Hello all! For some reason, I can only access my blog page once or twice a week - I have my suspicions, but overall it's just a frustrating situation. SO! Big, busy week that just passed - planning for 20 pounds of flowers in a 5 pound vase so to speak and all from the lovely confines of Kandahar Air Base. Between the troops coming in and all the fire and rocket activity around here, I luckily didn't have to fly anywhere this week. However, it was the first time in a long time that I have spent an entire week on base. These days we refer to it as the low-rent, Federal Prison - without the conjugal visits, tennis courts, visitors or stock advice. I cannot, but will, speak for my co-workers in saying that everyone would like to get the hell out of here and soon - if just for 2 weeks! The monotony of living and working in the same space, combined with ... the monotony ... is making me impatient and stir crazy. I officially have less than 3 weeks before my vacation begins and I hope it will cure what ails me. Actually, in 3 weeks I will be in my own private rooftop pool, sipping on a cocktail and taking in the view - it doesn't even seem possible.
In order to deal with the sameness and boredom, I have resolved to try new things - all two of them - my options are limited, but I will say that I surprisingly like Yoga, and the Pump and Crunch kicked my behind. I was motivated to pursue new and interesting endeavors after learning that the shot we heard the other day was actually a young soldier who had recently arrived, putting a round through his own head. He did this in the middle of the day, right across the street. Very sad, and a reminder of how important it is to keep yourself focused, positive, busy and just how precious it all is. Also a reminder to watch and listen to what you hear and observe every day - people are going through all kinds of things while here and some don't handle it well. Therefore, lesson for the week - bad things happen, so make sure they don't happen to you! If that sounds callous, I truly apologize, but it takes so much energy to keep yourself focused and on top of your own game, that you have very little to give to those who may need or crave way too much.
All in all, this week culminated in my doing something rather odd for me - volunteering to spend a morning with children that were not relation nor the offspring of my friends. They didn't speak much, if any, English which seemed to be a plus too so I said to myself, "yea, I will go forth and enlighten the little children with my mad painting and puzzle assembly skillz - shizzizzle...". So, after a bumpy beginning, it ended up being a lot of fun. Unfortunately, no girls are allowed to go to the school - something I equate with the lack of electricity and western toilet usage capabilities - once the girls are allowed to be educated, this country should flower into a cultural hotbed complete with toilet facilities! The other issue is that it took a while for the kids to show up as compared to their normal arrival - something that didn't go unnoticed by the rest of us. Made for a nervous morning, but finally they all arrived. People don't show up here for work, to run their shops or for these schools if something bad is about to happen - they always know - so standing around a new school with no kids showing up was a little nerve jingling. Even though this school is on the base, it's right on the perimeter fence where the weekly bazaar is, so it wouldn't be difficult to hit. Luckily, that wasn't the plan and it ended up being a lot of fun.
Boys are boys no matter what country and culture they are from, I will tell you that! And some of them had decent English capabilities - my Pashto still isn't good enough to keep up with them. They called the women "MADAM" and kept singing Happy Birthday Canada - it was a bit weird, yes, but glitter and glue are universal and the little artists, con-men, flirts and sweethearts all showed themselves throughout the morning. Most Afghans from the area aren't able to write or read their own language so this school teaches them to do so and also some English. Although they can't write, they love pens, and will try to hustle you out of them every chance they get. I brought a ton of pens, but I doubt they got much joy out of them. The government does an excellent thing and that is buying many of our supplies and equipment from a company that employs individuals with particular types of disabilities - one group being those dealing with blindness who, by no odd coincidence, make our pens. The unfortunate thing is that the pens don't work very well, if at all, and it always strikes me as ironic. I value my vision, so I still think it's cool we buy from this company even if the result isn't perfect.
Today is a beautiful Sunday with only a few, biscuit shaped clouds in the sky - they are giving me the munchies. I plan to sit in a camping chair, on top of the picnic table, and try to even out my hillbilly tan - at least take it to the shorts and shoulder line. Reading an excellent book that was highly recommended called "Three Cups of Tea" - I am hoping to learn something. Hope you all enjoy your week - I plan to post more frequently as soon as the inerlet, lets me. I suspect they have been jamming the signals the last several weeks ... whatever.
