Well, it’s hard to believe that I’ve been in theatre for a month now? I can honestly say that it has flown by! I mean with working all the time, every day often times 13hr days; time has a way of speeding up for some reason? I guess the more hours of your day that are taken up, there leaves little time for reflection and give yourself a chance to slow down! I’m sure that I’ll get this chance every three months when I’m embarking on my travels! I mean with 2.5 weeks at a pop, there will be plenty of time to relax and actually sleep in…probably 7am will be my new sleep in time!! I thought that I’d get more in depth this time about my new surroundings here at Camp LTN (Leatherneck), and actually describe what a typical day is here on the base…
I’m in a 10 man tent that is cooled nicely to a chilly temp of about 65! I think that this is truly a guy thing in that we like it cold while we sleep….so ladies take note! I bet that our tent would have a better chance of cooling our water more quickly than our little mini fridge in the work tent. Anyhow, I wake up every morning about 5:30 or so. I walk about 50 yds out of my tent to the shower room. The shower is kinda similar to what I encountered in college with 9 shower heads in a single room. In college you were lucky if there wasn’t anyone else in the locker room that day and you could actually turn a couple of shower heads your way!! Here I think that the circumstances have changed just a tad! This shower room is more or less like walking a gang plank with showers on either side of you. The set up is really just a temporary thing and that is obvious! If you look in the pictures I’ve posted you can see that it looks like… kinda odd. The other picture from the shower room is from the sink area, which is pretty nice, other than the fact that the mirror provided is similar to one that you find at the carnival, contorting you a bit….just enough to make shaving a challenge! On that note, I’ve entered into a beard growing contest with my buddy that I’m going to Oktoberfest with! He’s got two weeks on me, but we’re measuring from our chins and I already had a goatee! So he’s got a bit of a head start, but not much! The winner of the contest buys dinner and drinks for our night in Dubai…so either way I’ll be happy to drink or pay!! I must say that I am already counting the days to that first drink! This is my first time actually growing a beard and not just being lazy. I like it so far, and I think that I’m almost out of the itchy phase! Take a look at my picture and tell me what you think! Not too bad in my opinion….
After the shower, I come back to the meat locker and get ready. I’m usually in the work tent by 6:20 cause the work tent is just another 50 yds in the opposite direction of the shower. Like I said, I have everything I need in a city block!! Either first thing in the morning or at the end of my day is when I try to call folks. So if you see a really goofy number, THAT’S ME!! PICK UP YOUR PHONE!! After I get all booted up I go to breakfast where I watch AFN and try to catch up on some sports. I was fortunate enough to see UFC 100 fight where Lesner didn’t even make it a contest in my opinion. I mean for crying out loud that dude is huge! My breakfast usually consists of eggs, hot sauce, two yogurts, wheat toast, and some water…see healthy! I usually get my coffee fix back at the tent! I actually steal cups from the DFAC because for some reason the tent only has those little puny cups that hold about 3 SIPS of coffee. I don’t even know why the coffee cup making companies even waste their time on such a small cup??? I mean it’s not like folks use them for espresso?? The morning goes by really quick as this is when I’m most motivated! For some reason I’ve been really motivated in getting everything on the cost side set up here! When I’m kinda burnt on the spreadsheets, I got a lot of little things that make a difference so that I can split up my time! I love the whole getting organized thing, but at the same time it really makes me realize how unorganized the last guy was. I mean really?
It gets really hot here (avg. 120) and so we are encouraged to drink plenty of water, in fact I believe that the Army drops off two pallets of water every couple of weeks. I’m not talking about a small pallet either. These pallets are at least 7ft high! I usually average about 8, 16oz bottles of water a day…that’s a lot of water!! After filling my first hump with water in the morning, I usually go to lunch around 1pm. The lunch isn’t that much to speak of but I manage to make sure that I have a big meal so that I can have a small snack in the afternoon, an apple, and then I’ll have a couple of yogurts and some fruit for dinner. That one thing that the heat has always done to me decreased my appetite and made me take more “trips” to the bathroom! Speaking of which…the thrown room!
