34 years strong

i'm sitting here in my gym clothes with my weapon strapped onto my shoulder at the internet cafe and can't help but think that this is not a situation i ever really would have imagined myself in. not that there's anything really dangerous going on, but we just have to have it on our persons pretty much 24/7...only exceptions, pt and shower. kinda weird....and you know if the doc ever has to use it, the sh$! must have hit the fan.

a "long lost friend" emailed me out of the blue today and it was great to hear from her. i'm pretty bad at keeping touch with friends but ironically, i love it when people write to me. i was once under this delusion that i was a friendly, loving, people person, but am finally realizing that i'm not above some pretty piss poor qualities....the selfishness mentioned above, cursing at my patients, and an overall spreading of hate and discontent. but anyway, check out girl md's blog....she's always has a certain grace and eloquence and kindness about her and it's reflected in her writing. probably a little more liberal than i, but a good heart nonetheless :).

and one final note...mom and dad, happy happy 34th anniversary! i love you and miss you.

How many movies can one watch?

so after some good turnover with the outgoing flight doc this morning and seeing a couple of patients, i had NOTHING to do for pretty much the rest of the day. it was soooooo boring. i watched 300 which i had seen before and it was just as entertaining as first time around. i was speaking with sis and we agreed that shows on national geographic and stuff on the spartans usually had them decked out in full body armor....not even a hint of a leather speedo.

but seriously, i do anticipate things getting a little hairier and the workload to go uptempo (i'm sure i'll be eating my words here soon) but if more days are like today, my job (and this blog) is going to be so painfully slow to progress that i may literally be driven to insanity. at least then the blog may get a little more interesting with the rantings and ravings of a madman to keep everyone entertained...bright side to everything, right?

did talk to fister and he's seen 5 episodes of the office and several of the sopranos so it sounds like i'm not the only one who's maximizing efficiency...

Remember the Alamo?

well, that's my home for the next 7 or so months. finally got in late last night after 5 days (and 4 movies) of travelling. feels strangely good to be here and to start getting settled in but to also get security briefs about weekly rocket attacks and hear about people trying to kill you. i have to wonder though, if the alamo really is a good name for the building i'm staying in considering what actually happened there. i can't possibly be the first to have thought of that.

but regardless, i'm sure things will be fine. still trying to figure out how to run 24-hour medical ops with only 2 people and not go crazy, but we did have a nice lobster dinner this very first night so maybe that's a good portent of what's to come. time will tell. did visit the clinic though and it's not too shabby. should be a good place to work out of. sizeable rooms and fairly well stocked.

i guess the only thing left is to get used to using port-a-potties again....ugh!

And wait and wait and wait....

surprise surprise. still waiting. standby. indefinitely. what's really surprising is how eager i am to get in theater. i mean, i was a little excited, but now i just can't get there soon enough! skipper joked that the air force guys who were supposed to take us prolly took a bar hopping jaunt in bahrain thinking they were doing us poor marines a favor by delaying our flight. i'm sure the lance corporals and other junior enlisted were thankful that they got to load and unload and reload and re-unload the packs and seabags multiple times. lucky them. seriously though, i was very impressed with the upbeat and jovial attitudes they were able to maintain throughout (and to my dismay, and the resulting bags under my eyes, how they kept it up way into the wee hours of the morning). they do continue to impress with their enthusiasm. also impressive was butterbar who was able to maintain composure in spite of being plane captain with everyone scowling. j/k...we weren't scowling, well, not that much anyway.

i hear ooh-rah's on her way back. how cool would it be to cross paths on this long, tedious journey. if you're out there in camp virginia, find me!

and one final shout out to raf who celebrated his 28th birthday here yesterday doing what else? waiting. happy birthday foolio. hope it wasn't all bad....wanna catch a movie?

