Finale

First of all, I am back in the United States.  Yay.

Unfortunately, the return trip home has been awful.  My arranged flight from Kabul to Kandahar went flawlessly.  It was a quick ride on an Australian C-130, and it worked fine.  Unfortunately, the living conditions in Kandahar were pretty terrible.  We had to sleep on cots, with no linens or warm things, on sand.  The tent sides were made of canvas, and it felt like the ceiling or walls were going to rip off in the wind.  We also didn't have anything to do, so we spend about 2 hours in the dining facility at each meal, just to kill time.  We froze to death at night and were quite uncomfortable.  But surely everything would be better from here, right?

Wrong.  We, of course, had to travel in the middle of the night.  I don't know why the Navy chooses these flights, but they always seem to take off at 0200 in the morning, which means we have to be up all night long.  Anyway, after they changed the departure time twice, we ended up getting picked up from the tent at 2315.  A pretty late start to the travels, I'd say.  But we eventually took a C-17 to Kuwait.  It was about a 4.5 hour ride, if I recall correctly.  Very uncomfortable, as we were still wearing our body armor.  It was also pretty drafty and cold.

When we got to Kuwait, we grabbed a quick breakfast at the DFAC, but then had to get on buses to drive 2 hours to our camp.  We were at Camp Virginia in October, but this time we were at Camp Arifjan.  The conditions again didn't fail to disappoint.  We were in a tent again, but at least we had mattresses I guess.  Still with the flapping of canvas sides and tops though.  We thought the conditions would be better on the way out, as a morale thing.  But we were wrong.

We were in Kuwait for way too long.  We had about a day's worth of activities that we crammed into 5.  Oh wait, the plane broke, so we got a whole extra glorious day in Kuwait out of it.  Fantastic.  I read my Kindle for many hours of each day.  I also found the pool and spent a couple hours there one day.  No one else seemed that interested in the pool, and it wasn't much fun to go by myself.  But there was waaaay too much sitting around.  I was actually much more stressed at the end of it than at the beginning.

But after the 23 hour delay, we did leave the camp at around 1830.  This is of course, after being awake at 0600 that morning by the obnoxious reveille that plays on the loud speaker.  But we went from there to the Customs office, and we had all of our bags pre-screened.  Then we hung out there for a while, and then got on the buses for our 2 hour ride back to the airport.  At the airport, there was more requisite standing around for no apparent reason, and we seemed to collect many more people that were taking our flight with us.

Flying from Kuwait to Germany was 5 hours 30 minutes.  It was pre-dawn, so it was mostly dark.  The plane was pretty quiet, and I think I dozed off a couple times.  Still not great sleep.

In Germany, we picked up even more people.  Including families with small crying kids.  Luckily, they weren't seated near me.  But the sun had risen, and the plane was pretty light for the 8 hour flight from Germany to BWI.  I didn't sleep on that leg, much as I tried.  But we landed, and I had a wonderful greeting from Emili.  I had a Monster before landing, so I hope I appeared to be awake!

At home, the cats were very curious, but then it was eventually evident that they remembered me, which was nice.  Except Hobbes, but we hadn't met yet.  That relationship will just take time.  Ella was the most affectionate, which was pretty cute.  But I had my Chipotle and Coldstone meal, and it was wonderful.

The next day, we slept in a bit, had breakfast at Miss Shirley's, and packed up some stuff for me.  We drove down to Richmond and visited with Mom, Dad, and Lauren.  There was another little fellow there, though I don't remember his name.  John maybe?  A foster infant.  But we all tried Krispy Kreme S'mores, which were great, and had pasta a la caprice for dinner.  It was good to visit, though I've not yet been able to unwind.

After dinner, Emili and I went our separate ways.  She headed back to Baltimore to take care of the cat circus, and I went to Norfolk for checking in stuff.  Unfortunately, it was a terrible day to drive because it rained so much.  Probably not the best conditions for someone who hasn't been driving for the last 8 months.  But we each made it to our respective locations.  Unfortunately for me, the theme continued, leaving me with much crappier accommodations now than on the way out in September.  I am currently in the enlisted barracks.  And this is my room.  There are two beds in here, I had to put the linens on the bed myself, there are no towels, or anything like that.  Oh yes, and my room shares a bathroom with the room next door.  Just how I wanted to live when I got home.  Seriously, the conditions in Kabul were better.

Today I got through NMPS in 45 minutes for the out-processing.  That's great news, except now I'm trying to figure out things at the ECRC, which is where I am technically attached on paper.  And we've been going back and forth today because they don't want to write me TAD orders to the Academy.  Which means they would have me waste my time living here for a month, showing up at 9:30am each day and then doing nothing else.  What the hell is the point of that?  I have a couple emails from the Naval Academy to people here asking for me, so hopefully that will help.  But I don't have any solid information yet.

So I am tired, stressed, cranky, and quite irritable.  I feel like I, and others like me, are not appreciated by the Navy at all.  And I wish at least 1 person here would use their brain!  So I am home, but not at all home.

Day 224

Today was so so. My very last full day in Kabul, so that's kind of
nice I guess. I'm going to miss a lot of the people here, because we
were all in the suck together.

I first woke up and had breakfast with Senator John Kerry. He looked
about the same as 2004, but I've definitely lost hair! I got another
picture with him, though it was on my phone and not as good. Still,
it was cool to say hi again.

Then I had time to kill, since Sundays are sleep-in days. So I
watched the first half of The Man in the Iron Mask. I've seen it
before, but it's still a good story. Then I went to the office for a
bit, worked out the Fitrep issues, grabbed a lunch, and checked out of
a few places. I had to turn in my bullets today :(

But then I came back, finished the movie, watched some Star Trek, and
then it was time to head to Eggers for the bananas foster french
toast! Actually, I brought my hard drive, and me and 3 of the mission
commanders watched The Last Samurai on their tv in their office. We
paused in the middle to get french toast. But then we had popcorn, so
it was a complete movie night (though very early!) But it was good to
see some of the PSD guys before I left too. Completely unplanned, but
I ended up having a sort of leadership chat with the Army SFC in
charge. I disagreed with a method that was used (micromanagement),
and I let him know. I was polite, but if he keeps that up, he'll be
hated by everyone (that doesn't already hate him). So yeah. A
generally interesting night.

Oh, and I made an impulse Ka-Bar purchase. But I checked our flight
for tomorrow, and we are booked. So things look good for us to make
it to our first destination and get to the brief on time. After that,
it depends on how organized the Navy is down in Kandahar. But we're
leaving here early, so I should pack up and get some rest. Good
night.

Day 223

Another day of sheer boredom. I did a couple checkout things, but
then sat around the room most of the day. I hooked up a new router
for my old roommates, I bought a scorpion in plastic, and I watched
Star Treks, and Hudson Hawk. Extremely boring day.

But only one more full day in Kabul, so that's a good thing. Now if
only the return home was simple. Good night.

Day 222

Another day about done. I ended up having a wonderful sleep in the
dvq room here. It was quiet, dry, comfortable. Fantastic. Lonely,
but comfortable. I should only have about 9 lonely days left now?
Something like that.

I got up and played in the dodgeball tournament. We did better than
last time, but still didn't win the whole thing. Unfortunately for
the guys on the opposing teams, I tended to hit people in the crotch
by accident. One time, the guy was just standing at the back because
he was already out. He should have been paying attention! Oops.

Then I went and got a boxed lunch and brought it back to COL Millner's
office to eat. After that, I mailed a box home, and also a patch that
someone wanted from a trip a while back. Better late than never? I
think I've now mailed all that I'm going to. Tomorrow I will try to
consolidate my stuff and pack more efficiently.

Then I watched the PSD enlisted guys play volleyball for a while, and
at the end the officers jumped in and played too. It was fun, but
never as good as I'm hoping for. The afternoon saw me clean my 9mm,
and watch Sherlock Holmes. Nothing too exciting here. Just killing
time, really. Maybe tomorrow I'll hit another couple things on the
checkout list. Good night.

Day 221

Another boring day, for the most part. I did a couple checkout steps,
which took all of about 10 minutes of the day. Then I was pretty much
a bum all day.

I managed to ship off another big black box, but I only got 56 pounds
in it this time. But hopefully that makes it home too, since it has
nice things like my new suit in it. I then went back to the room and
just packed for most of the morning. Doug and I went to Eggers for
lunch, and we got burgers, soft cookies, and real ice cream. It was
delicious! But then we came back and I went to the office to check on
my Fitrep. COL Millner was basically done, so I just checked for
typos and grammar, and then I signed it. I think I need to carry a
copy with me, but we're unsure of who gets the original. So we'll
figure that out soon.

After lunch, I continued to pack and consolidate. Then I slowly moved
my bags over to the DVQs. I have a room here until it's time to
leave. So that was about my day. Time to have a nice comfortable
sleep now! Good night!

Day 220

Today was ehhh. The first day without a job. I am going to make a
terrible retiree someday. I went to the office early-ish, so I could
use my computers for a bit. Then I went around and did some checking
out steps on the checklist.

