Day Seventy

23 October 2006
I have just finished seeing my last patient of the afternoon. Unfortunately I had one of those I-must-be-speaking-Chinese days. Really, it was fairly funny, but so unfortunate that some people can just be so dense. I wonder if I will ever get used to that?

We are currently anchored in a very particular and vital region right now. It was eerie when we anchored at sea yesterday—no sense of movement and the ship noises changed. I had to go topside to see what was going on. It was quite a different view than the usual deep blue ocean that you can see for miles without interruption. Unfortunately I cannot talk much about it just yet. It is very interesting, though. Thankfully, the weather has cooled so is not near as intolerable as it was last time; though, we have some pesky flies on the flight deck!

Yesterday, I was hit with the fact that I still have several months to go out here! Yikes! Very often I try to not think about it at all or else I hyperventilate, eat junk food, and watch DVD’s to forget. I try very hard to keep a lid on that box of emotions. It just is not worth it to even peak inside!

We have had mail call several times today because a helo dropped off 3 tons of mail! I received a delightful package from my grandma and grandpa! It reminded me of college. Right before finals, they would load up a huge box full of fun foods and mail it to help me study. It was such a great! Here I am in another situation where they get to do the same thing. How loved am I!? I am currently listening to Mozart. A CD came with a box of chocolates they gave me. How did they know that I needed some more classical music? I did not download near enough classical before I left! It helps me relax and keeps me focused while I study or type these entries.

Kaalan has been working very hard on our kitchen—I am so excited. We recently have been trying to pick the right color granite and wall paint. It is interesting trying to do that on the internet. First of all, it moves so slowly that “surfing” only a few sites takes about two hours (I have to do something else--read, watch a movie--while the images load). Second, I never really know the true color of anything, so when I get home I will still have a huge surprise waiting for me. Thankfully, I believe Kaalan has good taste (and female friends in our care group to give him their opinions) so will be able to make good decisions on colors. But really, Kaalan and I have never done anything like this before, so I do not really know what to expect. That is a fun thing about marriage—I am still learning about who I married!