Drink of the day - a Chrystal Carrington light mixture of peach and lemon-aid!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Back in the Game!
Finally. Finally I have enough bandwidth to access this site! It's been a crazy, busy week but combined with limited internet access, I've felt really cut-off. I also have a bad case of vacationitis to boot. I did receive some excellent items in the mail this week - St. Alphonso's T-shirts and also some Wine Festival wear in addition to DVDs, snacks and some high end facial treatment products. On that note, I am absolutely certain that I am the only customer of Arbonne who opened her package with a switchblade. But thank you for the constant thoughtfulness and generosity in the package department. You have no idea how much it settles and calms one to open a box of fun and be clearly reminded of those who sent it - that includes receiving the emails too! Working over here is certainly not for everyone and I often wonder if it's for me, but for the most part it's become "normal" - and then you remember you live in a tent and haven't seen ice in months. I do have it much, much better than the majority of the military here and I am aware of that every day - I worry about who will be injured or killed for what now is shaping up to be such a futile effort, and think of their families.
As for what's happening here - it's simply nuts. Work-wise, this whole troop surge situation is a cluster of confusion and too-many-chiefs syndrome. It has resulted in many interesting little trips for me, but not much being accomplished in the decision making realm and therefore nothing significant ending up on a map or in any written documents. I have to constantly remind myself to simply plug along and remember that this is the unusual experience I was hoping for - one that will hopefully result in captivating work for the next several years - in exotic places - and some much needed financial freedom. Big Picture, right? All of this would be pretty much a flake of poo on the bottom of my shoe if I were ending the day with a steaming hot bath in my air tub accompanied by a large goblet of wine and the company of loved ones, but alas, that is not the situation so I just power through it. I am simply caught up too much in the day to day and forgetting my big picture - one that is so cheery and bright (think Van Gough) that all of this will just eventually be an interesting conversation among friends and family over a savory dinner.
My family has high-tailed it out of town for the annual family vacation! Last year the theme was "catch with your face" after too many rousing games in the pool with the little ones and their Aunts and Uncles - no tears are allowed if you happen to take a shot in the face with a wet, NERF football - you simply have to learn how to catch it! This year I am missing out on the fun, but hope to be able to someday provide my own Florida haven for the family and friends to descend upon several times each year. Besides, the kids are getting one more solid year of good mental health without this particular Auntie there to inadvertently scar their little psyches with my boisterous displays of love, affection and commentary. They will be stronger for next year! I was, however, shocked to be informed that one niece - a pre-tween - has placed herself up for adoption solely to my brother and his wife. I have a feeling that's something my sister may take her up on in the next couple of years... that kid cracks me up and is certain to be a handful! I wish I were participating in the annual vacation event, but certainly plan to next year!
So today I am enjoying an odd day off thanks to having to fly out to a FOB on my official day off tomorrow. We are hosting a cookout later today which has me very curious as to what we are actually cooking and where it originated? I might finally enjoy the scent of food on the grill - I'm being cautiously optimistic but really hope it happens just like it was described! I feel like a member of a remote Amazonian tribe, confronted with the curiosity of that which is "different". If there are actual, totally real, steak or hotdogs that will literally be grilled, I am totally prepared to act out the Monolith Monkey scene from "2001: A Space Odyssey". Lets hope it happens - Oook Oook!
I hope the rest of you are enjoying now what is officially summer! The summer of 2010! I hope it's a good one for everyone and I wish I was enjoying mine at home - but alas, I am not so I will sign off now and go look at my checkbook to remind myself of why being here isn't really so bad~
Drink of the Day - Fake cold beer to be enjoyed around a real BBQ (hopefully)
As for what's happening here - it's simply nuts. Work-wise, this whole troop surge situation is a cluster of confusion and too-many-chiefs syndrome. It has resulted in many interesting little trips for me, but not much being accomplished in the decision making realm and therefore nothing significant ending up on a map or in any written documents. I have to constantly remind myself to simply plug along and remember that this is the unusual experience I was hoping for - one that will hopefully result in captivating work for the next several years - in exotic places - and some much needed financial freedom. Big Picture, right? All of this would be pretty much a flake of poo on the bottom of my shoe if I were ending the day with a steaming hot bath in my air tub accompanied by a large goblet of wine and the company of loved ones, but alas, that is not the situation so I just power through it. I am simply caught up too much in the day to day and forgetting my big picture - one that is so cheery and bright (think Van Gough) that all of this will just eventually be an interesting conversation among friends and family over a savory dinner.
