oops

sorry for the misspelling... i forgot the do spell check... oh well 

so its been a good minute since ive posted

it think the last one was like around thanksgiving... and since then alot has happened. where to start. well the week after thanksgiving, i think it was just a regular work week, nothing too special. actually... i had ERT that week, and i was promoted to fire team leader... which is good, and that means i get to be the first into a burning building, and last out... woohoo danger. um... then the next week i sent out my families christmas gifts... i hope they arrive on time. and then the remainder of the week was pretty basic. made plans for this weekend, and then thursday, like about 230 pm... i got a call from my LCPO (Leading Chief Petty Officer) and he was asking me if i wanted to take part in this "run" this weekend. These "runs" are usually for like Admirals and Captains of the base and stuff.... well this one was a little bit more prestigious. Lets just say i spent majority of my weekend, this weekend, driving around Bahrain in....drumroll... the Secretary of Defense's motorcade. yea... i was a driver for his staff actually. and the coolest part was just seeing him... the closest i thought i would have gotten was no more than maybe ten feet from him. and in his motorcade i was about three cars back.... mind you i had half of his staff in my van.... there were four 05s... (big wigs), the guy who was running this entire weekends operations was riding with me... and as our base liasion officer in charge, he was an 05 as well. so i spent some pretty predigious mounts of time rubbing elbows with some high class DC people. AND... to top it all off.... right as the SecDef was boarding his plane... they pulled out all the drivers of the weekend, and we all got a picture with him. i was standing right next to the United States Secretary of Defense. AND i got to shake his hand, AND i got a command coin from him (this is basically priceless, its the third highest coin you can probably get). Man was it awesome. it was tough hours, up by 6 (5 for the final day which was today) and back home by about 8. long days, but man was the payoff worth it. i got to hang out with the head secret agent guy for the first night, then the second in charge of the agents was with us the whole time. i had my dinner one night bought by the O5 riding with me the whole weekend. and then there was an O1 from the army and basically shot the poopoo with us the entire weekend. he was ordering us to call him by his first name... and he was an officer on base.... boy was it an exciting weekend. and another thing... the SecDef's plane.... EFFING HUGE... SERIOUSLY. the puppy was some site to see. we got all sorts of photos of all the places we went and ill be posting them on my facebook once i get my hands on them.

-sigh- it was awesome. 

but i gotta run... need some fuel for the belly.

i love you guys, and ill post again before the holidays. everyone be safe on the roads, and buckle up (they told us that everytime we "mounted up"... haha agent talk... its cool) 

take care guys.... i love you.

Happy Thanksgiving

Obviously since you are reading this, i will not be home for thanksgiving... and for the holidays for that matter. but i wanted to personally take a moment and wish everyone a very happy thanksgiving, and a very very special merry christmas. i was away to school for the last thanksgiving, and it really hurt to know that i was only a few hours away. but this year it is a little easier to handle seeing as how i am 7000 mile away from you guys. although i did make it for christmas, i, again, will not be able to make it home for that either. 

i was pretty bummin when i knew i wasnt coming home for the holidays, and as they approached, i began to... well, lose it. getting somewhat irritable, finding myself sitting in my room, thinking only of family, and nothing else really. and then a very close family member, actually today, wrote to me and told me straight. they mentioned that i need to get my head on straight. that i need to realize that i made a commitment, and need to stick to it, the metaphor of marriage was said. they said that it was a blessing that i still had contact with family (i.e. phone, email, internet), and that you need to grow up sometimes. 

so after reading their message to me, i continued to surf the web, and it didnt really dawn to me until i started writing this post that, yea, i have made a large commitment. there are somethings in life that i do need to sacrifice. i cant live on the luxuries i had when i was a civilian anymore, i mean i can still enjoy the conversations, and the photos, but i need to stay committed to my job, and my country.. and with that comes long days and short nights, holidays with bosses and minimal luxuries. i realized that i will have to miss a few christmas's and a few birthdays, and a few thanksgivings, but that is what making a commitment to something like the military is. -inhalestofighttheurgetocry- i miss my family so much... but i know that if i was not over here, even though i dont shoot a gun, or ride in a tank on patrol or convoy, i know i am doing my part to give my family the freedom to celebrate the holidays. it is time for me to man up and not jones over the holidays, or the fact that i dont get to see my family everyday. 

i guess what im trying to say is that it is time for me to grow up, and start taking responsibility. 

i love you guys, and i miss you so much.

cant figure out a title

this is going to be short.

i need to leave here, and go back home..... i need to be surrounded by people i can trust with personal information. i need to be surrounded by people who can accept me for the "kevin" you all know, because seriously, im starting to worry if i am the same dude i was before i joined the navy. and if anyone knows of a sweet girl that needs a boyfriend.... give her my email.

i love you guys. i miss you each day.

kev

duty calls

i just finished my duty day for this month, pretty quiet, and i watched like 4 movies while on duty so pretty easy too. but i also wanted to put the word out officially, i sadly will not be coming home for thanksgiving or christmas. i know, im really upset too, but duty call when duty calls. and plus, ill have a pretty nice chunk of leave in the books when i leave here, so we can make up for loss time. and ive heard thru the family grape-vine that next christmas, not 100 percent sure about this, but next christmas, my family will be out in italy so we all will be together.... im kinda excited about that, especially  for bryan and andrew. they have flown.. a little bit, mainly stateside flights... i think, but for them to fly all the way to italy, for me.... i think itll be quite awesome.

this week of work has been usual. nothing too shabby. we had ert this week, so tuesday was a fun day, we ran hoses, and then searched a room filled completely with foam, it was like a european club night only no music or lights, then we did the tunnel crawl... long story short, its like climbing thru a 20 inch drain pipe for 300 feet. its fun, its hot, its a little claustrophobic, but still, fun none the less.

then, the rest of the week was slow, but same old stuff. next week should be fun b/c tuesday is veterans day, and we get that off.... tight.

well, im gonna go, i need some sustenance in my belly.

i love you guys...  miss you tons too.

kev

good morning

just a quick post, i fed a camel a tree branch this morning... yea. it was awesome.

daaang

so its been a pretty minute since ive posted. the past few weekends i spent the weekend in a very super nice apartment/flat. im talkin like 5 star ritzy-ditzy style home. it had a jacuzzi style bath tub in the master bedroom, i huge shower in the guest room, king size beds in all rooms, a super nice kitched, and the view from the top was amazing. you could see all of the citys in bahrain.... it was fun. um... the first weekend in there, the three of us went shopping for literally 8 hours straight, the girls were looking for dresses for the following weekend, and i ended up buying the top half of a suit for the occasion. the rest of that weekend was spent being lazy, swimming in the pool, and have a good time. the following weekend, there was the Philipino-American Benefit held at this 5 star hotel. went to the benefit and then headed out to hit up some bars on the town. i was DDing, so i made due with the role. ordering a "water on the rocks" and some times even asking for "whats a good water you guys serve?" ha... it was funny. i think i have officially decided to lay off of drinking for a while. reason being is actually today, i ran 1/16 of a marathon. it was hard, but man was it fun. and ive been talking with my LPO, and he convinced me to start training for the half-marathon in january. so i dont know for sure, but i think ive taken up the hobby of yogging, or jogging.... ya know... that thing you do instead of walking or sprinting.... that little middle guy.... but yea, i ran a 3k thursday, and then this 1/16 marathon, then there is a 5k next friday, and in november there is a 3k and a 5k on base... and im going to both. so yea.... its fun to run. and it a little strange b/c  one of my life goals is to run a marathon.... ha...

