January 22 - 28, 2007
It has been downright cold. I mean really cold with lows below zero and the highs in the mid-teens. With all the snow on the ground, you would think there would be some moisture in the air, but that is not the case. My handy-dandy hygrometer says there is 11% humidity outside, but I’m convinced it lies. My hands and face are suddenly dry and no amount of water consumed or lotion used seems to be helping. I guess I will have to wait for a little warmer, moister weather.
There are a couple of places here that cut hair. Two of them are AAFES (Army & Air Force Exchange System) sponsored places that cut hair for $5.25 USD and are no frills, and there is one place here that does the same for $12.00 and includes a much better looking woman and a massage. I have yet to try out the $12 hair cut. I have been to the same homely Russian lady (who looks Asian (more about this topic later)) for all but one of my hair cuts here. My first experience with her was unique because when I sat down in her chair, she asked me in Russian if I spoke Russian. I don’t speak enough Russian to hold a conversation, but I knew what she asked me and spun around in the chair to look at her because I would swear she was Chinese. I asked her in German if she spoke Deutsche; she shook her head, no. I asked her in Spanish if she spoke Espanol; again she shook her head, no. As I was beginning to ask her if she spoke Pig Latin, she picked up a Russian / English dictionary and feebly asked me in the worst English if I spoke English. Wow, we can communicate. From that day on, she has given me decent hair cuts and I have been working on my Russian. Because of this situation, I have had no real interest in spending more than double the cash on some decent-looking Kyrgy girl who would probably give me a worse hair cut and a shoulder massage that I’m not wild about.
I guess it only makes sense that many of the Russians would look Chinese when you consider the two countries’ locations with regard to one another. Afghanistan touches China and some of the former Soviet republics which makes this location a hey-day for enterprising folks from those regions. Not to mention the Russians occupied Afghanistan for how many years in the 80’s and 90’s and they were bound to leave some of their folks behind. In any case, I have made the assumption that every Asian-looking person I see here speaks Russian and will give them the greeting of the day in Russian. This is also mostly due to the fact that I do not speak a single word of Chinese.
In Week 11 I wrote about the FedEx Hajji that I called FH. I made the attempt to learn his name and discovered that he is not a local at all, well not by birth anyway. His given name, according to him, is Roger and he is a Phillippino who has spent a majority of his life here. Roger’s primary language is Pashto with dialects of different cultures which means that his English is still sparse.
We have a weekly menu here. That means every Tuesday is Spaghetti night and every Thursday is Mexican and every Friday is Surf-n-Turf, etc. Yes, I did say Mexican on Thursdays. Our food preparers are primarily locals supervised by U.S. military cooks. I have no idea what our cooks do besides sit around and tell the locals what to do every now and then. None of them appear to be Hispanic and evidently none of them have taught any Mexican culinary skills to the Hajjis. Most of us in the states know what decent Mexican food is and what it is supposed to look like. They have no concept here. There are trays of sour cream, guacamole, shredded cheese, black olives, and salsa available and it is obvious to me the sole purpose of these accoutrements is to hide the look and taste of the so-called chicken enchiladas and the beef burritos and so forth. I find myself putting the accoutrements on my tray without the food and eating that with a little salad. At least the sour cream tastes like sour cream and lettuce tastes like lettuce. I consider this my version of a taco salad.
I received a package today from Brandy and inside was a glimmering 750 ml bottle of Bacardi Gold Rum. There were other things in the box as well, but the rum stole the spotlight. Although it was not listed on the customs form (well, maybe it was the ‘mouthwash’ that I couldn’t find in the box) it was prominently displayed in a gallon size Ziploc bag. Anyone looking in the box prior to sealing and certifying the box could not have mistaken it for mouthwash. It’s my guess that Brandy stumbled upon a USPS employee that was former military. As a matter of fact, I’m sipping a little of that rum right now in a Coke while typing away. I believe I can type a bit better while supping on the rum. Furthermore, I am beginning to think I even look better while guzzling the rum. I’m sure all-you-all can tell how much better written this is suddenly and are probably in awe over my new-found rugged handsomeness (in dimly lit areas). Me too!
