I'm Hungry

Today is a great day so far. We are getting busier and busier as the new surge gets ready to rotate in and our current people are rotating out. It is crazy how many more people you see on base each day and how focused all of the others are on getting home. So as more and more people arrive, we'll get busier and busier and busier. And by the time that rush is done, I'll be halfway through my rotation. I can't believe it's been three weeks so far!!! Almost a month under my belt!

And my love for bananas has grown - it is a true enjoyment now of every bite, as opposed to the variance I experienced before. I truly like my bananas. I don't think I'm ready to say love yet.

I can't believe the weekend's here! Not that it means that much when you are deployed - you rarely know what day it is, much less that it's the weekend - but the weekend means that in 2 days I get a day off! So woos for that.

Last night I went to the gym (I am becoming a regular gym junkie now!) and I did my 30 minutes of fast walking on the treadmill and then when my 30 minutes was up, I didn't want to get off! I was enjoying the exercise so much and was beeeeeeeeeboppin to the music and I wanted to keep going, so I restarted the treadmill for another 30 minutes and went to town! I have this playlist that I made last year called 10 minute mile and it has a lot of really fun songs on it that keep me moving - sometimes they are at a pace that are REALLY fast, and I try to speed up the treadmill so that my feet match the beat - I start moving all fast like I am on uppers! I can't run because it kills my knees, so I just walk really really fast and I'm sure that the people on the treadmills behind me laugh hysterically at me. I'm all smiling and moving my arms and punching the air and doing drum beats with my hands... MAN it's addicting! So anyway, I'm thankful for that and it has actually become the best part of my day. I get to the gym and I don't think about ANYTHING for an hour except whatever's in my ears and the exercise. I have

I have been thinking a lot about Tracy today - we found out yesterday that Goblin, my randy and bulletproof cat-nephew, has an inoperable tumor. Gobs has been in our life for 16 years, since my mother's friend rescued him as a teeny kitten from some kind of Halloween prank and my sister took him back to college and turned him into a feisty little thing. He has always been an outside cat, coming and going as he pleases, beating up other kitties and stealing their kitty girlfriends, and then returning home with some kind of battlescar. He's the neighborhood bully kitty, but also the neighborhood watch. Though I was somewhat at odds with Goblin during my high school days (especially after one particular event where he hung from my bare side with his claws and left lasting bruises), I had the opportunity to get to know him better when my sister and I lived together in Charleston. When she had to work nights, I would steal Goblin into my bed and snuggle with him all night long. We had a love/hate relationship - during the day he would swipe at my feet and make me bleed when I walked by, and at night he gave me that sweet kitty purring and snuggle lovin. I had to hold him down a few times when his fightin' wounds needed attention, and during those times I feared for my life. Once I got my dog (now dogs), Goblin and I grew apart. I think he resents me for having two dogs who are such wussies that they are scared of a defenseless cat. But they make life hard for him when they are around and so when he sees me now, he kind of tosses his head back in a maniacal laugh and then saunters past me, spitting on my shoe as he goes. I know that Goblin loves me, he just doesn't respect me anymore since I got those loser dogs, in his eyes. But I think he understands that I had to replace his loving once my sister went back to day shift and I knew I could never cuddle with him like I wanted to. Every once in a while, when I am in Charleston, I will catch his eye and he will be looking at me with this fire in his eyes...he remembers the love we had, and he forgives me. But showing it at this point would be unmanly, and Goblin will never be unmanly. So Gobs, if you are reading this, know that I will always love you, and I am sorry you feel bad, and I hope to give you some more sweet kitty kisses before you leave us to roam that big neighborhood in the sky. Your Mom and Dad and Maris are going to miss you terribly. You have given them such a sweet kitty with so much character to love and I am sure you will continue to bless them with that cranky old man attitude as long as you can. There will not be another like you.

Love!