Day 10 - 5 September 2012

The alarm went off around 0830 and I saw Meagan had sent me message that she had gone to bed. So, I went back to sleep. Woke up about 30 minutes before work, but made it just fine.

Had Subway for lunch, since I missed the DFAC. Nothing special really, just a roast beef sandwich.

Did a lot of organizing and cleaning up at the shop. There was a lot of stuff strung about, so we got it all squared away. Took a few calls at work to, so starting to blend in.

We went to the DFAC for dinner. It certainly wasn't the best, but the spaghetti, vegetable lasagna, and garlic bread wasn't too bad.

Got home from work and went to take a shower, only to realize that, in my worn out state late last night/early this morning, I had left my shampoo and dog tags in the shower. Not worried about the shampoo, but my tags have my social on them. Had a four letter thought and then went to see if they were turned in. The guy said he'll check with the cleaning supervisor tomorrow. I sure hope I find them!

Still awake from the stress of losing my tags, but need to get to sleep. It's 2347 and I want to talk to the kids before they go to bed. So, I am going to try getting some sleep. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day...

Day 9 - 4 September 2012

Woke up this morning at 0630 hoping the internet was back up so I could talk to Taylor and do the "night, night stuff" with him. Unfortunately, it has been down since yesterday and I have no idea when we will get it back. I hit snooze on the alarm about 5 times and likely kept stirring my sleeping roommate every 10 minutes. I finally gave up, got up and around, and dropped off my first load of laundry. I didn't really need to drop it off, but they say it takes about four days to get it back. Wish we had a way to do our own.

Went to the USO and saw some updates Meagan had posted. I'm glad she can keep everyone in the know when I can't! I came over to the coffee shop to see if the WiFi was back up and it appears to be working. Apparently, there was a cable cut somewhere. So, now I'm trying to post yesterday's message. Getting ready to go see about breakfast...

Decided I would just have an energy bar for breakfast. It's already 1000 and I need to get over to the BX at some point before work. I have to pick up a patch and check on a couple of things. I'm thinking about getting a regular razor. I have a nice little battery-powered one, but it just doesn't do very well around my neck. So, I may look into that.

Finished up at the BX. They didn't have the razor I wanted (Gillette Fusion), so I decided to forego that for now; perhaps later. I do have a razor in my USO care package that I've been using, so that should suffice for now. I suppose I should start heading towards work. I was told I didn't need to come in until later; however, what else am I really going to do? I would like to plan a mountain stream fishing excursion, but I've heard that is a high-risk activity here... ;)

Got to work, but really not much happening at the moment. The morning was busy, as a few of the guys went off to varying parts of the countryside to work on varying degrees of equipment and issues. We headed to lunch, since not much was happening.

Lunch was pretty good today. I had fried cabbage, mashed potatoes and gravy, and prime rib (I know, I'm spoiled). I also saw they had an Afghani food station set up, so I tried some rice. It was actually VERY good! The chicken looked awesome, but I didn't think the cauliflower looked very appeasing. I topped it off with a piece of pecan pie; my weakness!

Not really much happening today. We've fielded a lot of phone calls from various places, but fairly quite I suppose. Of course, I'm not sure what normal is like here yet...

Off to dinner! I had the Afghani rice and chicken wrapped in a tortilla, salad, and some beets. The chicken and rice in the tortilla was fantastic! I hope they have that again soon, because I would definitely eat more of it! It's kind of like a cross between Mexican seasoning and curry; hard to explain, really.

Tonight I helped a former student and classmate with a weather sensor they will be installing somewhere...no, seriously, I have NO idea where. It's quite a setup, but I've been told it only has a service life of one year; so, this is a replacement. The cool thing? It actually does a snow depth measurement! Yes, I'm a weather geek, so I find that rather awesome...

I stopped by the coffee shop on my way home tonight. I received my first "Cup of Joe for a Joe" coupon this morning. It's pretty cool and I sent the family a thank you note back! You essentially get a $2 credit at the coffee shop for a free drink of $2 or less; or, you can use it as a credit for a drink costing more than $2. I had an OUTSTANDING Mocha Frappe...

