"Esse'" and I in front of our "ops" building
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
No longer comfortably warm??
I guess my little outpost in the desert isn't the Mecca of exciting news. Actually, the cool stuff seems to be coming from friends and family back home in the land of apple pie and air-conditioning. Yep, living the American dream. That's what Mark and Leslie Allen are doing---they just sent me a picture of a new house in Memphis and it's awesome. I'm jealous. And don't forget Chris Roark and Cristen....although he's too good to send me current photos of his new life in Nashville! Alex, I know what you're up to in Japan: Same thing I am...only you're in the Pacific and you get to use your nifty electronic Japanese toilet.
Maybe the heat's gettin' to me?!! It's only 128 degrees F. Or, maybe that was yesterday. Who knows what today's gonna be?
Actually, I am a little stir crazy in this place. The missions are still ok---but things are well beyond the classification of "Groundhog Day". Every day is the same. I don't even know what the day is without looking at my watch.
I can't wait to come back for Roark's wedding. I'll get to see so many people that it will be great.
The guys here are still doing well. In our "spare time"...we've been taking part in little competitions we devise. For example, some of the guys came up with this ping-pong bracket and had major match play rounds everyday to determine the ultimate pong champion. However, there were specific rules associated with the game. The rules come from the ILTC---the Iraqi Lawn and Tennis Club....our self-named organization. Rules were specific: you must be in official uniform when playing your match: all whites....white shorts, socks, shirt and a headband if you have it: as dorky as possible. Also, you must chug a "near beer" (non-alcoholic beer) prior to the match. There were some other crazy rules as well, but I won't get into them here.
I actually didn't play (since I would get crushed because I suck at ping pong) I'm heading up the "Tour de Balad"...a "mountain bike race" held in our living compound. 1 vs 1 heats designed to determine the best cyclist who can negotiate obstacles around our hooches, the chow hall, etc. I'm still trying to determine the uniform...but I think it will require combat boots and goggles.
Some of the guys kept their mustaches and continued to shave their heads. I chose to grow my hair back out (which is much better looking than bald--I think). Also, a few of the guys have taken to going to the pool. Yes, there is actually a pool here. It was built by the Iraqi's and is actually really nice. Apparently, this base used to be home of the Iraqi Air Force Training Academy and it includes an olympic sized pool. It truly is the ONLY nice thing here. I haven't made it there yet because of my flying schedule probably will later. A lot of the base is bombed out...and the buildings are crumbling with poor electricity and water--but I guess you can't ask for too much (at least we're not working out of a tent).
Hope things are well there--and stay in touch.
Ed
Maybe the heat's gettin' to me?!! It's only 128 degrees F. Or, maybe that was yesterday. Who knows what today's gonna be?
Actually, I am a little stir crazy in this place. The missions are still ok---but things are well beyond the classification of "Groundhog Day". Every day is the same. I don't even know what the day is without looking at my watch.
I can't wait to come back for Roark's wedding. I'll get to see so many people that it will be great.
The guys here are still doing well. In our "spare time"...we've been taking part in little competitions we devise. For example, some of the guys came up with this ping-pong bracket and had major match play rounds everyday to determine the ultimate pong champion. However, there were specific rules associated with the game. The rules come from the ILTC---the Iraqi Lawn and Tennis Club....our self-named organization. Rules were specific: you must be in official uniform when playing your match: all whites....white shorts, socks, shirt and a headband if you have it: as dorky as possible. Also, you must chug a "near beer" (non-alcoholic beer) prior to the match. There were some other crazy rules as well, but I won't get into them here.
I actually didn't play (since I would get crushed because I suck at ping pong) I'm heading up the "Tour de Balad"...a "mountain bike race" held in our living compound. 1 vs 1 heats designed to determine the best cyclist who can negotiate obstacles around our hooches, the chow hall, etc. I'm still trying to determine the uniform...but I think it will require combat boots and goggles.
Some of the guys kept their mustaches and continued to shave their heads. I chose to grow my hair back out (which is much better looking than bald--I think). Also, a few of the guys have taken to going to the pool. Yes, there is actually a pool here. It was built by the Iraqi's and is actually really nice. Apparently, this base used to be home of the Iraqi Air Force Training Academy and it includes an olympic sized pool. It truly is the ONLY nice thing here. I haven't made it there yet because of my flying schedule probably will later. A lot of the base is bombed out...and the buildings are crumbling with poor electricity and water--but I guess you can't ask for too much (at least we're not working out of a tent).
Hope things are well there--and stay in touch.
Ed
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