Old Pics

I just remembered I haven't posted some of the pics i've taken so in case you're interested, here are a few:

Here is the middle of one of the malls really close to where i live.

Entrance to the other mall (its across the street, not sure why so close)

Same mall as the first pic, from the other side.

One of the boxes i shipped here.

another box, pad shipping appropriately

Getting Used to It

I'm happy to report that im finally getting used to night crew enough that I dont need 3 large coffees to stay focused the whole time.  I only had one large coffee tonight, have one hour more to work, and im not feeling more drained than i should considering im working in a large, empty building which is way to warm for my comfort.  I have always hated the situation where when its 50 degrees outside that someone thinks it wise to set to heater to 80 degrees inside.  While it may feel great at first, why not just the inside temp at an understandable temp.  I just dont understand most people.

On a separate note, I have decided to lose some weight for Curtis' wedding.  While I dislike the idea of new years resolutions, I have resolved to lose the gut i have developed since arriving in Kuwait, and then some.  My dislike is not because new years resolutions are a bad idea, its just that people are generally lazy and people should evaluate their actions and lifestyles much for frequently than once a year.

I personally hate running, but I love the relief, sweat and strength it brings.  I feel relaxed, and mentally detoxified after I run a few miles, assuming I can push myself that far.  I'm also really, really lazy and if I don't push myself, or provide adequate reward, I wont do anything.  I can look back on my college days and I can't say I worked out very much compared to high school.  I used to work out for at least an hour, and didn't take a lot of breaks.  I can't say I've followed that regiment recently.  I also remember keeping track of everything so I've decided to try that again.  For now on, I'm going to report my weight and how much I've worked out at least once a week in hopes that in publishing my results, I can publish my success. 

We shall see.

Christmas Overseas

It was a different Christmas this year.  Growing up it was always a beautiful madhouse.  Tons of kids running around, lots of food, never quite.  It was a great tradition.   If only i had the writing ability, i would describe in more detail how great it was, but i dont, so i wont. 

I was able to join some friends from church for brunch, and it was a pretty good brunch.  All the guests cooked something connected with their holiday tradition, it was an interesting potluck.  One guy had this dish that was like eggs, sausage, cheese and peppers mixed up on top of bread.  it was baked like a quiche.  It was my favorite dish.  We also made gingerbread men, and no, the candy beard was not my idea, but it was awesome, so i did it.

settled in

while i can't say i love or hate working nights, im starting to adjust.  Either that or all the sugar from a few candy canes is really helping me stay awake.  regardless, the last two nights haven't been too difficult.  thank you americans who support the military, there are boxes of candy canes and homemade cookies all over the place.

on a different note, i'll be moving to a new apt in a couple of weeks, hopefully close to the new year.  i haven't seen the new place, but i hear its a little smaller.  can't say thats gonna bug me, i have no objects to small living quarters.  my sophomore year i lived in a 12x13 foot room with Joe and i loved  it.  although i wont have a bunk this time, and im sure they will have a queen sized bed, what a waste of space. im pretty sure i'll be closer to greg/becca and scott/sarah, so that will be nice.  i'll also be closer to the mall, grocery store, and papa johns.  i'll say this, the large pizza may be a little smaller than the US version, but they deliver really quickly.  you can get almost anything delivered here.  craving burger king, delivered.  groceries, delivered.  not sure about starbucks, but i only order papa johns and have eaten at least 6 large pizzas since being here.  luckily im working out now.

third night shift

so im 3/4 done with my third night shift, and while i do enjoy the time to read, its pretty boring here at night.  I just finished "Christian Jihad" by the Caner brothers. its basically about the war the "official" church waged against the non-official church (mostly muslims and jews, but also a lot of christians who cared more about the word of God than what the church leaders thought)     im not even catholic, but as a christian i'm ashamed of all the evil done in the name of god. there is a lot of argument as to why the church should not run the state, since man is always corrupted.   its a fairly dry book, as im sure you guessed, but there are a lot of historical accounts that would open the eyes of many americans who think christians have always been peaceful people and the muslims are a warmongering people.  while both sides have killed and murdered, i believe its important to know the past of whatever group you associate yourself with.  in the end, only God can judge.

this is gonna be short

So its 3:11am, my time, and im staying up late because im about the start working the night shift.  I'm about to fall asleep, but thanks to tays reminder, i realized i never posted pics of my loan payoff visual aid.  I got two vases from IKEA in kuwait and a bunch of coffee beans.  I filled one vase up, and as i pay off my loans, im moving the beans from the right side, to the left.  I wont say how much each bean represents, but i have measured how many beans there are in total and how much i need to more, depending on how much i pay.  here is a pic:

new spot

sorry to say nothing exciting going on here, just one update sort of worth mentioning.  with a co-worker leaving, i've started working at a different location my group supports.  its in a different building, and while not always busy, i support a lot of higher ranking army people, so the stress is higher. the room im in is really cool and i wish i could give some details, but if i told you, i'd have to kill you, and i dont want to kill anyone.

hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the snow in TX.