She looks uptown, but she ain't really. She's into football, she likes my chili. - John Anderson, Somebody Slap Me

As his team raced onto the field, he gazed into the stands filled with screaming fans and wondered about the several thousand “cadets” from Texas A.&M. clustered in one end zone. They wear military uniforms and buzz cuts, holler in unison and stand at attention the entire game. “How come they get to pretend they are soldiers?” he asked. “The thing is, they aren’t actually in the military. I ought to have Mike’s Pirate School. The freshmen, all they get is the bandanna. When you’re a senior, you get the sword and skull and crossbones. For homework, we’ll work pirate maneuvers and stuff like that.” ~Mike Leach in 2006.

A great article about Mike Leach


Another one about Mike Leach and picking our new kicker!

All of Lubbock has gone crazy.Hotels are at max capacity for a 100 mile radius around the town. ESPN's GameDay team will be heading and setting up on campus. It's one of the biggest things the town has seen. I'm so excited for them. Lubbock and Tech has grown so much in the past 10 years.

We have a chance tonight. A chance to show the world that we're not just talk. We mean buisness. No one ever will watch our game, but they just hear about us and assume we're mediocre. I don't think that we are this year. Maybe our past hasn't shown how good we can be, but I hope we can show that tonight. It's on. It's going to be vicious. And I hope we don't blow this chance.

What I hate is that it's all or nothing. If we win...I'm sure they'll make excuses for Texas losing. The wind was in our favor, the refs were calling bad calls, the sun was in Colt McCoy's eyes. If we lose, they'll just say, "see. We always knew they were a crap team." Even though we're going up against the #1 team. It's so black and white with our school. I can't wait until people finally start to open their eyes.

Again. I hope we don't blow this chance.

Plus, I really don't want to lose this bet.

Why are you dressed like it's Halloween? - Ministry, Every Day Is Halloween

Every day is Halloween. haha.It was the typical day at work.I got a package from my mom though with cookies so I was sharing with everyone! They loved them!!

Then, ran to the PX to grab a few more things for my thrown together costume. I have to thank Jim and Kristi for this because I wouldn't have had anything for a costume if it weren't for them sending me stuff.

1st stop: Trauma room nursing party! They decorated the trauma room and were showing scary movies all night. I watched part of Blair Witch Project. Oh, memories.

2nd stop: costume contest and party on the quarter deck at the hospital. We mingled and took lots of pictures of me trying to chomp on people's necks. Too bad I couldn't find my camera. I'll try and get some pictures soon.

3rd stop: community center for haunted house and buffet. Good times!

4th stop: back to the quarter deck to hang with some people and watch Ghostbusters for a little bit.

I wish I could have walked around with the blood capsule in my mouth, but I was drooling blood and dripping everywhere. I had to lean over the trash can for these pictures. I did in fact dye my hair black. I needed to dye it again anyway, so I figured I'd do semi permanent and let it rince out over the next month. Everyone loves it though. I just may keep it for a while.

Dreams stay with you like a lover's voice. - Big Country, In A Big Country

From Wikipedia:

The Texas Hill Country is a region of Central Texas, USA, that features rolling, somewhat rugged, hills that consist primarily of limestone but includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite outcropping in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located some thirty miles northwest of Fredericksburg. The Hill Country also reaches into portions of the two major metropolitan areas of Central Texas, especially in San Antonio's northern suburbs and the western half of Travis County, ending just west of downtown Austin.

Several cities were settled at the base of the Balcones Escarpment, including Austin, San Marcos, and New Braunfels, as a result of springs discharging water stored in the Edwards Aquifer.

Several tributaries of the Colorado River of Texas -- including the Llano and Pedernales rivers, which cross the region west to east and join the Colorado as it cuts across the region to the southeast -- drain a large portion of the Hill Country. The Guadalupe, San Antonio, Frio, Medina, and Nueces rivers originate in the Hill Country.

The area is also unique for its fusion of Spanish and Central European (German, Swiss, Austrian, Alsatian, and Czech) influences in food, beer, architecture, and music that form a distinctively "Texan" culture separate from the state's Southern and Southwestern influences. For example, the accordion was popularized in Tejano music in the 19th Century due to cultural exposure to German settlers.

In recent years, the region has emerged as the center of the Texas wine industry.

