Rated PG

Just another family friendly update.  I figured I better write one before they all threaten to kill me…
I should be flying somewhere over Europe or maybe the Atlantic right about now.  I should be landing in Colorado Springs at around 1800 hours.  I should once again be on American soil today.  Instead, I’m still sitting at my freshly cleaned, strangely decorated desk in Baghdad, Iraq.  As I mentioned in my last update, which I realize was far too long ago, I was deeply torn about leaving this country so soon.  Just after posting and emailing my blog, I made the decision to extend my stay another month.  Is it strange that, after choosing to live another thirty days in a war-torn, barren, dirty land, a wave of relief immediately washed over me?  The decision to stay could not have turned out more perfectly, either.  Over the last week, we’ve unexpectedly lost three of our commrades to personal emergencies.  There’s only a handful of us here now, and had I not extended, the CIDNE team would be in dire need of extra personnel.  My intuition has once again exceeded my own expectations.

The temperature seems to have plateaued, at least for the time being.  The high today was only 104 — quite a bit cooler than the 119 degree days we’ve been experiencing.  I no longer hover in the portajohn for fear of my bare bum touching the unsanitary, plastic seat.  I hover because the seat burns hotter than a vinyl bench in an old Chevy truck that’s been sitting in the sun all day.  I’ve grown accustomed to scalding showers and to brushing my teeth with hot water.  I’ve made peace with the fact that I will get flash burn when I walk by the massive generators burning off jet fuel and that I will be sweaty again by the time I get back to my hooch from the showers.  I also might have an idea what it would feel like to stand in front of my dad’s sand blaster.

Considering the dirty conditions and the complete lack of care that the laundry facility shows for my things, it’s a wonder my clothes and shoes have survived as well as they have.  I can’t say the same for my five-year-old laptop.  It periodically shuts itself down through the day.  I can only assume it’s due to the massive amount of dirt that’s settled inside.  Every once in awhile, I take a can of compressed air to it, but it stirs up so much dust in the air that everyone in the trailer begins coughing and sneezing.  Kevin and I took it upon ourselves to attempt to clean the office yesterday.  So much dirt had accumulated on my desk over the last three months that it literally turned to mud when I attacked it with sheet after sheet of Clorox disinfecting cloths.

Despite the harsh environment, I wouldn’t mind a long term deployment… if the food were better.  I believed for awhile that I could survive solely off of espresso chai lattes, microwavable Asian bowls, and caffeine gum, but I was wrong.  Four solid weeks of kung pao and sesame noodles finally took their toll, and I’ve started eating at the DFAC again.  There are at least handful of items that are almost always tasty and still digestable.  After today’s lunch, though, I’ve determined that the catfish is not one of them.  I already have my grocery list written out for when I return, and I seriously might stop there on the way home from the airport.  Don’t be surprised if you see me at the liquor store that night picking up a bottle of Merlot, either.

The number of rocket attacks on Victory and Liberty has recently increased.  I found myself in an interesting situation a couple of weeks ago.  I ventured to the Task Force Troy headquarters for an early afternoon WebTAS training session.  In the middle of my presentation, a low flying rocket flew directly over the building before being shot down by the Liberty C-RAM.  It was the first time I’ve heard that sound so clearly, and it’s one that I’ll never forget.  It’s very distinct and quite eerie.  A friend described it perfectly.  "It sounds like it’s burning through the air."  Moments later, a second rocket flew overhead.  Unfortunately, the C-RAM has a lag time, and serves more as a warning to take cover than as an active countermeasure.  The rocket impacted much further from my location than the one that had rocked me to the ground just days earlier, but the experience was exciting enough to make the company newsletter.  I’ll take the fifteen minutes of fame.

Due to a recent change to the Qatar immigration policy that no longer grants temporary visas when entering the country through the Al Udeid PAX terminal, we’ve all had to reroute our flights through Kuwait.  Since we don’t have any ISS employees in Kuwait, I’ll be winging my return trip alone.  It takes between 12 and 24 hours to get a visa upon arrival, so I’ll probably spend a couple of days there.  I’m actually a bit excited about seeing a new country.  I might even venture downtown for an evening at a hookah bar.  I’m sure it will be another interesting experience for me to share when I get back.

I’m already beginning to feel the dissapointment rise as the end of my trip once again nears.  I couldn’t be happier with my decision to extend, however, I do think I’ll be looking forward to returning to civilization after another month passes.  I can’t wait to share the tales of my adventures with you in person!

Cheers,
Felina