Chris' Updates

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 functi...

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 y...

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 keep...

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

Well, last night we were slated to leave Kuwait. Despite all of the free time and the great ways to spend said free time, I think most of us are excited to leave. We'll be able to settle in our quarters for the year, start our jobs, and be reunited with our far-flung luggage (there were several shipments). So, we got all our little bags packed and bussed out to the airfield. And waited patiently. And waited some more. After a couple of hours, we finally got the news. J/K! Our flight had been canceled due to mechanical faults on the aircraft. Ok, no big deal, it happens all the time. But the Air Force's manifest system being what it is, we don't get priority on the next flight or anything silly like that. Instead, we have to wait at least 2 days to re-book. Right... Now, our fearless leaders have discussed a few possible plans of action, but long story short, it will be anywhere between a week and a month before the unit is fully assembled in Iraq. Gotta love the Air Force.

Well, I think we're almost done here in Kuwait. We're really only here to acclimate. We've been attending some classes, usually 2 to 4 hours a day. After that, we just try to keep cool and entertained. The wireless service on camp is decent, and pretty cheap. It's great to hunker down in the MWR tent or the USO and use their air conditioning for a few hours. Sgt. Rhino has already left on the advance party, and Sgt. Buccaneer is pretty much staying off of the section's cases. I've had a good time relaxing, but I'll be glad to get up north. The living quarters are cramped, the cots are terrible, and our tent in particular has AC problems that fluctuate throughout the day. That, and I'll be glad to start doing our job and get the other guys out and back home. I know when we're ready to go home, I'm going to appreciate a little haste on the part of our replacements.

Fun in the sun, Kuwait style! PFC Puck (formerly McLovin) Sgt. Rhino (with the mustach) and PFC Gadget behind him