Hurry up and wait

it seems the military motto has never been more true for me than in the past few days. we've been here in the army base for a few days now just killing time. again, watched another two movies, blood diamond (with leo's awful south african accent) and the pursuit of happyness (just plain awful....long and boring). other than that, trying to avoid the temptations of one last baskin robbins cone or mcd's double cheeseburger and fries (yes, they have both here...plus subway, pizza inn, and panda oriental...a veritable ol' mall food court!).

but yeah, i'm ready to get off the cot, get out of the tent, and get my things out of the seabags and get settled into my room for the next several months. hopefully, it will be sometime very soon...

In the Army now...

so i'm sitting in an internet cafe on an army base just waiting for my ride. flight was a little rough with long ass layovers. although there were two movies. a night at the museum which was ok and stranger than fiction which i really liked a lot. although a little surreal to watch a movie about a guy who knows he's about to die going on a trip like this. whatevers...i'm being dramatic again.

but yeah, not much going on. it actually rained here last night. i didn't think it did that in the desert in the summer but sure did. and yup, it really is a desert. sand everywhere. very little vegetation. just thankfully, not hot quite yet. nice to have a/c in the tents although it got a little cold early morning. we had to turn the a/c off! a little taste of what's to come i guess.

prolly shouldn't complain about all the free time, but i'm ready to just get to the final destination. fister was right. time change along with long ass flight is a pain in the arse. def gonna have to try some of that ambien tonite...

One last night...

so this is it. how dramatic, huh? just had a phatty dinner with t who's a rockstar for picking me up so early tomorrow morning. i have to say....it'll be so nice to have a friend drop me off. maybe she can even put on a show and cry a little like the Marine wives do....heheeh...just kidding, of course. it doesn't matter. i'm actually going to have to work tomorrow morning as the others say good bye to their families. i'll be giving shots. funstuff.

but anyway, the seabags are packed. the house is relatively clean. i'm pretty much ready and i sort of surprise myself when i say i'm actually looking forward to going. after all this prep time and all this work and all this anticipation, it'll be good to finally get on the road. my chief and a couple of the guys at the gas took me to lunch. those guys are amazing. i could not have asked for a better workplace. too bad chief v wasn't there....but i'll see her when i get back so it's all good. now i just get to look forward to the long wait at the airport and the even longer plane ride.

so next time i write, it will be in theater. pretty crazy. til then....

Can work get any more annoying?

man i was so pissed at my squadron today. after being assured everyone would make it, esp. since we're so close to taking off, only half the people scheduled actually showed up to the clinic. now obviously, imms isn't the favorite thing we do for most pts but it's a necessary evil and more importantly a requirement. i had to send out a nasty email and make phone calls to get most of the ppl to show up. and were they busy getting themselves ready? nope. just didn't feel like showing apparently until they were hunted down. and even then, there was still an 18% who never bothered to come. then i go to the squadron space only to find that most had simply been dismissed for the day. awesome. really inspiring and really gets me motivated. why the @!@$%(* do i even bother? sorry, had to vent.

for the most part though, they are pretty decent guys. it's my fault for being too nice. that may have to end soon. to see what we're all about, check out the link to the right. it's designed for friends and family. and speaking of links. i'm adding another. it's medic, lovely mrs. medic, and crazy dog tula. check them out. they're good peeps.

those 18% better f#(@*&! be there tomorrow or else i'm really gonna lose it.

Ugh...my head still hurts...

i just spent a great weekend with some old flight school buds and old may have been the key word here, cause i'm still sorta feeling it. it was one of those times when you're a little tired and a little groggy and a little unmotivated (and no, that's not how i usually am as some of you all may think). and the eye-openers didn't even help...sure they were valiant efforts...and they tasted damn good, too. eh..maybe i can just blame it on the smallpox.

but yeah, i had mentioned that one of the coolest things about heading out is all the support you get from family and friends and this weekend was no exception. wang and medic...you guys drove all the way down for one night! g spot and mrs. g...you didn't muffin (and i knew you wouldn't ;)). johnny c and future mrs. c....you guys are rockstars! there are times when i wish i had a better command of the english language...here, simply because my gratitude and my feelings toward your friendship and support merit a much more eloquent expression than i could possibly come up with.

so much for that ivy league education, huh? the words still sometimes escape me.

