Toe'in the line

This will be short due to sheer exhaustion.  I had a very good day at work and think I'm finally  through with the intake and housekeeping issues that we all experience with new jobs.  I leave within a few days for my first forward operating base (FOB) project and will be there for a couple of weeks.  Looking forward to getting started.

Today was another beautiful day and most of the water is drying up which means ...  Sand. and Sand's little sidekick, Dust.  These two little delinquents get into everything and at one point today I thought they were stalking me - I just couldn't escape either of them and Sand and Dust seemed to be everywhere I was - they get worse as the day progresses.  They are working up the really bad attitude for the upcoming "120 days of Wind" - it's an annual Woodstock type festival for Sand and Dust.  Seriously, that's what they call it - it even sounds pretty.  However it's actually raging sand and dust filled wind that blows often with hurricane force - I can't wait - 120 days of shenanigans from these two!  Right now you can feel it in your eyes constantly and even coated on your teeth - your mouth just feels dry and dirty all day. When you walk back at night you are just coated in it, but it really makes the blue in my eyes stand out!  I am totally covering my head and face with a scarf and battening down the hatches with my motorcycles goggles.  It's a look that is certain to never be featured on any magazine covers, but you get practical very quickly here.  I am also either very tan in only two days, I'm dirtier than I thought,  or all this good, country livin' is pumping the O2 into my chassis - I think it's the altitude.

Anyhoo, I'm hitting the sack.  I walked several miles today, but it's not like actually walking - it's more a feat of navigation through chucks of gravel, mud pits, sand, other huge obstacles, giant military trucks, and a very small amount of evenly paved walkways.  Not the kind of stroll that allows for whistling and enjoying the scenery - we have to wear reflective belts to help be seen both day and night.  When I finally got back tonight I was beat and discovered that a couple of toenails were threatening to jump ship - not what I want to happen before I head out in the field.  I need a pedicure and to break my shoes in ... but my "money maker" is going to be rock hard after this!

Drink of the night - can of Diet Pepsi with a pull tab and Arabic writing on the other side - we feel confident the Arabic says Pepsi, but I think it may be something more like "Die you camel's sphincter!"