The Clarke House B&B Blog: George in Iraq

NEWS from GEORGE in IRAQ

The Innkeeper from Iraq! January 4th, 2010 Well I made it home for Christmas; all it took was 2 Helios and 4 airplanes and 3 days. It was great to be home even for a short time. The Holiday was a little overwhelming. On the way to the airport the Transfer case went out on the SUV so no 4 wheel drive and an expensive repair. We put new studded snow tires on the car until we can afford to fix the transfer case. The next event was a Christmas party to prepare for; Cindy was extremely busy so I just putted around the house. A little house work and some shopping; I don’t know if Cindy sends me shopping to get me out of the way or because I am particularly good at it. She says she doesn’t like shopping but new things keep showing up at the house; it must be the Leprechauns again. The party went well and I was glad to see so many friends. It is nice to be appreciated. Somehow we ended up with more desserts than anything else so if you drop by and get loaded with cookies etc you have been warned. The best part was when the party was over and Cindy and I got to sit in front of the fire drink hot chocolate and cuddle because soon thereafter the family came to visit. The kids are great; I especially like to watch Theo dance with the musical snowman and have long talks with Jack. I was amazed at the way Brycen has grown. I think he is taller than me but then it seems everybody is. When the Jessee clan arrived the house came alive; it is always great to have all the Grand Kids together. I get to play with their toys. The time seemed to go by too quickly before I was fully aware I was preparing to return to Iraq. I didn’t really want to go back but it was something I had to do. So 4 airplanes and 2 Helios and I was back at work. Everyone seemed to be glad I was back; it does seem more restful January 4th, 2010 I can’t believe it is November already. I will be home on leave for Christmas which seems like it is just around the corner. I will be glad to spend time at home with Cindy and just chill. We have had some strange weather lately mostly the mud storms I spoke of earlier; it is clear during the day and in the morning your car looks like went mudding while you slept. The roads have a fine film of clay dust mixed with water that makes driving akin to driving in NH snow. Some of my guys said the road was slicker than nasal discharge, actually they used another term but this is my Blog. In the day time a warm dry wind blows through turning the roads into hard pan with the consistency of concrete. The other day after an unusually strong wind everyone was having trouble breathing and consequently coughing nasty stuff. Upon astute investigation we determined the wind had cleared all the dust out of the air and we weren’t used to it. That changed that evening so we all recovered quickly. We all celebrated Halloween here; everybody dressed up as GI Joe and then went for trick or treat. Our neighbors didn’t share the fun they just tricked which is upsetting because loud noises are party poopers. I broke my Pilates, I guess I just pulled too hard, it’s not bad exercise I can use them at my desk which is convenient because by the time I leave the office I don’t feel much like doing anything. You would think that AAFES would sell something but they don’t only the PT uniforms. I can’t believe it is November already. I will be home on leave for Christmas which seems like it is just around the corner. I will be glad to spend time at home with Cindy and just chill. We have had some strange weather lately mostly the mud storms I spoke of earlier; it is clear during the day and in the morning your car looks like went mudding while you slept. The roads have a fine film of clay dust mixed with water that makes driving akin to driving in NH snow. Some of my guys said the road was slicker than nasal discharge, actually they used another term but this is my Blog. In the day time a warm dry wind blows through turning the roads into hard pan with the consistency of concrete. The other day after an unusually strong wind everyone was having trouble breathing and consequently coughing nasty stuff. Upon astute investigation we determined the wind had cleared all the dust out of the air and we weren’t used to it. That changed that evening so we all recovered quickly. We all celebrated Halloween here; everybody dressed up as GI Joe and then went for trick or treat. Our neighbors didn’t share the fun they just tricked which is upsetting because loud noises are party poopers. I broke my Pilates, I guess I just pulled too hard, it’s not bad exercise I can use them at my desk which is convenient because by the time I leave the office I don’t feel much like doing anything. You would think that AAFES would sell something but they don’t only the PT uniforms. I can’t believe it is November already. I will be home on leave for Christmas which seems like it is just around the corner. I will be glad to spend time at home with Cindy and just chill. 17 October 2009 It’s 0500 and time to start another day. Some days it is hard to get out of bed but I am luckier than some others. I have my own private bathroom. No waiting for a shower or anything else to free up. The morning shower gets you awake and ready to move especially if the water suddenly turns cold because your neighbor uses the same water heater. It’s a little hazy today. The sun is hanging just above the horizon like a bright orange ball. But soon it will be overhead and you can’t see without sunglasses. It should hit 100 degrees to day but it was a cool 73 last night. Lots of people out running this morning while it is still cool. I do my 4 miles after the sun has gone down when it is cooler at about 2000hrs. I got my usual breakfast, oatmeal with a few raisins and some cantaloupe; it’s boring food but then I am trying to lose some weight. The DFAC (mess hall) is just across the street along with its Indian cooks. I’m learning to love salads. Well time to start the day by checking emails; not a difficult task by any means but I have 3 different computers that don’t talk to each other because of the classification. I know full well that someone will pass the wrong message on the wrong system. It seems I spoke too soon 17 October 2009 It’s 0500 and time to start another day. Some days it is hard to get out of bed but I am luckier than some others. I have my own private bathroom. No waiting for a shower or anything else to free up. The morning shower gets you awake and ready to move especially if the water suddenly turns cold because your neighbor uses the same water heater. It’s a little hazy today. The sun is hanging just above the horizon like a bright orange ball. But soon it will be overhead and you can’t see without sunglasses. It should hit 100 degrees to day but it was a cool 73 last night. Lots of people out running this morning while it is still cool. I do my 4 miles after the sun has gone down when it is cooler at about 2000hrs. I got my usual breakfast, oatmeal with a few raisins and some cantaloupe; it’s boring food but then I am trying to lose some weight. The DFAC (mess hall) is just across the street along with its Indian cooks. I’m learning to love salads. Well time to start the day by checking emails; not a difficult task by any means but I have 3 different computers that don’t talk to each other because of the classification. I know full well that someone will pass the wrong message on the wrong system. It seems I spoke too soon 17 October 2009 It’s 0500 and time to start