4 Long Days......

I've sat down to write in this blog about 10 times but, I'm always pulled away by something. I have left the big city for the country now. Well, not exactly THE country. More like, I can see most of the country from where I'm at!!!!! It's hard for someone from the Eastern United States to imagine that there is even a place like this one! There is nothing in each direction for as far as the eye can see. Somehow though, and maybe it's the people I'm with but it doesn't feel like I'm exposed or that I'll never get home. It feels more like.......Breathing room.. It's hard to explain.

My wife is doing better now than when I first left. She was very upset when I first got here. I began to feel very guilty for doing this but, she seems to be settling in now and relaxing now that I'm in camp. I would love to talk about the people I'm working with but due to security, I must be very careful. The people here are very polite and friendly. I think that surprised me more than anything else about the trip. It might just be the situation that we're in but, whatever, I like it. Now that I'm in camp, I will just have the daily grind so there won't be much to tell over the next few weeks but, I will give all the grisly details no matter how monotonous it gets.

My body is adjusting to eating fresh, no preservative food. I thought I'd be eating Iraqi cuisine but, the camp project manager cooks us.....Hamburgers, hot dogs, fresh fish, spaghetti...Etc...Etc..... Oh!! I had the most interesting drink I think I've ever had in my life here! Our chief cook handed me an orange drink in a very thin can. I have a deep respect for him because first, he is here with us and second, he was a warrior in the iran/IRAQ war. I normally despise orange soda and the like but when I drank this.........It was orange!!! I don't mean flavored or added or any of that I mean.....There was an orange crushed up and placed into the can!!!!! WOW I said at first so as to not offend him.....I thought I was going to be sick....You know ....Lumpy drink. Then I realized that it was pieces of orange!! Fantastic. He knew I had never had anything like it and he smiled wide and laughed and slapped me on the back.

That's how it is here. People want to give to you and you want to give to them just as much. You share something you know that very few people share. I like it greatly. Now, on to the 'Other' side of the fence, things are a little different. I don't even know how to describe them. They are friendly enough but, they have such animosity towards everyone and everything. They are treated well by us but there is so much theivery and infighting there that I don't think any of them trust any two others. But, enough of that because, I haven't known them long enough to judge them and.....who am I to judge another man?

I will write again soon with more Iraqi things to talk about. For now, I am safe and having the adventure that I thought I would here!!!!

Mad Max...beyond Baghdad

Well, I'm here now. What a long flight. I'm disoriented about the days and times but everyone here is helping me out. I think that is what suprised me the most is the people here. Everyone is smiling, joking, laughing. It really is like a big family. Security here is very tight. We aren't in the green zone........we're in the Red. Red means danger.

It seems like everyone in this country has a gun. My being armed seems insignificant now. When I left the states, I felt like the Long Ranger....but now...just another guy with guns.

I'm sharing a computer with the other members of my compound now but soon, I will have my own computer and I can write more.

I leave tommorow but not for Mosul like I thought. The place I'm going is about 2 billion miles left of Baghdad in the middle of the desert. It should be very interesting. I do look forward to seeing the stars out there because at home, we are surrounded by city lights. No lights where I am going. I'll write more when I get my laptop.

My last day at home.....

Well, this is it. My mind is racing to figure out if I've forgotten something. I've been packed for three weeks so the chances are slim. I received my menu yesterday and oh boy is my body in for a shock!! I eat like an American now....pizza....McDevils....Krispy-Kreme.... but in 2 short days, I will have to learn Iraqi food exclusively.......Humas? Burgas? Addas? I've tried looking some things up and they didn't even come up! They may just be local recipes. If it's good enough for the Iraqis though, it is good enough for me. I believe after a couple of weeks of detoxing the junk from my system and running fruits and veggies through it, I should actually feel better than what I do now physically.

I'm finally finishing up this confounded bathroom downstairs as well. My wife's Grandfather is coming today (Thank God) to help me complete it. Once that is done, I'll have some private, quiet time with my family as well as confirming my itinerary and getting prepared for Tuesday morning.

Being this sick and taking this crazy two day trip ahead, by the time I reach Baghdad, I should think I'll be one confused and tired individual. That's part of the package though so.......

I will be sooooo glad not to see snow anymore....we got another dusting lastnight and I amTIRED OF IT. Everyone here is. I'm going to try to do my first picture and what better than a picture of SNOW! My front Yard.

Again.......BRRRRRRRRR!!!!! It's 78 in Baghdad today and THAT is one of the things I DO look forward to!!! 

You get the picture!! Oops..I see the date on there. I put that they were taken a couple weeks ago....okay months but it has looked this way up until a couple days ago! 

This is a couple of weeks ago but it shows just how much we get and just how sick of it we can be... 

SOLD!!

