A FEW THOUGHTS TO CLOSE 2008 AND LOOK AHEAD TO 2009....

Well, it is 23:14 in Baghdad, thats 11:14 pm to all you non-military people out there. I got this last minute urge to say a few things before the New Year rings in. I have been absent from the blog lately due to a lack of "positive" events to write about. I apologize for this to any loyal followers of the blog...........yeah, you......over there in the corner! I see you! LOL!

Seriously, lately things have been stressed around these parts and for a lack of better verbage...people have been "bitchy". It appears with the new administration getting ready to step in and make waves of change throughout the world, many people over in this part of the globe are fearing change, because change will bring about a loss of jobs in this region. Since the economic downfall in the US began, this place has been a haven of sorts, staying largly unaffected by the financial woes back in the states. The security has been stripped from our jobs with all the talk of change and withdrawl. There is one saving grace on the horizon for those choosing to work in the Middle East......and ...its...................Afghanistan!!! So go West young man! Or East, North?? Hell, i'm American...I have no fucking clue where Afghanistan is compared to Baghdad. I just get on the planes thy tell me to. Long and short of it is most of these jobs will be moving there. BTW Afghanistan is East of Iraq, thank god for google!

So, 2008, what did it mean to me?

Overall I would have to say 2008 was a bad year for me. This year saw a drastic change in my way of life. my pilgrammage to the Middle East was my choice so I will not complain, however, it is a mind-numbing expererience that will change a person. For better or for worse is yet to be seen, I have not been around the people I love enough yet to display any changes. I do feel different, during my short trips home I felt very out of place, almost uncomfortable. It was an odd feeling, mostly because things are so regimented here and while I was home I was not on the "schedule" I follow here. There is very little to occupy your time other than work. Mostly when I get free time I sleep, thats never a problem.

2008 is definitly not a year I would want to forget, I made a lot of friends here in Baghdad and I will always remember that. Overall, it will be remembered in a positive way, but at the same time, I would love to be home.

Looking forward. 2009.

Much of the same seems to be in my future, definitly finish this contract. There is a possibility I will change companies this year while I am here. That could also lead to a position in Afghanistan or Kuwait. The money is better so I really don't care where I am sent, as cocky as it sounds, I've been shot at with rockets and wether it is here or there I have a feeling the experience is the same. So life has taken on a long-term outlook, don't expect any major changes in the next year. If there are you can always visit "Sandland" to find out about them.

I'm now on Facebook, it has really impressed me with how easy it is to catch-up with people you may have lost touch with. I have re-connected with many friends and family. On a sad note I searched for a good friend of mine from whenI first moved to DC, Daria Markowski. She passed away 2+ years ago, after she left the DC area and moved back north, she was from NY state. I was, and still am, astonished and saddened. She was a major factor in my life for a few years, we had so much fun it should have been illegal....matter of fact...well, anyway. I'll never forgive myself for losing touch and in essence, losing her. She was a gem, full of life and vitality. In retrospect i have not REALLY had fun in life since, it has all been pretty humdrum since her. She was that full of life.

So now it is 23:59, or for you non-military people out there reading, its midnight. 2009. Happy New Year to you all. Best wishes to you and your loved ones.

My resolution for 2009..............try to be more optimistic.

TITANIC WATERWORLD II: THE GREAT FLOOD OF THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES!

Kevin Costner was in rehab for this sequel and Leonardo DiCaprio got a restraining order filed against us when we finally decided to make this "Big-budget Boat movie combo-sequel" in Iraq. Lucky for us Saddam kept a small fleet here on the Victory Base Camp and he is dead so we can do what we want with them. Unless someone with a machine gun tells us not to.....then we can't. Nobody stopped us so here are a few production stills from our new feature film.....enjoy!

This is our soundstage in Baghdad, structural engineers tell us we have 2 to 4 weeks to use it before it collapses into the canal.

OK, I want this to be the big finale, the money shot location!!! Oops, it's not that kind of movie.

