Day 104

Another very long day!  These 5:30am mornings are killing me!  But I successfully sent my party to the airport, and they made it to another RC.  So now they're someone else's problem for a few days.  Unfortunately, this group is like a boomerang, and they will keep coming back to me for a while.

Pumpkin got some treats today.  She was actually really happy to see me.  When I came out of our door, she immediately jumped to her feet and started following me.  I will miss her when I go.

I took a picture this morning of the mountains around us.  I don't have a very clear view of them, and you can't see them past 10am anyway because of the smog, dust, and crap in the air.  But here's a picture.



Also this morning, I saw the male black cat over by the DVQ.  He wanted to pose for a picture, so who was I to turn that down.



Tonight a handful of us went over to the Embassy to see their giant bonfire.  It was quite impressive!  Once it got going the flames were about 30 feet in the air, and it was too hot for me to stand near.  Lots of pictures were taken, and we'll have to see who had the best.  I unfortunately forgot my phone, because it was charging in my room.  Go figure.  But after the last few days, I think I'm ready for a normal night.

Happy New Years to All!

Day 103

Well, I'm almost done with the second real day of my visit. Today was
actually much smoother than yesterday, so that was good. We didn't
cancel anything or rearrange anything, which I count as points on my
scoreboard.

I can't really say I did much except work today. I did find the
little black cat over at the DVQs, so he got a few treats. He's a
little skitish, and doesn't want to be petted quite yet. So we'll
see. He's very vocal though, which is funny to me. Oh well.

I read a few comics from The Oatmeal book that Emili got me, and I
think everyone will enjoy the comic "How to Ride a Pony." I can't get
to the web site from work here, but if you google "The Oatmeal How to
Ride a Pony", the comic pops up.

Well, I think I'm going to rest for a while now. Talk more tomorrow.

Day 102

Today was a very long day.  And it wasn't a good sign when I was told at 6:30am, "we're going to have to change this itinerary all around."  Not a great start.  But I think in the end, it was a pretty successful day.

I got to have my hot chocolate, which is definitely the best way to start the day.  And then I pretty much scrambled for the next few hours, trying to move, fix, patch up appointments.  So it wasn't all that much fun, but I guess it wasn't too bad.

I have another trip arriving the day after this current trip ends.  Grrr.  I don't know why my boss seemed to think that was a good idea, but I guess my massage and day off will have to wait a bit.  Unfortunately, the planning for that second trip is still in its infancy, which isn't ideal.  I will hopefully have many answers waiting for me in my inbox in the morning.

I got a package today!  From Beth and EJ!  So that you very much for the Animal Anatomy coloring book (recommended book for school, I believe), book of "baby cats in zoos" book (adorable), Big Cat playing cards, and all the candies and hot chocolate.  It was wonderful, and I can't wait to read about the cats!



Not too much else to report.  I did leave some fried chicken on the ground for Pumpkin.  I know it's not the most healthy thing for her, but it saves her from rummaging through the trashcan herself.  I'm just saving her time, really.  I don't think most of the cats here are too particular.  Well, I think I'll head to bed soon.  More to report tomorrow!

Day 101

It's not every day that I can write on a Palindrome Day. Not only
that, but it's binary. However, I'm not sure what 5 has to do with
anything....

Today has been the last minute stressful changes before the visit
actually begins. This is also why I'm at work instead of in my room
relaxing. I don't think the relaxation will come for about another 15
days, unfortunately. My monthly massage will have to be delayed by a
bit. I'm sure I won't forget to do it though.

I did have a nice lunch with Aaron Kakiel today. We went to Fort
Jackson together, and he's an 03 grad of USNA. We talked about our
jobs, going home, which Generals are not cool, etc. Pretty standard
fare, I would imagine. But we did it over a pizza, so that was
wonderful.

Now, I had these pictures yesterday, but now I can attach them. Poor
Pumpkin was rooting around in the trash, even though she gets some
good meals every once in a while! But she's a cute one. Except for
when she's trying to eat my fingers. But we all have our bad days.

I think that's about it for today. Tomorrow will be an early day with
a demanding General. Wish me luck. Or work on witty phrases for my
tombstone.

Day 100

Well today turned out to be a long and semi-stressful day. If the
RC's would do their jobs, it would all work wonderfully. But alas.

I saw Pumpkin again early this morning, and she got some petting. No
food, but she still soaked up the petting. Nothing much happened in
the early part of the day. Come afternoon, however, my phone wouldn't
stop ringing. "We can't do this, and we can't do that." My response?
"I don't care what you do with him, but because I am arranging the
flights, you still have to fill up the days with something." It's
nice to have some power, I suppose.

But I managed to snag myself more work today (note sarcasm). Because
I answered the phone a few days ago, I will now be the Action Officer
for an upcoming visit. It really doesn't pay to answer the phone
around here.

We did get a box of presents from LT Heather Lane today. She's the
girl I replaced when I came out here. She gave me a San Diego
Chargers knit hat, and some Christmas paratrooper toys. Santa and
Rudolf have parachutes, and I'll have to throw them off a roof
sometime soon. It was a nice gesture, and I can't imagine the costs
of buying and shipping gifts over here!

Well, that's about it for today, I have a couple pictures of Pumpkin
on a trashcan, but the internet is not cooperating too well. But I
will write more tomorrow. Good night.

Day 99

Today was pretty boring, all things considered.  I really didn't feel like getting out of bed this morning, but eventually did.  I had a hot chocolate at work, which was nice.  Then a pretty slow flow of phone calls took place about my visit.  At one of the RC's, both the Chief and the Deputy decided to go on vacation at the same time, and they left an O-3 in charge.  Now, some O-3's would do fine, but not this one.  She is floundering, and not winning any points with me.

And on the opposite end of the spectrum, the Brits are a delight to work with.  Well, maybe that's taking it a bit far, but they're a delight to listen to on the phone.  They have such funny words, and they're very polite.  I close my eyes and imagine one of them saying, "My hovercraft is full of eels."

I ordered a game today, so that'll arrive in a couple weeks.  It's called Skyrim, and is the successor to Oblivion.  I haven't really played a game of this type, but I thought I'd give it a try.  It's supposed to be pretty open ended, so I can pursue at my leisure.  Plus, there are dragons, which just sounds cool.

I became good friends with XKCD's random button today.  I came across this comic on war, and I thought it was funny.  Not that it is applicable or anything, but I find it humorous.

Day 98

Merry Christmas everyone!

This morning I got up and skyped with Emili and then with my parents and Lauren.  It was still Christmas Eve for them, but Christmas morning for me.  I quietly opened some gifts, where were great!  Here's a picture of my presents this morning.

 

After that, I settled into my Star Trek mode, and watched a few episodes of that.  It's mind numbing, but it often has me acutely feeling my loneliness.  But I don't have much of a choice.

I went into work around 11:30 today, checked my emails, and then we went to lunch mostly as a group.  It was hard to find a table that we could all sit at!  There was quite a spread today, with chicken, pork, turkey, supposedly goose (though I didn't see it), and lots of good desserts.  I ate entirely too much!  In fact, after we came back to the office, I was forced to fall asleep face first on my desk.  No choice, really.

At 2pm, a group of us went to the roof of a building to take part in the Corn-Hole Tournament.  Of course, I'd never played this game, nor knew the rules.  But somehow my partner and I won our first game.  We lost in the second round, but it was entertaining.  They people hosting definitely played this a great deal.  They had the home field advantage, but it was still fun.

 

You can see the Army boards, but the other side had Navy boards.  So friendly rivalries exist here as well!

Then I called my Mom at 6am her time, thinking she had surely been awake for the last hour.  But alas, Lauren does not get up nearly as early as I do!  So I had a nice chat, but nothing had really started yet.  So I'll try to call again later.

This afternoon in the office, both TV's were occupied with people shooting each other on XBoxes.  I'm sure they had a good time, but it was hard to concentrate.  Luckily, I was reading a book of short stories, and not doing anything super critical.

