More meetings and more hot weather. It feels like we eat every 2 hours because we always seem to be at the DFAC. I think that the days just go by quickly with meetings. Well, that and b/c we're at the DFAC probably every 4 hours, which is actually prett often. THere's not much to do out here other than work so an outing to the DFAC proves to be a nice excursion and a diversion from the day.
I've heard several people over here say they felt the same way about mealtimes....that it's something to do and somewhere to go so it becomes something by which you truly plan your day. I think about how many meals I've skipped and how many I just work through back home during a normal workday. Back home it sometimes becomes a nuisance and here it is such an event. It's the little things like that that I guess make the time pass quicker.
The helicopter pad at the hospital it near us so we hear the choppers go overhead several times per day. Every time I hear them it makes me stop and think...I hope that they are just doing exercise runs and not actually going out to pick someone up. Seeing the medical choppers (especially land at a hospital) really makes you stop any conversation and pause.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Monday, May 7, 2007
Monday 7 May
Well, I think I took my last load of laundry out of the dryer at 2:44 a.m. Chris fell asleep sitting up in the tv area and I fell asleep with my head down on a table by the dryers. I woke up just before the last dryer cycle finished.
We had a cool airfield tour this morning. This is typically my favorite part of my work. I got to see some fighters take off, which is always so exciting to me. It never gets old.
In the past hour we've had three announcements over the loud speaker about receiving Indirect Fire Attacks, all clear, all clear, all clear. We're just sitting here in the conference room working away on our wireless internet connections and then we hear "all clear." Crazy.
We are all well other than being a little dusty and hot.
We had a cool airfield tour this morning. This is typically my favorite part of my work. I got to see some fighters take off, which is always so exciting to me. It never gets old.
In the past hour we've had three announcements over the loud speaker about receiving Indirect Fire Attacks, all clear, all clear, all clear. We're just sitting here in the conference room working away on our wireless internet connections and then we hear "all clear." Crazy.
We are all well other than being a little dusty and hot.
Bunker tour
Friday 4 May, continued
Chris and I ended up sitting in a terminal at BIAP for a few hours into the early hours of the morning. Would you believe that there was wireless computer access! Crazy. It's hard to get wireless at most of the bases we've been to, but at the terminal they have it. The purpose of this trip was to meet 3 of our co-workers (Mylinka, Karen and Heyward), and our client escort at another Iraq base. All 3 team members are from our Atlanta office so it was nice to see some familiar faces.
Chris and I ended up sitting in a terminal at BIAP for a few hours into the early hours of the morning. Would you believe that there was wireless computer access! Crazy. It's hard to get wireless at most of the bases we've been to, but at the terminal they have it. The purpose of this trip was to meet 3 of our co-workers (Mylinka, Karen and Heyward), and our client escort at another Iraq base. All 3 team members are from our Atlanta office so it was nice to see some familiar faces.
Saturday 5 May.
Chris and I arrived at the new base at about 4:30 in the morning, then about an hour later we found transient tents to stay in until about 8:30 when we woke up. At that point we rolled out of cots to go find the team who had arrived just a couple of hours before we had. The weather is also very hot and dry here (about 100 degrees). We acquainted ourselves with another dining facility at lunch. The food is pretty much the same at every DFAC in Iraq.
After lunch we went back to the office and got our first introduction to the inside of a bunker. We were working away in the office when we heard the warning over the loud speaker and all scurried outside underneath the concrete “C” bunker. It was pretty crazy to have to react to this kind of situation. Unfortunately, as we found out from our bunker roommates (some officers from the base hospital), this is pretty standard operating procedure. A few minutes later, we heard the “all clear” and about 10 of us emerged from the bunker into daylight. About an hour later we were all in the pick up truck driving around (Chris and I were in the back of the pick up), when we heard another warning over the speaker system. Our driver had not yet stopped the car fully when Mylinka opened the door and jumped out and Chris and I literally jumped off of the back of the truck to find cover. I ran to my left behind some concrete barriers with Mylinka a few steps behind, while the rest of the team ran to the right behind a sand bag wall. Mylinka and I were sitting next to each other and at that exact point I quickly became overwhelmed with emotion and my eyes started tearing up. I didn’t cry, the moment was just intense for me and lots of thoughts were running through my head. I just couldn’t’ believe what my team and I just had to react to, that we had to literally “take cover” just in case. It is so different from my world back home...so foreign to have to react to this. A few minutes later we were back in the truck and people were walking around conducting normal business without even flinching. I flinched. I flinched and wondered why people were threatening the base on a daily basis, why it had to become normal operating procedure to identify close-by bunkers and duck under cover, why I had to jump behind a bunker. I don’t know the answer, but the folks who live and work here seem used to it. They’re not complacent; they are just used to it. It was a dose of reality for us who had newly arrived.
