Hurry Up and Wait

I'm not sure how far the word spread of my whereabouts over the past week. Here's an update...

On Saturday (7/22), I was in Las Vegas sleeping in my hotel room when I got a call from my supervisor at 8:30 am asking me if I'd be able to get my passport and go to Washington, DC immediately. I told him my passport was at my home in Minnesota and he said to pack quickly because I was going to get it. I had almost convinced myself that this was a weird dream when someone started banging on my door. To make a long story short(er), I called Katie and asked her to start looking for my passport (not an easy task, trust me), my supervisor went online to make a reservation for me from Las Vegas to Washington, DC via Minneapolis and I frantically started shoving my belongings into my suitcases. Two hours later, I was at the LAS airport paying for the ticket for my 12:00 pm flight (not the cheapest way to travel in case you were wondering). Katie came through for me once again and met me at the MSP airport with my passport. Jess and Renee also came to see me. My layover was only 1 1/2 hrs., but it was nice to see them even for such a short time.

At this time I had very little information. I knew that a group of NSF was sent to DC the day before (Friday, 7/21) and that they were planning on being sent on to Turkey. I was told that my group would probably be going to Germany or Cypress. The purpose of all this was to help expedite and assist in the screening of evacuees from Lebanon. I arrived at Reagan Int'l in Washington, DC at 10:15 (Saturday 7/22). The number I was given to contact upon my arrival was not working so I took the hotel shuttle. It was about 11:15 by the time I got there. No room ready, no information on who to contact. I got a couple hours of sleep then went to the lobby to see if I could find anyone and ran into a group of NSF. They told me that there would be a meeting at 1:00 pm. Anxious for details, I went to the meeting and didn't get much information. The group that came on Friday (7/21) was sent to Cypress instead of Turkey. We were on hold for the time being. Be patient and be able to get back to the hotel in 45 minutes if needed.

The next day (Monday 7/24), we had another short meeting. Chances of going abroad seemed to be dwindling. Maybe we would be sent to one of five airports here in the U.S. that the evacuees would be flying into. Be patient and be ready.

Tuesday (7/25) still no news except that we had to move to a different hotel because the one we were in couldn't accommodate all of us. Another group of about 20 from around the nation joined us in the waiting game.

Wednesday (7/26) another short meeting. We weren't going anywhere. In the next couple days, the first group that went to Cypress should be returning. On Saturday (7/29), we will most likely be sent back to our previous deployments (that's Las Vegas for me). Between now and then we are to make sure all our administrative paperwork is in order and work on our online training courses.

Can't say I'm not disappointed. I was hoping for a chance to go to Germany, but to put a positive spin on things...at least I got out of Vegas for a week. Don't worry, Mom. I would never move there. I'm burned out on Vegas, literally. 115 degrees is pretty hot, even if it is a dry heat.