On leave!

Ok. Yes, I know it's been almost a month. I still dont have my new computer. Mail only arrives once a week at Garry Owen. And it'll be another full month before I even see my new MAC. Why? I'm currently on my long, long, long way to Venezuela for 2 weeks of leave. I left my base yesterday, and right now I'm in Tallil, which is where Rafa will be for his year in Iraq. The difference between the 2 bases is abysmal! There's even a pizza hut, a taco bell and a burger king here! Aside from cold water, real toilets, and the amenities I currently do not enjoy up in northeastern Iraq.
So yea, I'm taking leave 3 months into deployment. It's quite early. Originally I was scheduled for March, but I wont be a Platoon Leader then... I'm moving up to Company XO (executive officer) sometime in september. One of the main responsabilities I'll have is to prepare the company to be turned over to somebody else, including all the equipment we have. Come March, i'll be extremely busy, so I had to change my leave dates. And since August is a special month for my parents (it's their 40th aniversary), I figured might as well travel there when it's meaningful for them. So yup, 2 weeks in "not so hot" Venezuela, where I hear has been raining non-stop for a while! I can't wait for the rain!
On another note, I have been quite busy lately. I bought a pirated version of windows, which i'm currently running on my old computer. It works, but doesn't change the fact I'm sick of windows. I'll try to post some pictures while i'm at venezuela. I should be arriving there in about a week.

Antonio