We continued the afternoon with a meeting, a short driving tour and a stop at the Green Bean to get some coffee. Here’s a photo op we took advantage of; from Right to Left you’ll see Chris, Heyward, Mylinka, me, Karen, and then 2 client representatives.Going on less than 3 hours of sleep we wrapped up the day at midnight eating dinner (pizza hut). We went back to our trailers and I got on my top bunk. Mylinka was on the bottom bunk and Karen and our client shared the 2nd bunk bed in the room. Right after we turned the lights out I mentioned that I felt like I was at summer camp. It’s been a long while since I’ve shared a room with other girls on bunk beds. Well, I take that back, the lodging here in Iraq has included various tents filled with bunk beds or cots shared with numerous women. Maybe it’s just that I knew these women and that made it like camp because we talked and interacted instead of sharing a room with a bunch of strangers.
Sunday 6 May. We started our day with a meeting, ate lunch, had another meeting, went back 
to the office and had another meeting, ate dinner, went back and worked and then brewed some coffee with bugs in it. No, Mylinka made a fresh cup of coffee at about 10 pm and a bug flew in it right after. Chris posed for this picture. We took a short field trip to the Base Exchange where Chris ambushed me and sprayed me with about 3 good sprays of Jovan Musk for Men. Don’t ask me why he thought that would be fun to do. My nose is still burning from the potent scent on my clothes. I had to do laundry anyway so now I’m sitting in the self-help laundromat doing laundry at 1:15 am. I hope the clothes dry soon so I can get to bed.
to the office and had another meeting, ate dinner, went back and worked and then brewed some coffee with bugs in it. No, Mylinka made a fresh cup of coffee at about 10 pm and a bug flew in it right after. Chris posed for this picture. We took a short field trip to the Base Exchange where Chris ambushed me and sprayed me with about 3 good sprays of Jovan Musk for Men. Don’t ask me why he thought that would be fun to do. My nose is still burning from the potent scent on my clothes. I had to do laundry anyway so now I’m sitting in the self-help laundromat doing laundry at 1:15 am. I hope the clothes dry soon so I can get to bed. 
Here’s a picture of Mylinka and me today. We were sitting in the back of the pick up as we drove back to our CHUs...the dust billowing out from the back of the tires. Friday, May 4, 2007
Relocated office
Friday 4 May.
It is so hot over here. It feels kind of like an oven, although there is typically a very slight breeze that you can count on every few minutes which mitigates the burning. I can’t bear the thought that it gets even hotter.
It is so hot over here. It feels kind of like an oven, although there is typically a very slight breeze that you can count on every few minutes which mitigates the burning. I can’t bear the thought that it gets even hotter.
While at Victory, we are squatting in a meeting area so we have to vacate every once in a while when someone actually has a meeting to run. Here’s a picture of us in our relocated, temporary office...a picnic table just outside the building. Thank goodness it had overhead cover and protection from the sun. One thing I’ll say about our teams doing this kind of work over here: I have been very impressed by our ability to adapt and work around unconventional challenges. It definitely takes a certain kind of personality to be able to handle the challenges of working over here and keep on keeping on...and still maintain a positive attitude. I think this is something Chris and I have learned from our boss, Mike G, who takes challenges in stride and tackles them with a smile. Thursday, May 3, 2007
Late night jog
On Monday, Chris H. and I saw Chuck and Chris K. off for their long journey home. I was kind of sad to see them go, but happy that it meant going home to comfortable beds and sand-free air to breathe. So, now it was down to two of us...the partners in crime.
