posted @ 05:50...

"You know what we used to do in the old school when somebody would forget a key piece of equipment? We would make him stand outside with his boots tied around his neck, holding a sign that says 'I forgot my boots!'"

Yes, a coworker (not me) left his boots in the barracks this morning. Our new NCO is little more strict that our previous one. Turns out, the guy only had to do some pushups...

posted @ 20:28...

We got it dumped on us last night & today. I had to dig the car out so I could run to Stewart's and get gas for the snow blower. Never used one before, but after giving myself a quick trial-and-error lesson, it performed beautifully. I never know what to expect from government equipment.

We also took my son sledding down the hill behind our house. Pics here.

I've caught myself thinking of this poem several times over the past few days.

posted @ 18:37...

Happy Thanksgiving!

posted @ 07:45...

This morning as I heard the rush of the wind through the pine trees, and felt the smattering of wispy snowflakes on my face, I was reminded of how different this Holiday season is going to be compared to last year.

Snow on Christmas? Seems normal here, but in Baghdad snow was added to the long list of things we wouldn't be seeing for another year. I didn't mind, since I typically hate snow. But honestly, I wasn't disappointed to see it falling.

I'm not usually a "Christmas person." I'm not a scrooge; I just never get excited about Christmas music, Christmas decorations, or any of that. But this year, we're going "all out" as much as we can. I wonder if XM is gonna develop a holiday channel...

[FOLLOW-UP: Turns out, they do have holiday channels.]

posted @ 08:35...

We got a portable DVD player. I know what you're thinking... how does a struggling military family afford such luxuries? Well, by getting rid of 5 boxes of junk. Resale America in Watertown buys stuff. They gave us store credit of around $120, and the only thing there we felt we could use was a $99 DVD player. So, it was basically free to us. Plus, there was a balance left over to pick up a few DVD's to go with it.

After looking online at the same DVD player (in order to download the owner's manual), I found that it retails new for up to $280. Amazing. Plus, it will come in very handy in the car for our 2,000-mile Christmas trip out west.

posted @ 19:05...

Tonight was yet another reminder of how much I'm going to love not living here. After dropping the wife off at a friend's house (Carthage), I got on the highway... and sat there on the side of the road for an hour. Apparently, some folks in this area drive vehicles which are not 4-wheel-drive. I know - crazy, huh! The highway patrolmen walked up and down the road telling people to be patient, and explaining that some people's vehicles couldn't make it up the hill ahead. I watched as the F-150 in front of me fishtailed and practically get stuck once we started moving. So I pressed the "4WD" button (a handy option on the Mazda Tribute)... Went up the hill just fine, and eventually made it home.

The ordeal wouldn't have been an issue, except for the fact that I had my son with me, whose desire/need for food and sleep cannot be ignored. Luckily there was some popcorn in the car, which he loves anyway. The boy behaved impressively well, whining only when he occasionally realized Mommy wasn't with us.

posted @ 06:26...

Byrne Dairy Robbed at Knife-Point. Don't tell anyone, but it was a Soldier. Don't tell anyone this either, but the guy is from my unit. What a frickin' moron. Probably won't be a Soldier much longer.

posted @ 05:45...

More overheard quotes from the Brigade legal shop:

"I wish I cared about something; it would be easier to pick a charity."

-- Specialist B-H

"You can't swing a dead cat by the tail in here without hitting a legal clerk."

-- Brigade Command Sergeant Major

"If I wasn't such an idiot, I would probably be living a long, full life."

-- Specialist T.

posted @ 06:16...

I was thinking about something Sunday as my wife and I were going through boxes of junk in the garage. I saw a picture of one of our interpreters at one of our claims locations. There is a misconception among Iraqi people that American Soldiers are all single guys with no family. At least that's what one of our interpreters said once when I was showing her pictures of my wife and son. "We don't think of you as having families," she said. "But I guess it makes sense... why wouldn't you have a family?"

We Americans also have some glaring misconceptions. We tend to picture the French as limp-wristed cheese- and wine-loving cowards who never bathe. Who knew they had it in 'em to riot?

The cause of this 12+ days' of violence? Two kids running from police decided to hide in a power station, and subsequently got themselves electrocuted. And somehow that's the fault of the police, the government... and innocent bystanders. Turns out, French people can become just like any other gaggle of mindless idiots in the world. Riots are stupid, no matter where you are.

What's especially ridiculous rioting is that of a city whose team wins the Superbowl, World Series, etc. Your team won... why destroy things?

posted @ 09:17...

I still run across interesting cases here once in a while. The latest involves a Soldier who was told he would be participating in a urinalysis. Units conduct surprise random drug tests periodically. Makes sense.

As the Soldier (who obviously remains nameless) was leaving his room, he grabbed a small bottle of CLP (rifle cleaner/lubricant). He then used the substance to contaminate his urine sample. What he didn't realize is that the CLP would cause damage to the machines that analyze the samples. Oops.

He said he didn't want certain medications he was taking to show up on the test. The kicker: he had valid prescriptions for all of the medications.