the Sierras are absolutely gorgeous in the spring. rolling, green hills beneath peaks of snow, speckled with pines.

i went snowboarding and cross country skiing up at Mammoth the past few days and then drove to the western side of the Sierras (via Nevada since the pass was closed) to see family. the poppies have started to bloom, and it's warm and breezy here. why be anywhere else?

adjusting to life in the States has been a little more difficult for me than i had anticipated. for instance, the hotel door kept making a deep booming sound whenever anyone else opened their door, and it sounded much like the door in our house in Baghdad did when an IED would go off nearby. i find myself staring at things that never affected me before. i can't really explain it.

getting back to San Diego after this trip will be a relief. i wish i had spent more than just two days there before leaving again. it seems almost like i wasn't really there.

my uncle is watching the new Exorcist movie. it's very disturbing. i don't know if i can watch it. this is sorta a distraction, so i don't have to look at the bad parts. but i am being rude and i should get off his computer.
ciao~

~ amber

I am in El Paso, Texas. It took me THIS LONG to get here, but at least I am back in the States. I may be able to fly home tomorrow - I hope!

Exhausted....

unfortunately, there is no pool here. oh well.

tonight after my yoga class i was going to do some cardio, but they were having a boxing fight and the rest of the gym was closed off. i stayed to watch (nothing else to do), and i have to admit it was a little interesting.

boredom breeds the desire to shop, so i spent some time in the PX today, browsing and getting the new Tori Amos and Ani DiFranco cds (plus season two of Sex and the City, which i'd never watched until recently and am embarrassingly hooked).

my flight leaves on the 6th. that is too many days to spend eating all my meals and doing everything alone. forced time to "look within" and figure myself out, i guess.

I have arrived in Kuwait...after a nice, gucci C-17 (from Charleston) ride.
It feels so strange, being out of Iraq. Away from my friends.

They said the next flight out of here that I can get on won't leave until around the 6th... so I suppose I'll be doing a lot of writing, reading, gym/pool.... and being bored. In a way, it's nice because it will give me a chance to unwind before heading home. Almost like a decompression chamber.

I'll keep this short since I may have plenty of opportunity to write at length later this week.

I leave Iraq TODAY.... that is, if I can find a ride to BIAP.

Just wanted everyone to know...

I'll continue this when I get home (hopefully in less than a week), but it will just go back to normal everyday life.
Thank you, everyone, for supporting me while I was here...

~ amber