Day 328

I got my two boxes loaded into the conex this morning. My room mates stuff is waiting for somebody else to load it, tomorrow, and there's tons of space in my room now. Too bad I have to move out in three days. Ah, Army cots and no privacy. Just what the doctor ordered. But, moving to the tents means we're just about out of here. Three weeks in a tent and then on a plane. I feel as though we're coming to that last bend in the tunnel, where we know we'll be able to see the light at the far end. Just in case I can't get back on the internet for a while, I wanted to say thank you to all of you who took the time to write, send packages, shoot me an email, or call on Skype. I've always prided myself on the fact that I don't own a cell phone, but I don't know how old guys in WWII did it without constant communication. Knowing that you all are out there, only a few keystrokes away, helped me through some bad days. Thank you. On a happy note, I lost better tha 30 pounds on this trip, and I exercised only when I had to and ate junk food all of the time. I hate playing 'what ifs', but imagine the lean, green, fighting machine I might have become if I had actually, you know, tried.
In a previous post I told you all it was ok to give me a dope slap, one apiece, for trying to stay an additional 6 months. I need all you all to give me repeated slaps up along side the head every time you hear me start any sentence with, "Well, when I was in Iraq, we did it this way." Don't let me get away with it. I see it too many times in others and I'm sure I'll be one of them for a while. Stop the horse before it gets out the starting gate. Squish that bug before it crawls. Pull the tail off of that gecko before it runs away. Drain the gas tank before you put in the key. Make the bed before you get out. Whip the yolks before you put in the cheese. Put a cork in the bottle before the genie gets out. Look both was before crossing the, oh wait, that's not right. Rewind the tape before returning it to the store. Click on the start button to power off. Don't mix salt and pepper in the same jar, no matter how smart it sounded in your head. If you're going to give a guy a swirly, make sure he's got hair. First rule of government spending; why build one when you can build two for twice the price. Ok, it's bed time.