Time to resurrect this blog!

I know people aren't really using this anymore and I had meant to resurrect this blog earlier to update people back home (mainly my dad because he was requesting I update him more on my adventures here) but I've been here for over a month now and am just now getting to update this. lol. Hopefully I can keep up with this. There's a lot I can't talk about or post because of security reasons but I'll do my best. Perhaps the beginning is a good place to start. It was a long journey to get here which included about 6 weeks of training, flights to a bunch of different states and countries and cold frigid weather. Now that we are here, it's been sand, dust, and more sand. It smells like sewer and poop sometimes and the scenery usually consists of sand, rocks, and connex boxes. Training before getting in country was long but fun for the most part. Felt like I was in the "real" military and that I was training to be a soldier. We went to the shooting range everyday for a week and a half straight. I learned and qualified as marksman on the M9 pistol and M4 rifle. There was a day we got to shoot heavy weapons too which was a lot of fun. That 50 cal packs a lot of punch! We also wore our full "battle rattle" which consisted of a flack vest and kevlar (which felt like 50lbs of gear). We went on convoys, did humvie roll overs, learned about IED's... the whole 9 yards. Of course none of this pertains to my job as a nurse but it's fun to learn none the less.

Since I've been here, I've learned and seen more than I ever have the past two years. I've taken care of detainees, US forces, NATO coalition forces, local nationals... you name it. We've done everything from gun shot wounds (GSW) to IED blast injuries, to kidney stones. I'll get more into stories later. Now it's time to get some sleep. Hopefully the sandstorm, wind, and smells will be gone tomorrow. Til next time...

Summer

Even though I'm in beautiful Cali where it's sunny, warm, and in the 70-80's everyday, it still doesn't feel like summer to me. Summer was when I was home in MD, surrounded by tons of family and friends... beach trips to Ocean City, boardwalk, BBQs and family parties/get-togethers out the wazooo and of course good ol' Maryland crabs!!! I miss the east coast and my family!

Playing with Fire

Playing with fire.... it's fun at the time but sooner or later you're gonna get BURNED. And it hurts when you get burned. F00k it all!

Sink or Swim

So it's kinda crazy to believe that I've been here 1 year already and I'm now the second most senior officer on the unit. A lot of people have come and gone during that time and there have been a lot of changes over the past year too (not only at work but in my life as well). Since my deployment got canceled, I've been in a little depressed mood. I was looking forward to getting away from postpartum, getting out there in the world and really DOING something, and I was also looking forward to getting out of a lot of things including:

1) Uniform Inspections
2) Physical Fitness Test
3) Training to Charge Nurse

Well, $300 later (from buying stuff for deployment i.e. more uniforms and all the items that go along with it, toiletries, etc etc.) not only am I NOT going anywhere anytime soon, I'm stuck with all this crap and a big credit card bill. Not to mention the gov't shutdown that almost took place and would have cut my pay almost in half. (But this story is for another post) Oh well, I told them to pick me up for the next deployment so hopefully that will be sometime soon.

But alas, I diverge. I was thrown for another loop today. No one was scheduled to be charge nurse. None of the nurses who were scheduled had been trained and neither had I. Well, since I was the most senior out of everyone, I took the reins and took on charge nurse... yup without having ever been trained for it! Didn't really know what I was doing but all of a sudden I found myself not only responsible for the entire unit but also responsible for assigning patient load, collateral duties, calculating numbers, and making sure everything was running smoothly. Sink or Swim! What a tiring and stressful day! Thank GOD it was a good day, not insanely busy (patient load wise), and nothing crazy went wrong. I'm beat... time for bed!

Nostalgia

Looking at old pics makes me feel nostalgic. Looking forward to summer and hopefully having more visitors! I miss my family!

Dear Mr. President

To my Commander in Chief,

Please stop wasting time playing golf over the weekend and making NCAA bracket picks when there are crisis's piling up all over the world. Libya is on the verge of civil war and even though you were adamant about "tightening the noose" on Gaddafi and holding him accountable for violence against his people, you've made no decisions and have taken no actions.

And then there is Japan who is undergoing the worst disaster since WWII. I don't even need to elaborate on this. What is the U.S. role on this matter?

Actions speak louder than words Mr. President, and quite frankly, I'm tired of being on "standby" for deployment while you're busy doing other things instead of making decisions.

Sincerely,

A concerned and impatient Ensign
U.S. Navy

Ready to Answer the Call

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCJcZemjRMo

Been sitting and waiting for over a week. From the looks of it, I don't think they're sending us anymore. They cut the deployment list in half and I'm the only one left from my unit. All my friends and everyone I know were cut =( I'm anxious to leave! The next update will be next Friday. Maybe they'll send us to Japan instead...


Hurry up and wait, that's what the military does!