Hello McClellan, you ugly ugly town

That's right! I'm back in Sacramento. My flight is this afternoon, then i'm home for Christmas, then Chicago for New Years, then back here to drive back up to Portland. And each time i spell that out, my break starts sounding very short. But i think i will definitely have time to relax while I'm home. Appreciate family, and alone time.

Driving into McClellan yesterday, my whole team was like... man. this place is ugly. I sort of didn't notice it before. And in the 5 weeks we were here, i kind of convinced myself it wasn't so bad. But really, it is. It's ugly.
But! The sun shines here. The sky is blue all the time. And sometimes, that's enough to make me happy.
I just looked up the weather, and it's warmer in St. Louis than it is here. But at least i know how to dress to run over to the BX (Base Exchange)

Every day is a new chance for me to learn how to live on this limited budget. I didn't fully understand what kind of impact it would make on the lifestyle i'm used to that i'd be living on about 70 dollars a week. Sure, my regular food is covered. But Portland is a city of coffeeshops, and awesome thrift stores and music stores. I said to one of my teammates yesterday in the gas station, the dollar has never had quite so much value to me. I used to 'treat myself' and get the drink at the coffee shop or the beer or whatever that was just slightly more every time. Now i think about what i could do with that one dollar, and i think , perhaps not. I have some cash in my wallet that i got out last week so i'd be able to use it in the airports on the way home. And it's hidden in my wallet so i couldn't use it in my daily purchases. So last night when i went to the bar, i had 4 dollars. Luckily, here in McClellan, 4 dollars goes a long way...as long as you get budweiser. So, going against my beer snob ways, i got bud. Not something i plan to do often. I feel that it's better to spend money on beer less often and get good beer, than get beer all the time and get the cheap shit.

I am very excited about going home, but i feel completely unprepared for Christmas. I don't know what i'm giving my family, i didn't have time to do proper christmas shopping, and i didn't ask anyone what they wanted. And even though i've seen christmas decorations around everywhere since thanksgiving, I think it's going to feel strange to see the (live!) Christmas tree sitting in my parent's house.
I suppose it feels even stranger because i didn't go home for christmas last year, i went to morgan's. Which was cool, but definitely different.

But at this point, it's hardly worth worrying over. I'll be home in about 12 hours!

I'm off to the bx for some cough drops. Speak to you all soon!