Well I had to tell the story of the toboggan in Bagram, now there is the thrown room of Camp Leatherneck! The bathroom is in a tent that looks much like a tent you sleep in. Let me assure you, that you don’t want to sleep in this tent! Anyhow the thrown room is set up with a set of 6 toilets in the front, with another set of 6 toilets in the back. Each set is separated by two latrines. Getting to the toilet is actually something very new to me for going to the toilet, you see, there are two steps up to the toilet. So once you sit down, you feel like you are on display for all to see! The actual steps remind me of bleachers from grade school that you used to sit on during a pep rally or some type of sporting event…the kind that retract!!! Too funny! And if Bagram was bad about the curtain about not having any private time, that was nothing. The piece of cloth that comes down doesn’t even matter, cause your knees just stick out anyway. Basically the rule of thumb in the shower and bathrooms is…keep your head down, the one that sits on top of your shoulders for all the funny people out there! I tell ya, if anybody ever thought that I was a person who can talk about anything and nothing is taboo, well I’m that person to the nth degree now! Sorry to keep talking about the showers and latrines, but I gotta tell ya the set up of these facilities that make me crack up! It is truly funny to see what you have to deal with on a daily basis, you really learn to respect and appreciate the things which you have become soooo accustomed to. The little things are what truly matter, believe me!
On that note, I’ve said to many people that if you don’t keep your sense of humor that you will never make it! I mean this is a really desolate place to be, but there a ton of folks around you who are here just like you, going through the same experience! You are absolutely forced to make the best of it! The sense of humor is what gets you through it! Sure there are serious times, but there are plenty of moments of laughter! It really is weird how things like mortars become apart of life. The chances of you coming close to a round, let alone one injuring you are about the same as getting into a fender-bender on your way to work! They’re that uncommon! So think of it that way….do you really go to work every morning, scared that you are going to get into an accident? So that’s the same type of mentality that you gain while you're here.
With all this I’m reminded of one of the funniest, and yet somehow one the truest quotes that I’ve ever heard!
“Don’t sweat the petty stuff, and don’t pet the sweaty stuff!”
I hope that everyone is doing well, and talk soon!
I’m in a 10 man tent that is cooled nicely to a chilly temp of about 65! I think that this is truly a guy thing in that we like it cold while we sleep….so ladies take note! I bet that our tent would have a better chance of cooling our water more quickly than our little mini fridge in the work tent. Anyhow, I wake up every morning about 5:30 or so. I walk about 50 yds out of my tent to the shower room. The shower is kinda similar to what I encountered in college with 9 shower heads in a single room. In college you were lucky if there wasn’t anyone else in the locker room that day and you could actually turn a couple of shower heads your way!! Here I think that the circumstances have changed just a tad! This shower room is more or less like walking a gang plank with showers on either side of you. The set up is really just a temporary thing and that is obvious! If you look in the pictures I’ve posted you can see that it looks like… kinda odd. The other picture from the shower room is from the sink area, which is pretty nice, other than the fact that the mirror provided is similar to one that you find at the carnival, contorting you a bit….just enough to make shaving a challenge! On that note, I’ve entered into a beard growing contest with my buddy that I’m going to Oktoberfest with! He’s got two weeks on me, but we’re measuring from our chins and I already had a goatee! So he’s got a bit of a head start, but not much! The winner of the contest buys dinner and drinks for our night in Dubai…so either way I’ll be happy to drink or pay!! I must say that I am already counting the days to that first drink! This is my first time actually growing a beard and not just being lazy. I like it so far, and I think that I’m almost out of the itchy phase! Take a look at my picture and tell me what you think! Not too bad in my opinion….