Dinner was a bit of a disappointment.  The dining facility had been advertising the menu for Christmas lunch and dinner for about 3 weeks.  Lunch was about as expected.  However, when we arrived for dinner, they were serving pizza, spring rolls, and chicken tenders.  Not exactly as advertised!  We hypothesize that they ran out of food, and pulled out something easy to serve quickly.  Still not the standard Christmas dinner meal though.  But that's ok.  We'll live.

That's about it for today.  It's been pretty long and not quite the same.  I hope everyone is having or just had a wonderful Christmas, and I look forward to the visiting when I get home!

Day 97

Christmas Eve.  Not quite the same as what I'm used to, unfortunately.  It was a pretty normal day of work, albeit slow.

I was a little tired today because last night I discovered the music video folder on the shared drive.  I spent much longer than I should have just taking a stroll down memory lane.  I found lots of videos from the 80's and 90's that brought back memories.  It was pretty cool.

I wore my new long underwear today, which is amazing.  I really like it, and I think it will do wonders for me this winter and many future winters too!  Not a whole lot of work happened today, but that's ok.  I read a few stories in the David Sedaris book, so that was nice.  Oh!  I also went outside when I heard Panda today.  I knelt down, and he curled up in my lap and purred.  He's a very sweet cat.

Anyhow, I surfed lots of internet(plural?) today, and read reviews of various games.  I'm actually thinking about bringing my laptop to work so I can do other productive things in my spare time.  I need to continue to tweak my application for the MPH program at Tufts as well.  They only ask three questions, so I'd like to nail my responses.

The XBox360 and the 60" TV in the office is getting a pretty thorough workout, since there are many other people that also don't have much to do these days.  Oh well.

Well, I'm going to wake up at 7:00-ish (normal time), and I'll be on skype and gchat, if anyone wants to say hello before you go to bed.  Twas the Night Before Christmas.....

Day 96

Christmas Eve Eve.  So what happened today?  I got to stay in bed this morning, which was lovely.  I watched a little Star Trek Voyager, and then let the laptop download some updates.  I think it's doing pretty well, considering the dust.

Then I went to work.  As I was walking in, a group was leaving for lunch, so I joined them.  Nothing exciting, but I'm sure I ate food.  I usually do when I go to the dining facility.  If the food were more memorable, the days wouldn't blur together as much, which I do like.

Not much happened with my trip, and it looks like the transportation is actually arranged.  So that's good and bad.  Good that I don't get yelled at for screwing anything up, but bad because it means they're actually going to show up.  Oh well.

I got a package from Emili today!  And guess what I am wearing?  My brand new long underwear!  It's better stuff than what they issued, and this will basically allow me to wear my normal uniforms and not have to get the cold weather gear issued.  So I'm very excited about that!  It's very comfortable too, which is nice.

I recently remembered a series I watched some of a long time ago, called Earth: Final Conflict.  So on a whim, I checked the shared drive.  Sure enough, the whole series is there, so I'm downloading it now.  I don't remember how much I saw growing up, but I remember thinking it was interesting.  It sounds like the show V might actually be similar, but I'll have to watch.

I think that's it for now.  Good night!

Day 95

I woke up to another freezing day!  It was pretty cold in the morning and evening, but warmed up to about 45 during the day.

My morning was fairly uneventful.  I don't recall anything out of the ordinary happening.  After lunch, I helped TSgt Zuromski mail some plates.  Let me explain.  Mr. David Bradley was a DV for another guy in the office, the same time Gen Zinni was here with me.  Mr. Bradley owns the Atlantic Media Group.  So he's basically made of money.  He went to the little Afghan shops on the compound and ordered a set of lapis lazuli blue dinner plates.  I believe the cost was roughly $1500.00.  Needless to say, he put some money down, and left the remaining money with us to pick up the plates when they were ready.  So I helped carry the well packaged plates to the post office.  I hope they make it in one piece!

We did the Christmas party tonight, and I am just not a crowd type of person.  I stood out of the way so I could eat in peace, and I watched as people participated in the gift exchange.  I'm sure it was nice enough, but it's not home.  But that's ok.

I tried to take Pumpkin's picture again today, but she just doesn't want to hold still!

 

And here's a picture of my three favorite cats on the Terrible Towel at work.

Day 94

Wow, this morning was frigid.  My phone said it was 16 F.  Pretty chilly!  The hot chocolate tasted really good once I got to work.

Things were pretty quiet at work this morning and this afternoon.  After lunch, I went into a food coma at my desk, and sort of dozed for a while.  I looked around, and other people had their heads down on their desks too.  So it wasn't just me.

I was surprised to get 2 packages today too!  Paul Farrell sent me a care package, which was awesome.  Thanks man.  It had fun stuff like Christmas lights, barbecue sauce (more on that soon), and lots of good stuff.  I really appreciate it man.

I also got a package from Emili's folks.  I really loved getting pictures of the cats.  They're actually sitting above my desk on the Terrible Towel.  And I have a hot chocolate in the Steeler cup here with me!  Very cool.  Thank you for all the snacks and victuals.  And thank you very much for the Amazon gift card.  I think it will be put to goo use!  I will miss being with everyone this Christmas, but I'll be home soon.

So when I went to dinner tonight, I took the brand new bottle of barbecue sauce that Paul sent.  However, I was a little worried as I opened it and I heard a hiss, like when you open a soda.  And then in fact, the sauce just started overflowing like a volcano!  I think the seal must have been broken in transit, because it was in the fermentation process.  But the powder barbecue looks great, and I can't imagine anything going wrong with that.

  

Not too much else going on.  Pumpkin got a nice big meal of Chicken flavored cat food tonight.  It's getting pretty cold, so hopefully that will help her out.  She was quite happy to get it, and I've found a very good place to feed her that's out of the way.  Well, I think that's it for tonight!  Good Night.

Day 93

Today was definitely the coldest day so far.  It got up to about 32 degrees during the day, and it's supposed to be about 16 degrees tonight.  And no, those numbers are not Celsius.  My hot chocolate definitely tastes good in the mornings!

Today I got a few things in the mail, which was really cool.

1)  A 2nd grade student in Canada sent out a journal to someone she knew.  Then that person sent it to the next, and so on.  Each person marks where they are in the world on the map, writes in the girl's journal, and then passes it on.  I think it's a pretty neat idea, and I wish my teachers had thought to do something like that when I was young.  I received it from Lindsay Moore, and she received it from her cousin, I believe.  I'll pass it on, and hope that it keeps going until May when the project is over.

2)  I got a Christmas gift from Dee!  It's wrapped, and I was good so it's under my bed now.  I am looking forward to opening it on Sunday!

3)  I got a package from Steve Schall and the Computer Science Department.  This was box 2 of 2, so that was awesome.  You guys know how to pack a care package!  So many good treats, I can't even list them all.  But thank you Steve, Adina, Ray, and Dave.  It felt like Christmas for me today, which was awesome.

So today I ended up entertaining Mr. David Feherty, a generally colorful character of golf.  He did well on the tour years ago, but now he commentates and is the voice on the Tiger Woods golfing game on the consoles.  And let me tell you, he is colorful.  "I think we do it wrong with DV's....it should be VD!"  Oh, and he apparently left a pair of underwear in the burn bag in his room (a bag for the secure disposal of classified documents) because he had an accident where he thought he was going to fart.  A hilarious man.  Anyhow, here are a couple pictures:

   

Day 92

Today started out calm and quiet.  I got to make myself a nice hot chocolate, and I sat down and read the normal web sites.  I didn't even get any email overnight!

I did get to come in and watch the Ravens lose to San Diego, which was really fun to watch!  If the Steelers beat the San Francisco tonight, I believe that puts them on top of AFC North as well as #1 in the AFC at all, because we beat New England earlier in the season.  So everyone think positive thoughts for Ben's ankle!

I was basically waiting for the last couple days on people on the East Coast to get their act together.  Apparently, they don't come in to work on Saturdays and Sundays.  Go figure.  So I waited.

I think lunch was pretty good today.  We had a chicken dish, where we had something akin to a fajita mix, and they gave us pita bread.  So I just piled some stuff in the pita and ate it like a taco.  Not too bad, really.  And I didn't even get any bone today.

