Banana Rats are still rats...

I dont care what fruit you put in front of the word rat, those guys are still gross...take a look at the one that was under my car...yuk

Survived my first earthquake!!

Not that it was a big one...It woke me up, but it didnt keep me up!! I went right back to sleep! I definitely made a mental note before I went back to sleep to talk to my roomie about banging around so much though! I thought she was moving furniture or something!

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/10/285_20.php

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010sqaq.php

Internet says it was a 5.4...there was no damage here but it was rumbly!

Pictures anyone??

So I have finally had time to go exploring and I found some of the beaches…there are quite a few!  Theres nothing here thats as nice as a tourist location, but I really cant complain!  Its been a tad rainy and overcast for the past few days but I hate to even tell anyone from DC about the less than perfect weather!!  All I hear on the news is about DC and snow of historic porportions!  Do you really have 3 ft of snow?!?!    Wow!  Well, I finally posted a bunch of pics for everyone, I will email out the link so everyone can see.  Theres pics of my place, the beach, Iguanas, the weird cactus trees here and some other scenery.

Right now, Im in a chair on the beach typing.  I always love the sound of the waves crashing!  My alarm clock here makes wave sounds, so I cant use it because it has a reverse effect on me…the sound makes me sleepy!!  Since the beach Im at has so many rocks, they make a cool clicking sound when the water runs back out and the rocks bounce off each other--its almost sounds like a pot about to boil over.  Since this isn't one a real sandy beach, I have it pretty much all to myself right now.  Its nice to relax on the beach without a thousand crazy kids running around.  Oh well, it looks like the tide is coming in, and a vulture is circling over me, so I better start heading back to the car!  I hope he sees something other than me he wants to eat! Vultures are another part of the interesting local wildlife here, they are all over the place.  I miss you all and hope you arent going too stir crazy!  Hopefully you get to make it to some superbowl parties still! 

Dad, I cant believe you havent sent me any pics of KC and LC checking out the snow!

Grandma, hows the weather where you are?  Are you able to get out and walk still?  Did you get any snow?

Jon, are you ok?  I hope you arent too bored if you are stuck in my place, I think its crazy boring there if you are stuck and have nothing else to do for a few days.  Theres only so much super Mario you can play before your eyes start watering and blurring over and your hands start getting deformed and tired!    Ha ha.

Lots of Love!

Feb 1-2

All,
I forgot to post pictures again!! sorry, I keep forgetting to upload
them to my computer! I will do it soon...at least you can see the
beach here and how pretty and clear the water is! Im still holding
out for a good pic of the iguanas for everyone!
Well, I have a roommate now, but I havent met her yet...we come and go
at different times and havent crossed paths yet. However, I think she
ate one of my Kashi bars...
I sort of feel like im on vacation here, the weather is so nice and Im
staying in a townhouse with a TV, phones and my own room. Its
definitely not like the other deployments I have done!! I dont think
it will ever feel like home though, because it doesnt have internet
and everything is so quiet during the night...no sirens out my window
makes it hard to sleep!! ha ha Speaking of sleeping, I thought the
chickens in my backyard were cute until the next morning. The stupid
chickens are actually ROOSTERs and every morning from about 0522-0527
those guys wont shut up!! When I come back home I might actually be
an early riser (for a while), because I can sleep through 2 alarm
clocks, but I havent been able to sleep through the stupid roosters
yet...I wish they would take breaks on the weekends!
The speed limit here on base is no more than 25mph...I have a bad
feeling about this, I almost want to stop an MP and make him give me
the ticket I will inevitably get.
I havent had my camera with me to take pics of the iguanas yet, but I
will send one as soon as I take one. I keep a close eye out for them
because if you make road kill of one of those guys its a $10,000 fine.
Im not sure why, if they are endangered or what...my ears stopped
listening to the people telling me afer they said $10,000!! With my
luck, Im going to get caught speeding at the same time I kill an
iguana! Mom/Dad...I think thats the only ticket that would be more
expensive than my parking tickets at Campbell!! LOL!
Luvs,
jess

Im having fun in the sun, are you? LOL

Hey everybody…Im here, I made it here Saturday afternoon, and just got my
phone card working. I have started calling everyone, so answer if a weird
number comes up on your caller ID, because it might be me!! It about 80+
degrees here (90 last night), but I havent mentally acclimated to the
weather yet so I keep carrying around sweaters…I must look like the new
person! The place I am staying is pretty nice, soo much nicer than Iraq or
Afghanistan! It's a 2 bedroom townhouse with a housekeeper! I don't have a
roommate right now, so I have the place to myself. Pics are on the way so
you can see what a "rough" life I have here!! LOL. Joey and Steve, I have a
Kurig coffee maker here and the housekeeper comes and refills my coffee
options every morning…I just might get addicted and have to buy one when I
get home too. Oh, they also make my bed and do the dishes…I wish I could
take my housekeeper home with me. The only thing bad about the house is
that the internet connection is still dial-up, and my little high-techy
computer doesn't have a plug in for a phone line! However, Wi-fi is free in
other locations, so I will have to do that for this trip. As soon as the
guy im replacing leaves, I will have the car to myself and will be able to
log in more often. Last night, me and the guy im replacing went to the
outdoor movie theater and saw the movie "Everythings Fine" and it was the
saddest movie Ive seen in a while, but it totally made me think of our
family (not exactly the same) but Dad, some of what the Father did totally
made me think of you. Tonight, Im not sure whats going on but we all might
grill out or just turn in early, not really sure--this deployment is all
about the tough choices! Ha ha. I will send pictures of the local
wildlife here as soon as I can. Last night there were chickens running
around in my backyard and while i havent encountered the the banana rats and
iguanas up close yet, I have seen a bunch of them, those iguana jokers are
too scary right now to get close to. All is well so far but I should go
because Im sitting in the 90-degree sun in the backyard listening to my iPod
while I type this and my battery is pretty low. Love you guys and talk to
you soon,
Hugs,
Jess