Day 24 - Gotta get clean somehow right?

Anyone have the case of the Mondays? It can get bad over here. We had a visitor today, cant say who but just know that he is quite a "Star" if you catch my drift. It was more of a walk through then a visit. The Marines had everything cleaned up and I have to say its funny to see Marines nervous. Luckily it was over quickly.

So I have to say, be happy to have the shower you have at home. Here we us Combat Showers. This is nothing more than a pressure hose with a high pressure end that fits in the palm of your hand, Then to use it you have to depress a but to on the side and hold it down. So in case our wondering, go out and turn you water hose on the high pressure setting and spray your more sensitive items with it. It's not pleasant at all. Oh did I mention there are 8 of these things lined up and as others use it the water gets cold? In the summer I may opt for a cold shower. After being away from my wife that long it will be a necessity! But for now, its cold out there, see my breath cold! So appreciate what you have. I for one miss free flowing water that i didn't have to get a hand cramp to use!

So when I got here I was so jet lagged I stopped working out. Today I restarted. It felt good to add something to my daily routine. Now I just need to start learning Latin.

Good Night all!

Chris

Day 23 - Another BBQ and a day of relaxation

So what does one do that is stuck in a small camp with nothing to do? Well, watch movies, hang out with co-workers, cleanup your area. That's about it. Toss in a computer game or two and there you have it. I spent the day doing exactly that. We have laundry service here so all you have to do is drop it off and pick it up later that day. You clean a fine layer of dust off of your stuff. This stuff truly does get everywhere. I may not be in my final room but I spent the day making what I have more comfortable. I wish I could say I slept in but when you get up between 4-6am everyday, you do it again on your day off.

So you may be wondering how someone all the way over here deals with Valentines Day? Simple, friends. I contacted Jim and asked him to run a delivery for me. I had him pickup a potted orchid and drop it off at the house. I had it all worked out, the wife would be gone for the day and when she got home I would director her to it. Alas, I miss calculated and my wife is House sitting for her parents in Titusville. So I had to settle to tell her about it. The roommate was able to bring it inside for her. Se was surprised, mainly because she feels its a commercial holiday that shouldn't exist. I know she feels this was, but hell, I love an excuse to do something for my wife. Granted she is right, don't wait for an over marketed day to tell the one you Love how you feel. Buy flowers because its Wednesday sometimes. Always let them know how much you love them. You never know when you will get to show it again.

Day 22 - You really call this work?

My work week is 6 days a week. Ten hours a day. I have the option of working 5, 12 hour days. I honestly don't because here I would not know what to do with two days off. Each day I check logs, make sure the servers are doing their job,and deal with any problems that come up. Sometimes my job can be very stressful and busy, other times it is slow and tedious. Today I find myself amused at my co-workers. They are working and doing their job, but it is much more relaxed. You can tell its about to be our day off.

Day 21 - BBQ

So here in canp KV here are ways to socialize. The main one is to throw a BBQ. Tonight I had the chance to go to the Seal's BBQ. Prime Rib, Crab legs, cake all hich tasted great. They had a nice bon fire going using pallets for firewood. It reminded me of my nights in Alaska when Brandan, Jim and I would snag a bunch of crates and meet some friends behind Flatop and have a bon fire of our own. There is something abot sitting around a raging fire that is very relaxing. Everyone telling their favorite stories. The smoke and embers flying up in the air. Tonight was fun. Oh and I witnessed a guy prove himself by eating a honeybun snack cake in less than a minute. Before you go, hey that's easy enough, the trick is that it was frozen. Yeah, frozen.

"Time to head to B-Ville"

Enjoy your weekend folks
Chris

Day 20 - Fiber!!! It's not just for breakfast anymore

Just another day. Granted it had some cool things I wanted to share with you all. First off, I got to sit in wit the Marines I work with as one of them taught a class on fiber. It was even hands on! We went over the basics, looked at the different cables the Marines use and then learned how to splice cable. I know, not that exciting for some of you, but I am a geek and this was cool. Plus, Dean (the guy teaching the class) is a Star Wars geek. Though, two things were brought up, one, I am the foremost expert on all things Star Wars. Second, I am the old man around here. With the exception of the Gunny Sergent, I am the old man on campus but at minimum of 2 years.

