I know I don't have to haul my chem suit and such all the way back to the States, and that's a great relief. WAY too many bags to lug around. And my suitcase should be a good deal lighter, so that'll be nice. I already have a list of things that I want Ziggy to send me.

Well, I am off to a briefing. Stay safe, guys.....

P.S. Thanks for the shout-out, Crazy Girl!

Ok, I'm in Iraq

And I'm in one piece. The food is good. I've talked to Ziggy a few times, which makes me feel good.

My bed is broken, so is my suitcase handle. I have 4 other roomates, and one is nosey as hell!!!! Constantly watching me and wanting to know what I'm doing.

I feel totally useless at work, it's a bit haphazard. We don't really know how to go about our jobs, and the books with the information aren't accurate. So, it's a bit weird.

It's not as hot as I had thought it would be here, atleast not at night. THere's a nice breeeze, which is good. There are trees here, too, and Al Udeid didn't have that. We stopped there on the way here, it's in Qatar. Nice setup there. Nicer than here, but hey, you take what you get, right?

MiniZiggy has started pulling himself up into a stand, and I hate that I've missed it, but Ziggy is doing really well at keeping me up to date with the kids.

Well, I had better get going. I will keep posting as long as I have access to it, ok. Be safe guys!!!

Leaving tomorrow

So I don't really know how long it will be before I get to put another entry into my blog. Hopefully not long. This is a bit of therapy for me.

I am really dreading having to leave Ziggy and the boys behind. I want to just cry my eyes out at the thought. I will be missing so much with MiniZiggy and Scout, and I'm not sure I can stand it.

This will also be the longest that Ziggy and I have ever been apart from each other, and that sucks. We have always been so close, always in tune with each other, and this is going to really bug us, not having the other one right there next to us.

Well, I have a mountain of packing to finish, small stuff, really. Take care, readers.

Alright, I REALLY do mean to start packing this morning

I promise. I really do mean to start packing. But I just bought a stack of books that are crying out to be read!!! I really must discipline myself better so I can get the damned packing done and loafer around afterwards. Good plan, really.

My day in court

Yes, I went to traffic court today. This was the first time that I've ever fought a ticket I've gotten. I figured the worst that could happen is that I'd have to pay the freaking outrageous fine anyways.

First off, MiniZiggy didn't grace the world with his presence until 10AM. what time did I have to be in court? 11. Yea, so once I get there(which was an odessey all it's own), and walk 2 blocks from the nearest parking space, the lady at the metal detector tells me that I have to walk all the way back to the car and leave my cell phone there, since it's a camera phone. Can't have them in the court building....weird. Anyways, I finally get into the courtroom, sans ticket, and MiniZiggy decides it's time for him to have breakfast(good Mommy, I had already mixed up his cereal and brought it with me - and then walked out the door without the water for his bottles - hey, I'm not a miracle worker, ok). So he cries and cries to be fed. The baliff was nice enough to let me sit outside the courtroom and wait until my case was called. The judge decided that I'd be next, on account of the baby crying. So I get MiniZiggy fed, and back into the courtroom we go. The whole time I'm in front of the judge, MiniZiggy crys. And I don't mean whine, slight cry, I mean the kind that says, "I'm not happy and the world will know it until I get what I want! Or I'm calling Grandma!!!!'......so here I am in front of the judge with a screaming baby on my hip. How redneck did that look?!?!?!Yea.......so much for the self image, right? Well, I was raised in Georgia, so I guess it fits. Long story short, the judge reduces the miles I was going over the limit by 4. I am guessing that this changed what bracket for payment I was in. Oh well, $102.00 later, and I have 102 more airline miles.

So I am still procrastinating as far as packing goes. I have bought stuff to go with me, but haven't packed a thing. Washed desert uniforms and towels and sheets, but not packed a bit. I REALLY need to get a move on with this.....I guess part of me hopes that if I put it off, I won't have to go. But, I know I have to, no matter how much I don't really want to. Hey, atleast it's tax free pay, right?

Work update

Don't ya just love when people give you 'options' that still make you have to do things that you aren't supposed to be doing?

So, I call up Auschwitz at 0815, and get told by Cadillac that the shop boss, Mr. A, isn't there, to call back in an hour. So, I call back in an hour, and STILL end up talking to Cadillac. I have 2 options, he says. One is to show up at lunch for a function for an award the unit won, or show up Monday in uniform, between 8 & 9. And the uniform is an iffy requirement today. SOOOOOO.....ok, I'll go today. In civilian clothes, with MiniZiggy in tow.

Glory is my day off, right? But hey, the new Star Wars is out, and Ziggy promised to take me before I leave......

This ought to be interesting

Ziggy calls while I am on the way to the doctor with MiniZiggy yesterday. He tells me that Cadillac told him to tell me that I have to be at work at 0630 with my training records.

