Camels

Howdy folks! Just a quick jot: saw some camels grazing on some desert scrub the other day - amazing! Definitely didn't expect it (especially since it was near an-honest-to-goodness oasis, too). What next? A flying carpet? Too cool.

The One-Week Mark

Wow, one week already! Sometimes it feels like the clock is moving, and other times the realization that I have from six months to one year here can be a little daunting. Right now I am taking it one day at a time (sometimes just one hour at a time...).

We are getting ready to make the big move from "Camp A" to "Location B" around the second week of June (which puts us in the two-week mark - another milestone - Hooray!). The prep for our move, plus our regular scheduled work, is making for looooong days. Not to sound like a broken record (lol). Otherwise, I'm good to go! Hope you are all well!

Tired.

Sometimes you work hard, come back home, and you feel like you accomplished something. Tonight it feels like when you have been running for a awhile and you come to the base of that hill that you usually power up and over, but today you can't find the reserves, and it is a grind to just get half-way up (and your legs are cramping, and you got that god-awful stitch in your side - not to mention that you are sucking air like a beached goldfish...). Um, yeah, something like that. Anyhow, we put in some long hours this week - the heat hasn't helped - and we just got ripped by our OIC about the level of output we are producing. Crap, I just got here, and it feels like I'm behind. I have been getting to bed by midnight and getting up at 0400 (don't ask me how one stays genki on four-hours sleep). Aside from that, everything else is peachy! Actually, I'm certain that things will work out alright, but it is this transition that bites - we lost a slew of experienced people, and know our command is panicking that we new folks aren't seamlessly picking up the harness and pulling with our full weight. The job is incredibly tedious, but I'm trying to put a happy face on it (while looking for the EJECT button incase this place implodes). Aside from the running analogy, I actually went running this morning. Due to OPSEC, I really can't tell you much about the camp, or the route I run, or pretty much anything that might possibly raise the blood pressure of a security manager. Um... that is about it - gotta get back to work!

Dust in my Sky

Hey there! I arrived in Qatar last Friday night - first impressions of the place? Hot (about 120 Degrees Fahrenheit, with temps projected to head up to 130+ as the summer progresses), Dusty (the sky is permanently brownish - the Sun often gets blotted out by sandstorms), Windy (if I don't secure my hat, it goes for a nice 100 foot trip) and Sandy (imagine the beach, but the tide is way, waaaaaay out...). The sand drifts like snow across the street - there must be a haiku in there somewhere, right? They issued me Army ACU uniforms (they stand up better to the environmental conditions here). There is very little to show that I am a Sailor - I have a little rank tab on the front of my uniform with an embroidered PO1 insignia (that stops people dead in their tracks constantly with a "what-the-hell-is-that?" look), and a U.S. NAVY tag over my left pocket. I wear a floppy sun hat, and G.I. issue sun glasses that would make Jackie-O proud. You rarely sweat, but you are losing a ton of water constantly (that is why there are stockpiles of bottled water everywhere, roasting in the sun - and we get little packets of Crystal Lite lemonade powder to help break up the monotany of drinking so much water). Mmmmm, nothing like sun-baked H2O - yum! They are talking about moving me further forward: possibly to Iraq, or maybe Afghanistan. Right now, I am trying to acclimatize myself, get up to speed on my job, and keep on smiling. We are living in CONEX containers, and they are air conditioned, so life is not bad at all. As we say here: "Living the dream!".