August 2011
1 post
So I'm in California for the next 3 years...
Wow, I just read through my blogs in Afghanistan and my first posts being back home in America and then Italia. I know that it’s been a year since I’ve actually written on here. For some reason while in the shower tonight, I realized that I haven’t really written a lot of my thoughts down in a long time. I miss being able to share my thoughts-some private and some...
Back in Italia! Thoughts and honest feelings...
The view off of my back patio! I love Italia in the summer! Bella Bacoli!
So, it’s been ten days since I’ve been back in Italy…Talk about double culture shock. Afghanistan back to the States and then from the States back to Italy…Like the Beatles say, “Obladi, Obladah! Life goes on…la, la, la, la life goes on.” Lots of transition in the past few months...
So this is what happens after the fact...
Fashion Valley, San Diego, CA with Lola and Mom; Diamondhead Cove, Honolulu, Hawaii with Dad, Josh, and I; P-3 RIMPAC mixer-Australia, Japan, Korea, United States-Dad, Josh, and I; Olomana Peak Hike with Danielle overlooking the western coast of Oahu-Kailua, Hawaii
I just spent nine days in California and thirteen days in Hawaii…I can’t believe that it’s already been three...
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
– John Lennon
July 2010
4 posts
Back from the desert for good...Feels so good to...
Blurry view from the bus of my mom and cousin as I was about to step off and greet them…
Mom, Lily, and I-they are the best!
“On behalf of our crew and flight staff with Ryan Air, we are glad that you are going home and thank you for your service…” said the flight attendant as we were landing at Miramar Air Station in California this morning…
All day today-on...
Really? Did that JUST happen? The journey begins...
Did I really leave Afghanistan? REALLY? With less than 10 hrs. notice, I was on a plane to leave country. The plane taking me away from what has become part of my life forever these past 7 months…my journey back home has begun.
When I stepped off of the airplane today, I saw green trees, clouds, and didn’t feel sand or intolerable heat against my skin! Simple reminders that I am NO...
I got my pin and I'm on my way out...
July 7, 2010-After my Fleet Marine Force Warfare Pin pinning ceremony
After almost 2 months of studying for my FMF pin, I passed the written exam, sat through my oral board, and got pinned today! I am TOTALLY excited about this accomplishment. The Fleet Marine Force pin means that I know the ins and outs of how the Marine Corps is organized and how Marines are employed in their specific jobs...
To Camp Dwyer...
Posing with the I.C.U. staff at the Combat Army Support Hospital at Camp Dwyer the day of our departure after being presented or AAM’s…
After being at Camp Leatherneck for all of a week or so, we were tasked to help support the Army Combat Support Hospital in the southern part of the Helmand Province at Camp Dwyer…12 days on loan to the Army to be an ICU nurse. I felt like part...
June 2010
2 posts
Back to Leatherneck...
LT Broc Mushet (combat dentist-we call them dentites), LTJG Jon Hamrick (FRSS critical care nurse), and I getting ready to transport a patient…This is how we roll at Delaram! =)
So, we left Delaram 2 recently, moving onto bigger and better things and onto the next adventure of this deployment journey…If I were to relate Delaram 2 to a place back home, it would be like the...
Post Memorial Day thoughts...
Candid Shot at Camp Leatherneck back in February…
We just celebrated Memorial Day and it will definitely be one to go down in the books for me. There’s nothing like being in Afghanistan and honoring those who have served, are serving, and will be serving in the armed forces. It all makes sense now…day in and day out, men and women from all over put their lives on the line so...
May 2010
2 posts
Desert reality brings some life clarity...
These are my recent thoughts that I thought I’d share:
It’s the middle of May. I’ve been away from Italy for 4.5 months now. I was only in Italy for 5.5 months. You do the math. By the time I get back to Italy, I will have been in the desert longer than the time I have spent at my actual duty station! How crazy is that? Things out here have been pretty mundane…groundhog...
April showers bring May flowers...but what about...
Wow, I didn’t think that I’d be able to post for a while, but by some miracle, I’m on tumblr again! The past 3 weeks have definitely been interesting. Initially, I really missed Bastion, but I have gotten used to things out here in Delaram now. We have been seeing patients pretty consistently, and I have resolved in my mind that this will be home for a while. Despite the lack of...
April 2010
3 posts
Here we go...cleaning up and shipping...
Afghanistan sunset with our hospital in the background…
This week has been an interesting one…I ran a half marathon on Friday, signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon in October, and found out that I’m leaving Bastion soon to be with the rest of our company…should I be excited? Probably…Am I excited? No. Bastion truly has grown on me. I am going to miss it-the...
Rough Week leading into Easter...
Hanging out in the E.R. in front of Trauma Bay 1 with Margot and Ernie, waiting for our 7 Category A traumas to come in Thursday night…
Since March 13th, 2010 our OR team has done 175 surgical cases…Only 13 of those were elective, the rest trauma…That’s an average of 50-60 trauma cases per week…
It has been non-stop this week…One thing after another-every...
March 2010
2 posts
“I guess that I forgot to read the fine print that talked about this being...”
– Me
Now that we're here...now what?
Wow, it has definitely been a while since I’ve updated my blog…For those of you following, I am SO sorry…A lot has happened since the last post…We arrived to Kandahar (close to Kabul, Afghanistan) Sunday, February 21, 2010 from Kyrgyzstan and from there proceeded to Camp Leatherneck on Tuesday, February 23, 2010…From February 23rd until about Friday, March 12th we...
February 2010
4 posts
In Transit...
So, here I am in Krygyzstan…sitting outside on a patio in 30-something degree weather to get some good wi-fi from a restaurant…the remnants of a huge snowfall still on the ground…and the sound of trucks, construction, and car alarms are going off in the background…I haven’t seen my breathe as a result of the cold in a long time…I feel like I am finally in...
I'm a little teapot short and stout...
Speaking of teapots…pouring-Is it worth the risk if I pour my heart into something? I feel like it is…but as of recent, I guess that I need to be better about what I pour myself into…Lately, I’ve been running on empty. I think that now is my time for a refill instead of emptying myself…Noted for the future…Pour, but keep in mind quantity limitations and make...
In California...Getting ready...Getting pumped.
There have been a lot of life changes in the past six weeks from early January. Check-In, Field Medical Service Officer Course for two weeks, Expeditionary Combat Skills Course, Field Exercises, weekends with my family and Navy girlfriends in L.A. and San Diego, and making the logistical preparations to go…Trying to tie up loose ends in Italy with my apartment amongst other things, while...
January 2010
3 posts
Here I am...Now what?
So I find myself at home in Ijamsville, Maryland…sitting at my kitchen counter…I have TONS to do today. The clock reads 8:42am and I have been awake since 3am…JET LAG. Going to work out, drop off dry cleaning, get fitted for uniforms. Why is it that I’m on leave and feel so tasked to do everything? Can’t I just exist today? Sit here at home and spend time in...
“We won’t say our goodbyes you know it’s better that way…We...”
– One Republic
December 2009
1 post
