Fun in the Mud

You know how it always happens, you need to wash your car, put it off for a long time, wash it, and then it rains later that day or the next?  That is just the way it seems to go.  Same thing happened with me, except I wanted it to rain. 

I was tired of the mud.  Fed up really.  It seemed I couldn't make it 5 steps without getting my pants and boots COVERED with mud.  I also hate hate when the bottom of my pants are wet, especially jeans.  Hate it.  I noticed that a few of the veteran residents of Taji seemed to be rocking some sweet rain boots and decided that I wouldn't spend another mud-filled day without a pair.  I ordered some from Target and eagerly waited for their arrival.

They got here about a month ago.  I ripped open the box and put them on-it was a beautiful sunny day without a hint of a rain cloud in sight-but I wanted to try them out.  One of my coworkers optimistically said, "You know Matia, the rainy season has passed.  You will probably never actually need to wear them."  I promptly gave him the "How dare you say something like that.  Quit raining on my parade." look and said, "Well, I have heard that it sometimes will rain in March and April."

The boots were out for awhile, then I put them back in the box.  I moved them to a different box under my bed noting that there was quite a bit of dust on them and wondered if I would get to wear them or if my coworker was correct.  I waited and waited.  Today, it rained.  This morning started with minimal mud and a few sprinkles.  It wasn't anything my normal boots couldn't handle.  We have had sprinkles before and I figured that today would be no different.  I came back from breakfast and spent the morning inside.  When my roommate and I got ready for lunch, I started out the door and promptly turned around because it was finally time.

I will say this, polka dots aren't really my thing, and I would prefer a pair of less conspicuous plain black boots, but, my boots are AWESOME.   Sure, I got some funny looks and a few laughs from people.  But, here it is at the end of my day and my pants are still mud-free.  I have tromped through all of the mud and the muck all day while the newbies slowly tried to dodge puddles and piles of mud.  Even if this is the only time I get to wear my boots, they were worth every single cent.

I know that for most of you it is spring.  I highly recommend getting a pair of rain boots.  They can bring you back to your childhood when you could spend hours out splashing around the neighborhood.  They are a great investment.  Happy Splashing-Love, M.

A Chu Life

When I made my last post, I had 3 or 4 things I had planned on writing about.  I decided not to overload you guys and spread out the information.  It turns out that I have forgotten what it was that I had deemed blogworthy.  So, for now, I am going to post a couple of pictures of my room.  Sometimes it looks messier than in these photos, sometimes cleaner.  It is a pretty small space, so probably more messy than clean, but it is the little space I call home.  Enjoy.  Love, M.

Shamal

The mud is gone.  We had a pretty big thunderstorm last night, but it either didn't amount to much rain and was just all rumble, or the wind has been so strong since, that the mud has pretty much dried up already.  Either way, the mud is a thing of the past.  Now, we have dust...and plenty of it.

I learned a new word, shamal.  It means desert wind.  I think it should be redefined as so much dust in the air, if you open your mouth, your teeth get sandblasted.  It is ridiculous.  I am going to give you a couple of pictures.  The first I got from the Internet and it shows the dust/sand from above, the second is a photo I took outside of our Chus.  You can see that the sky looks crazy. 

The first time we had one of these dust storms, I was surprised.  The morning was sunny, we even had blue skies.  By noon, I could tell there was dust in the air, and it was windy.  By 2:30, when I stepped outside of my Chu, the sky reminded me of tornado weather.  It was an odd feeling.  I think it was the coloring more than anything else.  They say that the storms lose their strength at night, but last night around 8, I still wanted my sunglasses on when I walked to the Cadillac because the wind was still going strong.  On a positive note, Every bit of skin that has been exposed, has been blasted, so I saved a trip to the spa for a salt scrub.  Love, M.

P.S.  In previewing this post, I realized how brown everything looks here.  Yikes.

Unbroken

This is a great book and I am going to tell you about how great it is, but first, a note on how I came to read it.

