Any package from home is a blessing when you're deployed. Regardless of the contents, what really makes it special is that someone took the time to go to the post office, fill out a customs form, and send it in the first place. I feel absolutely spoiled: I received three care packages this week, all of which contained something I've been craving more than the snacks, baby wipes, and magazines that people usually send. They had music in them.

I don't really need much over here. I'm well fed. I have my guitar. I even have a laptop and a microphone to record with which is more than I could have hoped for when I left nearly 3 months ago.

Still, I can't help but wonder how a conversation with my WWII veteran grandfather would play out if I were to explain my ''need'' for music. I brought a handful of CDs and my iPod with me, but the iPod is a measly 8GB, and I find it difficult, for sentimental reasons, to replace old songs with new ones. I know. Life is tough. Sorry, grandpa.

Friday is Karaoke night at the dining facility here. It may be difficult to imagine soldiers singing karaoke in Iraq but it really isn't that different from back home. Instead of a bar, imagine a Costco-sized building with a camouflaged gun-toting audience and salad bar. I never seem to be around for dinner on karaoke night, but when I am it seems like the same guy is always up there.

He's bald, wears thick black-rimmed glasses, and is probably well into his 40s. I'd like to think of myself as his biggest fan, but, unfortunately, he seems to have a gift for getting songs stuck in my head. Last Friday it was 'What a Difference You've Made in My Heart', by Ronnie Milsap. I had to look up the artist but I vaguely remember hearing it on my dad's favorite AM radio station as a kid. Needless to say, it isn't the best song to have stuck in your head for a week, especially considering the looks you get after randomly bursting into the chorus around other soldiers. So I'll feel at least a little better if the discussion over what does and does not constitute ''need'' during wartime pops up with my grandpa.

Maybe not.

Sorry, Ronnie Milsap.