Raising the Bar

So, Cingular (now AT&T, the company that refuses to die), had that old set of ads, about "more bars in more places." And they have that stupid thing with five bars instead of four. Except that it's not like there's more cell phone power coming through (otherwise my phone calls wouldn't drop as much as they did), its just that they've made the cell tower sensor more . . . sensey. And it always reminded me of Nigel Tufman's speakers.

Just on a side note, my Cingular phone has six bars, not just five, and I still get shitty service over here.

Why this place is poisonous

I was listening to a guy here have a phone conversation with his girlfriend about what address to mail care packages to, it was kind of amusing. Except, I guess he doesn't have internet in his room, because it's so much easier for me to send that information out in an email, I guess he didn't have that available. I can't imagine how difficult that would be, to have people back in the States you care about that you cant talk to regularly because you're dependent on the Iraqna cell phone service. Add to that the stress of being here, the possibility of getting blown up (especially if you're in a maneuver unit and go out every day), and the fact that there are things you just CAN'T talk about. It must be horrible.

Of course, sometimes even those of us with internet get cut off emotionally. When I was in SF a few years ago I saw a sculpture in a show in Haight, the Weeping Buddha. I was in a bad place at the time, and something about it appealed to me. I think it was that even though this figure was curled into a ball, he wasn't curled into a fetal position. You could feel the anguish emanating out from it, but he hadn't fallen over. He was curled up tight, fighting the pain, doing his best to hold on, he's even clinging to himself, which is a great metaphor for Buddhism, but he hasn't fallen over. My mother bought it for me later for Christmas, based solely on my description. It is still my favorite decoration.

But you get in these places here which are difficult to get out of, and because of the wonderful infrastructure, sometimes you don't have the time or ability to communicate effectively, and things get worse. Miscommunication leads to more, and eventually it all feels like its going to shit.

Iraq is poisonous.

Things I am looking forward to when I get home

Finishing my dissertation
Tea
Eating breakfast at 8:05
Bread and cheese
Television
Reliable internet
Fast internet
Decent choices of good food
Control of the heater/AC
Telephones
Sneakers
Bookstores/Libraries

Phone calls

So - yeah, considering where I am working at the moment, please send me a quick text like fifteen minutes before you try to call... give it time to get to my phone and for me to get outside so I can receive the call. Everything will probably work better that way, or email and let me know a time to be available. Just be certain to specify a time zone....

Military vehicles I have flown in

C-130 - the first flight I ever had was in a C-130. I almost threw up, and I had taken two dramamine before taking off. It was ugly. The second time I was in a C-130 I didn't get quite so bad, but it was still a very unpleasant experience. It's dark, you sit in a web seat, you're cramped, overall completely unenjoyable.

C-5 - the only time I flew in a C-5, I DID throw up. For about forty five minutes. That was an unpleasant experience, probably the worst experience I've ever had in my entire life. And I wasn't the only one, about thirty people on my flight lost it, two in the bathroom and the rest in air sickness bags. You sit in the tail section, facing backwards, so your inner ear is all sorts of messed up when the plane refuels. According to the airman in the cabin, it was the worst re-fuel he had ever encountered. Didn't make me feel better.

C-17 - definitely the most enjoyable plane flight I've ever had. It was still loud, but there was space, it felt almost clean, and it was a real seat. Granted, a 1950's era place seat, but a real seat. Luckily I was on the side of the plane and not on one of the pallets they assemble in the middle, cause those kept rocking back and forth with the plane, and that might have given me issues.

UH-60 - a dream. It was a bit loud, and a bit scary walking out under the rotors (I kept trying to remember whether you were supposed to approach it from the front or the side, but since we got in from the side and walked out from the front, I guess it wasn't that big of an issue), but once in and lifting off, the only thing I can compare it to is the skyride at your local theme park. Not as much shaking as I would have expected, and even the takeoff and landing were reminiscent of the little clunks as the skyride car comes in and goes through the gear things across the top.

More rain

Well, its raining again. We were almost out of it, with the ground drying up a bit, and I actually walked to work today without having to step through any mud. Oh well, I guess I have another few days of muddy boots and pants to deal with.

I have a lot of respect for the team leader here. He’s a full bird, which means that there is only one person on the entire FOB he doesn’t outrank. So, we’re standing outside waiting for one of our team to get out of the bathroom so we can go to lunch (that’s a whole different story), and literally every person who goes in or out of the TOC salutes him, and he has to break off in the middle of a sentence to return the salute. After a minute he goes, “You know what, I think I’m standing in the wrong place,” and moves out of the front of the building and behind a T-barrier so he won’t have to salute everybody. You gotta love that attitude in an officer. Especially when the same officer has no problems sitting down with a computer toolkit and three printer cartridges for an hour to get the new black cartridge to work so we can actually print stuff again.

Met with the new Psyop guys here, turns out the detachment commander was with the 345th back when I deployed with them in 04. It’s nice to have instant rapport with someone like that.

I cleaned my room last night, and I realized I need some kind of shower rod or dowel to make something to hang my shirts off of. And the internet sucks. A lot. I think I’ve mentioned that before. Apparently you can get a satellite system for $1000, and then like $250 a month service fee. Might be worth it, maybe I’ll ask around and see who else might be interested in it, faster service, hopefully a bit more reliable.

Arrived

Well, I'm here safe and sound. Much refreshed after two showers, a shave, and some decent food.

I have a room with four walls (cement), and I can walk to the shower wearing shower shoes, which is a wonderful experience. Getting settled in right now, and I saw some whoppers for the title of this blog, I'll try and finagle some pictures to upload of some of the titles (various Trigoly's are available). Some are more subtle, but I'll point out the silliness for those who don't know the shows.

There are still mud puddles galore, here. I spent the morning running errands (getting some cash and buying some necessities for my room), and I already have mud up to my knees on my pants. Oh well. It started drying up by noon or so. Although I did have to wade through an ankle deep puddle of mud to get to work. Joy. Looks like pudding.