Old friends Paul, Ami, and Nancy. The three of us used to hang out when I was here before. Paul and Ami have been here for ages, and Ami is going to a different FOB next week, after nearly 3 years at Victory. Paul saved my life once when I was choking. We're also three of the five original members of Flak Club. I love these guys.

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I have been cranky, and my mom told me, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I'm not sure why I am cranky, exactly. I think I it is just that I'm sick of this place. For my USNA friends and those who know the vernacular, "IHTFP!" We have been bored lately, and that is a bad thing to be here. It's best to be busy so that time flies by quickly. The days have been dragging on lately.

Anyway, let's see...what's new?

Saturday night, Melissa and I were walking to a party at a friend's trailer, out by Lost Lake, when we heard the incoming alarm. We didn't know where the duck-and-cover shelters were out there, so we kept walking. All of a sudden, off to our left (north), the base's defense system fired a volley of rounds into the sky. We could see the bee-line of rounds go from left to right. Then we saw some sparkles, heard a big boom off to the far left, and a small boom off to the right. I won't way what was fired at us this time, but suffice it to say our defense system did what it was supposed to, and Melissa and I got to actually watch it happen. SOOOO cool. We were all high fiving and slapping each other's backs like we were war heroes or something. Haha. Anyway, I hope I get to see it again, IF if happens again, which it will, but not that I want it to happen again. (I am aware of the grammatical impropriety of that sentence.)

What else, what else?

Last night, I was sleeping very soundly due to a bit of illness I think I am fighting off. I had gone to bed at 8 pm. Two hours later, still sleeping soundly, I think I heard and felt a tiny boom. I can't be sure, though, if I really heard or felt anything, because I was wearing my earplugs and blindfold, per SOP, and kept on sleeping. Suddenly, I was rousted out of my slumber by cries of "GET UP! GET UP!!!"

I groggily removed my blindfold to see the whole tent (except for sleeping and disgusted Melissa) in a tissy to get outside and grab protective gear (reverse that order). I got up and went to the toilet, pointing out the location of the bomb shelter to all who were interested, and then went back to bed. Every other tent was pitch black and sleeping soundly while ours was alit and scurrying about frantically. When you think about it, it's really quite funny. I don't want to make the ones who woke us up feel bad, because they were trying fervently to save our lives, but this is Iraq. Things go BOOM! in the night. The protocol is to just ignore it, since there is nothing we can do about it, anyway. Booms happen all around us, and the vast majority are very far away, so get over it. I remember returning to San Diego after my year here before and hearing a big boom outside of Dave's apartment building. It was a garbage truck messing about with dumpsters, but I defaulted to "mortar or IED" in my mind, casually wondering which it was before realizing that things that go boom in the U.S. are almost always neither. SOOOOOOO, don't worry about us, becasue booms here are just booms, too, and I suspect last night's was a controlled detonation. No worries. We ain't skeered.

What else, what else? Um....Oh yes!!! I know. This is important, and it is part of my excuse for my blogging lull. My camera broke. Yep. It sure did. So, now I am unable to post new pics. I guess I will recycle older pics until I go to visit Dave and steal his camera back from him. Actually, it's my old camera, which I sent to Dave to replace the camera that HE broke. The one I broke Saturday is my NEW camera. So, that's just our luck. Electronics are in danger in our posession...Must be a Salisbury thing...

XOXO