Now The Boring Blog!

Last night at dinner, I made my Jewish grandmother (also known as my new roommate) very proud by taking seconds of the rice and vegetables. Earlier during dinner, I turned down extra beans much to the dismay of my Jewish grandmother, but I redeemed myself when I went up for seconds. My new roommate is a good guy (much like everyone else here in camp), and he has a very good sense of humor. He does tease me about my rather peculiar eating habits, but he does go out of his way to ensure I am getting enough food. This has worked out perfectly, and I do enjoy his teasing. Also, last night I telephoned a dear friend for the second time in the last few weeks. This is a very good friend who is not connected with GA. In fact, this friend still works for my former employer. We had a great conversation, and like he always does, he made me laugh. He also told me that he loves me and can’t wait to take me out to the Souplantation when I get out. I am truly blessed with so many magnificent people in my life, and I am eternally grateful.

After the telephone call, I returned to my new room and talked with my roommate (also known as my Jewish grandmother!) The two of us share similar characteristics and similar stories regarding our incarceration period. We shared similar fears when this whole process started for each of us, and we talked about those. The underlying theme was we are both much stronger (in mind) now that when we first started our journeys. The key back then was fear, and now, this fear is present in some instances but much less pronounced than at the beginning. The phrase, “That what doesn’t kill a person makes them stronger” does come to mind; however, for me it is still about peace of mind. Early on in this journey, I didn’t have peace of mind, and I was genuinely fearful. Over time, my peace of mind gets stronger and stronger. Now, I am at peace with myself and with my situation. We had a very good talk, and we also laughed. Laughter is such a great elixir, and now there isn’t a day which goes by that I don’t laugh. It feels so good to laugh, and this does make the days better and better.

My new roommate shares the same bedtime schedule as I do because he, too, wakes up early to exercise. I now have a different mattress because the thinner mattress was just not very comfortable as I could feel the springs in the bed frame. This current mattress is much more comfortable than any other mattresses I have had all through this journey, but my light sleeping still hasn’t changed. My new roommate dropped his portable radio during the night, and I heard it. Also, the C/O on duty was “flashlight happy” as he shined the light several times during the night. The C/O does have a responsibility to ensure everyone is in their bed during the night, and I do understand. I managed to fall back to sleep soon after the flashlight shining, and I do get enough sleep during the night.

I thought I might be allergic to my new room and/or my new roommate because as soon as I moved in yesterday I started sneezing, and my nose was running. It isn’t allergies. It is a small cold. I had the scratchy-throat symptoms a few days ago, and there is something going around the camp. I am very surprised that more colds or flu’s don’t go around the camp especially when we are out on fires. I know for myself that on the last fire I didn’t get nearly enough sleep, and my body was rundown. I will watch myself, but the beauty of my new position is I have the entire afternoon to rest if I need it. I am no longer subjected to the extremes of the fire line, and I know my small cold will pass quickly. Small cold or not, I still got up early to run. The weather has finally broken, and the early morning temperatures were the coolest they have been in a few weeks. This coolness felt great, and I had a great run. The rest of my day was essentially the same as it was the day before, and so goes the boring blog. The blog may be boring, but I am enjoying my new position tremendously. A fellow in-camper put it perfectly today as we talked about coming in camp. “It is so peaceful being an in-camper.” He is 100% correct because the camp is extraordinarily peaceful during the day, and so is my being. My being is peaceful, tranquil, and serene. I can certainly handle six months of this wonderful program.