Just to give everyone an idea of what the atmosphere is like here, it's gray!  And it's not fog or haze.  It is, in face, smoke and dust.  The locals apparently burn stuff in order to stay warm.  While I don't begrudge them their warmth, use a freaking blanket!  The smoke and dust is so thick that the helicopters can't fly past about 7:30pm out here.  The visibility drops to almost nothing, which complicated all of our planning.  What a lovely place.  And don't get me started about all the bad things I'm sure we're inhaling all day long.

I was lucky to receive a package today from the McCormicks!  Thank you very much!  It had fun stuff like puzzles, beef jerky, cat treats, hand warmers, and some other fun stuff.  Thank you for thinking of me!

Everyone has been very supportive of me, and I truly appreciate it.  While this isn't and doesn't feel like home, I know I'll be welcomed back gladly.  I think that's it for today, and I'll have more tomorrow.  Good Night.

Day 91

Today was another sleep in day, so I spent it watching lots of Star Trek.  Believe it or not, I'm still occasionally finding episodes that are new to me.  So that's fun.

I wasn't moving very quickly, so I grabbed a to-go box at lunch, and took it back to my desk to eat.  Unfortunately, the box itself smelled of really bad body odor.  I'm not exactly sure how that happens, but as it turns out it wasn't the people in front of me in line, as I had suspected.  My food tasted less palatable and I got rid of the Styrofoam box as quickly as I could.

I was happy to get a letter from Grandma today (who thinks she's coming on vacation with Emili and me!), and I got cards from Lauren, Grandma Ruth, and Aunt Sheila and Uncle Kevin.  Thank you all very much!

I also got 3 boxed PACKED with boxes of Girl Scout cookies!!  Troop #2684 gathered many boxes of cookies, and with the help of Ms. Shari Biery, shipped them off to a poor soul in Kabul (smile).  Thank you also to Cheryl and those in the USNA CS Department.  I truly appreciate the gesture.  If anyone wants anything from this part of the world, please speak up!  I think generally scarves, blankets, scorpions, and tarantulas seem to be the indigenous products.

A few days ago, I received a package from Emili, but I was bound under a NDA.  But today I can share what I received:



Extremely cute and I think they'll go perfectly on a Christmas tree!

Day 90

I started the day off nicely with a nice warm drink.  I had a hot chocolate, but I also put in a broken up mini candy cane, and some extra marshmallows.  So it was quite healthy!

I think a couple things came together today, but nothing very big.  Another pretty dull day.

I did go out at one point and Pumpkin was there.  So I petted her and gave her a couple treats.  Then she followed me over to the bathroom, waited for me, and started to follow me back.  However, another person sort of blocked her path, unintentionally.  So she sat down and was looking at him, and he was just looking at her.  I was about 20 yards away, but I made a noise to get her attention.  She looked over, and then I made my noise again, and she came running over to me!  I think she really does recognize me, which is really neat.  She was outside again when I left work tonight, so she got some good petting.

I also had dinner with the Honorable Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy.  So that was neat.  We ended up having lots of people there, maybe 30.  So it was crowded, and he didn't really talk to me at all.  But that's ok. He seems like a decent guy, and I'm sure he makes the best decisions he can.  He also gave each of us a coin on his way out.





But that's about it for today.  90 whole days gone.  At least I get to sleep in again tomorrow.  Good Night!

Day 89

Today was another pretty dull day.  I did get to enjoy my morning off though.  I downloaded the high-def version of Avatar and watched it, so that was fun.  What can I say, I'm a sucker for Science Fiction.

I dropped off my laundry, had a quiet lunch to myself, and then went to work.  It was pretty quiet for a while because half the office was apparently up all night waiting for a group to arrive.  So it's never fun when they run late.  Again, I couldn't get much done today because it was Friday, and neither the Embassy nor Afghans lift a finger on Fridays.

But this afternoon I received a package from home, in which I found a container of cookies and some Christmas gifts.  So the cookies are in the office and I brought the gifts back to the room with me.  I'm going to be good and wait for Christmas too!

Most of the day we had a tv tuned to Animal Planet, so that was cool.  I don't think it's really the Animal Planet channel, but was perhaps broadcast on AFN?  In any case, it was a pleasant distraction since I didn't get much email traffic today.

But hey, I didn't get locked out of the room in a towel today, so it was better than yesterday.  I hope everyone is getting in the Christmas spirit for me.  Still not quite there myself.  Good night.

Day 88

Today didn't start off so hot.  I got up earlier than I had wanted, but then I got to talk to Emili, which was good.   However, while I was in the shower, my roommate decided to leave and he locked the room door.  So I came back from the shower in just my towel and couldn't get back in the room.  Grrrrr.  I had to wander around for a bit to find someone with a cell phone, and then call the appropriate person.  Eventually someone came over to let me in, but I was not too happy with that start to my day.

I did some work this morning, which was productive.  I'm trying to mentally brace myself for how much this next trip is going to suck.  No one even really wants to meet with this guy, which should tell you something!  And I'm pretty much expecting to get yelled at.  So I have that going for me.

I walked over to Eggers today with a couple people so we could each take care of different errands.  I got a fleece blanket from the shop, so that's nice.  It's funny because it's ACU camouflage patterned.

But later on in the afternoon I received a package from Grandma!  She sent me some fun stuff, including some animal puppets so I can practice my bedside manner (smile).  Here's a picture just post opening:



Other than that, I had to replace my KVM switch today, so that was something to take up 10 minutes.  My day wasn't so busy, but it's an extremely busy time for some other people in the office.  I'll share details next week maybe.  Well, I think it's time for bed.  Until tomorrow!

Day 87

Today was a pretty normal day until the end. I had a hot chocolate
for breakfast, along with a Zone bar. The peanutbutter flavor is
pretty good!

I nailed a few things down this morning, as well as giving Pumpkin the
last of the first package of cat treats. Don't worry!! I still have
2 packages of treats here!

Everything was pretty normal until the boss came in and told us we'd
be heading over to Eggers at 8:30pm. Not cool at all. Of course, it
became even later than that because she was moving slow! So we left
for Eggers around 9pm. Once we got there, she addressed the whole JVB
and basically said "Have a good Holiday, I won't be here because I'll
be in DC with my family on vacation." Did we really need to walk over
there to hear that? Asinine.

So I'm a bit ticked off at the moment. Hopefully a night's sleep will
make me feel better.

Day 86

Today I tried a new outfit.  Not to say I changed my uniform, but I changed my layers.  I wore some warmer long underwear as well as my colder weather boots.  The boots are amazing!  I don't have them broken in completely, but they are definitely warmer and more comfortable than the normal boots.

So here is a picture of my personal thank you note from General(Ret) Stanley McChrystal:

This is a picture from my last visit.  The gentleman standing in the center is General(Ret) Anthony Zinni, a former Commander of USCENTCOM.  He's a grandfather of the Marine Corps, and was very nice.  Hopefully his trip here was fruitful.

This is me playing around with the software built into Fedora 16.  I think Macs have a PhotoBooth application, and this would be the equivalent for linux.  Not too shabby.

I did get a wonderful care package from Emili today too!  I got some hot chocolate, some Natures, and other assorted goodies.  Thank you very much!!

I don't have much else to say today.  Just another to mark off the calendar!

Day 85

While I don't want to say I'm bored (because someone might make me clean a bathroom), I don't have much to do right now.  I don't mind it exactly, but I worry that I might reach the end of the internet.

The highlight of my day was Panda.  We all heard a very loud meowing so I went to investigate.  And sure enough, I found Panda standing outside our door, howling at us.  So I petted him, and then I squatted down against a wall.  He sniffed me a little, but then he hopped right up in my lap.  He walked around a little, but then settled down and laid in my lap!  So I petted him for a bit.  Eventually, he started grabbing at my pocket with the treats, so I gave him a couple pieces.  He's a very sweet cat, and he would make an immediate pet for someone.

