Time at the Zoo coming to an end

I'm all packed. My flight out of Baghdad is scheduled (although I cant say when). By the end of this week I will be settled into Balad in my new office to live out the remaining two weeks of my tour here. Its the end of an era for me. But since it means that I'm that much closer to coming home, its a welcome end.

The photo above is the IT staff in front of our building over the weekend.

Down to 45 days

We are scheduled for our move to Balad sometime this month ... the day keeps fluctuating but it seems like it is going to be a reality. Our desks are gone, most of our vehicles have been taken to be shipped, and our IT team has wired the new facility up for internet. We're just awaiting final word from the military that our facility is ready for us to move into.

It will definitely not be a good time leaving. Some people have been working on this contract here for five years, and the compound we are in now has been home to this support contract since the war began in 2003. For me, though, it will be uprooting my home here and moving it for the last month of my time. Its strange looking back to say that I've lived in Iraq for almost a year... in some ways I feel like I have been here for an eternity, and in others I feel like I just left home. One thing's for sure, though, and thats that I'm looking forward to going home and leaving this country as a distant memory. It's treated me well financially, and I've made some friends here, but I can't really think of much more that I'd be able to say I got out of this country other than some gray hairs, heartache, and a new definition of miserable living to take with me.

The photo above is a photo of our logistics bay that I took with a 24mm tilt-shift lens, which, when shifted and focused properly, gives the appearance at looking at a miniature version of the photos subject.

Its in the stars (planets)

Tonight the moon, Jupiter, and Venus were all in very close proximity with each other. Because of the open space we have here, I've been able to watch Jupiter and Venus get closer and closer every evening, and now they have come to group very nicely with the Moon. For those of you in the states, you can see the same thing around sunset tonight-- just look west.

Thanksgiving in Baghdad

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone... I'm writing this on my first of three Thanksgiving dinners. Yep, thats right... three. We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for lunch today and will have it again tomorrow for lunch, each sandwiched around a Thanksgiving dinner. It makes for a few sleepy, belly-aching days to be sure.

The DFAC here was very well decorated, with streamers and banners hanging around, a huge center table set up with a cornucopia and large fruit and vegetable spread, several carving stations, the staff all wearing pilgrim hats, and the senior-ranking enlisted and officers performing their traditional role of doing the serving of food to military members.

The food included everything I would have asked for at a Thanksgiving dinner back home: white meat turkey, mashed potatoes, candied yams, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. I even had a slice of my favorite holiday dessert -- pumpkin pie. I really couldn't have asked for much more, and I get to do it again two more times.

This isn't my first Thanksgiving away from family and friends... I spent Thanksgiving of 2001 at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS while I was in technical training for the Air Force and we weren't permitted to travel home. There are quite a few differences between the two... I remember the food there being significantly better, I was off for the entire day while I'm likely working through the night here again, and I was at least in the same time zone as everyone I knew. The one similarity will be football. We have a bigscreen TV in our new dayroom adjacent to my office, so I will probably end up running my ethernet cable into the room and sitting on a chair to watch the game and work at the same time. Man, I love Thanksgiving...

Giants looking good

I stayed up way later than I should have last night. The Giants played the Cowboys and the game didn't start until midnight here in Baghdad. I could've just went to sleep and watched the highlights in the morning, but I've come to realize that watching the Giants play every week is the closest thing to life back home as I'll get. I think that a lot of the guys here feel the same way, because I definitely see a lot of tired-looking folks walking around camp today. The Giants, by the way, beat the Cowboys and went to a 7-1 record and are looking good to have another spot in the playoffs this year.

The photo above is a UH-1 Huey flying over at Al Asad Marine Base from last week.

Regrouping in Baghdad

After several hours on standby at the airfield in Balad, I finally managed to catch a Blackhawk out and back here to my home base in Baghdad. It was a long 8 days away for sure... it rained most of the time I was away and Balad is extremely muddy, which contrasts sharply to Al Asad in the west, which is devoid of vegetation and is mostly covered in rocks.

After a few days to regroup with Brenden here I will be heading back out on the road for another week or so to do some more training. A few things about the traveling I've been doing in Iraq: I dont mind the traveling as much as I or others thought I would - its nice to have a change of scenery every few days and to meet new people; Its incredibly rewarding for me to be able to sit face-to-face with the people that will be using my system when it goes live in a few weeks and get their feedback about what we did right and what we missed... I've missed having that opportunity at some of my recent jobs, and lastly, it is way harder to travel in Iraq than I thought possible, despite what people have said. All of the legs of my travel were delayed by at least an hour, and because mission times and flight plans are classified I usually sit in the passenger terminal at the airfield not knowing when I'd be leaving or even how long my trip is. I know now that for future travel I need to bring several books in my bag to help me pass the time.

