Jessica Scott

Well, we’re here. I’m sharing a chu (containerized housing unit) with my husband, there’s hot showers and real toilets, what else could a girl want in a combat zone. No internet, however, so blog posts will be somewhat more sporadic for a few weeks until we get situated. Otherwise, we’re here, it’s Christmas and at least I’m with my husband.
Kiss your kids goodnight and remember how fortunate you are to be home with them right now.
Merry Christmas, everyone.

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So, the other day in my shop we were scrounging for a power cable to a VoiP phone. We managed to find one down at Arifjan, a two hour drive away. I told the boss that Scott was heading to Ali Al Saleem and I could ask him if he could scoot a little further down the road to AJ. Well, it turns out that Scott needed a TC anyway so off we went.

What a fun day. It was by far the most relaxing day we’ve had here. We saw a bunch of camels on the side of the road at feeding time. They’re actually pretty cool to look at, not at all like that a-hole camel out at Topsey in Copperas Cove (for those of you who don’t know, THAT camel sticks his head in the car and steals the food you’ve bought to feed all the animals). It was a lot of fun seeing them and we were wondering what purpose exactly do camels serve out here. Scott said they were a status symbol, kind of like an escalade in the states.

Oh well, the adventure continues. Muse is back in performing shape. Apparently all I have to do to get her back to work is complain about her and she gets creative on me.

So now I”m off to work at exciting Camp Buehring, Kuwait.

That’s all for now!

Jess

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So I was going for the gold with Saving Trent. I was on a roll. On the flight back to Texas, I wrote 5000 words and was on track to keep right on going until the end.

And now? Nothing. Okay, not really nothing. I’ve written about 800 words this week, when I should be doing 1000 per day. I think I”m going to have to publicly declare that I will write 1000 words per day in order to get my butt back in front of the computer.

I think part of my problem is the new environment: it’s austere and boring and there are no outside distractions. I have nothing to force me to sit and write.

So I think I’ve come up with a solution, however, that involves more than just 1000 words per day. I edited my playlists and I’ve got new music to listen to that’s getting my brain moving again. But the biggest thing is that I owe it to my characters to finish this book. I just can’t leave them hanging in the void left on the blank pages.

My goal is therefore declared: FINISH SAVING TRENT. I will write 1000 words per day, every day, until it is finished. I will not allow my characters to end where they sit right now (one is home with three very upset children and one is getting a much needed girls day out).

Besides that, I’m afraid that if I don’t start writing again, it will just slip to the side and I’ll be one of those writers who gave up. What am I talking about? I don’t quit.

So there. Off my butt, time to stop blogging and get on with it.

And that’s what’s going on in my world today!

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So the first week has given new meaning to the phrase Hurry Up and Wait. Troops are arriving and training is underway. All in all, I give the training camp here in Kuwait a thumbs up so far. They have a lot of soldiers to deal with here and they’re only here for a few weeks before heading north. The USO is cool. They have a small studio set up so you can read stories to your kids on video camera and then send them the DVD and the book. It’s really great.
Otherwise, the drama continues as people continue to be stressed out by the things going on here. I wonder what’s going to happen when we go north. I also wonder how I’m going to handle things and my biggest worry is that I’ll do something stupid to get someone else hurt. I try very hard not to pull rank and I really listen when people with experience over here talk, especially people who’ve had combat experience.
I’ve already had one lesson learned: always be ready. People kind of snickered when the CSM said to make sure you’re ready for a fight when you ride off base. I had my first opportunity to go off base here in Kuwait yesterday and the trip was enlightening.
I’ll go in to more detail some other time, but let’s just say I didn’t sleep the entire trip. It was too interesting and I didn’t want to miss anything.
Culture shock Part 1 coming next.
Later!
Jess

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No, not THAT s-word. Stress. Too many folks over here are already starting to show signs of breaking down. It’s day 5. One thing I’ve learned from my husband’s two previous tours over here is that a year in Iraq is a marathon, not a sprint. If you don’t get enough rest, if you don’t eat right, the stress is going to get you way before anything else.

Stress over here comes in many forms. Missing your family is stressful. People may not acknowledge that it is, but a lack of little kids’ feet slapping on bare floors is stressful. Life with kids has a certain sound. Life in the tents over here has a different sound, one of air conditioners and national anthems. People are used to hearing certain sounds when they sleep, so listening to shouts and a/c units causes stress.

The biggest thing I can recommend is for you to find a way to deal with the stress. An outlet that lets you channel the energy the stress is taking out of you and put it toward something that makes the unit better.

So that’s all for now. 

Later!

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Okay, I recognize that leadership is not an inherited trait. Some people are better at it than others. But some people have no business being leaders. They should really get out of the army and go home because they do a disservice to soldiers in the Army. They should also realize that they need to stay in their functional areas of expertise and not tell other people’s soldiers what to do.