well other than the marathon thingy and the 5star living for a few weekends... i guess thats it. work is same ole same ole. so i guess until next time. I love you guys very very much, and i miss you more and more.

kevo

-inhale-

so its been a good minute (a while) since i posted. the base had a three day weekend this past weekend, and my luck ocured, and i had duty on sunday (our day off) so i didnt really get around to posting. but as for last week, it was pretty good. we had ert on the tuesday, so we were on base testing all of the fire hoses we have to make sure they still could hold a seal under pressure. umm... then duty happened, nothing real big there, and then this week started, and it was again just about the same as any other week. just same old stuff happening. wait... we had our PRT, basically a test to see if we are in shape or not, and i passed, which is good, but i would have liked to have my run time shorter, but whatever, a mile and a half in 12 minutes, i think is ok.... but who cares. then this weekend, has been quite exciting, um... basically there is this guy that a friend of mine knows, this guy went on a month long leave, well the guy trusts my firned so much that he gave the room key to them, so basically, under strict oath of trust, we have a very very nice flat/apartment for a whole month. and you should see this place... WOW. im gonna take shome photos of it, and i dont know if i can get them on this website, but i will put them on my facebook..... its been a really good weekend so far too, we spent ... 8 hours shopping for "nice", "semi-formal" clothing for this party that the Philipino-American Club is throwing next weekend at this hotel.... so yea... i know it was 8 hours... but the two girls i was with spent most of the time shopping, i was doing some admiration-of-the-opposite-sex most of the time.

well until next week. 

i miss you guys and i love you all tons more.

kev

26

26 weeks left... halfway... damn!

it needs to go faster. i cant take this anymore. no girls worth talking to on or off base. my job really really sucks. miss my family. miss my friends. miss going to a regular church. miss a regular life outside military regulations. miss regular internet connection. miss skateboarding a regular skatepark. miss riding a regular mountain or jump park. miss going to regular concerts. just want to come home. 

kev

ive got this incredibly large headache right now

so its saturday, and georgia is playing today, i probably wont be able to see the game, but ill catch the highlights tomorrow. not much new to say this week again. that seems to be the trend now i guess. im trying to save money over here, so i a minimizing my spending habits, to next to nothing. i usually just put it on my credit card, and even then i am still frugal. so -sigh- still doing the same crap everyday. sleep, eat, work, gym, eat and sleep. thats about it. uhh.... i heard Aunt susan, had another boy, thats pretty tight, little William Stringfellow. 

wow, i am completely boring today, this week. maybe i just need to get off the country. -pouts-

ok till next week.

i love you guys, and i miss you

good day everyone

so yet another week in the books, and something like 28 left or something. not like im counting.

this week was good, so the same old stuff again. i have ERT which all we really did was.... wow i cant remember, we were here on base when we should have been out ... yea i remember now, we should have been out at the fire grounds which is where we actually get to fight a fire, but we were here cleaning out the fire truck, taking inventory of everything, and then the rest of the day did nothing, seriously.

um... other than that, i went to the EOD party thursday night, and man was it fun. the EOD guys are super cool too, supplied all drinks and even bought pizza later into the night, they had a pool and majority of the partying took place there. there was probably like 50 people there, and the whole time they were making sure everyone was having fun, checking up on things, it was really great. good music, good food, good beer, probably one of the better parties ive been to.

so i guess thats about it, nothing really special happens here in bahrain for seabees, so its kind of a smooth coast till the end of my term here. 

but i hope everyone had a great week, and i hope the next week is a great and safe one for everyone.

i love you guys and i miss you tons.

kevo

good morning

right now its 345 in the afternoon, but back home its early AM, hence my title. 

so im thinking this post will be kinda like most posts, nothing too special. um... this week was decent, its just the never changing agony of nothing to do here is really taking a toll on some individuals here, and i just so happen to be one of them. uhh, i started back up on my workout schedule again. i stopped b/c i was getting shin splints, but i think ill be fine this time around. 

they posted new orders up online this past thursday, and with just about 6 months left here, i kinda tried to put in for sigonella, sciliy. that little island right off the boot of italy. im not sure if ill get it, but i have our command's career councelor doing the paperwork to get me in for that. so we'll see soon if i got it or not. 

nothing else to really talk about. i think the one this i am fearing is my ability to humor myself and others around me is deteriorating b/c the place i am stuck in. i mean i laugh some, but i find myself force laughing to lighten the moods, .... but i do still laugh at myself, which is good, so i guess another six months of laughing at myself will do. ha. (see right there, ok i think ill be ok)

take care everyone.

i love you and i miss you tons.

kayfed

good morning

ive been doing alot of tossing-of-ideas in my head these past few weeks. there are so many things that i want to do so bad. i want to go back to school (campus style) so much, i think im going insane, the only real way to do that is a one a year selection board.... very hard to do, and its basically going to school full time year round (dont mind that at all) and afterwards, youre an officer.... (cool i guess, but not sure if im officer type. no offense uncle gary, but the officers dont really get their hands dirty as do the enlisted members, plus its officer, thats like a boat load of responsibility, i can handle it, but i dont think i want to at this moment). i want to get into a rate that will give me some kind of excitement, ive tossed EOD and ND (explosive ordinance disposal and navy diver) around for weeks now, and being so young (E3) it wouldnt be that hard to get into it. but the training is completely intense, like literally, its just about as intense as SEAL training. its 51 weeks of hardcore training, the first 12 is like boot camp times eighteen, and then the next 42 weeks are training on how to safely defuse various bombs and missiles and IEDs, and then its jump school for three weeks, and then various weeks of other intense training. so when i say intense, its 51 weeks of intense. i was online reading some news stories about this particular ND class that had this newspaper follow them thru the 9 weeks of dive school, and seriously, it sounds tough, not so much physically, but mentally and emotionally. they take you out of your comfort zone the first day, and its all uphill after that. i mean some of the things they train is for worst case scenarios and stuff, but its all about testing your patience in a very very very stressful situation. but ultimately in the end, after the 51 weeks of for lack of better terms, hell, youre probably the most respected and acknowledged job holder in the navy, other than the SEALs, but like right there with them. and i think if i seriously put my mind to it, and pre-train before i submit a package to do it, i think i would be able to make it, no promises here, but i think its doable. among other things i want to do like retire to canada and open a bike shop and ride the mountains till im old and grey, i just want to do something different, and i think this EOD is the key.  i dont kno, i think i just need to get back to being busy with a job or task like regular working. ive done it for so many years prior to the navy, and thats all i really kno, that and riding a bike. i guess there will always be canada when i get out, i just need to focus on what im doing right now, in the God forsaken country, where i just saw before i walked into this room to type that it was 106 outside, and its ramadan which means the ENTIRE country shuts down during the day, and if you drink, spit, smoke, drink anything, eat anything, wear the wrong thing, or have sex anytime during the day in car or not, and you get caught, you go to jail till ramadan ends, and its a whole month. so like i said, ill just focus on working out and saving money till i leave, and then hopefully ill be able to  do something about the EOD stuff real soon.

