Almost done

[aadler]

12:30AM Central Afghan Time

Our replacements — the first wave of them, at any rate — did at last arrive, and it quickly became clear that a lot of the problems I previously cited had sprung from our own higher headquarters at BAF. Yes, the intrepid REMF Rangers of whom I will no doubt be a member by the time of our next deployment. The full crew should get here tomorrow, and we have a week or so to get them oriented.

I’ve already been notified that I need to pack my gear and be ready to shift over to the B-hut (transitional quarters) while we wait to fly to BAF and start the process to return home. On one hand it’s a bit annoying (our predecessors remained in their rooms until the day they left), and on the other perfectly reasonable (the outgoing personnel should give way to guys coming to start their tour). Mainly, as always, I dislike having to change. I get a routine in place and, reasonably or not, hate to shift out of it.

One of our generators went out this morning, and it took forever to get it repaired; power didn’t come back till after supper, and then the water was out. I’d been planning to do my laundry, that being one of the things necessary for departure prep, but had to defer it all day. Then, when things were working again, the washing machines were filling so slowly that, after twenty minutes, I lost patience and hastened the process by ferrying water from the lavatories in discarded bottles. This prompted a certain amount of curiosity from observers, but no disapproval. It required time and motion, but no real labor. Trust me, you cannot comprehend the hardships of life in a combat theater until you’ve experienced them.

I haven’t done any writing. I haven’t even started. My mind just isn’t there. I’m about ready to jump in and try to force the process; I am wary of such an approach, but waiting certainly isn’t accomplishing anything. I foundered at the beginning of “Yet to Be Seen” — worst block I’ve had in nearly a year, every time I set to write I churned out garbage that not only wasn’t good enough, it didn’t even shake off the rust so I could get moving, it just kept being crap — but then when I came back to it, things started moving again. Not well or quickly, but it did happen at last. With luck and focus, maybe I can do that again.

The White Knight Awards and the Serenity on the Hellmouth Awards should finish judging about the time I leave Afghanistan. I know we’re not supposed to let our ego get caught up in such things, but it’s been so long since I was nominated anywhere (I stayed active, but everybody else seemed to shift their activity elsewhere) that I can’t help getting excited. I love this stuff, and I feel delight at the thought that someone might love my contribution to it.

Past midnight. Get laundry from dryer, go to bed. More combat hardships.