Anyway, things are still pretty busy at the TOC, but things are slowing down now that election day has come and gone. CNN is doing their usual, reporting that over a dozen of the candidates are already boycotting the elections for one reason or another. The votes aren't even close to being tallied yet, but I think everyone already figures that Karzai will come out on top. It's not like the US, with the chad fiasco, but I guess there are issues with people voting multiple times. Because they don't have to vote in their own district and because picture IDs are not required, they have people that can hop from polling site to polling site as long as they have a voter registration card and don't have a special indelible ink mark on their hands. Unfortunately the indelible ink was not so indelible...people were apparently able to wash it off, and thus the protest.
Besides that, I took a break last night after all the action, and retired to the barracks to play some video games before crashing for the night. I went right back to NFL Blitz, going 2-4 for the night...I think. Anyway, got some sleep and came right back to the TOC in the morning to type of the Commander's Situation Report to send up to brigade. I put in my two cents and slaved over it for a little over an hour before sending it off. I would have spent more time on it, but I doubt they read it anyway...kinda like the lab reports my students used to write me...hehe. Just kidding...it took me months to get the lab reports back, but that's only because I did read them all. I couldn't imagine being an English teacher and having to read papers all the time. Numbers are so much better...speaking of which...hopefully, things'll die down in the near future so I can get back to my studying. Also, the count is now up to seven for days that I haven't done PT. I'll get back to that soon too.
08 October 2004 1235z - It's the day before elections, so things are getting more and more tense around the camp. I don't leave the TOC nearly as much these days just in case things might be going on down range. So this morning, since I had to get the SITREP done in time, instead of going to the D-Fac, I sat in the TOC, where I ate the breakfast of champions, coffee and Doritos. Lunch wasn't much better. I stepped out to relieve myself and then stopped by the D-Fac to take advantage of my trip. It was too late though...all of the steak fajitas were gone and all that was left for me was some bacon left over from morning. Oh well.
Besides that, it's just been dusty around here with the largest sandstorm in our three months in country. Taliban will probably just claim that this is God's way of saying the elections are bad for Afghanistan as they launch attacks on polling sites throughout the country. As I walked back and forth from the barracks, I was reminded of a scene from Total Recall, where they were on the surface of Mars. There is still a gritty residue in my mouth from all of the dust I was breathing in and a layer of dust has settled on my computer keyboard as well. But you don't have to take my word for it. I took a couple of pictures around the camp so that you could see for yourself.
That's all I have for now. I'll probably write more when the elections are over, but it'll probably be a long next couple of days for us all here...so back to work.
06 October 2004 1935z - I finally took some time to get online tonight after making the decision to pull myself from the TOC a few hours after the BUB. I finished up most of my homework except for a report I need to submit in the morning. I'll save that one for when I wake up. Anyway, I got online and since it'd been so long, I decided to catch up with a whole bunch of weblogs from family and friends. Yeah, I noticed that Ben updated. I usually check Ben's page and Jane's page every time I get online...Ben's because it's the most entertaining - now, don't get your panties in a bunch if that statement makes you feel bad about your blog, but it's true. Plus, Ben's letters to me have been hilarious. I wish you all could read them...he includes these completely random pictures and the captions are quite clever. I must say, it's almost ironic that Ben's written work is so witty. But yeah, I tend to reload his page a lot. Jane's I look up because she's my favorite little sister and because she updates the most. Sometimes I think about not visiting her site just because I want to have more traffic than her. But yeah, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I will now go through the list of my blog-reading just for the heck of it. After Jane's site, Yenny's is next. It's strange because there is a side of her personality that I don't think I recognized until I read her stuff online. It's like that with a lot of people actually, but my family especially. You think you live with someone for 20+ years and you should know them. But it's amazing what else you learn about someone when you can flip through their diary. After Yenny, comes Lenny, mom, and then dad...yes, in that order.
