Lions and Tigers and Predators, oh my!

Well I'm now finally at my duty station here in Kandahar, Afghanistan...

Food's good.

Coworks are interesting, that's about all you can say about fellow geeks (cause hey we're all weird in one way or another). The lead Sys Admin has been real cool with me and has been bringing me up to speed, hope I'm doing well in that regard (he hasn't complained, so... ). Still don't know exactly what my work schedule will be like right now, but this next week I'm on 10:30AM to 8:30PM (working 6 10's). The rest of the staff has been great in getting me aclimated to the new surroundings and showing me around so I don't feel too terribly lost.

Housing, currently I'm in shared quarters in the MOD (Modular) housing... It's a hardened structure (ie- not a tent) with about 7 rooms and 1 latrine (restroom w/ toilets, urinals, sinks, and showers)... The rooms are sloted to hold 4 people each, but it's all double occupancy, so that gives you a bit more privacy and breathing room which is good. There's still talk about me moving into the housing here at the complex (i'm about a 10 minute walk from work/the complex) but that would mean moving into a tent... granted, I'd then be able to get on their internet feed and cable TV, and I'd have my own room, but... it's still a tent.  Then of course you have to walk out and about to the restrooms and showers.

The flight op's around here are constant.... One thing I love is watching the fighters take off at night with their afterburners blazing.... Some of the aircraft around here that I've seen are C-17's, C-130's, CH-47 Chinooks, H-60 Blackhawks, AH-64 Apaches, A/V-8B Harriers (was nifty watching it land), F-16 Falcons, F-15 Eagles, and today I got to saw my first UAV, a Predator drone... It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be.  I'd love to get pictures, but unfortunately photography down on the flightline is prohibited (you're supposed to be able to get some special permission though, so I'm going to look into that).

Got to talk to Sarah today, gave her a call and spoke with her for about 15 minutes before I was threatened with disconnection (they give you a "you will be disconnected in 30 seconds" prompt)... So I'm gonna get w/ the guys to find another method to dial out so I can talk to her hopefully for a bit longer.

Anyways, there's a LAN Party tonight I've been invited too (didn't take long for the gamers to find me!) at the TLS (that's a story for another day and hopefully I'll have pictures).  So wish me luck on my frag session.... :)

Leaving On A Jetplane

Just a quick update...


Training is now finished.
On the 15th Sarah and I hit our 8 month anniversary. Love ya babe.
Man I'm tired.... heh.

Anyways. I fly to Kuwait tomorrow. Wish me luck, it's going to be a long flight.

CRC

Well, I'm now at the CRC (CONUS Replacement Center) here at Ft. Benning, GA. My apologies for not posting sooner (it's been quite the whirlwind trip).


Since my last post I finished PCSIng from Kwajalein (it's weird seeing your life in boxes). Then of course was the trip through to the states w/ Sarah... We stopped in Honolulu for a day while waiting on the flight and from our hotel we had a beautiful view of Waikiki Beach (which I took Sarah down to and she got her feet in the sand!) We visited a few shops while there along the strip (including Tiffany's where Sarah spotted this 4 ct. diamond... that was a lot of bling).

Then it was a quick trip to Texas. I showed Sarah around Calvert and College Station (Texas A&M) quite briefly.... Then a trip to Austin for my cousin Lyndons' wedding (congratulations again you two) and then a quick trip to Houston to catch a flight to Huntsville, Alabama.

The trip to Huntsville went off quite well I think. I had a chance to meet Sarah's mom and dad and her close friend Donna (who reminds me of my Aunt Lunell). I did also get a chance to meet up with a couple of my friends from Kwajalein (Mike M., the Weave and PJ and Food Mom (Karren). Sadly Matt and Jennygurl were not able to make it (Matt was recovering from knee surgery).

Once the time in Huntsville was done, there was a quick trip back to Texas. I took Sarah down to Galveston where we stayed at the Hotel Galvez.... Not a bad place, I enjoyed it. I think Sarah did too!

Sadly I had to take Sarah to the airport the next day. Saying "See you soon" to her was one of the hardest things I've had to do in a long time.... yeah, I really didn't want to watch her go.

So now we've started the countdown. 4ish months and we'll get to see one another again... I'm chomping at the bit. :)


I then went back home to Calvert and packed (and did not sleep really). There was laundry and paperwork to prepare.... A quick trip to Lubbock to see the family there (thanks again for the hospitality Aunt Sharmon) then another flight out....


So now here I sit in Georgia...The welcome has been quite nice. My POC here Darryl has been a real stand up guy in helping all of us get our paperwork et. al. figured out. Food's better than Kwaj (of course) and the little "store" they have here isn't anywhere near as big as TenTen (on Kwaj) but their selection fully makes up for it..... It's got stuff I can actually use!

Well, off to finish up my first initial batch of paperwork before Rollie shows up.... We're heading out for dinner tonight.