So I’m taking two college classes in great hopes of finishing up my compsci degree: Calculus, and Assembly Programming (the IBM PC Windows version). I’ve done great so far, spending countless hours doing homework, typing it up, posting it to the cruft-ridden Blackboard Learning System. Hours upon hours have I spent cursing MS Word whilst entering in painful calculus equations – limits, derivatives, and integrals – oh my! Then my wonderful university fails to send my midterm examination forms out to Iraq. My midterms count for 40% of my grade, and if I can’t take them, I fail the class. If I fail the class, the Army will insist (nay, they will demand) that I reimburse them for the tuition of said failed classes.

Myself and others have tried, to no avail, to light a fire under the responsible parties at my university. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to get problems solved while you are in a different country, with limited access to phones, and have an eight hour time difference to boot.

Onto more important matters – shaving!

Due to a lack of hair (on my head, at least), I decided some time ago to keep my head cleanly shaved. I’ve tried various methods since I’ve been deployed, and each ran into its own set of problems. Electric clippers didn’t shave close enough. My electric razor works, but head shaving seems to wear down the blades too quickly for my taste. I purchased a Head Blade, which has a great ergonomic design, but didn’t work at all, and requires that you use special razor blades. I used a regular Mach 3 razor and Edge shaving gel, but ended up cutting my head in several places. All in all, no one method seemed to suit me. In steps the Turkish barber…

I’ve taken a shining to the Turkish barbers here at Q-West. Their preferred method of hair shaving is, quite unlike American barbers, to use a (disposable) straight edge razor. They lather up a good-smelling mixture of soap and hot water, apply it liberally to the head with a soft bristle brush, then let ‘er rip. I ‘ve noticed that my particular favorite barber usually shaves against the grain, possibly to avoid any nicks or cuts. I always feel quite refreshed after a head shave. The only drawback is that for a few days afterword, my stubble acts like velcro, and trying to put on a fleece or wool hat becomes quite an ordeal.

I suppose it’s time that I finally come to terms with the fact that I actually have to go to Iraq. I’ve somehow deluded myself into thinking that at the last minute something would happen and I wouldn’t leave – our company would be excluded in the major deployments going on here at Ft. Hood, or some medical catastophe would render me non-deployable. Guess I thought wrong.

The good news is that I’ll be making a little extra money, I’ll be getting some great experience working on equipment I’ve never worked on, and I’ll be making best friends (or enemies!) for life. All that comes with the sacrifice of not seeing my beautiful wife and 2 bubbly children for a year. (Yeah, yeah, I get 2 weeks R&R during the year, but seeing your family for 14 days out of 365 is pretty crappy.)

Some random thoughts about going to the sandbox:

• Will my family survive without me? (Of course they will – they did it once during Basic Training, and once during Army School, plus they are a lot tougher than I am)
• Will I survive without my family? (I’ve done it before, but not for that long)
• How hot is it where I’m going? (The high was 119 yesterday. Sheesh.)
• What about internet? ($700/6 months, which is ~ $117 a month. Double sheesh.)
• What about finishing up my degree? (Still a maybe at this point, depending on the whole internet situation.)

I’m not worried about dying or being injured (the casualty rate where I’m being sent is almost non-existant), but more anxious about how I’m going to live for a year or so without being around my boys every day. Will they remember me? How much will they change, grow, develop, and learn while I’m gone? I wish I could freeze them for a year so I wouldn’t miss a single second of their lives. I all that time without their daddy doesn’t cause them too much harm. My wife has the hardest job of all. While I’m off being too busy to worry about home, she has a full-time job plus the responsibility of a single parent. I bet she is exausted every day for that year.

Am I nervous? Sure, a little. Am I excited? Absolutely – I can’t even fathom what I’m about to experience. Let’s just hope the experience only lasts for a year.