Stress 2013

This sums it all up:

 

I do the most stressful job of 2013 for little more than peanuts.

On top of my medic duties, I also have a plethora of noncommissioned officer duties. This means I work 24/7 for my Soldiers. When they have a problem, no matter if its during the duty day, evening or weekend, I have a problem. They call upon me for help, advise and answers.

This is sort of being like a Mom. But I'm a Mom to 4 grown adults with grown up personal and professional issues that I'm supposed to keep on track and fix if they derail. Juggling my problems with theirs can be very stressful.

And then there's that whole fighting a war thing. That's also stressful.

Stress or not, I really love the Army. True, the Army tests my devotion on a daily basis by throwing obstacles at me that would make most people give up and quit. But I am resilient. And I am a leader. I am a noncommissioned officer.

 

And I am a HUGE walking ball of stress....

Dislike Blogger, DISLIKE

Just a quick thought.

 

I hate the way Blogger has changed how you upload pictures. It took me damn near 2 hours to figure out how to get 1 picture loaded and I ended up doing it on accident so chances are I will struggle next time I need to upload one. What was so wrong with being able to upload from your computer? Why did I have to download Picasa and an app for my phone? Why did I spend 2 hours so frustrated that I actually had to curse out loud at my computer??

 

I'm very unimpressed with you, Blogger. Dislike. DISLIKE!

 

This Picasa symbol was easier to upload, however, if you are friends with me on Google+,  I'm sorry I'm flooding your news feed with ridiculous pictures. Not that anyone uses Google+ anyway....

 

What? January, Really?

It's 63 degrees in Clarksville, Tennessee. This weekend it's projected to be 70 degrees!! It's also January. This just seems unreal to me.

 

 

I was walking Picasso around the yard and making a mental list of the things that need to be done once Spring arrives and I noticed something funny. Well, two somethings funny.

 

1) My trees have buds on them.

 

2) My tulips, crocuses and daffodils are sprouting.

 

It's January. It's 70 degrees. My plants and trees are confused and they're preparing for Spring. They're going to be in a world of pain when they find themselves in overnight freezing temperatures-- say on Sunday night, for example. I hope it doesn't stunt them in any way.

I'm never going to get used to living in the South.

Kitchen Surprise

I got home from spending Christmas at my parent's house in Iowa late last night, so needless to say, I didn't take inventory of my home. So when I got home from work today, I started unpacking and putting things in order. I threw some clothes in the washing machine (which is in my kitchen) and out of the corner of my eye I saw something under the lip of the cabinets on the floor.

I got down on my hands and knees to get a better look at whatever was out of place and I was immediately horrified. So horrified, I backed off and did a few laps around my living room to work up the courage to go back to it.

There was a wooden mouse trap wedged in the corner with a little crispy dried up mouse snapped to it.

Now, a mouse in my house is not unusual. What is unusual is where I found this mouse. Clearly James wouldn't have placed a trap in a place Picasso or I could be snapped. So how did this trap get here-- right under foot? What moved it here? Did a bigger mouse drag his fallen comrade over to the hole in the underside of the cabinet and abandon him once he didn't fit? Did my absence force the mice to turn to cannibalism?

No matter how he got there, I had the daunting task of removing the mouse and the trap that was clamped to his head. Thankfully he still had a pretty cute mouse face still visible. I tried using a paper towel but it inhibited the dexterity my fingers needed to pull him out. So I had to use my bare hand to grab the trap. Gross!!

 

He was so old and crusty that he stuck straight off the trap like a stick. When I tossed him in the garbage his tail broke off. I washed my hands frantically afterwards.

Maybe the mouse is who left those cricket legs behind a few weeks back...

House Rules

I went home to Davenport, Iowa to see my mom and dad for Christmas. It had been almost 6 months since I had seen them, so the trip was way over due. That means it had been 6 months since my parents saw their granddog, Picasso, and well, that is completely unacceptable.

 

Mom has a few known house rules. First and foremost, you always come in the back door if there is any chance you may have anything on your shoes. Tracking in is absolutely unacceptable. That's an easy one to do. Even Picasso followed that rule. I'd let him out to go potty from the front door and he'd walk all the way around the house to the back door to be let back in.