ok i love you guys.

take care

kev

-yawns-

so, i walk outside today, at like almost noon (today the military over here is celebrating labor day by having this day off) and i noticed that it smelled like a farm show, like the portion of the farm show that has all the livestock, preferably the cattle and horses. yea weird. i smelled it last night walking home from my chief selects' flat, but i figured it was just bahrain smelling bad, but today, man, its strong. but whatever, i have the day off so i slept till like 1015, then finally walked outside like i said, noon. 

so my week was.... good i guess. sunday and monday, i dont... wait, yea sunday dont remember much, i think i just went to a few meetings about stuff. monday night however i talked to my good friend jordan greenfield. havnt talked to him in like almost months, it was good to talk to a friend that isnt a military member. um... tuesday, uhh..... yea dont remember. wednesday tho, dude wednesday was tight, i got to shoot the M16A3 machine gun. yea it was pretty tight. i got marksman, which if you remember my last post, the three levels you can get is marksman, sharpshooter, and expert. so im thinking, if my M9 was sharp this past time and the previous M9 was just marksman, then hopefully ill get expert next time ... well next time i shoot the M16 i hope to get sharp, and the following ill get expert. third times a charm i guess right.

ok then thursday we had this nice party for all our non-military staff. it was like an appreciation party thing. we had all sorts of filli food, some thai, and an american salad -laughs- we had a raffle for basically a hundred dollars, my LPO got it, lucky bastard. and then we had some door prizes for the staff members, so that was a pretty fun day, oh yea we had a 59 minutes day too, so everyone got to get out of work 59 minutes early. i had duty tho so i stayed in the office till like almost nine o'clock, then finally went to bed. then friday, i had a call at like five in the morning, and i didnt get out to the site till like six b/c i fell back asleep. but when i got there, it was just a simple call, they needed a replacement light bulb. so i went and got one for them, went to replace it, and the bulb blew, so my dumb butt, reached in to see the problem, and try to "wiggle" stuff around, yea, i shocked the shizz outta myself. here in bahrain, everything is run off of 220V, unlike the states where its only like 110 or 120 or something. so here i am, getting shocked, and i thought i could feel my face like wince like in the movies ya know. -laughs, like in home alone 2- and the whole time (which was like maybe 2 seconds) im being shocked im thinking ok kev get away from this pole b/c it hurts and its going to probably kill you. so i pull myself off of it, and i drop the new blown bulb, and kinda stumble to the curb/wall thingy, and two MA's come running out of the little security office like yelling dude are you ok, do you want me to call medical. i tell them no, and im sitting there, stunned as all hell, and im trying to move my left hand (thats what i used to "wiggle" the insides with, and i couldnt, the MA's are still asking me are you ok are you ok, and the guy up in the top gun mount was asking the same from up top. and i still denyed, im shaking my hand trying to get in to move still nothing, so the one MA goes inside, and i start picking up the glass, and he askes again, dude i can call medical, its ok, and i say no again, and this time im laughing, and the MA is kinda laughing with me, i was like, dude, my hand man. and i finally just smack it with my right hand, and i get some movement out of it, and i kept trying to move it, it felt like when your hand goes to sleep, all those "needles" and stuff. but it hurts, and it hurt for a while, but after like twenty minutes i was fine. i just got scared for a minute there. 

anyway, then friday night there was a labor day weekend softball tournement. and the seabees got a spot in the roster, so our game was friday night, i pitched, and i sucked. it was so hard to pitch softball their rules ya know. like it had to go 6 feet up in the air, and you had to hit the plate or this black pad right behind the plate to make it a strike. so i was out there all nervous as hell b/c the other team and other fans were yelling and crap, so we switched out with another player on our team, and they pitched just as bad if not worse than me, and then switched out with another player, who did equally as bad, so we lost the game, but it was still fun, after the game all the other players on the opposing team were like dude we know pitching is hard, i would never get out there and try to do that good props man, and some were giving me pointers and stuff on like pitch release, and one bought me a beer, so it was all fun, but just very competitive when it was game time. 

then yesterday i was proudly representing UGA with my UGA trucker hat, walking around, people asking if i was from georgia... no idiot i just wear the hat b/c its red, of course im from GA. i called mom like one o'clock and she had just left for the game, so i called back like maybe 3 hours later and talked to mom a bit, then to dad, and to liz a bit, -haha lizabit, ha. so yes georgia won, like i figured they would against southern. and then this morning i saw on sportcenter, the question to wether or not georgia can remain #1.... uh... yea they can. 

so now im watchin the villanova and west virginia game, WV dominating right now. and tomorrow is work. so i guess a short week this week, and ill be back up here posting.

i love you gues and i miss you tons.

kev

eehello

so again another week in the books, and another week closer. 

i talked to my good friend jon this week, we met in 'a' school, and he just got attached to a boat security task force team in kuwait. and he leaves in like a few months, so he and i were talking about it, and since kuwait is like an hour flight from here, there might be a couple holidays where i might go and see him for the weekend. it would be kinda cool.

so like i was saying before, this week is over, nothing really exciting happened. i did get a chance to re-qualify for the M9 handgun this wednesday. it was kinda cool. alot more less pressure from the last time i shot back at bootcamp. back then i shot just regular marksman, the third highest you can get. the week i shot sharp shooter, woohoo, the next step up from marksman. so maye next year ill shoot expert which is the highest. there is also another opening to shoot the M16 i think in september, so that would be kinda cool to do.

we had ert this week too. we went out to the firegrounds, and did some hose drills, put out a small fire and then we did this pretty cool search drill that basically taught us the reason for crawling on the floor during a fire. lets just say the room get pretty effin hot. then we also did some actual hose handling under pressure, and the proper way to approach a door and open the door for a building cool/wet down. basically to prevent the fire from coming into the room.

i guess this week was kinda busy after all. i went to church yesterday, and worked on the bike a bit. then my LPO was a part of this filipino club here on the island, and they had this pretty tight masquarade party that had salsa-style dancing there, and all this cool fili food. it was kinda cool. i got out on the floor and was the worst dancer ever. but its ok b/c i had one of the hottest girls teaching me, and i found out that they teach dancing like every friday or saturday there at the club, so im thinking of checking it out. -laughs- i actually had a pretty good time. 