Well, I'm on my way to the gym for the first time in over a week. I took some Theraflu last night and my congestion feels a lot better. I think I'm safe to try running. I am going to take more tonight, just to keep everything cleared up. The dust wasn't too bad today, but I certainly don't want to get terribly congested. Later tonight (0200 here; 1630 Eastern), I'm planning on talking to Meagan and the kiddos; can't wait! :)

Back from the gym and off to the shower. Then, perhaps I will head over to the USO or the MWR facility. I really haven't been over there at all; just once. A couple of the guys venture over there now and again to play games. Quite frankly, I'm surprise I don't have gaming withdrawals yet... ;)

Yahoo! Messenger on Android

Had a good chat with Meagan and kiddos! Emma likes to play hide and seek with the cameras. She was all sorts of giggles the other night! Taylor, well, he didn't have much to talk about. I'm just happy I get to see all three of them and we usually have smiles!

Day 8 - 3 September 2012

I was finally able to get some sleep last night! I got about 7 hours total...feel MUCH better. I was able to chat with Meagan a little bit and even listen to some of the race on iHeartRadio; turned it off when Jimmie was wrecked. Then, I headed over to Green Bean Coffee before going to the USO to call Meagan.

I haven't had a cup of coffee in a while, so I went to get just a regular cup, nothing fancy. While waiting in line, I saw a sign for their "Cup of Joe for a Joe" campaign (http://www.greenbeanscoffee.com). It's actually a great thing they do, allowing Americans to donate free coffee to support the troops. I signed up and now just wait to be allocated a free cup! Very cool!

I was a little disappointed to find the USO closed when I got here, but now know they do so every day. So, I headed back over to the coffee shop to chat with Meagan. I feel bad about keeping her up so late, but it was sure good to see her face and hear her voice!

I went back to the USO, set up this blog, then headed to my room to update it. I certainly won't post any critical information...that's just plain stupid. But, I will use it to keep my journal of thoughts, feelings, and as a reminder of my time away from home.

Lunch was delicious! I had a chef salad and chased it down with a cheeseburger! I know, I know...hard life, right?

Today is killing my sinuses. The wind is blowing pretty strong and dust is flying everywhere! I'm going to have to remember to bring the allergy stuff home from work with me tonight!

Ready to Roll

Somewhat of a busier day today. Was able to get access to the shop. I also set up my Eagle Cash card. Basically, it's a debit card you can use here. So, I can transfer, say, $20 a month for my use. There are no coins here and I really don't want to bring home a stack of paper pogs they use in their place. I also set up my armor. It was kind of surreal, but threats are out there and we have to be ready!

Dinner was pretty good. I had a side salad with sweet and sour pork over rice, a roll, and some fruit cocktail.

Yeah, I buzzed it...

I can't wait to talk to the family tonight! It may be quick, as I think I have to start work a little earlier tomorrow. Plus, I threw the decongestant in my bag so I can take it tonight. This dust is killer! Smoking doesn't help either, but I'm working on that...

I called Meagan and talked for a little more than 30 minutes. We're hoping to video chat later, but the internet is down, so we'll see. In the meantime, before bed, I buzzed my head with a no. 1 guard. Should keep the temperature down on the head a bit!

Day 7 - 2 September 2012

Got up today around 0830...so, I am certainly dragging a bit. I didn't have to head into work until mid-afternoon, so I was able to take a short nap after lunch. Lunch was AWESOME! We had BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn.

At lunch, I met my squadron leadership. Get this: ALL students of mine earlier in the year! Hopefully I didn't leave a bad impression with them! ;) All in all, I have seen about 10-12 guys whom I've met/taught over the past year, so it's great to see some familiar faces I am working alongside! I sat down with my Commander after lunch for about 15 minutes. He gave me the low-down on how we roll and gave me my patches; I know longer feel like the FNG! :)

Training is continual, as I am spinning up for the first of many trips soon. I believe we are going to go pack up a system, but not sure. Still crazy to think I have completed my first week in the blink of an eye...only 25 more to go (or thereabouts)!

I called Grandma tonight. She is still quite amazed that we are able to call home. She remembers when Grandpa was serving in Europe during World War II, their only means of communication was via mail. I told here it is amazing how far technology has come in the six years since my last deployment, as I am now able to video chat with Meagan and the kids from my room! We have WiFi here, which isn't the greatest, but for $38/month, I can take it with me when I travel. Some, not all, of the bases have the same service. So, that will be nice!