Frederick Day, a demographer with Texas State University in San Marcos, said that the Hill Country life-style reminds one of the small towns of the recent past. "Like old America . . . [the] cost of living is pretty low. To people who have spent their work life in Houston or Dallas, the Hill Country is very attractive."

I think about this place a lot. It's my dream. I do believe in love at first sight. It's Texas before concrete and noise and cars and exhaust. It's the real Texas. I go back to a time where it was me, my good friend, my boyfriend, his best friend and a couple dogs and we were out on some random road playing in the river. The sunset was gorgeous and life was free. It brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it. I never thought I would miss it all this much. What I took for granted then. All the Texas country singers I missed that always came through Lubbock. Road trips to San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth. What I wouldn't give to risk studying for an exam and run off for the weekend. What I wouldn't give to find a good 'ole Texas boy who wants to take me 2-stepping to Pat Green, Cory Morrow, Randy Rogers band, Robert Earl keen.

I'm thinking more and more about becomming a nurse practitioner instead of a clinical nurse specialist. Then, after I retire from the Navy, moving to the hill country and opening a small clinic and just living peacefully. Having my friends down for a cookout by the river and playing some good music and maybe even sleeping out under the stars.

I started thinking more about being a nurse practitioner after we got a new one here on our detachment. He's been working in the ER and he let me I&D (cut open and drain) an abscess and then basically work up this one patient (who I think has the exertional compartment syndrome that I have). It was a fun day. He was prior enlisted as a MM1 (machinist mate 1st class) nuke. Just the same rate and everything as my brother. He was on a different class of submarines though. Anyway, after his time as a prior enlisted, he went through the nursing program and they paid him for school and everything. He's very knowledgeable with the Navy and nursing, so I hope I can work with him some more and maybe even be able to use him as a reference some day.

It's been going okay out here. I used to go on highs and lows and lately I feel like someone put me on mood stablizers. I just feel blah. I'm battling being sick again and I just had a long week of work. It's my day off today, so I'm laying in bed recuperating. Much needed.

No sign of any guy interests and you know, that's fine with me. I'm just not in a place where I am really ready to open up and start that whole process again. It's just difficult to fit that in with all the things I want to do with my life. I'm going to be moving here, there, etc. I'm holding out for a Texas boy. Especially if he went to Tech. haha.

Now! Speaking of Texas Tech! How 'bout them Red Raiders??? I hope we can stomp all over UT this weekend! Man, I wish I was back in college! Well, another nurse out here went to UT, so we're gonna be up at 3 in the morning watching the game live...I think we might end up betting on it. Not with money. But, thanks to Andrew's idea, the losing person would have to wear the winning team's gear and put that picture on their facebook until the end of the season. I think if that happened, I just might just lose some friends. haha. It kinda makes me scared to think about having to wear her vince young jersey. ::shutters:: But, I have confidence. My red raiders better not let me down!

Okay, I'm going to close out this very long update. I hope everyone is enjoying themselves. Only 2 more months and about 2 weeks and I'll be on my way back from the desert!

I've got this little problem that I cannot control. You put my heart in jail, but now it's on parole. - Prozzak, Infatuation

I got a "get out of jail free" card yesterday! We have planned morale trips every now and then and if you can manage to arrange your day off to fit in with one of the trips, you can go! This was the first one I got to go on. We went to Kuwait City and visited the aquarium and the marina mall.

The aquarium was actually pretty fun. It's right on the water and you can kinda see across to downtown where the Kuwaiti Towers are. It was kinda foggy outside though. They had some interesting animals and some damn good coffee! We sat outside by the water and enjoyed that.

Then, we went to the marina mall. That was pretty fun, I guess. It's just another mall, except more expensive. I did buy a couple long sleeved shirts from H&M here. I don't have anything for when it gets cooler.

We all had to do "rover" and "watch" duties. The rover got to walk around and make sure everyone was behaving and being safe. The watch people had to sit on the bus and watch our weapons. I got lucky and got to rove.

Dr. Saperstein, Dr. Minnich, the Chaplain and I all ate at this really freakin good Lebanese place. We were there a long time. Here, meals are an event and they don't rush you. I really like that.

Back to work today. That was the most I'll get of the outside world for a while...I did enjoy it.

