Typically, Weekly - I Love My Job

I've been here almost six weeks, and am finally getting into a routine. One reason I have not been posting on my blog is because I'm in charge of keeping our new Facebook page up to date. "Like" us on Facebook at USO Kandahar. (The other reason I have not been posting on my blog is that I'm lazy.)

A typical week looks like this:

On Sundays we like to go to brunch at Harvest Falcon. It's not the Ritz-Carlton (or even the Holiday Inn, for that matter), but the breakfast at HF is still my favorite and they serve brunch until 1400 on Sundays. Sunday evenings I meet with some friends at the CMC (Chaplains' Ministry Center), where we hang out and talk. I like the CMC a lot; partly because USO Kandahar holds some of our programs there, but mostly because it's air-conditioned, has abundant snacks, magazines and books and a lot of nice people have offices at the CMC.

Monday evenings USO Kandahar sponsors Game Night*, where we gather a group to play Scattergories, Taboo, Cranium, Guesstures, or something similar. We hold this in a small English coffee house. Lately there's been so much fun and laughter that other customers have been joining us and the crowd is getting bigger and bigger. Recently KAF was in "Dress State 2," so we had to wear our IBAs during the games, but we still managed to have a great time.*

Tuesday evenings USO Kandahar sponsors United Through Reading in the AFN (Armed Forces Network) offices. At AFN Army (Reserve and Active Duty), Marines, Navy and Air Force work together in close quarters and (not surprisingly) they all seem to get along. Who knew? The people at AFN are so nice and helpful and they always manage to keep us entertained with personal stories and anecdotes. It's fun being there. (I've promised a bigger article with pictures. Hope to get that on here soon.)

Wednesdays USO Kandahar supports United Through Reading at the CMC. We've recently began to bring 550 cord so that we can make crafts while people wait their turn to record a book. Eight to ten of us wind up sitting around a table, chatting, telling jokes, shooting the breeze and just having a lovely time while we make bracelets (aka "cuffs") and key chains for ourselves, families and friends.* It's one of the highlights of my week. I love my job.

Usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays we hold Unit Appreciation Events, where we bring doughnuts and coffee to the troops at their work.* I continue to be staggered by the graciousness, gratefulness and absolute wonderfulness of our armed forces. We are treated like royalty -- because we bring fresh doughnuts! It's gratifying to tell our military how much the people of America apprecite their service. I just love my job.

On Fridays USO Kandahar also supports United Through Reading at the CMC. I recently put out a request for volunteers to assist on Fridays and was rewarded with ten responses. Seven of those ten were able to fit us into their schedule. Every one of the seven showed up and every one of the seven was an awesome volunteer. I really love my job.

Saturdays are reserved for Movie Night. The chaplains pick the movie; USO Kandahar supplies the snacks. Despite the recent Saturday evening attacks, this is a fun and growing event. We recently saw "The Blind Side," "Up" and "To Save A Life," which were all excellent, despite the recent attacks. (Oops; sorry. Did I repeat myself?)

Every day of the week, every person I meet is outstanding, friendly, gracious and considerate. It's all fun; I love my job.

*See lots of pictures in separate articles.