And on the flip side of that, I am NOT a noncommissioned officer any more. I am a lieutenant and that means when a captain, regardless of how experienced, tells me to do something, I have to do it. Even when I KNOW I have a different mission. But that’s okay. That’s how the Army works and it works that way for a reason. Lieutenants do what captains tell them. Let’s just leave it at that, for now. I’m going to finish my book.

Later
Jess

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Made it safe and sound to Kuwait. Did a little work today, but the major grind starts tomorrow. Pretty jetlagged but can’t seem to get used to sleeping. It’s just like being at NTC, as far as the sand and the 5 minute combat showers, so all in all, it’s not bad. 

Except that I didn’t do any writing on the plane. Nothing. Not a single word. I slept instead, which may explain my current insomnia. I’d like to write something but I’m just not feeling into it. Though I did discover a cool fact during a layover: Stanza (ereader app for iPod and iPhone) offers many classics for FREE. I downloaded Poe, Hawethorne, Neitchze. All kinds of good stuff.

That’s all the excitement for now!

Otherwise, I’m on day 1. 364 to go.

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So tomorrow is the big day. I’m off, the packing it done (okay 80% but pretty dang close) for the most part and all that’s left to do is get up and go.

And I won’t say that I’m not nervous. This isn’t a training exercise, it’s real. I can only hope that at the end of the day, I don’t do something that gets someone hurt or worse. I’m grateful that my husband is going with me. I’m grateful my mom is taking great care of my kids. And I’m grateful that I have a huge long wait tomorrow to do nothing but sit around and wait to get on a plane (and hope my duffle bag fits).

So if your interested, drop me a line some time this year. I’d love to hear from you. 

Let the adventure begin.

See you whenever I get internet access again! Check back soon, as I have no idea when that may be:)

Jess

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So, I’ve discovered a handy little thing to help me keep in touch with the kids. Oovoo. It’s video teleconferencing via the web and it’s FREE. You can download it here. The big plus was that it only takes two steps for my computer illiterate (I mean that in the nicest way, Mom) mom to dial us, plus she already figured out how to leave us video messages. Pretty cool. Still working some bandwidth issues, but hey, anything that let’s me see my kids while I’m deployed is worth it.

That said, I’ve been slacking off on my to do list. I’ve got a ton of stuff to accomplish before long and yeah, I’m waiting until the last minute to do it. Like finish medical readiness. Wills. You know, the important things. Got to get cracking.

Oh and in the keep myself busy department: I accomplished 5000 words today in my latest WIP Saving Trent. Not bad in the way of occupied so I don’t sit around and miss the kiddies. I’m hoping to have this book done before the new year.

That’s all for now!
Jess

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So the leaving is over, at least for now. Nothing can describe the feeling of having your four year old look at you and ask why your sad and then having to explain that you’ll be gone for a while. But she’s a smart kid. She said, “But you’ll have Daddy with you, right? And Daddy makes you happy?” Not as happy as being around my kids, but yeah, having Daddy around will help.

I’m not going to complain, because others have done this way more than I have. I’m going to be grateful. Grateful that we have my mom to take care of our kids. Grateful that they’re healthy and overall happy. And grateful for the time that I have had with them. And I won’t mope (okay not too much) because my kids love being with my mom. 

So. I’m not going to complain about how bad this sucks, I’m going to be grateful for the opportunities ahead and pray that everyone comes home safe this year.

That’s all for now.

Jess

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It’s not often that extreme amounts of manual labor result in a good day, but today was it. My kids got to spend it with their entire family on my husband’s side as we did some remodeling at my in law’s house. It was great and one my oldest will remember for a long time as her uncle let her help drive the Bobcat. I have pictures. It was great. But the best part was that my kids got to spend time with their mommom and poppop, something they don’t get nearly enough time doing. Now mind you, mommom hooked them up with marshmallows so she’s forever in their good graces, but it was a really great day for memories. And after all, isn’t that what today is for? Making memories…

So here’s the thing. Take a minute out of your day and hug your kids. Even when you want to smother them, give em a quick squeeze. Make that the memory they remember, instead of fighting over eating pizza. Cause you might not get the chance tomorrow to make a better one.

That’s all for now!

Jess

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So my family and I are somewhere outside Knoxville, getting ready to cut across North Carolina on the way to MomMom and PopPop’s house up in Delaware on the first stop in the drop the kids and pets off for the year. 

I have to say, this has been the most relaxing trip we’ve taken so far. The kids have been angels and even the psycho cat hasn’t been that annoying and I cannot honestly recall when I’ve been this patient. It sucks that I can’t be like this all the time… Anyway, I’m keeping my mind busy and trying not to think about next Friday (The Departure) when the year away from the kids and pets and home officially begins. I’m trying to figure out how to post the donut of despair up on my website, so you all can count down with me. Otherwise, just ready to get started so I can get it over with already.

