R&R Day Zero

As I mentioned in yesterdays blog, I didn’t hit the sack until 0600 hrs. I slept in until approx 1200 hrs and decided that with this being day 0 I might as well go check out this post and see what there is to see and do around here. I walked into the bathroom and was amazed at how nice it was! I guess that after almost 5 months up in Taji using porta-potties and taking showers where the floors are wet with water and slippery as hell this was nice, no this was really nice! My accommodations are better than most since I am a Colonel. We get our own rooms with TV/DVD and plenty of room. The rest of the Soldiers and officers share open bays and depending on what your rank is there are more or less Soldiers in each of the bays. The building we are in makes me feel like the movie Cocoon. It is a large warehouse that has AC. Inside the warehouse there are double decker connexes which have AC, two bed, two wall lockers, TV/DVD, a table with two chairs and some night stands. The lighting inside the warehouse is low so that the Soldiers can sleep at all hours of the day since there are some Soldiers stationed here who work nights and sleep during the day.

After showering and changing I decided to head out to the MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) Building which is a huge warehouse fitted out into individual rooms, large TV areas, and other sites. This is where we were briefed early this morning. They have DVD’s to check out, an USO area with books, TV, play station and other amenities. DSN Telephones which we can use to call back to the states and speak with our families. Computers to check up on email and free snacks.

In the back of the building they have a huge TV room, billiards (about 10 tables) a stage, wireless internet area, bowling alley, and what everyone wants a couple of restaurants where they serve beer and wine something that we are not allowed to consume back in Iraq. The scenario is much like a town with a main walkway with tables and a couple of establishments such as a wine bar, pub and restaurant.

After checking that out I decided to head to the PX and check out what it was like. Although the PX is smaller than Taji’s they have lots of smaller shops that sold jewelry, rugs and other souvenirs. It had the usual food court, with BK, Subway and a pizza joint. They did have what I haven’t been able to find up in Taji, one pound bags of sun flower seeds!

I then decided to take a walk instead of using the shuttle bus to go check out the pool and the Chevy’s restaurant. The pool definitely looked nice and more than likely I will swing by there tomorrow to lay in the shade and catch up on my reading. Since it was late and the DFAC had already closed I decided to eat at Chile’s. Having eaten at the DFAC’s since I have arrived in theater I decided to eat what I usually can’t. So I had the chips and salsa just like Carmen and I do when we go out for snacks back home on a Friday night. I then decided to eat their original burger and it tasted soooooo good, it was as if I had been transported back home and was sitting in the Chile’s on Stevens Creek Blvd with Carmen sipping my beer and she her margarita. It was a nice way to ease into this 4 day R&R.

I decided to walk back to the room and the first thing one notices here is the humidity, unlike back in Iraq where a bad day the humidity may get up to 30 percent here it remains at about 70 percent and it is muggy and just plain uncomfortable in the sun. Once again I should have taken the bus because although I was wearing my A’s cap my face was red and as Javier would say, I look like “Tomato Man”! I finally headed back to the MWR site where I called my friend Ziad who lives here in Qatar and spoke with him for a bit. He and I became friends on the Spanish Soccer Site and actually met for the first time when I was TDY in 1997 at Ft Leavenworth, he lived in Wichita, KS. We had linked up with another guy on the list Pedro who lived in Manhattan KS. We keep in touch via email and after almost 10 years I am looking forward to see him again, this time though he is no longer single but is married with two kids.

Tonite I grabbed my computer and hit the wireless site where I currently am now, grabbed some nice Kulkenny Irish Lager, ate one of my favorites for dinner-Nachos and listened on line to my beloved Betis play and actually win tonite. Once I get done with this blog I will be calling Carmen and then will sign out a DVD “V for Vendetta” and head home to watch it.

That’s it for now, I will let you all know of my adventure tomorrow on my official day one of R&R.

The Colonel