Friday, September 29, 2006

Finally Got a Break....Now, Back to Work, Soldier!

Well, now I am covering for one of the doctors who went on his mid-tour leave. I am in the South of Nowhere, Afghanistan; higher elevation compared to my other locations so it gets cold here especially at night. I just got back from leave myself and was able to see my family especially my babies (the big one--the husband, and the little one, the daughter). My daughter is doing so much more now, she is a lot of fun. When I left she was only 13 months old now she is 21 months old. I was also able to see my mom, my sister, her family, my husband's family, and a few friends. It was a nice break. We bought a hybrid vehicle and I was finally able to see our house. We finally got rid of our starter furniture and got a couple of dining room tables. So much to do, but so little time yet I'm thankful for the opportunity to see everyone even in such a small amount of time.

Now it's time to buckle down again and get some work done. I am still taking doctorate courses. My next classes will start in a couple of days and I just finished downloading the syllabi and other course materials. I was bold last quarter and took three classes and they were hard especially when I hardly had any time to do my work since I was on leave. The good thing is that I know how hard it was to take three classes, so now taking two classes at a time will seem like a breeze (yeah, right). I feel like I have to rush and do everything at once but I think I'm overdoing it. I just finished reading my last posting and I'm happy to say that everything worked out for the best. The masters courses I took from another school way back when I was still enlisted were accepted and I also got credit through my AARTS transcript, which is military. So, I'm ecstatic, to say the least. This basically alleviated all my fears about the school I'm taking classes with. I also went to my first colloquium in Dallas during my leave and now I finally feel like a doctorate learner but there are several things that I have to change on what I was doing before. I definitely have to pay more attention to the quality of my work. I also will concentrate on improving my writing. I'm a little nervous about the research class coming up but I know I will get through it. It's all part of the learning process. The Educational Theory class has a great textbook and I'm actually enjoying the chapters in it. My daughter is going to benefit from all this learning that I'm doing. Of which I will share with my husband so that we can both use it to teach her.

As far as my military mission right now, I'm getting some exposure to the local nationals and treating a few local patients. As always, I love the soldiers that are around me. The Joes go through a lot here and the chain of command seem to have a good handle on things. I just finished ordering a lot of medical supplies (we call it Class VIII), and one of the officers at my home base sent me the ordering list. I was going through it and it made me realize (quantitatively) how expensive some supplies are. I'm accustomed to be the one requesting the supplies through the supply channels without actually knowing the prices, but now that I've seen the costs, I will definitely be more cautious of what I ask for. I even thought about what my husband keeps telling me I should do when I finally become a civilian, own my own practice and hire doctors. I thought about the costs of it all but it is definitely something I will consider doing. It will be a challenge. I still have my eyes set on being a real estate investor though, maybe I can do both.

I've been reading up on Condoleeza Rice, our current Secretary of State. I've had this fascination with her ever since I saw her in Kabul at the Embassy during the opening ceremony. The presidents of the US and Afghanistan were there too along with Mrs. Bush. Anyway, ever since then, I thought what a job to aspire to do. She has a doctorate, she taught in Stanford, she plays the piano, she is a woman, she is a minority (African-American), articulate, poised, fashionable. So, I wrote in my diary that I aspire to take her job one day. If I can put it in my mind that it's attainable, then I know I can do it. It's become one of my motivations to finish my doctorate. I know I'm destined to do something to make a difference in this world, I'm just inching at it right now but it will come to me, even if it's to be the best stay home mom I can be while my husband divulges himself in politics. Whatever it is, it's going to be something extraordinary. I think I'm delirious from lack of sleep which may explain my grandiose statements but I was really thinking all of this today.

It is very late (or very early depending on if I say that it's Zulu or local time). I'm going to get some sleep and tackle more reading for my classes when I get up (whenever that is). This is going to be a hard quarter but I just wanted to post my latest comments since my last one wasn't too positive.
High Speed, Low Drag