Happy Fathers Day...

Happy Father's Day to my dad, brother, brother in laws, and all fathers in the field of friendship out there reading my blog today! I hope you all have the chance to take time with your respective children and take some time to smell the roses.
I am certain Scout is snoring at Skip's feet right about now, as they are both out on a fishing trip. This is the first fishing trip that Scout has gone on with her dad. She usually has to stay home with me.

My dad is resting, after triple by-pass heart surgery, in the condo in Seattle. Adam (his home nurse these days) took some time off to go play at the condo over at Lake Chelan. Dad thought he would be feeling up to going with Adam, but not quite yet. My family is doing well, and I got a chance to talk to dad who seems to be recouperating nicely and therapy seems to be working on his stability and mobility. Thank you all for your prayers and notes about his health and we are all so happy that it is behind us.

It was fun today to watch all of the soldiers, sailors, marines, civilians, and contractors enjoy the dining hall festivities for Fathers Day. They held drawings for them so that prizes were awarded and the smiles of winners were priceless. Others enjoyed the baby blue frosted cake, and/or the "HOT DOG BAR" just for them. Since the power went out in our camp I spent more time today watching the fun!

Happy Father's Day Dad, I hope you are taking part in something in Seattle that will make you smile!

Poo Poo Puddles...ponds of piss...

What a pleasure to awake to the bright sunshine everyday! It feels weird for it to be hot so early in the day. The sun shines so brightly here, starting around 4 am. I have to wear my sunglasses to the restroom; first stop of everyday. But this day was ever so special. The "poo poo puddle" is pungent. See if the Afghan workers don't screw the hose on tight enough on the Gray Water truck, it will leak, and in the morning we all get a wonderful surprise. The "poo poo puddle" so stinky that you have to hold your towel up to your face in order to walk to the restroom. Lucky for me, my B-hut is upwind from this puddle that, although it is very hot, it will not dissipate for quite some time. The ground is very dry, and the sun very hot, but for some reason this puddle doesn't dry up quite as fast as a normal puddle of rain water. Any reason why? Something else "poopie" happened today, I found out that our tennis team lost in the playoff match. So, while I was over here playing in my first BAF Poker Tournament, my tennis teammates were playing a playoff match with full focus putting their best foot forward. I guess it just wasn't in the cards, "a real pisser" (the Brits over here would say). Still we ended the season with our heads held high and with a 9-0 standing, our best ever!

Tennis Tammie...

Well as some of you know my tennis team is doing better than ever this season, finishing up the season without me. :(

I did get to play in the beginning of the season, 4 matches and 4 wins. Legally I am still "part of the team" and very proud of our 9-0 record!!!

WE ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!

How exciting is that! For the first time in all of these years I have been playing, the team is playing in their first playoff match Wednesday night at Bally's.

If you see any of the tennis ladies, make sure to give them a high five from me.

I might try picking up a ping pong paddle while here just to keep my hand-eye coordination in check. No tennis courts here, only tons of rocks and dust.

Umbrellas in Seattle...

Any local from the city of Seattle will tell you that if you are caught carrying an umbrella on a rainy day - you are not a local. Visitors to Seattle will pack an umbrella based on the news that it rains there all the time. What the news won't tell you is how much you will stand out simply by using that umbrella.
Similar circumstances occur here in Afghanistan - don't carry a flashlight.
When packing to come here I packed five different kinds of flashlights, one that tells the time in twelve different time zones (not including this one), a LED blue small keychain type light, a red/white Petzel head lamp, a simple LED hand held flashlight, and even a LED flat Eddie Bauer flashlight. The first week I used one of the flashlights to light my way back and forth to the PX and the gym and the dining facility. But what I noticed was no one else was using one. Why?
My first thought was that it was against policy to light my way along the rocky walkways. Someone was going to stop me, pull me aside and say I was lighting the way for the next rocket attack. My second thought was the walkways here are so ridiculously unkept, streets pot holed, obscure ditches, etc. that you would be a fool not to carry a flashlight.

I also notice that the planes and helos flying over at night do not turn on the headlights....hmmm.

One month later, I am not carrying a flashlight anywhere. I see the ones who are, and spot them as new comers.
When walking I use the light from the large spinning (light house type) light from the air field, the headlights from oncoming traffic (if I am along the "blvd"), and your eyes simply adjust to the darkness.
What is funny is that the smallest flashlight I brought is the only one I use daily, it is a simple LED blue light that was on my key chain. I use it to find the key lock on my door late at night. I use the real flashlight when the power goes out in my room, which it does a lot.
So, when visiting Seattle leave the umbrella at home, and if you are so lucky to get to come to Afghanistan don't forget your small LED blue light. It is all you will need.

Another classmate swings through Bagram...

Peek-a-boo, where are you? We are exploring my camp, Camp Dragon. Ryan got me to finally walk around and see what is along the perimeter here. Since the rocket strike, I had been a bit weary about exploring to far from home. But in the light of day, we explored the fenceline of where the battle took place.