Well, the reason I bring this up is because I finally started to look at their links today. There really isn't that much to do online when no one is IMing. I mean, I can check e-mail and look at the strange search strings that people use to find my page...but there's really only so many times I can search for "allison bott" and "maggie lesley" on yahoo! before I get bored. So anyway, today, I clicked on links and found a whole new set of weblogs that I hadn't seen before. It made me smile to discover that my cousins had grown up. It's amazing how you spend summer after summer and winter after winter visiting your little cousins...and then one day you realize that they're not so little any more. I started reading through Dorothy's blog today and I thought to myself...she's such a nerd!!! But it was awesome because she said all of this cheesy stuff that I like to say and she was talking about speaking up during classes (something I tried to do just to stay awake in class sometimes) and studying for physics tests. But yeah, I was reading through her experiences in college and it reminded me of my time as a student. I flipped through Brian's blog too and noticed that he was substitute teaching at Hayfield. All of this stuff going on...what's funny is that I probably would never know this stuff if I were at home. I'd be carrying on with my life, oblivious of all of this going on around me.
So yeah...I did a bunch of reading today...and then I started thinking to myself. First, I thought about what I sounded like. Like what do people think when they read about me? I mean, I wish I could say that that kind of stuff doesn't affect me, but I got to thinking. Every once in a while, I go back in time and look at what I wrote a year or two ago. Every time, I reminisce and think about how much easier life used to be. It's not that life is all that complicated nowadays (heck, I don't even have to pick out what clothes to wear every day - how complicated can it be?); but things always seem infinitely less complex when you look back. Like back in college, I used to spend all of my free time either online or playing video games. How tough was that? There weren't any bills, any responsibilities, anything. I think about that every once in a while...now, I don't even dare to take a vacation. I need to change that when I get home, though. My trip to Charleston cemented that decision. I will have fun when I get home.
Okay, I think I got off on a little tangent there (ahh...tangent...time to insert nerdy math humor...one day, an integer looked into a mirror and noticed that his additive inverse on the opposite side of the number line, equidistant from the origin. Ha! I tricked you geeks. You thought I was actually going to come up with a funny joke, but I just described a one-dimensional object.) Anyway, tangent again. I haven't slept in a while, so please excuse my randomness tonight. I was thinking, though, about what people thought when they read my blog. Part of this was triggered by an e-mail I received from the father of one of the soldiers in my battalion. For people like that, I worry sometimes when I write this because I'm worried that they will worry that their son is under the command of such a nerd. The same thought comes to mind when I think about parents of my students stumbling onto my page. I guess that I worry because I don't feel like I'm grown-up...not all the time, at least.
Sometimes I wonder if anyone ever feels grown-up. I mean, people always seem surprised when they notice that they're getting older. Have you ever noticed that? So maybe it's not just me. Maybe everyone sees themself as a kid in one sense or another. I mean, when do you become an adult? When you turn 17 and can get into an R movie? When you turn 18 and can vote? When you turn 21 and can walk into a bar without having someone draw a big X on your hand? When you buy your first house? When you get married? When you have your first kid? Your second? Your third? Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to believe that everyone thinks that they're young. After all, so many people are worried about turning old, right? And you can't turn old if you're already old...so everyone who worries about turning old must in some part of their mind still think that they're young.
Enough of the deductive reasoning though...just me thinking now. I was thinking about how people saw me...whether it's my students, my soldiers, their parents, my siblings, my parents, my cousins, my friends...whoever. I feel guilty for taking so much time to write this today, but it feels good to just express myself. I got some e-mails from a lot of people over the last few days...I feel bad for not having replied yet, but I'll acknowledge receipt here, hoping that it'll earn me forgiveness. I got an e-mail from Jeff, who I hadn't talked to since I left for Fort Bragg and another from Thuy and a request for a teacher rec from a student I had last school year, which seems a world away right now. I even got a postcard from Mr.Valentine, who I forget if I mentioned it or not; but his daughter married one of my students from my first year teaching. How wild is that?
Anyway, I've rambled enough for a day. I'm sure I'll have some time to write more tomorrow during my 14-hour shift in the TOC. I actually don't have hours, but I'd really feel guilty if I worked anything less than that. Now, I say work, but I really mean talking on radios and giving orders; so I guess that could be debatable. Either way, I'm going to bed. You know I love you all at home, even if I don't read your blog. (And yes, Jane, I decided to finally start using that "word" today.) Oh, one last thing before I forget. There are so many birthdays that I know I'm going to forget in October; so before it gets worse, I'll use this whole war thing as an excuse and wish everyone a happy birthday today, to include: Tommy, Jeff, Thuy, Mom, Grandma, and Lenny. Good night.