I decided to rearrange and reorganize my room. There is only so much you can do to a 6’ x 12’ room, but I’m determined to utilize Feng Shui and couple it with dashes of Chi. In ‘man-speak’, I wanted to put my 74” plywood bed horizontally in the 72” width of the room. I had two options with this course of action: 1) Expand the width of the walls, or 2) Shorten the bed. I chose Option 2 for obvious reasons (primarily because my carpentry skills are not yet that outstanding). Some of you may recall that I am exactly 71 and 13/16 inches tall in sock feet. I may be a full 72” now with my hair growth. Anyway, I estimated that I could use my cordless DeWalt 18 volt XRP super 7” circular saw to cut off 2.5” of my bed and then use my cordless DeWalt 18 volt XRP dynamic thunder variable speed titanium bit drill to reattach the legs of the bed so that it would fit in the 72” width. After five minutes of wood particles being thrown around my room and another ten minutes of molecular force dynamics, my bed was exactly where I wanted it.
Now that the bed was where I wanted it, I had to fabricate a different shelf for my TV and DVD player. Easy in theory, but harder in reality. I reasoned that the best place for the TV would be over the foot of my bed (based on room dimensions and functionality) and I could mount it flush with the ceiling and provide the proverbial 12 degree downward tilt for optimal viewing. Like I said, easy in theory. One of the immediate problems is that nothing here is square (90 degree corners). Another problem is the availability of parts and lumber. Everything must be fabricated out of the wood parts and pieces that we acquire or gain from our crates of armor. When one of our crates arrives, we are not only excited because it contains fabulous pieces of bullet retardant material, but the wood and screws that make up the crate are systematically dismantled and saved for future use. In Ed’s best American Indian voice: “We use the whole buffalo!”
Anyway, I digress. I made several careful and time-consuming measurements, drew out the diagram, and calculated forces of nature such as temperature, gravity, and local explosions. My end product is truly a marvel of modern engineering. I intend to send the technical specifications and photo to M.I.T. for application into the graduate engineering programs. I’m thinking they may award me an advanced degree on the spot for this thing of beauty.
Camp Albert here on Bagram held a yard sale. They had been advertising the sale in typical fashion with paper flyers posted up everywhere. One of the units was leaving after completing their tour and their replacements were already here on the ground, hence the yard sale. The sale started promptly at 0930L on Thursday. We arrived at 0955L to find only four items remaining. All the electronics to include TVs, DVD players, and refrigerators were gone. All that remained was a standing fan, a metal waste basket, and two plastic Contico 3-drawer storage containers. I paid $5 for all four items, but the item I really wanted was the waste can. Instead of hanging my plastic bags that I receive from the PX shopping experiences on a nail attached to one of my walls, I can now place the plastic bag in the can and throw stuff away normally. Oh, the glory! This may sound like such a simple thing, but it is huge here! I have increased my social status ten-fold with this purchase.
Ed & Craig treated me exceptionally well on my birthday. CD personally performed a couple of poignant banjo tunes for my listening pleasure. For dinner, Ed bought a couple of pizzas from our local Ciano pizzeria that is connected to the Popeye’s Fried Chicken. It is run by local Afghanis although one of the workers appears to be an actual Italian. Depending on toppings, the average pizza is $6.50 and is about 12” wide. They are terrible. I’m not sure how the pepperoni and ham and so forth are made / prepared, but they are awful. We downed those pizzas like we hadn’t eaten in months despite the taste and went down to the other end of Disney Drive to get an ice cream.
