Sigh

Last Sunday night I decided that I was going to wake up at 430 and go into work to get some stuff done before PT formation. When my alarm went off at 430, I sat up, wondering what the hell it was going off so early for... and in my confused half-sleep hit the 'off' button. I almost had a heart attack when I sat back up in bed 2 hours later and realized I was about to miss formation. Out-of-ranks. Counseling statement. What a way to welcome the week!
Remember the ISOprep photos I took for the Cav last week... yeah, the ones where the entire squadron had to don class-As and file through one at a time for their death/captured photos... I lost them. How it is even possible to loose 600 digital photos is beyond me, but yep, I did it. Sgt had amazing self-control and managed to keep from actually choking me out (although I did find his fingers curled menacingly around my neck several times throughout the morning, trembling under the temptation to squeeze...) After an agonizing hour of searching through every memory card, and an atrocious phone call to the squadron to inform them of my stupidity and incompetency, not to mention a teary-eyed walk down the hall after the 'get-your-shit-together' conversation... Spc Steve rolls his eyes and asks to check the memory cards. Like the true life-saver that he is, miraculously... he finds them. On a memory card that, when I checked, was completely void of any trace of photography whatsoever. Somehow the monotonous, tedious editing process of all 600 photos didnt seem as daunting as usual, and Spc Steve became the hero of my world. At least for the day.
Hump-day (traditionally, the day your week is supposed to start getting better) brought on yet another photo assignment with the General, who, as usual, managed to turn my face the shade of a rather ripe tomato in a room full of rank. I wont bore you with the details, but we seem to be creating a tradition here, eh?
And the week ended with a two hour wait in the snow, a C-17 jump (which was actually very good, minus being drug 50 feet on the ground by the chute, in a fantastic impression of a human snow-plow), and another two hours standing around in the snow. Im fairly positive I have officially joined the frost-bite club, as my toes were almost identical to the color of the snow after I took my boots off more than an hour later. Ive decided the heating-back-up process is worse than the freezing part... quite painful indeed.
All the week's annoyances quickly faded as I headed down to Girdwood Friday night where Amy and Annette were waiting patiently for me (they arrived tuesday but I had been so caught up at work I only saw them once during the week, at 3 in the morning.) Ive missed them so much, and seeing them again just pronounced it. We had a charming weekend at the Alyeska resort and finally got to catch up face to face. Much needed!! We went dog sledding through Moose Meadow, which Im certain was really a temporary escape to Narnia. The weather was perfect, the company was perfect, and the food... true to Alaskan style, was perfect. It all went by too fast, and I had to console myself outside with a cigarette while they packed. :(
I stayed in Girdwood after they left Sunday morning and had my first-ever skiing lesson. I loved it, and thought I was doing pretty good... until I noticed all the 5-year olds taking lessons that were weaving through the cones that I kept hitting. Sigh. I think I'll try again next weekend. I went to Chair 5 to enjoy a free taco bar and the Superbowl commercials, and headed home to start another week.
So it seemed to start off well for a Monday. We went to the deployment ceremony rehearsal. Leaving in 11 days... reality... check. Spc Steve and I went to Sushi for some very depressing Ohmygodwe'releaving conversation, and then to the PX to purchase some Army gear (which should, by all rights, never have to be purchased with as much useless crap as they issue us.) The day then turned disastrous. I was looking forward to a nice head massage and hair cut at the salon in preparation for the ceremony tomorrow. SHE CUT IT ALL OFF. I look like a 12 year old boy. If I wasnt in the Army... if I had a civilian job, I would call in sick with mono or chicken pox or yellow fever and excuse myself for a few weeks. Oh, the glory of my life, the ONE day that I have to be prancing around all 3500 Paratroopers in my brigade, plus their families, and freaking Governor Palin herself... playing camera girl (or, well, boy)... I had to get the most hideous haircut of all time. ARGH!!!
The trend here seems to be illustrating a need to accept the inevitable... that the last weeks/month leading to a deployment will invariably be full of the necessary stressors, as well as a plethora of unnecessary annoyances. Note taken, log that away for the next one.