Yeah, if those piles on top of the boats look familiar to some of you it is because it is pigeon shit...I think they imported the birds from Manhattan, because the native birds here don't crap enough all over stuff.

TRUE VALUE HARDWARE......FOR ALL YOUR TORTURE CHAMBER IMPROVEMENT NEEDS??

Ah Iraq, a pure and soverign nation, unscathed by the grips of commercialism..........until now! It was only a matter of time we rubbed off on this place.....ok, mind out of the gutter! Although I didn't expect it already, the time is ripe for commerce to rear its greedy head in Baghdad. It started a few months back with the construction of a gas station, complete with lighted signs to entice anyone driving through the desert needing fuel. Now, True Value Hardware is in the neighborhood and I can only assume others will follow..........I'm waiting on COSTCO......if that comes I may never leave!!!!

Mikey and I had an overwhelming need to document this event!

Powerlines are going up everywhere.

SKEE-SKEE!!! THATS FOR JOSH!!

Some of you may remember Josh, way back when he was a FNG, Mikey and I took him along on our excellent adventure to Camp Slayer when he first arrived here in Baghdad. Josh has become a treasured part of our extended family.........I'm forced to say that because he collects guns, knives, bow and arrows, large blunt objects and other weapons of moderate destruction he could hurt me with. I'm kidding of course ( No.....I swear...save me!), Josh is a great kid and a hard worker and he is a valued part of our Station 2 family.

Anyway, Josh had a way of alerting other members of the Firehouse if a respectable looking girl was in the vicinity, he would say "skee-skee!". I'm not really sure what it meant but when Mikey and I visited Saddams former skeet shooting facility, we both said "skee-skee!". It made more sense at the time and it seemed like a good segue into this post...........I swear I'll do better next time! On to the pictures, pictures, pictures!

Go figure, Saddam spent a lot of time in holes in the ground, sound familiar??

No, I'm not really throwing it at the camera. Are you fuckin crazy, thats expensive!

Mikey demonstrating the skeet shooter



Could I have possibly found one of Saddams sandles? Through the wonders and advancement of DNA research, I could create an exact duplicate of him, however, I would manipulate his overwhelming desire for death and repression to an immense passion for fluffy bunnies and puppies!!

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION. PT. 1

THE NATIONAL ARBORETUM

One of my favorite places to visit in the DC area when there is a little free time available to me or visitors are in town is the National Arboretum in NE DC. If there was ever a place that can make you forget about where you are.......and NE DC is definitly a place you want to escape from.....it is the Arboretum. It is the Central Park of the Nations Capital. Once inside the gates, just as you walk out of the parking lot is the Koi pond. These beautiful fish follow you up and down the length of the waterline waiting for handouts. There are gumball machines that dispense food to feed them, perhaps that is how they get so big.

www.usna.usda.gov/

Here they come....looking for handouts.....it's like a stampede....without feet

"You talkin to me?"

This one was actually trying to sell me a knock-off rolex!? Not begging for food.

Next up, the Perennial gardens, this place amazes me and at the same time pisses me off! I am trying to turn our little 2 acre parcel of land into a mini-arboretum and it is just never nearly as beautiful as the real thing. Perennials, for those who do not garden, are plants that, in their ideal zone, will re-grow on a yearly basis. They sometimes spread and can be dug-up and relocated to other areas of the yard easily. I love perennials for that very reason.

And finally over to the Capitol colums. These 22 Corinthian sandstone columns were among 24 that were part of the east central portico if the United States Capitol. Architect Charles Bulfinch oversaw construction of the portico using a design handed down by his predecessors, William Thornton and Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Completed in 1826, these columns provided the backdrop for presidential inaugurations from 1829 (Andrew Jackson) to 1957 (Dwight Eisenhower), and were the site of many speeches, protests and rallies.

In 1958 the columns were dismantled to make way for the east front extension of the Capitol, which is adorned with marble reproductions.