06 October 2004 1005z - So, interesting last few days around here. I've actually been a major slacker. One of my guys came home from leave, and he brought a Dreamcast with him. So anyway, long story short, I keep on losing to one of my privates at NFL Blitz 2000, which we've been playing with on the big screen. I beat him once, but he kept on claiming that it was a fluke. I know he is wrong, but I haven't been able to beat him again. Last night, I actually stayed up about three hours past my normal bedtime just to lose to the kid three extra times...very frustrating. He kept on bragging too, which hurt extra because...well, I hate losing. I'll need to take advantage of my rank at some later date and make him pay. *evil laugh*
Anyway, besides that, we had the Afghan president visit our area of operations. I guess I can talk about it now that it's day old news and everyone else in the province saw the dozen or so security helicopters and jets flying around our area. Anyway, the president didn't make an appearance at our base, but all of his birds touched down here in order to refuel on my LZ. Hehe...my LZ...I guess my head is getting bigger around here as time goes by. It's not really my LZ, but my guys run the ops and I supposedly control the traffic coming in. Of course, the aviators pretty much do whatever they want, so I don't really control much of anything. So let's see...what it comes down to is that I carry a big radio and talk to pilots and crew chiefs who don't really care to talk to me. So what was the point I was trying to make? Oh yeah, lots of helicopters and planes flying around...it looked really cool!
What else happened? There was a little incident in the TOC involving a couple of captains. Now, there's this saying about captains. You see, the rank on their collars looks a lot like railroad tracks...so they are sometimes referred to as such because of it. Well, you know what happens, when two railroad tracks cross, right? Yeah, anyway, let's just say that after a short break, I'm working in the TOC again as the temporary battle captain. It's pretty cool because I actually know what's going on again instead of just working the log side of things and calculating how much toilet paper we need for a twelve month deployment and the like. Anyway, that's all I have to report for now. More to follow.
03 October 2004 1745z - Who am I? I know I'm just a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, but this country and this whole experience has had a way of making me feel like much more. I am currently staying in the guest quarters of the Governor's compound, along with a couple of other soldiers from my unit. Our accomodations are pretty spartan...just three of us in a little room with one light bulb and a window. The furniture consists of three cots, a handful of chairs, a couple of desks, and sandbags at the base of the window to protect us in case of an attack. There is one power outlet running 220 power; and unfortunately, none of us have converters to take advantage of the situation. Knowing this ahead of time, though, I charged up the batteries to my laptop, my iPod and my camera. After spending eight hours here, though, a third of my shift, this is the first time I've broken out the Dell. It started off pretty cool. We sat down to drink some green tea with a captain from the Afghan National Army. He spoke rather good English...especially compared to my Pashto. My vocabulary consists of two short phrases, hello and thank you. Granted, those are very important words I use on a daily basis; but I probably should have picked up more in my two+ months in this country.
Anyway, after three cups of tea, we retired back to our "office" where we monitored the traffic over the radio. Nothing happened of course...which is not really a bad thing...just boring. I spoke with a couple of other American soldiers here at the compound afterwards, getting an in-brief summarizing my responsibilities here, and then our interpreter arrived. His name was Rocky, or at least that's the nickname given to him by the American soldiers who couldn't pronounce his real name. But yeah, after Rocky showed up, he gave me a tour of the compound, pointing out where everything went, from the deputy governor to the police chief to the rice, flour, water, and latrines. There was a swimming pool too - dried out by now - and a garden with flowers which he told me were closely related to roses. What's funny is that the Afghan sergeant insisted that we take the pictures in the flower garden, which I must admit was quite beautiful. It was then that the food arrived...and the moment of truth.
I'd eaten some raisins and almonds with the tea, and I've had Afghan bread in the past...but there is only so much that can go wrong with food like that. Now, came the real Afghan food...kinda scary at first sight. During the first dinner, it wasn't so bad (NOTE: when I say it wasn't so bad, what I really mean is that it looked and tasted awesome. The "so bad" was in reference to how much of a toll that I think it's going to end up having on my intestinal fortitude). There was really just beef and foot bread. At the end of the meal though, the Captain played a little trick and slipped me a pepper. It seemed harmless enough, but after taking a bite out of it, my mouth was on fire. Luckily enough, there was enough bread and water left to cool my mouth off before I started to sweat too much.
