Friday Night!

Happy Friday Night!  Today was sunny and hot, with a side of dust.  I hear it's warming up quite nicely where the rest of you are as well.  I spent most of the day in my tent fighting was appears to be a nasty cold or flu coming on.  All the usual suspects showed up - head and body aches, chills and general malaise. I hope I beat this because I don't want to feel this way here or ruin my day off on Sunday.  Being down for the count did afford me the opportunity to watch a few movies I borrowed from a co-worker.  Some Kubrick, an action trilogy and one of my favorites - The Breakfast Club.  I didn't realize how much I liked that movie until I watched it again - brought me immediately back to high school and college - also made me wonder what in the hell happened to the Brat Pack and their acting careers???  The music was excellent to...  Judd Nelson had the stoner look down way before Keneau.  Didn't John Hughes recently pass?  Anyway, it was a nice refresher on how we are all different but similar just the same - point noted Molly Ringwald!

I am once again giddy with the anticipation of a day off - today doesn't count because I feel like crap - but Sunday is right around the corner!  I'm hoping to kick this cold in the butt and get to the business of enjoying some poker and a long trip to the gym.  I'm getting much better at poker, but need to remember to keep changing up my technique because they are catching on to my bluffing schedule!  Hopefully this game night won't be ruined by rocket attacks - it's been oddly quiet this week where that's concerned - makes me paranoid because all we hear is about how the Taliban is planning their big offensive in this region.  Hope it hits when I'm here and not on one of those little FOBs - if it happens at all.  We have some big things planned as well so it's sure to be interesting in the next few months.

I am getting ready to ramp up for a big project and simultaneously excited and scared of it - it's in an interesting location near here and is actually a multitude of several small projects within one city.  I heard some absolutely incredible stories yesterday from a few LTs I have become friends with here - they were out checking out some of these sites we are gong to be planning - some are just small check points and some actually FOBs.  At a few, the Afghan guards were high as kites - they have a plethora of things they smoke, chew and sniff over here - but at one, it just sounded hideous as hell.  I will have to study my pics of that site more closely because I haven't been to it and don't think I want to - they said the smell was "peculiar" and that it was coming from a partially covered, unfinished basement next to the guard house - the translator asked them about it and they simply said it was where the Taliban "put things" - apparently they also "put things" there.  In the back of the guard shack, next to this basement was a human femur bone just laying there in the open.  Obviously the "things" in that basement are people in various states of decomposition.  I mean, I am not naive, but this is just absolutely disgusting and an abject disregard for human life.  I think it greatly disturbed not only the LTs telling the story but also the small group to whom it was being told.  All I can say is there must be many families wondering where those people are and they're actually in some festering hole all part of a macabre people-soup.  It's just sad.

On a brighter note, the next couple of days bring some significant events for a few people - my Dad turns 70 - Happy Birthday old man! And my oldest nephew turns 7 and lost his first tooth. I think it's 7, but I know my sister wouldn't let the kids anywhere near my blog so if I'm wrong, he will never know! I was informed that my other nephew has graduated from his sippy cup, but hasn't yet come to peace with that move. And I hear that there's some kind of church related confirmation this weekend for my oldest niece - very sorry to have to miss that one ...  I also want to extend a shout-out to Tina who I hope was sprung from the hospital and is now in her own home incubating some babies for the next few weeks.  And finally to my oldest and dearest friend who just has to get through 2 more long weeks before that husband moves out and she can put an X in front of that word!  Hang in there Ang and get ready to enjoy life again!  It's also May Fest in Covington - I am truly sad not to be there as I love walking down the street to those and drinking beer all night with good friends in the middle of a crowd of crazies!  Excellent people watching too - please enjoy it a little extra on my behalf!

I know this has not been a week of very entertaining blogs and now that I'm actually sick I know why - this lingering cootie must have kept me down for the count and not feeling very entertaining.  I would kill to have my cats on the bed, my fluffy pillows and be at home sleeping with the windows open but that's not going to happen for a bit so I'll settle with what I've created here - a rustic menagerie of random comforts that i've pieced together and call home!  Whatever, but at least I have a ton of night-time cold meds and clean sheets - I'm on my favorite sheet rotation as of today.  Lord I love a high thread count!

Drink of the night - an assortment of thera-flu, hot tea and chicken broth.