Well, I watched my motorcycle drive away with a guy from Virginia. I am much more sad than I imagined about the whole thing. It was a real nice bike. My daughter is more upset because that was kind of our thing. Riding and stopping and getting a snack or a drink somewhere. It was good father/daughter time for us. I'll get a new one when I return and I didn't want it in the way and rusting while I was gone.

My departure date got bumped back a day because of full flights so I'll have time to finish up my honey-doo list. It seems to get bigger the closer it gets to leaving!!
With my being home for almost a month now, my wife and I are starting to rub each other the wrong way. We are both looking forward to my leaving. It's not a divorce thing or anything. Just, constantly on top of each other and each others business. No I don't mean that......hehe.

I bought the wrong size holster that I need to take so I'm taking that back and exchanging it today. It feels weird to wear it. Powerful but with great responsibity. A police friend of mine tells me that I need a 'thumb-break' on it so it is more difficult to disarm me. I like the thought of being able to just jerk it out and use it. I pray I don't have to but I am fully prepared to do whatever is neccesary to get back home to my wife and children. Well, the wife is ready to go. I'll write more when anything happens.

Purgatory

Well, the past two days have been enlightening. I have spent them at the military base 4 hours away trying to get an i.d. that will let me into the country. My company had all the paperwork sent to me and I took it to the base but when I got there, there was a field on the application that was supposed to be filled out by someone in Iraq and it was not. We tried calling and mailing but it was going on midnight there so no luck. I drove and spent the night an hour away at a relative's house. It was nice because I rarely get to see this person and his fiance. We had a nice fish & chips dinner at a little Irish pub and they paid!! I like that. I bought a toothbrush and we went back to their place to watch movies. My nose was running like crazy when we got back to their place and I wondered if I'd be sick again before winter was over.

Sure enough, with the coming of morning, I felt terrible. I drove back to the base for another round of who's-fault-is-it and three hours later, I finally got the i.d. At the same time I was at the base, my wife was e-mailing Iraq to get additional information. She called on my cell to tell me that my departure day was Monday, the 21st. I've been packed for a while and I've said my goodbyes so I'm ready. I drove back home 4 hours feeling absolutely miserable. I used a half a box of tissues so I didn't even go straight home. Instead I went to the doctor to get something for this stupid cold. I can't drag 60 pound bags half way round the world feeling like this. I am dreading it now because I know when Monday rolls around, I'll be in the main throws of the illness. I've never been able to sleep on planes but maybe this time, I will.

My wife feels much better about the whole thing since she spoke to someone on the phone with the company today. They put her mind at ease about the conditions that I'll face over there. The hardest part of the trip so far is coming though.......saying goodbye to my children. I can hardly think about it without getting shaken. At the same time though, children have gone through a hundred times the adversity and come out okay. I will miss them dearly and they will miss me.... They do however look forward to sleeping in Mommy's bed for a whole year!! My son is too young to understand but my daughter is at an awkward age for this. I have spoken to her at length about the trip and assured her that I would run, fight, dig, or mow people down to get back to her and her brother.

I'll write when I hear more but for now, it's just get ready to go time.

Finally.....

Well, I finally got the call to go to the Military base of my choice to get my i.d. card. Getting a hold of someone at one of the bases is proving to be as difficult as getting the job though. I still have no idea how long it will take to get to Iraq from this point but it is something. Maybe the blog helped......yeah right...

The waiting game......

Well, here's the story. A couple months ago, I was on my way to work when I heard a story on NPR about working conditions in Iraq. I was vaguely interested because it would be good money and I thought it would be a real life-changing experience to work in the middle east.....especially with a war going on. Many of us in the construction industry are freelancers. It makes it easy to leave one job to join another which is pretty much the criteria if you want to work overseas.

I applied for several different jobs, made contacts on the ground in Iraq, and researched the country and the war on a nightly basis. My excitement grew as I saw just how many people were working there and all of the stories they told and the pictures they sent back were fantastic! I finally got the call 2 weeks ago but here's the catch. They told me to be ready in a couple of days to leave for Baghdad!!! 2 days!? I ran around like an idiot packing, saying goodbyes. I quit my current job, sold my work truck, sold my motorcycle, had a will made up, got my finances in order, had a long talk with both of my children about leaving, and planned a 2 week vacation that was going to happen in 3 months and then.............nothing......waiting......1 week.....then 2.....now I'm into my 3rd week and I feel like I'm going insane!!!!! Emotionally, I'm drained. I went from running like an idiot to sitting like an idiot. They tell me to "be patient" but I have no idea when this thing is going to happen now..... My wife is ready for me to leave now....I just get in her way wandering around the house in the same clothes for days...... The company assures me that I am going soon and to be patient but there are no updates as to my situation, no calls, no nothing. Sorry for the grammer but that's how it feels. So I wait. I will post again either when I've gone completely off the edge from waiting or when I leave.