My family has high-tailed it out of town for the annual family vacation! Last year the theme was "catch with your face" after too many rousing games in the pool with the little ones and their Aunts and Uncles - no tears are allowed if you happen to take a shot in the face with a wet, NERF football - you simply have to learn how to catch it! This year I am missing out on the fun, but hope to be able to someday provide my own Florida haven for the family and friends to descend upon several times each year. Besides, the kids are getting one more solid year of good mental health without this particular Auntie there to inadvertently scar their little psyches with my boisterous displays of love, affection and commentary. They will be stronger for next year! I was, however, shocked to be informed that one niece - a pre-tween - has placed herself up for adoption solely to my brother and his wife. I have a feeling that's something my sister may take her up on in the next couple of years... that kid cracks me up and is certain to be a handful! I wish I were participating in the annual vacation event, but certainly plan to next year!
So today I am enjoying an odd day off thanks to having to fly out to a FOB on my official day off tomorrow. We are hosting a cookout later today which has me very curious as to what we are actually cooking and where it originated? I might finally enjoy the scent of food on the grill - I'm being cautiously optimistic but really hope it happens just like it was described! I feel like a member of a remote Amazonian tribe, confronted with the curiosity of that which is "different". If there are actual, totally real, steak or hotdogs that will literally be grilled, I am totally prepared to act out the Monolith Monkey scene from "2001: A Space Odyssey". Lets hope it happens - Oook Oook!
I hope the rest of you are enjoying now what is officially summer! The summer of 2010! I hope it's a good one for everyone and I wish I was enjoying mine at home - but alas, I am not so I will sign off now and go look at my checkbook to remind myself of why being here isn't really so bad~
Drink of the Day - Fake cold beer to be enjoyed around a real BBQ (hopefully)
Friday, May 28, 2010
Gone with the Wind
I just returned from an military base version of the American trailer park. In all seriousness, I am back in my tent and still am somewhat in shock and awe at what I witnessed. I have never seen a more poorly planned, trash filled, supply skewering waste since I've been here. Garbage and debris just strewn everywhere, lame attempts at storing and organizing supplies, hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment and supplies dumped in piles and rendered practically useless. This FOB should have been up on blocks in someone's front yard with 3 or 4 dogs chained to it and a bunch of diapered, dirty toddlers running around it in bare feet. I don't know how we are going to make the existing portion work, but thankfully it's being expanded and that's shiny new land with no crap strewn around it ... yet. Really, it looked like a frat house on Sunday morning.
So, the bulk of the day was spent walking the site with the surveyors and making notes of how everything is utilized and what's there that's not reflected on the most recent map. Uhmm, the majority of the camp would go bye-bye if the ammo storage blew up, but I still attempted to sleep soundly just a few hundred yards from it. More on that in a minute... It was a long, hot day and we completed the last two hours in a sand storm. Wow, was I exfoliated! I am still cleaning dirt out of nooks and crannies and their nooks and crannies - it was amazing. I also tried my best to walk around, observe and take notes with my eyes shut and mouth closed, but as you can imagine, that didn't work very well. I also hate the feel of sand sticking to me, but I put my Howard Hughes tendencies in check and powered on.