well i guess until next time guys.

i love you all and you know who you are.

hi guys

first let me start out by saying im sorry bill, natalie, and paul, i forgot to put you/them on the list at the end of my thanks from my last post. so... my bad. it is a pretty damn long list to remember too.

anyway. i think the seasons changing out here, b/c back home, when it would go from summer to fall/winter or winter to spring, my hands would literally shed skin, kinda gross, but i always knew that the season was changing back home b/c it happened. and i literally just noticed that my fingers are starting to do it. 

so uhh, this week was great, the typical week, nothing really special, i started working out for a while, but then i got shin splints, so i stopped for a bit, hopefully ill start back up this week. um, mom that camera you gave to me for my birthday, i cant seem to get the photos off the camera. i try to hook it up to the computer, both turned off then turning it on when its hooked, or hooking it up while its turned on, that the screen just goes blank, and after i remove it from the computer, the screen comes on. but ill keep working on it. ive taken alot of pictures too. so i hope i get them off the camera and onto a website soon. 

um, i have a confession too. i missed church yesterday. i completely over slept... kinda. like i was awake at 830. and church starts at 930, so i was like ok ill sleep for like 5 minutes, and next thing i know its 1130. i was bummed. 

i guess other than that, nothing really special has gone down this week. next week tho is ERT week, so im hoping it goes by fast.

i hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and awesome week a head. emily, i miss you lots too, and laughing in front of your kids is something great to do. i do it all the time.

i love all of you guys, and i miss all of you guys tons and tons. 33 or 34 more weeks and im back home. not even half way, but still moving.

love you guys.

kev

see look, im posting... .... .... yay!!!@#

Ha, ive found that laughing at yourself or to yourself is very healthy. even if the people around you make fun of you and think youre going crazy. b/c in all reality, if they arent laughing at themselves, they are taking their job/life/time way too serious. 

i discovered this when our office got this new first class (e6) ea in this week. if you have no idea what im talking about when i say first class or e6, wikipedia it and itll tell you. but anyway. we got this new guy in this past week, and right off the bat he's kind of over compensating (i just spelled that wrong but ill get it right when i do spell check) for something. i mean i get that he is in a new area with new people that he has never met, or people that he hasnt seen in years, but they way he presented himself to me and the other non rates (e1 to e3, again wikipeida that if youre clueless) was very... i dont know. i guess just really cocky, and very overly displaying. like he was trying to set a standard for himself in the first 35 minutes of his existence. i dont know, but anyway, i see him doing this, and i start to smile to myself, and every now and then ill see him doing it again, and ill laugh a little, and my LPO sees this and is asking me whats so funny, and i just tell him something prefabricated like life, or this place, or something i saw on tv. and then he (my LPO) and the new guy will just kind of look at me, and not really say anything. like i am in my own little world, and theyll say something like get back to work, or prioritize my obligations, or something that is leadership like. and i know they are jokingly saying this, but the fact that they cant take just a few moments of the day to laugh or reflect on their simple flaws is simply insane. but whatever, not all people can take a funny, or have a moment of serene quite time.

anyway, just a second ago i mentioned that im in my own little world. and to be quite honest, thats not too far off. b/c lately ive seen that there are two individuals in the navy, or well this base. A) people who will "spotlight" people, basically give out tongue lashing to other people who in turn give back, and 2) people who dont spotlight. who are here to save money, and enjoy the simple things in life. and i have to admit, there are very few type 2 people here, and being someone who can be enjoyed by a simple piece of paper and a pencil, find it hard to hang out with type A individuals. so i constantly find myself in my room, listening to music and enjoying quiet times, reading a book or something, and then come to work the next day and here about someones crazy night of binge drinking or poker playing. and i dont really know how to end this story, but i guess ill have more money when i leave here... ha.

well lets see, this week went by super fast. especially thursday. i had ERT this week too, and let me tell you it was hot. we did a mopp walk in mopp level 4 gear (you have to wikipedia this one b/c i cant explain it in my own words) and then we went to this old building on base and did some smoke and heat ventilation techniques. and outside the building we here able to hook up to a fire hydrant and then a water pump and we shot out some water on the hoses, that was really fun. and then it was the weekend, so yea the week flew by. today i think we (salzman, zarate, calder, martin, and myself) are planning on getting some food and seeing a movie. and then tonight i think there is a poker game going on, so i think if i go ill play DJ or something the whole night, DJ or bartender.

oh yea, melissa, it is ch- with shit. so like ch-it, haha, im laughing to myself again here. like shit but you drop the shhh sound and insert an choochoo minus oochoo. ha

choochoo - oochoo + shit - sh = chit. ha

i love you mom dad emily melissa elizabeth bryan andrew aunt susan uncle tommy mathew abigale and new one to come uncle gary aunt linda john alan eva aunt sally uncle tim sean erin leah uncle dave kerstin nathan grandma and grandpa uncle dale dustin brooke dylan aunt chris uncle tim kaitlyn uncle greg aunt connie jake molly grandma and grandpa

im sorry

so before i get to my opening and explanation as to why i havnt updated in forever, i have to tell you this, there is a grown man, probably late 20's playing, -laughs- some type of mech-warrior meets a strategy game right next to me. he's effin almost 30! wow, if i get like that b/c of the navy, someone slap me.

ok so its been a solid good two...no sorry five weeks since ive last posted. and before i started this post, i read up on the last one i did (june 20 or something) alot has happened since then. so again i apologize, and ill fill on all that has happened.

so i guess ill start by telling you guys i got a counseling chit (it just took me three minutes to spell counseling chit right, and its still spelled wrong) but yea, i got a counseling chit um about two weeks ago. but its not a bad counseling chit, but a good one. basically i guess my LPO notices that i work well, and have a "drive to get things and tasks done" (he actually said that too). so i got a chit for that, which looks good on evals and is a good morale booster. 

um, i also got nominated, but didnt get chosen for junior sailor of the quarter. which is kind of a big thing i guess. if you get that, you receive a NAM as well (Navy Achievement Medal). and a NAM will in turn get you promoted quicker, but i wasnt chosen, but i guess the nomination was rad. again a good morale booster. and then on my evals i got #1 must promote, which isnt the creme-de-la-cream EP (early promote) but its the one right below it. the only reason i didnt get EP was b/c i had not been in the navy and in Bahrain for that matter long enough. instead the EP went to the joke-of-a-sailor salzman. i mean props to him for getting it, but he's a joke. constantly lying to people to make them think about him and think he's cool. always pulling one-ups on people, thinking he's the shit and his shit doesnt stink. just has way too much pride in himself rather others. and he's atheist, so every time religion comes up, and im in the conversation, he always pokes fun at Catholicism. and he knows it annoys me, and yet he still does it. man i just wanna punch him. 