Tuesday we mapped out our way forward for the next week and had a day to just do some work instead of going to meetings.
Wednesday we worked more and ended up going to get coffee in the middle of the afternoon. We wisely got iced coffees so as not to add to the outdoor radiant temperature of about 100 degrees. We had a good conversation about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. On a side note pertaining to the heat, the folks at the Dept of Public Works here have been really great to us to allow us to use some of their air conditioned work space, so we only suffer when we're doing important stuff like walking to the dining facility or to get coffee or to pick up our laundry.
Thursday, today, I had no idea what day it was until I asked Chris. It 's weird how you feel like you're in a time vaccuum over here because every day is a work day and there are no things like days off or holidays. We got coffee again in the afternoon and then made a phone call to our good friend and co-worker, Wazza, who's working nearby and happens to be a Kiwi. Here's a tip on the term Kiwi: In case you have never been corrected by a New Zealander, a Kiwi is a reference to a person. If you want to discuss the brown fruit with a green inside, you have to refer to that as a kiwi fruit. I'm just forewarning all of you. Wazza is a super guy and we're lucky to have him on our team.
Later in the day, Chris bugged me enough that he convinced me to go work out. I was on a roll at working and really didn't want to go, but I finally gave up. Chris is a former West Point Army Ranger, Diver, Sapper, Airborne Captain (I'm sure I forgot something else), so he can be pretty stubborn about completing his mission...in this case it was getting me to work out. Anyway, we did a little jog/walk around the Al Faw Lake. Realistically I would say I set the pace at a granny-shuffle most of the way. Chris graciously stayed with me, however I think he tried to make me flinch as he led me to this road that ended up smelling like vomit. No, he didn't do it on purpose...or at least he acted surprised about the stink. When I started sniffing the air and mentioned it reminded me of vomit, Chris coined it Vomit Alley Road. I had to stop I was giggling so hard. He had no idea what the smell was, but noted that we were probably runnning through an industrial area and that we couldn't be picky about our jogging trail.
After this rough patch, we came to the lake. It looked really, really pretty at night with the dim lights reflecting on the calm waters. Every so often we'd here gun fire echoing in the distance and I'd ask Chris if that was real, already knowing what the answer would be, but hoping he'd say it was from training or something. We also saw some pretty cool views of helicopters flying across the sky; their silhouettes contrasting well with the night sky glowing from the full moon. The reflecting water was so pretty, but the choppers clearly reminded me of where we were. There are some interesting sights to see here and we're so busy when we're here that often I don't consciously think of where I am. Quite often I have to remind myself that I am in Baghdad...in Iraq. It's important not to forget that.
After the granny-shuffle jog we went to the gym and did some upper body weightlifting. We followed that off with a stop at the Dining Facility to catch something to eat at midnight chow; 24/7 operations over here, so there's chow in the middle of the night.
The last couple of days haven't been as hectic as usual and that has really been a blessing.
Tuesday we mapped out our way forward for the next week and had a day to just do some work instead of going to meetings.
Wednesday we worked more and ended up going to get coffee in the middle of the afternoon. We wisely got iced coffees so as not to add to the outdoor radiant temperature of about 100 degrees. We had a good conversation about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. On a side note pertaining to the heat, the folks at the Dept of Public Works here have been really great to us to allow us to use some of their air conditioned work space, so we only suffer when we're doing important stuff like walking to the dining facility or to get coffee or to pick up our laundry.
Thursday, today, I had no idea what day it was until I asked Chris. It 's weird how you feel like you're in a time vaccuum over here because every day is a work day and there are no things like days off or holidays. We got coffee again in the afternoon and then made a phone call to our good friend and co-worker, Wazza, who's working nearby and happens to be a Kiwi. Here's a tip on the term Kiwi: In case you have never been corrected by a New Zealander, a Kiwi is a reference to a person. If you want to discuss the brown fruit with a green inside, you have to refer to that as a kiwi fruit. I'm just forewarning all of you. Wazza is a super guy and we're lucky to have him on our team.
