Peanut Butter Cookies

My Mom is definitely a veteran cookie packager and it shows. I can't remember when I received cookies that didn't make the journey to me.

I have been eating about 2 a day since the package arrived, so that the cookies will last longer. I can't eat chocolate, so most people get so confused and dumbfounded that I don't receive that many packages with cookies in them.

Not much beats a good peanut butter cookie and some flavored water after a twenty minute sandstorm trek.

Okay, there are a lot of things that do.

For here and now, that cookie is the best part of my day.

June Full Moon

This evening as I was starting my shift I noticed the moon. It is a rare to find the moon so large near one of our working spaces. I thought what an excellent photo op. Unfortunately, my camera doesn't see like my eyes do.

Hope you all enjoy!

Behind on Letter Writing

I really need to apologize. I am really far behind on my letter writing. Normally, pre-Iraq, I would never write a letter. Now, I have been writing a letter a bout once a month to several people and couples. Most are probably our(shop or work center) biggest benefactors, with supplies that tend to be essential. Hopefully in the next few days, I will a have a letter in the mail for these people:

Mom
My Brother and his wife
Julie Boutwell
Lori and Ron
Rena J's
Mark and Dorothy West
Judy Schleicher
Ken and Dorothy Fackina
Sheila Faul
Lauri Hansen
and
Faith Lutheran Church

Reading

I have been reading 3 books lately. Some of the Marines I run into ask how I keep them apart. I think of it like this:

Semper Fi in the Sky : is like the History channel, but better.
Gates of Fire : is like the SciFi channel meets discovery channel.
and Whispers : is like late night Cinemax slash Oxygen slash Spike wrapped into one.

Unfortunately, I am almost finished with all 3 of them so I will have to find a new channel soon.

Hallucinations of a Sane Man

I was reading this article in GQ (yes I am a subscriber) about how when you become a dad that are suddenly attracted to moms. I am not a dad and I am attracted to moms. The way the article reads is a prerequisite to finding moms hot is you have to be a dad. I say it is not so.

Granted, if you all haven't noticed, I am in the middle of the Iraqi desert. I think about a lot different types of women. Fantasy, sci-fi, erotic, pretty much every variety including the innocent type with long eyelashes,pony tails, and that type of southern draw that lends to a thought of purity.

Did I mention that July 15th is my half way point?

Donations and Self Donations

While I was on leave I sent 12 packages to myself for Iraq. Four of which were filled with underwear and socks. Those items I felt are a little too personal as far as asking for donations. Three other boxes were filled with stuff for my bicycle that I put together from broken bikes that were scattered around. The rest were filled with magazines, old mail, and a feather pillow. I have always enjoyed a good feather pillow to sleep on.

When I got back in country, there were several packages from all sorts of people and I distributed most or all of the items to my Marines. I one package, however, was a package of dried fruit and nuts. This particular item was well received by all.

I do have some personnel requests: Outside Thermometer, "Dried Fruit" such as banana chips, and "green tea by Lipton".
Requests from the Marines include : LED lights, Baby wipes, powdered drink mixes, Scotch tape, dried fruit and nuts, and chocolate

Chocolate bars will not make it to Iraq, many have tried and many have been received as a soupy mess.

Companionship

Morally speaking, I have always been more happy, in the long term sense of the word, while being deployed than when I have been in the states in garrison. I am mean let's face it, my personal life is generally fucked up most of time. I may have a few fleeting glimpses of happiness or "lustfullness", but really the longest time that I have been happy, my other half hated me, so that means I wasn't happy.

(Don't start calling the Chaplin, I am far from that. I like me. A lot.)

The companionship that I have never achieved as a married man, I obtain from being with my brother in arms.

I am a social animal that enjoys a good conversation with just about anyone.

(Don't worry I am straight, I like women.)

This might be why I have been thinking about going to Japan after this duty. We were stuck on an island and we made the best of it.

Something is definitely missing when I spend time in the states, I am just not sure what it is.

Email my Posts

I am trying to set up a email to blog, so that I can post more frequently here in Iraq. Hopefully, in the next few days a post or two will just pop up here.

I will give it till Friday, then I will do it manually. Not a big deal just trying to make it easier on myself.

Vacations and Updates

I have decided that when I get back to the US after this deployment I am going to go on one of those things called "vacations." I have never spent time in DC, I think I may try to stay up there for a week and see the sights. Then I think I may go on one those cruise ship things, you know the boat that has windows and even a pool on it. I have never really done that before and why not go.

In case you are wondering, I am back in Iraq.

I gave the gouge to my Marines on the do's and don'ts for leave. The stuff "they" don't tell you and would be helpful to know.

I still have not smoked a cigarette since the first week in February.

I have paid off almost all of my revolving credit.

And I slapped myself in the face after not finding the holy grail of happiness. It wasn't spiritual but it didn't need to be.

Leave in NC

Well, I finished my list and it still hasn't made me any more happy. As the leave has transpired, I have been more depressed and pissed off than I was when I was in "danger".

The deployment is just like all my other deployments, routine. You are never supposed to do a routine but it is inevitable. In my routine, I had more happy thoughts than I do here. Then again most of those happy thoughts included someone. Oops, what was I thinking. I am a veteran of this deployment thing, and I still fucked up somehow. I even did everything different and it still turned out the same.

There are some good points, I am staying at my Friend's home which she could have said ' sorry but you will have to find another place to sleep.' She did make me a meal which was very good. Her kids have been about the same, but I rarely have had any problems with kids other than my niece who won't look at me, let alone even tell me how her day was at school. My bother says I intimidate her, I don't understand her brother doesn't have that problem.

I am started to go way off subject here. In short, I am not a happy camper and everytime I try to make me happy, I lose. I just don't know what to do anymore.