Tonight, in lieu of PME, we played Scrabble.  I put my hat over the video camera to make sure no one could see us, and we just played a good game.  I was off to an awesome start, but still lost.  I think it's the first time I used all 7 of my letters on a word, and I made an 8 letter word in total!  TREASURE.  Not too shabby.  We didn't play exactly by the rules that Emili and I play by, so I'm a bit skeptical.  I need to investigate this further.

Not much else happened today.  Many people are excited because they are going home for their 2 weeks of vacation.  I'm happy for them, but not terribly envious.  It means they have to be out here much longer than I do.  Today is about 150 days left for me, so less than 5 months.  I'm slowly getting there.

Day 84

Wow, was today a lazy day.  I spent most of the morning in bed watching Star Trek.  I have started really burying myself in the sleeping bag, which is awesome.  It actually zips up over my shoulders and even has a hood.  So I can be extra cocoon-like.

Eventually, I came into work.  Then I was immediately asked if I would walk to Eggers.  Apparently, he had a meeting he had to go to (turned out to be a meeting to plan the Christmas Party), and we have to walk with buddies.  I stopped by my room on the way to grab my Kindle, and I read Dracula for a couple hours.  So it wasn't too bad for me either.

When I came back to the office, I met a couple people from the RC-SW JVB.  One guy was leaving soon, and the other was a British Flight Lieutenant that I'd only spoken to on the phone.  So it was nice to put faces with names and voices.  I'm not exactly sure what they were doing up here, but eh.

I got a haircut today too.  Nothing drastic and short like last time, but it'll hold for a couple weeks.  It's funny, but I wonder what all the ladies are saying as they cut our hair.  They seem to be Uzbek, and they speak Russian.  So I say "hello", "thank you", "you're welcome" in Russian, and they understand.  But they also talk to each other as they cut hair, and there's lots of giggling.  Just curious.

That's about it for tonight.  Not much happened, and it was good.

Day 83

Well, I finally sent my party back to the states today.  My DV was General(ret) Zinni, former Commander of USCENTCOM.  That is a seriously high position, and he was out here at the request of the current Commander USCENTCOM.  So that'll be interesting.

I actually ended up cancelling most of his appointments for him today, at his request.  I suspect feelings were hurt but he'd basically seen enough.  I don't envy them the report they have to write!

Not too much else happened.  They mostly stuck to the schedule, which is always good.  I find myself getting irritated that my life is on hold for this job.  A hard and thankless job, for which I get very little out of.  I won't get promoted any faster, I don't get a better job, nothing.  I told people tonight that this is how I imagine purgatory to be.  Except of course it doesn't exist anymore, since the Pope can declare things not to exist, and giant rodents to be fish.  But I digress.

At the end of the day, it's another day closer to the end.  Good Night.

Day 82

So instead of getting to sleep in and enjoy my morning, I got a phone call from a member of my trip.  He was in a different region, but was making schedule changes for tomorrow.  Unfortunately, both USAID and the Embassy don't work on Fridays.  So I had to be the jerk who called people on their day off.  I ended up moving appointments around 3 times with them today, so I can't imagine we're anyone's favorite child at the moment.  But I did find this in the hallway.



I ended up eating at Cianno's again for lunch with my coworker's group.  Very nice people, and this was an extremely unique opportunity for them.  Hopefully they enjoyed their visit.

I think I mostly fretted about things for a while, but eventually told one of my coworkers that I'd go to Eggers with him.  He wanted to look for a different holster, and I wanted a dustpan and broom for the room.  So this is what I got.



I was sweeping up the Taliban, one by one.  Ha ha.

The Army Navy football game is tomorrow, and we've been putting these posters up everywhere that say "Unbeaten" for the last 9 years and so on.  Well, tonight I got a picture of my Army boss in front of the poster.  Of course, he didn't know it was there, and it went in the shredder immediately after he found it.  But it was hilarious!



That's about it for today.  I saw Pumpkin tonight so she got some pettin and lovin.

Day 81

Well, today felt even colder than yesterday. In fact, my phone said
it was 28 degrees outside when I left the room here. Pretty chilly.
My gloves and long underwear kept me mostly warm enough.

First I went and checked that the helos were running on time. Then I
made sure the dining room was set for their fancy schmacy breakfast.
Then I went over to the DVQs to walk them to breakfast. No biggie.
After dropping them off I went back to my office and made a nice hot
cup of hot chocolate. It was lovely to be warm again!

I went back to the dining room to wait for them, and while I was
standing outside, a big fuzzy cat came over and decided I was a good
friend of his. He was weaving in and out of my legs, vocalizing the
whole time! I did pet him, and when I was rubbing his lower back, he
was making the kneading gestures to the ground. So I think it must
have felt good. Eventually a man walked by, noticed the cats and then
walked on. He came back about 10 minutes later and had a ziplock with
tuna in it! He gave the fuzzy cat a good chunk of fish, which
disappeared quite quickly. He was a very nice cat, and seemed like he
was doing fine.

We went to Eggers again tonight for more farewells. We arrived around
6:10pm and we didn't leave until about 8:30pm! Seriously way too
long. I hope I don't have such an elaborate goodbye. I'll be fine
with a quiet departure.

Well, Fedora is installed and living harmoniously with Windows 7.
It's doing pretty well so far, and I have no complaints.

Day 80

Today was cold! In fact, when I went to the office, I saw a cold
Pumpkin sitting outside. I felt bad, and I was in a hurry, so I told
her she'd get a reward if she was still there after I took care of my
DVs. And sure enough, she was still there! So she actually got a can
of cat food this morning. Hopefully it kept her warm and out of
trouble today!

Today went remarkably smooth with regard for my itinerary, with one
exception. Traffic was really bad coming back from a meeting, so they
ended up getting on their helicopter 40 minutes late. I felt a bit
bad for the helo crew, because it's really boring waiting for people.
I have first hand knowledge of this! But they eventually took off and
went to their meeting. When it was time to come back, it was dark,
and helos kept landing! I think we ended up with 6 helos in the
soccer field! I've never seen it that crowded, so it was kind of
crazy to see. But after that, everything went according to plan too.

Brian O'Neil is the newest guy in our office, and we went to get a
pizza tonight. I just wanted a change, and to get out of the office
for a bit. It worked out well, because the pizza shop is much quieter
than the dining facility too. So that was nice. Maybe I'll try to do
something like that once a month. We'll see how busy I get in the
future. Not much else to report I guess. I am going to sleep now!

Day 79

Well, today was another sad day. My schedule was only marginally
affected, but a suicide bomber went into a mosque during their
celebration (today was Ashura, a Shiite holiday), and blew himself up,
killing 54-ish people. Simultaneously, another bomber killed 4 people
in Mazar-i-Sharif, up north. Very sad day.

While my group had too much down time, there wasn't much I could do
about it. They ended up scheduling a couple meetings on their own, so
that was fine with me. They went off and did their own thing and met
up with me later. I'll take them to breakfast tomorrow morning to
start off the day.

I got a letter from Grandma today, and also a package from Emili! So
that was wonderful. Emili sent me the name-tapes for my new uniforms,
which was great. Unfortunately, I got back to the room and I tried on
the tops to the new uniforms and they don't fit. Everything is a
large, whereas I am not. I already wanted to go to Bagram to get the
cold weather gear, but now I'll take back this box of uniforms and try
to get sets that actually fit. I just don't know when that will
happen. Maybe next week sometime.

Tomorrow will be bittersweet exciting for me, because I have my first
pair of Blackhawks coming to land and pick up my party. It's strange
to find myself on this side of the aircraft, and I would kill to be on
that side instead of where I am. I am not a people person, but I can
certainly fly sideways and backwards. Sigh. Well, I think it's off
to bed now. Until tomorrow.

Day 78

Today was a bad day.

1) It started off good, with a hot chocolate in the office. That's
always nice.

2) But then things took a turn for the worse. All of my planned
meetings with Afghans were cancelled. So apparently they are claiming
tomorrow as a religious holiday, but wikipedia says that holiday is
today. So I think some shennanigans are going on here. I think that
because the Bonn II Conference was today that they decided tomorrow
will be the holiday. Extremely frustrating.

