Army: Afghanistan Number 7

Hey everybody.  So here is post 7 from the sand box as I am in my 8th week here.  This is also my 40th blog post, not that it is a big deal, but I just noticed that this week.  When I first started this blog, I never knew who would actually want to read it, and I honestly never knew if I would write something worth reading.  But the past two weeks, I have actually had more responses to my blog than ever before.  It has really surprised me to find out who is reading them and it makes me wonder what is so interesting about them to different people.  I hope that whatever I put in here is actually helpful to people and maybe even inspiring.  It makes me want to write more and more personally with more accountability.  Maybe my successes and failures can help others as well as myself.  I guess the only thing I can really say is thank you for reading, please continue to do so, and if you really enjoy it, please share it. 

But on a normal note: here are all of my updates in the manner of which I am sure you are now accustomed.

Financial:  For those of you who caught my blog last week,
you know that I am going to be investing in the stock market soon. This probably won't start until next week sometime and no I don't really know when. I have some ideas of how I want to invest my money, but I haven't chosen any companies yet. Honestly, a lot can happen in a week and I don't want to get too tied to any one company. This week, I will probably do most of my research this week and will be able to tell you all at least what I am planning to do by my next blog post.

Not containers I have encountered, but similiar.

Mental: Oh Lean Six Sigma, you may be the death of me. We have gotten into our project charters this week and let me just say... this is going to be a very big part of my life for the next several month. I am mostly trying to create efficiency in a process that no one is really paying attention to. It means dealing with just about every task force (battle space owner) throughout Afghanistan and the transportation units just to track containers. For those of you that don't know, I have been told that there are so many containers here in Afghanistan we could supposedly pick up our whole Army and move it... twice! That's a lot of containers. Some are empty, some are full, some have important stuff, some have trash, some are broken, some are new... and all of it matters and gets counted and moved. This is my new life.

Physical: So, good news, my run time is one track to max my APFT (army physical fitness test). However, my goal is to try and get it back down to a sub-15:00 min 2 mile. I have a good running partner who has the same goal, so hopefully it will happen. The problem.... my pushups weren't looking so hot. So now before my workouts, I am going to do some pushups ladders and pyramids (10 pushups, 1 min abs, 11 pushups, 1 min abs, etc. are ladders, pyramids come back down once they reach the peak). Sit ups were as easy as they have always been for me, but working on abs more will still help. Honestly, I think I have gotten thinner since I first arrived here, but it is hard to tell. I can definitely feel myself getting more toned, so that makes me happy.

Emotional: So, of course, I am as happy as ever being here and thus am emotionally well off. But as I talked to Kevin this morning, I realized I am already getting sad about leaving here (as dumb as that sounds). There is something about the relationships you form here and they will not transfer back home. Here, you learn to appreciate people for exactly who they are. Your friends may not be like you in the slightest and may have totally different interests, which in America would deter the friendship. The reality is that in the states, you find the people that are like you or share your values and you base the friendship off mutual interest. Being out here, you learn to like the people you are with and appreciate people for who they are.  Plus, you cross ranks in ways that are not acceptable in garrison.  Spending time with a bunch of captains here is acceptable, at home it is not. 

On another note, I am still working on being a better wife.  I have changed around when I call both my husband and my family to get extra time with Kevin every week.  We have been communicating both more and better this past week.  I still pray for him every night and try to send him text messages before I go to bed.  I want to do so much more than I can and it is extremely frustrating.  Being a good wife is never measurable, but at least at home it feels more tangible. 

Spiritual:  Yet another full week of prayers and bible reading here.  It has become a very natural part of my schedule and something I always make time for.  It has also led to some very interesting conversations with a LDS friend of mine that lasted about 5 hours regarding salvation and the afterlife.  I am glad for the opportunities for conversation have occurred, but truth be told, I am still wanting one different conversation.  I have mentioned in my blog before that I am learning to love individuals outside of my comfort zone.  This week marks four straight weeks of praying for one individual in my life.  I seem to be no closer to a spiritual conversation with him.  My goal is the same as in most of my relationships with non-believers, if they say something that is just wrong, gently correct but otherwise, wait to be asked.  I have made my position very clear to this individual but a spiritual conversation still hasn’t occurred. I don’t want to force my beliefs on anyone (well, actually I do, but it’s been my experience that doing so turns people off to the Gospel) but I do want him to know the joy I have.  I pray nightly that I can love this individual well with no misunderstandings of why and that it would point to the Savior that I know and love.