30 May 05

Happy Memorial Day to everyone! The DFAC (Malzey, what does that stand for?) was a decorated nicely in Red, White, and Blue. The boys stole a bottle of Welches Sparkling Grape Juice (non alcoholic of course). I think we'll pop the top on that tonight. Should be fun. I am trying to take little clips of video footage around the place to make a cute little random video of this place for the fam. Hopefully, it works out. I got some choice footage at the 1SG track meet last night. Andrew ran in the 4x4 which is a relay where four people have to run around the track 1 time each and pass the batan (sp) from one person to the other until they all run their lap. Their team got FIRST by a long shot. They did great! Congrats to Andrew, Drue, Steiner, and Adeyi! Yesterday, I went to the pool for a little bit in the morning. In order to get a chair on Sunday, you have to go an hour and a half early...so, we do! We wait in line. Saturday we went to the pool all afternoon. My forehead got a bit of a burn. Oh well. It will make a nice tan later. Not much else going on. We had to get up at 4am today to be to work by 4:50am. When we got there we sat around for a while, went to breakfast, and were told to go back to the barracks until they were ready for us. I laid down for a couple minutes, and when I was just about asleep, Emily called. It was great to hear from her. Seems she is the only sibling of mine to call. We laughed about "A Whole New World". Crack me up just thinking about it. Also, we decided that Mom makes me carsick when she has control of "Mere". Kimmy, Emmy loved when you told her Hi in the video. It seriously made her day. She was so excited! Then I couldn't sleep, so I went and did laundry. I almost finished all my reading for my Speech class that starts tomorrow. I'm a little concerned about it because I think my 2 classes are going to be a lot of work. This is turning into another novel, so I will end here. Chat soon. Love the comments.
-Mere

WOW! Here is a really old one! So you know how some people can just pick up everything and move so quickly...so can we! We put up this tent in New York, and our LT. decided that she wanted it somewhere else. It wasn't too heavy. At least we didn't have to take it all apart to move it. (Notice the barren desert in the background...great for sandstorms!) 

This is kind of an old one. It was 2 months ago to the day. EaSTer! They gave us Meyers Cold Duck. Do you guys remember that from the holidays? The room was decorated very nicely, and we stole the big chocolate eggs off of the table. They were almost melted when we finally got back to our barracks. Posing with me is Posch, and Drue. 

This is SGT Posch at DRMO...nothing too natural about it. We get kind of bored sometimes, so we dress up in the flea stricken clothes that we are inventorying. 

Andrew with the card that Mom sent him...yeah, she signed it "Meredith's Mom". Can you say American Pie? 

Andrew on his 21st birthday with all his presents...Em, your magazine is in there too. Doesn't he look so cute with his Princess crown on. I let him borrow it for the day...well, picture at least. 

26 May 05

Yesterday was a very nice day because it was Andrew's big 21st Birthday! He woke up to Birthday signs all over the barracks and people wishing him a Happy Birthday. We didn't have to work, which made the day even better. He called his parents and talked to them for a while and I called Becca. It was so nice to get to hear her voice. Then Andrew and I spent a wonderful afternoon together just hanging out. I made him Velveeta Shells and Cheese (his only request for his birthday). Then he opened presents. He got the magazine from Emily, a card from Mom, and I drew him a picture. Today, I had to go to work for no reason. Tomorrow will probably be much of the same. Good thing we were only there for a couple of hours before they sent us home. (Crazy...I call this place home all the time.) I messed around on my computer for an hour or so and then took a wonderful nap. I even remembered my dream. I woke up and had one of those great stretches that you only have after a really good nap. Ahhh, it was great! I went and worked out today too. It was a rough one, but I made it through. Then I had a volleyball, which we lost, and a softball game that I kept stats for...we won 15-4. Go Team. I even got a compliment on what a great stats keeper I am. It made my night. Now, I've got to shower and hit the hay. Later.
-Mere ...photos coming soon.