Finally we had completed our task and everyone was bone tired. I retired to our assigned lodging with the female surveyor - own rooms, mattress still partially covered in plastic, relatively cool inside - things were looking up and we thought we were the only 2 in the 4 room building. Exhausted, I wasn't concerned about falling asleep until about 40 minutes after I laid down when the other tenant came home to roost. If slamming doors, knocking things over and being a general pig were an art form, then I was rooming next to Picasso. They way this woman sighed and heaved and threw herself around in her room, I would anticipate that she was roughly 500 lbs. After an evening of her belching and eating bags of chips, sighing and stomping around, she finally decided to give her cardiovascular system a break and go to bed. Right when I thought I might get just 2 or 3 hours of sleep, I realize she's taking the night train to Tootville. All night, an auditorium I hope I never see, made less than beautiful music. It was disgusting and just the perfect ending to a stellar day.
The next morning, the surveyor and i met up to wait for the helicopter and we couldn't even speak we were laughing so hard at how nasty that woman was - we were exhausted and overwhelmed by the whole experience. She fit her environment perfectly, whomever she was - neither of us got a glimpse of the Scarlett O'Air-a of the FOB, but with a digestive system like hers, she could have powered her own plantation. Tomorrow, a repeat performance at a new location but thankfully not an overnight - not that I have any control over that, so i always pack a toothbrush! I hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday Weekend - I will be thinking about you while I am wondering around on a dusty FOB for hours tomorrow, crafting a plan for the space (and thinking about what I can spell...).
Drink of the Evening - a peach tea to be enjoyed on the picnic table as the sun sets - pinkies up.
So, the bulk of the day was spent walking the site with the surveyors and making notes of how everything is utilized and what's there that's not reflected on the most recent map. Uhmm, the majority of the camp would go bye-bye if the ammo storage blew up, but I still attempted to sleep soundly just a few hundred yards from it. More on that in a minute... It was a long, hot day and we completed the last two hours in a sand storm. Wow, was I exfoliated! I am still cleaning dirt out of nooks and crannies and their nooks and crannies - it was amazing. I also tried my best to walk around, observe and take notes with my eyes shut and mouth closed, but as you can imagine, that didn't work very well. I also hate the feel of sand sticking to me, but I put my Howard Hughes tendencies in check and powered on.
Finally we had completed our task and everyone was bone tired. I retired to our assigned lodging with the female surveyor - own rooms, mattress still partially covered in plastic, relatively cool inside - things were looking up and we thought we were the only 2 in the 4 room building. Exhausted, I wasn't concerned about falling asleep until about 40 minutes after I laid down when the other tenant came home to roost. If slamming doors, knocking things over and being a general pig were an art form, then I was rooming next to Picasso. They way this woman sighed and heaved and threw herself around in her room, I would anticipate that she was roughly 500 lbs. After an evening of her belching and eating bags of chips, sighing and stomping around, she finally decided to give her cardiovascular system a break and go to bed. Right when I thought I might get just 2 or 3 hours of sleep, I realize she's taking the night train to Tootville. All night, an auditorium I hope I never see, made less than beautiful music. It was disgusting and just the perfect ending to a stellar day.
The next morning, the surveyor and i met up to wait for the helicopter and we couldn't even speak we were laughing so hard at how nasty that woman was - we were exhausted and overwhelmed by the whole experience. She fit her environment perfectly, whomever she was - neither of us got a glimpse of the Scarlett O'Air-a of the FOB, but with a digestive system like hers, she could have powered her own plantation. Tomorrow, a repeat performance at a new location but thankfully not an overnight - not that I have any control over that, so i always pack a toothbrush! I hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday Weekend - I will be thinking about you while I am wondering around on a dusty FOB for hours tomorrow, crafting a plan for the space (and thinking about what I can spell...).
Drink of the Evening - a peach tea to be enjoyed on the picnic table as the sun sets - pinkies up.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Road is a road is a road.
What an extremely busy past couple of days! Things here are really picking up as the surge approaches and it's screwing up my fun - no gym, sleep or decent food lately and it's taking a toll my friends. I would kill someone for fresh veggies that I had not seen earlier be touched by other's bare hands or the vacationing fly. I feel like a slug and the heat doesn't help! Maybe I simply am anxious to get out of this place for two entire weeks, but I've got to come up with a new program!