I got in an argument with one of the new Chair Force officers today.
She, for some reason unknown, is pushing extremely hard for me to turn
in my blackberry now, even though we don't leave until Monday. She
thinks the new Action Officers are crippled in their job because they
don't have blackberries. Which is false. They are crippled because
they haven't asked for more help yet. So we are disagreeing at the
moment, and possession being 9/10 the law, I still have my phone.

After lunch, I played 2.5 hours of volleyball, and it was lots of fun.
I definitely worked up a sweat, and I did pretty well. I have some
brush burns to prove it too! I also did a standing back flip on the
court, and it was much higher than even I expected. So I still got
it!

Throughout the afternoon, and continuing this evening, I watched The
Living Daylights. I know it's Timothy Dalton, but it's still among my
favored James Bond movies. I think I must just like classical music.

That's about it for now. I've been working on packing and
consolidating and whatnot. I think I'll still end up traveling
heavier than I had hoped, but it'll be ok. At least I get to dump a
bunch of it in Kuwait. Good night.

Day 218-219

I am exhausted, and that's after an exploration of energy drinks over
the past couple days.

My Distinguished Visitor was General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If anyone is unfamiliar with his position,
he is the highest ranked military person in the United States. So
he's kind of a big deal.

I had a good program lined up for him, and things went well enough.
The only bad thing was that he tended to go very late into the
evening. For the first evening, he went an hour and a half longer
than the hour we had scheduled for the meeting! So we spent a very
long time waiting for him to be done. And last night, he was invited
to late tea with the Afghan Minister of Defence, so it was another
late evening. For the last couple days, I've been getting up at 5am
and getting into bed around 1am. And last night I didn't even make it
back to my base! I slept at Camp Eggers.

But he seems like a nice guy, pretty down to earth. And today at the
plane, we took a group photo with him. However, the best part was
that he wanted an individual picture of me with him, as well as Sam
with him (she was the personal security mission commander for this
visit). So I was pretty happy about that! Of course, the picture was
taken by his photographer, and I have no idea how I'll ever see that
picture. But I'll cross my fingers.

As for energy drinks, I discovered that I like Monster drinks. The
first day I had one at lunch, and I felt pretty wired! The second day
I had a Monster after lunch, but then needed a Mountain Dew around 8
or 9pm too. This morning I drank something called a Pitbull with my
breakfast. It's been rough, but I'm glad it's done.

And so now I'm done. I thought I'd be much happier about being done,
but I'm mostly sad. Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited to come
home, but I completely lack a purpose right now. I don't exactly know
what I should do. The other crappy part is that people are moving
into my desk, and because I was out most of the last few days with the
visit, she's nearly completed her transition. I'm going to get in
there tomorrow so I can have some computer time, but it's ridiculous.
I've been forced out of my own desk! And the other new Action
Officers are trying to get me to turn in my Blackberry now, so they
can have it signed out to them. I won't turn it in until I am going
to the airport, because this is really the only way to contact me
since I don't have a desk anymore. They can suck it up or go fly a
kite. Not in the mood.

Well, I think I'm going to crawl into my sleeping bag with some tv
shows or the Kindle. After about a week, I finally made it through
the first chapter of the first Harry Potter book. Hopefully I can
pick up the pace at some point. Tomorrow will probably be a day to
shop, pack, take care of some checkout stuff. All easy things. Good
night.

Day 217

Lots to say, too late to say it. More to follow in a couple days...

Day 216

An interesting day, with lots of good, mixed with bad.

I basically started off my day taking a trip with an advance agent and
the PSD teams down to a location where my DV will be visiting for a
few hours. It's a pretty secure place, which is a good start. I was
picked, along with 3 other people, to jump in a truck and drive to the
top of a mountain. So that was pretty crazy. The roads were muddy
and not so good, but we make it up there. The views were pretty
amazing, though my phone camera didn't do it justice.

Then we came down, talked a little more, and then had lunch there.
They made gyros, and it was delicious! It was almost like a normal
food! Very tasty. And on the way out, our point of contact grabbed
me an entire box of Clif bars. So that was pretty cool! Now I have
some snacks for the trip back.

After that, we drove back, which was pretty uneventful. I then walked
people over to the Embassy to talk about our arrival and departure
with the DV. Nothing was too unexpected, and it'll be even easier
than originally planned. Then I came back to the office.

I had to talk to this woman (note that I did not use the word lady).
There is an entity that is trying to insert itself into our itinerary,
and assert themselves as the experts on how to do this certain backup
movement. I got an earful because I was pushing back against her
recommendations. But I don't think she realizes that I'm going home
quite shortly. Anyhow, I argued back, and it wasn't very pretty for
either of us by the end. But I think she's still upset because she
lost the helicopter argument with me. Long story, but I won, suffice
it to say. And I am pretty sure I'm going to win this one too, which
probably ticks her off. So that was the bad part of my day.

The good news is that most everything else is lined up and ready to
go. So I don't anticipate any show stopping changes at this point.
I'm crossing my fingers at least. So that's it for today. I got 2
letters from Grandma today, which was nice. One of them had been
returned to sender for some reason. But I enjoyed reading it all the
same! I'm going to settle in with some Harry Potter on my Kindle now.
Good night.

Day 215

Another day of my life I'll never get back. Ok, so it wasn't that
bad, but it wasn't that great either.

My day did start of on a funny note though. I woke up and realized
that the two key errands I needed to take care of yesterday slipped my
mind. I needed to pick up my laundry, and I needed to buy a bar of
soap. So a shower early wouldn't have been very productive. I ended
up watching a couple episodes of Star Trek: DS9 to kill time and then
I went out. I got the laundry with no issue, but then I had to hunt
to find a store that was open at 9am on a Friday (Afghan day off).
Eventually I found some, so that was good. Then I came back to shower
and change.

I had some advance agents arrive today, so I went over to Camp Eggers
to go over plans with them. It was pretty productive, if not a little
confusing. And we're using a ridiculous amount of manpower and
vehicles for this visit. I thought my last one was bad with the head
of NATO! But at least the days go by, and the visit will start soon.
Hopefully I can survive unscathed!

After that I got some dinner at Eggers, which was a pretty decent
hamburger, jello, and cookies. Nothing like eating healthy! But
tonight was also Navy Night. I didn't really know what that meant, so
I went over to check it out. Apparently, it means a clubbing scene.
Extremely loud music, dark room with strobe lights, glow sticks, etc.
I am not in college anymore, and I didn't enjoy that when I was in
college either! I was pretty much a stick in the mud, and I left
early. I guess I just don't understand the charm of having to yell at
the top of your lungs to say hello to someone you can barely see. Oh
well.

But I'm back in my room, ready for bed. I am going out tomorrow to
recon a location, which should be a good trip. Plus, I arranged
helicopters to meet us there, so I get to check those out. Don't
think they'll let me fly it, but you never know! Good night!

Day 214

A very wet day, all things considered. I came into work today, and
made some changes to the itinerary. Then I made some more changes,
followed by more changes. I feel like nothing very real comes from
what we do here, but at least it'll be over soon.

I showed up for the volleyball tournament tonight, but it was
postponed for a week. I think the ceiling in the gym was leaking, and
wet basketball courts are not a good recipe for volleyball. I hope I
don't have any conflicts when they've rescheduled, a week from today.

I'm just blah. I need to get home and achieve a balance of normal
again. Counting down in days now....

Day 213

Another day down. I made some good refinements to my itinerary, and I
got some guidance late tonight. So things are mostly coming together.

I am finally starting to look forward to the end of the time here. I
have started shipping things home, taking my stuff out of the desk so
the next person can move in, and I picked up a check-out sheet. I'm
mostly day dreaming about being back in the states, and all the fun
things I want to do. And while I would expect a dog to have an
excited reaction to seeing his owner after a long separation, I have
no idea if the cats will react to me at all. But I suppose we'll see
soon enough!

Not too much else to report. I'm nearing the end of Dracula, and it's
getting pretty tense. I hope Mina will be ok, but I'm a bit
pessimistic at this point. Lucy didn't fare so well. Off to read!
Good night.

Day 212

Another day down. This morning was pretty uneventful, just the basic
catching up on the work from emails that arrived in the night. Around
lunchtime, I went and got the new guy from his room and we all went to
lunch. After that, I started the check-in process with him. Because
he didn't send me his orders in advance, he will be waiting around for
a room for a while like I did. But that's ok, he'll manage.

This evening we had our farewell. I got 3 medals, and there was much
rejoicing. Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal, and Joint Service
Commendation Medal. So that was neat. I don't really like being the
center of attention, so my remarks were quite short. I told everyone
to bring me their pets in 4 years.

One more day down. Good night.

Day 211

An uneventful day, which was good. I don't really recall what I did
in the morning, except that it must not have been that exciting. I
took a nap at my desk after lunch (non-intentional), and then I read
Dracula for a while.

We received a new Action Officer tonight, a Marine named Capt Ho. So
I got him dinner, a badge, and put him in a room. I'm sure there will
be lots of questions coming from him tomorrow. There is such a
nightmare of paperwork to check in, it's ridiculous. So I'll be
trying to navigate those waters while also planning a big visit. I'll
manage somehow.