Later in the day, Chris bugged me enough that he convinced me to go work out. I was on a roll at working and really didn't want to go, but I finally gave up. Chris is a former West Point Army Ranger, Diver, Sapper, Airborne Captain (I'm sure I forgot something else), so he can be pretty stubborn about completing his mission...in this case it was getting me to work out. Anyway, we did a little jog/walk around the Al Faw Lake. Realistically I would say I set the pace at a granny-shuffle most of the way. Chris graciously stayed with me, however I think he tried to make me flinch as he led me to this road that ended up smelling like vomit. No, he didn't do it on purpose...or at least he acted surprised about the stink. When I started sniffing the air and mentioned it reminded me of vomit, Chris coined it Vomit Alley Road. I had to stop I was giggling so hard. He had no idea what the smell was, but noted that we were probably runnning through an industrial area and that we couldn't be picky about our jogging trail.
After this rough patch, we came to the lake. It looked really, really pretty at night with the dim lights reflecting on the calm waters. Every so often we'd here gun fire echoing in the distance and I'd ask Chris if that was real, already knowing what the answer would be, but hoping he'd say it was from training or something. We also saw some pretty cool views of helicopters flying across the sky; their silhouettes contrasting well with the night sky glowing from the full moon. The reflecting water was so pretty, but the choppers clearly reminded me of where we were. There are some interesting sights to see here and we're so busy when we're here that often I don't consciously think of where I am. Quite often I have to remind myself that I am in Baghdad...in Iraq. It's important not to forget that.
After the granny-shuffle jog we went to the gym and did some upper body weightlifting. We followed that off with a stop at the Dining Facility to catch something to eat at midnight chow; 24/7 operations over here, so there's chow in the middle of the night.
The last couple of days haven't been as hectic as usual and that has really been a blessing.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
wastewater portrait and ham
Saturday 28 April 2007. We took a driving tour of the base and didn’t see too many exciting things. However, when we saw this wastewater pond under construction we asked our tour guide to halt the brakes so we could jump out, take a closer look and snap some photos. Yeah, our day-to-day lives and our work over here changes our perspective of what “cool” and “exciting” is. This especially struck me when I was thinking what to write about; I thought to myself “Oh man, this is pretty bad.” Then I thought, I’ll throw in a picture to make it more exciting....yeah, I’m just kidding, the picture won’t really help, but I’m including it anyway since I was glad I got a good shot.
Sunday 29 April, 2007. We are back at Victory Base Complex in Baghdad and met up with 2 more of our team members: Chris K. and Chris H, who both work with me in Atlanta. It was good to see them again and to add more folks to our dinner conversations. It was pretty sandy and overcast today so when we took Chuck around I felt bad that he wasn’t getting the best views of the Al Faw Palace and the lakes. Chuck was just happy that he got his photo taken on “the chair” in the Al Faw Palace; his mission was complete. Check out this very hammy picture of him. He’s a really fun guy, a good planner, has a kindred coffee addiction like mine, and has a contagious laugh. Getting to know him better has been a really good perk from this trip. 
Monday 30 April, 2007. The weather cleared up a lot from Sunday and it got pretty hot, about 94 degrees. We had a good briefing today. Afterwards we went to the roof of the Palace and took a couple of pics. Here’s a pretty fun one of us that starts to show the relief after having completed another milestone for the trip (L to R: Chuck, Chris H, me, Chris K). This work has been made 100 times better by having truly great people to work with (many of whom weren't on this trip, but were on the first trip in February.) We worked a bit more and then went to the edge of the lake to watch the sun set and talk a little bit. When I closed my eyes and listened to the water it kind of felt a little bit like I was on a pier in [insert any place other than Iraq]. Of course, that feeling is short-lived when you pay attention to the other sounds around.Tuesday, May 1, 2007
More: Sat 28 April
We were given a tour of some of the gardens in Camp F. Apparently the geese in the ponds are quite friendly and will talk to you in their goose language if you speak to them first. I was very surprised that the base was very jungle-like with palm trees and flowering bushes. It was still pretty dusty, but the scenery was pretty nice.
Here's another picture of me with Chuck. Chris Hurst (my coworker said I should add it to my portfolio for my future career in the State Department.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)