Let me explain something a bit......when I final outprocessed Langley for this little jaunt over to the desert, the nice people at Personell Readiness sealed up all my records - training records, medical records, etc. And I was given strict orders not to open the package until I get to Iraq. So, for Cadillac to demand this(and I say demand because, well, that's what he's been doing) is going over his own place in the chain of command. Oh, and he was very particular about reminding of MY place in the chain of command(I'm an E4, low on the totem pole, but not quite the bottom), and that he is above me on the chain of command. Anywho, I call up my big boss. The guy that's in charge of ALL the shops that do vehicle maintenance on Langley, and I ask him to look into this for me. I tell him the whole schpeel of how I was told not to open the package, yesterday was my last duty day according to his right hand man, etc. He says he'll look into it and get back to me. So.....a couple hours later, his right hand man calls me up and says not to come in, that whatever Cadilla needed can wait until after I get back from Iraq.

So, I am fully expecting a phone call here in the next little bit, wanting to know why I'm not at work, where my training records, are, etc. And I am fully expecting them to devise any reason possible to make me have to show up at work. Which, if I can help, won't happen. What's funny is that I once got my ass chewed for not going directly through my boss for something, and having Ziggy deliver the message, and here's Cadillac, doing EXACTLY what I was bitched at for and told not to do again. Yea, I work in the land of the fairness. Note sarcasm.

I swear

if my boss and supervisors want a way to try to fuck me, they try it. So I get this phone call from the daycare center, saying that MiniZiggy needs diaper cream, and since they won't handle that stuff, I have to come do it. So, Ziggy and I go over there at lunch, and the caregivers tell us that we have to take MiniZiggy with us, that he needs to go to the doctor.

So, we grab lunch and I troop back into the shop to talk to Cadillac and the civilian shop boss. So Cadillac jumps my shit, saying he's getting bent over from behind because I didn't come get him about a problem yesterday, and now I'm leaving and he has to clean up the mess. I wanted to slap him damn silly.

This man gives me hell for shit that he does himself. And then he won't correct his own peers for shit, but I get my ass reamed for it? 4 months without him is going to be very peaceful, even if I am getting shot at over there. I had semi-high hopes for my being under this guys' supervision, and now I feel as though I am in the same fucked up situation as before. I may not wait out my last 2 years, I may get out whenever I get pregnant, as Ziggy and I want to have another baby after I get back from Iraq.

Update

So I'm officially outprocessed out of Langley, right? Yea, well, guess what? My boss wants me to come to work! Great, huh???? I work in fucking AUSCWITZ!!!

This weekend was great. I did a whole lot of as little as possible. Very relaxing, I loved it. Have to do more of the before I leave. WHich is the 27th. Great, huh? Memorial Day weekend, and I have to go to Iraq.....there are reasons I am getting out in 2 years.

I went looking for a new car this past weekend. I test drove a Honda Civic, and get this, the salesman tells me that if I trade in the car I already have, I will have to pay Honda back for buying it, PLUS have to pay the loan on the new car. I told him I wouldn't buy the car then. So he proceeds to tell me the SAME schpeel 3 times over again. And every time, I get angrier and angrier, and finally I have to tell him that because of him, I won't be buying the car. He asks if I understand the process, and I flat out tell him that the car isn't worth 34K, and if I wanted to spend that much on a new car, it'll be a new BMW, not a 20K Honda.......what a dumbass.

Weekends

So I finished my first semester back in college with a 2.7 GPA. I got an A, B, and a C in my classes. And now I am waiting on the next semester to start.

I leave for Iraq on the 27th, or that's what they are saying this week. They pushed back the out process date, and now I don't know when it is. But I do know that I need to get cracking on the packing, or I am going to be incredibly behind.

I made curtains for the game room today, and am pleased at how well they turned out. Now If I can get Ziggy to hang them, we'll be all good. I'm thinking that a late night run to WalMart would be better than an early morning run, since the WalMart here is rather busy on Sundays.

MiniZiggy has started to crawl, and teething has begun. Poor child, he can't seem to do much other than eat and sleep. The ladies at his daycare keep asking me if he's all right, since he wants to sleep so much.

Ziggy is going to California for school(2 weeks long), in the early part of June, so my parents will have the kids for about 3 weeks. Poor Ziggy, they are going to be so spoiled, he won't be able to do much with them. I wish I were going to be here. I am going to miss the boys so much!!!

Countdown is on

So the countdown is on until I leave for Iraq. And Cadillac is up my ass constantly for having appointments that take me out of the shop. So life at work, a bit more than usual, is stressful. Like I needed any extra, right??

Whirlwind week

It's only Wednesday?!!?!? You've gotta be kidding me..........I've done so much in 3 days, it feels like more days have gone by.