Fast forward two hours...dinner number two arrives. This meal was shared with a half dozen Afghan soldiers along with the police chief. This time, it's a stew and more foot bread. There is a kind of salsa too - they called it salad - not very different from what Lenny used to make back home. There are grapes too...small ones, but very sweet. And there was a bowl of this yogurt type stuff - I took a small taste and then tried to get Rocky to explain to them what lactose intolerance was. I don't know if they believed me or if they thought I was making an excuse because I was afraid to eat the food. Either way, after having to go to the bathroom twice already to do number one, I am hoping that my system doesn't react to the food the same way most of our soldiers' systems have...at least not until my shift is over and we can get back to some gold ole' American outhouses. I mean, I know that we're at the Governor's compound and all; but when there isn't a place for toilet paper, you know where their hands have been. I mean, it's just culture, I know...but when they gave us our in-brief back at Fort Bragg about why you shake with the right hand and try to avoid contact with the left....let's just say that it cemented the fact that I'd be bringing around a small bottle of hand sanitizer with me wherever I go.
I know my grammar has been pretty bad today...switching between tenses and whatnot...but I'm tired and excited all at once, making me a little random here. I only mention it because another one of the officers here stumbled upon my page a few weeks ago. He mentioned it to me at the time, and I got all worried about grammar all of a sudden because I knew that he used to be an English teacher. No worries though...because TECH WON!!!! At breakfast today, I heard that they beat West Vrrginia and all of my worries just disappeared. Funny how that works, isn't it? Anyway, like I said, I'm tired. So I'll take a little nap now and go back on duty in a few hours. Until then...
02 October 2004 0315z - There's a laundry list of things I've been putting off these last few days that I'm hoping to get done today. Number one on the list is laundry. It is a pain to have to do laundry by hand, especially when the water is so cold...but I'll get that done today. I really don't have much of a choice considering my lack of clean clothes. I also need a haircut and it's probably wouldn't hurt for me to catch up on e-mailing people. Maybe if I would cut down on the movies and naps and if I didn't update this page so much, I'd actually have time to do everything. I don't know.
Things have been getting a little busier here with the elections coming, but I've been left out of a lot of the action because of my position. I mean, I stay busy, but it's not with combat-type missions. I just do more paperwork and cover down on little things to keep things running around the camp. It's very much behind the scenes stuff, which I don't mind so much; but my guys are probably getting bored out of their minds. The only consolation is that we're having more birds land all the time now. That's always exciting.
Anyway, I'm going to keep it short today so that I can get on with breakfast and the rest of my day. Maybe I'll write more when I finish my chores. Until then...
29 September 2004 1732z - Complete and total bum today. I mean, after my workout this morning, I did a lot of shamming. I'm not proud of it, but at the same time, it was a nice break. I watched a couple of movies on the big screen, including Evil Dead II and parts of Army of Darkness and The Last Crusade.. I know...don't I ever do any work around here? My guys are watching Resident Evil 2 right now; but they started while I was in my meeting and I haven't seen the first one yet, so I decided to pass on movie night tonight.
Besides that, my guys are working on their carpenter apprenticeships, making anything from walls to shelves to sofas and beds out of plywood and nails. We've got a nice little L-shaped living room set for our common area, along with some folding camping chairs for our stadium seating for the movies. We've had a few guests over already and we might even start charging admission soon. The bazaar came by today too, and most of my guys came back with stack of DVDs in their hands, so I don't think we'll run out of movies anytime soon. Plus, there's always It's a Wonderful Life. I'm going to play that over and over during Christmas season. I know my guys are going to hate me for it, but I'm the boss. And I picked up the first two seasons of Alias a while back. If I ever run out of things to do, I can always revert to that.
Hmmm...I haven't done any calculus homework in a while. Maybe I should do that. Anyway, tomorrow I resolve to make much more productive than today, so I am going to stop and get some rest. As always, more to follow.
29 September 2004 0554z - So I woke up this morning and I wasn't freezing. It's amazing what four walls and a roof will do for you, isn't it? We spent all day yesterday moving our things into the B-hut. It's a 70'x20' structure built by the lowest Afghan bidder. They made over a dozen of these at a price of about 130K...total! That's less than ten thousand for each building. Not bad, huh? Unfortunately, I'm not sure if real estate out here is as good of an investment as it is back home. It's nice though. We moved in with the FARP team. They're the fuel guys who take care of refueling birds and whatnot. They seem pretty cool, and the next ten months looks pretty promising.
