Monday Number 7

Sorry, dear readers, about missing Monday Number 6, I was out on another trip with a group of Senators who were here learning more about our military and how we can finish the job here in Iraq correctly.  More importantly, they were able to spend a fair amount of time with their constituents who are here serving.  I never get tired of seeing a Congressman or Senator interact with the young servicemen and women here.  They are truly awed by the amount of responsibility bestowed on our youth.

One of the great things about my job is never knowing exactly who you are going to bump in to at the airport!  Y'all know I am a huge golf nut, so I was giddy when these two gents sauntered off the same plane as the Senators.  Good thing I always have my camera with me!

Tom Watson has been one of my heroes for as long as I can remember.  Such grace and dignity on the course, a great gentleman and a wonderful example of how to behave as an athlete and a celebrity.  We chatted for a few moments and he looked me straight in the eye and said:  "You play golf?"  "Yes, Sir, I do..." "What do you shoot?  100s, 90s, 80s?"  "Well, Sir, I've played in the 90s for quite a while now..."  "What do you think you need to do to improve your game, Karen?"  "Well, Sir...I need to improve my putting."  He looked at me ruefully and said "So do I, Karen...so do I."  At that point, I thought is best not to bring up the British Open....

I still can NOT believe I had a face to face with Tom Watson...Corey Pavin was great, too!  Very quiet and sort of in awe of everything around him.  He graciously agreed to have his picture taken and we chatted briefly about Shinnecock Hills.  These guys have more than 10 Majors between them.  Amazing!!!

I also celebrated Thanksgiving with my new friends.  I am very lucky to work with several other O-3s who are sort of my age.  Actually, they are all about 10 years younger than me...but that's part of what makes it fun.  They are so young!!!  We ran a 5k Turkey Trot, played a little football...ate our faces off at the Chow Hall (SHOUT OUT to the Indian and Ugandan contractors who decorated everything and make absolutely DELICIOUS food for us....it was really special)...then capped off the holiday with the mandatory kick off to every Christmas season:  watching The Christmas Story.

The next few weeks will be interesting.  A lot of the staff has tried to schedule R&R during the holidays so there are a lot of people coming and going.  The Elections may or may not happen in a couple of months, and the Iraqi's (as well as the rest of the Muslim world) are finishing up with the Eid holiday.

More as it comes....

It's not allll bad....

Seriously, it's not all bad here.  I have a unique job which allows me to travel quite a bit and see parts of this country that few Americans will ever see.  I surely never thought I would see some of these things...

Last week, I took a group of folks out to the Ziggurat of Ur.  It's over 4,000 years old and was built next to Abraham's house.  Yes, all you bible readers...that Abraham.  After we left, I thought:  "George Washington Slept Here" really doesn't have the same ring to it anymore. 

I picked up some of the bricks, all of which have words carved/stamped in to them and realized that they were probably the oldest man made thing I would ever come in contact with.  Amazing.  The stuff in the near distance is Abraham's house, or what's left of it.

This is me at the base of the Ziggurat...not the most flattering uniform, as if I needed any help with big hips.  Just in case though, my M9 is always handy on my belt to make those birthing hips look that much bigger!!

Switching gears to another bizarre encounter.  A couple of days ago, we got a nice "surprise" visit by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  I am pleased to tell you that the man could not have been nicer.  I had the opportunity to meet him, I stuck out my hand and said:  "Governor, thank you so much for coming to visit us."  He looked me straight in the eye and said "Vhat....I don't get a hug???"  He then promptly embraced me in a great big bear hug and we chatted for a minute or so.  He repeatedly thanked US for being here.  He gave a heartfelt speech in the Chow Hall and spent a lot of time with the troops.  He even went to the gym the next morning to work out with some of our guys.

Thankfully, an AP photographer was nearby during my time with him, so there is evidence!!

 

 

So, while I am apart from my family and friends...honestly, not every day is a bad day.

Monday Number Five!!!

Wow.  I've been here just shy of a month now.  Strange.

Lots of exciting stuff this past week, hard to know where to start.  I finally came back among the living and seem to have kicked the chest/throat cold right in the ass.  It's sort of settled in to my right eye, but I can live with that.  It's a little swollen and sore in the mornings, but by mid-afternoon it's all back to normal.  I can't imagine it will last much longer.

Earlier this week I received a package from home.  I love mail.  We all live for mail call.  My Mom baked me 6 mini-loaves of Finnish Pulla bread.  Heaven.  For those of you who aren't familiar, it's a little dense and quite sweet.  I love it.  When I opened the package I almost started to cry. A little bit of tasty home in a card board box.  My Mom's handwriting, the jelly, everything...it was exactly what I needed at that moment.  For a split second, I thought about sharing some of the bread with the folks in my office....then I shook my self and said "what they hell are you thinking, you crazy woman!?"  So, I shoved in back in the box and hid it under my desk.  I have now (gleefully) had it for dinner and breakfast several times.  I am evil.  I know.

I am starting to settle in to a pattern at work and am starting to get to know some of my co-workers a little better.  I don't really hang out with anyone, but we do go to the chow hall a few times a week together.  They are an interesting group of people....some of them have been here for 2 years.  One Army O-5 left this afternoon....she has been here for a total of 54 months since the start of the War.  Ummm.  I've been here for like 28 days and I can't believe it.  She's been here for YEARS!....I am such a pansy.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for some of these service men and women.  I don't know how they do it.