Well, Monday I found out that I'm going to Iraq. Tuesday I spent the day in M-16 training. Where, might I add, I qualified better than I did the last time, and forward progression is ALWAYS a good thing. I even did my 'Go Me' dance. Today was busy as hell. I tested for E5 all morning. Right up until lunch, which for me, is at 1100. I got my papers signed so I could go get Desert uniforms without paying for them, and met Ziggy for lunch. After a quick lunch with Ziggy(I love my husband, he's so good to me, I'll explain in a minute), I went over to the deployment office and shuffled crazy amounts of paperwork that I need to outprocess with. After that, off to the Supply store to get desert uniforms. While I was there, Ziggy called my cell and said that the shop superintendent was looking for us, and he wants a meeting with us. So, off to the shop(this is about 1:30PM). Ok, so we let him do his blase blase bullshit speech and off I went again to the alterations to get all my stripes and patches sewn onto my deserts. Then I went to military clothing sales for the brand spanking new Air Force PT uniform, that's only available to deploying personnell. It's actually not that bad looking, I was impressed. All together, the whole thing, 2 shirts, 2 pairs of shorts and a running suit cost $141. Of my money, not the government. Which sucks a bit, but hey, it wasn't the $900 for my deserts and all that stuff! Back to the deployment office for more papers. Then off to the hospital for lab tests, shot records check(I don't have to get the small pox vaccine!!!!) and dental records check. Made some appointments, and PRESTO, back to the shop just in time to help clean up(3:15 PM). Cleaned up, left work at 3:40, got gas, headed home. Stopped at the college to drop off my tuition payment for summer semester, picked up Scout, and made it home right at 5:00. I've had a busy day. And more of the same, sorta, tomorrow.

Ok, why I love Ziggy. Ziggy has always had a way of knowing what I'm thinking or how I'm feeling without my saying anything( and from a guy who can't take a hint without a Mack truck coming with it, that's very cool). So I've been getting all the MiniZiggy hogging time I want, hang with Scout time, all that. But the best part is last night. Actually at 3:10AM today. I wake up from a sound sleep(I sleep like the dead) and am suddenly wide awake. Ziggy knows my mind is running like crazy with things I need to do, places I need to go, et, etc before I go to Iraq. Ziggy wraps me in my favorite position to sleep with him, my head on his left shoulder, me kinda flopped on his left side, his arms aound me, and promptly goes back to sleep. The especially cool part comes when my right arm goes numb, and I turn over onto my left side......he turns over too and wraps an arm around me, pulls me to him, puts his nose by my right ear, and goes back to sleep. I just loved it. Every move I made, he went and snuggled with me. To give you an idea of our heights, Ziggy is 5 foot 9 or so, and I am 5 foot 3.

So this deployment has me nervous. Mortar attacks aren't my idea of fun by a long shot. And I'm going to miss so much with the kids this summer. MiniZiggy has started crawling, and standing is sure to follow soon enough. And I'm going to miss it. Scout is playing baseball right up until the end of the school year, which is mid-June(the schools here are insane to go that long!!!), and I'm going to miss it. My parents are coming to North Carolina for vacation, and I was going to go down with the kids and see them, and well, I can't now. And dammit, Ziggy bought me Toby Keith tickets for Mother's Day, and I'm going to Iraq, so I can't go! Yea, I feel like I'm leaving all the good stuff behind to happen while I'm away. Not that I'm saying that I won't be serving a purpose over there, but that I feel I will miss lots of importnat things while I am gone. I just want to be home beofre the baby turns 1.

What a difference an hour makes

So I show up at the range this morning, for my M16 training, right? Well, half an hour later I am back at my duty section, wrenching. Come to find out, since I wasn't tasked to deploy any time in the near future, I'm not supposed to be in M16 training. Well, what a difference an hour makes. An hour later, I am short notice tasked to go to Balad AB, Iraq. As in I have to be IN THE COUNTRY on 24 May. Now you know why they are called SHORT NOTICE. Yippee. So now I have to run around like a lunatic and try to outprocess in 17 short days. Jump into my nightmare, the water is warm....

PS....

MiniZiggy is 7 months old tomorrow, and get this.....has started crawling! He doesn't like to sit up, but he'll crawl!!!!

One semester down

And about 4 more to go until I am done with the piddley classwork part of my degree, and will be in a position to concentrate solely on the medical clinicals portion of my degree. I am so glad to be done with this semester. It seemed to drag on forever, but then again, 4 months is a long time to be in the same class. Atleast in my thinking it is.

I have a few weeks between semesters, and I really need a little break. Next semester is 10 weeks long, so atleast it's not as long. There's atleast the small mercy in that.

Apparently TheBoy got arrested, and CrazyGirl almost did, too. This ought to be an interesting story. I guess they are back together, in a way. Atleast they're sleeping together, I think. Eh, to each his/her own, I guess. I just want to hear what happened with getting TheBoy arrested.