Some notable changes now that we're indoors, besides the warmth at night, include:
There are innumerable other intangibles that I won't go into detail about at this moment, but let's just say quality of life has increased at least two-fold. I'm sure I wouldn't have realized what I was missing living in the tent and all; but now that I'm here, I don't want to go back, especially with the winter coming. Well, I know it just turned fall back home, but it's so cold already that it feels like winter during the night and early morning. Speaking of seasons...I was thinking back to the other day, when we were driving through the country. I remember seeing trees...and grass!! I hadn't seen grass in the two months that I'd been in country, just dirt and sand and rocks. But on our way back, we saw patches of grass near various small water sources. The patches probably weren't any larger than my lawn back home, but just the sight of grass in this foreign land brought a big smile to my face.
28 September 2004 0404z - This morning, as I woke up for the third time during the night because of the cold, I opened up my sleeping bag about two inches, just large enough to stick my hand out to fish around for my alarm clock to check the time. The clock read 1:15, which meant that it was really about 1:07 or 1:08 because I'd set it ahead a few minutes. It was then that I made a conscious decision that I would no longer be a slacker. Now that I actually had the time to exercise, I vowed to get big and strong...or like one of my cooks like to say, "get swell." That's not swell like the Leave it to Beaver swell but swell like you smashed your thumb with a hammer swell. I was thinking about the last time I actually lifted weights consistently. It hasn't been since college, nearly five years ago. And even then I couldn't get big. But I figure with the right diet and a whole year to improve, I could come home a muscle-bound chick magnet...or so everyone seems to think. It's funny. Everyone has their own little countdown until their leave to go back home, and in the back of their minds, they're all getting in shape to show off to their families. Well, not everyone...but maybe about 60% of the guys here. The big sellers around here and what I see coming in during the mail flights all the time are all of those Cell-tech, whey protein, and other GNC-type supplements.
But anyway, back to the moment of truth. I had my hand about 6 inches outside the bag, pressing the button for the little LED light and then I ripped by bag open and sat up for a minute, getting a handle how cold it really was (probably low 30s...very close to freezing, but not quite), and then changed out of my sleeping clothes to work out. For some reason, I was in the mood for Avril this morning. Don't ask me why, and don't look at me like I'm not still hard. But I started off biking to her before switching to the Ataris. I went for just over 50 minutes, so I went through most of the album before lifting. It's always nice in the mornings because very few people get up that early, especially now that it's so cold, and I get the whole gym to myself. When no one's around, you can jump back and forth between three or four exercises, switching muscle groups without resting. That's a big time saver because during social work-out sessions, you get a lot less done in three or four times the amount of time because you're talking and rotating people in between sets...yeah, I can understand that this is not a very exciting thing to be reading about, so I'll move on.
I just got word from people in the know that the skins are down 14-3 in the third quarter. I hope Gibbs can pull off this comeback. I'm already sad because of the Tech loss, and I don't know if I can take any more. Until next time.
27 September 2004 1724z - So it's official. Tonight, they briefed during the BUB that they tested the water and it was positive for fecal matter contamination. The Doc didn't brief the concentration of the fecal particles in the water...whether it was 20 or 1000 parts per million, but he was concerned enough to test it again tomorrow. So anyway, maybe it is good that I haven't showered in two and a half weeks. We had a long conversation about this topic when I returned to the tent to brief my platoon; and we reviewed all of the uses of the local water, including brushing teeth, washing hands...I would even venture to say that it could be considered ironic to wash your hands with fecal contaminated water. Yes, that would actually be proper use of the word.
Anyway, that's all for now. I'll write more in the morning now after PT.
27 September 2004 1004z - So yesterday's operation was just cool. I didn't have a big role in the whole thing, but my whole platoon was there in the middle of the action, and it just felt good to be out there doing something to catch the bad guys. For me, it was only the fourth time I've been outside the wire if you include the rehearsal for the operation the night before. I was in my usualy role of providing drivers for the operation...me, I was what they call a TC, also known as truck commander or assistant driver...known to the rest of the world as shotgun, but TC sounds so much cooler, doesn't it? Sometimes, I consider not explaining these terms so that I can look and seem cooler, but for some reason I chose to divulge my secrets. Anyway, for those of you who might be worried for my safety, it'll be interesting to note that I never chambered a round in my weapon - nor did I ever take my weapon off of safe. I mean, I could have at any time, but having not even seen a bad guy during my part of it, I figured I wouldn't take the chance of a bump in the road or something else causing me to accidentally discharge while I was semi-conscious during the eight hours+ of driving involved. Again, those of you who know me can imagine how long I stayed awake during those eight hours of driving. I mean, I had the assistance of Orbit gum, Cheez-its, gummy bears, and Crystal Light; but even the combined strength of all those couldn't stop me from falling asleep a few times. The only time I was able to stay awake for a convoy as large as that was on the trip back from Virginia Beach after hurricane Isabel; and the only reason I stayed awake through that was because I was the convoy commander. This time, with my bit part in the operation, I wasn't allowed to be talking on the radio the whole time, limiting my options for amusement as I continued down the road with my driver.
