Next stop-Dublin!!

Sorry so long since posting anything. I never seem to have time to do anything but work when I’m online. It’s crazy that my job requires me to be online all day but I feel bad if I do personal stuff and my internet at my hooch hasn’t been working. Anyway, all is well. I’ve been rushing around trying to get my passport in time to leave for Ireland on the 17th. I’m really excited about it, cannot wait! I am so jazzed to get to go to Dublin for a week, stay in a castle, and explore Ireland with no schedule and no itinerary for the second week. I don’t want to look at a clock the entire time I’m there, I’m sure I’ll have to but I think I’ll try really hard not to. This will be my last chance to feel that free for the next 7 ½ months. Although, I did get to drive one of the SUVs last night…cranked the radio up loud and pretended I was in Arizona for a minute. That’s what the weather and the terrain remind me of. Arizona. It’s nice and warm out in the evenings, palm trees all over and if I don’t look at the dirty side streets with bombed out buildings I can totally pretend I’m in AZ.

Hey, Mom, you should be soo proud of me. I work out now!! I don’t want to mislead you; I certainly don’t go everyday or anything. And I really have to be pushed into going. And I don’t really push myself that hard. But I go! Occasionally. I actually went to the gym this morning, it was the first time I’ve gone by myself. My roommate thought she heard wrong when I said, “You know…I think I actually WANT to go to the gym.” Either way, I do work out some now and I’m proud. Other than that there’s really not much going on. I work 10 hour days 6 days a week and I really don’t do much outside of work. It’s crazy because before I came here I made friends online with people stationed in Iraq and was asking them what to expect. The thing that everyone kept telling me over and over again was bring stuff to stay entertained. They said you work for 3 or 4 hours then have a bunch of downtime where I could work out, do online college classes, read, watch movies…everything. Well, that is definitely not the case here at all! I feel like I never even have time to read books, which is really hard on me. Reading has always been my escape and I don’t even have that anymore. Since I work from noon till 10pm there’s really not much to do after I get off work. MWR puts on a ton of stuff here but it all starts between 6-9pm. So I do feel a little out of touch with people. If I weren’t so lazy I could get up earlier in the mornings but there’s still no one to hang out with because normal people are working so the only other thing to do is go to the gym. Ah, anyway, that’s my whining allotment for the day so I’ll post this and get to work. I miss you all! Wish me luck and fun in Ireland, I cannot wait! And it is REALLY nice to know that I’ve got 7 ½ months left to go…almost halfway!! Time is flying, I’ve got my fingers crossed that it will continue to fly through the summer and it’ll be the end of October before I know it. Love, hugs, and kisses…dole them out as you deem appropriate!