Down by the East PX is a building that houses a Subway sandwich shop, a Green Beans coffee shop and a DQ / Orange Julius. The DQ / Orange Julius serves no food items, although they have the food products, pictures, and prices listed on their lit overhead board for your viewing pleasure. There is no seating area and you could only squeeze about 10 people in front of the counter. In any case Craig bought me a Peanut Buster Parfait which they are capable of producing. They look just like the real thing from America; however the soft serve ice cream has a slightly odd aftertaste. I described it as a kind of cinnamon flavor while Craig Dobyns described it as a kind of cocoanut flavor. Regardless of the aftertaste flavor, we consumed our ice cream treats with the fervor of a rabid dog.
I did it. I bought internet for my room. The whole issue with the USO pushed me over the top. I am now paying $35 a month for the convenience of mediocre internet in my room. When I say mediocre, I’m comparing it to my cable internet at home. This maxes out at 100Mbs during non-peak times. It has added to my happiness with downloading stuff and IMing Kris and the kids. Also having it in my room means I am not sitting shoulder to shoulder with someone else while they are performing the same tasks with their friends and family, so the privacy is cool. The USO is going back to 24 hour operation on February 1st. I would like to think it had something to do with my complaint campaign, but probably not.
Ed and Greg are leaving today to head back to Iraq. This is both good and bad for a number of reasons. Actually, they leave Monday, but have to show up at the PAX Terminal for “Showtime” at 0250L Monday morning. That is much earlier than O-dark-30 to you non-military folks! Obviously, Craig and I were going to see them off and drive them the 450 meters to the terminal. Ed and I decided to stay up the entire time and just head to the terminal at the appointed time. What a great idea. Let’s not sleep at all. I’m not sure why this sounded like a good idea at the time, maybe it was because we could chat and carry-on about stuff that we hadn’t discussed in the previous two months. The end result was sleep deprivation that I am fighting now while trying to type this thing. I will catch up with the sleep thing soon.
It’s now time to wrap this missive up and send it out. My distro list keeps expanding, so if there are some of you out there that I have not already forwarded previous editions to, please let me know. It’s now a simple matter of sending them out from the cozy confines of my retro, wood-paneled, reorganized, room. Don’t miss next week’s scintillating stories as I imbibe you with: new abdominal workouts, winning prizes on ring-pulls, and the always exciting food of the week review.
Craig
Jan 27, 2007
Jan 21, 2007
WEEK 11
January 15 - 21, 2007
This week starts off with Martin Luther King Day and for those of you back in the U.S., it was a holiday. I know most of the work slogans are now something like: “A day on, not a day off”. Well, for us here it was most definitely a day on. The dinner meal in the DFAC was the same as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. We had sparkling cider, turkey, roast beef, chicken, ham, potatoes, et al. The difference was that the chain of command was not serving the food this time. They did during those other holidays, but not this one. I guess MLK Day doesn’t quite rate as important as Thanksgiving and Christmas to them. Oh well, slide me some more of that dark meat, I’m celebrating.
I shaved off my goatee today. It was about time I guess. After a couple of months, it had only grown to just less than two inches in length. I’m convinced to get the traditional long ZZ Top look; I would be growing that thing for 23 years. It’s not worth it; besides when I go running in the morning my goatee freezes up from all the heavy breathing and panting I do while running. I kid you not; my face gains another ten pounds of ice at the end of a couple of miles in this cold. Then I have to chisel it out and wait for the remnants to thaw. Nope, I’m back to baby’s butt smooth and I like it.
Last week Kris helped me pick out some new running shoes as we were collaborating online. Today they showed up and they are much better in person than on a web site. I love them! They are Nike Air Jagged Ice Trail running shoes with Gore-Tex. Of course I got them in black with the red and silver trim (I know, sounds a little gaudy, but they’re not) and cannot wait to strap them on tomorrow morning for a run. I’m wearing them around tonight to help break them in a little before the big run. I am so excited about these shoes that I am thinking about ordering another set right now. You know how it is, you finally find something you really like, but only buy one. Months or so later when you are looking for another of the same item, you find out it is discontinued or on back order from Zimbabwe and will probably not be shipped until sometime in March of 2009.
