Friday, October 31, 2008

Another Day in Paradise

Things have been going well, considering. The rainy season started about a week ago, and we saw more rain in 24 hours than fell all of last season, according to some of the guys who have been here the longest. This left huge puddles and lakes in the housing areas, the parking lots, everywhere. And very few places except the main roads are paved, so the ever-present dust has turned into very nice mud. I'm sure the local farmers are thrilled. We just received the last of our gear that we shipped from the states, so I finally have my raincoat and cold weather jacket.

Work has been relatively slow. I did get to work on the radios of a couple of HEMTT trucks (pronounced Hemmit), which I've never worked on before. Beyond that, there's really not much going on.

Church and RCIA have been going well. I asked if there was anything I could do to help during the mass. I was thinking I could be a lector, one who reads the scripture, but instead they pointed me toward a different function. What they really need is altar servers, someone to assist the priest directly in the order of mass and the preparation of communion. They wear a cassock and surplice, and sit next to the priest on the stage (for lack of a better word) near the altar. It was very intimidating to think about, but Fr. Hotel was very supportive. He told me that as the Master of Ceremonies for a bishop for a couple of years, the secret he learned was, "Just act like you know what you're doing, and you'll be just fine." I've served at two Sunday masses now, and I'm learning a lot about the order of mass and what happens during the preparation of the gifts. It's interesting, and it's just one more way to learn about my new faith.

Our quest for internet in the housing area is still in progress. The satellite dish has been set up and pointed, and Mr. Wizard was able to use the internet for about 5 minutes, but it hasn't worked since. There's some sort of routing problem, and we can't figure out if it's our problem or our service provider's. The other critical component, the wireless network system we purchased, has finally arrived. We should be setting that up shortly, but it won't do people much good if the internet connection is not ready. We'll be able to share files and play games amongst ourselves, but that's it. As soon as all of that is ready, I'm going to try uploading pictures. Until then, just e-mail me if you'd like them e-mailed directly to you. (If you post a reply to this message, then I'll get the word. Just make sure to include your name, and e-mail address if I don't have it. Beep.)

Sunday, October 12, 2008

A Wonderful Opportunity

I forgot to mention in my last post, a very exciting opportunity for my spiritual life found me out here. As you may know, I've pursued RCIA before, with little success. I just can't find a group or a time that... fits. However, I mentioned the fact that I'd like to go through the process to my unit chaplain, and he was able to dig up a group here on base! I didn't expect RCIA to be offered out here, but lo and behold, it is. An Air Force Catholic chaplain, let's call him Father Hotel, is a strong believer in evangelization, I think. He's going to make the process very simple compared to the other programs I've looked at. Instead of 6 to 8 months of preparation and initiation at Easter, he's expedited the course to just 16 weeks, and we'll be initiated at Christmas! He's also doing this because the Air Force has such short deployments, and he's only here from September to January.

Fr. Hotel is a very interesting priest. He's relatively young compared to most priests you encounter today, and his attitudes, while still strictly Catholic, are somewhat more open and forgiving than usual. Somehow, his mannerisms seem to blend easily with the edicts of the church, rather than forcing them. It's difficult to explain, but refreshing nonetheless. He seems much more oriented to our community than the average priest; he wants to know the entire congregation on a first name basis as much as he can, which is a daunting task considering the fluid nature of the parish. He seems very proud of having the RCIA class around, and makes it a point to mention us at mass. He delights in leading small worship and study groups, that much I can tell. He seems like the perfect fit for the RCIA process, and I'm excited to be involved with it. This seems to be the right place and the right time.

In other news, Mr. Wizard, the other guys and myself have been working on internet for the chu's (Containerized Housing Units). The satellite system is on order, but there's another problem to overcome. In order to afford the service, we must have at least 15 people subscribing. And to get those 15 people their service, we have to run a network between all of the rooms they live in. We're spread out across several hundred yards of trailer park. Walking around, you can see that other groups have solved the problem by running cable all over the place. Most groups have just run it on top of the rock bed, maybe thrown the cables under the stepping stones. It's a royal mess, and it would be a lot of work. It would be even more work to do the right thing and bury the cable. Instead, we've tried something novel. We're using some of our unused military equipment to try and set up a wireless network. Civilian solutions won't work because the distances are just too great, but this military wireless might just do the trick. We'll have to see how it goes. With luck, by the end of the month, I'll be able to write you from the comfort of my room!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Life in Iraq

Well folks, I know it's been a while. I haven't had a chance to post
because the Internet in our office doesn't allow access to blog sites,
or a great number of other things. Half the time, I can't even
download printer drivers for my job!

Life is going well out here. After a short transition period, our
preceding unit left for home, and we settled into our daily routine.
For me, it starts out a 5 in the morning for PT. After a shower and
some breakfast, I report in to the office. We're currently in for
about 10 hours a day to make sure that when problems happen, we're
around. After dinner, I usually have a couple of hours to relax and
unwind. We're working 7 days a week, which is official policy
according to our commander. I hope it changes at some point, because
it really wears me down. Not to mention, it's difficult to do things
like get haircuts with so precious little down time. On the other
hand, I'm thankful that I have an office job that keeps me relatively
safe.

The base we live on is a dusty logistics hub. There are many buildings
left from the time the Iraqi Republican Guard used the base, as well
as many trailers for offices and living quarters that Coalition Forces
have installed. There are concrete T-walls everywhere that protect
from and contain mortar round fragments, as mortar attacks are fairly
common on some parts of the base. We happen to be in an area that is
well protected by terrain and rarely sees indirect fire. Lucky us.
Despite all of the dust and rock beds and occasional trees on base, we
can see a lot of greenery on the outside of the wire. After all, this
is the target=_blank>fertile crecent. It's a region of rich history and
culture, but I probably won't get a chance to experience much of that.

I'm really doing pretty well here, and most importantly, I feel safe
and happy and lucky. We can't ask for more than that.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Test Post

This is a test post to my LiveJournal using e-mail.