While I was home on R&R I fully enjoyed my time home and am really looking foward to resuming my life. My town of Oxnard never seemed more appealing and the little things that seemed to annoy me so much before I left no no longer mattered. Only twice can I recall did I have a moment of recall that was uncomortable, but only for a plit second. Once while standing in line for some food I heard a loud BOOM and became startled, it was a large trash can being dropped to the ground by a trash truck. The second time I was driving down the road and came upon a construction site a swerved to miss what could have been a just buried IED, it was just a pile of dirt with no bomb in it.

I was a little suprised to see the lack of attention for what was going on in my "other world" Iraq. There didn't seem to be any real concern over Ramadan or the elections. It was all just business as usual, which I suppose is a good thing since most of the reported news is not reflective of the actual situation here.

I recall visiting my fiancees workplace and speaking with some of her co-workers and they asked me about the television show "Over there". It is supposed to be about us soldiers and our day to days lives to include what's happening on the home front. I never saw the show and told her I really didn't care too either. My younger brother did ask me to watch part of an episode so I did and was really not impressed, although it seemed like good drama it really wasn't a good show. But it has to make ratings and therefore must stretch reality. But this was the problem, people are still forming conclusions about the situation here on movies and clearly biased reporting.

I did get the oppurtunity to speak to a few classes of local high school sudents, Royal High of Simi Valley, California and was quite impressed with the overall conduct and questions by the students. It was an honor to speak to such bright young Americans and give them honest observations from Iraq. I was not concerned with my message being screened by Army officials for what might seem demoralizing content. This is what the Army calls it, I call it the truth. Overall I am in full support of our mission here and believe this is the write thing to do. I just believe along with the good the bad should also be discussed, otherwise it just won't be addressed.

It was good to be home and I have definetly learned to be gratful for the United States of America far more than before I came here and really enjoyed my time at home. The good thing was I only spoke with two or three people that didn't support our efforts as oppsed to the hundreds that did. But maybe I should do like so many others and just listen to the Polls.