After many trips (approx. 300) to the store to get the necessities plus any extras a girl might think she needs for the next four months, that girl (ummm me), has started to pack. Now on normal travel occasions, say two or three weeks, I usually wait until the night before to pack...so that ratio (for geometry sake) is about 1/14 (the number of days packed over the number of days I will be needin' to pack for....but this time is a bit different. This time my packing is for 120 days....so my current ratio looks like 8.5715/120....and since I leave in 9 days....I'm coming in right under schedule! LOL!!!! I'm such a dork! SO here's the start of things....

I have some books....there are more outside the view of the camera.....too many towels, but I'd rather be safe than sorry....some workout gear...lots of socks, don't want to have stinky feet...that could lead to yucky feet....eww....lots of undies...you can never have too many of those right?!? Oh and YES the absolutely necessary SHOWER SHOES! They are Hott Pink. I have some sealed snacks, since we are limited to the dining hall hours that is only open three times per day....I would be a very grumpy Keisha if I could only eat the hours of the dining hall...or maybe that'd do me some good???!!! Hmmm...maybe they're on to something...And of course I can't forget my girlfriends Samantha, Charlotte, Miranda, and Carrie...oh and my boyfriend John (A.K.A. "Big")! I could never leave them behind....

Additionally I have made sure to pack all the the things to try to remind myself that while I may have to dress like a man everyday of this trip, I don't have to feel like one. I think I have 10 different nail polishes that will accompany me along with some manicure scrub....some face masks, under-eye de-puffing patches (which I think I've only ever used once in my life), some good smelling soaps from one of my favorite stores Lush, and a lovely little robe that I purchased for 10 bucks at the BX....plus ooodles of other things to keep me busy and somewhat happy....I think I'm all set....in trying my best to keep some type of normalcy while I'm away. I also purchased some cute lil' magnets from Wal-Mart to hang my pictures in my locker...so that I can greet my family and friends each day.

I am sad that I am leaving for four months, but at the same time I am also excited about doing something so different for a change. I hope that this trip opens my eyes to things larger than me...things larger than my miniscule worries and gripes...things larger than what I have placed so much value in though it may not really be significant on a larger scale. We (as a whole) are going there to make a difference in people's lives and I just hope that my small part does just that....

Thanks for stopping by....

Keisha

p.s. if you wanna see where I'll be living for the next four months, go to http://www.comfort.navy.mil/. They also have some photos and synopses of their previous missions at this site http://www.southcom.mil/appssc/factFiles.php?id=6