I leave in three days, so I've been running around doing lots of errands. I've had to go to medical, dental, and legal... had to get inserts for my gas mask ... of course, they said, "which gas mask do you use?" Never having used one before, and not having seen which one I'll be issued, I replied with a blank stare. Fortunately, there is a generic set of inserts. They must be so attractive.

Sunday I fly to Ft. Bliss, which is near El Paso -- "car theft capital of the States." I was incredibly motivated and excited to leave for the Gulf two or three weeks ago, but not that the time has actually come, I've suddenly realized what being away for at least 6 months will mean. I'm going to miss a lot here in San Diego. To top it all off, Chewbacc won't understand why I'm not at home. Really, how do you communicate with a dog? Anyway, I am interested in what's going to be my life for the rest of the year. I want to record it all, every instance, every detail. Not only what it looks like there, or what my job is, but how I feel the whole time, and what's on my mind. I will also be working on my writing while I'm there (most of that won't get put on here, so feel relieved). Hopefully, we'll fly there via Germany and have a layover. Maybe it will be longer than the last layover I had in Germany.

Soon lunch will come, and then we'll all get together and have a meeting on the deployment. Then I'll finish up my errands and pack my bags so I can try to enjoy the last few days at home.

~Ciao~ ambotchka@Yahoo.com