another day. Some days it is hard to get out of bed but I am luckier than some others. I have my own private bathroom. No waiting for a shower or anything else to free up. The morning shower gets you awake and ready to move especially if the water suddenly turns cold because your neighbor uses the same water heater. It’s a little hazy today. The sun is hanging just above the horizon like a bright orange ball. But soon it will be overhead and you can’t see without sunglasses. It should hit 100 degrees to day but it was a cool 73 last night. Lots of people out running this morning while it is still cool. I do my 4 miles after the sun has gone down when it is cooler at about 2000hrs. I got my usual breakfast, oatmeal with a few raisins and some cantaloupe; it’s boring food but then I am trying to lose some weight. The DFAC (mess hall) is just across the street along with its Indian cooks. I’m learning to love salads. Well time to start the day by checking emails; not a difficult task by any means but I have 3 different computers that don’t talk to each other because of the classification. I know full well that someone will pass the wrong message on the wrong system. It seems I spoke too soon 17 October 2009 It’s 0500 and time to start another day. Some days it is hard to get out of bed but I am luckier than some others. I have my own private bathroom. No waiting for a shower or anything else to free up. The morning shower gets you awake and ready to move especially if the water suddenly turns cold because your neighbor uses the same water heater. It’s a little hazy today. The sun is hanging just above the horizon like a bright orange ball. But soon it will be overhead and you can’t see without sunglasses. It should hit 100 degrees to day but it was a cool 73 last night. Lots of people out running this morning while it is still cool. I do my 4 miles after the sun has gone down when it is cooler at about 2000hrs. I got my usual breakfast, oatmeal with a few raisins and some cantaloupe; it’s boring food but then I am trying to lose some weight. The DFAC (mess hall) is just across the street along with its Indian cooks. I’m learning to love salads. Well time to start the day by checking emails; not a difficult task by any means but I have 3 different computers that don’t talk to each other because of the classification. I know full well that someone will pass the wrong message on the wrong system. It seems I spoke too soon 11 October 2009 Great News!!!! I can hardly believe it. I never thought it would happen to me and yet here it is. I am totally dumbfounded and in awe. Who would have thought little old me (well maybe not so little but my wife still loves me) get something like this. I know most of you think “Oh joy, he got another 442” but no that’s not it. Are you ready, better sit down. Here it comes. I have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for thinking about doing something good in the future that will bring world peace or make me rich; I’d settle for the latter. I know I have been thinking good thoughts for some time especially when I am bored and there is nothing on TV. Sometimes I just think good thoughts about thinking good thoughts but it still counts. I am sure everybody has good thoughts but not everyone has thoughts about thinking good thoughts, I think that is what makes me stand out. Of course I have my detractors who say I am not thinking good thoughts because I am snoring; that is simply not true. I make noises when I am concentrating really hard on thinking good thoughts. I even keep my eyes closed so I won’t be distracted by worldly interruptions. I generally have my best good thoughts right after lunch. It seems that is my best time to really concentrate. I practice something called Couch Yoga; this is where you must lie completely flat on your back on the couch. You must relax completely and let your entire body go limp. Your arm relaxed and drooping over the side of the couch. Cover your head with an old newspaper or magazine to block out worldly distractions. Now you concentrate on thinking good thoughts, closing your eyes is not required but it may speed the process. Then you pass into that place where good thoughts can be found. Now not every thought is a Nobel Peace prize quality. People have been asking me what my good thoughts are about but I refuse to answer because I don’t want to encourage Good Thought Plagiarism. I merely tell they will know when it happens, in which case they should tell me immediately so I can claim the credit and hold a news conference on my lawn. Yes indeed although I am humbled by this remarkable experience, I deserve it because I am me and nobody else is. Taji, 10 October 2009 Payday was very welcome, not that there is a lot to spend money on but Uncle Sam does not provide everything you need. Taji has a large PX but there is never anything in there; if you check and the shelves are full get anything you might want in the future because it won’t be there the next time. They have a variety of places to eat as long as you want to pay; Subway, Burger King, Popeye’s Chicken, Pizza Hut, and number of other places I can’t remember. We also have a Haji Bazaar but it is run by Indians not Iraqis and the PX get a kickback so the prices are not what you could expect elsewhere. USA is allowing us to send Iraqi Bayonets home as souvenirs so that is exactly what we are doing as fast as we can so they don’t change their mind. The customs folks are even confiscating water guns and super soakers. They say x rays don’t know the difference between toys and real thing. One of the guys collected a big black scorpion and kept it in old water bottle. It turned out it was expecting so he was waiting patiently for it to lay its eggs which it did and promptly expired. So he got another, this one was not quite so big and it looks like it may live. He catches insects and put them in the bottle as food for the scorpion. One of his buddies dropped by and left him a gift. A pit Viper; thankfully it was in a bottle. It took us less than a minute to get rid of it. The snakes are quite deadly. 20 September 2009, Taji Iraq We had a very large “mud storm” last night everything is covered with a light coat of mud. This is pretty regular during the winter months. The air is filled with dust from the sand storms and then it rains. The rain mixes with the dust in the air and hence becomes mud. I am driving a black Suburban; at least it was black when I parked it now it is just mucky brown. The weather is getting a lot cooler it is in the low 70’s at night and barely 100 in the daytime. So we don’t need the air conditioning anymore; just kidding! Things are pretty busy hear with the drawdown and the transition of equipment to the IA (Iraqi Army); we are also responsible for the training but they haven’t been showing because of their holiday season. It should be back to normal soon. We have a large PX here but it is poorly stocked and overpriced which makes it easier to save money. There is a small local market run by the PX but the prices are higher than they would normally be if the PX were not involved. We worked a normal 14 hour day 7 days a week so there is not much time to do anything else but exercise and sleep. We do have Armed Forces Network but generally most everyone falls asleep watching it because they are tired. Working in this intense heat takes a toll on your body. We drink water constantly to stay hydrated which has a deleterious effect on your rest when you have to get up in the night to “dehydrate” . Hooah! George

