Day 118

Another snowy day!  And this time there was more of it!  I think we've gotten about 4-6 inches so far, and it's still snowing, though it has lightened up a bit.  We even had a bit of a snowball fight before dinner.  So that's been entertaining today.

I didn't do much work today, which was fine.  I'm still ok on all my trips.  I submitted some flight requests, but it's so far out there, my request is #001 for that day.  So that's kind of funny.

I did get in an argument with the guy that sits next to me, and he just got back from R&R.  Someone called me and asked about getting Afghan Visas, so they could fly home on a commercial flight.  I didn't know anything about that, so I gave her a number to the Embassy.  Then as soon as I got off the phone with her, he asks "Did you read that attachment I sent out a month ago about Visas?"  Obviously not (he sends lots of crap).  I was pretty upset with him, because I polled the room and asked if anyone could help, and he sat there quietly.  Not very cool.

So that's how I left work.  Anyhow, here's a picture from earlier.

Day 117

Again, today was just more of the same.  Still getting pretty irked at being micromanaged by my next trip's planners, but ehh.  The good news is that I think we'll be supported for the flight aspect, which is pretty critical.

What else.  Thurmond made it back today from his R&R vacation.  So now I have to listen to him again.  He's not a bad guy, but he always has his mouth full of something while talking, and every time he dials someone, he ends up coughing at them, sneezing at them, making horrid noises, etc.

But I think I'm officially at the 50% mark now.  I don't know how close to my official end date I'll go, but I'm sure it will be ballpark.  So halfway is good, but that still means a number of months ahead.  But hopefully they'll pass uneventfully.

Well, not too much to report.  I have another full day at work tomorrow.  Good Night.

Day 116

Today was neither good nor bad, it just was.  Nothing much to report.

Pumpkin got a few treats this morning, and I later saw her eating a pork chop that someone had either given to her, or put in the trash.  But she looked pleased with herself.

I worked on itineraries more, but I get less and less excited about the upcoming visits.  My next trip is being micro-managed, and I don't work well with that style of collaboration.  So it's turning me off a bit.

But I can share a little about my last visit now.  I had GEN(R) Keane out here for 10 days.  It was quite a long trip, as you could probably tell.  And as it turns out, he's listed as a terrorist on Interpol.  So that made it interesting for him to fly home.  But he wasn't arrested, and things seemed to work out fine for him.  Hopefully the trip met all expectations, because I know a lot of people put lots of work into it.  But he wasn't really as bad as the reputation that preceded him indicated.  So that was good news.

Other than that, I guess I'm looking to spending the morning in the room.  Relaxation time, which is always welcome.  Good night.

Day 115

Another day down.  That's about all I can say for it.  I just worked on 3 trips today, and started ironing out the details and whatnot.  It's really the whatnot that gets you.  It sneaks up on you and rears its ugly head at the last minute.  So nailing them down is important.

The first visit to occur is starting to drive me nuts because I'm making plans and getting meetings arranged, and as it turns out, another guy with the party is trying to do the same thing at the same time!  And he's not sharing information!  So the itinerary has shifted around a good bit today, and finally I told them I wasn't doing any more work on their itinerary until they stop messing with stuff.  So we'll see what happens.

Not too much otherwise.  It's pretty quiet in the office, because a few people have left, and another couple are on their vacation still.  So I would imagine it'll start getting noisy again in a few days.

Well, I think I'm going to call home now.  Signing off in Kabul.

Day 114

Today was an interesting day!  I slept in a little bit, which was nice.  I had a leisurely morning, and it included a massage.  Of course, I didn't realize until I was in the middle of it that I had forgotten my wallet.  Luckily the ladies there were understanding, and I ran back to the room really fast afterward.

Last night I came back and the network wasn't working in our room.  So today I talked to the Afghan guy who runs the networks here, and he said they just replaced a switch.  As it turns out, our room was mis-wired previously, and now it was working correctly.  So I had to plug into one of the correct ports.  But all is well, and it was a simple solution that I should have tried earlier.

I played Skyrim a great deal today.  While the details won't mean much to most people, it's quite entertaining.  I am getting sucked in, and it looks like there will be many many hours of gameplay still to come.

I also got a package today from Caroline!  Thank you very much for the card and the book "How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Cats?"  It's a cute book, and I think Helo, Ella, and Toonces will take away some life lessons from it!

That's really it for today.  I was pretty much a bum, and it was great!  I look forward to a few days of being a bum when I'm home again too!

Day 113

Another day to mark off the calendar. I woke up and was pretty
disappointed in the Steeler game outcome. It looks like they played
pretty poorly in the first half, so yeah. Seasons over now, so I'll
have to figure out which teams to cheer for.

I worked on a visit for Pam today, because she was stuck at Bagram for
most of the day. But she made it back around dinner time, so I handed
the folder and talked her through what I've done so far. I'm sure it
will be fine.

But I'm going to take advantage of a down day, and take the day off!
I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow morning, so that will be nice.
I don't know what I'll do all day, but I think I'll manage. I have
books, games, etc. Lots to do!

The bad thing is that the network isn't working in my room.
Apparently the guy who takes complaints in that department (an Afghan)
only works 8-3. What the heck?! So nothing will get fixed until
tomorrow at the earliest, I'd surmise. You see all these war movies
with soldiers talking on Skype to their families and the quality is
great. But it's all a lie. The network absolutely sucks out here.
The bandwidth is pitiful, and we have way too many people using it.
So I can't wait to get back to civilization.

Well, enough ranting for tonight. I'm going to go to sleep and wake
up refreshed!

Day 112

Today I finally sent my General off to Kuwait.  Hopefully he isn't arrested there.  More to follow once he's all the way home.

It was a pretty calm day, and it was somewhat productive.  I was in the office at about 7am, so I caught most of the Saints-Lions game.  It was a good game for the first half, but then things fell apart for the Lions.  

I worked on a visit a little bit, but lost interest.  I hope to hit it a little harder tomorrow.  I think I am just tired after the 10 day visit.  Oh!  One interesting tidbit of information I got yesterday was that my job is going to be filled by a civilian next.  I'm not sure who makes those decisions, but that's what's happening.  And there are already three applicants!  Crazy people, I say.  Since there are already applicants, it doesn't sound like I'll have to be extended in order to train them.  Heck, why not send them out now?

Anyway, not too much else going on.  Hopefully I'll head into work tomorrow and hear that the Steelers beat Denver, despite injuries and people sitting out the game.  Go Steelers!!