It snowed! I suppose I should say, it is still snowing. I got up this morning to go for my run with my brand new shoes and there was three inches of snow on the ground with a plethora occupying the air. Hey those shoes are Gore-Tex and are guaranteed to keep your feet warm and dry. There is no better way to find out if my investment is worth it than to try them out in these conditions, is there? Anyway, I started out on my normal route and came across a road grader doubling as a snow plow. I passed the grader which was on the left side of the road, there was a shuttle bus stopped on the right side picking up some people. Unbeknownst to me, another shuttle bus which was behind me attempted to go around the grader (as the grader is moving in the same direction) and just short of the stopped bus. The roads are sheet ice underneath three inches of snow and the bus driver in his haste to miss the other bus and grader bumps me as I am running. I caught this whole experience out of the corner of my eye and tried to jump out of the shuttle bus’s way just as he bumped me. I touched down on some icy spot, lost my footing, and crash landed into the rocky shoulder of the road and ditch. Before I had an opportunity to assess my injuries, I was up and chasing down the shuttle bus. I caught up to it and banged on the driver’s window as I shouted a multitude of verbose and well thought out statements that would have made Aubrey proud. Obviously the bus driver did not stop (I did get the number) and I eventually slowed back down to my pace to finish out my run.
Once back to my hooch, I assessed my shoes. I love them! My feet were warm and dry although the rest of me was covered in snow that was melting and dripping everywhere. I also took the opportunity to check myself over for any damage and although I had quite a bit of pain in my right hip and buttocks, there was very little noticeable damage. I’m sure I will bruise up, but other than that, I am fine. I will turn in the bus number and file a report with KBR later today or tomorrow.
It snowed all day long. We accumulated around 8” – 10” of fresh snow on top of our already frozen spots of ice and left over packed snow. It was actually quite beautiful, but very, very slick. To top off the snow, the sky cleared and the temperature dropped to negative temperatures. The last couple of nights have been -6 and -8 degrees F with highs in the mid teens during the day. The snow has that crunchy sound when you walk on it, but doesn’t pack. It just turns into a kind of snow dust.
Because of our new found white wonder, our internet and phones have been sporadic at best. Evidently it has been too cold for the Air Force to sweep out the satellite dishes and consequently too terrible to land planes at Bagram. I know this sounds like Week 4 all over again, but instead of waiting for Craig D we were waiting for our shipment of armor.
Our big armor shipment was due in Wednesday, but was delayed. We checked again on Thursday (Nope, the planes cannot land in the snow). Again we went to the FedEx office on Friday (Once again, no. Maybe tomorrow). On Friday there happened to be an American-looking guy behind the FedEx computer wearing a University of Delaware sweatshirt. I asked him if he was an American and he said, “Yes”. I asked him if he worked for FedEx and he replied he was the Regional Sales Representative out of Dubai. I then asked if I could lodge a complaint and then went on to tell him how much money we were paying FedEx for reliable shipments into Afghanistan and how disappointed I was with their ability to deliver. Obviously he told me the delay was not the fault of FedEx, but rather it was the Air Force who would not let their planes land on Bagram because of the weather. In any case, I was told in plain English to check back tomorrow. Well Saturday came and when I checked in at FedEx in the afternoon, the American was gone, but my normal Hajji was there and was excited to tell me a plane would land this afternoon. He asked me to come back after 1500 and he would hopefully have good news for me. I showed up about 1530 and the Hajji came up to me and told me my shipment was in, but they were still trying to find the second of two crates. He verified my cell number and said he would deliver tonight. At this point, I said it may be better first thing tomorrow morning.
This discussion confused the FedEx Hajji (one of these days I will learn his name, but until then I will refer to him as FH). He was present when I complained to the Regional Representative and now had a personal mission to deliver my shipment just as soon as he could even though he now had four days of shipments to sort through and track. FH told me he would deliver tonight and that he would call me. I tried to convince him any time after 1800 was useless. I learned a long time ago that raising your voice when trying to communicate with someone who speaks eleven words of English does not help the situation, however, my hand and arm signals combined with forceful pointing at my watch while simultaneously bastardizing Pashto with English and German words mixed in for effect were not convincing. I like FH, but his insistence to deliver tonight was not going to be denied and was only irritating me. I had no intention of waiting around the shop for hours hoping FH would bring my shipment, besides it was Saturday night and Saturday nights mean Poker. I finally had enough and told FH to call me if he was going to deliver tonight and then left. As I was walking away, FH called out to me: “We deliver tonight, Sir!”