That's not to say that I slept through the whole thing. Once we got to our destination, I was pretty hooah, hooah, just being a regular joe, watching my sector and protecting the big wigs a little farther away from the action. I mean, if some bad guys did happen upon our position, we would have been ready to engage...but after a few hours of staring at the same ridgeline, there weren't even any shadows coming toward us. Anyway, it was a pretty big operation, and it was very reassuring when we heard the friendly birds flying overhead, knowing full well that they could have dropped a load of hurt in our direction at any moment if we needed it.
Since I can't go into too many details of the operation, I'll talk about the small stuff...light my new toy, the MIT. I don't know what it stands for or if MIT is even the acronym; but the commo guys signed over a couple of these systems to us before the start of the mission. They're basically hands-free sets for the radios that allow you to monitor the radio without have to hold the hand mic up to your ear the whole time. They're pretty cool except for the fact that they add about five pounds to your person and they give you a headache because the bone mic needs to rest against your head in order to pick up the vibrations when you speak. Instead of having a simple little boom mic, the army had to get this fancy schmancy thing that is probably more trouble than it's worth. But oh well...I forget the point that I was trying to make. Anyway, the night vision worked great with the full moon. I mean, illumination was pretty high without the nods, but having them gave you IR capabilities and helped to fill in all the details of the rough shapes and shadows that you saw in the moonlight. Again, the only drawback is the weight of the things hanging off of your helmet. In total, body armor, ammunition, gadgets, weapon, and all, I was easily carrying over a buck-twenty and I wasn't even carrying more than a night's worth of supplies. I'm not complaininng though...just saying that it was heavy and my back started to hurt after just a few hours in the truck. It's not like back home when you can take a piss break at the rest area every hour or two.
On the way home, the country looked completely different. I don't know if it was because I was excited or because I'd just never been out for a long time when the sun was out. But in the sunlight, this country is quite beautiful. Let's start with the animals. It's funny because I was taking pictures during a portion of the ride like it was a safari or something. But the animals we saw were along the lines of camels, mules, sheep, and wild dogs. Something about the environment though made these animals seem so exotic and beautiful though...not in the I haven't seen a woman in three months beautiful, but in the whole undiscovered country sense of it all. The kids too...the kids are awesome. Well, at first, when we were leaving our destination, the kids kinda sucked...they gave us dirty looks and stuck their thumb out at us. But as we drove farther, the kids would run out to the streets just to get a look at us and to wave. The smiles and eager faces were worth coming the however many thousands of miles to get here. They made us feel like heroes on our way home from the battle. They probably had no idea what we just did or what we're even here for. But the fact that those innocent kids recognize that we're the good guys and that we're here to help....knowing that makes me sleep much better each night.
I've rambled on enough though. I'll see if I can get some of those pictures posted in the next few days, but I took them with someone else's camera...so it may be a while before we get all that stuff transferred. Anyway, it was pretty wild, and that means I'll probably stay cooped up inside these walls for a month or two before they unleash me on the populace. It promises to be a good time either way, though. After all, I'm on vacation.
26 September 2004 0704z - It was spring cleaning this morning in Afghanistan. After I woke my lazy self up to go for a run, I conducted a class 5 cleaning and felt like a new man. It's amazing the things you take for granted sometimes...like being clean...really clean. I went on to clean my rifle, my computer, every lens I could find and I even fabrezed my sleeping equipment. I'm almost out though...so for those of you keeping track, send more fabreze, please.
You'll also be glad to know that I successfully removed that frog from my throat without it getting any worse. If I can last the winter without getting sick here, I'll be very happy. What else? While I was cleaning up around my area, I rediscovered where I'd been hiding the cookies that my sisters sent me. It's been a while, but they still taste good. Cookies in this country just don't taste the same...so I'm glad to get some good ole homemade cookies.
