Repetition

With so much time on my hands, I am forced to find ways of filling the groundhog days of my deployment. Yes, for my non-military family and friends, deployments are the perfect example of the Bill Murray classic – without the ability to change the outcome of the future. After a while you don’t even care what day of the week it is because it has zero influence on what you do that day. Occasionally something will break up the monotony but more often then not, I live like a programmed machine.

Wake up – regardless of the time; it’s the same routine of lying in bed thinking through my morning process. I will go through the steps of showering, shaving, remembering to grab a water bottle for brushing my teeth because we can’t use the tap water, and so on. Not sure why I do this but if it means making it to the bathroom without realizing I forgot my towel, then I can manage.

Breakfast – after completing the cleaning process, I head to the dining facility, pronounced dee-fak because of its acronym (DFAC), for the usual bowl of cereal, coffee, and an orange, which I take to the office to eat. I say bowl, but it’s actually the foil covered individual serving plastic container – usually Total Raisin Bran, but Special-K Red Berries is a close second.

Work – this is the part where there is some variety, typically in the amount of time we spend with the Afghans. Some days our hand is forced because of their priorities and other days we have to return to our office to get something done for them, regardless, it is the same routine.

Gym – after finishing with our Afghan friends, I typically head to the gym while everyone else hits the DFAC for lunch. My work out routine is built on a 5-on 1-off schedule but the only day that really matters is the off day because I get to eat guilt-free, and believe me – I do! Once I feel physically prepared to start my marathon training the routine will shift to a 5-on 2-off schedule to accommodate the longer runs and muscle recovery.

Work – yes, back to work to complete whatever project needs finishing or just to check my email for any new work that might need attention. This is about the time that I have to find creative ways of passing time until dinner: Facebook, blog posts, play with Dave’s video camera, or a quick stop visit to the “Free X” (a glorified closet, open to the entire camp, full of items either from care packages or that were purchased but not used – basically a way to pay it forward).

Dinner – my second meal of the day is usually some sort of salad made by shredding whatever the main dish is over some lettuce and topping that with some cheese from the sandwich buffet. Might not sound appeasing, but I have created some pretty tasty meals by simply putting stuff on lettuce. Truth be told, the food here is very good and even if I might not be in the mood for the selection of the day, I am rarely disappointed.

Evening – after dinner it is a complete free-for-all trying to get access to an open computer in the MWR building. I often strike out and retire early to my room for a movie…or two. Yes, movies in Afghanistan are a staple of my life in the evenings. Because I workout early in the day, I have more free time to play with at night; hence the movie watching. There is no shortage of movies or television shows in this country, which finishes out my day on a very relaxing note.

Zzzzzzzz and REPEAT

Despite the monotony of it all, I will continue to seek new and interesting ways of both passing the time and mixing things up a bit. Keep checking back to find out how I made it through just another day in my life.