PEOPLE ALWAYS ASK ME....."WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN IN IRAQ?????"

Here are a few pictures of a particularly boring day. We got a bunch of free T-shirts from some guys at the motorpool and decided to try on the kids-sized shirts.........yet another proud moment in South Victory history!!

Actually I think Greg is wearing an x-large!!??

ENGINE 611 RESPOND TO....ER....THE QUARTERS OF ENGINE 611!?!?!?!?

It is every Firefighters fear that they will be called to respond to their own home, place of work or a friends home. Thank fully none of those situations happened to us but we did lose a generator on the 28th of August. We get our power from two large generators out behind the Firehouse. They alternate so one is working at all times while the other is being cleaned or maintained. I was sitting in my room at the computer with a fan running in the background when I heard the fan motor slow down....then speed up....then slow down again. This has happened in the past, generally it has meant the generator that is running has run low on fuel. I went to the sitting area and told the dispatcher what was happening. When I got back to my room my radio went off, for a generator fire behind the station.

By the time we got there it was put out by some KBR employees with a couple of extinguishers and there was a huge cloud of dry-chem obscuring the view of the generator itself. The incident was over before it started so I grabbed a few snapshots to share.

Extinguisher powder, not smoke

Captain taking control of the scene

KBR Fire dudes checking out our mess

Is life really that boring that we are taking pictures of this shit????

Greg, preceeded by his belly wherever he goes

Something tells me that hole is not suppose to be there

What a F-ing mess!!

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN..........

OK, today is 23-AUG-08

Aside from a song title from a Swedish Rock band, Europe, from the 80's/90's Glam metal scene (which btw is scheduled for a 2009 new album release! Yippee!!) it is also my final countdown to the end of my contract with WSLLC. I am now within the 30 day mark of completion and I can't wait to get home. At the moment I am hoping to be back for a second year, however, until I am actually re-contracted and scheduled to be in Houston nothing is written in stone. Of course I would prefer to be home but this is a good financial opportunity and it really is not that dangerous as some might think.

I am still waiting on my itinerary for my return trip, since it is the end-of-contract, the companys only obligation is to return me to my city of origin. So i know where I am going, just not exactly when and via where. I should be home on or about the 18th of September.

Today is 27-AUG-08, still psyched about getting the fuck outta dodge, just need to at least get into September before I get too excited. It may be a bit premature right now but I have started packing my things, some to be sent home and some to remain here for year two.

I must take a minute to mention one of our fine members here at Victory Fire, Cody Peterson, who will hereafter be known as Cody Provolone. The main reason for this alias is his uncanny, yet natural ability to sound so freaking cheesy. He was just in the background teaching the Fire Warden class and made one such dairy-based comment that forced me to tell you about it. Here is a picture of Cody when he fell asleep in dispatch and Mikey wrote on his forhead.

The writing said, "I Love Wolff", one of our Officers here at South Victory. Its proud moments such as these that make life in Baghdad tolerable.

THAT DIDN"T SOUND GOOD!!!

Well, Thursday the 21st of August will long be remembered as the day the VBC lost a dedicated emergency response vehicle........Engine 611 fell. Thankfully this will only be a temporary setback for her, however, she may not be back in service for the remainder of my stay here during year one. I was her Han Solo, she was my Millenium Falcon, my YT-1300, my modified Corellian Light Freighter! That was an over-the-top geek moment in case you didn't figure it out for yourself. Either way she is gone for a while waiting for some parts which, apparently are hard to come by on this side of the world. We'll see what happens. In the meantime we have a loaner from Camp Stryker, same Engine basically but not quite the same.....

I had to accompany the tow truck driver to the TMP, spent a good 6 hrs there. Thankfully the gentleman working under the cab, John, was kind enough to let me hang and watch him do his thing. He also explained a few things about the problem, the cause and the process of getting it fixed. Long and short of it is, these vehicles are not made to withstand this climate and since 611 is in her 5th year of service without any major incidents it was just her time.

I decided this was a blog-worthy event, however I didn't get any pictures of the tow or at the scene of the breakdown, I was upset about the whole thing. So here are some pics of the TMC, Mikey to the rescue and the trip back home.

John the KBR Mechanic diligently at work

Me killing time with the camera, I needed some good nosehair pictures

Mikey to the rescue

Fine, upstanding young Mike Mason

Low-riding, ghetto hardened, thug-life G-Mason

Covered in equipment from E-611

THIS BETTER NOT BE GRILLED KANGAROO!!!!

The Australian Military has a new unit over at the FLLA-B (Force Level Logistics Asset-B). We were invited to come to a cookout last Wednesday. Since we have a fun relationship with these guys and gals, we headed over for some grub and to scope out the compound. They have added a few temporary buildings in the last few months but no other major changes. Our only obstacle with them is the compound access. Since most of the shenanigans happens after dark it is hard for us to gain access since they lock the gate at night. Then there is the fact that they have guards patrolling the compound at night. Keep in mind also said guards are armed, LOL!!

The evening was very nice, laid back, AC/DC playing in the background, tons of food and the near-beer flowed like a river of biblical proportions.............with no buzz to be had! Every time I mention near-beer I have to voice my disgust and utter annoyance with the stuff. I don't think it tastes good at all and it does nothing for my self-medicating needs. It should be banned!

That was a joke, but I do hate it.