Check out my facebook album for our mass casualty basewide drill and more from the Kuwait City trip! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2276328&l=569ee&id=16706036

See the gear shift for the high gear of your soul, you've got to run like an antelope out of control. - Phish, Run Like An Antelope

Happy birthday, Navy! 233 years of tradition! :)

We had the navy birthday 5K today! I ran the whole thing and didn't stop. it's not that much, but 1K into it my shins were already on fire and tight and painful. I pushed through the whole thing. It was a great run and only made me want to do it more. I spoke with one of our ortho surgeons after the run and told him about the problems I have with my shins. He said it did sound like classic exertional compartment syndrome. He said he sees it all the time in Pensacola and that they could do the fasciotomy here and I'd be fully recovered by the time I got home! The only problem. I would have to be off work for a week. I gotta ask mamma bear. I'm kinda nervous. I'm also afraid the people I work with would think I was trying to get out of work. I'm not...at all! I just started to tear up at the idea that this problem might be fixed.

Bethesda always made me do the run around. I did PT for 6 months. Nothing. Bone scan. nothing. I can never get an appt for ortho. Plus! I have people all around here to help me. I wouldn't be living on my own. The ortho docs have enough time. I have a physical therapist that sleeps right next to me. It's all good. This would be a dream come true.

I even talked to Julie about it and we talked about training for the marine corps marathon in DC. Man....that would be truly amazing. It would be hard work, but well worth it.

I'm going to get dressed and go over to work and talk with my dept head about it. Hmm. I wonder what she'll say. I pray I can do this.

It's a beautiful day!

Sent on a mission to find out just how much shit one man can take. - Soul Asylum, Dragging The Lake

We're all in that mid-deployment slump. I don't have much to talk about these days. Just working. Yesterday, I was officer of the day and today is my day off. My alarm clock I think is broken and didn't go off today! ENS Wood called and I was like "shit, shit, shit..." and I made it dressed and hair pulled back (a little crazy looking) to the quarter deck in 7 minutes. He's pretty cool and he and LT Lampert have now nicknamed me "UA". Damn. I'm never late. I hate being late. I've never even been late to work. Ever. Bah. Oh well.

So, I thought I would share this little fun story I got from Andrew this morning. It kinda explains what life has been like out here....I think we have some decedents on our detachment!





WHO IS JACK SCHITT ?

For some time many of us have wondered just who is Jack Schitt?

We find ourselves at a loss when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt'!
Well, thanks to my genealogy efforts, you can now respond in an intellectual way.

Jack Schitt is the only son of Awe Schitt. Awe Schitt, the fertilizer magnate, who married O. Schitt, the owner of Needeep N. Schitt, Inc.
They had one son, Jack.

In turn, Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt. The deeply religious couple produced six children: Holie Schitt, Giva Schitt, Fulla Schitt, Bull Schitt, and the twins Deep Schitt and Dip Schitt.

Against her parents' objections, Deep Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a high school dropout. After being married 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced. Noe Schitt later married Ted Sherlock, and because her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name. She was then known as Noe Schitt Sherlock.

Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt, and they produced a son with a rather nervous disposition named Chicken Schitt. Two of the other six children, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt, were inseparable throughout childhood and subsequently married the Happens brothers in a dual ceremony. The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt-Happens nuptials. The Schitt-Happens children were Dawg, Byrd, and Horse.

Bull Schitt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world. He recently returned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt.

Now, when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt', you can correct them.


Sincerely,
Crock O. Schitt





I watched MASH the movie the other night. It's NOTHING like deployments now. haha. I wish I could have a martini in my tent. If I do indeed get to go to the Marine Corps Ball in November at the US Embassy, there will be alcohol there! I'll be going with a Chaplain friend as a guest, so I guess I should make sure I behave....but ya. It's like Christmas just thinking about a glass of wine!

I heard back from the detailer. I had a choice of Guam or Jacksonville. I'll tell you. If I were not on deployment, I probably would have chosen Guam. I'm homesick. That's what it comes down to. I miss being home. If I went to Guam, that would be 2 years I would probably not make it home. No one would want to come out there because it costs so much. I don't know. The idea of that right now is a bit too much to think about. I do want to do an overseas tour....but just not now. I am very excited about Jacksonville! I prayed a lot and I never got much back...so I just had to say, Lord, I'm making this decision and if it's not right...then close the door. He'll make sure it's all worked out anyway. So, back to Bethesda in January and Jacksonville in June. :)It's exciting to think about the changes next year!