I also volunteered an hour of my time tonight to talk to the newer
Action Officers about air stuff. I know all the systems for arranging
air travel for people, so I broke it down as simply as I could, and
they all took notes. It'll take them some time to learn, but it'll
come. Hopefully some of what I said sinks in soon. But they were all
thankful, so that was nice.

Tomorrow is my farewell, along with some other guys. I don't want to
stand up in front of people, but hopefully it'll be short. I think
we're just doing some pizzas in the garden, so that's good. Small is
good. Well, I'm going to read for a bit until I fall asleep. Good
night.

Day 210

I woke up this morning, and I thought I'd be pretty productive. I
skyped, showered, got ready for the day. Then I watched the movie
Meet Joe Black, and I thought it was a pretty decent movie.

After that, I carried my first Gorilla Box to the post office to mail
home. As it turns out, I managed to get 60 pounds of crap in it, and
the shipping was $46. Not too bad, all things considered. It was a
heavy box. One more to pack up at some point.

I had a nice lunch with a PAO friend, Abby. She's going away in about
a week, so it was a sort of farewell. She's the tallest girl I've
ever seen. Her life will be complicated when she goes home, as a
divorce is pending.

Oh yes, AND WE WERE UNDER ATTACK MOST OF THE DAY. From our office, we
heard automatic gun fire, numerous explosions, etc. We actually took
an RPG to the wall closest to us. The whole ground and building
shook, and it was pretty tense. I think we also took a mortar round
too. There were so many explosions...

The base support group was making food deliveries to offices, so we
ended up getting food around 8:45pm, so we were pretty starving. But
now we have the all clear, so we can go back to our rooms, provided we
wear our body armor and helmets. Hopefully tomorrow is less eventful.
Good night.

Day 209

Another day down. And a fairly uneventful one at that.

I went to work, and was the first one there. I had hot chocolate, and
snacked on jelly beans all morning. There are some very creative
flavors out there! II worked on my itinerary for my last visit, but I
had a hard time getting in touch with people. Eventually I got
answers, but not necessarily the ones I wanted. The good news is that
anyone military will work around this guy's schedule.

I only have about 2 weeks left, so please don't ship any care packages
out here. There would be a chance of missing me as I head home.

I want to thank Dee for the wonderful Krispy Kreme donuts! They
survived the trip pretty well, but they didn't survive me (smile).
They were delicious. I was very surprised to get them, and it was an
awesome package. Thank you!

I'm currently sorting through boxes, and I'm going to try to ship a
bunch of stuff home. Hopefully I can eventually leave Kuwait with
only a backpack and a bag of clothes. So we will see.

I think I'm going to crawl into bed and read for a while. Good night.

Day 208

Another day down. I started the day by going into the office pretty
early. Today is normally a sleep-in day, but it was my turn to
retrieve the Afghan cleaners and escort them into our building so they
could clean. They were quite noisy, so it made it difficult to watch
The Jackal. Oh well.

Then I went and played in the dodgeball tournament. We didn't win,
nor get second. But..... we got 6th! Ha ha. Same place as last
time, but at least there were 8 teams in it this time. We did better
than before, but it still wasn't that great.

Then I changed and went with Pam over to Eggers. They have a Bazaar
on Fridays too, and I'd never been. I found a nice gold tie that
might go with my suit, so I bought it for 5 dollars. It doesn't seem
like a super high quality, but this is Afghanistan after all.

My laser I ordered is out for delivery in Baltimore, after being out
for delivery in Chicago yesterday. So that's a step in the right
direction I think.

What else? I am working on a pretty high level visit now, and
hopefully it will go smoothly. A few moving parts, but I'm sure it
will be fine.

Well, a normal day tomorrow, so I'm going to get some sleep. Good night.

Day 207

Another day down. My important visitor today was the head of NATO,
Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Pretty high level DV if you ask me. I
think it went alright, with the exception of the two cars we broke
today. We crashed one of them into another of ours, and the first is
not drivable at the moment. The other car's transmission sounded like
it was going to fall on the ground. So they need some work.

They wore me out today, but I'm glad it's over. They may even be in
Brussels soon too. So now I have one more looming visit. I think
once I get through that one, I'll have about a week to do the checkout
stuff and finish packing. Only about 17 more days until I leave this
place, and about 24 until I land in Baltimore!

The link below is my attempt to post pictures from the King's Palace,
and across the way, the Queen's Palace. They both looked wonderful
until the 80's when the Soviets destroyed them. Now they are ruins,
and you can see the destruction. It's pretty interesting, and I was
lucky to get the chance to see them in person.

https://plus.google.com/photos/116642578319244436674/albums/5730435980866608961

I think that's it for today. I'm playing dodgeball tomorrow morning,
so wish me luck!

Day 206

Unfortunately, I had a visit arrive late last night, and I forgot to
post to the blog. All is well, and hopefully he'll be out of my hair
shortly. More to come later...

Day 205

Another day, and it felt like it was just full of meetings the whole
time. I have quite a headache now, and I had to take a giant
Ibuprofen.

I started trying to pack up some of my stuff at the desk, but I'm a
pretty awful packer. So I'm sure I'll eventually get it back to the
room, but it wasn't in a condition to transport tonight.

Well, I'm going to sleep now. Good night.

Day 204

Today was a pretty busy day. I basically started out going over to
the Palace and having tea. We had much to discuss with the next
visit, and there were plenty of questions to ask and answer. I'm not
sure how much I helped, but I had tea at the Palace.

From there, the driver decided to come back to Eggers instead of
dropping me off at my place. So I was held hostage for a while. But
I had a burger, hot dog, and cheese cake for lunch, which was all very
good. Sometimes changes are good.

From there we drove to the King's Palace and we walked around in it
for a while. I took some pictures on my phone, and hopefully I'll be
able to post a link to an album if they ever finish uploading. But
the sheer history is amazing. Today they are ruins, and you can see
bullet holes in everything, walls and floors have been bombed out,
it's a nightmare.

After that we drove over to the Queen's Palace, which is in slightly
better shape. Still not so great though. I took pictures here too.

When I returned to Eggers, I had a hot chocolate, killed about 20
minutes, and then walked to ISAF for a meeting. The meeting was
actually productive, and we had all the right people around the cafe
table. Nothing like doing work in a super secure Dutch cafe. Ha!

Long story short, the girls in the office decided to get me a cake for
my birthday. So when I made it back for PME (late), they had a cake
prepared. Everyone sang happy birthday, and it was sufficiently
awkward. I hate being the center of attention, and all the pictures
taken make me look ridiculous. Hopefully they never get out to the
actual internet.

Long day, bet time now. Good night.

Day 203

Today I woke up in the DVQs, which wasn't too bad, but I had to get up
early to let some advance agents into their rooms. But I went into
work early and sort of just visited with the other people who also
came into work early. Not too much going on.

I think things went pretty normally today. Just minor tweaks and
things for the upcoming visit. I think everything will go fine, but
there are lots of concerned people. I am going to the Palace
tomorrow, so that's kind of neat. My first mission and my last will
take me to the Palace for the big guy.

I also got a package from Cheryl today. Thank you so much for all the
cat food! I've never seen so much in one place before! The cats will
feast on the good food and treats. The cats of ISAF thank you!

Rob Bowlus and I walked to Eggers tonight because I thought they'd
have the banana fosters french toast, but noooo. Apparently we eat
Thanksgiving dinner on Easter, and not french toast. Haven't they
heard of the parable of Jesus and the french toast? I believe he took
a loaf of french toast, and divided it endlessly among his french
toast loving followers. I guess the Pashtu translation of the Bible
leaves some things out.

But then we watched We Were Soldiers. It was a pretty well done
movie, and it made me pretty upset. It reminded of my days of being a
Casualty Assistance and Call Officer at USNA. Very sad, and I hope no
one ever receives a telegram on my behalf. Well, I think it's bed
time. Good night.

Day 202

Today is my birthday. The only cool thing is that I'm 2^5 today. Or
as I'd prefer to enter it, 2, Enter, 5, y^x. Unfortunately, that only
makes sense for a very, very small subset of people. But I digress.

I took the day off, which was nice. I also had/have a DVQ room last
night and tonight. I cranked the temperature down really low, and got
under the covers last night. The pillows are wonderful, and it was
the first time in a very long time that I slept until my alarm went
off. It was wonderful.

I had a massage, and it was definitely one of the better ones. Then I
came back and I watched the movie Salt. It was pretty good, I
thought. And then I got a boxed lunch to go, and I came back and
watched Zombieland. Pretty good movie too. Then I played volleyball
for a couple hours. It was a pretty good day for it, but there were
so many people. But everyone was safe, and no one landed on their
heads today.

Dinner at Cianos with the group, and back in the room here now. I did
get a package from Beth and EJ yesterday, so thank you very much!
Snacks are always good, and the card was pretty cool too. And I also
got a package from Mom and Dad today too, so that you guys too! Some
easter treats were in there too, along with a card that indicated a
gift was being sent to Baltimore. You know, I think I can milk this,
and make my birthday stretch out at least a month long. I also got an
email that said Lauren bought me a digital book of the first Harry
Potter. So I will have to investigate how to retrieve that, and then
I'll have some light reading! Thank you Lauren!

