Sunday, May 30, 2004

Yep, had yesterday off and did absolutely nothing. Kinda nice. Watched a few movies, laid out for a while, napped, but I didn't get any reading done, unfortunately.
A lot of people from my shop got moved around (a few to Structures and a few to the Dirt Boys), but luckily, I'm staying right here. I'm hoping this last month here will be fairly easy. I just want to ride out my time and get the hell outta dodge, know what I'm sayin'?
So, life in the desert is really dull and tedious and I guess I just don't have much to talk about. Next time I think of something really deep to write about, I'll be sure and post it. Until then, everyone's going to just have to be satisfied with these boring narratives of my boring daily life here in Iraq. That's about all for now. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

Thursday, May 27, 2004

It seems we can't have a normal week here in the 407th ECES (that's my unit here at Tallil). Just when things were starting to get back to normal and I was beginning to enjoy my time in the utilities shop, something happens and throws everything out of whack. It has been known for a while that the entire CE compound will be moving across the base in the coming months, but for some reason, our commander has a big hard-on for getting it done NOW. So even though the ROWPU reconstitution guys had been given three weeks to complete their task, now they have 6 days. This will only cause messiness and chaos. The commander has told us that every able-boddied utilities person will work 24 hour operations on getting this done. So ridiculous. Regardless, I'm finding it not so bothersome. All the little things that get in the way and frustrate people somehow seem to dodge me. God has given me patience and tolerance during my tenure here, and for this, I'm grateful. The only way I'm affected is I'm beginning to realize what a richard the commander is. Okay, I'm outtee. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

Monday, May 24, 2004

We've entered a new era here at Tallil Air Base, Iraq. The water plant has officially shut down; and while I once thought I'd be involved with the tear down and reconstitution of our equipment, I have now been directed to work directly out of the Utilities Shop. When I first heard about this, I got a little upset, but now I'm just dealing with it, and even discovering it's not that bad. I'm getting some social interaction with some new people and getting to see some of my friends working in other shops. So I guess a little variety is a good thing. Plus, now I'll be working in the shop, where the computers are, so maybe I'll get to e-mail people and update my blog a little more often.
I've developed a minor addiction here: Wint-O-Green Life Savers. Those things are like miniature donuts of heroin. I can't get enough.
My running routine has been temporarily put in hiatus. For some reason, all the treadmills at the gym have broken down, and I refuse to use one of those stupid cross trainer elliptical things or the stationary bike. The stairmaster is tempting, but it's much easier to just sleep in. When they fix the treadmills, I'll start running again.
I finished "Glamorama" last night, and tonight, I'll start "The Story We Find Ourselves In." I read the preface last night, and it looks quite interesting.
Anyway, lunch is about over, so I need to get back to work. I know everyone is wanting a picture of my long-gone mustache, but I don't have any digital ones. When I get back and have my film developed, everyone will have plenty of chances to point and laugh about my ridiculous facial hair. I hope everyone is doing well. I miss you all. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

Saturday, May 22, 2004

I've been listening to a lot of Nirvana lately. I've always been a fan, and still feel a little sadness when I think about Kurt's death. The most recent swell began about a week ago when I heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on the radio. I'd forgotten what a great song it was, and how unfortunate that it became such a cliche at the time. But hearing the lyrics again stirs up some strange emotions. "A mosquito, my libido." I think that's the part I feel the most. My sex drive drains me, causes me to think, say, and do the stupidest things. Craziness.
Other than that, things are going pretty well, I guess. I don't have a lot of good social interaction, though. I work with the same two guys every day at the water plant. I only get to hang out with Brad every three or four days, and even then it's only for a half hour or so. I'm not going to know what to do when I get around normal civilization again.
I'm almost done with "Glamorama." I think I'm going to start "The Story We Find Ourselves In" next. I'm not getting as much reading done as I'd hoped I would. It's day 52, and we've gone so far, but it seems like so long until the end. I'm so ready to be done with this place. Okay, I'm gonna get back to work. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

Saturday, May 15, 2004

Today is day #45 - the official half-way mark, and I guess I should be kind of excited about it, but something has been really bothering me this week. I was reading the news the other day and started hearing reports of all the Iraqi detainee abuse, and it was rather upsetting. But nothing could prepare me for looking at the pictures. Absolutely horrid. No wonder the people around here don't want us around. Anyway, I'm going to move on to something a little more light-hearted.
So...what's new around here? Well, I had an actual day off on Wednesday. It was great. I had an extra long run. I read. I ate pizza. I napped. A very relaxing day. Speaking of reading, I was reading "The Peaceable Kingdom," but it got a little too advanced for me, so now I'm reading "Glamorama" by Bret Easton Ellis. I'm still working at the water plant, and it's still anyone's guess when we'll get evicted. As I've mentioned before, I'm just going with the flow.
Hmmm. I know there are tons of things I wanted to write about, but I can't remember it now. I'm gonna get outta here. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

Sunday, May 09, 2004

Happy Mother's Day to all you hot mammas out there. I sent Momma Sutton some flowers, and I'm hoping to give her a call sometime today, but I think everyone else on base has the same agenda.
Good news: we are finally getting days off again. Mine will be Wednesday when I pledge to sleep all day long. Bad news: the contractors got all their paperwork finished and they'll be taking over the water plant any day now. Good news: we're almost at the half-way point. Bad news: it's getting crazy hot. Good news: we've all been scheduled to depart here on 1 July. On the way back to Misawa, we'll be traveling through Baltimore (which is great so I can see my buddies Dan and Ben) and Seattle (which is great so I can see Abby). Bad news: due to layovers and what-not, we'll be in the air on Independence Day. And, um, let's see....I'll try to end on good news: I got a super package from Abby a couple days ago. It had all kinds of goodies and a cool card in it. Thanks, Abs! Okay, I'm gonna get outta here. I hope everyone is doing well. I miss you all. Take care. No worries. God Bless.

Saturday, May 01, 2004

I've usually thought of myself as a pretty smart person, but lately, I'm beginning to realize how stupid I really am. It's not any one thing that has led me to this. It's just the more people I meet, the more I see how much there is out there, and how miniscule my knowledge of everything is.
Overall, it's been a good week. I started up a new routine of going to the gym in the morning. It's rough, but I feel good, so that's what counts. I'm running longer, faster, and farther than I was before. I get home at night, do a little reading, and then lights out. Today, however, I was thrown for a loop. The boss told me that I would most likely be coming out of the water plant pretty soon. And that really bums me out. He says he wants other guys to get some experience out there, and I guess I can understand that, but we've worked really hard to get things to where they are, and now that most of the big work is done, we're just maintaining, so someone else is going to get to slack off and get credit for all the work I did. It's just frustrating, I guess. I'm going to try to appeal, but I'm not sure how much good it will do.
Other than that, there's not much to report. We've had a few little wind storms here and there, but nothing as bad as last week. The best news is that I have one month down, and only two to go. I'm doing my best to keep a smile on my face. Take care. No worries. God Bless.