From El Paso With Love: One Week Down

Rebecca’s blog on her submersion of the feline has generated a great deal of interest from The New York Times and The Economist. She happens to be a brilliant person (and easy on the eyes if I do say so myself), though admittedly out of order from time to time, and I expect no less than 50+ comments in response to her next blog.

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In the words of the highly quotable/photogenic Marisa Pantene Pro-V, “Oh bless!”

Well it’s a crisp Friday morning and the grace of God has delivered me to the promise land, and not a moment too soon. Current location: Starbucks. It’s my first dosage of caffeine and I feel like an old junkie, my fingers jitter and dance upon the keyboard. It’s like a homecoming.

It’s been just over one week though it feels like a lifetime. The days, which begin around 5am and conclude around 9pm*, are long and full of many emotions. I feel myself toughening up slowly but surely, becoming stronger with each separate experience. It’s a far cry from my old ways (sleeping in, sauntering into class late, coming home early to watch Tony Danza with Bryson, brooding, a mindless hour on the guitar, and then arranging the night time festivities) but I can certainly say that each day and night my mind is pushed into farther places, many of which I’ve never visited. God has become a priority, with literature a close second, and learning German coming in with the bronze.

*Most days last until 9pm for the other soldiers, but mine only really begins. That’s because it’s the fateful hour when I get to crawl in bed, hide under the covers, and talk to the woman of my dreams for about three hours. With this being the case, how can one ever complain!!?? Usually around 1am I’ll realize if I go to bed immediately I can have a good four hours of sleep. The body is capable of amazing adaptation.

We might have some more time off this weekend, but overall Uncle Sam is running a pretty tight ship. He doesn’t understand my concerns about lighting, the sheets thread count, or my constant reading of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But then again, me and that old bastard never really saw eye to eye to begin with. Such is life.

Germany is just around the corner, and it’s looking pretty good. I’ll be working 12 hour rotations and staying on a big hill, across from the hospital. There’s two feet of snow on the ground and massive amounts of dark German coffee to be drank. Oh, and a rendezvous in the spring time in Paris.

Again, thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all the kind words, phone calls, text messages, emails, and comments--there is no way I can express my appreciation and honor at having such great friends and family.