Back "Home"

I returned back to my home base on New Years Eve and started back up with my prior missions just two days later. I can't say for certain but it looks as though I will be getting a mission change again, but I will still be here counting the days until our replacements come. I think it's safe to say that counting months are over and now we will be counting days (days sound better than months to me).

It's five days into the new year and already I am hoping spring comes early. I saw some frozen water on the ground the other day, if I remember correctly it's called ice but I can't remember ever being warned that the desert had ice. Balad was a great experience and I will miss the work along with the people that made the job so much better to go to.

I had a months worth of mail waiting for me here including all of my Christmas mail so that was something nice to come back to. I received so many letters that I wouldn't have time to even send out thank you letters. So, thank you to everyone who sent me a letter or package.

After making an appointment with a physical therapist at the hospital I went in to get my finger looked at. A pain in my PIP (proximal inter pharyngeal?) joint had been recurring for the past two months or so. After they looked at it they think it may be a torn ligament, but they also suggested that a dislocation had caused the tear. Needless to say, I grimace every time that I have to grasp or pick something up. They don't seem to have any solutions for me, and I have that going for me.

The girlfriend, Carrie, is in Egypt right now and I am sure that she is probably enjoying this region a lot more than I am. Maybe I can hitch a ride there?

So embrace the new year and prepare, for this is the year that I return home.

Nick