March 22, 2006
Hello from Camp Fallujah!

It has been another month of Groundhog days!

I did spend one day away from Camp Fallujah this month. I know that I said I would not be going off base for awhile, but I went just a short distance away to a base really close to here. It is where the FLT (Fallujah Liaison Team) is located. This is where they issue badges to gain access to the city of Fallujah. It is also where the CAG officers are located so it is where the Iraqi citizens go to put a claim in if their cow is killed or their house is damaged etc. by any of our Soldiers or Marines. It was nice to be able to get away from the base for a while. The best part of the trip was that I got to see some kids! They were young teens who had come with their dads to obtain badges. I really miss seeing kids. It is something I never thought of, but there are obviously no kids on base at Camp Fallujah and it had been quite some time since I had been off base. There was one young boy who just melted my heart. Every time he looked my way, he would just smile from ear to ear. His eyes just sparkled. He was so adorable.

I think the west coast Marines are much more laid back than the east coast Marines. Sundays they sleep in and come in to work later. This is good since they work 7 days a week. Of course, what this means for us is that we do not receive many trouble calls early on Sunday mornings.

There are a lot more females out here now with the West Coast Marines than there were with the East Coast Marines. That means more people sharing the shower trailer I use. I think I am the only US Citizen that uses the shower trailer that does not have tattoos or body piercings! I have to admit that I am shocked and amazed at some of the body parts that girls pierce! All I can say is - Ouch! and that's all I have to say about that! I am really looking forward to taking a shower in privacy! I can not wait to step in to a shower stall without having to wipe the hair and soap scum out. I hate standing in the shower with water backing up over my shower shoes and on my feet - it is just so nasty to be standing there in that nasty water! I have been saying since I got here that they need to put a bench in there for us. All the men’s shower houses have benches but not the womens. Well, they finally put in a bench! I was happy at first. Then, the first time I took a shower after they added the bench. I sat down briefly on the bench and then the vision of other bare butts sitting there entered my mind and I jumped up. I just don't want my bare bottom there where everyone else's has been.I know - I am weird....

I have heard from many of our friends who have returned home to their families. They seem happy to be home and are settling back in to a normal routine. If I am still here next year - I may see some of them out here on the next rotation. I have to confess that I envy them. I would love to be back home right now. Even though the chow is good, I am so sick of the same food over and over. I would love to be able to fix myself a piece of cinnamon toast in the mornings and maybe even bake a cake or something.

Chris is flying out to Al Asad soon for just a couple of days. He has never been there - I am usually the one that goes there. He is going out there to get a turn over from a guy who is leaving to go back to the states. We will have to cover that area until they get a replacement. We are already one person short - so we sure hope that they will hire someone soon.

We are taking a really short R&R next month. We are flying to Dubai for my birthday  I am so excited. I can not wait to spend my mornings on the beach, afternoons in the spa and evenings shopping! We will only be there for a week, but are planning a "real" vacation sometime around July.

We found out today that we are going to be moving office spaces. We are currently in a loft with a bunch of other computer geeks. I am surrounded by testosterone and geeks ~ what a combination! We have lots of equipment that we are constantly moving in and out. We have a connex box where we store some of the equipment and we have to haul it back and forth. Our new office space is what they call a Mech Tent. It kind of reminds me of a pop up camper. Of course it has air condition and heating so we should be quite comfortable. It is the same place that we are using for training right now. We will use it for our office space, training, and equipment storage. So we will have everything right there and easily accessible. We will even have a TV there :)

You know how men like to play the one up game? Every time a Marine tells Chris how many times he has been deployed out here, Chris always just comes back with "Oh, yeah? Well, I am here with my wife". And they just say "you win". I guess they all think it is worse to be out here with a wife than out here 4 times alone? Wow - am I that hard to get along with? LOL I know that they are all just joking though. Quite a few of them do talk about how crazy their wives are... I am wondering, if I were not here, would Chris call me crazy too? ;)

Anyway, sorry there is nothing exciting to update you on.

Be Happy
Love to all

Sandy