It's just the little things

Hello everyone!

I have decided to do a little venting today. I am not one to complain much about things, so I know that I am frustrated when I must bring this up on my blog.

When you are deployed to a war zone you would think that when you got there things would be a little more laid back when you weren't working. You would be assuming wrong apparently. Ever since we arrived in Iraq it seems that our chain of command has been sitting around in their air-conditioned offices thinking of ways to make our down time less comfortable.

They aren't absurd rules, but they are rules nonetheless. If you didn't know this about me already, I don't take well to being under someones thumb. If I think something can be better I get angry, if something makes no sense I question it, and if somebody clearly can't do their job I want to get rid of them.

The way that I see things is somewhat different from the way the Army would like me to see them. They want to help me be a better leader, but I don't want to be micromanaged. They try to act like they are making you important and give you kudos for things that any early hominid could do; give me a break! I don't need flattery and I sure don't want to be "developed into a leader", especially when I don't like the way "they" lead.

The problem that I inherently run into is this: If I don't follow the leader and the pack I will be struck down. NEWSFLASH ladies and gentlemen: I don't kiss anyone's rear to gain respect in this world. I will not change what I believe nor who I am to gain anothers respect or receive personal gain. If I move up in the military it will be because I did what I beleived was right. Likewise, if I want to get into medical school it will be through hard work and even harder studying, but I assure you I want to earn it.

This all may seem quite scatterbrained, but I assure you it makes sense to me. Some of you may know exactly what I am talking about, and the 'yes man' that says "yes sir" is scratching his head right now.

Of course I am not saying that I shouldn't respect my leadership, I should, I am just saying that I will not crumble beneath their power. Doesn't this sound reasonable? And for crying out loud, when the soldier has time off let's let him relax ehh? I think it is enough that you make him face killing or being killed that he has earned a little more relaxed attitude during the time off.

As always, thanks for listening everyone!
Nick

The Weekend Update: A Day in My Life

First off, I don't work days I work nights. So should this be titled, "A Night In My Life" ? I'll leave it.

I wake up anywhere between 1pm and 5 pm. I open my eyes slowly and contemplate crawling out of my cozy sleeping bag. When I finally decide to wake I put on some sandals and open the door of my living unit to the blinding light of the desert sun outside. After brushing my teeth and using the restroom I come back to my livinng unit and mosey around for fifteen minutes or so trying to re-organize my room to make it look as neat as possible. I will get in my uniform and if I make it to lunch before 2pm then I am doing good.

If this is a day that I must go out on a mission I come back and pack up for anywhere between 2-5 days. I meet up with the rest of the group and we prepare for 2-3 hours before heading out. We have been going to Baghdad the past couple of missions but as for the rest of the details you will have to use your imagination.

When we return back, I usually go to bed beacuse I am tired from the mission. When I wake up, I begin the cycle over. When I have days off in between missions I will go to the gym before heading to midnight chow. The spare time that I do have I spend reading books and playing on my computer. If I am really motivated (maybe once a week), I will pull out my MCAT study book and cram some chemistry or physics down my throat before I lose my mind.

The conditions are actaully quite excellent on base when you condsider that we are at war. They have had time to build up the bases and so it really is nothing to complain about. Things change drastically of course once you "leave the wire" and head out of the base. Coming back to base is quite a relief when you think about the fact that people were just trying to kill you before you came to rest at the place you call home. Leaving the base has been equated to "playing the lottery" because you take a chance every time that you leave and you never know when it will be your time to get hit.

I hope this a given a little insight into what it is like being in my shoes and for many around me. Of course there is more that I can't talk about, and someday I will be able to tell you. Have a great week everyone.

Nick

The Weekend Update and the Infamous Light Spectrum

It has eluded me all my life. I have looked for it since my eyes opened to the light of the world, near and far. It is all around me and it surrounds me, yet it remains elusive. I have studied it in science and I have measured it using tools in the lab, but it means nothing to me. For while many use it, I have all but given up trying to understand it; simply the colors of the world.