The poker game starts promptly at 2000 L. Everyone who plays knows this and is surprisingly timely. I usually show up early to count out chips and get things ready. I was glancing at my watch just before the first hand kicked off and kind of chuckled that FH was not going to deliver tonight and I was glad I had not waited around. We were playing poker when my phone rang at promptly 2014. The number on the screen was not one of the few I have programmed so I surmised it must have been a wrong number and went back to having a successful night of poker by raking in a buck o’ five on top of my buy-in. Sweet! It may be a small amount, but I like winning and I am a very good winner!
I was knocking on the FedEx office door promptly at 0900 even though there was a sign on the door that said ‘Closed Sunday’. FH eventually opened the door, looked at me, and asked me for my cell number. He said he called me last night (here’s me beginning to feel bad) to tell me he was not going to deliver last night and wanted to know if I was available today (suddenly, I’m feeling wise!) for a delivery. In my best cavalier attitude (and trying not to smile too much) I asked him when he could deliver this morning. He pointed at the clock and said 1000. I nodded and said I would be waiting. When FH showed up with a couple of other Hajjis to help us unload our crates, he was very apologetic. He looked down-trodden and I could tell by his mannerisms that not getting me that delivery last night really bothered him. I almost felt bad again… not!
I’ve been limping a little the past two days because of my encounter with the bus and the ditch. I have this twelve inch circular bruise on my hip and ass and a bruise on my right elbow. I must be getting older because my enthusiasm to run right now is somewhere below going to Korea again. Maybe the weather has something to do with it. Maybe it’s because I don’t have Brian around to insinuate what a weenie I am. I have found another running buddy, but this guy is too nice. He wouldn’t chastise me even if I rounded up all of his personal belongings and set fire to them. He just runs; quietly. After one outing, I’m bored with him and back on the hunt for another person who can run the same pace and will chat simultaneously. Is that too much to ask for?
Well, it is Sunday and I’m gearing up for watching football late tonight and in the wee hours of Monday. That’s live TV for me. I’m actually pretty excited about it and I’ll take a little nap sometime this evening.
In case any of you would like some pictures of my experiences here and getting here, Kristine has a CD load that she can share. Of the few hundred photos that I sent I’m only in a few (thankfully). If you would like a little news about Kris and the kids with a few pictures, check out Kristine’s blog site: http://www.washingtonwithers.blogspot.com/
OK, since it is Sunday and this is page four, I’m finally gonna put an end to this one. Let’s see, teasers for next week: Will Craig break down and actually pay for internet? Hear how Craig becomes another year older and what he does on this historic day and finally, Mexican food in Afghanistan!
Craig
This week starts off with Martin Luther King Day and for those of you back in the U.S., it was a holiday. I know most of the work slogans are now something like: “A day on, not a day off”. Well, for us here it was most definitely a day on. The dinner meal in the DFAC was the same as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. We had sparkling cider, turkey, roast beef, chicken, ham, potatoes, et al. The difference was that the chain of command was not serving the food this time. They did during those other holidays, but not this one. I guess MLK Day doesn’t quite rate as important as Thanksgiving and Christmas to them. Oh well, slide me some more of that dark meat, I’m celebrating.
I shaved off my goatee today. It was about time I guess. After a couple of months, it had only grown to just less than two inches in length. I’m convinced to get the traditional long ZZ Top look; I would be growing that thing for 23 years. It’s not worth it; besides when I go running in the morning my goatee freezes up from all the heavy breathing and panting I do while running. I kid you not; my face gains another ten pounds of ice at the end of a couple of miles in this cold. Then I have to chisel it out and wait for the remnants to thaw. Nope, I’m back to baby’s butt smooth and I like it.
