Life in Taji

I know some of the folks have asked me what's a typical day out there in Taji. Well for starters I am lucky in that I have a single room which means I have plenty of space. The only amenities I had in the room when I moved in was a bed, a decent size wardrobe, and two night stands and plenty of dust in the room. Since then I have bought some of those container units they sell for the dorms at the PX, which gives me some additional space in the wardrobe since there were only two drawers. I bought a couple of 5X9 foot rugs so at least when I get out of bed I'm not standing on a dusty tiled floor. One the guys next door gave me a old DVD player, so I bought a 14' TV, a coffee maker and that's about it for furniture for now.

The bathrooms and showers are about 40 yards away, which isn't too bad now that it is hot out, but imagine that in the winter during raining season it will be a different story. The showers and bathrooms are cement buildings not metal trailers. There are two separate facilities one for each sex, each has 10 showers, the other building has 8 sinks, 10 toilets and I guess 6 urinals but hey whose counting. The MWR (Moral Welfare and Recreation) Center is about 40 yards away too and that is where there is a gym. Now that I finally can run yeah!! I get up around 0545 hrs and head off to the gym to do my cardio workout. After that it's the showers, get dressed and head off to work. I live about 5 miles away from work, it seems farther because the speed limit is anywhere from 30 mph to 5 depending where you are on post. I am in 7th heaven driving a GMC Sierra 4X4 Crew Cab with a long bed pickup! I don't know if I will be able to drive that small Ford Escape when I get back home, (Carmen that F-150 4X4 I have always been wanting to buy seems to come to mind)! I got my KRTY stickers on the bumper but there is no country station and except for one hard rock station, one contemporary music station, the British Forces station all we have are a good dose of Arab stations, and I don't know about you but it just doesn't have a twang! We sort of live out in the boonies which is nice since the density is lower out our way. I'm usually at work by 0745, then go to the chow hall which is next door. It's an nice facility has plenty of big screen TV's so I usually catch ESPN sports center or baseball tonite while I eat breakfast. The DFAC's have a whole slew of food, sausage, bacon, omelletes to order, eggs (powdered due to bird flu) pancakes, waffles, hot oatmeal, grits. You can also get dry cereal, juices galore and fresh fruits.

We have a 0830 staff meeting and then it's back to the grind, either in the office or as of late out and about at the Depot construction site, or linking up with other units to discuss fuel or infrastructure issues. The Australians are now here and they will be teaching the first set of Depot level classes for the Iraq Jundi (Soldiers) beginning in late August. Right now it's course curriculum, procuring parts for weapon repairs, generator repairs. My assistant SSG G is always out and about getting more furniture for the classrooms, ordering supplies for the Depot, etc.

I also work closely with the folks back in the IZ since they support me with issues that I need resolution when dealing with the Iraqi Ministry of Defence (MOD), and with other folks on the J Staff. Lunch is usually a to go affair so I an eat and work at the office, then before you know it it's dinner and more work until 2000 hrs or so, when I usually wrap up and clean off the desk and head for home. A couple of days a week I hit the weights in the gym and other than that it's reading a book or the magazines that I get. Believe it or not what I miss most besides my family and friends is that trusty old Fry's Electronics and Home Depot which are only a couple of miles away back home. No such luck here, the PX is not too big into electronic gadgetry so right now I am trying to get the cables that link the DVD to the TV since the hand me down DVD didn't have cables. I still frequent Fry's but its Frys.com and it takes 5-7 days for delivery.

The Captains are still dicking around trying to get the satellite dish that a bunch of chipped in and bought up and running so that we can get some email in our rooms. A shoutout to my brother Roy for supporting the troops and buying us a 24 port switch that we needed for the internet. Last night they thought there were possibly some hardware issues, one of the guys CPT Nap is an IT guy on the civilian side so I guess he's the OIC of this project. All I know once we get internet then we can skype and use webcam with our families!!

Since there is no laundromat here on base KBR does our laundry. We can drop off up to 20 pcs and it will be folded and ready for us the next day, and yes Carmen I still keep mixing whites with colors and it shows on my running shirts as they have become sort of gray! I know it's a guy thing!

Well that's all for now, I have to quick meet up with one of the engineers to go over our build schedule and sign off on some docs.

But before I go I imagine that my brother in law Pepe and my nephews are gloating over Real Madrids winning the Spanish Soccer Championship over Roy's Barca. I'm just happy that my Betis didn't get relegated finishing a lowly 16th place. And how about those A's 6 games over 500 and sweeping the Giants over at Pacbell a couple of weekends ago in the Bay Series! Go A's!!

Viva Er Beti Manque Lopera!

The Colonel