Tonight the sky was so clear. I haven't seen this many stars since i lived out in the country in Oklahoma. It is beautiful.

May Orion keep a watchful eye over us all.

Chris

Day 19 - Add Witty comment about the day here...

Today was the first normal day I have had in a while. Ge up get ready for work and have breakfast. Go to work and feel accomplished. Get done with work and work on a few things around my room. Enjoy some TV (pre recorded) and hit the sack at a descent hour. Not bad, I might finally be getting into the swing of things here.

Good night all
Chris

Day 18 - Sandstorm

Another day done. The guy I am replacing was planning on staying awhile for overlap, now he is ready to pack and go. It seems I already have the hang of things. Went spent the day building a server. I wish I could tell you its fun but it envolves large amounts of time waiting for the computer to ask you to hit next again. Gotta love it.

Today we had a sandstorm. I missed it coming in,I was told it looks like he scene in the Mummy when the storm sweeps up the plane. All I saw was the sky turn orange when I opened the door. It was very windy and hard to keep the sand out of your eyes and mouth. It wasn't to bad, I was able to walk to the mess hall and have lunch without any major issues.

I got to talk to the wife today. I am uplifted and can smile again. She mentioned that I was being upbeat on our calls and somber on my tone here. It's hard to say why, other than my emotions flow through the words I write. If I am down a bit when I write this, it shows. One could even say that maybe when on the phone I am putting on a strong act to keep people from worrying. Know this, there are times here where I laugh, joke, and play. There are times here where I cry, mope, and pout. It's not really any different than if I was at home. Life isn't horrible here, a bit boring but not horrible. I miss a lot of people and things about home. I am not suffering. Heck my laundry is even done for me. I just have to drop it off and pick it up. I get 3 solid meals a day if I choose. I have a simple job that allows me ample time to study and learn more about it. Most of all, I am able to support my family in a way that I couldn't do any other way right now.

Do not worry about me, be happy for me that I continue to have opportunity to live. The day that I cannot do that, worry.

Oh, Tony, the guy that I am replacing keeps trying to tell me it's going to snow here. What's that they say, "When Hell freezes over!"


Good Night All
Chris

Day 17 - First Day on the Job

Another day is finished. This one a bit more to do then the last few. I finally got to do some work. Nothing major to describe. Just a simple network full of servers for me to maintain. Another couple of days to work with the guy I am replacing.

A quick note about security. I have to be careful what I say here and in person. If I seem vague its for a good reason. The more specifics I say, the more anyone can read. Anyone being the bad guys. I know it sounds paranoid but its real. Better safe than sorry. If you want details, wait till I get back and buy me a beer.

On that not I have an address now. If you want to send me something, shoot me an email. I'll pass on the address and the rules then. There is a specific list of what cannot be sent to me. (No blow up dolls Jim!) There isn't anything I need and please don't feel obligated. But I know that there are some of you that have been asking.

On that note, I'm gonna get some sleep.

Good Night All

Day 16 - Another Lazy Day

Not much to say today. I sat in my temporary room most of it just playing on my computer. Tomorrow I start actually doing something productive. I also get to see how bad things are on my servers. It will be nice to have something to occupy my time with. These long days of nothing to do are getting to me. I miss my wife. She is in the forefront of my mind and I cant do much about it. I Love her. So with that, know that I do miss my friends, family, cats, dog, etc.

Good night
Chris

Day 15 - Jet Lagggggg

So I am here now and the travel is finally taking its toll. My body doesn't know whether I should sleep, eat, or what. I woke up after 12 hours of sleep and I'm in limbo. Its just after midnight. So I spent the day meeting people, learning the layout of the land and adjusting to my environment. The previous Sys Admin has a bad reputation so I am listening to what not to do. Right now my focus is to fit into the team that I will work with. I still don't have a space to call my own yet. I may not know for a week or so. So much of this feels like limbo. After affects of the hurry up and wait.

I passed out around 8pm. Hopefully I can get my internal clock reset by Monday.

Day 14 - Artoo, Artoo it is You!!!