If you are one of the lucky few afflicted with my condition, which some may call "color deficient", then you understand what I am going through when I describe the following conversation over none other than a bowl of ice cream:

Guest writer Sean Doheny will recount the story:
As Nick was savoring every bite of his mint chocolate chip ice cream he looked over to Mike and with a smile on his face asked, "Hey Mike how's the mint chocolate chip ice cream?" At which point a silence fell over the table. "What?" said Nick with a confused look on his face.
"Dude it's cookies and cream." Said Mike with a dissaproving look.
"How can you tell the difference" said Nick with a quiver in his voice.
"Well one is green and the other is white." Stated Mike.
With a look of utter shock and humilation, Nick's eye's starting to tear from this great secret being revealed after 22 years of ignorant bliss, but Nick refused to belive this. He was defiant and sure of this tasty treats color, that no matter what one said, he knew it was white. With a great act of defiance Nick jumped to his feet and declared in a booming voice that had the whole chow hall silent, and he declared "I don't belive you!" You could actually hear the jaws drop and the silence broken, replaced by laughs of the color seeing world. A stand off between Nick and the color seeing world had begun. Until someone with the courage to stand up to Nick and explain the actual color of mint chocolate chip ice cream. A young, handsome, strong man by the name of Sean Doheny said to Nick. "Mint chocolate chip ice cream is green not white!" By now Nick knew he had been defeated, but refused to go softly into the night and stormed out of the chow hall, but he broke down. This once strong and defiant man was redudced to a puddle of tears and sobs.
The day's to follow would be dark one's for Nick, withdrawn and sullen he would talk to no one. He went on a milk drinking binge. Until after 2 day's of a 2% milk indouced comma this man came to. After hours of research he did in fact learn that Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is green. Nick is recovering, but as we know he is a strong man and will no doubtedly overcome his crippling disability. ~Sean Doheny

As you can see, this is not a joke people. It is very difficult to live in a world of color when you can't really differentiate the colors too well. On to other things.

I will be taking leave from here in August and though I haven't told anyone yet I think that I may be coming home to the U.S.. I just doesn't look as though I will be able to schedule a trip to Europe with limited time and unknown actual dates that I could coordinate with someone. So tentatively I am planning on going to Minnesota.

As I have been planning on providing pictures I know that you will be dissapointed when I say that it may be a while. I still don't have internet on my computer and that has been my major hindrance thus far, that and I keep going out on missions that prevent me from updating.

I have not seen the news recently but I can tell you that things don't seem to be improving quite a whole lot here. They had a memorial service here the other day for a fallen soldier and our people are begining to realize just what we are up against.

Wishing I could see green,
Nick

A Weekend Update (to say the least)

This is really frusturating. My post was deleted so I am rewriting this, but I am sure it will be less enthusiastic than the original.

Where to start? . . .

I have a new mission. My old mission was cancelled and so I found myself with nothing to do for five days or so until I was told about a new mission. As I was preparing for the new duties of the mission I was told that my mission had changed again but that it was only for the rest of the month. It seems that medics are highly flexible and our command has decided to use them at their own descretion in any way they seem fit.

It was my cousin Julie's wedding this past weekend and I was sad that I could not be there. I could not get a hold of her before the wedding because I was actually on my way to Bagdhad and did not have a chance to use the phone. As soon as a got to Bagdhad I found a phone and tried to call any cell phone numbers that I could remember but to no avail. Frusturated, I thought quickly and realized the internet would solve my problems once again. I looked up the phone number to the recpetion hall and viola! I was on the track. I called the number and it went like this,

"Hello, My name is Nick and I am in Iraq. My cousin is having her reception there and I was wondering if I could talk to her?" I heard a muffled voice on the other end and then a woman explaining that she was looking through the crowds for the bride. When they found her they put her into a closet so that I could here her over the noise in the background. I congratulated here and told here that I wished I culd have been there. I actually smiled as I hung the phone up; smug that I had been able to get a hold of her.

Currently I am sitting on a FOB (base) between Bagdhad and home base. We are currently "delayed" so I probably won't be back until Wednedsday morning. Life on the road is not glamourous and the living quarters are temporary so we get into a tent without A/C and attempt to sleep during the daylight hours (it's 6:30 here right now and I still haven't gone to bed).

As you may have noticed I put a Weather Channel link on the right side of the page for An Nasiriyah which is close to home base so you can see what the current weather status is here. Last time I checked it was 111 and sand storms in the area. When I get back to home base I will try to get things updated and pictures up of course!

I would also like to say thank you to my family and wedding guests who left those wonderful comments, it was nice to hear from all of you. Have a great week everyone!

Stuck on the road,
Nick

Pictures

A man and his wife take a ferry across the Euphrates River.