I think that's about it, really. I might watch some Star Trek next,
but it'll be a pretty uneventful evening again. Good night.

Day 201

Today was pretty much a waste of time. I met with someone about my
upcoming trip, but it was only minimally helpful. I submitted all my
air movement requests, though I'll have to modify them in a couple
days. But at least I did something. Other than that, I sat around
all day and did nothing. Pretty sad really. I am feeling pretty
depressed at the moment.

But I'm in a DVQ room for a couple nights, which will be nice. I
don't have snoring, smelling, annoying roommates in here, and I can
set the temperature to whatever I want. So hopefully I'll actually
sleep well tonight. Oh well. The time is slowly going by. Only a
little more than 3 weeks until we leave this place. A month from
tomorrow, I should be back in Baltimore for a night. Good night.

Day 200

Hard to believe I've been away from home for 200 days now.  And it doesn't get any better out here, either.

In any case, today was pretty dull.  I did some basic work for the visits that are on the ground now, and some for the upcoming visit.  I have another meeting tomorrow to look at some of the details.

My only nice break in the day was walking to Eggers.  I went to their PX and bought a second Gorilla Box.  These are just huge black plastic boxes, in which I can ship home all the things I won't need for the transit home.  Hopefully, after I turn in my issued gear, I can be down to just a bag and a backpack.  We will see, I guess.

Well, not much else to report here.  Good night.

Day 199

Today was much better than yesterday.  Sometimes the sequences of days make me feel bipolar.  I think some of the days out here are the closest I've ever had to depression, and then there are days where I am very happy.  I'm ready for stable though.

I forgot to mention that I got a package from Emili yesterday, which was great!  Cadbury Eggs, Cliff Bars, cracker snacks, and a birthday card (haven't opened yet).  So that was very nice, and I look forward to the treats.  And today I got a package from Emili's mom, which sets the bar pretty high!  She sent homemade fudge, other chocolate goodies, and a card too (waiting to open too).  So I have a very nice stash of quality snacks!!  Thank you all!

I think I first noticed the quality in the dining hall declining when they haven't had anything green on the salad bar for a while.  No lettuce, no cucumbers, etc.  And we apparently ran out of Gatorade, so we are serving three different flavors of Tang now.  Traditional orange, pineapple, and mango.  Interesting choice, really.

Anyhow, here are a few pictures I wanted to share.  I've been meaning to, but I hadn't uploaded them from my phone.  Enjoy!

The Kabul Rainforest


Our Office Buddy


Shadow at my Dorm

Day 198

Today was probably the worst day I've had in Afghanistan. I can't
even describe all the things that went wrong with my visit. But here
are some of the highlights:

- The helo planners moved my flight times EARLIER at midnight last
night, so I found the changes when I came into work.
- The helicopters took off without my DVs because they thought they
were at breakfast.
- I had a C-130 break while at a FOB today, so the party there was
stranded for an extra hour.
- The Generals don't like the itinerary and two of them just decided
they aren't going to RC-N. This means that if I didn't change things,
it would have fallen squarely in the "Fraud, Waste, and Abuse"
category, for which there is an explicit paragraph that outlines how
it's bad to do that, and whatnot.

They are not happy people, and they are a pain in the rear to work
with. I think we'll all be quite happy to send them on their way in a
few days.

Today I would have driven the hour out to the range to put some holes
in targets with a very large gun. Good night.

Day 197

Today started out fine, but ended up pretty poor, I'd say. The party
that is coming soon just isn't high enough ranked, so they aren't
getting the flight times that they wanted. So I'm having to work
around a bunch of changes. Oh well.

I did stop and give Panda some treats today, and he then crawled up in
my lap and was ridiculously affectionate. It made me smile, and I
gave him some good attention for a while.

I sat in on a video teleconference for another visit I'm working on,
and that one is likely to get out of hand too. There are too many
hands in the pot, and I can see it being a nightmare. Luckily, my
only part is really arranging helicopters and helping with the ground
movements.

It rained a good bit again tonight. Welcome to the Kabul Rainforest.
At least it helps keep the dust levels down a bit. Well, off to bed.

Day 196

Today wasn't too bad. I think I've been dealing with a cold for the
last couple days. Yesterday I was miserable, but today was a lot
better. I am still congested and have a cough, but I at least was
mostly awake and didn't just want to sleep the whole day away.

I watched a really good copy of Inception this morning, and it is
still a very good movie. It makes you think, and sometimes I wonder
if I'm in a dream. Maybe we all just wake up when we die. It's an
interesting thought, anyway.

And whoever said Afghanistan is a desert was wrong. It's more like a
rain forest here. We had torrential downpours today, and I saw some
of the largest bodies of water I've yet seen in this country!
(puddles) I actually had to dig out my rain coat, even though it's a
different pattern. I thought it was more important to stay dry than
to match. Tim Gunn might disagree, but I'm sticking to my guns!

We went over to Eggers tonight to listen to one of General Allen's
cultural advisors talk to our PSD team. He talked about greetings in
Afghanistan, manners, general respect for people, etc. These are
principles that I think most of us follow at home. However, it's
harder to keep these in mind when so much of the country seems bent on
killing us all. I'm sure it's a few bad eggs, but we form our
doctrine around those bad eggs. So it's a balance we have to strike
that keeps everyone unhappy.

Some significant changes to itineraries today, but nothing I couldn't
handle. Hopefully tomorrow isn't terrible. Good night.

Day 195

Today I pretty much felt like crap all day. I didn't sleep well last
night, and I think I'm battling a cold. Hopefully I feel better
tomorrow.

I don't really know what to say about today. I didn't do much, I was
bored out of my mind, and I napped in my chair. Sometimes the boredom
is the worst part. I did try on my new suit with the shirt I bought,
and I think it looks pretty darned good. But I may have a slightly
biased opinion after all. Well, I'm off to sleep. I'm looking
forward to the sleep-in tomorrow. Good night.

Day 194

Today was a pretty long day. Too many stupid people in this world.
But at least the day is over. I think we have about 30 days left
until we leave Kabul. Sigh.

Good night.

Day 193

Guess who has a nice new suit? This guy. It's pretty nice, and it's
3 pieces. I had it made it all black, and it looks sharp. I also got
a black shirt to go with it, but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.
I think it could possibly work, but I'll have to wait and see. In
any case, you can't beat the prices!

Other than that, my day was very average. Average lunch, average
work, average dinner. Very boring, all things considered. But I made
some progress on two trips at the same time, which is good because
they're happening at the same time. Strange how it all worked out.
But by the time my birthday rolls around, I should be free of the
immediate visits, with one more around the corner.

So I'd like to pose a question of anyone that may be reading this:
what color tie goes best with all black?

Day 192

Well, I don't recall exactly how long my first deployment was, but I
think this one is now officially the longest. This is such a long
time to be in a foreign country (that sucks). But the end is in
sight. I believe we'll be leaving here in 32 days, and should arrive
home about a week later.

This morning I got all suited up in my body armor and combat shirt and
went with a volunteer group to bring supplies to an orphanage. It
felt more like we were giving to a charitable organization who then
distribute to the local orphanages, but it was still a good cause. We
loaded and unloaded a rather large box truck, which was a good
workout. When we arrived at the location, we realized that about 50%
of the boxes still had customs forms and addresses on them. Since we
don't give anything like that to the locals, a large group of us took
our knives and cut addresses off the boxes. That was pretty time
consuming. We also didn't take the body armor off at all, so I was
completely soaked in sweat by the time we made it back to Eggers. Not
too much fun. But it was for a good cause.

I also had a video teleconference this afternoon, which wasn't too
productive. My upcoming trip still hasn't resolved their flight
issues, so that'll be interesting. I almost think they won't make it
to Kabul, but we shall see. I feel like I should at least meet one of
them, since they've been such a pain in the butt so far. As far as
the meeting went, I butted heads with an Army Reserve Colonel, and I
was pretty amused. Certainly not my favorite person, but I haven't
been afraid of confrontation lately. So she's probably not too happy
with me.

Another day done. Tomorrow should be a pretty normal day. My suit
might even be ready. Good night.

Day 191

Today was average, I'd say. Nothing to good or bad.

I did spend some time this morning watching our PSD teams do some
drills with the cars, and that was entertaining to watch. I learned
some interesting tidbits too. For instance, if they have the car
break down with a General and his aide, they'll grab the General and
throw him into a second car, but the aide is really on his own. If he
doesn't keep up, he gets left behind. Kind of crazy!

Hmm, other than that, I surfed the internet, argued with trip
planners, and ate junk food. Nothing too exciting to report. I'm
going on a Volunteer and Community Relations mission tomorrow, so
that'll be interesting. I think we're giving lots of supplies to an
orphanage or something. I'll get the details in the morning.

Well, that's about it for the night. Good night.

Day 190

Man, MtDew was my nemesis today. I drank one yesterday, and then I
couldn't sleep last night. So today I walked around in a zombie-like
state. Not cool. I either need to drink more to get used to it
again, or just avoid it except in extreme needs.