As you may or may not know, when I was in high school, I was a runner.  I enjoyed it, but got out of the habit.  My cousin Shawn, who is in the army  and was deployed to Iraq for awhile told me that working out is the favorite past time of people living on bases.  So, I had a great idea.  I thought that this would be a perfect place for me to try to become a runner again.  You know, fall back in love with it.  I did what I thought was the most logical first step, I bought a copy of Runner's World magazine.  I read all of it.  One particular story I enjoyed is about a man named Louie Zamperini.  There was an excerpt from the book as well as an interview with this man.  I was hooked. The part that got me was Louie saying this, "I ran Mt. Hollywood, when I was 65, in eight minutes, 28 seconds.  I held the record for about six years until some high school miler beat it by about 10 seconds."  Wow.  I wanted to know more about this guy. While I didn't strap on my running shoes and go for a jog, I did log on to amazon and order this book.

The book is primarily about his time in World War II.  It begins with his childhood and how he terrorized the town of Torrance, California.  His story is great.  He made it to the Olympics when many people had never even heard his name.  He ran the mile in 4:08 in 1938 and probably would have been the first man to make it in under 4 minutes, but never got the chance because of the war.

He went to war.  His B24 crashed into the ocean, he and 2 other survivors spent 47 days floating around the Pacific on a raft, fighting off sharks.  They finally  made it ashore, only to be captured by Japan and spent more than 2 years as a POW.  This is the bulk of the book.  It tells not only Louie's story, but the stories of some other great men as well.  The final part of the book is about his life Post WWII and how he dealt with all of it in a time when PTSD was not diagnosed or treated.

There is so much in this book that I loved.  I think what I loved most was that I was able to learn more about the second World War.  The people who served in the war are real to me now.  This book has only a few stories out of millions.  I now have a greater sense of what people went through during World War II for the greater good of humanity.  I started this book wanting to know more about The Great Zamperini and finished it knowing much more about this time in our history. 

For the record, while I have ventured a jog on the treadmill a few times, I am still a long way from feeling that my day is incomplete without a run.  I will say this, my collection of running magazines is growing and I am certain that one of these days, the inspiration will come.  Happy Reading.-M.

Priceless

Excuse me?  How could anyone possibly say that Valentine's Day sugar cookies made by my mom and my niece Madison have no value?  I have no idea.

A couple of things about these cookies.  I haven't had many bouts with homesickness since I have been here.  I attribute that to many things, but mostly, because I am living on an American base surrounded by many English speakers, eating familiar food, etc.  But, earlier this month, I had a bad day, was looking at some Valentine's Day cards, and missed home.  My mom makes great sugar cookies.  The only thing is, she doesn't make them often.  Usually, we have sugar cookies around Christmas and Valentine's Day.  She will sometimes make them other times of the year, but it is rare.  I think it has to do with the cookie cutters.  Back to the point, I was missing home, and my mouth started watering at the thought of the sugar cookies I would be missing out on.  So, I sent an email...on February 8th.


February 14th, "Cookies are in the mail."  Very good news indeed.  February 25th, "Ok.  I shipped the cookies 11 days ago.  Do you have them yet?"  Nope.  Not yet.  Still hungry.  I took three count 'em THREE trips to the place where we pick up our mail thinking that each mail call email I received notifying me that I had a package, the cookies would be there.  Nope. 

I got them today.  The mail was stalled for a few days on account of some roads being closed, but I have been waiting for these babies for awhile.  15 days in the mail and they still are great.  I opened the box immediately, shared with the mail guy, because he has a hard job and probably doesn't get to hear "thanks" very often.  Yes, they would have been better fresh.  At least there wouldn't have been as many crumbs, but they are still good.  Best with cold milk.  I already know what I am having for breakfast in the morning.

P.S.  This shout out to my mom and the Madster is in no way intended to discount any other great packages or letters I have received.  I am a lucky girl to get so much mail.  But the wait for these cookies, made this a funny story I thought I would share with everyone.  Lots of love.  M