Duty Station Overseas

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Here's a little funny: Today, I woke up and it was still early evening on the West Coast. Tonight, at dinner, I was watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV! Cracked me up!!!

Just letting you know that I made it to my final duty station in Iraq. My FOB is quite small, but there are a lot of things that I can get involved in, and am looking forward to it. For example, I went to the gym tonight to take a gander, and inquired about the different classes that are being taught, and they only have an aerobic class available Monday, Wednesdays & Fridays. I guess they used to have a YOGA class, but the instructor left and the class died. Sooooo, I was talking with the Zumba instructor in Kuwait, and she said that I should teach it here. Luckily, or maybe NOT so luckily, they don't have a Zumba class or instructor here. SOOOOO, since I have "become a certified Zumba instructor" on my life list of goals, Denise (from the gym) said that if I wanted to start a Zumba class, I would just need to have the music, and I could use the old yoga studio! HOW cool would that be! Sweet!

Anyway, I'm a bit tired. I've been up since 0230 and it's 1911. We've been traveling all day. My hands are red, bruised, and tired from loading, unloading, and moving bags around everywhere!!!! Sucks to be a good battle buddy sometimes!

OH, and in the smack-dab in the middle of our 2 mile round FOB, is a palace. It was one of the first structures that was bombed here. It's GORGEOUS! The reliefs and architecture, and painting is sooo exquisite! I'll have to take pictures of it one day and send it over. Or, maybe I'll just post it on my little blog. (Speaking of which, I'm going to put a little ditty on there right now. Actually, probably just a cut and pace from this e-mail.)

I won't be able to get on the computer very often for the next little bit. Not sure when I start working my shifts, however, I think tomorrow I start meeting the people we are taking over for. It'll be an adventure for sure. Will blog again when I can.

Pili girl~

In a New Land

Boy- there is nothing but sand here. Miles and miles of sand.... desert. I wish I could post photographs of where we are, however, there is a "No Photographs" rule. Oh well, such is life.

The time here is 10:45 am. I've been awake for many hours. I think I figured it was something like 8 - 10 hours of sleep I've had in 3 days or so. I totally forgot about the day change as well, and thought today was still Wednesday! We are here at our transition area for about a week. We have to walk EVERYWHERE! I love it! But the time difference is definitely a killer! I'm trying to stay awake as much as possible, so I can get on a regular sleeping schedule with this new time zone.

Not-to-mention, when I'm walking, standing, sitting... I still feel like I'm on an airplane, and am still moving. Such a weird feeling.

But, I made it safe.

Okay, have to go. Time is up on the computer. (My typing has slowed, since I don't use the computer often any more.) :(

One love to all!!!

Waiting for Departure

Welcome we' lads... though I cannot say where my adventures are taking me, I was never told I couldn't give hints. I am currently in the land where gold is found at the end of the rainbow.

Okay!!! Moving on!

Well, last night I was able to speak with my family for a brief moment. I wish I had more time to make calls.

As we are here at our layover... I have about 2 minutes to be on the computer. And what do I choose to do? Blog. I know... kind of lame.

Never-the-less, please know that I love you all heaps.

Mainly, I just wanted to post my address for overseas:

PFC Baclayon

B-BTRY 1-148 FA BN

FOB Prosperity, Iraq

APO AE 09348

Hugs, kisses, love and light to everyone! Stay well!

Photos from Training

Here are some photos from our training. I'm not going to explain what they are. However, I hope you enjoy them.

Updates on my Adventures

First and foremost: please do not send any more mail to me in Mississippi. I'll post my address for overseas as soon as I get it.

Secondly, I'm glad I can finally get on here and do some updating.

Thirdly, I'm currently sitting in my room, feet propped up, TV watching me, fireplace going and sporting civilian pjs. Man alive- life is good right now. :)

I am on pass until Wednesday, and the only thing I have planned.... a massage for tomorrow. I'm so thankful that everything has been prepaid. I am absolutely in love with my room. I couldn't have asked for a better room to be in. Oh yeah... I'm staying at a little Bed & Breakfast, literally in the middle of nowhere. This is the first time I've rented a room from a Bed & Breakfast, but am falling in love with the idea to fulfill one of my goals in life: to run a Bed & Breakfast on a 10 acre ranch with a massage center. How amazing would that be!

Training here as been good and worth it. I apologize if I do not share what we've been doing, but I hope you understand, it is not my privilege to share.

On a lighter note... I got an email from our Public Affairs NCO for the 116th Calvary Brigade Combat Team. She was in receipt of some photos I had taken of our training. (If you did not know, I was asked to be our unit's photographer.) Well, her e-mail asked if she could submit some of my photos to the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense to be used for media and website publishing. She also asked if if I could continue submitting pictures while overseas. What a great honor that was. SO! I'll put some of my photos here, and you may even see some of them used for military purposes too!

This is my blog for the night. Hopefully I can make another blog before heading overseas. One love to all, p~

Updates on my

Moving On...

Tonight I had a tender mercy from the Lord.

I've learned that sometimes, the Lord doesn't just give you the easy way out of things- even when you know what the choice or decision is "supposed" to be. Sometimes, the tender mercy is necessary for you to fight for what you really want. Why the Lord does what he does, I don't know, but He knows best.

Moral of the story- the Lord won't always give you the easy way out of lives choices, even if you don't deserve it. But He does it because His ways are not our ways, and His laws are higher than our laws. He is the Master and has already been preparing the way for us to accomplish His purposes. I don't always understand His choices, but I do know that He has always wanted more in my life than I've wanted for my own.

