Off To The Desert: Day Two

13 NOV 2009
DAY TWO: Friday the 13th!!!!! Nice day to fly to Europe, huh? So I got to sleep in a bit this morning. They put us up in these transition rooms/barracks last night here at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Our next hit time isn't for awhile, so we had plenty of time to rest up and sleep in. By the time I hit the sack last night, it was 1 a.m. So I slept hard until about nine. Since then, I've come over to the Dunkin Donuts with another NCO and our commanding officer for some hot coffee, warm donuts and free Wi-Fi.

We’re about to head out of here, so I need to post this soon. I’ve used the time typing out my journal entries from yesterday. More Soldiers from our team have started showing up, but we're about to take off. I promise to write more later. I got a lot of ocean to put pen to paper before we see Germany. I'm hoping we'll find some internet once we're there so I can post what I got.


STILL DAY TWO: So here we sit. It's the famous Army game of "Hurry Up and Wait." And we're all pros. We've been told our flight isn't for a few hours, so we've all kinda camped out here in the air terminal on base. There's free Wi-Fi, thanks to the USO, and just enough outlets for those of us trying to suck up as much internet as we can before we take to the skies.

We did learn, however, that you cannot move the furniture and situate it so you can actually have a comfortable seat while you surf the web. (All the outlets are of course against the wall, where conveniently, there are no seats.) We were swarmed by four senior Airmen with pistol belts, who heatedly suggested we move the chairs and table quickly back to where they came from.

They then so politely pointed out that there were signs telling us that we weren’t allowed to move the furniture. (Too bad the "one" sign that said that was clear across the terminal. It might have saved the armed Airmen from having to come save the day.) Oh well. Chairs back, table back. Everyone's happy. No one got arrested. Too bad my butt's cold and sore from the floor now. But I guess it's just preppin' me for the long flight to Germany.

I'm currently jamming to a great play list on my iTunes that Jenny sent me. While she was in Iraq, she collected a great mix of CD's over the year. Before she came back she sent them home to me, with one stipulation, I had to download them to my computer and give them to her twin sister, Jessy, passing the love of great punk rock and emo to another music lover. Twenty-five albums later, my iTunes has never sounded better. It's amazing how music can help you get through anything. Without it, I would most likely be lost.


So I sit here enjoying Jenny's great taste in music and quietly observe the large array of Soldiers that are filtering through this small terminal. Many are coming home from their different tours throughout the Middle East. Some are here on medical boards, waiting to go here or there for appointments, telling them if they're still fit for duty or not. But then there are those like us; sitting around anticipating their year-long tour coming their way. But the only thing I'm anticipating right now is a warmer ass; this stone floor is nothing but ice to the cheeks. Write more later. Gonna go wake up the buttocks.