oh well whatever. um lets see, yea like two weeks ago, i had been talking to a dear friends of mine. his name is Jonathan rogers, we met back in 'a' school and have been in touch since. and we were talking about religion, alot of our conversations, and he was like, dude, you have got to get off the base and go find a catholic church out in town so you can find a nice religious girl.      -laughs- 

i think he had asked me about how the girls were there, and i told him that most women out in town were prostitutes, and that the girls on base were navahoes (whores). so back to the original story, i was thinking about what jon said, and i decided the hop on my bike and head out to town and find the local catholic church (bahrain has one too). so before i could ride out, i needed to replace my tubes on my bike, they were getting really old and not holding air for long. so i had purchased some tubes online, and they came in about two weeks ago, so i spent that saturday morning replacing them. well im on the street riding away from the gate and i take this turn to the -thinks for a sec- right, and im just cruising, relaxing, having a good time. i pass this american couple and say hi, just minding my own business, and i get up next to this wall, still cruising, and all the sudden, literally the loudest bang i think ive ever heard from a mountain bike tube goes off. well im right next to a wall, so the sound is even more louder b/c of the bounce off. it was so loud and it scared me so bad that i almost fell off the bike, this car coming toward me stopped from the noise, and the nice couple i passed, now probably about 150 behind me, were shocked and holding their ears b/c it was so loud. -laughs- it was very scary and funny all at the same time. the couple kinda look at me for a sec to make sure i was ok, and kept walking, so here i am about 500 yards from the gate i just left, pumped up to go find this catholic church, and im out a rear tire and tube. yea i almost forgot, the blast was so strong it ripped the tire off the wire bead and blew out the tube. man. so i turned around and started walking back to the gate all bummed and stuff. i get to that right turn, this time its a left, ha. and the lady from the couple, was walking back to check on me again, and she offered me a ride to where i needed to go. i declined saying i was only a few blocks away, and she asked what had happened, and i showed her where the tube had too much pressure and the tire had been ripped off, so, we parted ways, and i just started walking back. i was sad, but since then i have ordered and received a new tire and tube, put the new ones on and i have ridden out to the church, but i couldnt find any times that they had mass, so i guess ill try again some other time. 

-sigh- well um, i guess the main thing that happened after that was this mandatory fun day they scheduled for this past thursday. it was pretty tight actually, it only cost 40 bucks which included a boat cruise, catering, and minimal alcohol, but all the other drinks. so i paid and there was about 32 of the seabees from our detachment that went. it was alot of fun. the food was pretty good to. we all rode out to this one certain spot that had this wicked strong current, and we anchored there and stayed out for quite a while actually. id say we boarded the boat at like 1330. and didnt gat back to shore till almost 1800. yea. it was a fun time, jumping for the second deck into the water. drinking a few cold ones with my superiors -laughs- and eating some good food. 

oh yea i almost for got, last weekend i saw batmans the dark knight. AMAZING. it was so good. but i think i need to go see it again b/c i was so caught up in the action, that i kinda missed the plot of the meaning of this film, so, yea, if you get a chance, watch the first batman, and then go see this one. itll make you weep. 

and then this weekend, this friday.... yesterday, we were deciding on wether to go see the new x files, or go see wanted, so we decided on wanted, and again, AMAZING. a very very cool action packed movie, lots of very cool slo-mos. go check it out. and both the dark knight and wanted had morgan freeman, so that dudes definitely been busy.

well i guess thats about it as far as exciting things that went down. i mean the work weeks have been pretty decent. just same old stuff everyday. 

oh yea, ive started this introductory work-out program that basically get you into enough shape to be able to pass the navy diver fitness test. so im about two weeks into it, and i feel great. 

um.... for a few thank yous. emily, i did get the birthday card and the natalie announcement, and thank you ever so much and i love you tons and tons (kiss natalie for me). i love getting things from the family and friends, again its a great morale booster. um mom and dad and liz and bryan and andrew thank you so so much for the gifts, they were so great. ive since then watch all the dvds, thank you so much. i love you guys forever and ever. um, melissa, your e-card was hilarious, i listen to it like three times. and i have yet to try out that list you wrote down, but im working on it. 

i guess thats it guys. ill definitely be posting every week, its just sometimes i get in a hurry or forget to, so im sorry about that (em... -laughs-).

i love you guys and i miss you all the time. i cant wait to come back home.

i love you again.

and again.

and once more.

LOVES

a straw wrapper is on the floor

Its 1045 friday morning. My back is killing me softly. Literally. I think either ive slept wrong on it for the entire past week, or when i lifted the heavy door yesterday, i did something wrong to it then.

Another week in the books. and another week closer to getting out of here. this week was fun. i missed pt on sunday, i over slept, so i got a verbal warning, nothing too harsh. um, tuesday was ERT, tho everyone went to fight fires, i had to stay with all the new guys and learn cpr for the second time in two months, and first aid. so it was a long day, but still fun. um, then tuesday night we rented a car and five of us drove to the mall, ate at this cool Japanese restaurant, i ate sushi. then we went out to this man made sand pier, and we paid salzman to strip down to just skivvies (underwear) and swim out 30 feet. he did it, and i filmed it, but you cant really see anything, but you can hear it. it was funny. then wednesday was a productive day, just did alot of packages for contract work. and thursday, i had this junior leadership workshop, so have the day was taken up with that. then the rest was just hanging around.

this weekend, well today, i plan on seeing kung-fu panda w/ salzman, zarate, and my lpo guaigua. so it should be fun.

i still with i was home with family tho.

ive decided to open a bike shop in canada when i decided to leave the navy.

ok, i love you guys.

take care.

kev

-sigh squared-

ive come to the conclusion, im too old. i can hear some of you thinking " oh man, youre only 22." yea youre right. im 22. ive had these dreams of being a professional skateboarder as a kid, and lately a professional mountain biker, and i dont mean professional like i drive around in a bentley full of cash and women, but professional enought to just pay the bills and ride.  this past wednesday, however,  it dawned to me, i wont be able to really do any of that. im 22, i joined the navy b/c i couldnt pay for college, i spent a year working odd jobs to make ends meet before i joined. now being this old, all i have to really look forward to is watching these growing sports from the sidelines. with the increasing young kids coming into the picture, a dude like me cant keep up. i dont kno. i think its just this place. this country has one main city, and then other little communities that branch out of it. and the whole city pretty much takes up the whole island. so there is nothing really to do after the first three weeks b/c youve seen everything there is to see. and they have no skatepark, and there is no mountains here, its all dredged sand from the ocean floor. i guess what im saying is i need to get out of here and get back home. im homesick. i miss my family. i miss my friends. i miss the states.

ill have to tough it out tho.

love you guys.

kev

long time no see

hello there, my name is kevin connors. what is your name? oh really...thats a really pretty name. so uhh...is this the first time we've met, or has it just been forever and three weeks since we've talked. ok im gonna go with the forever and three weeks bit.