I'm off to bed now...want to talk to Meagan and the kids, but I'm just too tired. The race starts in a few hours and I would love to try watching it somewhere, but my lack of sleep is starting to catch up to me. Hopefully, I can get more than two or three hours of sleep tonight!

Day 6 - 1 September 2012

I got up early this morning to talk to Meagan and the kids on Yahoo! Messenger again. I'm still hoping to get on a flight, but won't know until later. We went to breakfast and I had two omelette sandwiches again, before heading over to the terminal.

We checked in at the terminal and had to wait a bit, but I am on a flight! I'm sad for some reason; perhaps leaving another friendly face behind or fear of the unknown. But, the good news is that I'm on my way to my final destination!

I arrived here in Afghanistan mid-afternoon. It's a little warm, but really no humidity. I'm back in a dust bowl, that's for sure! I was able to get my bags to my room, but just dropped them off; don't want to wake my roommates up. I have two of them, so it is cramped quarters!

My second roommate left for his shift, so I was at least able to unpack all of my things. I have no sheets, as I didn't see the requirement anywhere; my poncho liner and blanket will have to suffice for now!

I laid down to try getting some sleep, but only able to sleep for a couple of hours. I got up and decided to rearrange my wall locker a bit, hoping it would tire me out. Instead, I am wide awake, so I'm headed to the USO on base for a bit.

I got back from the USO and decided to video chat with Meagan and the kids. My emotions finally hit their max and I lost it. I just couldn't keep from sobbing as I was talking to the three of them. Meagan assured me it would be ok, but we both agree that we need to get the feelings out; I certainly felt better! I was finally able to get to sleep around 0330...LONG day!

Day 5 - 31 August 2012

Well, I'm still trying to get a flight, so we'll check again today. For breakfast, I had a mushroom, cheese, and onion omelette that I cut in half and made two English muffin sandwiches out of; very good! We went and looked at the schedule and I may be able to move out tonight. In the meantime, we're going to do some system inventories.

No luck on getting a flight out today, as none were taking passengers. So, we headed back to the tent to get some beers. We decided to try Carlsberg this time and it was pretty darn good. I had a Guinness before we went to the terminal, as I wanted to enjoy a great beverage before I can't for a while. I guess with no flights available, we decided to have more!

I was able to get my phone on the WiFi and video chat with Meagan and the kids! So great to see their faces and hear them talk. It's amazing how far technology has come. It makes being apart a little bit more bearable.

We'll try for a flight tomorrow...

Day 4 - 30 August 2012

We landed in Qatar around 1:00am local time. When I heard I was getting here so late/early, I was pretty stoked. I figured the heat would not be bad; boy, was I wrong! On approach, the pilot said the temperature was 93F. Yes, it was a sauna! Fortunately, I didn't have to sling bags this time.

We in-processed the base and customs, a 2 1/2 hour ordeal, before we were released to get on base. I finally got out of there around 3:45am local and was met by a good friend, Todd. He's a great guy with a great sense of humor, so it was good to have a friendly face to share a talk and laugh with. He made the rough day seem not so bad, given the circumstances. In fact, he allowed me to crash in his room versus the transient tent ordeal, so that was GREAT!

We headed over to the office for a bit, so I could eat a sandwich and call home. It sure was good to hear their voices, even if Emma just seemed to hold onto it and not talk too much. After that, we went back so I could change into some PT gear and waited until time for breakfast.

Breakfast wasn't too bad. I had some scrambled eggs and a biscuit with gravy. I'm certainly glad the eggs tasted better than they looked. They looked like a bad mashed potato muck up, but were actually very tasty! After breakfast, we headed back to the office. 

Todd offered to take me over to the dorms so I could take a nap, but we had a delivery to pick up, so I told him I would help with that first. I did a load of laundry and managed to get maybe a 45 minute to hour nap in. Still, better than nothing!

For lunch, I had some fried wings and jaegerschnitzel. It was pretty darn good! After lunch, I had to turn in some paperwork and then we headed back to the room to relax a bit before dinner.

Dinner was pretty good. I had some chicken and asparagus, if I remember right. We were waiting for some paperwork to get a flight out, so we'll try again tomorrow. After dinner, we went to the bar and enjoyed a Guinness and a "Frank" at the Fox Sports area; both GREAT beers!

Still hurting thinking about leaving my three special people behind, but coping the best I can...