I really don't have anything new to add to the blog today. After this past weekend's events, I am pretty much tuckered out but finally not so jumpy. We have all been on edge a bit but it's getting back to normal here. People are just astounded at what we've read on-line or lack thereof - the reporting was wildly inaccurate and downplayed the entire situation if it was even reported at all. Really quite interesting and makes you wonder what's going on behind the scenes. I am thankful, however, to know how the contestants are doing on Dancing with the Stars and that Kim Kardashian once used Botox - truly fascinating stuff.
I just realized that this weekend is Memorial Day Weekend! At home, I really look forward to this weekend and the official beginning of summer. Cookouts, fun with friends and family. I don't know what they do here - maybe pretend it doesn't happen or something. We work and then get paid extra, so I will celebrate that while vacationing in a few weeks. I found myself greatly envying my friend here who has a horrible dental issue that is causing him great pain - he has to fly out for several days for dental treatment in Manas where he can drink the allotted 2 beers a day and even leave base to go into town! Now that the coup is over in that country, that could really be some fun! I can't think of anything that's wrong with me to justify such a trip, but believe me I am thinking hard. I hope I just didn't hex myself by typing that so I will try to correct any bad mojo by saying I am envious of a voluntary-or-minor-medical-issue trip out of here as everyday the possibility of something really nasty happening exists. I would also like to go on record with the mojo gods by adding that I would not like malaria nor any poisonous bites. This is kind of like a reverse Christmas list.
Tomorrow brings another trip off of base - if it's not cancelled as they have been quite often recently. I am really anxious for this trip and looking forward to it. I have been planning layouts of both bases without having seen them yet, so I am curious to see if what I am envisioning will work. I'm getting pretty good at this so far and have even developed a kind of signature for my FOB design - now I know you may be expecting something spectacular that could possibly be seen from space, but that's a bit too fancy - and mature. In addition to my unique approach to base layouts, I try to spell low-brow words with my roadways and building spacing. Think back to the early days of the calculator ... these are my little messages to the Taliban, but since they don't have planes (unless they borrow someone else's) they will never really enjoy my nuggets of insight spelled out in road. Nothing says I Hate You, like "EAT ASS" in road (thank you hilly terrain). This feat is made much easier by the fact that our land agreements rarely end up as squares or rectangles. Enough said about that. Oh yea, here's my new "international" number - hint; its written in "beghilos"...
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday weekend and get to enjoy and abundance of fruits an fresh veggies minus the Sally Struther's Army. It is Memorial Day and therefore somewhat of a somber occasion, but still a 3-day vacation nonetheless! I will be over here in the hero factory trying to do my small part while simultaneously day-dreaming of steaks on the grill. I hope everyone has a safe and fun upcoming weekend!
Drink of the night - an Ice Coffee, minus the ice - but chilled in the fridge!
I really don't have anything new to add to the blog today. After this past weekend's events, I am pretty much tuckered out but finally not so jumpy. We have all been on edge a bit but it's getting back to normal here. People are just astounded at what we've read on-line or lack thereof - the reporting was wildly inaccurate and downplayed the entire situation if it was even reported at all. Really quite interesting and makes you wonder what's going on behind the scenes. I am thankful, however, to know how the contestants are doing on Dancing with the Stars and that Kim Kardashian once used Botox - truly fascinating stuff.
I just realized that this weekend is Memorial Day Weekend! At home, I really look forward to this weekend and the official beginning of summer. Cookouts, fun with friends and family. I don't know what they do here - maybe pretend it doesn't happen or something. We work and then get paid extra, so I will celebrate that while vacationing in a few weeks. I found myself greatly envying my friend here who has a horrible dental issue that is causing him great pain - he has to fly out for several days for dental treatment in Manas where he can drink the allotted 2 beers a day and even leave base to go into town! Now that the coup is over in that country, that could really be some fun! I can't think of anything that's wrong with me to justify such a trip, but believe me I am thinking hard. I hope I just didn't hex myself by typing that so I will try to correct any bad mojo by saying I am envious of a voluntary-or-minor-medical-issue trip out of here as everyday the possibility of something really nasty happening exists. I would also like to go on record with the mojo gods by adding that I would not like malaria nor any poisonous bites. This is kind of like a reverse Christmas list.
