Smashmouth, fight night, and red air

22FEB2011- Well, its been awhile since I blogged. On Feb13 we had Smashmouth come to Adder. They were pretty entertaining and I knew quite a few songs. Some of the Soldiers here are in a band and they got to open for them. It was sort of a last minute thing but that had to be cool. Steve the leader singer was real cool. Got a Soldier onstage and made him push. And overall a good entertainer.

Then on 19FEB we had another UFC-style fight. I would say there was about 20 differnt fights and this time there were 2 female fights. I would say they were the most interesting. I don't have any of those pics yet but I will get some and post them.

We also went to the driving range and hit a few golf balls. They had this closest to the pin challenge but I didn't do that.

Then on a few days we had "red air". You can't really tell from the pics but it was really dusty out. Not a sandstorm but just real dusty .

What else, food is starting to suck. Not sure if its just getting old or what. But it all taste the same and getting boring.

R&R - Doha, Qatar

I left for my 4 day R&R last Sunday (16Jan). I am not allowed to talk about specific travel plans or take pictures of planes or buses we rode in, or the base in Qatar. We were allowed to wear civilian clothes and told not to wear anything with military insignia, USA flags, and basically wear conservative clothes. Everything else is ok. Due to layover it took about 2 days to get to Qatar. We arrived on Tuesday morning but that day is day 0. We stayed in warehouse type building which I called "Sam's Club". Officers had their own quarters. Which were trailers or Pods stacked two high. There were two beds in each pod, but we only had 1 person per pod. Enlisted Soldiers were in smaller rooms, with maybe ten beds in the same warehouse. Also, bathrooms, showers, and laundry were in the same building, which was a nice change. It was a short walk to the USO and MWR building where all the activities were held. In there was the computer lab, movie room, briefings, snacks, and restaurant. Everyday they had like 2-3 events or venues to chose from. They had mall trips, fishing trips, river cruise, inland tour, city tour, and soccer games. Some were free others were maybe $15-30 per event. We were allowed 3 beers a day and they kept track of how many you had. They had a good variety of beers and a few wine coolers. Beers were about $5-6. On base we could use dollars or our eagle cash card. But in the city we used Riyals, one dollar to every 3 riyals. The next day I went on a mall trip to Villagio. It was American-style mall but had a ice skating rink, small amusement park, and Italian-style gondola river. They had a valet parking out front with a Ferrari outside. People from all cultures were there. Women in their burka's. We were told not to look at the females or their children. At the KFC, one female Soldier was in line for 15 minutes and when she got to the front, the cashier said he could not help since she was female and had to go to the female only line. The food was great and did not eat the DFAC (military dining) once. At night we went on Doha city cruise. It was a wooden boat and we cruised about a hour along the city line and then anchored and they had a dinner buffet for us. The next day, we went on a city tour and went to a Muslim artifact museum. The building itself was cool and the artifacts were neat. They were holding the Asian World Cup in Qatar. We went to a game that night. It was Uzbekistan v Jordan, Jordan won 2-1. The final day, I went on a Inland tour. We were on the Persian Gulf. We were taken out in SUVs. And we stopped at a beach front where they had a nice little setup. They had camel rides, sand dune boarding, volleyball, swimming, ping pong, lunch buffet, hookah, and tables to just sit and relax. That was basically my R&R overall a good time in Qatar. Finally made it back to Adder 27 January.

Ziggurat of Ur

15JAn2011 - Today we went on a tour of Ziggurat of Ur. It was built in the Mesopotamian era in the 6th century BC. They built these structures to get closer to God. We had to get up early for this and the weather was a bit a challenging but we got through it. It started out with rain and then was just overcast. The structure was covered by sand but Saddam Hussein excavated back in the day. The Pope was suppose to make a visit in the 1990s but Saddam would not provide security. Overall a fun day.

Weather update

12Jan2011- Its gotten cold here! Highs during the days is in the low 60s and lows in the 30s! I know its snowing on the east coast but its cold here! I am getting ready to go on my pass soon but I will report more when I get back.

