USO Tour Visits Camp Victory

Tonight, we had a comedy show for the troops. It was hosted by three talented comedians: Kathy Griffin, Michael McDonald of Mad TV, and Kerri Turner, formerly of JAG. They did a great job entertaining everyone who was there and they stayed after to sign autographs and take pictures. My camera is in the shop, but I am hoping to get some pictures to post. We had one of our own, CPT Marc Stewart, pulled up on the stage to act out a scene from the Dr. Phil show. It was great, Marc played the part well and we all had a great time.

Earlier today I had to travel to the airport for official business, but on the way back, I was able to finally get out my Holga camera with a Polaroid adapter and I loaded it with color film. I found some unique items to photograph and thought I would share them with you. As you can see, the Holga produces a very unique photo. (See Below)

Scott

BBQ and a Big Move

I was going to write a post the other day, but the computer guys blocked access to the blog sites. As you can see, we are back and able to post.

The other day an office next to ours set up a bbq on our balcony. We had a grill fired up and we had plastic horse shoes and we were hitting golf balls into the lake. That was a strange experience, but we all had a good time. We needed that, as the days are getting long and the time is just not moving very fast. I have attached a few pictures of the event for your viewing pleasure.

The weather here is averaging around 80-85 degrees with a slight breeze. It is really nice when we are outside, but the big joke is that we have another 30-40 degrees to go before it is actually considered summer... Whew, it will be very warm in a few months. Some look forward to it, while I do not.

Back at the home front, Margi and the kids are in the process of moving - yes, I said moving. She has found a place that is almost twice the size of the apartment they are currently living. It is off post and in a very nice area. Margi and some of her friends are moving a lot of the smaller items and she has hired a mover to take care of the larger items. In case you were wondering, the mailing address will not change, it is still the same APO address.

Take Care,
Scott

New Personnel and Photo Opportunity

This week was a little more interesting than I thought it would be. We have several new people that have arrived recently. They come from various backgrounds of military service and also from several different locals from around the United States. It is nice getting to meet the new personnel and to learn what they do for work when not hanging out in Baghdad. I will try to elaborate more in a later post. It has been a good that we are keeping very busy. This helps keep our focus away from the time we are spending here. To help that out, we have a couple of joke-sters in the group who take every opportunity to play jokes or to send out funny emails to everyone.

We had a dust storm today which limited some visibility, but made for a nice overcast day for photography! So that is what I did. I was able to visit a very unique building. I visited an Iraqi Baath Party Headquarters building. At one time it was a very nice and highly visited building. Now, you can see below you can see the destruction and aftermath:

Groundhog Day and Some Pictures

Well, I would like to say that a lot is happening, but today is just another day. The excitement of the transition has settled and it is just days of regular work; except that every day is a workday. I will try to get out and see something new today. I have attached some pictures from last weeks visit.

(Above) This is one of the two "houses" at Flintstone Village.

(Above) Here is the same place but across the water.

Victory Over America Palace (unfinished and bombed out - by the U.S.)

This is the former Baath Party Headquarters after a few bombs helped redesign the back portion.

Been Sick

Well, it finally caught up to me; the virus that has been going around the office. I have been fighting it off for some time now, but two days ago, I went to the doctor who prescribed some medication which knocked me out. I left work at around 2:30 in the afternoon and went to sleep as soon as I got to my room and woke up the next morning at 5:00 am. I am slowly getting back to normal, not sure if that is good...

I will try to post something interesting soon.

Scott