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

George in Iraq

23 September 2009, Taji Iraq

Well it was a pretty busy day; lots of meetings, VTCs and arguing with a contractor. It is easy to see how these guys operate they look for any loophole they can find to get Uncle Sugar to add to their profit. I have several things going on right now to turn the tables. I have asked for 6 months of time cards for all personnel because I know they carried folks on the books while they were on leave. The USG doesn’t pay for contractor R&Rs. They have a large number of vehicles borrowed from USG until they got their own; consequently they owe us for vehicles they didn’t buy. Plus they have to restore the vehicles they borrowed to original condition. They won’t be happy with that.
I was warm again today about 102 degrees but the nights are getting colder; it was 73 degrees last night. Get the blankets out!
It gets pretty boring here at night nothing to do but after a 16hr day you are too tired anyway. Most of us try to watch a movie or something but it takes several nights to finish because we fall asleep.
We got hot showers again today but lousy water pressure but at least it’s wet. Let’s hope the CHUs stay operational.
My Suburban is totally covered in mud from the rain we had yesterday. It’s going to rain again this weekend so I won’t bother to wash it.
We are having a Bar’ B Que this weekend for one of the folks leaving; at the rate they are leaving we will be grilling every night, which won’t help my physique any. Thank goodness for ‘stretchy’ pants.

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George in Iraq

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

George in Iraq

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