Baseball Diamonds

So the Persian New Year has come & gone - and things were nice & quiet. I've lost most of that uneasy anticipation I had been feeling - but have to keep things in check so I don't become complacent. There's a fine line in my situation between being "comfortable & not worrying" and being complacent.

This post will be quick - I've just got 2 things to say:

1. All the stereotypes about Swedish girls being beautiful, blude eyed, blondes appears to be true. I'm currently researching what it would take to enlist in the Swedish Army. I mean - how in God's name can you look smoking hot in a set of BDU's? All I know is, Swedish women can.

2. I feel like I'm stuck, indefinitely, at a little league baseball park. I played played when I was younger, and before I played, I would go to my older brothers baseball games. The park had 4 - 5 baseball diamonds, dirt & gravel roads around the whole complex - and a couple little buildings for things like the concession stand, dugouts and restrooms. It was often dirty, dusty and everything was "a little beat up" from so much traffic having passed through it all. Well - where I'm at in Afghnistan isn't much different. If it's not dusty - then it's muddy. The structures on my base are a hodge podge of whatever could be stood up to support workspaces, latrines, living quarters, storage sheds, etc. The houses are no different. Trust me - nothing is like it is "in the movies". It's a mess - a mess I now use for work, play & living. And I kinda like it. Of course, I know I'm not stuck here "permanently" - and once I leave, I plan on never returning. I'm just making the best of it, knowing I'll never have an experience like this again.