But today was just your standard aggravating day dealing with trip
planners. I have been mostly successful shutting down the problem
child of the upcoming visit, but he just continues to push. I'm not
yet to that point when the parents are on the 3rd or 4th child and
they decide which battles are worth fighting though. Oh well.

I think the most exciting news of the day just arrived in my inbox a
few moments ago. I just got my separation orders from the Navy! So I
can, indeed, be a normal person again someday! Very exciting. It's a
little overwhelming with how much paperwork needs to be taken care of,
but it will be worth it I'm sure. Hopefully I can take care of most
of this stuff up in Annapolis instead of Norfolk. I'm sure some will
have to be in Norfolk, but the medical screenings and whatnot can be
done in Annapolis. But in any case, it's very real progress toward my
goals.

I also got an Easter card from Emili's grandmother, which was very
thoughtful. And I got a lovely audio card from Stacey! "Hi, hi,
hello, hello, hi!" Thank you for thinking of me. I know you have a
full plate yourself, so it means a lot to me.

I think that's about it for today. I'm going to catch up on some
sleep now. Good night.

Day 189

Today was a wet day here. I have my various uniform pieces hanging
all around my area to try to dry out before tomorrow. Who ever knew
that Afghanistan got so much precipitation. It has truly surprised
me!

I slept in a bit this morning, then watched In Bruges on my phone
while my Fedora updated. Unfortunately, I think the update changed
some things around with the Gnome3 desktop, which I had grown
accustomed to. So I'll fiddle with it a bit later.

I did go to the tailor shop today and try on the unfinished suit coat.
He marked some the shoulders with a chalk pencil and told me it would
be done and ready on Thursday. Knowing how the Afghans work around
here, that probably means Monday or Tuesday. But in any case, it was
visible progress, which was nice to see.

I went to Eggers tonight for the bananas foster french toast, which is
delicious. I might have to make this when I get home. We also did a
range safety brief and another brief or two. We aren't actually going
to the range tomorrow, because the reservation was never confirmed.
It would probably be a muddy mess tomorrow anyway. But at least now
we can just head out there when we get the chance. Now I've been
thinking about buying a Desert Eagle handgun....

Well, I'm going to try to dry out now. Good night.

Day 188

Today was an ok day. We did play volleyball, but I always ended up on
the teams that lost. I also got knocked down and hit my head on the
ground. Not too much fun there. I wish my coworkers were more
athletic.

I'm also arguing with my next visit. I was sent a list of changes
today, which I think are mostly unreasonable. So I flat out told them
one place was not even an option. We'll see what we work out with the
other request. I don't understand how they can all be so
unreasonable.

Anyhow, here's a picture of me in my combat shirt. It's kind of
blurry, but it's a different sort of uniform.



I am looking forward to sleeping in a bit tomorrow. Who am I kidding?
I wake up at 0600 or earlier most every day, regardless of when I go
to bed, or even when I have the option to sleep in. I'm hoping I'll
be able to relax enough when I get home to actually sleep in. Plus it
will be home, so that will help immensely. Well, off to bed for now.

Day 187

Today was an ok day, but nothing too exciting. The network is too congested, so I'm typing this on my phone.

Looking forward to volleyball tomorrow. Good night.

Day 186

Today started off with great news. I was accepted to the MPH program
at Tufts too. So in the same 4 years, I'll get a DVM and an MPH. Not
too shabby! I'm sure I'll be very busy, but it will be very rewarding
too.

I also got a package from Emili's folks. Thank you very much! The
cookies are delicious, and I look forward to some of the other treats
too. If only I was ever able to duplicate your cookie recipe...

I was assigned another, shorter fuse visit, for a very high profile
person. Unfortunately, the planning is currently like a soup
sandwich. They can't tell us how many people will be coming other
than between 6 and 20. That's not super helpful, and I can't do much
if they don't refine that very quickly. It's being sponsored by an
office here, so I'm basically only going to do the movements (air and
ground arrangements). It's probably going to end up being a disaster,
but at least I won't be responsible.

I did reserve the volleyball court for a couple hours on Saturday. So
the officers at our PSD will come over, and we'll all play for a
while. I think it'll be a nice diversion. We're also going to the
range on Monday to practice. So that, too, will be nice. I am
getting a little stir crazy, and I'm looking for almost any reason to
get out of the office. So these are good distractions.

Well, hopefully tomorrow is a good day. Good night.

Day 185

Today was a pretty good day! My face is pink from a slight sunburn,
but it was so nice to see the sun and a clear sky.

We started off with normal work, but that was fine. Then we had a
meeting about leaking information over the wrong computer systems.
But we had been invited to play volleyball with the PSD teams, but as
it turned out, it wasn't really for us. So we showed up and stood
around and watched the guys play dodgeball and then volleyball. After
all the enlisted had competed and figured out a winner, the winning
team played the officers, so I was on. However, some of the other
players on my team sucked pretty bad. I actually got hit in the face
with the ball from a teammate. Needless to say, we didn't win, but it
was still fun.

After that, I got a pizza with some of the mission commanders at
Ciano's. We were in our PT gear, so we couldn't go to the DFAC. We
sat in the garden, and it was very peaceful. I even saw Panda
lounging in the grass. It was a very pleasant afternoon!

I made some progress with getting my boss an upgraded badge, so that
was good. Then later we walked to Eggers for some farewells. We have
3 Marines going home shortly, and I'm happy for them. They all have
such funny stories after being out here for a while. I don't think I
want that many people at my farewell, if I even have one. Definitely
too many people. Oh well.

A pretty nice day, and hopefully the weather will continue to be nice.
Good night.

Day 184

Today was interesting, but not really in a good way. My DV never
actually made it to Kabul. In fact, they decided to bypass the whole
Kabul portion of their itinerary. So in one respect it was easier on
me, but in another, I wish they had been able to stick to the plan.
But it was mostly weather related, so there wasn't much we could do.

I was told that some of the PSD team reserved the volleyball court for
tomorrow, but I'm not sure they'll be able to come over to play.
We're locked down at the moment, and they'd have to be on official
business to get over here, technically. So we'll see. Even if they
don't come, we could play volleyball. It would be good to get out of
the office. Today I arrived at 0530, and left at 2000. Annoyingly
long day.

Not too much else going on, I guess. I think I'm in the 40's now, for
number of days left here in Kabul. I'm really just counting down
until I leave here. Some people count down until they return home,
but I figure once the journey home begins, that'll be good. But now
I'm sitting here and I'll watch a little tv before bed. Good night.

Day 183

Well, today has culminated in an interesting dilemma. I have 3 people
stuck at Bagram because of the sand/dust storm that has enveloped the
entire country, it seems. So I don't really have any idea when
they'll get out, but I guess we'll find out in the morning! I'm still
not sure if the DV party will arrive as planned. The dust is so fine
that even since the wind died down, the dust is just hanging in the
air. It reduces the visibility a ton, and no one was flying tonight.

I did get up the airport this afternoon (the first time our party was
supposed to arrive). We had a new Action Officer check in today, and
she accidentally left one of her bags at the airport. However, I
managed to find it when I got there, so that was at least one positive
thing that came of the trip. Oh well. I was kind of looking forward
to getting out with the drive team to the airport tonight, because
I've never actually seen what they do up there. Maybe another time,
though I'm running out of opportunities quickly.

Well, I think I'll try to get some sleep while I can! Good night.

Day 182

I spent most of the day in a depressed funk. Couldn't shake it,
couldn't focus on much positive. But the hours passed.

I did have a trip planner hang up on me tonight, which was pretty
special I thought. I don't know or care about what his problem was.
He hasn't been the most helpful person for this trip. It's a
relatively simple itinerary, so I don't see the issue. But perhaps
there's that slight element of me not caring. Ehh.

I'm just trying to go from day to day, but the biggest enemy is
boredom. I have been trying to get out of the office more often. I
went to the Embassy bazaar yesterday just to see what it was like. I
am going to the airport tomorrow, mostly for fun. I don't need to go,
but it would be nice to get out. I find I need the distractions.
While General Alexander's itinerary kept me busy and stretched my
planning skills, now everything seems quite simple by comparison.

I watched Willow this morning. I remember being much more scared
watching it in the theaters at age 7 or 8. As I watched it today, I
sat there thinking "this is a direct rip-off from Tolkien, Peter Pan,
and Gulliver's Travels." But it passed a couple hours of the day, so
it served a function. And now it's time for bed. Good night.

Day 181

Today was another pretty slow day, except today was St. Patrick's Day.
No green beer here (or any beer at all), but the Irish did set up a
party. So we had sandwiches and sodas this afternoon, and it was an
ok diversion.

My heart isn't really in this coming visit, but I'm sure it will still
go fine. I can't get excited about it, and I lack the motivation to
even really try to get excited. Oh well. It'll be over soon enough,
and the following visit might be messy.

Not too much else. I think I posted a cool article on my gmail status
message. Good night!

Day 180

Wow, 180 days gone. Pretty sad, really.

It was a pretty lazy day, really. I spent a great deal of it with my
headphones in, listening to music and either napping or reading
Dracula. Meals were unmemorable, as always. Wraps most of the time
lately. I did watch some Star Trek: Deep Space 9 this morning, but I
also dozed through it. So all in all, an extremely boring and lazy
day. I have another visit that begins in a few days, so that'll
occupy me soon. Most of the planning is in place now, so there's not
much left for me to do.