The final weekend!

so this is it. the final weekend before i head out. i'm off to go to virginia beach to visit with some old pals from internship and flight school. not a bad way to spend it. can't wait to meet up with these guys again. grab some grub. maybe a few drinks here and there. it's been a while since i've seen some of these foolios and should be a good reunion.

that's one nice aspect of all of this. gives you a good chance to reconnect with people you haven't talked to or seen in a while. friends that you sort of take for granted are always there...knowing that you're gonna be gone for most the year makes you want to be certain that you get to reach before you're gone. and that's what this weekend will be about for me. seeing some old friends and talking to more over the phone. i've always been bad about that. now i have a chance to make it up.

on a side note, my smallpox vaccine site is itching like a mother !!$!@%#. arm's all swollen and indurated. pretty damn gross. just couldn't tell my guys and gals to get it if i didn't myself though (as much as i didn't want it....what can you do? blech!).

Thank god for tivo...

i've finally finished watching all the shows i've missed all season long. mostly the office and scrubs with random stuff here and there. i tried to find the episode of medic (will that name stick?) on future weapons on the discovery channel, but no such luck (he's talking about being the doc for those guys experimenting with the new joint strike fighter...a real flight doc job, i guess). i do need to turn in my cable box but i guess there is some element of procrastinating. i really don't want to pack. just found out today that my flight out will be delayed. at least a few extra days to get ready, but in reality, prolly just a few extra days of anxiousness.

i really didn't think i'd feel it this much. everyone i've talked to recently, though, knows the deal. it's not about where i'm going or what i'm going to be doing (or maybe it is subconsciously), but it seems to be about all the annoying little things i need to do before i go. taking care of my house and personal issues. taking care of my guys and gals who will be going with me. and taking care of all those patients i'm leaving behind....making sure that they, too, are good to go.

Gettin' a little antsy...

so i picked up all of my personal gear today. kevlar and flak jacket and alice pack. sleeping bags and goretex and gas masks. i have to pack all of my medical equipment by wednesday. it's definitely getting real and i'm finally starting to feel it. seems like there are still tons of things to do and time's moving pretty quickly.

fister emailed from kuwait and mentioned the weird time change which reminds me that i'm going to need to get my meds. i'm not really nervous about going. it's sorta the minor details. it's more about whether or not i'm doing everything i need to do now. is all my gear packed? have i gotten everything i need already? what do i actually need from all that stuff i picked up today? and all my guys and gals. who needs what shots? pregnancy tests are ordered, predeployment health assessments are being filled out, i'm writing a bunch of scripts, but am i missing anything? t says i'll be fine. thank god for someone who's been through it before.

Fister's big day?

sunday morning. not too long from now and i'll be sending my buddy off. he's a little nervous, but t sent us photos of combat lattes and xmas in iraq to show it's not all that bad. the one in the jet was a nice touch. had a nice dinner at the country club last night. a beer at my place and called it a night. yet another weekend in this lovely town.

i'm starting a pile of things i want in my dining area and house is starting to look like a sty once again. to-do list seems ridiculously long at this point with not much left time to go either. but thousands have done it before me, including my friends here so who am i to complain?

i guess i should go get started...

The big test...

so here i am, first day of actual posting on the blog. i guess maybe i will be able to keep this blog up. dad already commented on how there was nothing on here! don't worry, pops, i'll keep this thing going and eventually there may even be something of note. of course, not yet...i have nothing really interesting worth writing about. just wasted two hours of my life watching john tucker must die. had great pizza though, and one of my buddies is headed out of here this weekend so it was good to just chill for a while, even if the movie was bad.

so wish fister some luck...we aren't going out to the same place but we'll be close and if he takes a little helo ride or a quick convoy, we may even be able to meet up. and yeah, that's his call sign. me, i'm just doc for now, but suits me just fine.

and ti, you are awesome awesome awesome for that great gift...pics of family friends from all the various parts of my life. i'll definitely keep it close.

Here we go....

just set up my blog and it looks like i'm ready to go...well, not really, but almost...

thanks, neens, for getting me up and running....