Combat programmer!

My job in the US Air Force was a computer programmer, and I essentially did then what I'm doing now, except I was doing just outside Washington, DC supporting HQ Air Force and the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. When the war here in Iraq started I tried unsuccessfully for volunteer for deployments. There are no jobs for programmers in Iraq, I was told. Me and the guys used to joke about the concept of a computer programmer in the desert with a laptop jumping out of a plane and programming in the desert.

Aside from the jumping out of the airplane part, I realized last night that I'm now fitting the mold. Laptop in hand and body armor donned, I got onto a Marine helicopter early in the morning to come out to Al Asad Air Base in Anbar Province. I'll be out here for a few days to train some of the users of my application on how to use it, as well as some performance testing in low-bandwidth environments.

Pictured above, a combat programmer in the flesh.

Exciting World Series shaping up

The Tampa Bay Rays have had a terrific season, and I couldn't be happier for them. Not just because they beat the Red Sox in the ALCS to make it in, but because I do enjoy the underdog story. The Rays, who had never had a winning season in their 11-year existance, beat the defending champs and the Yankees to win the AL East divisional title and have powered their way through the playoffs to get to the World Series against the Phillies, a team that hasn't won a World Series since 1980. A truly exciting World Series to watch, and where will I be? I'll be excited to check the ESPN.com home page every morning to see the scores and highlights.

It rained today.

Yep. It rained. It only rained for about 20 minutes, but it was the only the second time since I've been here. The first was a brief thunderstorm almost a month ago, for a combine total of about .05 inches of rain (unofficially). Its more of a mental thing for me -- it's nice to see clouds in the sky once in a while. I'm hoping that this ushers in the start of rainy season here... Id rather it be wet and muddy than arid and dusty. Our sandstorm a few days got some attention by National Geographic on their website... http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081016-sandstorm-video-ap.html?source=rss

Just finished moving

We moved out of the old office this morning and into our old HR office. HR, ops, finance, and the local national program moved into a building that was just opened up. Logistics moved into the old finance office and the old logistics office became a dormitory for male staff. Force protection is moving into our old office and the force protection office is becoming an MWR (Morale Recreation and Welfare) room. You get all that? Good.

The photo above is one of the driving greens set up on the roof of Al-Faw Palace. Its a platform with a small green on it. The sign says:

Thornal's Range Rules:

1. Ensure you clear range of all personnel and vehicles below prior to hitting
2. Individuals in IBA (Individual Body Armor) or Up Armored Vehicles are fair game!
3. Enjoy yourself and hit 'em straight!

Symmetry

This is a shot I took with my fisheye lens looking straight up at the chandelier. I got it almost perfectly centered... I wish I had taken the time to line the shot up just right. On the edges of the photo you can see the top two floors of the rotunda and their small balconies into main hall and chandelier.

One massive chandelier

The chandelier in the main part of Al-Faw Palace is massive. The photos I've taken don't really convey that as well as I'd hoped, but trust me when I say its large. Master Sergeant Williams told us that the chandelier cost $2million, and that the coalition had found a purchase order attesting to that. The purchase order also says that the chandelier lights are made of plastic, not crystal, a testament to the fact that Iraqi laborers were forced to cut corners because punishment or death was sure to come for construction projects that didn't meet deadlines.

The photo above is the chandelier as seen from the 3rd floor of the palace.

Tonight would have been perfect if...

If I weren't in Baghdad right now. The weather is just right... high about 85, currently 75. Just a tad chilly but you dont even notice it unless you think about it. Im wearing shorts and a t-shirt and feel just fine, if I were going out jeans and a polo would be the attire for the day.

In addition to the temperature, I was walking with a buddy of mine here on the compound and came across the spot where two brick walls blocked out all the lights and the nighttime sky suddenly became clear. I couldve easily spent the night there looking up, not just because I enjoy stargazing but because aside from my time in Thailand I'd never seen some of these stars before -- the southern sky is totally different from the northern sky and I'm just starting to see both where I am. And... I saw a shooting star. It was a slow-mover... green at first and faded to whitish-yellow. First time I'd seen one in some time, and hopefully I'll be able to catch the next big shower in November.

The photo above I took tonight across the street from my building. I'm facing the airport and you can see a bridge in the foreground that crosses the canal. The brick wall separates us from Camp Stryker. There is a dirt road on the other side and when vehicles drive by it kicks up dust and dirt, giving that beautiful look in front of the light. Hopefully I'll get my tripod here and be able to get a crisper shot than I took -- this one was braced up against a sign post.