Anyway, with the elections getting closer and closer (the Afghan ones, that is), things are getting a little busier around here. Unfortunately, I can't share a lot about what's going on. Good thing for me is that I'll be getting outside the wire more on convoys. I've got my mentos ready too...I forget who sent those to me. It was either Craig's mom or the Nguyens. Either way, I plan on whipping those out when we capture our next prisoners and doing a little spoof on the freshmaker commercials. Thanks for all of you who sent me gum too. I'll pack my pockets full of those to help me to stay awake on the longer trips. You know how bad I am with my narcolepsy and whatnot.
25 September 2004 1704z - Snacks, snacks, and more snacks...that's what came in on this bird. It touched down a little over two hours late...but all was forgiven because there was mail on it...all of the pringles, doritos, cheetos, fritos, twizzlers, nutter butters, reese's or anything else you can think of. Some other things that came in that were helpful included more foot stuff. I should probably switch up boots or something because my feet are horrible. I'm working on it though...taking more naps with my boots off in order to air them out. See, I'm taking care of myself. Anyway, I've got Gold Bond, Dr. Scholl's, Odor Eaters, everything. Eventually, I will be rid of the cheesy feet.
Anyway, writer's block tonight. I can't think of anything witty or even remotely entertaining...so I'll stop and say nothing more.
24 September 2004 1756z - So...fun day today. I also realized in the meeting tonight that I conducted my last TOC shift for the time being. I don't think it was because I did a bad job, but they decided to go with a full-time officer in the TOC instead of rotating through people who have other duties throughout the operation. It makes sense, but I'm sure I'll still end up hanging out in the TOC a lot. The only problem is that now I can't use TOC shifts as an excuse to not work out or night shift as an excuse to take a nap during the day. Oh well...I'll live.
What else happened? Well, the sergeant promotion list came out today. It basically lists all of the people promotable to sergeant and ranks them. What was pretty cool is that two of my E4s were at the top of the list, number one and number three in the whole state. I was very proud to see that...knowing full well that I had absolutely nothing to do with it, but proud nonetheless (not to mention fortunate to have such outstanding people working for me). Anyway, they now refer to each other as number one and number three. I sense a little tension at times, but I know they're just joking when they bring up things regarding "the list." Either way, I just hope some slots open up soon for them to be promoted into so that they can get a nice little pay raise.
That's pretty much it for now. I need to go to bed because we have an early flight coming in tomorrow with a whole bunch of mail. Hopefully, we can get it all sorted by breakfast so that all the soldiers can wake up to the sight of mail. Oh...almost forgot. New game today...the mattress game. It only took two months, but three truckloads of mattresses arrived at the FOB today, with enough mattresses for about a half to a third of the personnel. It's a good start. Maybe we'll get a chance to play the mattress game again. Who knows.
24 September 2004 0230z - So I got a letter from my sister yesterday. That was cool...she filled me in on all of the juicy gossip from back home, including stuff that wasn't on her weblog. *gasp* Jane does stuff that she doesn't post on her weblog? Yes, hard to believe, but true. It's like when I see my students outside of school at the mall or something. Believe it or not, some people actually have lives outside of the context with which you know them. Anyway, along with the letter she sent me, she sent along all of the money she had at the time, effectively doubling my funds here at the moment. Yeah, I know it's not good to send money in the mail, but hey...it was only five dollars.
Besides that, I woke up with a bad feeling today...just a slight tinge in the back of the throat. It's that feeling you get when you just know you're going to get sick. I downed a couple of vitamin C supplements, hoping to fend it off though. It feels okay right now, two hours later, but these temperature swings probably aren't good for me. It's still getting up to around 80 or so during the day, but it's down to the 30s at night now. I pulled out my long sleeve under-armor when I woke up this morning. It was just that cold...and I wanted to test it out. It's working okay, though I need to track down my gloves.
Not much else is going on around here. Oh, a new dog showed up at the gate the other day while we were waiting for the birds. It looked like a little weinerdog, but it had soft white hair like a sheep dog and a long neck. It was really cute and well-behaved. It looks like the Bedford Boys ended up taking him in though. It doesn't really matter who takes in the dogs, as long as they're around. They're a nice reminder of home. Anyway, I'll stop blabbering today. You can click on the link to Ben's page though...he finally updated again. I joke a lot, but I do appreciate the multiple mentions. It makes me feel special.