Sunday, 18 July 2010

There are days when I think.. "This isn't so bad... Really.. " and then
there are days where I think "What the hell did I get myself in to?"
But- fortunately, there are never days where I feel like I can't handle
it.. quite the contrary.. I know, of all people, I can handle this job.
Its called compartmentalizing.. :)
And I do that quite well.

I had a talk with the crew in my office, to ensure they had an outlet, a
way to deal with the reports we receive.. because that's our job here..
all day.. everyday.. 365 days a year.. 24/7. We receive casualty
reports - with details of the circumstances, good or bad.. mostly the
ladder. Anyhow, I asked them to be sure they had someone to talk to,
some way to vent, some way to not let this eat at them.. and one of the
girls asked "How can you just think of it like a number" she seemed a
little appalled.. and my response was: you process the report, don't let
it process you. In other words, let your fingers do the typing as you
see the words and letters, but don't let it sink in.. don't let your
mind think about it. Now, of course, sometimes that is easier said than
done. We see some stuff that you can't help but think about because of
the shock factor.. but beyond that, especially on the busy days, you
just process it.. and move on to the next..
Most of the time that works, and for those times that it doesn't - you
make sure you talk to someone, vent, do something so that you stay
mentally healthy. We do talk in here to, and sometimes it turns into
morbid humor, but its our way of collectively taking a situation that
would ordinarily be probably the worst thing a person could read - into
something that is just the "norm" for us.
It works.. and to be honest - I will make sure that for us, as an
office, that we do what works to keep us all mentally healthy!

Anyhow, I say this on a day which for the next few to come promise to be
busy. Local news will tell you all about things that are goin on over
here.. so I will let you read for yourself..

Its been a few days since I have written and quite frankly I have been
going thru my posts, to ensure I haven't breached PERSEC or OPSEC.. and
from the looks of it.. I haven't (in my opinion) Anything that I have
written about has been in the news already. The thing is, in the past 2
months I have received 2 friendly emails from friends, with good
intentions, but they simply say "Watch out" or "be careful with what you
write" for OPSEC reasons, but never any details or indication that I
have breached it with any details.. So- to all I say, if you think that
something I have written breaches OPSEC or PERSEC, please tell me... let
me know exactly what it is that breaches, and I will gladly remove it.
But, don't beat around the bush. I'm a big girl and if I make a mistake
I will correct it and thank you for helping me to keep us all safe over
here. :)

Okay, on to other things... Yesterday I received 3 big boxes from Master
Chief. He sent care packages for all of us that were in Charlie
Company. I know that we were all grateful. I should've gotten a
picture of me going thru these boxes, it was like Christmas in my
office!! :) Its always fun and exiting to get boxes - especially when
you don't know what's inside, because it makes you feel like a little
kid! You have no idea how grateful I am to receive the little things
like coffee, creamer, magazines from home, etc.

This week I have been able to do P90X, despite my last post. My body is
paying the price too - but I love it! I have noticed that I sleep much
better as well. I am more tired by the end of the night!!! So tired
that I really don't chat with anyone when I do get home, except my mom
or my kids. Last night, I got home, logged in to my computer, fell on to
my bed and slept til the morning! I guess I needed the sleep!

Friday was my day off.. it was nice.. for the first half! I slept in
until about 930 in the morning, got up and did P90X until noon, showered
and then ate brunch. Following that I decided to take a nap.. and in
the middle of my nap was a big loud KNOCK on my door.. more like BANG on
my door.. because unfortunately, my MSGT knocks on doors like he answers
phones.. LOUDLY! But they needed me for some report, which I ended up
staying at work until about 10pm collecting. Errghh.. So to make up
for it, today, I slept in until about 730.. and then came in to work
about 8.. but, I also do that because on Sundays, I stay until 10 - due
to the make-up of the night shift on Sunday nights.

Thursday and Saturday was not much to talk about..

That's it for tonight.. I will write more tomorrow..