So I found R2-D2. My trusty Droid friend greeted me at Camp Al Asad. The post office had made R2 shaped mailboxes and low and behold I found one they hadn't pulled out of service. I took a picture of him. I'll post it up later. So as I mentioned yesturday I started my trip at 1600. At Al Asad, I had to wait till the early morning to catch a flight out to Camp KV (Korean Village.) Since I had to be there so early and didnt want to lug the body anywhere like a tent accross the camp, I decided to just stay up. So this morning I flew in a helicopter over to my final duty station. This was my first helicopter ride. It was a very smooth ride. I expected worse and even had a barf bag with me just in case. I was solid though, I guess hanging out with the Marines is tuffin me up. Maybe not.

So here I am. I was given the grand tour by the guy I am replacing. Both of us have been up for too many hours. So Monday we will meet and start my job over here. I am now back in the Wild West, or maybe the Wild East... I will talk more about the camp later, for now I am going to go rest up.

"You came in that thing, you're braver than I thought!"
- Princess Leia

Day 13 - Wait, how many times do I need to change Planes?

So I managed to get a flight out of Kuwait. So my trip started at 1600 (4pm) getting a seat on the plane. So You check in, wait for a bus, get on a plane, then head to the next base. So I get to Camp TQ and repeat process. Did I mention I am carrying around 200 pounds of gear on me. A body would be easier to carry. So I leave Camp TQ in the evening and head to Camp Al Asad.

The planes I flew on were C-130s. Nothing new since I flew on them back when I was in the Army. Loud, vibrating, but I had a book and kept myself occupied.

Day 12 - Time to Try and Fly

So we manifested to go to our final duty station today. For me it was show up for the one shot that left that day and not get selected. Maybe better luck tomorrow. The problem with where I am going is that it is so small and out of the way, they dont fly there often. Joy.

I spent most of today repacking gear and fighting with the piss poor internet I paid for.

Day 11 - Kuwait City

So we went on a field trip today. ITT has an office in town so we went there. Another long set of powerpoints, joy. It was nice to be in a real building again not just another tent. Granted they were just teasing us about the Hard Rock visit. We had a home cooked meal which consisted of Fried Fish dirty rice and a few other things I can't identify and plan to keep it that way. Best to just try it and not ask to many questions. The car ride to and fro was scarry. All Florida Drivers and Tourists at Disney know how to drive compared to here. Between that and the video's I have seen of IEDs, I havent been this scared since the last time my wife drove me somewhere. (Sorry Honey, I had to.)

Tomorrow we find out when we fly. I have a long trip ahead of me, mainly due to the hoping I will have to do. So time to pack up and hope I get a flight tomorrow. Who knows, I may be stuck here for a bit. At least there is McDonalds.

Good Night all,
Chris

Day 10 - Camp Leisure

So after spending a few days here I have to say that they take good care of the troops in a place where all you can do is wait for your ride. Good food, Movies, activities, it all helps keep you from getting bored.

Tomorrow we head over to ITT's office and meet the bosses. It will be a day of PowerPoint and HR jargon. If all goes well we will start flying on Wednesday. They call stations like where I am going the wild west operations. How fitting i guess.

So I have started to see what freedoms I will miss. First off is Privacy. There is none here. You share a tent with 15 other guys. Second is security, see my previous statement. You have to carry your laptop or lock it up. Real pain. So enjoy your freedoms. I miss them already.

Well, I get to head into Kuwait City tomorrow. If I get lucky we will stop by the Hard Rock.

Love you guys!!!
Chris

Day 9 - Superbowl Sunday, err Monday?!?

So today has been weird. I didnt go to sleep till about 630 am local time. Finally woke up around 3pm. Started out with a 2 mile run. The shower facilities aren't bad. The mess hall is great! I had Sweet potatoe pie for dessert! I current;y live in Tent City. Just rows and rows of tents. Th facilites are trailers. There are some stores and the resturants I mentioned yesterday. I picked up an access card for internet for a while I am here. Granted I have to be in the MWR building to us it.

So I will be here till Wednesday or Thursday and then fly out to Camp KV. Today was a day to relax and the rest of the week will be more hurry up and wait. There is a USO tent and they have xbox and big screens for watching movies. I tried the free 15 min moral call but didnt have much luck calling. I'll try again later.

Tonight at 2300 hours is the super bowl. Well for back home 1pm. I will be sitting here next to a screen but sadly we dont get the commercials. My favorite part. Some one have beer for me while watching and post a comment here if there is a commercial i should watch. I will have to download them later.

So Sunday winds down for me, good night and enjoy the game.