Getting the hang of it

It's not such a bad thing, being deployed, that is. After all, a job is a job. As I've said before, it's the ancillary stuff that makes it less than desirable: no hearth and home, dealing with the heat (and the mud, or so I hear), and so on. People come and go so quickly here. Office turnover is an ongoing thing. Just today we had hails and farewells, and we had about 6 of each, all within my short time here.

Of course, I was one of the hails, and my predecessor was one of the farewells. I'll be flying solo in a day or two. I don't know what I don't know, but I'm surrounded by a good crew in my division, so I'm not worried. Most in my division are here for a year, and most have been here for less than 6 months, which helps with continuity. And my peace of mind.

I did a sort of "day in the life" series of photos yesterday. You can see them at this link. They have lots of explanatory notes, and I hope it gives a sense of what it's like here. I don't cover everything that I see...I'll dole that out a little at a time.

Last night, I didn't update the blog because I spent all evening cleaning my CHU. I went to the BX/PX and bought a bunch of cleaning supplies, then went to town on the room. They finally fixed my wall locker, so I put all my clothes away, then scrubbed from ceiling to floor. Now, all I have to do is periodically swiffer and dust, and it should be livable without much effort. Maybe a mid-tour "spring cleaning" will be all I need to do extra. In any case, it's way better than how it was when I moved in.

I have Ric's bike now, so I'll have to get a helmet. Maybe Julie will send me mine. Or I could see if the BX has any. I'll still be tied to the bus schedule until I fix that problem.

Our office leadership (of which I'm a part) went out to get pizza tonight as a going-away dinner for Ric. A good time was had by all, and we were all happy to do our part to alleviate overcrowding in the DFAC (dining facility). I had a slice of pepperoni and a half dozen hot wings. Mmmm.

It's late-thirty. Gotta get up in a few hours. More soon.

Abi out.