Mike's Iraqi Adventure

Wednesday

2005-12-28T06:26:00.000-08:00

Hello!!

I'm still trying to get into the hang of writing in this thing everyday.
I have been really busy trying to get everything wrapped up for MNSTC-I by the end of the year. I'm running out of time!
I drove some VIP local nationals to the red zone today. I didn't actually go outside the IZ, just right to the edge. I pulled up behind a tank and let them out of the truck so they could walk the last 20 feet into the red zone.
Well that was my excitment for the day. Going to kickboxing tonight.

Hope everyone has a Great day!!

Its Christmas!!

2005-12-25T00:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

Its Christmas day, and we are here at work in Baghdad. YAY!!
I'm writing in my blog a little early today. We are going to head over to the DFAC soon and have
Christmas Lunch/Dinner. I might even try and talk Christina into taking some of the afternoon off. We automatically get ten hours of vacation plus whatever we work. This should be a pretty good week for both of us since Christmas and New Years fall on the same pay check :)
Its been a very quiet morning here, there doesn't seem to be much going on, bombs or explosions I mean. I guess last X-mas there was a lot of activity.
Anyway, I am missing being able to see everyone for the holidays, all the great food and great company. It's really hard to get into the Christmas spirit when its seventy five degrees out and we're working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Oh well what else are you going to do in Baghdad, right?
I hope everyone is have a Great Christmas Day. I Miss You All!!

2005-12-19T06:18:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody,

I had a very exciting day today.

First of all Santa came to visit us at work today! I got a candy bar :)

There was a big meeting today in our building composed of all the "Important" people involved in the reconstruction project. Apparently the work that Iris and I have been doing here is a very hot issue. General McCoy came to my desk with all the other "big" people involved in the meeting and presented Iris and I each with a big gold coin. I accepted the coin, hardy hand shake and his acknowledgment of all my hard work. It really made me feel good. It also makes me more aware of how important my job here really is :) I have been told by others that this was a very big deal. Sure made my day :)

Well that's about it for new stuff. Christina, Jim and I will be going to kickboxing tonight. Christina is teaching class again, at least for a couple weeks.

Talk to you all again soon!

Tuesday

2005-12-13T06:08:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

We had a very exciting day today! First of all I came in to work early. I started at 4:30am instead of 6am. I have a lot of work to finish by my end of the month deadline. A mortar landed inside our housing compound but didn't detonate.

AND HERE IS THE BEST PART.........!!!!!

Civilian contractors now officially fall under Military General Order number one. This means we are no longer permitted to purchase, posses, sell, manufacture or CONSUME alcoholic beverages!!! I know you are all laughing to yourselves. They are going to be coming around and doing room to room searches and anyone caught with alcohol in their room will be sent home. Christina and I don't drink very much as it is, but it's nice to have a drink once and a while. Oh well, I'm sure we will survive.

Well that is about it from here, nothing else new. Maybe I will stop by the DFAC and grab a couple NON ALCOHOLIC BEERS to drink tonight.......NOT!!! :P

Have a GREAT day!!

Monday

2005-12-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody,

Christina and I played poker last night, I came home up $6 whole dollars.
Overall it was a quiet night in the IZ.

Tonight is kickboxing night :)

Wednesday night NBC will be running a story about things going on over here. I'm not really sure what it's going to be about exactly. We were encouraged to tell our family's in the states to watch.... So Watch TV, NBC, on Wednesday Night! :)

I hope everyone has a Great Monday!

2005-12-11T06:48:00.000-08:00

IM BACK....DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND!!!

WOW, there has been so much going on lately!

Last night there was a couple thousand Iraqi's shooting their guns off into the air celebrating a soccer victory. It appears that a lot of them were aiming into the IZ because a significant amount of bullets were found this morning. People said they could hear the bullets hitting the tops of the buildings and in the rocks outside their doors. Christina and I stayed inside our room and slept. I thought they were overtaking the compound! Christina, being the old pro, said to just roll back over and go to sleep.

Work has been really busy. Iris and I are trying to get as much work done as possible before she leaves next week. What work we don't get done becomes my responsibility.

