So yesterday the office staff went out to French Beach. The choice was to go to the beach for a unit outing or to stay behind at the base and work. It wasn't too difficult of a decision to make obviously. There were 19 of us who went and packed up everything you could imagine including a bbq grill, coolers, tables, chairs and SUVs to carry it all. It ended up being a good day and was nice to get away from the work and the daily routine and scenery. It would be nice to get a regular weekend off to go do something relaxing and enjoy some downtime.
This is the first time I've written in a while because I haven't had much on a positive note to post for public viewing. The next few weeks should be a little better and the week before Thanksgiving I head off to Tanzania for a safari. I'll try to post a few photos of the day if this Djibouti internet will cooperate.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Still nothing new to report....
Another frustrating but uneventful week has passed. The best part of the week was the four hours at the pool on Sunday. Evidently I got some good color judging from the comments I'm receiving such as I should use some sunblock. It was also a day to clean the CLU..... it really doesn't take too long to clean an approximate 140 square feed of a trailer and bathroom.
The Thailand trip is not going to happen for me now since I would have been in the airport as much as I would have been in Thailand so I'll save that for another time after I get back home probably. So perhaps a Safari in the cooler months closer to the end of my tour.
Several folks here have been told that there's no funding for their billets and they may be out of here in less than 90 days from now.... I'm not convinced that will happen but who knows. I asked if I could be one of those people and I got an immediate response of "NO!".
The excitement of the day was the termite treatment in my office. I'm sure there's more nonsnese to come...... only an alleged 176 days left on my sentence.
The Thailand trip is not going to happen for me now since I would have been in the airport as much as I would have been in Thailand so I'll save that for another time after I get back home probably. So perhaps a Safari in the cooler months closer to the end of my tour.
Several folks here have been told that there's no funding for their billets and they may be out of here in less than 90 days from now.... I'm not convinced that will happen but who knows. I asked if I could be one of those people and I got an immediate response of "NO!".
The excitement of the day was the termite treatment in my office. I'm sure there's more nonsnese to come...... only an alleged 176 days left on my sentence.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
If you don't have anything nice to say....
So my mother always said if you don't have anything nice to say then you shouldn't say anything at all. Judging from my lack of posting you can imagine that there has been nothing too positive as of recent history.
Last week one of my worst nightmares came true... one of my caps popped off of a tooth. So I go to the dentist on base and asked if there were any cosmetic dentistry supplies in the clinic or if they did that kind of work and I swear the looked at me like I was crazy. I then explained that I had popped a cap and needed a repair. The dentist was able to reapply but I'm certain it's not the quality I'm used to and who knows what he used or how long it will last but I'll be in for repairs as soon as I get off of the plane next year.
So as if the nightmare of the tooth wasn't enough.... how could things get much worse??? Well let me tell you. There I was at the ATOC getting training so I can drive on the flight line if I need to at some point in time. There were maybe 40 folks in the class when all of the sudden "The Big Voice" came on. Keep in mind the big voice is for the playing of the morning colors and emergency messages for the Camp. The next thing I hear is my name being called out and summoned to the XO's office immediately.
Well imagine back in high school your name gets called over the intercom to go to the Principal's office and everyone in the class turns and looks at you. The Marines were sympatheitc and wished me good luck as I exited the room. As I did my "walk of shame" across base to the XO's office, I was wondering which of the horrible things I had accomplished this week had been discovered. Crossing the horseshoe, my colleagues looked in amazement and asked what I had done since I was only the second person EVER to have been paged over the big voice.
When I arrived the XO was on the phone and motioned for me to take a seat. I maintained my look of innocence just in case and as to avoid any self-incrimination of my deeds. The next thing I knew there was a string of colorful discussion that left me confused. It turns out I wasn't in trouble for doing my job but there was something totally outside of my work stream that needed to be fixed. While not my job I was glad to be needed for something rather than being busted for something else and I of course happily agreed to do what I could to fix the problem.
Things have definitely been busy and it's not getting any easier to do the job at hand. Every day is a little bit more of a chore but hopefully when I leave it will be more on track and the person following me will have an easier time of it.
I still intend to get a nice gift for myself upon returning home!