Well, I will write more tomorrow. Good night.

Day 179

Today was boring and uneventful, neither of which are really bad
things here. There has been such a string of bad incidents, I'm glad
to have slow and quiet days. I worked a little on my upcoming visits,
but then I surfed the internet a great deal. I may even have fallen
asleep in my chair today.

We said our farewells to Col Fenton today, and she went off to the
airport to fly home. So that was sad/exciting for us/her. I think
I'll hear from her again and probably see her this summer. She
thinks, for some reason, I'm an expert in education. Ha! So she
wants her kids to talk to me about schools on the east coast. A sort
of college mentor of sorts. Kind of funny, but I wouldn't mind.

I did sing in the shower a little this morning. I miss my privacy a
great deal. I miss driving fast down the road, singing to whatever I
want. Sigh. Oh well. Soon enough I guess.

Well, tomorrow is a sleep-in day, so that'll be nice. I will write
more tomorrow.

Day 178

Today was an ok day. I feel pretty good about where my itinerary is
for the next trip, which is good because it's less than a week away.
Hopefully it goes as smoothly as I'm planning it.

I don't think much really happened today. We have a big visitor here
now, which most everyone knows about. He takes up most of our
resources because his party is so huge. Oh well.

I also filled out some paperwork for the return home. I'm being
tracked, and I have a date of return and everything. So that's good
news. I'll still be here for my birthday, but I should be home for my
anniversary. Which is good!

Not too much else to report. Just another day in Afghanistan.

Day 177

I took today off from work, which was great. I watched Star Trek,
napped, ordered a suit, etc. Overall, a very relaxing day. Too bad I
need permission for these days off... but it will be back to work
tomorrow, unfortunately.

Day 176

One visit, three coins. Too tired.

Day 175

Man, today was not a great day. My DV's are stuck in a different RC
and didn't make it here because of weather. I was frantically trying
to put together a plan for tomorrow, and I have 3 different methods of
getting them back here. So we'll see if any of them work. It really
just depends on the weather, unfortunately.

Other than that, I'm pretty blah. I'll try to go into more detail
later maybe. We shall see. Good night.

Day 174

Here's another very tired update. I woke up at 5am, ran to the office
and checked on helos, then ran to the dining facility to make sure the
reservation was fine. Then I ran back to the DVQs to get the peoples.
We walked to breakfast, and then we walked back to the DVQs so they
could get their stuff. Then I put them on helos and sent them away.
I think most everything went according to plan today, which was great.
I think the weather is going to wreak havoc shortly though. They are
forecasting snow again for the next couple days, which isn't so good
for flying around

I posted a couple pictures on my google+ account today. Combat
gymnastics I call it :) But I had a great lunch and I will write
more tomorrow. Good night.

Day 173

Well, what a long and stressful day. I had many things happen today,
and I can't talk about a single one of them!

I did, however, watch the movie Thor this morning. I actually enjoyed
it, and felt the urge to walk around topless carrying a hammer.
Unfortunately, my hammer is a Stanley, and not nearly as useful as
Thor's. But it was entertaining.

I had a wrap for lunch, picked up my laundry, ordinary stuff. We went
to Eggers to farewell some people, but it hadn't yet started at the 45
minutes late mark, and I had to get back for my mission. So I didn't
get to hear any of it. But I'll live. I had another wrap for dinner,
but with bacon. I really try to live on the edge.

Not too much else. A VERY early morning for me tomorrow, so that's
not cool. However, I think I have a good lunch on the schedule for
tomorrow. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. For now, Good night.

Day 172

Another very tiring day.  Let's try a limmerick:

There once was a man in Afghanistan,
Who had about all the complaints he could stan,
Stupidity runs deep,
I'd much rather sleep,
I need to start out on my new plan.

Good Night.

Day 171

What a long day. 0800-2115-ish. Hmmm. Too tired to really write
much. Instead I'll write a collage of thoughts.

Afghan women's soccer .... handstands on rings ... confusion! ...
putting pieces back together ... stress ... not eating ... losing
weight ...

Bed time.

Day 170

Wow.  That's about all I can say about today.  So many ups and downs.  Unfortunately, the day ended with a huge "down."  My itinerary is about to fall apart because of an Ambassador.

I've worked pretty damned hard on this one, more so than any other visit.  It just doesn't seem fair that one man could decide to go to a reception instead of meeting with my VERY important people.

Lots of other things bother me, like reading something written under a pseudonym, that sort of thing.  Reminiscent of 1998.  Long story.

Anyhow, hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Day 169

So today was pretty neat, because our cat friend came back to the office.  He came in first, and I let him walk around for a bit and then I took him outside.  However, he made it back in a second time, so I just let him explore and stay.  Here are some action shots:









Pretty ferocious, right?  But I think it was therapeutic to have him in the office.  He was a little dirty, but Pam gave him a wash with a baby wipe.  Just nice to have him around, I guess.

Not too much else, really.  I have a couple back to back meetings tomorrow, so hopefully I'm not late.  But other than that, I wanted to share the cat pictures.  Good night!

Day 168

As of today I'm 75% of the way done. I'm pretty pleased about that,
and I cannot wait to return home. I hope the next months go by
quickly.

I had tried to get these images up last night, but the network failed
me. These are the two sides of General Allen's coin, which he handed
out to us yesterday. It's a pretty cool coin, as these things go.





I slept in this morning, which was very nice. It was a very gray day,
and it rained for a good portion of the day. I had a long meeting at
the Embassy for an upcoming visit, so that was interesting. Not
terribly enlightening for me, but we wanted to make sure the people at
the Embassy were doing their jobs.

After dinner tonight, I squatted down to pet the white calico outside
the DFAC. She came right over and was enjoying the petting so much
that she jumped up in my lap! I was surprised, but I really enjoy
that sort of thing. I think most of the cats here are nicer than the
average person I have to deal with here. So it's always nice to
relieve some stress by petting a cat or two.

I don't have much else to report. I'm thinking of having a suit made
here, because someone told me it costs about $100 for them to make and
tailor a suit to a person. So that could be a good investment. I
found a pretty bright purple tie, so now I just need to make a suit to
fit around the tie... sound reasoning! Well, I will write more
tomorrow. Good night.

Day 167

Today was an ok day.  I actually have a few pictures to share, if the network cooperates.

It was pretty much a boring work day, with little variation, except I made arrangements for General Allen to take a picture with the JVB today.  So we all assembled outside, he came out and took a picture with us.  Then, and this was unexpected, he shook each of our hands and gave us each a coin.  So that was really cool.





I took pictures of the coin he gave me, but the network isn't working well enough for the photos to upload to my google+ account.  So maybe tomorrow.

I think I will enjoy sleeping in a bit tomorrow!  Good night.

Day 166

Today was an ok day I guess. I watched a little Star Trek Deep Space
9 this morning. I know John Schultz really prefers that series to
Voyager, but I'm not sold yet. I'm not sure I believe in Commander
Sysko yet.

But then work happened. Sort of like the American phrase of other
things happening. It took me a few hours to catch everything up from
the flurry of emails from last night, but everything is in order now.
We're getting closer to the trip, and I have about all the airlift
taken care of, so that's good. I'm still trying to decide on other
backup plans, but I think I'm in good shape now.

So I personally had an idea, and then arranged something pretty cool
for tomorrow. Maybe the rest of the world won't think so, but I do.
Hopefully I'll have a picture and a short story for tomorrow.

As I populate my hard drive with TV and movies for when I get home,
I'm running out of ideas. If people would suggest favorite shows and
movies, I'll grab them and I can watch them when I am home again. I
think I still have plenty of space on the hard drive, so the sky is
the limit!

That's about it for today. I can't think of much else that happened.
So I will write more tomorrow!

Day 165

Too ... tired ... to ... write.  Kind of a rough day, but not too much I can talk about.  Enjoy these pictures instead...

Day 164

Today had a little variety in it, which was nice.

Work was just work for the morning, up through lunch.  I don't recall doing anything spectacular this morning.  But around 1pm, the drive team came over to our place and picked me up, along with lots of soccer equipment.

I was pretty mismatched with respect to my uniform.  I was wearing the multicam pattern clothing, but my body armor is ACU pattern.  So I stuck out like a sore thumb.  But I got over it.  I also forgot to take the "Danimal" nametag off, so everyone was pretty amused by that.  They all wanted the funny story, but I didn't share :)

I was surprised at quite how bad the roads were in Kabul.  I think the vehicle was rocking about 15 degrees to each side as we went through massive potholes and bumps.  It was pretty crazy.  Not the most comfortable ride, and wearing body armor makes you a little more tired.  The ride probably took at least 30 minutes.

We got to the orphanage, and it was actually surrounded on all sides by big walls, with armed guards outside.  So I'm not exactly sure where they get their funding, but someone is taking care of this place.  But we ended up with quite a big crowd of kids around us.  First, Col Fenton helped distribute the soccer jerseys, soccer balls, some shoes, shin guards, etc.  Then we gave some candy and soccer balls to the boys.  They definitely tried to take all they could carry.  But they didn't look like they were wasting away, and they all seemed to have shoes on, except one kid was wearing sandals.

