The Trip Home

17 February 2009

It’s that time again, time to leave my winter home and return to my storage facility in Cheyenne WY. This last week has been very hectic with the flying and moving into the tents, so much so that it has taken its toll on me. I have gotten sick =( yea my nose has been running and because of that it is making it harder for me to clear my ears so today I canceled a flight because I was not fit to fly.

It really sucked as today would have been my last flight out here but I knew that I was not up for it and as much as I wanted to fly I didn’t want to blow out my eardrums either.

I should be home on the 20th if all goes well. I was told by Josh that my house is warming up for me (for about 10 days, so it should be warm) and my Jeep is in the parking lot at work for me to drive home. It won’t be the same without Josh at the Olive Garden but I am sure that it will work out just fine.

OK I don’t know if I will have time to post this but I thought that I would try and type something up just in case. Aloha!

19 February 2009

Ok I know I just posted the last post but I figure since I wrote it I might as well post it when I can. I am now in England on my way home!

The flight was long but well worth it to get out of the sandbox. As far as how I am feeling, I am doing better. I did not fly out of Iraq as I was still not feeling 100% or even 80% for that matter. I used the flight to catch up on some sleep. I got a nice 4 hour nap on everyone’s bags in the back and that made me feel like 800,000 bucks (almost a million but not quite). It’s key to bring a sleeping bag as it makes the trip soo much better!

I am feeling pretty good now after another night sleep and an easy first night away from the blowing sand and screaming jets. I know “easy night”??? Yes I did have a beer when I got into billeting but that was it, I went for dinner but decided not to have any more beverages as I was not ready for a long night.

I am going to fly today (it’s 0600 as I type this but who knows when I get to post this) as we cross the Atlantic. The winds have been a little strong in the wrong direction so we are looking at about a 8 hours flight =( into St. John’s.

20 February 2009

Well I made it across the pond and into St. Johns. I had skipped eating at the Keg the last few times through so I decided to try it again. Yes I know that I love the food but I don’t want to overdo it as I would hate to not enjoy the incredible food and service.

So what did I have to eat… well I had the ribeye and it was wonderful! I had tried to get some shrimp on the side before with no luck but this time they were very accommodating and I got my skewer of grilled tiger shrimp as well =)

The rest of the night went well as I had some drinks with friends old and new.

24 February 2009

Getting back home to my own house was really nice though it doesn’t really feel like home, maybe that is because I spend more time away then at home. But non the less I have a bathroom that I can walk to in the middle of the night if I so choose (but I never will as I never have to use the bathroom when I am home, must be something about knowing that it’s 200 yards away that makes you have to go)

Today I spent the day getting settling in and cleaning the house and Jeep. I got about everything put away and now I am working on getting my new phone all setup. It’s a blackberry and I have no idea how to work it but I am trying. I think it will take some getting used to but as long as it doesn’t drop calls like my old phone I will be very happy.

So my plan for tomorrow is to get the internet turned back on at the house, buy new shoes, maybe some pants too, buy some food for the house, call about some plane stuff, and relax!

Oh I almost forgot, I about killed myself today! Well at least that’s what it felt like. I have been running 2+ miles almost every day as I was in the desert so I thought that I should continue the tradition and go for a run today. Well I started off running up hill against the wind and in case you didn’t know we are a 6000+’ elevation here in Cheyenne, well I would like to blame as many things as I can on the fact that I could only run for about 2 miles and I felt like I was going to die! Yea I would like to say that I was hurting after the 2 miles, but no, I way huffing and puffing about ¼ of a mile into the run. So yes even though I thought I was in pretty good shape I was reminded that being at altitude makes a HUGE difference.

OK I just wanted to get this last post of the Balad Xmas trip up and to close that small chapter of my life so we can all move on the next one. Thanks for reading and I’ll keep posting as things happen but most of the info will hopefully be on my other blog as I will be working on the plane. Aloha!