Here in Iraq things are slightly different then what they are at home. The weather here has been increasingly hot, and despite it being near the same temperature as what my hometown is. Despite that similarity, things are not relatable. My room has now windows. No view of the outside world. I step outside disoriented from not getting enough sleep, and either find it blindingly hot and bright, or blindly dark, and dusty.
Wearing our gear for missions only seems to complicate the heat. I usually think 90 degrees is 'nice' weather. Which it is wonderful weather, when you happen to be wearing flip flops, shorts and a thin t shirt. Not the long sleeve, nylon-cotton uniforms we wear with the 60 lbs of gear we throw on our shoulders for hours at a time. The wind here blows like someone has left on a giant blow dryer. The sand storms leave your face covered with grit and sand that can be seen through the lines of sweat which streak down your face.
Despite the horrid conditions that approach in the next couple of months, I am very excited for an entirely different reason. The excitement flows like water over the edges of a full bucket, and I can't help it not affect my mood of even the most dyer of situations we face on a day to day basis. I'm coming home in less than two weeks for a little Rest and Relaxation.
There is a lot that I'm looking forward to. For one, drinking an ice cold refreshing beer while either, hanging out with family or watching a Dodger game. I can eat greasy fast food along with delectable sushi. I can wear shorts, and probably going to skip out on even wearing a shirt if I can get away with it.
I started to think about nights at home, and how they felt. Sometimes much like the room I sleep in now. The air condition in our barracks doesn't work leaving some sweating nights. But that's no different than the house I grew up in. The living room became my main sleeping space because it was the only room in the house that seemed to have any kind of cool, with the swamp cooler blowing into the early hours of the morning. I remember living in the front house with the hot stuffy feeling. I miss those nights, hanging with friends, playing darts and trying to keep cool by consuming massive amounts of ice cold beer.
The one thing that I'm most excited about coming home for is now a mission of perfect timing that is really out of my control. That is my sisters graduation from Cal Berkeley. She graduates on the 16th, which is when I'm supposed to arrive home. It should be a race to make it up there if I get into Los Angeles early enough, and catch a flight up to Oakland.
The next thing that I'm terribly excited about, and is nearly at the fore front of my excitement, is seeing my girlfriend, Gina. Gina and I are approaching our one year mark together, and unfortunately I won't be with her on that date, but will be there a week later. Gina has been a big help to me during this deployment. She has been very supportive and strong through this tough time of a long distance relationship. Of course my family has been great too, but Gina is my everyday contact to the world back home, and I couldn't imagine this deployment without her.
With home so close, and friends and family awaiting my arrival, the next two weeks will probably move the slowest of the deployment for me. We start month six in two days, which would have been the mid point of deployment, but everyone here is trying there hardest to keep there hopes low, despite the constant rumor that the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne will all be home by 01 October.
So despite the mission schedule still grueling to us all, and sleep being at a premium when you can get it, my spirits remain high.
"Boats n' Hoes"
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