Re-enlistment pictures and what not.

As a test to my high amounts of patience (anybody that knows me will laugh at that statement!) I'm just going to focus on loading some pictures today. A couple days ago I had the honor of doing the oath of reenlistment for 3 of my Soldiers, which to be honest, was awesome. It was their choice (I'd like to think) to have me do the oath, and needless to say, I was pretty honored. I'll also go through some the pictures I've taken and post them as well.

By the way, the pictures look yellow, because there was a small sandstorm going through. No biggie, but it does give the pictures a nice "effect." No photoshop required.

And that's me outside one of our tents. We're pretty proud of what we do. You can tell by the huge Engineering flag we fly on our living area.

And this is one of many pictures that just crack me up. So there's this billboard that we always drive by. It's a cigarrette advertisement for some french name. The box is blue, so the billboard has a picture of a guy with a blue eyebrow. Everytime we drive by it, we make up a new reason why the dude has a blue eyebrow. Any suggestions?

This picture doesn't need words, really. Just fuel for the ride.

This one, hmmmm, doesn't really need words either. What you see here is a picture of two donkeys riding on the back of what looks to me like a built-up motorcycle. And yes, there is a dude riding in the back with the donkeys!
And finally... just a glimpse of life through my eyes! I think when it comes to eye protection, you do get what you pay for. I bought myself a set of Oakleys before I deployed through their military website (yes, they have pretty awesome deals for the military), and the difference is amazing... the extra 40-50 bucks is most definitely worth it.

And Titi, I am so glad I read your blog. Thanks for the reminder. I didn't even know it was Sunday today.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

New bed, new look

Been a while since I've posted, mainly cause of lack of internet. It's frustrating, to say the least, that I pay 85 dollars a month for internet, and not only is it slow, but it also goes out a lot... but, like I said before, at least I got internet, so complaining is not really an option. I have tons of pictures, but it takes so long to load them that it's hard to sit through the process.

As far as news, there are some. I got a real bed now, with a wooden frame and drawers underneath it, which is awesome 'cause now I can use that to store my stuff. I also hung my VT flag directly above my bed. You know, that "feeling" of being at home. Also, two days ago while driving around, I saw a pack of camels around a pond drinking some water. There must have been close to 100 camels. I know, I know... the small things that make your day in a place like this.

As far as the picture challenge goes, Marcella, you're gonna have to use the one I got on the right side of the screen. As an adition to the challenge, you can try adding a funny smile on the photoshop. Let's see you try that.

The weather continues to get hotter as we head into the July-August months. You kinda get used to it, but it's still annoying on the days the AC goes out. I got the care packages Vivi & Co. sent. Aside from the red bulls and baby wipes, the korean energy drinks and other korean candies are awesome. Too bad they moved to that small and humble house in DC now.

Can't believe it's almost 2 months. Time does fly out here in the desert.

Here are some pictures of the new bed and the camels!

Reasons

There's a combination of reasons why I haven't posted anything. Here's the top 5:

1) Internet has been down days at a time

2) I've been busy in the times when I have had internet

3) I've been lazy in the times when I haven't been busy and had internet

4) I was asleep

5) The dog ate my homework, a meteor hit my tent and blew up my 5 page draft where I had written on the times when I didn't have internet, and then a flood came through, washed everything away, but dried before I could take pictures because of the heat.

So, I'm going to admit that the top 5 is only 80% accurate. One of those reasons might be a little bit exagerated. I've taken tons of pictures of the town and people and stuff, so I'll be posting them little by little, but first is first. I did promise some pictures of my crib, so here they are:

Ok, the one on top is a picture of my area with the "curtain closed". The white thing in the right is our AC vent, which runs from that corner. You'd think that because i'm closer to the AC, my corner is cooler... no no nope. Think about the sun warming the tent, makes it very very hot. Well, i'm against two walls of the tent, which means i got more heat coming my way. Basically, my corner is warmer during the day, and cooler during the night.

The picture below is basically same as on top, but with the curtain open. I got a COT, with a small mattress on top. And a portable dvd player there on the matress. Helps kill some of the time.