im not sure why ive slacked on updating this thing, its not like its a hassle. i think three weeks ago i had just bought a video game, so i went from church straight..........wait, no, i had a thursday duty day, so i spent the night in the duty room, did turn over, and went to church, then came back and played my new video game. yea thats it. then two weeks ago, i dont remember why, i think i wanted to watch this movie that was playing upstairs, and it was right after church. then last week, umm....... dont remember. thats the problem with this place, the days fly by so fast, and you forget stuff real easily. well anyways. i asked mom and dad if they could send out my bike that i bought in the beginning of summer, and this past sunday it came, so ive spent this past week building it back together. and then my skateboard came like the wednesday before my bike, so this past thursday and friday i went out skating thru bahrain. um... lets just say its really hot out here, especially friday. i skate all the way to the bahrain world trade center which is like maybe 10 miles round trip. but from the base to the center its all streets and stores and buildings, so i kinda lost track of where i was going b/c i was looking at all the stores. and i ended up by the trade center. anyway it was a fun time. i met some kids that were skating, and we got phone numbers and we'll be skating next weekend. 

my boss got the third season of the office on dvd. i have never really followed the series, but since ive been in bahrain, thats all we do during lunch, watch the office. so i borrowed the first two seasons a while ago, and then this weekend i borrowed the third season. and lest just say im hooked. i gotta get caught up with the fourth season in a big bad way.

um the past few weeks of work have been good, um this friday we had a little moving in party with one of the petty officers that work in the same office as i do, and it was pretty fun to just hang loose and drink a little in front of my colleagues. theres not much new in my life, other than ive got my bike and skateboard, the two things that keep me sane. i guess we'll just play life by the ears.

btw, do you think god would ever have a plan for someone to die alone and lonely????

i love you guys.

kev

...........skate

So this week was nice. i had an ert physical yesterday, which kept me out of the office for a good while, then we had a 59 day, which means that we get to leave work 59 minutes early. then wednesday we had a fundraiser BBQ for one of the civilians that worked for us. he had a stroke right before i got here, and now its put him out of work indefinitely. so that was kind of nice. if you dont mind, say a little prayer for him, his name is robbie, and thats all i kno, but i think god will kno who your talking about. then last night i went out with salzman, and we had a few JD's and cokes....i love those things. i think when i get that age, im gonna drink like frank sinatra. a 1/5 a day. haha, mom your shaking your head right now, grandma, void that last statement.

-sigh-

well not to much to rant and rave about this time, just another day to go by, and another day closer to being back home.

i love you guys.

kev

bells bells bells

Yo im so going to hell. well maybe not, but still i had to use the miselet (how the heck do you spell that) as a knee guard from the floor. my chair in front of me didnt have a kneeler, so i went the first round without one, but on the second string, i had to do something, and i could only find the book. well anyways, i dont kno if ive said this before, but during the ..... yea ive said it. the bells during the preparation of the euchurist. yea, ok well beside that, um its been a while since ive posted b/c last friday i had this thing called duty, so i wasnt able to go to church, and i didnt have my laptop with me at all, basically its like if something goes wrong with the base, they call me, and i come a fix the problem. its kinda fun even though it takes away from your weekend. i reminds me of working with uncle dave and his handyman service. but whatever.

this past week has been kind of... in trying to think of a word thats like nagging, but not nagging, like 'being a drag' but its one word, kinda of like being unhealthy to someone but one word, idk, think of that word, and thats how my week has been. um.... basically ive only been here for like 6 or so weeks, and ive started dredding my job. im in an office for 8-9 hours a day, i dont really have a specific job, so im stuck there twiddling my thumbs waiting to be told to do something, and i cant play games online, i cant really listen to music too loud b/c its an open office, and i think that since im not doing much, and not really talking b/c i have nothing to talk about, people notice that, and try to irritate me, and me being the bigger person, i ignore them, but i dont think they get the picture, b/c they keep doing it, especially the guy who sponsored me. JESUS i cant stand him sometimes, every time we talk about something, he has some excuse or something thatll top the previous statement. and then at work, i feel like im getting into a routine, and i didnt join the navy to be in a routine, i mean, they discipline you with routine, but when you graduate boot and graduate school, you go and do your job, be it whatever, but your task change within your job, so its different all the time, your objective is to finish, but the challenges change due to whatever. but here, same old shit different day. i honestly for like five minutes thought of how to get out of the navy last night. i miss my family, i miss my friends, i miss america (haha), i miss boot camp, shit. i thought id never say that, but go back and do it again, b/c you were doing something different everyday. i just miss being home, but i kno if i were to get out of the navy now, the day i get back, id be back into the same routine at home. wake up, go to work, get home, sleep. idk, maybe i have to accept the fact that life is a routine, and i cant be those guys who live on the side of a mountain rock face taking pictures for national geographic. i dont think ive ever said this to anyone, but all i want to do is move to canada, whistler preferably, ride the mountains on my mountain bike, skate the parks they have, and work as a hotel business manager. honestly, straight up swear to God, if i was told by a genie, that tomorrow, if you got out of the navy somehow, the next day you would be doing just that, i would leave.

love.

kevin

...$..%..^..&..#..@..!

So anyother .. yea anyother, i ment another week of work in the books. (for the record im a little tired) um... last week i said that i was going to go walk around the island, and i did, but i quickly found out that its kinda large, so i only walked out like 2 miles then came back. it was a very tiring day too, and there was a "sand" storm going on, which it basically looks like a lot of fog, but its like 90 outside, so kinda confusing/weird to see. but as i was walking back to base, i managed to see the start middle and ending of a fight between some locals, it was kinda scary b/c the dude was trying to pull this girl out of the back seat, and that driver like jumped out and threw the guy off and then started punching him..... kinda odd, but whatever its bahrain.

during my work week, i was give a few tasks to complete, basically i had to go out to a job site, and see what they wanted, get a few measurements, and draw a rough sketch of the site, my LPO would then take this to the contractors and they would compare notes, and go from there. so my LPO was telling me that if i dont take the trouble desk, then ill be doing that, which would be kinda cool.

last night i went out with salzman, and had a few drinks, we actually walked like 2 miles to this bar called F1, an indy car inspired bar, and on our way out there, we walked thru this park. it was probably 830 900 and there were families out there with their kids, grilling out, having an evening picnic, it was kinda cool to see this, but weird b/c it was at night, im guessing b/c its so hot during the day, at night is when they grill out. it reminded me of this movie called steal the movie, it was about abbie hofman (sp) and the democratic convention, the vietnam war and a bunch of hippie times. in the movie they would just camp out in the parks and have like fires and music, (i assume the adults reading this remember those days) and thats what the locals were doing last night at this park. so it was kinda chill and relaxing to walk thru this. then we go to the bar had a few, and walked around a while, talked about sinning and what the Bible says about it. it was kind of a fun night.

then today i went to church for the week. so overall a pretty decent week.

...