Restorations of the columns was made possible through the efforts of Ethyl Shields Garrett and support from the Friends of the National Arboretum. Garden designer Russell Page selected and designed the new site which was completed and dedicated in 1990.

This is getting a bit lenghty so I am going to break here and continue in a new thread..........

NO, YOU CAN"T GET GEOCACHE FROM AN ATM!

This week has been full of fun and adventure in Iraq, I have been on the Tanker with Mikey so we set off in search of new things whenever possible. While we were out on inspections the other day we headed to Tower 4 which is located next to our companys drill building, building X. This is where we use to come to set fake fires and put them out, some say for practice, most firefighters say to play. Well, the kaboshes were put to that so now the building sits empty and we don't get much fun anymore.

There is a 2nd tower next door and I wanted to take a picture from the top tht showed the layout of the area. When we got upstairs we noticed an ammunition box stuck up on a ledge. At first we thought it might be a IED or bomb of some sort, we were both saying "Not me! You open it up!". Finally after making out some writing on the side we opened it and foound a very cool, yet somewhat sad surprise inside.

Geocache (www.geocaching.com/ ) , is a global scavenger hunt if you will, member set out to find geocache locations and when they do they leave a memento and sign a diary that is in the kit to record their visit. They sometimes are located at specific sights in honor of an event such as a death. The particular sight we found was in honor of Sergeant 1st Class Paul R. Smith, a true American Patriot who made the ultimate sacrifice in the war on terror. Sadly he passed in battle, on the very site we stumbled upon. http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/smith/

The Cache holds a memorial to Sergeant Paul R. Smith, detailing the battle that took his life, keeping a diary of all that visit and holding small gifts in honor of his sacrifice. This place held a great significance, it makes you stop and think of all that have perished here. What they gave for our way of life, on a national level and on a personal level. The MWR/Gym on our base is dedicated to him, I had seen his picture on the walls but never knew the story behind his heroic life. We should all be in awe of him and those like him.

Here are some visuals.

Building X site, where our training happens, NOT!!

Why is that ammo box up there??????

The Geocache info

A detailed account of Sgt. Smiths battle.

Gifts left in the Geocache.

More info on Sgt. Smith, May he rest in peace

HOG HEAVEN!!

One of the things I am enjoying about my return to Iraq is the weather, it is Fall here, the trees are turning and earthen-toned leaves litter the ground we walk on......er? Wait a minute.........That was back home! Ah shit! Same old lack of color here. Oh well, it is still nice and chilly at night and even tolerable during the day. The temperatures only reach the mid 80's now. Perfect weather to go cruising on Sation 2's new motorcycle! Well, it isn't really ours, the MP's confiscated it from a Lesbian Iraqi Dykes-on-Bikes club.......and you thought they were an urban myth!!

Mikey, myself, Lori and Captain Dewey started a motorcycle club, we are feared, yet respected by the locals, considered equals by the Military and PSD's and we reign havoc across the FOB, all the while, smiles on our faces. We are an unrivaled force-of-nature in the middle-east with one goal in our sights................find a good compressor to put some damn air in our front tire!! Had you goin, LOL!!!

Seriously though, this bike is an antique and we had some fun taking some pictures, enjoy!

The Hip-hopopatomus and his crew

Ladies love the Rhyme-nocerous!

Last time we were playing around like this, we both ended up with a day off!

Damn, Mrs. Robinson strikes again!!!!

I always seem to be driving this guy around

WOULD YOU LIKE SOME CHEESE WITH THAT WINE?? SERIOUSLY!

While I was home I got to go to a wine festival up in Bel Air, Md with my friends Tim and Emily and their family/friends. It was a great day, I had never been been to one and I enjoyed myself thouroughly. While I tend to be more of a beer-man, I do enjoy red wines from time-to-time. On this particular occassion I enjoyed a lot of wine, red and white, and not too much cheese! LOL! I was f-ed up! It was an absolutly beautiful fall day, a slight chill in the air, barely a cloud in the sky. Here are a few pictures...............