Last week Kris helped me pick out some new running shoes as we were collaborating online. Today they showed up and they are much better in person than on a web site. I love them! They are Nike Air Jagged Ice Trail running shoes with Gore-Tex. Of course I got them in black with the red and silver trim (I know, sounds a little gaudy, but they’re not) and cannot wait to strap them on tomorrow morning for a run. I’m wearing them around tonight to help break them in a little before the big run. I am so excited about these shoes that I am thinking about ordering another set right now. You know how it is, you finally find something you really like, but only buy one. Months or so later when you are looking for another of the same item, you find out it is discontinued or on back order from Zimbabwe and will probably not be shipped until sometime in March of 2009.
It snowed! I suppose I should say, it is still snowing. I got up this morning to go for my run with my brand new shoes and there was three inches of snow on the ground with a plethora occupying the air. Hey those shoes are Gore-Tex and are guaranteed to keep your feet warm and dry. There is no better way to find out if my investment is worth it than to try them out in these conditions, is there? Anyway, I started out on my normal route and came across a road grader doubling as a snow plow. I passed the grader which was on the left side of the road, there was a shuttle bus stopped on the right side picking up some people. Unbeknownst to me, another shuttle bus which was behind me attempted to go around the grader (as the grader is moving in the same direction) and just short of the stopped bus. The roads are sheet ice underneath three inches of snow and the bus driver in his haste to miss the other bus and grader bumps me as I am running. I caught this whole experience out of the corner of my eye and tried to jump out of the shuttle bus’s way just as he bumped me. I touched down on some icy spot, lost my footing, and crash landed into the rocky shoulder of the road and ditch. Before I had an opportunity to assess my injuries, I was up and chasing down the shuttle bus. I caught up to it and banged on the driver’s window as I shouted a multitude of verbose and well thought out statements that would have made Aubrey proud. Obviously the bus driver did not stop (I did get the number) and I eventually slowed back down to my pace to finish out my run.
Once back to my hooch, I assessed my shoes. I love them! My feet were warm and dry although the rest of me was covered in snow that was melting and dripping everywhere. I also took the opportunity to check myself over for any damage and although I had quite a bit of pain in my right hip and buttocks, there was very little noticeable damage. I’m sure I will bruise up, but other than that, I am fine. I will turn in the bus number and file a report with KBR later today or tomorrow.
It snowed all day long. We accumulated around 8” – 10” of fresh snow on top of our already frozen spots of ice and left over packed snow. It was actually quite beautiful, but very, very slick. To top off the snow, the sky cleared and the temperature dropped to negative temperatures. The last couple of nights have been -6 and -8 degrees F with highs in the mid teens during the day. The snow has that crunchy sound when you walk on it, but doesn’t pack. It just turns into a kind of snow dust.
Because of our new found white wonder, our internet and phones have been sporadic at best. Evidently it has been too cold for the Air Force to sweep out the satellite dishes and consequently too terrible to land planes at Bagram. I know this sounds like Week 4 all over again, but instead of waiting for Craig D we were waiting for our shipment of armor.
Our big armor shipment was due in Wednesday, but was delayed. We checked again on Thursday (Nope, the planes cannot land in the snow). Again we went to the FedEx office on Friday (Once again, no. Maybe tomorrow). On Friday there happened to be an American-looking guy behind the FedEx computer wearing a University of Delaware sweatshirt. I asked him if he was an American and he said, “Yes”. I asked him if he worked for FedEx and he replied he was the Regional Sales Representative out of Dubai. I then asked if I could lodge a complaint and then went on to tell him how much money we were paying FedEx for reliable shipments into Afghanistan and how disappointed I was with their ability to deliver. Obviously he told me the delay was not the fault of FedEx, but rather it was the Air Force who would not let their planes land on Bagram because of the weather. In any case, I was told in plain English to check back tomorrow. Well Saturday came and when I checked in at FedEx in the afternoon, the American was gone, but my normal Hajji was there and was excited to tell me a plane would land this afternoon. He asked me to come back after 1500 and he would hopefully have good news for me. I showed up about 1530 and the Hajji came up to me and told me my shipment was in, but they were still trying to find the second of two crates. He verified my cell number and said he would deliver tonight. At this point, I said it may be better first thing tomorrow morning.