3) I was in a car accident today. No one was injured, but one of our
cars hit a Carolla in a traffic circle. We didn't stop, but he gave
chase and rammed us with his car. So he was pretty mad, I would
expect. We eventually stopped, and a very large crowd gathered. Not
fun. I stayed in the car with the driver, but everyone else got out
with their guns. Not good.

In a snapshot, that was my day. I don't remember the meals because
they weren't that memorable, and I just want this visit to be done.
Hopefully things will go well tomorrow. Good night.

Day 77

Well, I definitely enjoyed my lazy morning.  I got up and talked to Emili on Skype, which was great.  Then I watched Species, a movie that came out a long, long time ago, and I never got around to seeing it.  I thought it was interesting, but not necessarily for the plot.

The afternoon wasn't too taxing, except I found out certain Afghan leaders wouldn't be available for my trip.  So that was not such good news.  I asked for some substitutes, and we'll see how that pans out.  I think they just got more free time on their hands.

Around 6:30pm, I helped unload a van full of luggage and put it in the appropriate rooms.  Apparently, Rose's group was running short on time, so they dropped the people off directly in front of the dining facility, but that left us to unload all the luggage.  These people didn't travel light!  Ridiculous amounts of stuff.  I certainly hope I don't have that much stuff to take home!

Then I helped Thurmond with his trip.  His visitors were catching a helo to fly to an event.  But they were running late, etc.  Par for the course.  So we had a millionaire (maybe billionaire) running in his multi-thousand dollar suit, to go find a toilet before he got on the helo.  Almost comical.  Hopefully he's a good sport.

That's about it for today.  Nothing really good, nothing really bad.  Another day to cross off the calendar.

Day 76

Another day down.  Phew.

So I went to work, made myself a hot chocolate, and did some minimal work.  There wasn't much for me to do, because I'm waiting on the Afghan government offices to get back to me.  Ehh.

After lunch, a couple of us from the office walked to one of the Afghan shops on our compound.  It actually had the best stuff I'd seen to date.  Clothing, back packs, shoes, etc.  I even found lots of Arc'teryx gear, or so I thought.  There was a jacket that looked sort of like an outer shell, with a fleece that zipped inside.  I tried it on, and it felt ok.  It would definitely keep me warm.  The shop owner wanted $85, and I offered $50.  He came down to $80, so I moved on.  Only upon doing my research later did I discover that it couldn't have been an Arc'teryx jacket.  Some of the features just weren't right.  So I'm sure it was just embroidered properly.  So that was interesting.  Even though it's a knock-off, it's probably worth $40 or $50.  So we'll see how the negotiating goes in the future.

But eventually I found myself back in my room because I needed to change into PT gear for volleyball.  However, a local Afghan cleaning guy asked me if I'd help him (this is what I assumed his gesturing and Afghan-speak meant).  Apparently, the middle bathroom stall was locked, but no one was in it.  Because the walls go all the way to the floor, going over the top was the only options.  So I scaled the stop of the toilet stalls, dropped down into the center stall, and turned the lock.  And again.  The lock just spun around and around.  So I was stuck in there for a second.  Another Afghan asked me for a knife, and he jimmied the door open.  So I don't think I'll be using that stall anytime soon.

Volleyball wasn't nearly as fun as it had been the last couple times.  Basically everyone sucked but me.  And if your teammate doesn't read you well, and does his own thing, it just isn't fun.  So I don't know who won how many games or anything, but I guess it was exercise.  In fact, my shoulder hurts pretty bad right now, so I took a motrin.  My serve is powerful!  It even made people yelp when it hits them!  Ha ha.

I had one Afghan engagement firm up today, and it unfortunately conflicted with another meeting.  So I had to scramble to find a new idea, but I solved the problem quite masterfully, if I do say so myself.  Well, I hope everyone at home is enjoying these posts!  I am excited because I can sleep in a bit tomorrow and relax for the morning.  Good Night!

Day 75

So today wasn't too bad.  I had a brief panic when the plane sat on the runway for half an hour, but they eventually took off.  So that was good.  Off to another RC!

When I checked my email this morning, I had a vacation reservation and plane tickets!  So I think my vacation with Emili will be fantastic!  We're both really looking forward to it, and it will be a heavenly break from this.

I did come across this picture today, which is AWESOME!


Tattoo


My evening finished very nicely.  I went outside, and I was calling for Pumpkin, but another big cat came over and was very vocal.  I was petting him when a Steeler fan walked by and asked what Panda was doing over here.  So I guess he's well known too.  He is black with big white patches.  I gave him a couple treats, and I was sort of squatting down.  He crawled up onto me, laid down across my legs and arm and started purring!!  He was so adorable.  He even looked up at me and meowed a few times, and I could see that he has very nice teeth.  He would also rival Helo in terms of size, so this is a BIG cat.  But he seemed quite healthy, and I imagine he's a favorite around here.

I think that's it for tonight.  Tomorrow we have the volleyball court reserved, so maybe we'll get to play.  I think it'll depend on who comes out.

Day 74

Quite a long day today.  I started work at 6am, and finished at 9:30pm.  Cold and dark at both of those times!

I have a visit going on, and I'm doing my best to be on top of things.  I so far have anticipated 95% of their requests, which has them pretty happy.  It's an interesting group, and I'll talk more about it later.  But I ran them hard today, so they're probably all passed out about now.  They have an even longer day tomorrow, so that'll be interesting.  Hopefully they can handle it!

I had a really cute interaction with Pumpkin today.  She followed me from our secure area, through a turn stile, and out towards the road.  I sat down on a bench to wait for people, and she came over and was weaving in and out between my legs.  Very cute.  She also jumped up onto the bench and sat next to me for a while!  I think she knows who her buddy is :)  She spent about 20 minutes with me, which was pretty cool.  I know people get upset about leaving their buddies, and I'll be sad to leave her too.  I'll have to pass the treats on to someone else who loves her too!

I think that's it for tonight.  Very long day, and tomorrow starts early too.  Good Night!

Day 73

Today was a harried day of last minute details and changes.  Unfortunately, my day is not done yet!  I'll be up late tonight (for me).

I ended up skipping breakfast this morning because I was running late, but I had a wonderful hot chocolate (made in the office!) to warm me up.  I'm officially out of packets right now, but I can probably find some at a shop around the compound here.

I basically just worked on itineraries all day, with little time for much else.  I did read about American Airlines declaring bankruptcy, which was interesting.  The best tickets I've found so far for our vacation have been on American, so we'll have to see what happens.

I gave pumpkin a treat or two today, and she followed me around like a dog :)  She's pretty cute.  I hope she weathers the winter well enough.  I took a picture of a cat shelter someone had built.  I am told there are a few of them that pile in there and use it at night.  So that's pretty cute.  I'm glad people care about them.

Day 72

Another not so great day for Dan.  I got into an argument on the phone with an O-6.  Go figure.

Sigh.  This job just plain sucks.

I did learn this morning that Nick Willet was out here at ISAF HQ at some point shortly before I arrived.  My friend remembers him as short, stocky, back seater, call sign Oompa Loompa.  Funny how people leave impressions where they go.

I went with the drive team today to check out a couple locations.  I guess I always assumed it was my job to set up the meetings, and they would know where these places were.  I was wrong.  And they want me to give them a grid coordinate!  "Excuse me Ma'am, I know you work for the UN, but could you please give me a grid coordinate for your location?"  Not likely.

I'm stressed, tired, and cranky.  Afghanistan pretty much sucks.

Day 71

So this is my second time writing a post for today. My lovely laptop
decided to have itself a BSOD party, and lost my work. I'm ready to
sell this thing and buy a mac!

Today was ok, nothing terribly new. I think the biggest news is that
I bought a mug at Eggers tonight, and I have already made myself a hot
chocolate in it. Delicious! So I think if people are looking for
care package ideas, hot chocolate packets would be great. I will grab
a spoon from the dining facility tomorrow, but tonight I used my big
knife to stir it all up. Quite comical, I would imagine.