I have been having a lot of trouble getting Christina's Christmas present shipped here, so I've been stressed out about that lately. My Mom has been helping me out state side with the shipping so hopefully it will be here soon. My fingers are crossed :)

Well tonight is poker night so I'm not working late. Christina and I are ahead over all so far.
I hope everyone is doing well. I will try to keep up with my blog a little better.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

I love you all!!!

Saturday

2005-11-12T06:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was our weekend. We went to the palace and had flag football practice. After practice we stayed and had lunch at the DFAC, the food there is much better than at our DFAC.
I went to kickboxing with Christina and Jim. While we were sitting outside having a drink afterwards a jet did a very close fly by with its afterburners on. It was really loud and pretty cool too :) I still think its fun to see all the different helicopters flying around, except at night when we're trying to sleep and they rattle the door. Sometimes it seems like their hovering just outside our door.
Today was a busy day as usual, lots of work to be done. There were two separate suspicious packages found today. Both turned out to nothing.
Frank is going to come by and play some xbox tonight before Christina and I go to kickboxing. We hook up both of our TV's and two xboxs when we play so playing on a 27 inch TV doesn't seem as bad. Well its about time to head back to the hooch and call it a day. I hope everyone is doing well back home. Enjoy your two day weekend!!

Thursday

2005-11-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

We had a fairly laid back day today. Today we observed Veterans Day. That means we get an extra ten hours on our time cards, YAY!! So today actually counted for 19 hours! Christina and I took a long lunch and did some laundry this afternoon. We heard a big blast this morning around 9:45am, apparently there was a suicide bombing at a restaurant frequented by Iraqi police officers. This happened out in the RED zone, nowhere near where we are, despite what the news might say. So don't worry :P We are safe and sound.
Today was the 230th birthday party for the Marine Corp. so we all received a big piece of cake.
Once again today went fast, the work is never ending, job security I guess.
Our regular Thursday night poker game was cancelled. I guess there is some kind of party for their sector tonight. I'm not sure what we are going to do tonight now. I'm hoping for a relaxing evening and some extra sleep. Maybe we will try to find a good bottle of wine and sit out by our rooms. Have a GREAT Day!!

Wednesday

2005-11-09T06:36:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

Another busy day today. I had two meetings today. It sounds like I will be taking over a lot of Iris's duties once she leaves. Once again the day just flew by. We're going to kickboxing tonite.
sorry this is so short, Christina is rushing me out the door.
Have a Great day!!

Tuesday

2005-11-08T06:30:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Busy day here today. Iris had me working on a bunch of last minute projects for her. My day just flew by. Its getting pretty windy outside, someone said we might have a little sand storm rolling in. This isn't the normal time of year for sand storms, usually they happen in the spring time.
It sounds like Christina and I will be having a quiet night tonite. We are talking about watching a movie and going to sleep early. YAY! More Sleep!! We went to kickboxing last night. Christina threw some new and different exercises into her routine. I'm a little bit sore today, worked some new muscles. I am very impressed with how well she is instructing the class. She is always trying new things which keeps the class interesting.
We are starting to practice for our upcoming flag football game. It sounds like there will be even teams this time. Hopefully this will make the game a little less one sided. Although I'm sure it will be fun. Christina is putting a lot into getting everything set up, getting the word out to all of our fellow PCO workers.
I hope everyone is doing well. Have a Great Tuesday!

Monday

2005-11-07T06:23:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

Today was just another beautiful day in Baghdad. Today was overcast and in the 70's, with a brief sprinkle. The day has just flown by, had lots to keep me busy.
Last night was poker night. I came home with $72!! Christina came home with $0..He..He..He.. :) But being the WONDERFUL husband that I am, I gave her back the $20 that she lost. We have another flag football game scheduled for thanksgiving day. My AWESOME sister-inlaw Monica is sending me cleats for the game. Hopefully this will make running in the mud a little bit easier.
I have some nice clothes on their way here. My Mom is sending me dress shirts, and Christina ordered two more pairs of khaki pants online. Monica also mailed me two pairs of dress shoes from home.
Tonite is kickboxing night and I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm not nearly as sore the next day as I did in the beginning. I am really starting to notice that my body is getting in better shape. I owe it all to Christina for dragging my butt out and making me exercise. Thank you Sweetie! :) I Love You More!!!
Thank you to everyone who is taking such good care of us by sending the things we need, and for taking care of everything back home.
Have a GREAT day!!!