....... went to church this morning again, it was awesome, i noticed that they use bells when raising the wine and bread, ha.. and the priest, when he raises both the cup and bread, um... cant sing worth anything, it sounds like dad singing, only worse and WAY off tune.... its just bad. so ive had a few weekends here, and  ive come to realize that i need to find something constructive to do, like literally right now, or ill go insane. i think i might have mom and dad send my piano out here b/c its free to send out and its free to send back when i leave here. i miss my bike too, granted there is no mountains to ride, but i could still use it for transportation around the island... ill look into them sending that too. im pretty sure its all free to send to and apo/fpo address..... but other than that my work week has been fun for the most part, um last night i went out and my friends whos been here and working in my department for a while, told me that the people in the office dont kno how to "read" me, so they are just basically looking at me like im a wierdo, like someone who is trying to make themselves be seen and known......

ok heres the thing, if you have a higher-up who works around you and with you, and you barely know that higher-up, and the institution of working with them will cause a relationship to form between you and that higher-up, and you see them in the morning or are leaving for the day, and the higher-up is there as you leave or come in for the day, is it so f$%#&@& wrong to say "hello, or good morning, or goodbye/night"? what the F#$%, needless to say we were at a bar when he told me this so i quickly got myself "loose." i mean whats wrong with saying hi. id rather say something in the situation rather than leave it silent.... am i in  the wrong.

basically whats gonna happen is ill play the mellow-dramatic and keep it quiet around the office. i hate doing that, i hate being the mellow, but damnit i guess i cant act like myself my first few months. whatever.

i plan on going out in town today/tomorrow so ill have some interesting things to talk about the next few posts.

sorry for venting so brash, and bleeb-cussing, i hate cussing but it happens. thanks

god bless

kev

CHURCH

I HAVE ANTHRAX!!!!!! ok so i dont really do, but in church today i was feeling my arm where they did shoot me with the live virus, so i could build immunity, and there was a bump, AHHHGHGGH!!!! ok im kidding, but for real,

I WENT TO CHURCH TODAY!!!!!! 

it was tight, very very good service, and the funny thing is that the second reading, was about i think peter, talking about how when Jesus was insulted, he did nothing in retaliation, when he.... my mind just went blank, um, yea, no... dang it, i didnt forget, it just slips my mind right now, basically what the service means me.... wait, another thing, the priest during the homily, was talking about how Jesus is like our shepard, and we are his sheep, and the sheep stay with him b/c they know and recognize his voice, and if there is a sheep that strays off, (i just got chills) he'll leave his 99 sheep to go find the one who strayed. now, to me, i was that lost sheep, since ive left missouri ive been doing alot of drinking and partying, and ive had womenizing (if thats even a word) thoughts, and if just REALLY strayed from the herd, and this morning, was like the calling back, God told me to get up and go to church, the readings were basically, explaining my situation, it was quite a moving experience.

now i know im not perfect, ill still have a few drinks here and there, and every man has thoughts, so its bound to happen daily, but i think after today, ill be connected closer to God than i have been in a while.

so, i love you guys, and im out

ill keep you up to date often

love you

kev

i have something in my right corner eye

So its 0905 here, for most people on the east coast of america youre asleep in bed b/c its 2 am. but for me, im waiting till 10 to start my day, so a little about my past few days, um.....i started this thing called indoc, basically getting you famillure with your surroundings, and the first two days were hell, straight up, sitting in a room all day, hearing people talk. boring. but yesterday we had this island tour, payed 16 bucks to see an old fort, and national museum, a carpet store, this tight restuarent, and the mosque they have here, it was pretty cool, as far as my job here, i have no idea yet, and i might not be able to tell you, idk, the whole naval security thing, but yea. 

so ive found out that kite boarding is a big this out here, they have little tours and stuff out here to go and kite board, which im thinking of doing a tour or two, then going and purchasing a kite boarding kit myself, google kiteboarding, or something like that to see more about it. its like wakeboarding w/o the boat, so yea check it out.

ok im gonna go get some food

love you

kev 

good morning

So its been a good minute since ive posted anything, so i might as well fill you in on a couple of things, um im starting to get along and remember alot of the names and faces in my office, and things are starting to move quicker as far as how long the dan drags on, um, there is a chance that i will get a spot on the ERT (emergency response team) basically the base's fire department, i went the other day to pick up my m.o.p.p. gear (gear we have to wear if a chemical war breaks out on base), and they were talking about the ERT and stuff, and when they called out my name to grab my gear and go, i was asking on of they guys there if there was any room of the team, and he was saying that there is a seabee who was leaving, and needed a replacement, so im gonna go to him tomorrow and see if i can fill it. um, i went out last night, and partied till early this morning, got to our final club, had all my drinks (which was 2 beers, and 3 waters) comped b/c the owner knows my sponsor, so we hung out there for a while, and i ended up getting this local girls phone number, so, maybe ill have someone to hang out with while im here, and she can show me the city.... i dont kno. 

well im gonna jet, im feelin a bit hungry, and my laundry is in the wash.

love you guys

kev

where i left off (pt 2)

So, i was at this resort in downtown bahrain, feeling really tired, really drained, but still having some fun, had a couple of beers, ate some really good indian food, and then headed back to my room for some much needed sleep. next day didnt really do much except sleep, and shop a little. that night tho, i went out on the town with my sponsor and his roommate (slazman and williams) and we went to this bar/club called wranglers. its this western-style bar with a mini dance floor on it, since i was still dazed from jet-lag and didnt kno anyone, i just sat/stood around taking in the surroundings, did i say beer was expensive b/c d##m it is. anyway that was friday, and saturday i did more of the same, just sleep and hangout, but saturday night, i didnt sleep at all, it was weird, i slept for like 45 minutes, then i woke up b/c my arm was asleep, and i was awake for every hour past that till like 3 am, but i had to be up at 0630 for pt. so i was really really tired sunday, which is like monday for the states, you start the work week on monday, we start on sunday, anyway, i think the reason i didnt sleep at all is b/c of my bed mattress. its like hard as nuts. i tried to fix that by buying a memory foam thingy saturday, but it didnt help. so monday, my roommate and i switched beds, b/c he sleeps better on stiffer bed, so he and i switched, and ive slept like a baby since.

so my regular work week is simple, i get to the office and hangout. ive done that since tuesday, and yesterday and today, i actually did work. yesterday i took the calls for problems with the base, and directed them to the proper shops, and today i did calls and entered work requests and service requests into the computer, kind of a tedious job, but still something to do.

so since that basically put you up to date with where i am today, i  have nothing else to really say.

oh yea, i did however lock my keys in my closet, so i had to get a bolt cutter and cut my lock, um... my roommate is a super geek, um... ive spent alot of money since ive been here, so im spending my next few weekends on base, and other than that, im having a blast here.

hope everyone is all well and happy, my god bless everyone, and keep you all safe.

love you guys

kevin

where i left off

.....So i believe i left off when i got to norfolk....