23 May 05

It's been a few days since I wrote anything, so this might be a bit long. I'm sure you all won't mind though. So, MOM, you know how you said I should be playing in all these events and stuff. Well, I decided that last Wed. that I would play Dodgeball with the whole platoon and guess what!!!!!??? I WAS THE LAST PERSON PICKED OUT OF EVERYBODY!! Talk about a morale buster! The best part was, that I proved them all wrong because I may not have been the star athlete out there, but I held my ground. I got a few people out by throwing the ball at them, and I caught the ball a couple of times. Granted I got out a few times as well, but that is to be expected. Then Thursday I had to go to the range to qualify. That was a day from hell. Truly it was. The sand was blowing so hard that I couldn't see at all and I was laying on the sand so it shot straight up into my eyes when I was in the prone (position we have to shoot in). Good thing I got to sleep on the bus on the way there and on the way back. I would have really been miserable. This weekend I just kicked it. I thought I was going to die again on Saturday night. It is so hard to stay hydrated around here. I chugged water only after my head was pounding and I thought I was going to puke. Imagine this from the top bunk...it would have splattered everywhere. That's a NO GO because me and my ouwey head would have been pissed! I went to the pool on Sunday, but that was short lived. I was only there for 40 minutes before I decided the heat wasn't worth it. I went back to my bed and molded all afternoon. I was productive though because I cleaned...a much needed cleaning if I may add. I also got ready for Andrew's 21st birthday that he will celebrate on Wed. I am almost as excited as if it were my very own birthday! Today, I had bayguard all morning. That was great or extremely boring. I watched a few shows that mom sent me. I cracked up at the home video of the trip to the Etters. OMG! I was rolling that night. People were coming over to see what was so funny. It was the road trip that Emily was commentating on! I also watched 2 1/2 Men and Everybody Loves Raymond. I forgot how great it is to watch TV. Nothing else too great going on here. Oh, yeah we start a mission today...notice I'm not at work. I'll explain that in a later blog. Emily thank you for the package. I love its contents, and I know that Andrew will like his added gift...I'm giving it to him on Wed. with the rest of his present. I love you all. Keep the comments a comin'!
-Mere

Drue, Emmy, Andrew, and I posing for a picture before we gave our class on Fraternization...I have a GREAT story about THAT when I get home...not appropriate for the blog. We did do an awesome job on the class.  

Me with my new SPECIALIST rank! Mo money, Mo problems! 

17 May 05

hello everyone. It's been a pretty uneventful couple of days. Mainly, I get up, go to sweat my butt off all day at work (except today because we finished this mission way early), come back, shower, eat, have a squad meeting, hang out, and go to bed. What a life, huh? I'm struggling with getting everything squared away to take my 2 summer online classes. Thank goodness the lady from the school is being so helpful. I'm sure she rolls her eyes every time she opens her e-mail to see that I wrote to her. Oh, well. No more news as to coming home or not. I suppose no news is better than bad news. We hold out hope here, although, I wonder most of the time why we do such a thing. So, I don't know what is with the humidity over here in the mornings, but it is about enough to make someone think they are in the jungles of Vietnam! If I didn't have hairspray in, I would have the grossest curls growing around my face. Speaking of hair, I got my mangy mane trimmed today. Hopefully, this helps a bit of my problem with the inability to comb through it when it is wet! Back to my humidity statement...I have never sweat so much in all of my life. I am not kidding either. This morning I felt sweat run down my back, and two days ago I literally had sweat run down my leg, MY LEG, who does that!!? It was so gross! I felt like I just seriously jumped into a pool with everything on, got out, and put my tennis shoes on. YUCK! Enough complaining. It will only get worse before it gets better. I'll save the rest of my complaining for another blog. Have a great day everyone, and Happy Birthday, ALEX! Happy Anniversary, JAY and MICHELLE! 18 years of Heaven! Chat later.
-Mere

