just a litte bit longer!!!!

well,I spent the first portion of my time with A sqn thinking about how B sqn (my former squadron) did things. After a little bit of grumbling i gave myself a kick in the ass. You have to soldier on right?! I liked my past couple of weeks even though it ment sleeping on the ground with the spiders and bugs. Its something about "bombing around" (for those of you who dont know what i mean, im talking about patrols) cross country in the tanks. The never ending maintainance and abuse that they give on your body may suck but you learn to get over it. Well for the most part, trust me every now and again you see people throwing tools or cursing and swearing,lol!We were suppost to go out on a patrol that would last all day and then we would come back in to FOB MSG (where weve been based out of for the most part) to get ready to go back to KAF. Well things got cancelled and i came in a day early. I found myself disapointed, I was hoping to take one last cruise cross country one last time before i left. The rest of the crew was anxious to get back however because they will soon be going on their HLTA (leave). I tried to take a lot of pictures because while i was in the gunners hole i didnt have much oportunity. Its kind of funny though, because almost half is scenic or sunsets. A sunset with a tank siloutte at the bottom. That sort of thing. Will be intersting to show my family back home anyways. This place can look so ugly, dingy and gross. I know i may have talked about it before, but if you look around, if there wasnt war, or if there wasnt so much poverty here, it could be a beautiful place. Its unfortunate. Some of the guys here said they really didnt understand what their mission was here. Not until they came here and saw things for themselves. I miss my family like crazy and everytime i think about rugby and my friends, i get excited about going back. Its hard not to be anxious. I havent showered this time in 2 weeks, ive been crapping in a bage and i pee infront of the vehicle where people can see ( dont have much choice), ive worked 24/7 for 6 months with maybe 2-3 days off total and no time to myself. Of course im anxious to get home.... but im not regreting that i will be coming back in another 9 months. Im already preparing myself for it.On a slightly different note, i cant help but think how my body has felt OLD over here! My knees are feeling it for sure from jumping off the vehicle with heavy armor on day in and day out! My shoulders are feeling it from sleeping on hard desert ground almost every night. I also know I will be fine after I take some glucosamine and give my joints some rest. Not that long of a rest though,lol, I will soon be abusing my body again in rugby (that kind of abuse is fun though). hmmmm another thing im looking forward to is MUSIC! LOL i have been listening to the same stuff over and over again. Although I love 3 days grace and Tool and those types of bands, it will be sooooo nice to have options and the ability to aquire more music. I had an earphone in one ear and listened to the IC and radio in the other ear. Man it was a blast cruising around playing alexis on fire,tool, drowning pool,and 3 days grace! Like I even told battlegroup RSM, its gotta be hard music on the tanks! Its funny though, maybe its because im stubourn and determined to stick out my 20yr contract. There are A LOT of people getting out these days. Out of a course of 30 (my QL3 which is my trades course) there will be maybe 5 people left by the time i get back! Its crazy. The politics of the military can make a person angry, along with the people in it. Somehow along the way, I learned to ignore it and concentrate on what I like and want out of the military. There may very well come a time where i get sick of all the bull and I have kept several options in mind for when that time may come. Until then i will be having my fun cruising around in the tanks. One thing ive always kept in the back of my mind, every job, every career has its good points and its bad points. You just cant get away from that and as long as i dont forget that i think i will be fine. As bitter as some people may seem, theres a lot of people that get out and soon after, they are trying to get back in. Apparently the good out weighed the bad and they didnt realize it untill they got out. Anyways enough of yapping about the military, Any one of us could go on and on if they really felt like it, so im just going to stop there. Ive thought a lot about things in the past and a lot about my future. I am fairly content with how my life has been so far. I've learned some hard lessons (lol mostly about men!) and experienced a fair bit. I only want to experience more! It helps being spontanious and adventurous. There's also that side of me that can be timid and play things safe. As long as I tell that part of me to shut up, I will be good to go (lol)! As you may tell I can be one of those people that wants to everything, I will just have to be realistic with my ambitions!I'm anxious to find dates when i am to arrive home, that way i can make my plans to fly to the Yukon! wooo hooo It kind of sicks because i have to cut my plans a little short because i am to fly out of the Yukon to go to Vancouver then on to miami for a short cruise! So far it sounds like Vero can do it! I am excited! There's a rock climbing wall on the ship and a couple of clubs, I'm sure we will be begging to stay on the ship!lol! Anyways, I will have to leave it at that. My buddy petey will be getting out soon after i arrive home, so i cant wait to see him before he heads off to bigger and better things! Maybe during my leave i will go down to the Okanogan, visit John/Mara and family and go see my mom. Its been a long time since ive been able to visit her! I think about her a lot out here. I hope she knows how much she is missed! Well i think i should probably end it at that, dont want to get to sappy. Well by the end of this month, I should be on my journey home! I cant wait, Im trying not to get too excited because i still have to wait about 10 more days before i go on a 4 day decompression leave and THEN i get to go home!