One Week Closer

Hello Everyone

It's another week closer to going home and I'm starting to get ready for it. I started to sell my stuff and send some stuff home. You don't know how much crap you collect till you have to move. I am finding food and snacks everywhere like we are going to lose our chow hall and not have any food to live on. I have brought 4 bags of food and snacks back to the hanger to share with everyone there. That way it doesn't get wasted and if I still want some of it I know where it is. I also have found a pound of dust and sand on things that we haven't moved all year.....GROSS!!! I can't wait to get home and just have normal dust to deal with.

It is nice to start thinking about home but we still have a job here to do. The picture above is of a sunrise a couple of days ago between sand storms. I was able to get a jet taking off in the picture on the left side. We have had so many sand storms over the past 2 weeks it was nice to get a break for a little bit so we didn't have to breath sand. Other than the sand, not much else has happened since my birthday. Oh, I almost forgot......I did cook out on Friday night with a few people. We hung out and had some burgers and chicken on the grill. It’s just a little taste of home that we can have here. I do love a good cook out.

Just to let you all know, if you plan on sending anything here be sure to do it before June 15th or else it might not get here. I have loved getting all of the care packages and letters from all of you. Now after I go home be sure to find another soldier that will enjoy a care package while they are here. A great website is http://www.anysoldier.com/ to find some soldiers that want some pen pals.

Take care all and have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you later

Dan

Today Is My Birthday........36 And Still Going!!!

Hello all and welcome back.

If you didn't already know, today is my birthday. The big 36!! Just means that I'm one day closer to being home and one year older. I have received some great packages for my birthday so far. The latest one was from my wife’s office team at Cargill Treasury. I am wearing some of the items in the picture above. It also has some super balls in it (That we have lost in the hanger already) and a ton if treats and party favors (Thanks for test driving the nut rolls for me Norma and making sure they were safe for consumption). I do love celebrating my birthday and I wish I was back at home doing it right. Cake, candles, and my wife standing there......looking at me and saying those three little words..........YOU ARE OLD.

I also want to say Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there reading this. The thing with my birthday being on May 12th is that it falls on mother’s day about every 7 years. When I was younger, my Mom and I would celebrate both of our birthdays and mother’s day together. She got it good because she would get 2 gifts compared to my one. As I got older I would just give her one gift and say it was for both days, kinda like what happens to Christmas babies. You see, today is my birthday and my Mom's would have been tomorrow. She would have turned 72 this year if she was still with us. Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Birthday Mom, I love and miss you.

Now I’m getting all emotional, time to liven up this BLOG.

It has been a very busy week for me here. I was able to fly 6.5 hours this week in one of the helicopters I was working on. I do have to say, that I like flying around and seeing around the base. We do test patterns in circles around the base, so I took lots of pictures to show people where I have been living the past year from an birds eye point of view. Also I have been making plans on coming home in July. I started selling my stuff here so it doesn’t wait till the last minute and also sending home stuff so I don’t have to carry it all when we leave here. The days are going by faster because I have been busy so July will be here before we know it. What will all of you do without my BLOG every week? I know, you could call me at home and we could have dinner or something and I can tell you how my week was then, or something like that. We will have to cross that bridge when I get home. Till then, continue to visit my BLOG and I thank you for your continued support of me and my fellow soldiers here with me.

It's poker night also tonight. We are celebrating my friend’s birthday and mine tonight and we are going to take pictures and I will be sure to post them when we are done. His birthday was last Monday and he is 2 years older......hehehe....HE IS OLD!!!

So long for now and have a good week. I will talk to you all next week.

Dan

Up, Up And Away

Happy Cinco De Mayo Everyone,

Now everyone go and crack open a crevesa, put a lime in it and sit down to enjoy this little posting I do every week. On a day like today I do miss going to the parade in St Paul and hanging out with Rory and Peggy. Hitting the beer gardens and watching the live music was oh so fun. Instead, some people here are having a cookout down at the hanger and drinking fake beer. I just can't do it to myself on such a great drinking holiday that I have adopted. Plus it is poker night and that takes precedence. For everyone else I hope you can go out tonight and have a Corona for me and don’t forget the lime......Cheers!!

This week was a busy one for me at work. There is this problem child aircraft that has the oddest issues and I was assigned to help figure it out. Well, with all of the things we did to it, it needed a test flight and I got to go on it. It was my first flight since I have been here. Besides trying to listen for any problems or helping in the discussions, I took a ton of pictures. It was cool to see where I have been living all of these months from the air. On the maintenance side, the problem wasn't fixed but we knew which direction to go and on the next flight it was fixed. I do like troubleshooting the aircraft because you have to think outside the box to come up with a solution that fixes it that the manuals don't talk about. It sure did make this week fly by.

Now, I know I have told all of you that my 36th birthday is a week from today........and you know that I don’t expect anything for my birthday........But just to let you know, I do like receiving boxes and cards:) Not that you have to send anything other than your support and pledge to have a crevesa with me upon my return home. Take care everyone and I'll see ya next week (May 12th......My Birthday.........36 years old......hint, hint).

Dan

Working Out Is Hard To Do....