After the shower, I come back to the meat locker and get ready. I’m usually in the work tent by 6:20 cause the work tent is just another 50 yds in the opposite direction of the shower. Like I said, I have everything I need in a city block!! Either first thing in the morning or at the end of my day is when I try to call folks. So if you see a really goofy number, THAT’S ME!! PICK UP YOUR PHONE!! After I get all booted up I go to breakfast where I watch AFN and try to catch up on some sports. I was fortunate enough to see UFC 100 fight where Lesner didn’t even make it a contest in my opinion. I mean for crying out loud that dude is huge! My breakfast usually consists of eggs, hot sauce, two yogurts, wheat toast, and some water…see healthy! I usually get my coffee fix back at the tent! I actually steal cups from the DFAC because for some reason the tent only has those little puny cups that hold about 3 SIPS of coffee. I don’t even know why the coffee cup making companies even waste their time on such a small cup??? I mean it’s not like folks use them for espresso?? The morning goes by really quick as this is when I’m most motivated! For some reason I’ve been really motivated in getting everything on the cost side set up here! When I’m kinda burnt on the spreadsheets, I got a lot of little things that make a difference so that I can split up my time! I love the whole getting organized thing, but at the same time it really makes me realize how unorganized the last guy was. I mean really?
It gets really hot here (avg. 120) and so we are encouraged to drink plenty of water, in fact I believe that the Army drops off two pallets of water every couple of weeks. I’m not talking about a small pallet either. These pallets are at least 7ft high! I usually average about 8, 16oz bottles of water a day…that’s a lot of water!! After filling my first hump with water in the morning, I usually go to lunch around 1pm. The lunch isn’t that much to speak of but I manage to make sure that I have a big meal so that I can have a small snack in the afternoon, an apple, and then I’ll have a couple of yogurts and some fruit for dinner. That one thing that the heat has always done to me decreased my appetite and made me take more “trips” to the bathroom! Speaking of which…the thrown room!
Well I had to tell the story of the toboggan in Bagram, now there is the thrown room of Camp Leatherneck! The bathroom is in a tent that looks much like a tent you sleep in. Let me assure you, that you don’t want to sleep in this tent! Anyhow the thrown room is set up with a set of 6 toilets in the front, with another set of 6 toilets in the back. Each set is separated by two latrines. Getting to the toilet is actually something very new to me for going to the toilet, you see, there are two steps up to the toilet. So once you sit down, you feel like you are on display for all to see! The actual steps remind me of bleachers from grade school that you used to sit on during a pep rally or some type of sporting event…the kind that retract!!! Too funny! And if Bagram was bad about the curtain about not having any private time, that was nothing. The piece of cloth that comes down doesn’t even matter, cause your knees just stick out anyway. Basically the rule of thumb in the shower and bathrooms is…keep your head down, the one that sits on top of your shoulders for all the funny people out there! I tell ya, if anybody ever thought that I was a person who can talk about anything and nothing is taboo, well I’m that person to the nth degree now! Sorry to keep talking about the showers and latrines, but I gotta tell ya the set up of these facilities that make me crack up! It is truly funny to see what you have to deal with on a daily basis, you really learn to respect and appreciate the things which you have become soooo accustomed to. The little things are what truly matter, believe me!
On that note, I’ve said to many people that if you don’t keep your sense of humor that you will never make it! I mean this is a really desolate place to be, but there a ton of folks around you who are here just like you, going through the same experience! You are absolutely forced to make the best of it! The sense of humor is what gets you through it! Sure there are serious times, but there are plenty of moments of laughter! It really is weird how things like mortars become apart of life. The chances of you coming close to a round, let alone one injuring you are about the same as getting into a fender-bender on your way to work! They’re that uncommon! So think of it that way….do you really go to work every morning, scared that you are going to get into an accident? So that’s the same type of mentality that you gain while you're here.
With all this I’m reminded of one of the funniest, and yet somehow one the truest quotes that I’ve ever heard!
“Don’t sweat the petty stuff, and don’t pet the sweaty stuff!”
I hope that everyone is doing well, and talk soon!
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