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.

Tweet This Post

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

Tweet This Post

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!

Tweet This Post

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

Tweet This Post

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!

Tweet This Post

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

Tweet This Post

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.

Tweet This Post

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

Tweet This Post

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

Tweet This Post