I passed my PT, which includes a 2-mile run, pushups, and situps. I got a 16:55 on the run, 66 situps, and 44 pushups. I needed this because I am due for promotion. Usually this is deferred when you are deployed but I am trying to make Captain.

En Vouge is coming to perform here soon. And there is another fight night coming up. Other than that, not much else to report. Out here.

More rain and a 5K

31DEC - Today I woke up with this strange sound hitting my CHU. It was rain! I am not sure how long it rained for but it came down pretty hard for awhile and I thought I was going to get out of running the 5K but it cleared up right before we started. When sand gets wet, it turns into mud. It made a mess! And its a sticky mud. The 5K started about 0715 and it was EOD benefit run (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). There was about 50-60 runners. And some of the EOD guys wore the bomb suits, minus the helmets. And there were also firefighters in their gear. That had to be hell. It was a good run until the the last 1/4 mile when it started to rain again. But we finished. I got back to my CHU and changed it went to work. We were kind of slow at work today so we practiced giving IVs to each other. I volunteered to be a pin cushion and actually worked out since I just ran and probably needed some hydration. Tonight, there is a Black and White theme party for new years. We are authorized civilian clothes. There are rules posted, no cleavage or dirty dancing, so no fun. Whats a party without some sluts.. just kidding. No pics yets on the run. My physical test (PT) is next week, 2-mile run, situps, and pushups.

Earlier this week, I got 4 boxes. When I opened them, they were filled with girl scout cookies. There must have been close to a 50 boxes maybe more. I took two boxes of Samoas, the coconut flavored ones. And also got another carepackage from Terri, one of the nurses from Good Sam and her Raven Roost. It was packed with all sorts of treats and goodies. HAPPY NEW YEARS!!! .

Christmas in Iraq

25DEC2010-I had off today, so I got to sleep in until about 9am. It was nice but my bed sucks. I think I need to call Billeting and see if I can get a new mattress. But then I went to Church and attended a Catholic mass. We got up and down a bunch of times and sang some songs. It was nice and yes we took our guns to church. That was weird, but we take our weapons everywhere for a reason. Then we went to lunch. As you can see from the pics, they decorated nicely and had a good spread of food. Outside they had a good display. Lunch and dinner menu was the same but for some reason dinner tasted better. They had steak, turkey, shrimp, lobster, all the thanksgiving sides, and plenty of desserts. They had a nice center piece display with some reindeer's and fruit display. Then we went to pick up mail. The post office here is open 365 days a year. I got a carepackage from coworkers, too many people to name but thanks JHH PM&R! Afterwards, went to the Resiliency Center and watched a movie... The American with George Clooney. I don't know if it was the bootleg copy we got but it sucked. Then we randomly decided to run two miles. We did the "track" where they do the physical test on. Its just a road near the airport. Then we took a break and back to dinner at 7p. Made some free phone calls home and called it a day. Overall, good Christmas in Iraq.

RAIN and fancy sandwiches

12DEC2010 - Yesterday it rained for the first time since I got here. It was weird to get up and find the ground wet. But when sand gets wet, it turns into mud. Which made it a little messy in the buildings. Last week was pretty busy in the clinic. Not sure why but it made the week go fast. On Thursdays they have fancy sandwiches at the Warrior DFAC (dining facility). Thats one thing we look forward in the week. And also on Wednesday we have surf and turf. The last time they had lobster and steak.

We also celebrated Hanukah at the clinic. Major Lesser had a bunch of stuff sent from his family. It was fun and the food was good.

I am temporarily attached to the 224th Sustainment Brigade from Lomg Beach, CA. To the left is there patch. The dragon symbolizes East Asian culture and participation in the Korean conflict. The sunburst represets the units origination in California. Blue represents World War II service in the Pacific. Scarlet signifies courage and sacrifice.

Today we had the day off. Slept in and then wen to lunch. We then went to HHC to watch a movie. We tried to watch Book of Eli but the copy was a bootleg and not good quality. Then we went over to the Combat Stress Office where they invited us to sushi and movie. They had snacks and we watched Get him to the Greek. Another week over, another week closer to home.