That’s all for now!

Jess

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So the second week in November is done and gone. Why is that anything to remark on? My family and I are down to our last two weeks together as a family for at least a year. It sucks but it’s the life we’ve chosen as part of the Army. So if anyone has any suggestions for dealing with crushing depression and missing of one’s children during my upcoming deployment, I’d love to hear it.

Later!

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So, I’m working on finishing up my total migration over to MAC from windows. I have to say, I’m nervous, primarily because I know how to find data on my harddrive if my windows craps out. I’ve heard, though I have not verified, that if you lose your data on MAC it’s gone for good. Thank Steve Jobs for Timemachine. So we’ll see. The only thing I’m having trouble with is my Quicken. My PC Quicken files are not compatible with my MAC Quicken. I’ve found a work around for the Outlook to Entourage thing. 

Oh, and one more little gadget I’m in love with: my iPod touch. You heard me rave about the little sucker regarding the ebook reader. Well, I can also check my email, balance my checkbook and so much more. The more I use it, the more I love it. Its the iPhone without the phone (which probably wouldn’t work in Iraq anyway).

So that’s all for now!

Jess

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For those of you who don’t know, I’m a member of the Austin Romance Writers of America. They’ve been amazingly supportive over the ups and downs of going through the pain of seeking publication and last night was no exception.

They threw me a going away party, complete with an Inject the Venom cake and a song. I’m going to say I’ve never heard a more beautiful rendition of God Bless America than the one Lexi Connor sang last night. It moved me to tears. The cards and notes are going with me, so when the bad days come next year, I’ll have some cheerful thoughts to remind me. The cake was donated by Cake Please and was amazing!

Folks, if you ever have a chance to swing by a meeting at the RWA in Austin. You’ll leave a better person for knowing them.

And before I forget, HUGE congratulations to Skylar White on her publication offer. It was a great way to end the evening. Celebrate, girl!

Okay that’s all. Stop by www.jessdawson.com for photos from last night. I’ll have them up soon!

Take care
Jess

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So I’m having an apocalyptic bent. I’m reading The Stand by Stephen King. The unabridged version on my new toy, my iPod touch. I’d started The Stand several years ago (it may even have been a decade ago) but for some reason I never finished it. I’m glad it didn’t then, because I’m enjoying the ride oh so much. The best part about The Stand is that I don’t know how it ends, other than most everyone gets sick from the Army-engineered flu.

And as I get ready to head into theater, I’m finding latent interest in religion resurrecting. I’m feeling my own version of apocalyptic story starting to germinate in my brain, so we’ll see what my year in Iraq brings.

The other book my husband recommends is SwanSong. Anyone want to learn something neat? I’m willing to bet that Stephanie Meyer pays tribute to SwanSong and The Stand in her Twilight series. I could be wrong, but her main characters’ last names are Swan and Cullen. Coincidence? Or just cool.

One thing the Army teaches us is to honor those that came before us, so if she is paying tribute to those authors, bravo!

So today, on Veteran’s Day, let’s pause to honor those that gave the ultimate sacrifice and those who haven’t but who give up something of their lives so the rest of the nation can go about their daily business without worrying over who is going to protect them from the boogeyman.

That’s all for now.

Jess

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So, I’m a sucky parent but I gave in. Something about fighting a never ending battle for the last two weeks I”m going to spend with my child for over a year made me reconsider just how much I wanted her to eat green beans. I decided not that much. So, we’ve taken a new track. I cook. If she eats, great. If not, oh well. I’m just not cooking anything else. So we’re at an impasse, so to speak. But as the clock winds down to the day I say goodbye to my babies, I’ll look on this as a good decision. Who wants to spend the small amount of time fighting? I’d rather bake pies and have a good time at the zoo.

Later
Jess

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So I’m a few weeks out from deploying to Iraq. Guess how I choose to spend my last few weeks with my kids: fighting about food. We’re on day four of my oldest’s hunger strike. She has to eat at least one bite of the food we put in front of her or she doesn’t eat.

She’s opted not to eat. The thing is, she’s soo stubborn. I honestly think I might lose this battle, but I’m afraid if I cave in now that I’ve started, it will be over for the rest of her life.

Anyone got any tips? I’d love to break this stalemate and get back to enjoying our time together. My biggest worry is that I’ll die in Iraq and my daughter will remember me as the evil mommy who tried to make her eat pizza (yes, the child won’t even eat pizza!)

Suggestions welcome!

Later
Jess

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There won’t be much traffic here until mid-late December, but I’ll post a little before I go. Once we get settled across the pond, check back daily! Of course, there will be NO OPSEC violations on this blog. I won’t share anything that will risk any soldier’s life. Mostly, it will be my observations and experiences as I go through my combat tour with the First Cav.  Until then, check out my newly redesigned website at www.jessdawson.com!

Later
Jess

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