To understand the will of the Lord is to loose your OWN plans and find the courage to Trust and have Faith in Him. Finding Hope.... indeed I am.

Living in the Now & Eggs

Week one...

It seems a little weird to think that I've only been here in Mississippi for one week. The time has slowly passed. I find myself focused on my little day-to-day tasks and not so much as to what's going on at home, with the family, with friends, or too far in the future. I think, for the first time in my life, I'm actually living in the NOW. A strange, yet, comforting experience.

Since being here, I've had the opportunity to view the local wild life. On Kaua'i we have chickens. In Idaho, it's the field rats, elk, and occasional stray dog. In Mississippi, it's the skunks. Yes, dear friends, there are skunks galore. Strange indeed.

Unfortunately, the food has not gotten better - however, it's free right? So, I really shouldn't be complaining. BUT, let me tell you a little story about what happened at one of the"Breakfast Club" meetings. And as many of you know, I'm not a very good story teller, so you'll have to bear with me. I'll try to remember to add in the "applause", "laugh", etc... when appropriate. :)

So, the other morning, Allen, Sgt Wallace and I sat down to breakfast. **oohhh** ("The Breakfast Club" as Sgt Wallace indicated one morning.) We signed in on yet another roster, received our breakfast for the morning (trying to vary and change up the same breakfast for the past week is a little difficult), placed my tray down, went back for fruit, yogurt, and my liquids. There. I was ready to eat! **applause**

I made a comment that there was a lot of butter on my grits and proceeded to push the in-view cholesterol to the side. Hm, well, the eggs look a bit better- especially since I dolled it up with cheese! Glorious cheese! **applause** I dip my fork and bring the delightful looking contents to my lips. Chomp-chomp... spit! Ugh! **gasp** I spat out my eggs on my tray and the rest in my napkin. Allen and Sgt Wallace were staring at me with that... "um, that's a little rude" look. I began to smile and maybe even chuckled... I gave a quick light-hearted laugh and told them that I just ate stick of butter. **laugh, knee slap, applause, laugh harder**

"WHAT!", was the reply. Much to our amazement, I moved the remaining cheese to the side, and there you go- in my eggs there was an ever so slowly melting stick of butter! **laugh**

I knew that our eggs were imitation eggs, but I didn't think they'd make "butter" try to taste like eggs and then feed it to us! LOL!!!! Point being - these southern folk reaaallllyyyyy love their butter!

Moral of the story - eat hard boiled eggs!

Camp Shelby...

Landed in Mississippi safely. Slept off and on while on the plane and bus.

Getting settled in a little... the barracks are, well - barracks', and yeah. That's about it for that one.

Dining Facility- it's food.

And, yeah, that's about it.

Here's a friend. I'll let him type a little something: Hello Hope fans, This is your temporary fill in Allen, and let me tell you what I've been here for a few days down here in Mississippi and DANG its a hot muggy beast. I'm excited to work with Pili for the next year and maybe just maybe she will let me write on here again... :)

Ha ha ha! No, Allen- you can't write on here EVER again. Just kidding.

Allen is a great person. He helped me get on the internet so I'll be able to get on here periodically.

Alright friends... remember to write! The address is a couple of entries down. Please write.

One love, p~

Thoughts on Leaving

It's 4:27AM in the morning. Tuesday, 21 September 2010. I'm supposed to leave for deployment and report to the airport before 7AM... just hours away.

Obviously, I can't sleep.

Honestly, I haven't even started packing my gear.

Not quite sure what it is that makes me think - "No worries. I got this." However, that's where my brain is at currently. I'm pretty sure, at this point, I should be stressing out about not having my things done. But, instead, I am here... blogging my little brain away while multi-tasking the following:

-compressing the movies I've purchased online

-laundry

-transferring music from my cds to my iTunes

-occasionally transferring gear from downstairs to the living room

-organizing my electronics

-fighting the head nodding monster (I'm awake, I'm falling asleep, I'm awake, I'm falling asleep)

-eating a late night snack and

-packing my boxes that I am having sent to myself overseas (I know... I'm weird)

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These past few days I've had the opportunity to meet with some friends to say goodbye. And although it was soooo very nice to be with them again, it was also a little sad. Unfortunately, I haven't done my usual rounds of seeing EVERYONE and giving them all goodbye hugs. It's been a little difficult.

You see, I've learned, recently, that I really don't like saying "goodbye" to people. It seems I have a downfall- being social and knowing a lot of people.... waaaaay too many people to say "so long" to. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but the finality of it all is what tends to get me these days. Sometimes saying goodbye just... well, it sucks.

I've reflected back to my high school days of when I went to attend Kamehameha Schools, a private boarding school on O'ahu, and how it felt when I left my beautiful Kaua'i. Every time I returned home and visited with friends, it was if they moved on without me in their lives. (As it should be, because obviously, I wasn't there.) Or when my family had to leave because my dad was being stationed in a new area. It seems that I've grown up doing the leaving. And although it seems that my life has been based on this pattern of voyaging out on new adventures and after a period of time, I "leave"- I'm hoping this time will be a little different.

If I physically did not say goodbye to you or embrace you with a warm hug- please accept my apologies. It's not that I'm "trying" to be rude on purpose, I just needed to focus on what was ahead and not who or what I am leaving behind. Trust me, I would have loved to have thrown a huge party and have everyone there, but I didn't.

SO, if you are reading this, PLEASE know that I love you all very much. I truly do. I am thankful for the time I've had you in my life. I look forward to returning and hearing about all of your fun and exciting adventures too.

Be safe and stay well.

Much love, Pili girl~