Last week one of my worst nightmares came true... one of my caps popped off of a tooth. So I go to the dentist on base and asked if there were any cosmetic dentistry supplies in the clinic or if they did that kind of work and I swear the looked at me like I was crazy. I then explained that I had popped a cap and needed a repair. The dentist was able to reapply but I'm certain it's not the quality I'm used to and who knows what he used or how long it will last but I'll be in for repairs as soon as I get off of the plane next year.
So as if the nightmare of the tooth wasn't enough.... how could things get much worse??? Well let me tell you. There I was at the ATOC getting training so I can drive on the flight line if I need to at some point in time. There were maybe 40 folks in the class when all of the sudden "The Big Voice" came on. Keep in mind the big voice is for the playing of the morning colors and emergency messages for the Camp. The next thing I hear is my name being called out and summoned to the XO's office immediately.
Well imagine back in high school your name gets called over the intercom to go to the Principal's office and everyone in the class turns and looks at you. The Marines were sympatheitc and wished me good luck as I exited the room. As I did my "walk of shame" across base to the XO's office, I was wondering which of the horrible things I had accomplished this week had been discovered. Crossing the horseshoe, my colleagues looked in amazement and asked what I had done since I was only the second person EVER to have been paged over the big voice.
When I arrived the XO was on the phone and motioned for me to take a seat. I maintained my look of innocence just in case and as to avoid any self-incrimination of my deeds. The next thing I knew there was a string of colorful discussion that left me confused. It turns out I wasn't in trouble for doing my job but there was something totally outside of my work stream that needed to be fixed. While not my job I was glad to be needed for something rather than being busted for something else and I of course happily agreed to do what I could to fix the problem.
Things have definitely been busy and it's not getting any easier to do the job at hand. Every day is a little bit more of a chore but hopefully when I leave it will be more on track and the person following me will have an easier time of it.
I still intend to get a nice gift for myself upon returning home!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Haze, Hot, Humid...
So I walked out the door this morning and it was haze, overcast, hot and a little humid. Not what you would expect from the description but the atmosphere was full of sand and dirt to the point that the sky was gray and the sun really wasn't visible. It looked like rain was on the way however I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen until October at the earliest since it doesn't rain here much.
I took a look at the calendar and my orders and if all is correct as of tomorrow I will have merely seven months to go on my tour! I have to admit I'm ready to get back to my family, friends and home. The movie Elizabethtown was on tonight which didn't help much either with the scenes from Kentucky and some of the family scenes that were reminiscent of our family gatherings.
I took a look at the calendar and my orders and if all is correct as of tomorrow I will have merely seven months to go on my tour! I have to admit I'm ready to get back to my family, friends and home. The movie Elizabethtown was on tonight which didn't help much either with the scenes from Kentucky and some of the family scenes that were reminiscent of our family gatherings.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Nothing exciting to report....
So it has been a sedate time back at Camp Lemonnier. Since returning from Egypt my sinuses an allergies have been a mess. The air quality here is pretty awful and the winds are starting to shift so it feels like a hair dryer blowing in your face during the day. With the winds coming from the desert along with the heat comes dirt and sand so breathing is tough at times.
The July 4th holiday weekend is right around the corner and that'll be two days off work in a row which will be a nice change. Once I make it through July I'll only have six months left on this tour and I'll be ready to transition back to civilian life.
I'm not being negligent on blogging, but unfortunately there's not much to report on the daily operations here.
The July 4th holiday weekend is right around the corner and that'll be two days off work in a row which will be a nice change. Once I make it through July I'll only have six months left on this tour and I'll be ready to transition back to civilian life.
I'm not being negligent on blogging, but unfortunately there's not much to report on the daily operations here.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Back in Djibouti
So I finished up in Sharm and got a good last day of suntanning and a massage. Unfortunately on Sunday a nasty sinus infection crept up on me so the flight home was nearly miserable and I didn't manage to make it out of the bed most of Memorial Day. I suppose that's the price I have to pay for having a vacation. All good things have to end and the days of the 5 star hotels are gone for a while.
I actually went to the Dr. today and got a prescription to knock this infection out.... It's ridiculous to have a cold while sitting in the middle of Africa with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.