-ahem, coughs-

so got to VA, hung out for about 5 hours (we left at like 0000),and got onto this giant, airplane...like a 767, i dont kno what that stands for yet, i just know it was huge, alright first flight, passed out, it was a 4.5 hours flight...i think..... anyway, missed breakfast, but mind you i fell asleep and woke up still in the same seat, and same plane. my seat was on the outside asile, but i had the inside of the two rows of seats, and my passenger was a ssg from the air force, and didnt really talk much, just played his psp, so....our first flight was to portugal, and about 15 minutes before landing i woke up to see us coming in to land, gotta say portugal is a d##m pretty place, flying in reminded me of the small villages that you find in prague, and the all grow like wine and junk. anyway, we land and i see these shuttle busses, im like... wtf? we get out of the plane, and the smell of the air was of the sweetest smelling lilac ever, it was so amazing, God it was awesome. but the reason for the shuttles was to buss us from the tarmac to the terminal, kinda cool, get in the terminal, cute little place, all walls have like tile all the way up...it looks cool. the airport was located between two mountain-like things, so it was quite a view when you got to the terminal.

so we sit in portugal for like an hour, and are back in the air to italy, i fall asleep, and wake back up, same seat, same plane, we land in italy, and go into their little terminal, and they have a little shop there, bought a mountain dew and a candy bar. get a small clip of film of the city behind the terminal.....again reminding me of a wine-maker town. we are in italy for about 3 hours, and we are off again for a short flight to greece, i fall asleep and wake back up same seat, same plane, and you notice im repeating this statement, well at each airport i go into the bathroom, and freshen up with some baby wipes we (mom and i) bought, some body spray, and my toothbrush, and in greece i had this appiphonany that, D##M!!!!! i feel like im living on this effin flight, but thats ok b/c after 15 minutes of passengers complaining about not having anything to eat there, they open this little shop, and it sells alcohol, so i bought a beer, a coke, and a.... get this, glass bottle of red bull...yea, glass, and all the words were in greek or some weird stuff, but i bought it just to have the glass bottle, i havnt opened it yet either. 

so we are in greece for like almost 3.5 hours, a long time, and we board and i see that there is a bunch of open seats next to me, so i jump on it, and i get a seat next to me, and there is two seats and then this lady, so we chat it up a bit before take off, and she too is going to bahrain so we talk about it a bit, and she along with her children are going to visit their dad and i tell her im going for a duty station, and so on, and then dinner is served, mind you plane food is almost like sushi, youll hardly ever digest anything, but anyway, just as they serve dinner, they start this movie.... "Why did i get married" gotta say janet jackson and jill scott can sure act, it was a good movie, g'ma's and g'pa's, aunts and uncles, married siblings, i suggest watching it, its a good laugh and great moral. so movies over, and we are about 30 minutes out of bahrain, so i hit the ipod for a quick minute, and we land, its 0520 and its 75 outside, feels amazing, and looks cool too, kinda like um...the underwater city in the kevin cosner movie water world, but 3/4 of the buildings are still standing and being used, kinda delapidated but not, you get the picture. so i get there get my things and meet up with my sponsor, we drive around town which is cool, but there are next to no driving laws, only like driving and drinking, thats it, so youre moving fast and wildly thru the streets. see a little but of the city side, and then get to the base.

its about the size of a mall, really small, and we get me checked into the base living portion, get my room, drop off my stuff, and head out to check out the base, they got it all, a gym, fitness center, grocery store, nex, everything, its quite amazing.

-real quick, i just watched that marines commercial, the one where they are spinning the rifles, GOOSEBUMPS....i love that commercial- 

so i see the base, and decide i need a shower, really bad, and head to the room, get a shower, get dressed again, and we head out the this resort place thats holding the seabee birthday. now its thursday, the day i get in town, and friday and saturday are the weekend (work week is sun-thur) so this thursday is an early release for the seabees b/c of its bday, so all seabees on the base get out of work and meet up at this resort hotel......

ok im tired again, well since ive gotten you to bahrain, ill touch everything up in the next few days.....

ok love you.

kevo

my first few days

so, ive been in bahrain for about four....sh## i dont kno, im (counting on hands) yea four days right now, and ive seen/done quite a bit. ill start out that first and foremost, its hot, like we PT (physical training...like gym class) this morning, and we meet up at a certain location, and run....at 0630, well lets just say its about 80 degrees out then, and by high noon to 1600, its about 95ish, and we are just starting spring, ive heard that it gets up to 140!!!! supposedly the record last year was 141....d##n. 

but anyway, so lets recap departure from atl, to final destination.......

mom and dad both come into the living room to wake me...its i think 0415....or something, and mind you i came in from being with friends for the last time the night before, i got home at 0215, so they wake me, im in this 30 minute constant blur of colors sounds and smells...yea smells...idk. so dad and i get my behee (mom remember that nick name.....ask her she'll tell ya) of a footlocker into dads truck bed, and pile into the truck...its mom dad and me, my plan was to lay out on the back bench and catch some Zzzz's, well mom wants us to sit three across, dad just shakes his head....we love you dad. so we get in, get rolling, and decide to stop for food, well mom says this way dad says that way....well come to find out moms right...(dads going damnit right now...this very moment...haha) so we stop at a waffle house, one of millions that dot the south east, order food, hang for a sec, then i start to get nervous, A) im leaving for bahrain that morning, and B) im afraid we wont get the the airport and i wont get to my gate on time. well, we leave, got on the highway, and end up having no traffic, and we get to the airport in a breeze. (im actually getting nervous again as im typing this blog....wierd) but anyway, we get to the airport, get my stuff checked, and head to the ever-so-long line of security. the coolest part of this moment is that mom and dad both stayed with me the entire time i was in line, i mean i figured they would and so would everyone else figure they would, but i guess seeing it go down, was very moving, i love you guys. 

so we get to the end of the long line, i get thru my guy, turn and say a sobbing goodbye for one last time....well they were crying, i wasnt, but i am right now, really, and off i go to me gate. 

first flight, from atl to st louis, flawless, no prob, just a simple flight, get to stl, get my footlocker checked, which cost me nothing, in atl it was 130 bucks...lame, but i get it checked, and off to the uso i go. the uso for you that dont kno, its like a daycare for military personnel, so i get there, i eat some food, i have like 3 hours till i leave for norfolk, i get done eating, go and lay down thinking ill get up on my own, well i do but i have like 30 minutes till i leave....d##n, i jump up, grab my stuff, run thru security, fastest ive ever been, and down to my gate, i have like 10 minutes to spare. so i get on this flight, and my carryon baggage, is too big for the compartment, we were flying one of those like one row on one side, two rows on the other.... real small plane. so as im trying to get the bag into the compartment, something gives, and the latch latches, but its hanging like an inch away from being flush... basically to make a long story short, a maintenence guy somes on, asks people to get out of their seats, fixes the problem, the plane all applauses, and im sitting there red faced and silent...the whole trip..., but it was ok..... 

got to norfolk......

d##n im getting tired and im still on the first day.......

ill get back to you guys tomorrow.

love you all

later

ps

address: 

EACN CONNORS KEVIN D

PSD 451

PO BOX 510

FPO AE 09834