 

Second on her list is no dogs on the furniture. Well, I'm good at that one. But Picasso had a few problems catching on to that:

Sorry, Mom! Picasso can only learn one new rule at a time! Maybe next time!

Picasso Tattoo

Today I had my friend Stump tattoo me. It was a very important tattoo-- meaningful and spiritual, really. It will forever change my life... or at least how awesome my left arm is!

 

 

He even has a wonky eye like the real Picasso! I love this tattoo!

 

It's in the ditch of my arm (the inside of the elbow). This is a notoriously awful place to get tattooed. My right arm is completely sleeved, so I've been tattooed in the ditch once before. I just couldn't remember if it was as awful as people say it is. That's a wonderful thing about the human brain, it forgets the severity of physical pain. Turns out, it wasn't as awful as I had anticipated. Parts did suck, don't get me wrong. But it was worth it to have this great piece of art on my arm!

 

Thanks Stump, you did a great job!!

Ford Edge

I decided to treat myself to an early Christmas present today. I traded in my car for a Ford Edge. This car is probably one of the nicest, if not the nicest, things I have ever owned. Leather interior, heated seats, a touch screen control panel-- this thing has it all. I think it may actually be smarter than I am.

 

Everything can be operated by voice command. Everything. I can adjust the temperature in the car by pushing a button on the steering wheel and telling the car to do it. I can change the radio station by telling the car to do it. I can call someone on from my cell phone by telling the car to do it. Since my car does so much for me, I suppose I should give the car a name. Suggestions are encouraged.

 

And if I'm too self sufficient to tell the car to do it, I can just press the touch screen to do all those things. It navigates and shows maps for me. It has a back up camera so I don't run over pedestrians or dogs. It syncs to my iPod so I don't even have to touch it. I plugged the iPod into my center console and won't look at it again until I want to add music to it.

 

 

Her color (yes, it's a she, so start thinking of girl names) is called Kodiak Brown. It's a very dark brown that looks black until the sun shines on it. Clearly, there isn't any sun today so use your imagination!

 

I feel like a grown up driving this thing. And that's good because it came with a grown up price tag! I'm really pleased that I got it, and I know I'll be hanging on to it for a long time.

He's My Best Friend :)

I had a pretty rough day at work. We did PT in the rain. I was outside in the motorpool for the majority of the day working in the cold rain. I didn't get to talk to James at all because I was occupied doing unnecessary things at work. I'm working with two new NCOs and having personality differences with one of them. I worked 13 hours and hit every red light on the way home.

 

But when I got home, I had this guy waiting for me:

 

"Please share whatever you are eating."

 

And he was so happy to see me he could barely contain himself. No one (not James, not my mom-- no one) is ever this happy to see me. If it wasn't for Picasso, I don't know what I'd do. He's my constant companion since James has been deployed. He makes being home alone not so alone. I love my doggie!

Fort Polk EFMB: Loser

I go home to Fort Campbell tomorrow, once again, as a non badge holder.

The only thing I leave with, besides my tail between my legs, is the flu. This should be an interesting 12 hour drive home.

 

But I'm not quitting. I'll go to EFMB at Fort Campbell this spring. The badge will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine.

Fort Polk EFMB: Roster #411

We took the written exam today. We were bussed into main Fort Polk to take the exam in a classroom setting. I was super nervous, of course. I had a Pepsi and a chocolate donut beforehand to pump me up. I've taken this test (or a version of this test) 4 times now. Today was my 5th time. No matter how many times you take it, it still psychs you out.

When I opened my test booklet and read the first question, I was immediately disheartened because this was not a version of the test I had previously seen. Boo. But I trudged through all 60 questions: questions about detainee operations, field sanitation, basic medic skills and warrior tasks.

I was the first one in my classroom to finish the test. That is usually a bad sign. I turned it in anyway, and went to the candidate holding area to await the results. This area resembled jail. About 45 minutes later, the results were posted:

 

Guess who roster #411 is?? ME!!

I was the only candidate in my platoon to pass the written exam. Only 13 of the 130 total candidates at EFMB passed today. Whew! I was very lucky. Tomorrow's event is land navigation-- which has been the termination of one past EFMB for me. Lets keep our fingers crossed I pass both day an night iterations this time!

 

I'm #1! And also... very tan.