Saturday

2005-11-05T06:32:00.000-08:00

Hello,

If you haven't noticed. I have been doing a terrible job of keeping my blog updated. I have been keeping very busy. Everyday I'm learning new things about the system here. I found out that I will be teaching a class with Iris(a german lady we work with). We will be instructing a class of fifteen to twenty people on how to use our database. I have also been told that I will be taking over a lot of her responsibilities.
We have been playing poker twice a week. I have been comming home ahead every night. We play with a group of about 6 to 12 people.
I started going to kickboxing with Christina. Wow, what a workout! I can feel myself getting in better shape already.
I got a new Tool CD today in the mail. Christina ordered some music online from Amazon.com.
I have been going through withdrawl not being able to listen to my CD's. Well we are going to head home and get ready for kickboxing. Sorry this is so short but Christina is waiting on me.
I will try and write more regularly. Hope everyone has a GREAT day!!

Sunday

2005-10-30T06:26:00.000-08:00

Hello All!

Sorry I haven't been able to write lately. There hasn't been much going on lately and I know Christina has been keeping everyone up to date. She is much better at this blog thing. I have been very busy here at work. Which is a great thing - my days have been flying by. Iris has me working on projects for her. Since I'm the low man on the totem pole I get the "fun" jobs.
We're still going to the gym at 4am. I am sticking to my diet of healthy food. I'm still allowing myself one day to cheat and eat fried food. For anyone who knows me, this is an accomplishment in itself. We received a 12 pound box of chocolate in the mail yesterday from Christina's parents. It is awesome. "Thank You Very Much!!". The box is staying in my room so Christina doesn't eat it all this week. I'm going to buy a foot locker so I can lock it up and ration it out to her.
I got a package from my Mom today with a bunch of shorts for me, and sports bra's for Christina. So far everything looks like it will fit ok. It's nice having more clothes, that means less laundry :)
Tonite is poker night, hopefully my luck continues from last Wednesday....and hopefully Christina loses all her money so I can rub it in her face :)
I hope everyone is doing well. Have a GREAT Day!!!

Tuesday

2005-10-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a pretty exciting day for us. Work went as usual, I have lots to keep me busy so the day went by quickly. I'm sure you have all heard by now that there were three car bombs yesterday. About five minutes before Christina and I were about to head home we heard the first explosion. The whole building shook and dust fell from the ceiling. After a few minutes everyone went outside to see if we could tell what had happened. While we were outside looking at the smoke trail, the second explosion went off. Right about then we decided it would probably be safer inside, just in case it was incoming artillery. Everyone put on their PPE (Helmet and vest). The building was locked down and no one was allowed to leave until we received the "all clear". About a half hour later we were allowed to leave and go home. Christina went to kickboxing and I went over the the PSD's BBQ. I had a beer, some sausage and potatoes. It was very interesting sitting around talking because everyone is from somewhere different. I went back to my hooch and fixed Christina's bike, which had two flat tires due to faulty valve stems. Christina came back at about the same time that I finished fixing her bike (conveniently). We went outside between the buildings and tossed the football around for a little bit. We are playing in a flag football game on Friday morning so we decided to practice a little. Afterwards we went back to the PSD BBQ for another drink and some more food. We stayed for about an hour and then went home and to bed.
Today has been a very busy day. I have had a lot of projects to work on, so my day has gone by pretty fast; although, this last hour is going kinda slow because I finished everything I had been working on. I'm sure there will be plenty more to do tomorrow.
Christina and I are having a laid back night. I think we are going to do some laundry and watch a movie. Hopefully we go to bed early and get some much needed sleep. I'm still trying to adjust to only sleeping five or six hours a night and also get up at 4am six day's a week to go to the gym with Christina. Soon I will be going to kickboxing four night a week her too. Doesn't that sound like fun? Well I'm going to see if I can come up with something to do for the next hour and then head home. I hope everyone is doing well. Have a GREAT day!!!

Saturday

2005-10-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I have been very busy today. I'm working on a couple of projects for different people. Today has just flown by.
Yesterday was a very exciting day. Christina and I went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the crossed swords, and Saddam Stadium. We took a bunch of pictures and Christina put them on her blog page. I don't have nearly enough time to describe it all, and as they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words" :) All in all we had a lot of fun. We got to see a lot of things she didn't get to see when she went there, so it was a new experience for both of us. Frank from work came over and we played some Xbox last night. I was starting to go through withdrawals not having anyone to beat up on. Tonite is going to be a relaxing night for me. Christina is going to kickboxing so I'm just going to lounge around while she's gone. If any of you have any questions about the pictures you see, just send me your questions as comments. I hope everyone has a Great day!

