About Pass

I just realized that I never wrote about pass. It was a brief taste of real life. It started on Thursday the 19th at 5pm. It was a long wait until 5 but when it came we were out. I caught a ride with my buddy Jensen. (All members of my team) Erdman and Barnard rode with into downtown Seattle. They dropped me off at the Hyatt and I checked into my room. I was really hungry so me and Ana went to Ruth Chris. The crab stuffed mushrooms were delicious and I had steak and lobster, truly a great meal for the first night in the real world, it also was a lot better than the army food, which I must say every time I walk up to the cafeteria, it smells the same. You can't tell whats for dinner because its always greasy, overcooked, made by the lowest bidder, army meals. That's one thing to look forward to in Iraq is the better food.

The next few days were a blur and my allergies started bothering me. I realized that people in Seattle are genuinely weird. There is something about seeing a homeless person on every block, a hippie backpacking with 3 dogs and people protesting that doesn't remind me of home. It wasn't too bad, most of the time people stayed to themselves. I'd have to say the best thing about Seattle is the food. I loved this Russian bakery in Pike's market, which we visited a few times. Overall most of our time was spent searching for, getting to, and eating at the best restaurants Seattle had to offer. We went shopping a few times as well, but overall I just spent time with Ana and enjoyed real life for a few short days. We visited the space needle on our last day and it wasn't as cool as I had imagined watching Fraiser as a kid. The last day did go fast, and leaving Ana again was difficult. I really enjoyed my Seattle vacation but now the countdown begins until I get to go home to my dog Srey, and family, and of course Ana. I even get to go back to my old job at Integra, which I really appreciate after working 14 hour days 7 days a week. Here are a few pictures from my pass.

Sunday

Finally a day of rest. Well sort of, I woke up this morning at 5 am out of habit. However today I got to sleep in till 7:45 which would still suck on a Sunday in real life , but this is the Army so it was a little piece of heaven. At 8 am I went over to do drivers training on the up armored humvee. It was a nice drive in the Seattle snow. That didn't take too long, so after I went and did some weapons training. Basically a video game with pneumatic weapons that look and feel real but don't fire bullets. After that I went to Pizza hut and here I am now writing, laying in bed. What a sunday. Compared to this week though its great, for the past 3 days I've been in a secret building with no windows and no cell phones from before the sunrises to after it sets. All in all I've spent less than an hour outside enjoying the fresh pacific air. Which has allergens in it already so I'm suffering from my seasonal allergies, but not as bad because the air is moist and theres not as much bright green as MN. All in all, life is okay, I wish I had more sleep, better food, and family and friends but this is the Army. I dont have any new pictures because of the lack of phone usage but I'll post some as soon as I can.

8 More days

8 more days until pass. I'm excited to see Ana and get out and explore Seattle. The past few days haven't been that bad. Yesterday was our first day off since we got here. I slept in until 11 and then spent the rest of the day at the computer lab. I finally got the webcam hooked up. It makes life a little more bearable. It actually snowed last night too. The funny thing was that it was warmer at home yesterday then here. Way to prepare us for the harsh desert environment. Its 90 already in Iraq. Not looking forward to the heat, but the faster I get to Iraq the faster the countdown starts to come home. Today we went to turn some old equipment, like my old sleeping bag and backpack. All the old green stuff since we got all new digital camo. That was an ordeal that shouldve completed in 15 minutes but took 2 hours because the contractors had to take their mandatory 15 minute break. Besides that I got a haircut from a military barber and I wasnt disappointed in the result. Here are a few pics from the past few days:

Overnight

The past few days I've been really busy. I haven't even gotten a chance to go to the gym. Lately we've been training in a room with no windows and no cell phones so my contact with the outside world has been very limited. Tonight I start the overnight shift. Not looking forward to it. I didn't even get to sleep during the day today to prepare. I went to the range for reflexive fire this morning, it was kind of unnerving firing so close to someone else but its training for an even worse situation so its not too bad. My smallpox sore is all scabbed up and ready to fall off. I cant wait to not have to worry about it. Not much else is new, just counting down time before I go Iraq. Getting a little nervous but a little excited too. I mean its scary to know that people are going to be shooting at you, but its nice to know that you'll make a difference and support your comrades. Its also a life changing experience that I'll be able to tell my grandchildren one day.

Here are a few pictures. I need comments though!!!! Also I haven't gotten that much mail :'-( I need some emails or letters. My email address is jeremy.hemsworth@gmail.com in case anyone doesn't know.