Not much else to report here,,, just back to the grind again and only 8 months to go on this tour.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Still at Sharm
Still at Sharm
So the day around the pool was a good one on Thursday and I ended up going to some German restaurant that my companions for the evening selected. After eating garbage that is not local enough for me I’ve decided that it won’t be anti-social just to go out by myself to enjoy something appropriate to the region rather than Italian or American chain restaurants. By the way, the German food really wasn’t so good considering what I’ve grown accustomed to having available.
So the utter dread started to set in when it was time to lad up on the bus for Mt. Sinai. Being that I’m not all that interested in religion, the three hour one way bus ride in lieu of sleeping in a comfortable bed for the night didn’t really appeal to me. We arrived in Sinai sometime after 0230 and unloaded the bus. We bet our Bedouin guide who took us on the start of a hike. The choice was a 7km walk (about 5 miles) or ride a camel up the mountain to a point where there were about 1,000 steps to get to the summit.
So I get to the camel station and you know that if I have the option of walking or riding there’s not much discussion for 5 miles uphill on loose gravel type surfaces. Well I finally get on the beast and had several delays. We were supposed to be in groups of five on the camels but that didn’t seem to happen and I was in a group of three. Shortly after mounting my camel and we had been waiting too long, I guess something got my camel agitated and while tied up to another camel with a colleague saddled up, my camel started bucking,,,,,, yes I’m sure you can picture my state of excitement with this happening. I have what feels like a sprained wrist and thumb now from that incident.
Well it only gets better after the bucking camel incident. It was cold and breezy out in the middle of nowhere Egypt and of course I dressed for the climate one would expect so I was in shorts and short sleeves. You know how I love being cold so you can see the happiness building. We had to stop three times up the mountain. One time we had to stop because an older British gentleman who was self-described as “too old with a belly” kept sliding out of the saddle to one side of the camel since his gut kept him from being centered. Having to wait behind him trying to get centered again didn’t make me too happy since our camels didn’t appear to enjoy having to stop and they were getting impatient. Finally we moved on and I have no idea what happed to that man but he had no business trying to make the trip.
About half of our group decided to walk rather than take the camels. When Mark and I arrived at the camel stop everyone cheered and said “they’re finally here”….. yes people on foot made it there much faster than riding animals up. So I finally get off of the animal with my busted wrist and realize that I’m about ready to freeze. Several times on the way up I was tempted to turn around and go back but I pressed on to the camel station. The air quality was kind of crappy and there was still sand in the air from the day before so visibility wasn’t that great. I didn’t relish the idea of hiking up 1,000 steps to watch the sunrise so three of us decided to stay back at the camel station and once the sun was up back down the mountain we headed.
It was probably silly to not go up there after the effort but truthfully I would discourage the trip. It wasn’t a good use of my vacation time and I found it rather unenjoyable. We passed St Catherine’s Monestary on the way back and that was supposed to be a toru as well but was not opening for several hours so all but two of the group decided to forego that and head back to salvage the day and relax and enjoy our time here.
After getting back I brushed my teeth and met a buddy for lunch. Considering the day’s events, I decided that a massage was in order so I scheduled one after lunch and then a sauna and steam. The natural progression from there was out ot the beach where I managed to pass out in the sun for the rest of the afternoon and woke up dehydrated. It was multi-tasking at its best since I got a nap and some sun and beach time.
I stuck to my guns and decided to head out for dinner without a group and met up with our tour guide from Camp Lemonnier. We ended up going to a middle eastern/Egyptian restaurant and enjoyed a long leisurely dinner and then I headed out to the main area with all the shops and open air bars. It was a busy place and I managed to do a little more shopping. The Egyptians love to talk with Americans since there don’t appear to be many who travel here. Some of the questions I got tonight were about our Presidents and if American people thought Egyptians were terrorists because they were Muslim. I know the guy was trying to make a sale but he actually made good conversation and asked insightful questions and I purchased something from him. The mistake with that is trying to get out of the area after other stores see you have made a purchase….. I may not have been a terrorist target but I was a retail target.
So now it’s after 0100 and tomorrow is the last day here before heading back to Djibouti on Sunday. Luckily Monday will be a holiday where I can regroup and get it back together before another work week. I’ve decided not to do Turkey and Istanbul in July but looking seriously about Thailand in August.