Friday!

2005-10-21T02:48:00.000-07:00

YAY!! It's Friday - the weekend is finally here. Today we are only working a half day.
We are trying to decide what to do this afternoon. We might go sight seeing, relax at the pool, or maybe just kick back and relax at home.
Well my head got shaved last night. I think Christina had fun. I have to admit she did a very good job. I am impressed. It is so nice not to have to worry about my hair and I can get ready faster in the morning. Make sure you check out the before, during, and after pictures in Christina's photo album. We took the day off at the gym today. There really is a difference in my energy level on the day's I do work out verses the day's I don't.
Last night I played poker with seven other guy's from work. In three hour's I only managed to lose two dollars. We ended up playing more Texas Hold'em. The other guys who hadn't played before really liked it so we played a lot more this time.
It's another beautiful day here, high's in the mid 70's and low's tonight in the upper 50's.
Well, other than that there isn't much new here. I hope everyone is doing well. Talk to you all tomorrow.

Thursday

2005-10-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

Today was a pretty good day. The weather was nice, same as yesterday, nice breeze. Last night we had a light mist. I definitely wouldn't call it rain or even drizzle. I ate all healthy meals again today. Christina is enjoying giving me crap about the one meal that I "cheated". I weighed myself the first day that I went to the gym and I was 146lbs, today I weighed 158lbs. Im sure most of is muscle though :) I think a lot of it has to do with all the traveling and skipping meals.
Work is going well. Today I helped Christina teach her Excel class to the locals. I don't think I have the patience to be a teacher. Everyone in the class was very nice and thanked us both. They seem appreciative.
Tonight is poker night. I am going to go play while Christina goes to volleyball. Next week is the last league volleyball game for her. She says she will come join us on Thursdays when league is over. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing - she will probably take all of our money. She plays the "I'm just a little dumb blonde girl" routine, but I know better.
We didn't have enough time for a haircut last night because Christina had kickboxing, maybe tonight will be the night. I don't think she wants me to cut off all my hair. Anyway, all in all it was a very good day. Hope you are all having fun reading this. Have a Great day!!

Wednesday

2005-10-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Hope everyone had a Great day! Not much new here. They raised our security threat level to U3 today. This means we have to wear our vests and helmets whenever we go outside. They told us it was because of Saddam's trial. It was a beautiful day - there was actually a slight breeze and clouds in the sky blocking the sun. According to the Weather Channel web site it's going to get down to the upper 50's at night this weekend.
I'm going to head over to the Liberty pool tonight with a guy from work (Frank) and check out a Texas hold'em poker tournament that is held on Wednesday nights. Oh, and if you haven't read Christina's blog page yet, yes I cheated on my diet today. There wasn't anything that looked good and they didn't have any chicken. So I had lasagna and corn dogs instead mmmmmmm. But I still had a healthy breakfast of oatmeal and hard boiled eggs :P
Anyway, time to head back to the hooch, I'm toying with the idea of letting Christina cut my hair. I think I'll just have her shave it all off. It will be much less of a hassle to deal with. Well, I hope everyone has a Wonderful day!!

Tuesday

2005-10-18T07:21:00.000-07:00

Hello!
Just another day here today. We got up and went to the gym at 4am. I'm still sticking with my new diet. Oatmeal and hard boiled egg whites for breakfast. For lunch we tried to go to a different DFAC(dining facility) about a mile from here. Al Rasheed was the name of the place its located inside a hotel. They have a bunch of shops downstairs in the lobby where you can buy all kinds of trinkets. I bought a knife, its pretty neat :) Unfortunatily I did not have the proper identification to get into the dining room. So we came back here and ate at our own DFAC. I had chicken without the skin, rice, beans, and some fresh carrots and celery,mmmmmm :) Our sand storm passed, it never got very bad though. It reminded me of orange fog, not that I've ever seen orange fog, but I'm guessing it would look like the sand storm did. Christina and I are going to head over to the px tonite and see if they have laundry detergent yet. We're thinking about having Subway while there. Then we are going to do some laundry, clean our rooms and go to bed. Sounds like fun huh? Well it is when all you do is work and exercise. Well I hope everyone has a great day!