Tomorrow brings another trip off of base - if it's not cancelled as they have been quite often recently. I am really anxious for this trip and looking forward to it. I have been planning layouts of both bases without having seen them yet, so I am curious to see if what I am envisioning will work. I'm getting pretty good at this so far and have even developed a kind of signature for my FOB design - now I know you may be expecting something spectacular that could possibly be seen from space, but that's a bit too fancy - and mature. In addition to my unique approach to base layouts, I try to spell low-brow words with my roadways and building spacing. Think back to the early days of the calculator ... these are my little messages to the Taliban, but since they don't have planes (unless they borrow someone else's) they will never really enjoy my nuggets of insight spelled out in road. Nothing says I Hate You, like "EAT ASS" in road (thank you hilly terrain). This feat is made much easier by the fact that our land agreements rarely end up as squares or rectangles. Enough said about that. Oh yea, here's my new "international" number - hint; its written in "beghilos"...
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday weekend and get to enjoy and abundance of fruits an fresh veggies minus the Sally Struther's Army. It is Memorial Day and therefore somewhat of a somber occasion, but still a 3-day vacation nonetheless! I will be over here in the hero factory trying to do my small part while simultaneously day-dreaming of steaks on the grill. I hope everyone has a safe and fun upcoming weekend!
Drink of the night - an Ice Coffee, minus the ice - but chilled in the fridge!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
An Unusual Saturday Night
Hello all! As many of you may know, or not, Kandahar Air Field was attacked last night for several hours. I'm never sure what makes the news, but what I did see on-line did not even come close to what was going on here. I'm certain that's purposeful and a combination of tactics to quell the Taliban and a decreasing focus domestically on this cluster-&%)#. I don't mind saying that while outwardly calm, I was extremely freaked by what was happening. I had an evening meeting with some military bigwigs to plan battalion placement for the surge - yes, it is interesting. However, that meeting put me in a bad location when the rocket attacks started and they were exploding all around us - one as close as roughly 50 - 70 yards. And yes, when things like that happen that close to you, your business end does pucker with fear! The good thing was that I was the only civilian with about 20 armed military personnel, holed up in an incredibly hot, dark bunker for roughly 4 and a half hours. Things were on fire, people running around with guns and threatening those who didn't identify themselves, the Bond-girl speaker alerts announcing "ground attack" and "serious situation", planes and helicopters overhead firing - it was really too much. Then there would be a lull for awhile, followed by more rocket attacks. The news said the Taliban was stopped from entering the base, but that's not what I heard from command which was more like perimeter breaches in at least 3 areas. That was the most frightening aspect - them on the ground and within the base - it's so dusty and was even more so after the rockets and fires that there was no way they could have been easily seen. So, finally we were allowed to leave the bunkers and head back - on top of all of it, I am also battling an intestinal issue that's been making it's way through our compound - that, combined with nerves and lack sleep has made the Hillbilly one exhausted, sick puppy. Thank goodness for a small library of horrible disaster movies! I would be interested in what you hear there on the news - the most detailed information I found was in the European press reports. So three, serious attacks in 1 week (and yes, Bagram was much worse than what was reported, but not as nasty as last night) - this is getting critical here. Scary business here folks and today there's kind of a lock-down. No leaving your area without your helmet and kevlar vest. Which is fine by me since I feel like poo and even my elbows and toes ache from this bug I have. Thailand is in just a few weeks so that thought makes me feel a hundred times better!
This is short because I'm simply just really spent and run down. Also kind of in disbelief at the events of last evening. I am filthy, covered with a layer of dust and dirt after marinating in sweat for hours and crawling around in a bunker - and completely do not give a shit - tired and sick wins over impeccable hygiene today. I hope you all are enjoying the weekend! Be safe in all you do.
Drink of the Day - clear liquids and peptobismal
This is short because I'm simply just really spent and run down. Also kind of in disbelief at the events of last evening. I am filthy, covered with a layer of dust and dirt after marinating in sweat for hours and crawling around in a bunker - and completely do not give a shit - tired and sick wins over impeccable hygiene today. I hope you all are enjoying the weekend! Be safe in all you do.
Drink of the Day - clear liquids and peptobismal
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