I made my hot chocolate, and then we all proceeded to the conference
room to watch our Professional Military Education for the evening.
We're not exactly sure what it was about, because we were playing
poker. I actually made out quite well, and would have walked away a
big winner. So that was cool. I'm still not very fast on the
betting, but I think my judgement was sound.

Pumpkin got a couple treats today, but no whole meals. I think she
will get those as treats. It might be that they can smell the treats
in my pockets, but I'm like the pied piper for cats around here. They
follow me around! I certainly don't mind, but it's kind of funny to
watch. Pumpkin even waits for me when I go into the bathroom.

Well, things are going to get pretty busy and crazy for me shortly. I
have a couple long visits coming up, and I'm somewhat dreading them.
Especially since one is notoriously hard to work with and please. But
maybe it'll be ok. For now I think I'll get some sleep. I'll share
more tomorrow!

Day 70

Well today started out good.  I watched a little Star Trek this morning, and then I went by the Post Office to mail stuff home.  Unfortunately, there was a 20 some person line OUTSIDE the post office.  They only allow 3 customers inside at a time, and it was evidently going to take forever.  So I decided I'll try to mail it tomorrow.

I went to lunch and then work.  I have started becoming confrontational via email.  So most of my regions are being reasonably cooperative, with the major exception being RC-S.  They keep bouncing the visit around to different people, not giving me any feedback, etc.  In fact, one of their more senior people called me 1LT in an email today, and I felt obligated to correct his malfunction.  I had to go tell my bosses, in order to give them fair warning.  But I'm getting pretty ticked.

But I got a Thanksgiving care package from my parents today!  And I can honestly say that I never expected these contents.  Cookies, yes.  Muffins, sure.  6 cans of cat food and a box of more cat food, completely unexpected!  But Pumpkin already thanks you for her can of turkeys tonight.  She was very excited to have real food.  It made me smile, but covertly, of course.

Other than that, my day was pretty boring.  I will have to wait and see what pain my emails bring me tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll finally have people come back to work on the east coast.  It's been very hard trying to work while I wait for answers from people who are taking a holiday.  Well, good night!

Day 69

Today was just another day to mark off on the calendar.  I would actually say that today was boring.  I am not getting information back from my trip planner because they're taking the holiday.

I did get a care package from Emili today, so that was exciting.  Snacks and batteries!  I am not doing great at consuming all the snacks.  Just as an example:  Emili sent me off in Norfolk with a bag of peanut butter M&M's.  Well, the package is mostly gone, but not quite.  I probably still have another few days' worth of grazing before I kill that off.  I didn't even finish my mom's peanut butter squares until last night.  So I have a long ways to go!

I walked through the Women's Bazaar today, but I wasn't that excited about any of the wares.  Lots of table clothes and napkins, which might be nice under many circumstances, didn't feel right today.  Certainly not for $60.  Even the women were a little pushy, but at least they weren't grabby!  Oh well.

I have been getting pretty cold in the office, so I decided today that the next time we go to Eggers, I'll buy a mug at the Exchange.  That way I can use the little water heater we have in the office to make hot chocolate or spiced apple cider from packets!  Anything to keep my hands warmer.  I am going to go dig out some gloves here in a minute.  Thank goodness I'm not cold when I sleep!

I made a new friend at the dining facility tonight.  She's a calico, and she has a tipped ear and a flea collar on.  She's been hanging around outside, just sitting there on the concrete.  We were waiting for someone to follow us out from lunch, so we were petting her, and she kept coming over to my pocket.  I think she knew I was holding out on her, so I relented and gave her a treat.  I had to be careful because there were lots of people all around!  I'm such a rule-breaker.

Well, nothing much scheduled for tomorrow either, except getting to sleep in a bit.  I can't really sleep in very well, so I'll just relax once I get up.  Well, I'm off to dig out some gloves.

Day 68

I woke up this morning and got to chat with Emili and Molly, who were celebrating Thanksgiving together.  So that was nice.  Then I watched some StarTrek as my roommate Kevin packed up his things.  He is leaving Kabul and being moved to Qatar.  So he'll have a much higher quality of life there.

Then I went for my massage.  It was ok, but she spent a really long time on my back.  Maybe she thought my back was sore or something, but she had her whole weight on my back.  It was ok.  I think I'll probably give it another try in another month.

Then I showered and went to work.  Once Thurmond came in, we went to the Bazaar.  It was supposed to be a friendlier experience, because the Base Support Group Commander had a chat with all the merchants about being pushy and grabby.  Unfortunately, I had a man grab my arm today, and I stopped, turned to him, and very sternly told him to let go of my arm.  He did, and he backed off a little after that.  I don't think that's supposed to happen, but it's part of the culture I think.  Thurmond ended up spending something like $350 today on crappy jewelry for his wife, mother in law, grandmother, etc.  I seriously wouldn't purchase any jewelry from the bazaar.  I'm pretty sure none of it is real, or else it wouldn't be sitting out on the tables in the open.  Scammers.

Oh!  I also received a care package from Emili's mom, full of good stuff like chocolate dipped oreos, gingerbread men, and some other goodies.  And I got a letter from my Grandmother and a Thanksgiving card from Emili's Grandmother.  All in all, a pretty good day for mail!

Not too much going on here.  December looks like it's going to be horrible for visits.  Hopefully we'll be able to catch our breath in January.  That's it for tonight!

Day 67

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I am thankful that I'm safe, well fed, mostly warm enough, and that people at home care about me.

Today was actually a pretty normal day at work.  I decided not to go to breakfast (though I'm not sure why I was moving so slow), but I got a hot chocolate, so that was good.  I'll soon be able to justify a hot chocolate on any day.  First it was "because it's just once a week."  Then today it was "because it's a holiday."  Soon my reasoning will include "because it's Tuesday" or "because there is dust in the air."

Today I played volleyball again, and while I was extremely sore this morning, I actually played a little better today.  I was on a 2 man team, versus a 3 man team.  We actually managed to win 5 out of 6 games, so that wasn't bad at all!  Plus, it was tons of volleyball.  I'm actually quite sore already, but I have my massage in the morning, so that might really help.

Our PSD teams came over from Eggers tonight, and we went to dinner as a family.  A camouflaged family, but still mostly friends.  Unfortunately, we ended up waiting outside for half an hour!  I think it was just that crowded for a while.  But while we were waiting, I saw one of my friendlier cats running around carrying a rodent of some variety in his mouth.  He looked very proud, so I was happy for him.  I guess we all eat well tonight.

I ended up having a pretty quiet dinner because I didn't necessarily like the kid that sat across from me.  He's just a smug person.  As far as I can tell, it's not really warranted, but he's smug, and he bothers me.  Oh well.

So I hope everyone is having a wonderful time eating and visiting and being merry.  I do believe it's bedtime for me.  Good night.

Day 66

So today was interesting.  I find myself taking my first Motrin in 2 months!  But I'll get to that.

I actually met some cats on the way to breakfast this morning, so I took a couple pictures.  They must have been Italian cats, because they were hanging out at the Italian NSE building.  Maybe hoping for good mouse flavored pasta.

 

The morning was pretty calm.  I just worked a few issues here and there with itineraries.  No big deal.  After lunch, I got a package from Emili's Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Ralph!  They had made some cookie bars and sent me a bunch.  I don't want to make everyone at home feel too bad, but they're quite delicious!

After lunch, I met a group of people from PSD at our volleyball court here.  I had reserved the court last night for them, and they let me play.  So we played 3 on 3 for a solid 2 hours!  We won the last 2 out of 5 games, so I think we were improving.  But needless to say, I was quite sore afterwards!  I'm doing better now than I was immediately after, but the Motrin should help a bunch.