Monday

2005-10-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

Its Monday, I think, I'm really having a hard time telling one day from another. working every day kinda makes them all blend in together. Well I went and played poker last night, I had really crappy cards all night and the guys I played with put a cap on how much you could raise or bet so it made bluffing impossible. It was still fun though. I'm trying to get a poker tournament started on thursday nights with some of the other guys here.
I started my new diet today. I'm eating only healthy food. Oatmeal for breakfast, vegetables for lunch, and I haven't figured out dinners yet. Maybe a all in one meal bar, mmmmmm, doesn't that sound good. It was killing me today having everyone around me eat good/real food. We had a light sand storm today, everything was a little bit hazey. But not bad compaired to what they usually get here. You can feel the dust in your lungs, and I had to keep blowing my nose to get the sand out. My goggle/sunglasses seem to work because my eyes havent been bothering me. Other than that not too much new here, just working away. Well talk to you all tomorrow. Have a Great Day!!

Sunday

2005-10-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

It was another exciting day in Iraq today. Not really. Christina and I overslept this morning so we didn't make it to the gym. I went to the PX for laundry detergent and they are still out :(
Im going to try and get into a little poker game tonight while Christina go's to volleyball. There was a missle that detonated near the housing area this morning. It wasn't very close, about 150 meters from our quarters. Other than that nothing else very exciting happened today. Talk to you all again tomorrow. Have a Great day!

saturday

2005-10-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
Had another exciting day today :) Got up at 4am and went to the gym. We grabbed our breakfast on the way to work. I have to say that the best meal they serve here is breakfast. I have found myself eating huge breakfasts. This is something totally new for me, because I have never eaten breakfast before on a regular basis. I think its because of all the exercise. We were on lockdown today for a little while at work. There was some kind of fire fight going on near by so they wouldn't let us leave the building. :) YAY!! Other than that it was an uneventful day. I'm starting to get the hang of work, so the stress of whether or not I would be able to handle is better. I sure there will be a lot more difficult things to come. Anyway, we are going to head home. Christina is going to kickboxing and I'm going to do my laundry, fun fun :) Hope everyone as a great day.

YAY! Its Friday!

2005-10-14T01:24:00.000-07:00

Nothing too exciting yet today. I'm just working a half day today, its our weekend. Today is also the one day Christina doesn't drag me to the gym. Its nice having one day off a week, but I have to admit I did miss it a little this morning. Other than that I don't know what we are going to do for the rest of the day. I think Christina has a little bit more work to do but hopefully we can go have some fun. Talk to you all soon. bye

Hello everybody!!

2005-10-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody back in the states. Sorry I haven't had time to write in here.
Well, life has been very interesting over the last week and a half. First of all I flew from Washington to Kuwait. While in Kuwait I stayed at the Hilton on the Persian Gulf. The accomodations were unbelievable. I stayed in a three level villa right on the water. The food was very interesting, I tried a lot of new food, of which I usually had no Idea what I was eating, but it was good. My last day there I got up the nerve to try lambs brains, not very good, kinda tangy, and mushy. But now I can say, "yep, I ate lambs brains". Anyway, from Kuwait I took a C-130 military plane into Baghdad airport. The flight was awesome, it was very rough, and they were constantly changing their altitude, kinda like a rollercoaster. WEEE!!! Then from the Baghdad airport I road in an armored SUV convoy. I saw a lot of interesting sights out of those windows. I was told later that the road we took in is the most dangerous road in the world. That would probably explain why they drove so fast. When I got to the IZ (green zone) I was dropped of right at the building I work at and Christina was there to meet me, YAY!! :)
Since then I have been settling in, and learning the rope's. My room is right next door to Christina's, very convenient. Christina did a great job getting my room ready for me, she did a very good job setting it up and getting it clean. She now has me going to the gym with her everyday at 4am!, she's killing me but it does make me feel better about myself. I am working my way up to kickboxing soon. Well, I will try to type in here more often, everyone have a good day!

I'm Here!

2005-10-08T03:45:00.000-07:00

I will write more later.