This discussion confused the FedEx Hajji (one of these days I will learn his name, but until then I will refer to him as FH). He was present when I complained to the Regional Representative and now had a personal mission to deliver my shipment just as soon as he could even though he now had four days of shipments to sort through and track. FH told me he would deliver tonight and that he would call me. I tried to convince him any time after 1800 was useless. I learned a long time ago that raising your voice when trying to communicate with someone who speaks eleven words of English does not help the situation, however, my hand and arm signals combined with forceful pointing at my watch while simultaneously bastardizing Pashto with English and German words mixed in for effect were not convincing. I like FH, but his insistence to deliver tonight was not going to be denied and was only irritating me. I had no intention of waiting around the shop for hours hoping FH would bring my shipment, besides it was Saturday night and Saturday nights mean Poker. I finally had enough and told FH to call me if he was going to deliver tonight and then left. As I was walking away, FH called out to me: “We deliver tonight, Sir!”
The poker game starts promptly at 2000 L. Everyone who plays knows this and is surprisingly timely. I usually show up early to count out chips and get things ready. I was glancing at my watch just before the first hand kicked off and kind of chuckled that FH was not going to deliver tonight and I was glad I had not waited around. We were playing poker when my phone rang at promptly 2014. The number on the screen was not one of the few I have programmed so I surmised it must have been a wrong number and went back to having a successful night of poker by raking in a buck o’ five on top of my buy-in. Sweet! It may be a small amount, but I like winning and I am a very good winner!
I was knocking on the FedEx office door promptly at 0900 even though there was a sign on the door that said ‘Closed Sunday’. FH eventually opened the door, looked at me, and asked me for my cell number. He said he called me last night (here’s me beginning to feel bad) to tell me he was not going to deliver last night and wanted to know if I was available today (suddenly, I’m feeling wise!) for a delivery. In my best cavalier attitude (and trying not to smile too much) I asked him when he could deliver this morning. He pointed at the clock and said 1000. I nodded and said I would be waiting. When FH showed up with a couple of other Hajjis to help us unload our crates, he was very apologetic. He looked down-trodden and I could tell by his mannerisms that not getting me that delivery last night really bothered him. I almost felt bad again… not!
I’ve been limping a little the past two days because of my encounter with the bus and the ditch. I have this twelve inch circular bruise on my hip and ass and a bruise on my right elbow. I must be getting older because my enthusiasm to run right now is somewhere below going to Korea again. Maybe the weather has something to do with it. Maybe it’s because I don’t have Brian around to insinuate what a weenie I am. I have found another running buddy, but this guy is too nice. He wouldn’t chastise me even if I rounded up all of his personal belongings and set fire to them. He just runs; quietly. After one outing, I’m bored with him and back on the hunt for another person who can run the same pace and will chat simultaneously. Is that too much to ask for?
Well, it is Sunday and I’m gearing up for watching football late tonight and in the wee hours of Monday. That’s live TV for me. I’m actually pretty excited about it and I’ll take a little nap sometime this evening.
In case any of you would like some pictures of my experiences here and getting here, Kristine has a CD load that she can share. Of the few hundred photos that I sent I’m only in a few (thankfully). If you would like a little news about Kris and the kids with a few pictures, check out Kristine’s blog site: http://www.washingtonwithers.blogspot.com/
OK, since it is Sunday and this is page four, I’m finally gonna put an end to this one. Let’s see, teasers for next week: Will Craig break down and actually pay for internet? Hear how Craig becomes another year older and what he does on this historic day and finally, Mexican food in Afghanistan!
Craig
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