16 May 05

Hi Guys! Four days without writing. My first couple of days were so uninteresting that I chose not to write, and then the last couple of days have been busy because Andrew got back from Qatar. He had a great time, and I am so glad he is back. Saturday was pretty uneventful besides when I went to the pool when it was dark. That was kind of fun because there were only like 4 other people in the pool. Then Sunday we headed back to the pool in the morning and stayed until 5pm. I had such a headache that I thought I was going to throw up. I guess that's what you get when you don't drink enough water, don't eat lunch, and sit in the sun all day long! I took 1000 mgs of Extra Strength Tylonal, had dinner chow, and felt like a million bucks! Now Andrew, Drue, Emmy, and I are off to teach a Fratenization class to our peers. It should be a blast. I'm going to try to get some pictures of it. Glad to see Andree is a new blogger...WELCOME! Best get going. We have to help set up. Chat later.
-Mere

12 May O5

I hope everyone is enjoying the cold rainy weather at home right now. I know I wish I was experiencing it. I don't think the rain would even make it to the ground before it evaporated here, or if it did hit the ground, it would start boiling instantly! It is so so so so so hot. I can't even imagine how July is going to feel. I'll be burned toast. Ugh. I didn't have to work today, which was nice. I hung out at the Community Center working on a class that I have to give with a few other people on Monday and also worked on another cute project I am doing. We had a Volleyball game tonight that we lost as usual. Our team plays for fun. That's it. I gave myself a manicure today as well. I think tonight I will pluck my eyebrows. They are getting a bit ferocious. I'm about a week overdue. I was going to go to the Ed. Center today to get signed up for a couple of online courses, but they were closed, so I'm hoping to get that done tomorrow. Andrew has been gone all week to Quatar (another country for a nice long pass/vacation), so I've had little to do. I've been trying to get all the things done that I wouldn't normally do. He was supposed to be back today, but he probably won't be back until at least Mon-Wed. The First Sergeant is going to have a meeting with all of us tomorrow over something. I'm not sure what. Also, I got my promotion to E-4 last night!!! Kind of exciting! Now I get paid more!! Whoa hoo! I'll take a picture of me in my uniform and post it on here sometime soon. Malzey, Only 4 more months from today until 21!!! Sad how I am already counting down...maybe because that is when I have my leave as well. Chat later. Miss you all.
-Mere

10 May 05

What a scorcher today!!! Ugh. Misery is all I have to say about the weather these days. Yesterday it got up to 111 degrees, and I think it was even hotter today. It gets so hot that it makes it difficult to concentrate on what you are doing, especially when it is dealing with numbers. We ended up having one heat casualty today. She threw up water when she got back to the barracks for lunch. It was kind of her fault though because she hates water and drinks Mountain Dew like it is going out of style. I think her bones are already completely decayed! That isn't exaggerated either. This afternoon we had to go take a Company Picture for getting the Commander's Cup at Smackdown. It got us out of 2 hours of work this afternoon. Too bad we had to stand on a hot track instead. I got a wonderful package from Mallory yesterday and today a package from Mom and Sara showed up. I haven't had a chance to open them yet because I was on the run to get something done! I am so excited. Thank you so much for them. I know I am going to LOVE the cookies, MOM! As for the package with Aveda products...Chad, my hair is not getting any better with this HORRIBLE nonpotable water I have to shower with over here! The package must have gotten lost in the mail, lol. I miss you all more and more as the days go by. Talk to you soon.
-Mere

7 May 05

hello everyone. I had a really good day today! We had this thing called "Smackdown". It is where a whole bunch of companies compete in track and field and softball, volleyball, horseshoes, ping pong, bench press, basketball, soccer, and all sorts of other things. I of course didn't partake in the activities besides to run the stop watch for the runners during track and field. Our company kicked major butt! We were on fire! In almost all the events we either took first or second, and we ended up getting the Commander's Cup. Andrew got second in the mile run. I don't remember his time off the top of my head. I was timing someone else at the time. It was around 4-5 min. Awesome Job. Tomorrow I am going to spend my day at the pool basking in the glory of the sun God! Mom, I hope you have a wonderful Mom's Day, and I hope Dad and Mallory did a good job of picking out the perfect plant! I love you so much, and I wish I could spend your day with you!
-Mere

