Not in Egypt. Not THOSE Thebes. The other Thebes. In Greece.

I've been sent to the Central Artillery Training Camp, to be trained as a K/B Stinger launcher/user/driver/idon'treallycareftw. Which is really sad, because I'm going in for surgery on a dual hernia (it's was a two for one sale, I couldn't resist) on Thursday coming.

For those of you wondering what my rather random mumbling is all about... well, hernias mean weight is a no-no. so, you know, nine and a half pounds of G3A3 weapon, a few more in the form of a full canteen and all those straps and bangles they make you wear and a good four or five of helmet is JUST what the doctor ordered.

I'm working on getting out of armed duty for the next five or six days. So far I've lucked out. Today was fire brigade.

As long as I'm not lifting weights, or spending excesive amounts of time standing, life is bearable. Again. I'm working on it. Worst case scenario, if someone decides not to pay attention to what I'm -saying- I'll hit the doctor and be relieved of duty till the operation itself takes place.

Which should probably shut everyone up -real- quick.

Bah. I digress. Presently, I count the days till the operation, when the pain finally ends, as does my stay in Thebes (for all practical points and purposes). Then bed rest in the Army Hospital and then sick leave. Oodles of it. I think it's something like 20 or 30 days. Which makes me dizzy just THINKING about it.

And then, unless EVERYTHING is ass backwards in the world, an army desk job down in Kos, along with my final official transfer. Which should make life significantly easier. Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself. The operation itself remains almost a week away, and at this point, in the beurocratic chaos that is the Greek army, unless I see something in writing, the chances of my believing it find themselves somewhere between 0 and -5%. Still, I suppose I can always hope, as it were.

All that said, it's been a remarkably tiring and draining last few days. Sleep has been strange/lacking, angst due to uncertainty has been riding the high tide to my frontal lobe. Add all that to a double dose of hernia, liberally sprinkled with cleaning duty, impressively long marches to the educational grounds (the base is pretty damn big. Only the armored calvalry's is bigger...but then, that one's also the biggest base in the Balkans) and I think just about anyone can see that it's not a many splendored existence...

Must. Get. Thinking. Positive. -________________-;

Pfah. These people make me tired. And old. OLD I SAY. Old beyond my days.

*sigh*