So the day around the pool was a good one on Thursday and I ended up going to some German restaurant that my companions for the evening selected. After eating garbage that is not local enough for me I’ve decided that it won’t be anti-social just to go out by myself to enjoy something appropriate to the region rather than Italian or American chain restaurants. By the way, the German food really wasn’t so good considering what I’ve grown accustomed to having available.
So the utter dread started to set in when it was time to lad up on the bus for Mt. Sinai. Being that I’m not all that interested in religion, the three hour one way bus ride in lieu of sleeping in a comfortable bed for the night didn’t really appeal to me. We arrived in Sinai sometime after 0230 and unloaded the bus. We bet our Bedouin guide who took us on the start of a hike. The choice was a 7km walk (about 5 miles) or ride a camel up the mountain to a point where there were about 1,000 steps to get to the summit.
So I get to the camel station and you know that if I have the option of walking or riding there’s not much discussion for 5 miles uphill on loose gravel type surfaces. Well I finally get on the beast and had several delays. We were supposed to be in groups of five on the camels but that didn’t seem to happen and I was in a group of three. Shortly after mounting my camel and we had been waiting too long, I guess something got my camel agitated and while tied up to another camel with a colleague saddled up, my camel started bucking,,,,,, yes I’m sure you can picture my state of excitement with this happening. I have what feels like a sprained wrist and thumb now from that incident.
Well it only gets better after the bucking camel incident. It was cold and breezy out in the middle of nowhere Egypt and of course I dressed for the climate one would expect so I was in shorts and short sleeves. You know how I love being cold so you can see the happiness building. We had to stop three times up the mountain. One time we had to stop because an older British gentleman who was self-described as “too old with a belly” kept sliding out of the saddle to one side of the camel since his gut kept him from being centered. Having to wait behind him trying to get centered again didn’t make me too happy since our camels didn’t appear to enjoy having to stop and they were getting impatient. Finally we moved on and I have no idea what happed to that man but he had no business trying to make the trip.
About half of our group decided to walk rather than take the camels. When Mark and I arrived at the camel stop everyone cheered and said “they’re finally here”….. yes people on foot made it there much faster than riding animals up. So I finally get off of the animal with my busted wrist and realize that I’m about ready to freeze. Several times on the way up I was tempted to turn around and go back but I pressed on to the camel station. The air quality was kind of crappy and there was still sand in the air from the day before so visibility wasn’t that great. I didn’t relish the idea of hiking up 1,000 steps to watch the sunrise so three of us decided to stay back at the camel station and once the sun was up back down the mountain we headed.
It was probably silly to not go up there after the effort but truthfully I would discourage the trip. It wasn’t a good use of my vacation time and I found it rather unenjoyable. We passed St Catherine’s Monestary on the way back and that was supposed to be a toru as well but was not opening for several hours so all but two of the group decided to forego that and head back to salvage the day and relax and enjoy our time here.
After getting back I brushed my teeth and met a buddy for lunch. Considering the day’s events, I decided that a massage was in order so I scheduled one after lunch and then a sauna and steam. The natural progression from there was out ot the beach where I managed to pass out in the sun for the rest of the afternoon and woke up dehydrated. It was multi-tasking at its best since I got a nap and some sun and beach time.
I stuck to my guns and decided to head out for dinner without a group and met up with our tour guide from Camp Lemonnier. We ended up going to a middle eastern/Egyptian restaurant and enjoyed a long leisurely dinner and then I headed out to the main area with all the shops and open air bars. It was a busy place and I managed to do a little more shopping. The Egyptians love to talk with Americans since there don’t appear to be many who travel here. Some of the questions I got tonight were about our Presidents and if American people thought Egyptians were terrorists because they were Muslim. I know the guy was trying to make a sale but he actually made good conversation and asked insightful questions and I purchased something from him. The mistake with that is trying to get out of the area after other stores see you have made a purchase….. I may not have been a terrorist target but I was a retail target.
So now it’s after 0100 and tomorrow is the last day here before heading back to Djibouti on Sunday. Luckily Monday will be a holiday where I can regroup and get it back together before another work week. I’ve decided not to do Turkey and Istanbul in July but looking seriously about Thailand in August.
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