German "Beer" in Iraq

0.0% Alcohol, brought to you courtesy of General Order Number One: "No Fun Allowed!"



Hey diddle diddle... the horse jumped over the snake? Arabic labeling on beer, non-alcoholic beer, but...

Anyway... it was pretty gross... though I may have to snag more and make a redneck arabic windchime out of them to hang outside my trailer for the heck of it!

Run For The Border... Taco Bell In Baghdad!

I am overjoyed to say I ate an authentic Taco Bell Bean Burrito for a snack yesterday. It was heavenly. Oh, the warm gooeyness... *sigh*

Pretty Lights

The internet seems to be going faster than usual tonight, so I'm putting up some pics for family and friends to see- enjoy!

The chandelier of Al Faw Palace





What else can I say? It's HUGE!

JOOS In Iraq! Picture in this post!

I'm sorry... just couldn't resist! BWAHAHAHA!



If you get sick after eating the food... DON'T blame the JOOS!!!!

Let the jokes fly!

I Got a Trailer!

It's been a LONG month+ in that tent, but it's finally
over, and at least it wasn't 4 months like they originally thought. 
Not a minute too soon either!  People were
ignoring the "no-eating in the tent" rule and it got
infested with bugs and I was getting eaten alive every
night.  The day I found out I had finally gotten to
the top of the list for a trailer, I came back on a
lunch break to drop off laundry to find a note saying
that everything in there had to be inspected and the
mattresses and the wooden bunks were to all be burned.

I was able to take some clothes after I inspected
them, but the majority had to go for "medical" laundry
where they scald them just in case a bug is hitching a
ride.  Sounds good until they tell me that they only
pick up on Monday and drop back off on Saturday.
Since it was Tuesday when I dropped them off, it means
I won't have my most of my stuff for about 2 whole
weeks!  After inspecting every inch of my clothes
inside and out and putting them in a plastic bag I
went to the BX and bought another sheet set and a
blanket in case the heater breaks (with my luck
lately, it probably would have if I didn't buy the
blanket).

Tonight I'm stuck at work late (no overtime here
folks), but thankfully it's relatively slow so I can
type this out in advance and post it when I get back
to my trailer.  :-)  I'd like to at least be able to
enjoy my new trailer since I have to walk between
30-45 minutes (uphill each way in the mud) to get to
and from work now...  ;-) 

We shouldn't have to fight al-qaeda much longer, if at
all... I mean, now that Osama said he's sorry, and his
son called him a nice guy, the bad guys will start
improvising hugs instead of explosives and we'll all
live happily ever after in some delusional politically
correct fantasy... right?

*yawn* See, you can tell I need sleep! I hope everyone
back in the states is having a good time.  Take care
and God Bless,

Chris

Historic Event! First Christian Band to Tour Iraq: Third Day!

Last night was amazing- with all the bad news in the media it was encouraging to get to see something non-PC happen, and not something little either!

Third Day, for those who don't know, is probably THE best contemporary Christian band there is (and that's not just my humble opinion)- they've had many number one hits, a platinum disc and video, and a Grammy. They are now also the first Christian band to receive an invite from the USO, and thus the first Christian band to Tour Iraq! The location was packed and everyone got caught up waving their hands and singing along.

9-11 Commemorative Banner Hanging in Iraq Palace

The 9-11 Commemorative Banner is a 21x31 ft banner made of 3014 miniature (4x6inch) flags representing each victim of 9-11. First hung at Ground Zero medical site, and then St George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island, the Pentagon, the USS Battleship NJ, New York's Hotel, and now Al Faw Palace, Iraq.

Diversion: Scrubs

Sorry, no new pic for this post, though I have a couple new ones I'll try to get on here in the next couple days. I've been watching Scrubs in my spare time thanks to some generous soul who uploaded it to a shared drive. It's such a great series (BIG praise coming from a sci-fi and fantasy fan)! So far I've watched every episode in order up to early season six! I don't know what I'm going to do when I finish the collection. I still have most of a year (or two) to go! AAAARRRRRGH!

It's been a great diversion though- and since it's really hard to get out and make friends when you're working 12 hour shifts and you've been sick, I feel like I'm best buds with J.D. and Turk. Sad, I know...

Monkeys keep flinging poo over the fence and it makes an awful noise when it lands, but thankfully I'll have a bit more shelter (or the illusion of) than currently provided by my tent- (and a bit more room) when I get a trailer sometime in the coming week (disclaimer: estimate only, no guarantee)! Thankfully some spaces have been opening up and I'm making my way through the line at a good speed!

Oh, and mostly over being sick! :-)

A New Pic of a Palace- ooh! aah!

I can't believe I finally got a pic up (and the same day someone said something about it too)!
I took this before the weather turned to crap. This is Al Faw palace. The water surrounding it is a man-made lake created in a couple months. And people say the US blows money on silly projects. Why, I bet a certain politician in Alaska is just dying to have one of these built as a bus stop (with your tax money). ;-P

It actually snowed here in Baghdad for the first time in decades just a couple days ago- unfortunately no pics of that... I have been slogging through mud ever since. Odd that you don't think you'll encounter that in Iraq. Oh well...

I think part of the problem with posting pics is that the internet here is a very temperamental thing. Sometimes you get lucky and the bandwidth genies smile favorably upon you. Other times (most usually), random sites like Blogger, Youtube, or even Yahoo, don't load properly. Trying to get anything to load is like magically being transported back into the 80's- only instead of my machine telling me "please wait" (a few minutes or an hour) it "times out" instead and I have to start the frustrating process all over. Well, that's it in a nutshell. I'm taking my nyquil and zonking out now since I've been sick.

Note: If you ever go somewhere exotic, like Iraq in the winter, and your company, or the Army tells you you don't need to pack a sleeping bag because linens will be provided at your destination, don't pay any attention! The heater in your tent WILL break on the coldest frackin' night, and you will be shivering in your jacket and running to the BX the next day only to learn they are closed for inventory. You will survive, congratulate yourself for not getting sick like everyone else, then promptly get sick a couple days later. Murphy and his stupid law strike again.

PS- WHAT IS UP WITH ALL THE NEWS ABOUT HILLARY AND OBAMA??? GET OUT THERE AND MAKE SOME CONSERVATIVE NOISE! I DO NOT WANT TO COME HOME TO THE UNITED SOCIALIST STATES! GOT IT?