They had a raffle for an ipod Nano, a statue of a camel and five dollars worth of near-beers (they were $1 a piece to raise money for a charity. Everybody wanted the camel, especially Smitty. The Captain said he was going to win it and sell it to Smitty and guess what........He won it!

As of right now I think he is still dangling it in front of Smit but he has not given it up.

So now to the pictures:

A great time was had by all, a big thanks to the Aussie Contingent for a great time and some outstanding food and drink!!

NEHI SATURDAY NIGHT PARTY

Last night we had the pleasure of attending an event with som friends of the South Victory Fire Department. I am now in my 11th month here in Baghdad and I have met many extrordinary people here. Early on two gentlemen, General McHale and Colonel Tobin, would frequently stop by the firehouse, sit and eat with us in the DFAC and just stop and chat in passing. They are both kind, courteous and extremely grounded.

Recently they invited us to come for a Saturday night gathering of mostly Military personnel dubbed Nehi night. For those unfamiliar with the Nehi brand:

Nehi (pronounced ['nihaɪ], like "knee high") is a flavored soda originated in America. It was introduced in 1924 by the Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works. The "Nehi Corporation" name was adopted in 1928 after the Nehi fruit-flavored sodas became popular. In 1955, the company changed its name to Royal Crown Company, after its RC Cola brand. It was founded by Claude Hatcher, a Georgia grocer, who began bottling ginger ale and root beer in 1905. As of the middle of April of 2008, Nehi had ecome a brand of Dr Pepper Snapple Group.

While there was more near-beer
to befound than Nehi (not sure I

even saw any at all), a good time was
had by all. We have met so many

quality people over here and it is

nice to call them our friends!

Our thanks for all of their

hospitality!

Here are a few pictures of the night.

THE NUMBER 8

Hello everyone......all four of you, lol! I hope you all enjoyed your day on 08-08-08! This was a special day and holds much relevance in certain cultures so I decided to delve into the number a little more. Here are some fun facts about the number 8:

In Chinese culture the Cantonese word for the number 8 is "ba" (it has one of those line-thingys over the a but I don't know how to type it). This is very similar to the word for "prosper" or "wealth" which is "fa" (also with the thingy). In regiaonal dialects, the words for "eight" and "fortune" are also similar, example baat and faat.

The telephone number, 8888-8888 in Chengdu, China as sold for $270, 273.00!!

The opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics occured on 08-08-08 at 8:08 PM.

In mathmatics the # 8 is a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 2 & 4.

8 is a power of two or 2 cubed (not sure how to type 2 to the 3rd) LOL!

8 is a Fibonacci number, being 3 plus 5, followed by 13.....all you DaVinci Code fans should know this!!!

A fallen 8 or 8 on its side is the symbol for "Infinity" in mathematics. This made 08-08-08 one of the most sought after dates for weddings.

In Chemistry, 8 is the atomic number for oxygen.

Biology: There are 8 known B-Vitamins that play an important role in cell metabolism.

Timothy Leary identified a hierarchy of eight levels of consiousness.

1. The Bio-Survival Circuit

2. The Emotional Circuit

3. The Symbolic Circuit

4. The Domestic Circuit

5. The Neurosomatic Circuit

6. The Neuroelectric Circuit

7. The Neurogenetic Circuit

8. The Psycho-Atomic Circuit

Very interesting stuff by the way if you have some free reading time and a few hits of acid available!!!

In the human adult dentition there are 8 teeth in each quadrant. The 8th tooth is the so-called "Wisdom" tooth.

The Dharmachakra, a Buddhist symbol, has eight spoke. The spokes are said to have sharp edges to cut through ignorance.

In Christianity it is allegoric to what is beyond time (Because the number 7 refers to the days of the week which repeat themselves).

In Neopaganism there are 8 Sabbats (festivals) in a year.

In technology a Byte is compromised of 8 Bits.

A V-8 engine is an internal combustion engine with eight cylinders configured in two rows of four, forming a "V" when seen from the end.

There are 8 vegetables in V8 juice

1. Tomatos

2. Beets

3. Celery

4. Carrots

5. Lettuce

6. Parsley

7. Watercress

8. Spinach

In cooking recipes, there are approximately 8 pinches to a teaspoon.

In liquid measurement (US Customary Units), there are 8 fluid ounces in a cup, 8 pints in a gallon and 8 tablespoons in a gill.

An Eighth is a common measurement of marijuana, meaning an eighth ofan ounce. Yeah Baby!!

Eight is symbolic for lesbian sexual relations.

and finally..........

It appears we may have our anti-christ ladies and gentlemen...... and its a GIRL!!!

Minn. baby born 8/8/08 at 8:08; 8 pounds, 8 ounces
1 day ago
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — Hailey Jo Hauer was born on the eighth day of the eighth month in 2008 at 8:08 a.m. So it wouldn't make sense for her to weigh anything other than 8 pounds, 8 ounces.
Lindsey Hauer thought staff at Lake Region Hospital in Minnesota were joking when they told her the time of her daughter's birth. Then she got a call from the birthing suite noting Hailey's weight.
Nurse Jenny Harstad joked that she tried to shrink the baby to 18 inches from her actual 19.5 inches.
Several hospital staff members pledged to buy lottery tickets.
Information from: The Daily Journal.

OK, wake up and stay tuned for 09-09-09!!!!