I'm getting tagged with all sorts of visits, either just the execution, or as supplementary help for people.  So I'm guessing people think I did ok on the first visit.  Tonight I got information that made me panic a bit.  I'm trying to work a visit with Capt Thurmond such that his visit and my visit would be completely separate, with the exception of a final meeting at the end.  However, I was told tonight that he'll be leaving early, and I needed to move this meeting.  Unfortunately, I had sent out 30 invitations to Generals and Admirals for this meeting, and I had a pretty good RSVP rate so far.  So I wasn't too excited about that.  But after we talked to people in the states for a while, we decided I should leave my itinerary alone and forgo the other person's presence.  So who knows.

I didn't see Pumpkin today, but TSgt Zuromski called to tell me he thought she was behind the DVQ building.  So after work, I went back there, in the near complete darkness.  But I was armed with cat treats!  As it turns out, it wasn't Pumpkin, but a smaller, much younger torty and a second cat too!  I have not seen them before, but they were cute.  Not socialized at all, so I couldn't pet them, but the one kept coming up and trying to bat the treats out of my hand.  So maybe with time they'll become more socialized.  I feel that they have made a home back there, and very few people go back there.  So maybe I'll work on them.

 

Day 65

Today wasn't too bad.  It was pretty low key, really.  I'm trying to nail down some engagements for my more immediate visit, while at the same time figure out a plan for the visit after that.  Not too much fun, but at least I didn't have a headache at the end of the day.

Today we did more farewells at Eggers, and it took FOREVER!  We thought we'd get back earlier than the previous night, because last night we had to sit through training afterwards, but no.  Same time.  But today we said farewell to a few people I worked with on my McChrystal visit, so it was nice to be there for them.

Other than that, it's hard to believe that Thursday is Thanksgiving.  It really doesn't feel like it here, but we're a very multinational organization.  So perhaps holidays are bound to be downplayed.  But I'll be thinking about everyone and wishing someone around here could make a decent pumpkin pie!

Day 64

So today is going to be media day!  I have a handful of pictures, and a link to a video to share with everyone.

This was my main charge for the weekend, General and Mrs. Annie McChrystal.  They were great people, and we really enjoyed working with them.

Part of what I did for this weekend was arrange a Women Leaders Round-Table Discussion.  I invited and had 10 women leaders from around Kabul come and discuss issues on women's rights, educations, reformation, etc. with Mrs. and General McChrystal.  It was apparently a big success, which was great.  These are a couple of the attendees.

This is the conference room where I had them all located.  It was really nice, and I think they enjoyed it too, because they were very talkative when I escorted them back to the gate.

I met this playful kitty the other day.  He has an ISAF collar and tag, and he acted very much like a dog.  I couldn't get a picture of him while he was rubbing on me because he was too fast, so another guy came by and petted him for me.  People love the cats!

If this works, this is the video we made that might make it on tv for the Cowboys game.  I'm in one of the front lower corners, kneeling down.

Our Video

Day 63

Wow, what a day.  While yesterday was chock full of changes, today was just normal frantic scrambling.  I can't say too much, except to say that it all went wonderfully.  I received compliments all around, which was awesome.  I actually have some cool pictures to share when I can.

But for now, I'm safe, I'm in my bed, and now I can rest until tomorrow.

Day 62

Wow, what a long day.  I got up at 5am, and I just made it back to my room at 10pm.  Looong day.

So imagine that someone has something planned, and then someone else, at 7am, declares the day a holiday.  So then nothing is open.  And you had planned to go to these things.  Not a fun time.

So all in all, today was a success.  However, I had to make about 10 itinerary revisions today alone!  So many things changing....man.  I'm exhausted.  We'll see how tomorrow goes...

Day 61

Today sort of flew by. I got up slightly later than normal, but pretty close. Then I went and got a really short haircut at the Spa. It's probably not that attractive, but I won't have to mess with it for a while, which is nice. I also signed up for a massage next Friday morning. So that'll be nice I think. I then got a hot chocolate from The Blue, which is always good. It's 1.5 euros, so I get one once a week maybe. But then it was off to work for me.

 I made a fair number of changes today, and got things mostly figured out. Around 3-4pm I went around collecting chafing dishes, sterno, china, and flatware. Then I got to lug it all over to Eggers, which seemed like a very long walk while carrying all these things! But it got there safely. 

Then my PSD team did a pre-mission brief, which was good to see and be part of. This is truly a unique experience for ALL of those guys, and I think they're enjoying it.

 Well, tomorrow I'm getting up very early, so I'm going to head to bed now. Wish me luck tomorrow!

Day 60

Wow, who could have believed that 60 days had passed since I had to leave Emili in a parking lot in Norfolk. It makes me pretty sad to think about, but at least it's about 2 months down!

If yesterday was boring, today would be quite the opposite. I told Kevin that I had to get to work early, so basically I went just early enough so that he didn't slow me down. Much better morning, in that respect. Then I went to work, where I changed the itinerary around based on some feedback I got. Easy enough.

Then we had our meeting at the Palace again. Most of the details are ironed out, but there's always that language barrier that makes a person not 100% sure that they'll do what they said they'll do. So you cross your fingers. After I got back from that, I was filling in details to the itinerary, and trying to shoot off emails to people who I needed feedback from. I got a phone call that my drive teams were going out for a route recon, and Col Fenton said I should go with them. So I had to put the body armor on and all that jazz, and then we went driving around Kabul. Not my choice, trust me. It's a crazy place, where public health education would go a loooooong way. They still hang meat up outdoors, and push around meat in carts. It's a sad place. I'd put it somewhere between Peru and Haiti, with Haiti still taking the cake.

We decided that two of my locations on the itinerary weren't good ideas, so I had to go back to the drawing board for those. I didn't get lunch either, so I snacked when I got back. But dinner was good. I had lasagna and french fries. Not that they go together, but I enjoy both. So yeah.

Now, if this works, here are a few pictures from the past few weeks. Now that I have the wireless network up and running, my phone uploads pictures on its own.

Day 59

Well today wasn't too exciting. My roommate was slow again this
morning. Go figure.

Probably the most exciting part of the day was when we had the Public
Affairs people record a message from us. The entire Joint Visitor's
Bureau got in a big group and shouted a message of Happy Thanksgiving,
Go Cowboys! A little part of my soul died. But we might be shown
during the Cowboys-Dolphins game on Thanksgiving. Or so we're told.

I did get my packages from home today, so I now have my sleeping bag,
router, magnets, and some new candy. I look forward to crawling into
the cocoon soon. Say that 5 times fast! I also got a letter from my
Grandmother again, so that was nice to read.

Other than that, blah, another day.

Day 58

Today was another average day. No big cancellations or anything, but it's a balancing act trying to work 3 visits all at once. Especially when the other Regional Commands are not doing what they're supposed to be doing.

I had breakfast with Kevin, then I went to work. I don't think much happened this morning, but I don't really remember. Ha! Rob asked me if I wanted to work out at 11am, and I agreed. I hadn't worked out in 2 weeks, but I still ran 2 miles in about 18 minutes, did 20 pull ups at once, and 50 dips at once. Then I did some crunches and handstands. So I don't think I'm terribly out of shape or anything. But it's good to find out I suppose. Today I weighed 77.2 kilos.

After that, I showered and got dressed again. I went to lunch by myself, since everyone had already gone. I ended up sitting with a couple medical peoples. One was an enlisted corpsman, and the other was a family practice doctor. And they were both Navy. The doctor had actually been an NFO, but after his commitment was up, went back to medical school. So similar to my situation. He thought med school was easier than normal Navy life, so that was encouraging to hear!

This evening I started to get a headache, so that's not fun. I think I may be a little dehydrated, and the working out probably exacerbated the issue. But it's another day I can mark off the calendar. Time to drink some water.

Day 57

Today started slow. Not because I'm slow in any way. I was trying to get my roommate going. He wakes up and makes old man noises for a long time. Grunts and groans, heavy sighs. So then we finally make it out the door, and he just walks slow. Granted, he's overweight and 57, but I was hungry! Anyway, they didn't even have syrup this morning, so I just had a couple hashbrowns and a yogurt. I'm glad the yogurt made a reappearance!