The next two are the rest of the area, each picture turning 90 degrees. I got a 60 day calendar board to help me plan my stuff. The rest are the basics, coffee, goodies from the care packages, baby powder, etc... I also inherited a small desk from one of the guys that used to live here.

Well, there you go. That's where I live. It's got what I need and a little more. I got a small TV from the guys that we replaced and we placed it in the middle of the tent, where there's more room. One of my guys brought an XBOX 360, 4 controllers and some world war II style games. That's how they kill some time.

One last thing. We were driving through the town the other day and I had my camera out, taking some pictures of the locals. One thing I noticed, there's a lot of graffitis out here. So I took a picture of one of the graffiti's, and then I asked my interpreter what it meant.

The Interpreter read it a couple times, said there was a word or two he didn't understand, but this is what he came up with: "Chavez no se va!" (If you get it, you get it, if you don't, you don't). I guess they got one thing right over here.




So, that's all I got for now. I'll be posting some of the pictures I took from the people and the town on the next posts. Hope everybody's doing ok! Take care and i'll be reporting back soon!

ps. Vince, I got your package. I can tell you probably mailed a few to Neely when he was deployed. And the picture is hilarious, although I wouldn't show it to all my Soldiers though! Just the more senior ones.

Pictures... but not of my crib

First is first, I got tasked with doing inventories this morning, which obviously took most of my 'rest' day, so I didn't post the MTV cribs set of pictures. It'll come later. I will however, post some pictures, but before I do that, I gotta explain why.

Remember when I said I shaved my head? Well, the whole thing got popular and a few of my Soldiers did it. So this morning, I was in my Platoon Sergeant's tent (my platoon is split into two tents, and my PSG lives there) and I forgot what we were talking about, but my PSG told one of our privates he would shave his head if the entire Platoon shaved theirs. Well... when i get back from dinner about an hour ago, one of my Squad Leaders tells me my hair is getting long. I kinda get the hint and ask him where everybody's getting their haircut. So, by the time my PSG gets back from dinner, pretty much the entire Platoon is bald. I'd like to think they did it to make me feel good about my issues with being 24 and bald, but whatever; point is... we had some good laughs shaving people's heads.

Oh, I also got 2 packages yesterday. One from Tia Sara and another from Aunt Bonny. All I need now is to talk to one my interpreters so he can buy me a little electric stove to make some coffee in the mornings. I thought Venezuelans were bad... these Iraqis are ridiculous at bargaining. Thanks a lot! Again, getting mail is probably one of the best feelings when you're in a place like this, so thanks.

So, here are some of the pictures from our little haircut debacle!


The stereotypical angry Platoon Sergeant before getting his head shaved. He's not necessarily mad, but he likes people to think he's in a bad mood all the time. It's mildly contagious. I myself have gotten used to it, but it's always funny when we get a new Soldier in the Platoon. I guess it's good for discipline.

You might think the after picture looks like a smile, until you see the eyes. The fact that everybody was laughing at him probably didn't help. Either way, now my Platoon's got 25 angry, bald, ready to fight Soldiers. Life couldn't be better.

That would be me with the clippers. I was nice enough to volunteer to shave one of my Soldier's head. I thought I did a good job... and he looks pretty happy from what I can see.


That would be 1st Platoon, Eagle Company after getting 25 free haircuts. Needless to day, diversity is not an issue in my Platoon. It's been a long day, but at least we had some fun at the end.

Pics coming soon

Ok, I was planning on writing today, and posting some pictures of my "crib" but yeah... that changed. Some things came up and now I got a whole bunch of things to do today. Most likely Friday i'll be posting those pictures now. The only problem with my internet is that it's pretty decent during the day time, but sucks at night, when I usually have time off. That's why I gotta wait on those pictures, 'cause if I try posting them at night, it'll take forever.

Aside from that, pretty much the same... mail hasn't come in yet, but i'm sure i'll be seeing something when it comes! Looking forward to that. I think i've already lost about 5 lbs. Guess that's what happens when it's so hot out and you drink about 5 liters of water a day.

Oh, I just realized... I just hit 1 month deployed... TODAY. In fractions, for those of you that like that kind of stuff... that'd be 0.125/(0.75*2) or 1/12... whichever you choose.

Well, next post will be titled Iraq MTV cribs. On that note, I'm out.