Time is FLYING!

I am definitely going through a period where time is flying (something like 120 days left!). It seems like it was just Christmas Day, and now it is New Year's Eve. I hope this continues for a while. I don't have much to say about Saddam's hanging except that, so far, it really hasn't changed anything about our daily lives - there have been no more and no less attacks on our FOB...business as usual.

Just when I thought I was almost done pulling Guard Duty, I went to a class yesterday to get briefed on pulling MORE Guard Duty. This time, we are pulling security at one of the gates surrounding our hangar. It has been closed since we got here because we didn't have enough people to guard it (and we still don't - trust me). The DFAC is almost right next door to the hangar, but the gate to get into our compound is ALLLLLLL the way around the other side. This gate opens up practically right in front of the DFAC and I guess the weather was getting too cold for the officers to keep walking that far way.

I am going to the Non-Commisioned Officer of the Quarter Board on Wednesday. This is where you go into a room, sit in a chair that is facing a table-full of senior NCOs, and they fire Army-based questions at you. It is pretty nerve wracking, especially since I have BARELY STUDIED any of the material yet. Yikes! If I win, I will get a Battalion Coin (the military is big on coins), a Certificate of Achievement from the Battalion Commander (not as impressive as it sounds), and a 4-day pass. The last time someone won the 4-day pass, they went to Qatar for the weekend. I guess they have a little base there with stuff to do. It would be a nice break!

Oh yeah, so tonight is New Years Eve? Means nothing to me out here; I will have already been sleeping for quite a few hours by midnight! I'll make up for it next year!

4 months left!

I checked the weather report this morning and it is 37 degrees in Baghdad. That is Fahrenheit, people! At least it hasn't been raining too much; just a sprinkle here and there.

Not too much else going on over here. The Battalion has been flooded with Christmas candies, snacks, and toiletries from nice people in the States. I don't think I'll need to buy gum for the rest of my life! I have still been donating platelets every week and have been able to recruit a few people from my unit to go down there, as well. I don't think I will volunteer at the hospital for a while; I feel bad, but it is getting too hard.

4 months left!

Christmas in Iraq

Christmas wasn't too bad. They tried to make it really nice for us here - the Chaplain had tons of boxes and stockings for everyone, courtesy of a school and church. The DFAC also decorated and, in Army tradition, the Officers served lunch behind the buffet.

My family also sent me Christmas presents, so I would have something to open on Christmas Day (thanks family!).

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Whoa

I had dinner with the Command Sergeant Major of the Army last night.....that's huge. Here he is, talking to us about the future of the Army:

In other news, it is cold enough this morning that I can't feel my fingers as I am typing and I can see my breath when I exhale...did I mention I am sitting in my OFFICE?!!? I need heat :(

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

How many Christmas trees can one Battalion fit in a building? This is the hallway inside the hangar, where all the cool people work (I'm not bitter...just because they all have heated offices and I am rubbing my hands together over a space heater in my "office"). There are only two in the picture (there is a little one WAYYY at the end of the hall), but there is another one behind me that didn't get in the shot.

The last time we were here, they told us to pack up our stuff and wait for our convoy escorts to arrive. It was about this time 3 years ago, actually. I remember that everyone was very excited, and even though the trucks were a couple of days late, our spirits were still high. A couple of days became a couple of weeks and, with all of our equipment packed up, we didn't have phones or Internet to call our families on Christmas Day. I think that was the hardest part of the whole deployment for me, ya know, besides people trying to kill us all the time.

Last night was the Carrie Underwood concert. I didn't get to go, but my soldier did, and she had a good time. I guess the performers told the soldiers that they experienced their first "combat landing" coming into our FOB. Hee Hee. Combat landings are fun, especially watching people in the plane that have never been through one before. When an airplane lands in a combat zone, they fly the plane erratically so it is harder to shoot down. Lots of sudden dips and turns and if you didn't know better, you'd think the plane was about to crash. My first combat landing happened when I was a Private, coming to Iraq the first time. It was in one of those planes that only fit like 4 or 5 people in it (I came out a little while after the Battalion did, so I had to fly from Savannah to Iraq by myself...like I wasn't nervous enough!). I was sitting directly behind the pilot and could clearly see out the big front window. It took about an hour to fly from Kuwait to my FOB back then, and after 3 days of traveling across several times zones, I was exhausted. I remember waking up and feeling like my head was about to explode (you know how you sometimes need to pop your ears when you fly? I was sleeping, so they stayed "un-popped"). I looked out the front window of the plane and all I saw was the ground coming straight for us! They were tail-spinning the plane to get closer to the ground faster, so they wouldn't get shot down. It scared the hell out of me.

American Idol Mor-tour

Ha ha, get it? Mor-tour, Mortar? Where do I come with up this stuff?!!? Um...k So I guess Carrie Underwood is coming here next week to sing for the troops. That's cool. I don't know what kind of music she sings, but I know she was on American Idol, hence my HILARIOUS pun. Chuck Norris was in country a couple of months ago, but I don't think he stopped by our FOB. Good old Donald Rumsfeld was here yesterday and actually walked through the female barracks to see how we were living. Unfortunately for me, I was at work (as usual) so I missed him. In fact, of all the celebrities that have come here while I was in country (Arnold Swarzeneggerjdhfs, Drew Carey, some cheerleaders, some country singers), I have not been able to see a single of of them. :(

The person who I realllllly want to see out here is the comedienne, Kathy Griffin. She is hysterical. I read CNN transcripts when I am bored; she was on Larry King the other day and just reading the transcript made me laugh. She is always over here, too - I just have missed her so far. I am definitely going to see her act when I get back to the States.

Something to Look Forward to

this is going to be me after I get back to the States and eat everything in sight

Here is a picture of our new hangar - it is going to be huge, considering the size of our planes. It is supposed to be done by the end of the month. I can't wait! That will also mean the end of guard duty! YAY

I am expecting 2 care packages from home - I hope there are bagels inside. That is my big thing out here - I eat at least one bagel everyday. Mark eats just as many as I do, so they go pretty fast. I bought a toaster over here with the European plugs and I get the little Philadelphia Cream Cheese packets from the DFAC (P.S. I like Thomas' New York Style Plain bagels, in case anyone wants to send me some).


If there is one constant theme in my thoughts, it is food. That is the main thing I miss from the States - I have been dreaming of Aussie Cheese Fries from the Outback Steakhouse for months now. I also miss cooking and baking, even though I am definitely still a beginner with the cooking. I can make some mean cupcakes, though! :)