Some of them were excited to get their pictures taken, and I was called either "white face" or "white fish" numerous times.  Maybe both, who knows.  One of them also introduced himself as "Volleyball".  So there were definitely some amusing moments.  But it was really all just about dropping off the gear.  It was good to get out of the office, and socialize with a different set of people.  I've been around the people in my office so long that my tolerance is getting extremely low.  Pam and Rob are ok, but they're about the only ones I can stand to be around.  Rose isn't bad, but she's often just doing her own thing.  She also leaves in about a week, so it doesn't matter much.

Sigh.  But I will try to acquire some pictures from today's activities, and then post them.  A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say.   But for now, I'm off to bed!

Day 163

Today wasn't too exciting. I'm just stressing myself out over this
trip. So hopefully as the details work themselves out, I'll start to
feel better.

I had my hot chocolate, which was important. Then it was mostly
change after change throughout the day. The interesting diversions
started around 5pm. We all went over to the VIP room, and MG Rapp
promoted our immediate boss to COL. It's a pretty big deal to make it
to O-6, even if it's in the Army. But he was happy. DV's often give
coins, as you may have heard. What they do is put their coin in their
hand and then shake someone's hand to give it to the other person. I
saw MG Rapp do this to COL Millner. So I found a 0.50 euro coin in my
pocket, and I coined COL Millner too. I'm pretty sure he was thrilled
to receive it.

After dinner, I went back to the office a few minutes early, because I
needed to print out an itinerary for my drive team for the upcoming
visit. We were eventually going to sit down and go over it. But we
had left the door open when we went to dinner, because it was a
wonderfully warm 41 degrees today! So who did I find in our area?
The nice cat that keeps walking in. So I picked him up, put him on my
lap for a few minutes. He was very content to sit there too. But
eventually he was escorted out of the building. He is certainly
persistent.

Then a handful of us had to help out another office, and we had to
escort some Afghan ministers on the base here. So that involved
walking their cars from the gate to their destination, and then a
couple hours later, doing the reverse. Luckily it wasn't too cold
tonight.

Not too much else, really. I'm going to go on a mission tomorrow with
the drive teams. I'll tell everyone more about it tomorrow. Good
night!

Day 162

I woke up to another 6 inches of snow this morning.  It had started last night, but it was very light.  We certainly didn't expect any significant accumulation!  But don't worry, it warmed up today and it all melted.  There is still some snow around, but I think it'll be gone soon if the days keep getting warm.

I also learned about Quran disposal today.  Not that I could tell one apart from another Afghan book, but we're not even supposed to touch them.  Nor put anything on top of them.  I think propping your feet up on top of one is right out.

I nailed down a huge and critical portion of the itinerary for this next visit, so that was good.  The progress just goes so slowly, because I have to get consensus from 3 agencies for each change.  Very frustrating.  But in a couple weeks it'll all be over.

I had planned to go on a community relations mission tomorrow, but I don't think that's happening, go figure.  Something about an ungrateful nation wanting to kill us.  But hey, you can't fix stupid.

I'm really getting cynical about the whole mission here.  I already knew my job here was ridiculous.  Combat tourism, really.  But I have serious reservations about the infrastructure we've set up, and how long it will last when we leave.  I don't honestly think 10 years of our influence will cure 1000 years of doing business another way.  Corruption is a fact of life around here, and it's familiar to them.  If a religious item is more important than a life, then I can't help you.  Perhaps others are more optimistic, but I don't see it.

Well, time for bed.  We're now sleeping with our loaded guns next to the bed.  Per instructions...great.

Day 161

Today wasn't too bad, nor too good.  Just average I suppose.

I played a little Skyrim this morning, but not too long.  After that I got ready and dressed, and then I downloaded some movies and TV shows for later.

I got a wrap for lunch, put it in a box, and ate it at my desk in the office.  The wraps are good, and definitely more healthy than some of the options there.

My visit is coming along, but still giving me headaches as we work out the details.  I think everything will fall into place in the next two days, as we get input from the East Coast.

I helped some of our PSD team sort shirts, sweatshirts, pants, shin guards, soccer balls, toiletries, etc. for Afghan children.  Col Fenton befriended some local women who started an Afghan women soccer league.  But they are always in need of gear.  So I think some of the gear was donated, and some bought, but it's all going to them soon.  But we sorted it all into boxes, labeled the boxes, and I think I'll be going with the teams in a few days to drop the stuff off.  Hopefully it will be a rewarding experience.  Something good needs to come from this crappy country.

Well, not too much else to report.  I will hopefully have more good things to write tomorrow.

Day 160

Well today was interesting I guess.  I was pretty busy for most of the day, and didn't even check my normal websites!  Hopefully I'll get a few down minutes tomorrow.

We did take a peek outside today, and this is what we saw:



The one on top is the cat that keeps coming into our office.  Hopefully that answers Rose's question as to it's sex.  I can't say anything for sure about the cat on the bottom, but eh.  I agree it's a problem that they aren't spayed and neutered, but this was just funny.  Of all places, they chose the ceremonial grass in front of the headquarters building.  On display for all to see.

I had another meeting for my upcoming trip, and it was very productive again.  I think with certain collections of people, meetings can actually be productive.  So that's certainly good news.

Oh!  I got a couple things in the mail today.  One of my prior visitors managed to fly off with one of my VIP badges.  Well, today I received it in the mail, and also a coin.  So it was very nice that they thought of me, even if it was late.  I'm pleased.

I also received a package from Emili's Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Ralph!  Some tasty baked goods and rice crispy treats.  I've tasted them to make sure they were safe, and they're definitely good.

Well, I imagine most people have heard the news.  Things have been getting out of hand here in Kabul.  I don't want anyone to worry, because we are all quite safe here.  I can't wait to leave this place.

Day 159

Today wasn't too bad, really.  It was a sleep in day, so I watched Quantum of Solace.  I think I had seen bits and pieces of it, but it was good to see the whole thing.  I also downloaded all the James Bond movies, so that's cool.  I think I've filled up about a third of the new hard drive so far, which should provide lots of viewing pleasure when I get back.

Work was pretty average I think.  We did have another visit from our new office cat.  Someone else let him in this time!  But he really didn't want to go, so I petted him and gave him some treats.  He still wasn't interested in leaving (of course not, he got treats!), so I managed to pick him up.  He just reacted like any normal pet cat.  So he got cuddled a little and then taken outside.  Hopefully he'll keep coming back.  I think he'd make a good pet.

It's kind of funny about the cats.  In the span of 2 days, there are cats howling all over the place.  We're all thinking they're making their mating calls (though they don't sound that enticing).  Who knows, but they are certainly loud!

Canadian Brian is beginning the journey home tomorrow, and we had pizza as a group tonight.  I don't care much for him, but he did turn over possession of some nerf guns.  So we spent the evening shooting each other and trying to knock bottled waters over.  It's quite entertaining.  Gee, I wonder what happened to all my Nerf toys from my childhood.  Mom?  Care to comment?  (smile)



I'm actively working on two visits at the moment, the first of which is really more like 3 visits in one.  I will explain later, but suffice it to say that I have my hands full.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep them all straight in my head.  Well, I'm going to get some sleep.  Good work, sleep well, most likely kill you in the morning.

Day 158

Today was definitely smoother than yesterday, so that was a relief.  Unfortunately, I got the sad news that Helo's heart condition has worsened.  Emili took him for his appointment with the cardiologist, and his heart has really enlarged again.  The vet said this is about when the symptoms of congestive heart failure would normally be seen.  But I'm counting on his indomitable spirit to carry him on.  He's still so young!

Now, just to catch people up on some pictures I've taken:







And I finally got a coin from one of my visitors:





Not too much else going on here.  I managed to find q-tips, but I had to go to US Aid to find them.  Crazy.  I guess other countries don't believe in keeping their ears clean.  Hmm.  Well, good night and I will write more tomorrow.

Day 157

Today was a pretty crappy day.  It started off with the Action Officer in RC-S trying to put my General on the wrong flight.  The correct information was in the itinerary, AND I had specifically emailed him the information (and his boss).  No excuse for that at all.

Then we weren't allowed to drive anywhere, because of the dumbass soldiers to mis-treated the Korans.  So my party was stuck at the airport for a bit.  But it wasn't too big of a deal, because we worked out some teleconferences and moved some meetings.  But then my boss decided to just send the cars up to the airport to pick up the party, in the middle of whatever they were doing.  So that necessitated a third schedule for the day, and more calls to change plans on people.  Not my favorite thing to do.

In the end, he hit all but one of his meetings today, so it wasn't too bad.  Hopefully tomorrow is more uneventful, in terms of the schedule and travel.

While waiting for the party to return tonight, I found myself surrounded by 5 cats!  I knew 3 of them, but there were a couple new ones.  Some were definitely more skittish than others, but it was funny to see.  I also made sure Pumpkin got a good meal before I came back to the room tonight.  It is truly frigid outside right now, and I actually lost feeling in my right hand.  It was as if I had slept on it wrong, and it was completely asleep.  Crazy.