6 May 05

So I had the best "surprise" MaSAge yesterday than any massage I've ever had in my life. My Filipino massage lady definately knew what she was doing. She even rubbed my tummy. It was a little weird, but I was in heaven! Thank you very very much, Andrew, for that. I LOVED IT! Tonight I played a little volleyball. We didn't win as usual, but we were out there to have fun. I hope you are enjoying the pics. Oh, and I figured out that the spider IS a CAMEL SPIDER!!! Eeeeekkk. Ugh. GROSS! Have a wonderful weekend. I'll be working at a track meet. GOOD LUCK ANDREW! Don't let Shnell get you down! We also just got another mission in addition to the one I explained earlier...(sarcastic) can't wait. It is going to Blow, but what can you do? Chat later.
-Mere

Yeah, I think it is completely disgusting as well! We think it is a camel spider, but nobody is for sure. We saw it last week at the softball game. I started screaming rather loudly, but I wasn't scared enough not to get 2 pictures of it. It is probably about as big as a large man's fist! UGH! Gives me the creeps just looking at it...enjoy! 

Funny story here! I'll probably get in trouble for it, but what's new around here, Right! Andrew decided to eat this huge chocolate egg that we got from the DFAC on Easter. He was also going to eat 5 Exlax Chews. I think it was all out of boredom. He did really good for the first 1/4 of the egg, but then got to feeling sick. It didn't help that the Exlax Chews tasted horrible. So, anyway, he only ended up eating 1/2 of the egg and 3 Exlax Chews, Kremers at 1/4 of the egg and 2 Exlax Chews, and I just decided to quick swallow 2 Exlax Chews without chewing them and getting the bad flavor in my mouth. I didn't have any "issues" but I can't say the same for Andrew at 3:30am, 6:30am and 9am!!! Gotta Love It! 

I know...we all hate these pics of Friday nights, but this one is cute! Kristi, Melissa, me, Ashley, and Jen are celebrating Jen and Melissa's B-days. Everyone is having a good time. I even have my Coors Beer in my hand! What else could we want here in Kuwait!?! 

I always have to post one cute picute of the two of us. This was taken a couple of weeks ago. Andrew bought me a massage at the Spa today, so I have that at 3:30pm! I am so excited. I think he's a keeper! I'll let you all know how it goes!! 

3 May 05

Another hard day at work. We got through 2 connexes today. Plus, we had to go back through the Uni-Paks of boots (sand Fleas) that we did yesterday because we did them wrong. And Colonel Lang came by our worksite today and guess what??? I got a Colonel Coin! That is pretty good. It is a military thing. My only other coin I have received is a Captain coin from my other unit way back before I went to Basic Training. The best coin of course to receive is a Four Star General Coin! I'm a ways off from that. On a different not, at least the temperature was only like 95 degrees or so instead of the 110 it was yesterday. Still we ended up having a nice sand storm. If it isn't one, it is the other. This morning when I got up the sky was a funny color, and I instantly thought of a tornado! That is exactly the color of the sky. Too bad we didn't get any action. Not enough cold and hot air mixing, I guess. Oh, yeah, Andrew's game was pretty good. Nobody did very well at all, but at least the team they played, played worse than they did. The score ended up being 11-7. A victory for us! Nothing much else going on. Chat later! And welcome Jesse to the blogging family! We have a good time around here!
-Mere

2 May 05

Would you look at that?!? Another month has passed! I can't believe that I've already been here for four months. That is 1/3 of my deployment! So craziest thing happened today...I had to work! It was work too. We have a new mission that we are doing where we have to go through connexes and dig out old Chem. suits and stuff like that. Then we have to decide if it is good or bad, and then inventory it accordingly...not such a difficult job until you add the fact that it's 110 DeGreES outside!!! Ugh! Ames, you really will be wishing you were at home making snow angels in the yard! The mission is supposed to last for 30 days, but I don't see that happening. We did one whole connex today, and we only have 18. I also only work Mon. - Wed., so that's a good thing. Also, sick thing...when we opened the boxes with the stuff in them, there were sand fleas that came jumping/flying/swarming out!!! GROSS! I don't think I got bit by any, but some people have a couple of bites! Sucks to be them. I took a shower as soon as I got back from work. Now, I am feeling wonderfully clean! Later tonight I am going to go to the softball game and cheer on my team while I'm doing stats! Have a great day everyone!
-Mere