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.

Troop draw down...

8DEC2010- I know I have been slacking with my blog...The troop drawn down is starting to close down things on base. They closed down Hero's DFAC (dinging hall). There is talks about closing down the self-service laundry and just leaving the drop-off. Good thing about drop-off is don't have to sit there and wait the two hours, bad thing it is a 48 hour turn-around. They also have stopped fixing work orders. So, if you have a problem with the latrine or your CHU they may not get to it. Supposedly they just throw out half the requests. They don't even look at it, just take half the orders and just trash them! So if you want something fixed we are suppose to be in daily requests until you get answer. Anyways, I got another carepackage from Stephen and Jeanna. Thank you! Still trying to organize my R&R next month for Qatar. And when I go home, I know I just got here but you have to set things up ahead of time. They opened a resliency center. Its basically a retreat here. It has everything, computers, telephones, foss ball, pool table, ping pong, movie room, and a deck area for parties. And these massage chairs, which are pretty awesome. And then there is work, still there and a lot of paperwork. Goodnight!

Finally a day off and fight night

28November - Finally we have day off, 13 days straight. I got to sleep in. Went to Heros DFAC for lunch. There is three dining facilites on post, Heros, Warriors, and Coialation. They are closing heros this Tuesday for some reason. Then we went to the MWR (morale, welfare, and recreation) to watch a movie. Watched 39 Case, some suspense movie with Renee Zellwiger. It was pretty creepy. There is no USO here like at some other bases. We got spoiled in Kuwait. I got another package from Miss Diane. If I eat all the stuff I get, I will be morbidly obese. I will spread the goodies with my battle buddies. Then we went to Fight night. Its like ultimate fighting. It was pretty intense but people who went before said it was pretty mild. The first pic is one of the main streets on post. The second is more t-wall art. They usually paint their units patch on them or other art. Pretty cool. I think concrete wall cost like $7000 and is like 20' high, 6' wide. The last pic is something they caught on post. Pretty crazy.

Thanksgiving at Camp Adder

25November2010 - I can't believe its thanksgiving already! Well, my day started out interesting. Whenever there is an incoming attack they annouce it on these loud speakers. Well, when I was getting dressed I heard something over the loud speaker, "ATTENTION ON CAMP ADDER.." then something muffled. I think I went into tachycardia and maybe even atrial fibrillatioin or irregular heart beat. But then when they said it the second time, I heard they said "controlled detonation". Which means, somewhere they blew something up. Then I went to work and we worked a half day. At lunch they dressed up the outside, with a tepee and had people dressed up like Indians. (not like me Indian, but the ones with hatchets, corn, and bow and arrows). Food was pretty good, all the normal thanksgiving day food. There was some VIP in one room, the room was blocked off by armed guards. They had their weapons amber, meaning weapon loaded with magazine loaded. Most of time, our weapons are green, magazine and weapon seperate. Then went back to office and got another carepackage! Thanks to Emma, Chris, Jimmy, Laura, Rob, and Ang. Also, want to thank Melanie for a package last week. Made a bunch of phone calls at the Air Force MWR. All in all, good day in Iraq. Out here...

Iraqi bazzare and 10K race

21November - This morning we provided medical support for a 10K run on camp. When we got up at 5am it was 45 degrees out, coldest yet. I was stationed at the first water cooler and then moved over to the finish line. There was only one minor injury, sprained ankle. Then we went to the Iraqi Bazzarre that was on camp. We bought some local crafts but on the bottom of the box its said "Made in China". We also had some tea and desserts. They had some local food there but we did not have any. We also took some pics of the local Iraqi forces. It was cool and good to show friendly relationations with the locals. We also went to the Oasis market and bought some dvds and other stuff. Overall, good day and didn't have to go Amber.