That's probably about it for today.  Tomorrow starts really early for me, so I'm going to sleep now.  Good night.

Day 156

Another day down, uneventfully.  I don't have much to report today, except for my lunch.  They recently added a "Wrap Bar" in the dining facility, so I made myself a wrap with some meats (unspecified), lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and some ceasar dressing.  It was quite tasty!

I spent a good portion of the day catching up on the Codecademy javascript lessons.  I certainly have a good enough foundation, but I had never really done any object oriented programming in Javascript.  So I'm learning a little bit, taking shortcuts here and there.  Just something to do.

I also read about toxoplasma in cats today, and I was surprised to hear how high the infection rates are.  I think our cats should be fine because they stay inside all the time, but it was crazy to read about.

Oh yes, and we can't walk to Eggers at the moment because of the backlash from some Army soldiers burning Qurans (Korans?).  In any case, they are basically ruining any relations we had with the Afghan people.  So that's always good.  I learned that the appropriate way to dispose of a Koran is to either bury it, or dispose of it in flowing water.  And no, I don't think urination counts as flowing waters.  I'm just anticipating the soldier's questions!

Pretty dull day otherwise.  I will write more tomorrow!

Day 155

Let me start off by telling a story about mold in the rooms. Last
Thursday, we had to have all roommates in our room because the
contractors were going to tear out the floor boards of our rooms
because they were all covered in mold. I believe I wrote that they
only took out the boards, and didn't replace anything.

Today we had to again be in the room at 0800. The contractors showed
up 10 minutes late. They didn't have any wood cut yet. They
mis-measured a couple times. This is good: the wood they installed
was wet. It had water and snow all over it. I'm sure that'll be good
for the mold problem. After they had installed 2 walls, they just
disappeared for 30 minutes. We looked all around the building, but
they were just gone! So the roommates and I chatted, got pretty
irritated, etc. They eventually showed up again and finished the last
2 walls, but it took an hour and a half. This was a ridiculously
simple job, and they wasted an hour and a half of our time just today!
We're pretty irritated, and I think we each went to the US Support
Element to complain.

I got some work done on itineraries, and I'm trying to reign in
control of the big one in March. Should be quite a story to tell when
I'm done with it.

Pam decided we were going to have a "Geek-Off" to determine who the
biggest geek was tonight. She had prepared a list of questions, and
once asked, we each wrote down our answer on a piece of paper. Of
course, I think her definition of geek was pretty different from mine,
but what can you do. She had fashion questions in there (of which I
got a couple correct), along with cars, people, sports,
computers/industry, etc. I think it ended up being pretty close
between LTC Millner and me. However, I answered the final question
correctly (for 10 points!). Who was Crispus Attucks? Not too bad! I
got a history question correct!

But that's about it for today. It started snowing pretty hard here
again tonight, so we'll see what tomorrow brings. Good night.

Day 154

Today will be a media day.  I have several pictures to share.

Today was pretty uneventful.  I watched Dinner for Schmucks, followed by Easy A.  Neither was a great movie, but they each had amusing moments.  If the days weren't so long, I don't think I'd want to be such a vegetable.

I had my meeting with people today, and we ironed out a few things which was good.  They each owe me a ton of information, so hopefully that will be forthcoming soon.  We need to get a good handle on this trip, or it has the potential to spin out of control.

Everything else today was pretty normal and average.  So here are some pictures now.  The first is a Navy poster that someone found yesterday.




The next pictures were from way back on New Years when we had the bonfire.  Someone finally shared pictures!  I'm feeding the fire in its early stages.



And it eventually got going really well!



So that's really it for today.  I'll write more tomorrow.  Good night.

Day 153

Today was also a pretty good day. I went to work as normal, did work
as normal. There are a couple trips happening at once, and I have my
hands in a few of them for various details. Hopefully they all work
out according to plan. I did get to go to a meeting at the Embassy
today, as the official JVB rep. That was kind of cool. I think I
answered the questions correctly, so that was good. Normally it's our
O-6 that goes, so it was a good responsibility for me.

I went to lunch with Rob, and met up with Gibb Gary there. We're all
pilots, so that's cool. I asked Gibb if he'd fly me and Emili down to
St. Lucia for our vacation, and he said maybe. And he was being
completely serious! I don't believe we can get our money back from
United, but it's a nice offer! It's fun to have friends in
interesting places.

Tonight, the JVB fielded a team in the quarterly ISAF HQ dodgeball
tournament. We came in 6th place. I'm not saying there were only 6
teams, but we got 6th, if you know what I mean. I seem to remember
being much better at this game when I was in elementary school. But
after we were eliminated, we went to the Tora Bora to have dinner. We
were in our PT clothing, so we couldn't go to the normal dining
facility. So I bought a ham and cheese sandwich, which was ok. I'm
not exactly sure the currency conversion was on the level, but we
needed to eat. But it was nice to socialize and relax a little bit.
We then went back to the office for a half hour's work, and then I
came back to the room.

Not too much else going on here. I think they're going to fix the
wood paneling in our rooms on Monday. But other than that, things
here are calm. I will write more tomorrow. Good night.

Day 152

Today was a pretty good day!

I started off by picking up laundry, which is always a good thing.  Then I met Aaron and his friends at the Bazaar.  Angela was a no-show.  But we walked around the tents and glanced at stuff.  The merchants are still too pushy to be comfortable with the shopping process, but it was about average for around here.  Eventually we made our way to the food tent.  There's one guy, with his family I think, and he cooks food there for people.  So for $10, I got lots of rice, beans, a couple kebabs, 3 dumplings, and a big thing of fresh naan bread.  It ended up being way more than I could eat, but it was all very good!  Perhaps not up to our sanitation standards, but it was good to try.  Even better, I don't feel sick in the slightest.

After that, I went to work again, and had some minimal progress on an itinerary.  I am not too stressed at this point, because most everything is in place, and we're still a few days away from execution.

Then I was bored, and realized that soap is good to have in the shower.  So Zuromski and I walked to Eggers so I could get some soap and a blanket at the PX.  After that, we grabbed dinner at a place called the Koala House.  It's still government/military food, so we didn't have to pay, which was good.  It is apparently where the Army Corps of Engineer people hang out.  It was nice because it was quiet and the hamburger was pretty good.  So I had lots of new food today, and I'm none the worse for wear.

I had a group of people request an office call of me today, which was pretty cool.  Funny, really.  But I will humor them and we'll meet on Sunday to talk about one of the upcoming trips.  Pumpkin got a dinner meal tonight, and she was pretty happy for that.  And on the way back, I saw Panda on the roof of a makeshift tent that someone put up.  The picture isn't great, but you can tell there is something on the roof!



Not too much else today.  Tomorrow is a normal day of work.  Good night.

Day 151

So guess what I still have in my room.  Lots of multi-colored colonies of mold.  The contractor showed up today, pulled out the moldy wood around the edges of the room at the floor, but didn't replace them.  Nor clean the areas.  AND!!  He wouldn't take down the wood of the window frame because that would be a different work order.  Gotta love contractors.  I found that I had mold all over the side of the comforter that faces the wall, and in moving my bed, my pillow fell into some mold.  So I took all those issued sheets back to the laundry, and they gave me new sheets, but they were out of comforters.  So I can go back tomorrow to get one if I want.  I might actually just forget it because at least now I don't have anything hanging down against the wall.  Sigh.  These are about the worst living conditions I've ever lived in.  At least on a ship the interior is generally climate controlled and all metal.  No mold.

Other than that, my DV's flight went through the system and was confirmed today, so that was a minor victory for me.  He's not a terribly high ranking person, so getting the flight was not the easiest task.  A few other things fell into place, so that was good.  I think his trip will be fine, as long as weather doesn't impact us too much.  There is snow in the forecast, but I think it'll be too warm to stick around too long.

I'm looking forward to getting some "street meat" tomorrow with Aaron and Angela at the Bazaar.  Hopefully it won't be too cold for that.  We have lots of stories to trade from the last few months.

Well that's about it for today.  I will write more tomorrow.

Day 150

Hard to believe I've been gone 150 days. 

My network is sucking, so this is an update on my phone.  Not too much new today.  I'm very happy that Helo and Ella are both doing better now.  Now I need to get through school so we can save money on pet care!

That's all I will write for now.  Hopefully the network will cooperate tomorrow.  Good night.

Day 149

I got off on the wrong foot today.  My trip planner back in the states lied to me about the status of the paperwork.  So I really don't foresee a dedicated flight for my DV.  He's just not important enough, unfortunately.  It doesn't help that his aid sucks at his job.

Anyway, here is the album from our snowball fight! Fun in the snow!

I did manage to download ~350MB of linux updates today during the day.  Now that I know I can just change the router mac address, I'm not too worried about the download limits.  It's still just extremely slow.

Here is a picture of Panda getting a drink.


I also snapped a picture of the mold in my window frame.  I hadn't seen orange mold until I came out here....


That's about it for today.  Not too much else going on.  I'll turn in my award paperwork tomorrow.  Good Night.