Then we got to jump up, and I mean you need a step ladder, into these huge MReps (that is what they call them). Classmates, mechanics, at Camp Atterbury were always talking about these rigs that they work on. Look how large the tires are!

Ryan just got his hair cut for the trip to Kabul, we are in the little New Zealanders area of my camp here. The green rig is one of the NZ soldiers trucks, see the fenceline (perimeter) in the background, we are only about 400 ft. from my b-hut.

Thank you Ryan for taking me exploring all over the base, I was more than happy to spend time running from PAX (passenger) fixed wing terminal to PAX helo terminal with you, getting you to where you had to be. So psyched you got to take a helo outta here, what an experience! Be safe in Kabul (pronounced Ka-bull, not Ka-bool) I know your talent won't be wasted!

Finally classmates appear in Bagram...

Michael Powers arrives to Bagram, and he found me! We spent 10 days in a classroom in Camp Atterbury, IN wondering where he would be offered a job. I knew I was coming here, but Mike didn't know where he would be going. How awesome to have him stationed here.

The reason he is in country, bless his heart, is because his son will soon be stationed in another province serving in operation enduring freedom. You've got to love a dad who will make such a scarafice to be near his son. He accepted a position in with the Civilian Expeditionary Workforce in Resource Management. I am looking forward to learning a lot more about what this war is actually costing us. Sounds like lakeside fireside chat for a later date. Welcome aboard Mike, so glad to have a buddy here.

Happy Birthday to me.....

This is a photo of my office, notice the sheet of orange (color) plastic table cloth on the wall being filled with family cards and letters from home. Soon this area will be filled with autographs and entertainment photos too. Notice the Seattle Sounders scarf on my chair and map of Afghanistan on the wall, and US wall map on the ceiling. What we need is a map of the world, in order for me to better plan my R&R. The desk on the right is my co-worker, Dan's, desk. He is on R&R.

Looking from my bed toward the door, blue in the reflection of the mirror is my bed. Black cloth is for draping in front of door to keep the light out. Badge ready to go, hanging on the lightswitch.AFN on TV, lap top on my lap, wall locker and wooden locker, two small plastic drawer chests, more than enough storage which includes tons of space under my bed (where the wheeled trunks are). Notice the Uncle Sam Joker hat! Past entertainers autographed photos come with the room.

Happy Birthday today, me sitting on my new bed, I need to use the trunk to step on to get up here. Pink shirt was a gift from Tracy & Caitlin. Thank you!! Notice a/c above me! That is what brings the smiles in such a dreadful environment.

I thought it would be appropriate today to better explain myself through the most recent reading provided by Birthdayalarm.com ......and if you didn't think you knew me very well, you will now.

This is perfectly stated, I couldn't have said it better myself. I know those who know me will be shaking their heads and laughing about it's truth.

How you approach life and how you appear to others....

You are always questioning and learning, and you seem young and alive no matter what your chronological age, for your mind is always alert, curious, flexible, and open to new experiences. You have a childlike enthusiasm for anything new and you learn easily, but you also get bored rather quickly. You can be something of a scatter brain, for you tend to have so many ideas and irons in the fire that it is hard to keep track of them all. You need and crave variety, change, mental stimulation and an active social life.

The Inner You...Your Real Motivation....

You are, in many ways, an eternal child. Your mind is bright, alert, curious, flexible, playful,, and always eager for new experiences and your attention span is often quite brief. You grasp ideas quickly and once your initial curiousity has been satisfied, you want to go on to something else. You crave frequent change, variety, meeting new situations and people.

What do you think? totally me, huh?

Well, today my boss did throw me a curve, I was evicted. My new cell block (as you saw in photos above) is ready for my habitation. I will now reside between two people, and have a third person at my feet. All separated by one piece of plywood. I am thankful for the privacy of the single room, and the amenities, but most especially for the storage space under my bed.

Although at dinner I was advised to put my mattress on the floor and put my storage above me, along with my kevlar vest. That was a creepy bit of advice, especially since there are bugs on my floor. If the rockets red glare, I might have to be comfortably not on the floor, sorry. But there is plenty of room to get down and under there, if necessary. Not going to happen daily.

Thank you Skip for the gift box full of bug getters for ants and scorpions; bug traps for roaches; and sticky tape for flies; I placed them all over the room. I also sprayed the exterior with RAID.

Most of all thank you for my new camera. I got a new Fujifilm XP camera that will take better photos in dust and even under water, cool! Can't wait to get under water! Thanks to for all of the snacks and goodies to eat and share with staff. Will be tough to share the smoked salmon.

I am just as close to work, and a bit closer to the latrine and showers, so no real complaints.

My birthday was memorable, and you'll all be happy to know I treated myself to ice cream at lunch! :)

Thank you for all of your birthday wishes and cards and packages. Much appreciated!!

Cheers and smiles!