And it ain't as bad as it's gonna be.

I know I was complaining yesterday about the lack of hotter weather in June (and yes, I'm sure I'll be eating those words at some point this summer). Even so, I really have no right to complain at all.

It's not even the hottest part of summer yet, but here's a glimpse at the local forecast where Philip is stationed:

BALAD, IRAQ LOCAL FORECAST
(** Red indicates the forecasted HIGH temperature for the day, while Blue indicates the LOW temperature for the evening. All temps are in Fahrenheit degrees.)

Monday, June 25: 113° / 85° - CLEAR
Tuesday, June 26: 112° / 84° - CLEAR
Wednesday, June 27: 111° / 86° - CLEAR
Thursday, June 28: 113° / 86° - CLEAR
Friday, June 29: 115° / 85° - CLEAR
Saturday, June 30: 115° / 86° - CLEAR
Sunday, July 1: 117° / 90° - CLEAR
Monday, July 2: 106° / no data - CLEAR

Philip says there are some days where haze is forecasted, but there's not any in his upcoming week. That's about the extent of change he sees - there's never any rain. He said the last rainfall they had was some sprinkles the first week of May, and even that was highly unusual. When he was in Iraq in 2005, the last rainfall he saw was in March.

( Screencap of last week's weather he sent me. )

I can't even fathom.

Headache.

My head is bursting, or so it feels. It was pounding when I woke, and it hasn't let up. In the chance that it might be dehydration, I've been forcing water all day. I've had over 120oz. now - when will it "kick" in? I've peed a million times too, so I'm not just holding it all back.

Clumsy day.

Today was just not my day at work, I think.

I was in fine spirits, as were the rest of the folks I worked with. When I arrived, the last of the morning dishes had just been done, and the floor between the sink and the drying racks was quite wet. This is nothing new, however - it's the normal routine to finish up most of the dishes before we open.

But the first thing *I* do each day is fill up the ice in the smoothie machine and the drive-through. These are very large buckets - probably big enough to hold two big blankets each - and when filled with ice, they're pretty heavy. But I do this every day, so it's not a new thing. The hardest part about carrying these gigantic buckets is that I can't see my footing at all.

...

Do I need to spell out the rest?

So, yeah. As I turned the corner from the back of the kitchen, I slipped on the wet floor and BAM! Went straight down. I somehow managed to keep hold of the bucket of ice, which was both good and bad: 'good' because it meant that there wasn't ice all over the floor, which would have only added to the wetness, but 'bad' because I "saved" it from spilling by landing it right on top of my right leg as I fell. And that's a lot of weight slamming down on my leg, which is already contorted into an uncomfortable angle in my fall. My left leg was twisted out as well, and I had landed in a dirty water puddle, so I had black smudges all up my leg, too. (Thank goodness for black shorts for our summer uniform, though!)

I must've bruised the back of my right hand on the way down too, though I wasn't aware of it at the time. By the end of my lunch shift, I had a nice purple welt to show for it. But I laughed it off as I regained my posture, hoisted the ice bucket once again, and continued on to the drive-through, thinking I had recovered.

One of my co-workers was immediately concerned as soon as I reached the drive (and it's probably only a 12-foot walk here, not very far), asking if I was okay. I told her that it hurt a little, but I was fine. I lifted the ice to dump it in the bin... and I somehow lost my footing again, this time tumbling in a forward fashion, crashing into the counter and bringing the bucket of ice down around me. I can only guess that my feet were still very slippery from the fall just 30 seconds prior.

And then the ENTIRE drive-through floor was covered in ice. I dashed off to the bathroom quickly - for some reason, the first fall made me feel like I need to pee, an instant reaction. When I fell again, it was a small wonder that I didn't actually have an accident. I was only gone for a minute, and when I returned, Kris and Chad helped me to get the ice off the floor as quickly as possible. Even so, it was probably 85° in the drive-through (what with the window open all the time), and that ice melted FAST.

So then I had to contend with a sopping wet floor for another half-hour or so until it was finally all dry again. And that was nerve-wracking.

A good record for only being at work for five minutes, don't you think? Almost an hour later, I finally got a moment between customers to wash the muddy sludge off my left leg, and it was then that I realized my left hip was beginning to ache. I took some ibuprofen and guzzled more water. Honestly, with the day's headache already in place, I can't tell if it even worked.

But Kris, Chad and Lacey were all great. That's the best thing about working at Runza - we all have a good time. Sure, there was a joke or two, but they were also very concerned when I fell, and when Chad didn't have customers in the front, he helped me in drive so that I wouldn't have to excessively navigate the wet floors. He would fill drinks in the front, grab me dressings, etc., and he continued to do this until the floor was completely dry. And I never felt stupid - just really, really clumsy.

So I'm a bit sore and bruised, but I think I'll be okay. They might elect someone else to get the ice tomorrow, though. ;-)

Today's mail.

And today's mail included a free sample of Honey Bunches of Oats® and a free Fisher-Price® Planet Heroes DVD and booklet for the boys. They watched it this afternoon and declared it "Awesome!" Seriously, that's all we talked about tonight at dinner. :-)