I've turned into a Vampire. I haunt the nights… As I said earlier, I get off work at midnight and then have about 4 or 5 hours to kill till bedtime… so the trick is finding things to do to kill that time…. At home that is never a problem.. There's never enough hours in the day to get everything I want to get done. Here, there are more hours than I can fill and it's a challenge to find creative ways to fill them.
This place actually reminds me of a TV program I used to watch when I was a kid. There was a show called Sunday night mystery movies.. It used to shift between Columbo, McCloud, and McMillan & Wife. Then one day it switched to Darrin McGavin as the "Night Stalker," an odd detective investigating the supernatural in subterrainean Seattle. It was an awesome series. Sometime I feel like that is life I am leading.
There is actually quite a lot going on at 2 in the morning here. Most of the offices are open for business. Midnight chow is a huge hit, especially with all the guys working out and trying to bulk up on protein. (Is there anything better than a spanish omelet at 4 am?)
The media center is always a hub of activity… for those who don't have computers, they can go and spend a whole 15 minutes on line, checking e-mail and catching up on the news of the world. On my first deployment, that was the only way we had to communicate. I would compose all my e-mails and save them on a thumb drive. I'd go to the media center, and frantically send out e-mails to family and quickly download the ones waiting, then head back to the room to read and respond the next day. It got into a routine. I'd ask questions before I went to bed, Laura would answer and send her questions to me while I slept. When I woke up I'd check them again and answer the ones I had from the night before. Being 8 or 9 hours different put us on opposite sleep schedules so there was always something waiting when you logged in. With me working the night shift, I'm pretty much on the same schedule as home, so it's a bit different. Haven't figured out if this is better or not.
<
What I do like is working out at this time of day. The very coolest part of the day is around 4 am. Sometimes that isn't saying much. Today the low was 93. That's just weird! I've been walking about 6 1/2 miles a night, which is really good at killing 2 hours. I hurt my knee right before I left home, so running is still painful, but walking seems okay so far. At a good pace it definitely works up a good sweat, especially at 95 degrees!
There's quite a few people out and about too. You are never alone; people are constantly coming or going to work; heading to the chow hall; to the showers, to the movies, etc. We have a couple of 24-hour coffee shops, a bar that serves from 7 am until 4 am; designated smoking Gazebos where people can sit in and chat in the quiet of the evening (or morning…) Just a different kind of 24-hour lifestyle.
The JAG stopped by the squadron stopped by the squadron the other day. The JAG, for those of you who haven't seen the TV show, is the Judge Advocate General.. In military terms, "the lawyer." This one was the Area Defense Council, responsible for defending all the poor saps who get in trouble over here. We asked him what where the most popular offenses… He said, "Alcohol, Pornography, and Sex."
We have a General Order Number 1B, which basically says you will not consume too much alcohol, you will not have pornography, and you will not cross the threshold of another gender's dorm room, no matter what. Some bases are completely dry. Ours is wet, with a limit: no more than three drinks a day, which really is more than enough in my opinion, but I'm sure others would argue the point. In any event, if you get caught with your own or getting too much of theirs… big trouble. Not to say that it doesn't happen. Unfortunately people who drink too much tend to forget that whole discretion bit, and end up getting caught…
The part about genders staying away from each other is another thing that sounds good in theory… but doesn't stop human nature. The lawyer guy said the biggest selling item at the exchange, and the biggest freely taken item at the medical clinic, is condoms. I don't think they are being used for water. It's petty much a given that "Bunker Love" is alive and well all over the place. I guess so long as it's not in the dorms, it's okay! Ahhhh young love!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment