starting to look a lot like christmas :)

posted by: emilie

in the last couple of days i have recieved THREE awesome, christmas-y care packages! Thank you Aunt D, Aunt Cheryl, and Denise!!!! you guys are the best! As soon as I got Aunt D's care package i could tell it was packed up by a Stickley. I couldn't believe how much she had tidily fit into a flat rate mailer! A christmas tree, a nativity set, a candle, a pair of socks, and a coffee mug...and that wasn't even everything!!! haha!
Here is a "Self-portrait" of my little Christmas decoration in my room :) awesome!! It really helps make the christmas season seem more real now that i have my own decorations!!

In other, less exciting news, I forgot that i had left out a "Sticky Mouse Trap" on my floor the first day i moved in, before i had real mouse traps, and yesterday morning i woke up to a tiny mouse stuck to the trap. Those things are torturous!!! the little guy was still alive and wiggling and squeaking. It was awful. One of the guys from the other building "handled" the situation for me, because i just couldn't bear it. So, moral of the story is to never, ever use the sticky traps.

In the days following the "mass casuality" (this is the term we use to describe any medical scenario that requires use of all our resources and staff) several little side stories have been shared. O neg blood is very rare, and unfortunately, the most injured soldier was O neg. The "walking blood bank" had been activated, but there just weren't that many O neg soldiers to donate, so we started calling around to notify some of the nearby posts that we may be in need of donors. The Special Forces compound is nearby (A couple of minutes by vehicle), so we called over to let them know we might need them, and to remain "on hold" to transport guys over. Well, about 5 minutes later there was a whole bus full of special forces guys coming through the gate. apparently when they heard that there were injured soldiers who might need blood they loaded up every o neg guy and said they were coming to just sit outside the aid station to be ready when they were needed. these guys are really amazing.