Hello my little girly-men and women out there,

Glad to have you back checking me out. I am trying to get myself buff before I come home and this is a picture of myself doing a decline press at the little gym on the airfield. It is nice to have it there for when it gets slow at the hanger. I have been working out with SPC Hoff who aspires to be a personal trainer back home. I volunteered myself to be his test subject and I am paying for it. After one week of working out, I am so sore that getting up from a chair hurts. He calls it hell week, I just call it HELL!!!! He is a good motivator and I am doing exercises I have never done before. He is working all of my muscle groups and now I know which ones I don't use because they are the ones that are sore. After the soreness goes away, that’s when I'll start looking like Hans and Frans from SNL.....I'll be here to "Pump You Up!" So watch out because in 3 months when you see me again you might not recognize me (Unless you visit my BLOG every week because you will see the pictures....hehehe).

I also got to go to the pool again this week. It was so refreshing because it was over 100 degrees and the pool water was just right. Sarah sent me one of my swimming suits for me to wear so that I didn't have to wear my Army shorts. The pool allows us to wear normal suits so it feels a little more like normal (For a couple of hours anyway). I also have been busier at work also this week. it sure does make the time go by faster when I have work to do.

That’s it for another week here in Iraq. Now, don't forget that my birthday is only two weeks away so get your shopping done. Not that I'm expecting anything but I did get a package from my Mother-in-Law and it had 36 Salted Nut Rolls in it. One for each year I’ve been alive (Guess my age…). That was nice to get and also they didn't last very long. They are so good!!!

Take care everyone and I'll talk to you next week

Dan

Is It Fixed Yet???

Good Day Campers,

I hope your week has gone well and you are going to have a good one this week. As for me, I am now on night shift. It is taking some getting used to as my sleep schedule is all screwed up now and dinner is now my breakfast. As I write this, I just got off of work and wanted to make sure that you had some fresh content first thing Monday morning before I go to bed. Also this week, I got some work down line where the aircraft parks. That is where this picture was taken. I was working on an APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) that wasn't starting. It is always a challenge to troubleshoot problems like that because of all of the variables that go into starting an engine. That is why I do like working on them, they are a challenge sometimes. What fixed this one was a faulty check valve not closing all of the way and flooding out the engine. It was a good catch and we got it up and running for the mission. So see, it isn't all fun and games here......I do work sometimes.

Also this week we have had 4 sand storms, one right after the other. There is nothing like breathing sand to get your day going. I'll put a picture of what one looked like down below. I took one picture without flash so you can see it how I see it and one with flash so you can see all of the dust in the air (Very Thick!!). All I can say is I can't wait to get home and breath non-sandy air, while drinking a beer, and kissing my wife. I do love kissing my wife.

That is it for this week. As a reminder, my birthday is the 12 of May so get your ideas ready and then act on them because I do love getting things in the mail here. The best deal in shipping is the large pre-pay one that is normally $12.95, but to send to Iraq it is only $10.95....What A Deal!!!

Everybody take care and I'll talk to you next week.

Dan

I Miss Golf......

Hello All,

As I sit here watching The Masters, it makes me long for the green grass of a golf course, swinging the clubs, the smell of dew in the morning, and enjoying a nice sunny day on the course. They have set up a little driving cage in our battalion area to keep the swing loose, but I have yet to venture over there to try it out. I probably will when it gets closer to the time we get to come home. I am looking forward to playing a round when I get back home this summer, but till then I get to watch it on TV. Just thought I'd let you all know that.

The rest of the week went by quickly, which is nice!!! I got back to the pool a couple of times this week and my tan is coming along. I had some aircraft maintenance to keep me busy at work as well as helping other people get some work done. I also got a package from the wife with some goodies in it and a fun hat that you see me wearing in the picture above. It is a hot dog hat and as you can see it is quite flattering. She got it for me to wear when we have a cook out, but it is too cool to only wear then. I go around wearing it and everyone wants to touch my Weiner Hat. I just think they are all jealous of how nice and large my Weiner Hat is. They all want one but they know that I was the first to sport the Weiner Hat. I exposed it to the world!!!!!

On that note, I will bid you all farewell. Have a great week and just remember my motto........If you have a big Weiner Hat, don't be afraid to show it off.

Thank you......I'm here all week.....Try the veal........Tip your wait staff and I'll talk to ya later,

Dan

Too Cool For The Pool

Hello again everybody,

Hope all is well with all of you. Things here are plugging along. Today though, I went to the pool on the East Side. I went with 3 other people and spent the afternoon there. It was a nice way to spend the day. It was the first time going to the pool, but it won't be the last that’s for sure. I played a little water basketball and got some sun before the clouds moved in. For just a minute I didn't feel like I was in Iraq, then I saw the big "T"-walls and it brought me back. Just to let you know, it was 90 degrees here today and the water felt oh so good.

Also this week I have gone to Taco Ball, The Turkish Cafe, and Green Bean Cafe. The chow hall gets kinda boring after eating there for the last 9 months so I will venture out and hit the food court by the PX. They have a Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, Church’s Fried Chicken, and a new Cinnabon also to chose from. They are all in little trailers and don’t resemble a fast food place at all unless you were looking for it. It is nice to have these creature comforts around to break up the day to day life. You can only look at so many "T"-walls and sand and rock before you get little stir crazy. This is why I do like being a "Fobbet" (one who lives and never leaves the FOB).

Just to let you know, I might go to the pool again before work tomorrow because I liked it so much. I hope I don't burn myself out on it, but I’ll sure in hell try to if you know what I mean. Otherwise, Everyone have a great week and keep thawing out from winter.

See Ya,

Dan