But work wasn't too bad. Lots of tracking things down, deciding the best place for visitors to park, etc. I also changed locations for a meeting, and it was a tremendous step up, so that's great. Oh yes, we got a new guy today. So I'm no longer the FNG. He's an Air Force Captain (brand new) so he'll learn the ropes like I did. Good stuff.

I was also given an arts and crafts project today, at which I excelled. We changed a document we use for pocket reference, so I had to print and laminate lots of copies for all the people we have. Not too bad. I also went to the woodshop and picked up 12 armor stands that I ordered a couple weeks ago. So I guess it was a pretty productive day.

We walked over to Eggers again today for more farewells. Four more people there are going home in December, so they got awards and roasted somewhat. We had some dinner there, and then I went to the PX and got a little section of carpet. I put it right in front of the bed so my feet don't hit cold floor immediately in the mornings. It also provides the illusion of some cleanliness. Illusion only, trust me.

I think that's about it for today. Last night I stayed up and watched How to Train Your Dragon, which was very cute. I enjoyed it and would recommend it. I'm also trying to teach myself some Italian with the Rosetta Stone software, so for now, arrivederci!

Day 56

We had an adventure this morning!  After I had showered, I logged back onto gmail and I simultaneously started watching How to Train Your Dragon (cute movie so far, by the way).  However, all of a sudden I heard a pop!  So I took my headphones off, and looked around.  I smelled smoke, which is never good.  It was electrical smoke, so I
looked at my international travel adapter kit I bought in South Carolina.  Of course, it was smoking and hot.  So I pulled it out really fast, set it in the hallway.  But it was pretty much toast.  Unfortunately, it tripped all power to our room.  Grrr.  So we had no lights, no AC unit, no outlet power.  So we went to the US NSE (National Support Entity, I think) and a guy walked back with us and showed us another set of breakers on the outside of the building.  Ours had tripped, and after we flipped them back everything was fine.  Unfortunately, I now had no way to power my laptop.  So Kevin and I walked to Eggers to the Exchange and bought a couple outlet adapters.
It's pretty ghetto, because it's a UK outlet I think, and we had another adapter, and a second adapter for US.  I'll try to take a picture of it later.  I think I may unplug things when I leave the room though.  It was certainly an adventure though.  I think we'll be good though, and I shouldn't need a power strip, provided all the outlets continue to work.


After that, we went to lunch and then to work.  More progress was made today, and it looks like things may come together.  So we'll see.  I had a good dinner with Rob in my office.  He explained how FTS works, Reserves, etc.  I was curious about the various ways of retiring, so it is marginally more clear now. 


When I came out of the office this evening, there were TWO cats waiting for me.  It looks like Pumpkin got the word out that there are good treats over here.  So I petted them and gave them each a treat or two.  The new (to me) cat was an extremely healthy male.  Borderline overweight even!  It didn't look like he was starving at all.  But it was a nice way to end the day.  Well, that's it for tonight!

Day 55

So I have a story from today.  I actually got to go to the Palace today.  I had a meeting with the Protocol to the President man.  So that was pretty cool.  I believe it's more than most anyone in my office has done or seen there, so I feel special.

But I also had normal work to do today.  Lots of changes and lots of fixes on my end.  I am getting pretty excited about one event I'm putting together, which I hope others share with me later.  I think I'll be setting a precedent for this sort of event.  But we'll see.

The other day, one of our enlisted brought in a whole package of Hooters calendars.  Not being one to offend, I took one.  However, I didn't open it up until I got back to the room tonight.  While most calendars follow a sequential pattern, these hop months all over the place.  It starts in October, then June, then November, then August, December, February, April, September, May, March, July, and January.  A little haphazard and non-intuitive.  Oh well.

In other news, I'm approaching the 1/4 of the way done mark.  I think 58 or 59 days is 1/4 of the total time, so that's good.  The time here has gone by pretty fast.  It's hard to believe I've been here 3 weeks already.  Hopefully the months continue to fly.  I told myself that I'd get a full body massage after the successful completion of each month.  So I'll have to find some time after this coming week.

Day 54

Today I "slept in" until about 7am.  Then I Skyped with Emili before she heads down to Miami for Corey's birthday.  It sounds like it'll be fun, and there will even be an inflatable BounceLand thingy.  After that I watched a movie called Grown Ups.  It had Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph, Selma Hyak, and other big name people.  But that didn't really make it good.  Sad to say.  But then I watched an episode of Star Trek Voyager, which was good.

Then I went to lunch, then into work.  I wasn't there too long when someone mentioned going to the Bazaar.  We have a big soccer field here, and helicopters use it to land and transport people around.  But on Fridays, local Afghan merchants are screened and then allowed into the perimeter of the soccer field to sell their stuff.  You would have thought that a truck carrying sunglasses and knifes was hijacked!  It was an interesting mix of what you'd expect (rugs, scarves, trinkets, etc) and western items (sunglasses, knives, holsters, dvds, watches, etc).  Rob Bowlus bought a $5000 watch for $25.  So we'll see how long that lasts!  I was tempted by some of the items, but restrained myself today.  One man was showing me his rugs or carpets, I'm not sure which, and he was telling me it was made of fox fur.  And another part was mink.  So I asked him for a live fox or mink.  We went back and forth for a few minutes, but he never got my humor.  His loss.

When I got back, I had received a care package from Charlene Delanoy!  It was very thoughtful, and we exchanged a few emails this afternoon.  Thank you!

Other than that, work was work.  Nothing terribly exciting or anything.  When I woke up this morning, my roommate Kevin said he was up all night throwing up.  I didn't hear a thing!  He had me send his work colleagues an email saying he was staying in bed.  Quite funny, if you ask me!  The other odd thing now, as I sit here, is a set of 3 seabags in the room in front of my bed.  I don't know who they belong to, but I hope they don't think they're staying in here tonight!  We only have 2 beds!  Well, I think it's time to poke around the shared drive, and see what goodies I can find.

People ask if there is anything they can get me....so......if someone was willing to download the Fedora 16 64-bit Live CD distribution, and possibly the Fedora 64-bit Scientific Spin.  Some of you will know what these are, and some will not.  And that's ok!  But I think that's all for tonight.  I hope to have interesting things to share tomorrow!

Day 53

Today wasn't too bad.  Kevin and I went to breakfast, because we're good roomies like that.  Pretty boring breakfast though.  They have not had yogurt for the last week or so, and that's kind of a bummer.  But I think I'll live.

I was happy to see Pumpkin again today.  I gave her a couple treats, which she gobbled right up.  I think her eyesight is about as good as Toonces, because she smelled my hand where the treats were, and then tried to nibble on me.  Crazy cat!  Not quite as resourceful as the cat that tried to shove his head in my pocket where the treats were, but she's a good cat.

I don't know if I share the laundry process yet or not, but here it is.  I put my dirty clothes in a mesh bag they lend you.  Then I drop it off at the laundry shack, and pick it up the next day.  It's been washed, dried, and even folded!  Pretty nice deal!  So I just take the stack of clothes, and shove them back in my locker.  It works out pretty well.  So I picked up my clean laundry today, which was nice.

I also got my first haircut in Afghanistan today.  I went to the Spa, and had some Russian speaking asian women cut my hair.  It was a little weird to see, but I thanked her at the end in Russian.  (smile)

Another good thing today....I got another care package!  The nice people at Epiphany sent me a box of Halloween candy.  It was actually pretty good stuff too!  There were full size candy bars, a Reeses peanut butter cup, some Whoppers, etc.  Now I have some good snacks at my desk in the office!  Thank you very much for thinking of me.

I ended up having a little downtime this evening, so I was researching all the duty stations I could end up at with the Army Vet Corps.  I think my top two choices for overseas are now England and Stuttgart, Germany.  The location in England is at a Royal Air Force base, and it involves some travel to Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and Italy.  Sounds like a nice tour!

Stuttgart, Germany is located only 60 miles from the French border, about 100 miles north of Switzerland, and is relatively close to Austria, Slovenia, Prague, etc.  It looks like a pretty neat place to be too!  Plus I've never tried to learn German, so that could be a new opportunity!

So that was my day.  Nothing else too exciting here.  Just counting down the days.