Most of the people I meet are very nice, but in this environment it's often hard to keep it in check. I am tired a lot, I'm in a strange place, and I'm a Navy Officer being forced to wear an Army uniform for the next year.  In short,  my Face Punch List is growing.  (I promised you all in a previous posting that I would explain the FPL, so here goes.)

The FPL is full of people I think should be, well.... punched in the face.  They are usually lazy, selfish, and ignorant....and too obtuse to realize that my amused expression is not really all that friendly.  It's a mask over my condescension because sometimes I just can't really believe these morons can function.  How do they get to the grocery store?  How do they even remember how to brush their teeth?  It's defies logic!

I'm not suggesting that I actually punch them in the face, I'm just saying they DESERVE to be punched in the face.  I know at least one of us would feel better afterwards.

Okay, on a happier and less acerbic note:

The weather has changed here, and we are definitely experiencing fall.  The temps during the days are in the lower 80s, and it's quite cool in the morning.  It's pouring rain out right now, if you can believe it.  It's supposed to rain for the next 36 hours...which means lots and lots of mud.  At least the air quality will be better, right?

I've also started running again, there isn't much else to do here.  My friend Holly pushed me towards it, gently nudging me back to the emotional place where I actually wanted to do it again. Inspired by my friends Caren, Steph, the aforementioned Holly, but most importantly my husband Jack I decided to take the plunge again.  So far, so good. Camp Victory is great for running....it's wide open and safe.  I've signed up for a 5k on Thanksgiving morning, so I'll be doing a Turkey Trot just like lot's of my peeps back home.

Here's a picture of the Palace where I work.  Can you believe that I walk in to this building everyday???

On that note...time for sleep!

Monday Number Four

Another week down.  I hosted another visit from folks coming from the US.  Lots of helo rides, plane rides and convoys to get to all of our meetings.

I won't say the week flew by, but I am starting to understand the phrase "the days take forever, but the weeks fly by."  As I told a friend today, I can't wait to hit my stride so I can wake up one day to realize that 4 months are gone in the blink of an eye.

This is me at the infamous Crossed Sabres parade ground in the International Zone.  The day was dusty and hazy, which makes it difficult to see the matching pair of sabres in the distance.

This is also parade ground where Saddam Hussein would work the crowds in to a dither and fire off his rifles in to the air. I imagine at some point it was quite impressive, but years of neglect and non-use make it a shell of what it must have been. 

It's in the heart of the IZ and the Iraqi equivalent of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is near by.  I'll try to grab a picture of that the next time I am in the area.

Here are some other pictures of my adventures this week....

Helo ride...love it.  I love helicopter rides!

I have taken dozens of photographs, but the bandwidth here is so bad that it took almost an hour just to upload these photos.  I'll have to figure out how to post them some other way.

More adventures await me this week...can't wait to fill you all in on them down the road....

Monday Number Three

You know, I was thinking (and maybe, in the interest of mental self preservation, I shouldn't think this way) that while the subject line says I'm on the 3rd Monday, I've really only been in Iraq for less than two weeks.  Which means, I have a really long way to go.

I'm pretty good at fooling myself....whenever I run marathons, I trick myself in the same way.  I hit mile marker number 22 and I tell myself:  just a little over three miles to go, because I know that every step takes me away from that 4 mile demarcation line.  I think these sorts of mental tricks are going to come in handy over the next 11+ months.

So, you all might be wondering what it looks like where I live.  Well, I thought I'd show you a picture of Dodge City North (left), which is the CHU (Containerized Housing Unit) 'neighborhood' I live in.  Our CHU's are also referred to as Hooches.  I swear, I am not making this stuff up. 

This picture is exactly what it looks like just about everywhere.  There are T-walls everywhere you look to protect us from incoming fire.  Thankfully, there hasn't been any since I've been here.  The little sections that are a further out are 'doorways' in to the space that is set aside for each CHU, which is really just a trailer.  With no running water, but they do have electricity and access to wireless internet.  The CHU I live in has three side by side rooms design to house two people per room.  Again, thankfully, I do not yet have a room mate.My fingers are crossed that it remains that way as long as possible.

As you can see, it's pretty sparse....except for the gravel. It is everywhere.  Deep, chunky gravel.  It is incredibly irritating.  But I'm told I'll appreciate it when it rains, because everywhere else that is just covered in sand with turn in to deep deep muck.

This last week was pretty exciting.  I hosted my first delegation from Washington DC, rode in two convoys while driving on the infamous Route Irish on my way out and back to the NEC (New Embassy Compound) in the International Zone.  Full Battle Rattle and loaded weapons...these security guys do NOT mess around.  So, I guess all that training I went through in South Carolina was really worth it.  I was alert, yet comfortable.

Now, sadly, I have settled in to the other "rite of passage" in Baghdad, which is illness.  I am battling the Baghdad Crud.  It's nothing terminal, but it is strength sapping and irritating.  I wish I could crawl in to my big king sized bed back home and sleep for hours.  Instead, I have another early wake up call and miles and miles of gravel....