Less than one month before parole!

Less than one month to go before I board Continental 172 and fly to the mainland for a well-deserved vacation! Paid for my extra legroom and Economy+ upgrades (though I was unable to get Economy+ seating on the Honolulu-Los Angeles-Las Vegas leg of the flight - things may change as I get closer to flight time, and I might be able to snag one on the day of the flight) and for the premier line upgrade (I get to go through the first class/premier boarding instead of the cattle-car boarding call). Considering I'm going to be in the air or waiting at the airport for connections for nearly 18 hours, it's well worth the extra expense.
Morale and quality of life is sinking further... the latest cuts to our quality of life are the elimination of the work bus service to the technical areas (where I work) and reduction of the hours of operation of the Small Boat Marina. While we've been promised higher-speed DSL internet, I'm still skeptical about it; I'll believe it when I see it offered. The costs ain't gonna be cheap; for the maximum bandwidth offered we're expected to pay around $150 a month for the service. And it's nowhere near as fast as what one is used to on the mainland and Hawaii. Even Ebeye (yes, the 'slum of the Pacific') already enjoys high speed internet. I wouldn't be surprised if people (especially us BQ rats) got together and split the cost of the internet connection.

It's a constant battle between the haves (families in housing) and the have nots (the BQ residents); and the biggest irritant are the 'island fluff' who contribute little or nothing but expect everything. The powers-that-be (and their cheerleaders) always come up with the same retort: "if you don't like it here, leave - six flights off the rock every week!" Most of us here are making the best out of life in this rock out in the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere while muttering under our breath the mantra the military knows so well: IHTFP (I Hate This Fucking Place). And they ask us why we drink? Now that the vitriol is vented, I feel much better. Island life will have its ups and downs, and while I occasionally will complain I don't plan on pulling the loud handle anytime soon.

Put my money down to start taking scuba lessons after I come back from vacation. One more item off my Kwaj bucket list. I've yet to go sailing or spend an overnight trip to Bigej Island.