This Sunday was just like all the other Sundays... And Mondays and Tuesdays and etc, ad nauseum...
I finished the groundwork for my sister and bro-in-law's church's website. Once I hear from her and Brother Bobby I'll fill in the details and then post it so everyone can take a look.
And congratulations to her for kicking some serious butt at the fishing tournament this weekend.
4 days and a wake-up and I'll be on a plane to Ali.
Luke 22:27
The TDT is the local newspaper for the greater Temple area. They recently interviewed a certain author you all may know...
http://www.temple-telegram.com/story/2008/06/22/50264
I'll be boarding a C-130 or C-17 in one week for my trip to Kuwait. Three days later and I'll be on a United flight bound for the good ol' US of A.
Have you ever loved someone so much that your stomach gets knotted up when you think about them? Have you ever been apart from that person for what may well seem like an eternity? Have you ever been 7000 miles away from that person and could only talk to her for 10-20 minutes every other day or so? It's not something I would recommend, for anyone. But, with all things, I try and learn something from every situation I find myself in. And what I have learned over the past 9 months is that my wife is a Godsend. I love her very much.
She's the jam in my jellyroll...
1 Corinthians 13:7
A picture of the ESP, Inc. crew here in sunny Mosul.
A whopping 118 degrees today. I remember when I was in the Mojave Desert National Park that it got to 122 that day. We are fast approaching that mark and will probably surpass it within the next few weeks.
"Get up on the chuck-wagon if your feet are draggin'..."
Everything else is pretty much the same as you would expect. It has been a lot quieter lately though. The Iraqi Army has taken over much of the security responsiblity for Mosul and seem to be doing a decent job. Of course it's a little easier for them since 3d ACR had killed or captured a whole lot of the bad guys before the "Sons of Iraq" took over, but hey, they're trying.
11 days, 11 days, 11 days.................
Luke 8:15
As though we have most of the bugs worked out of our internet. So, I should be back to posting at least once a day (hopefully).
Today was our first really clear day in a long while. You could see all of Mosul as well as the mountains. Of course it's 116 degrees out now and staring at the mountains for longer than one minute is not conducive to your mental well-being (this heat will suck your will to live).
Acts 12:14-15
To Tab's Hank Jr post on her blog.
I was sitting here, listening to music and updating my computer when the playlist transitioned over to Hank Jr. Within 30 seconds I had got up and grabbed a (fake) beer from the fridge. Now mind you, I haven't had one in over a week. It's a Pavlovian response, I guess.
And a Happy 83rd Birthday to my Nannie (a day late because we lost access again). I love you.
Isaiah 55:6
This probably won't last long so here's a recap of the past however long...
Dust Storms. Empty PX. Dust Storms. 112 degrees in the shade. Dust Storms.
Justin and "G" got their names on the board with Straight Flushes and I got my 3rd.
I'll be home on the 1st of July (providing we get no dust storms on the 28th of June).
I leave the US again on the 15th and will be in Iraq until October 26th before returning home (hopefully ) for good without ever having to set foot in this retched country ever again.
I seriously miss my wife and boys.
Ephesians 6:11
Ok. It's 0300hrs and I just woke up. Whether from force of habit or morbid curiosity I opened an Explorer window and lo and behold the innarweb works. I have no idea for how long though. I should be able to find out more later this morning.
We're still going to get a satellite and our own service. The speeds will be mo bettah as well as the reliability.
No poker tonight, at least I don't think there was. I fell asleep around 1800 or so (I think). Maybe they played without me...
That's it for now.
Acts 8:29
RCSM Burns has fired our internet providers. I'm using a friends pc to post this.
We are getting our own service and satellite within a week or so. Check back then.
Peace out.
John 3:16
"Unbeatable."
At least it seems that way right now. I cannot be stopped at the poker table. Now tonight didn't bring me a straight flush (I was one card off of that) but I did layeth the smacketh down on Derrick. He had a full house and I had to hurt his feelings with my four of a kind. But that wasn't the only time. I even told them what I had in my hand, "Hmmm, six, seven and eight on the board and the nine ten in my hand gives me a straight." But, they didn't believe me. Too bad. 
I didn't lie.
Yesterday was the birthday of the 3d ACR so, Happy Birthday "Brave Rifles."
All else is the same as it always is. Justin is stuck in Taji, Marvin is stuck in Balad and unless the weather gets better, they may be stuck there for a while.
Acts 4:13
Wow. I've got the 8 and 10 of Diamonds. On the flop comes the J and Q of Diamonds and something else. I'm 4 to another straight flush. A big bet from "M", a call from "G" and Derrick. I call as well. I say to myself, "Give me a 9 of Diamonds." Wow, a 9 of Diamonds. Another bigger bet from "M", a call from "G" and Derrick. I hesitate just a bit and then say, "All in." "M" and "G" call, Derrick considers for a bit and then folds. The river comes up but it really doesn't matter considering I had another unbeatable hand. Freakin' awesome!!! Yes, I spanked a little more behind...
The rest of Monday was just that, a Monday. I finished the laptops and will ship those out tomorrow/later today. Other than that, all is pretty much the same.
I still rule... Only more now.
Jeremiah 9:1
Not much happening today. No game last night but I did spend 3 hours at the hospital. Derrick wasn't feeling well. He's had pericarditis before and thought he was having a relapse. So, off to the hospital we went. He's ok now.
Hopefully there'll be a game tonight, I'm bored.
I've spent the last 2 days configuring and reconfiguring two new laptops. They are for Tab and Mike and the factory install comes with a bunch of crap they don't need. So, I'm tweeking them. That's about it for today.
Mark 1:22
Oh man!! Can you say, "Unbeatable Hand?"
I've got the 9, 10 of Diamonds in the pocket. On the flop comes the J, Q and K of Diamonds. I have the unbeatable hand. I'm just praying that someone flopped the nut Flush and a high two pair. They did. I'm trying not to pee all over myself and I can feel myself blushing so I just put my head down and call the bets. "M" has the nut flush, "G" gets the Q's over K's Full House on the Turn. Chad had pocket A's, and I am in perfect positon, betting behind all of them. So, the river comes up, big bet from "M", raise from "G" and I go, "All in." Two calls. The rest is history. I spanked a little behind.
I rule.
Proverbs 27:17
Not poker game tonight so, I've been relegated to my CHU and ST: Voyager. Not that it's all bad but I'd rather play for a few hours before being trapped in my CHU until Noon or so tomorrow.
I'm trying to lap myself. We'll see how it goes. I went to sleep today around Noon and got up at 1600hrs, been up since. Hopefully I can get myself back on track... Just in time to go home on R&R and get all screwed up again. Nice, huh?
We must have had a large flock of birds fly over about an hour ago. The "Incoming" alarm sounded but there were no booms. Nothing, just the cool night air. It's down to about 64 degrees and there are no clouds to be found. It's a nice, quiet Mosul night.
So, here I sit... Fake beer in one hand and my keyboard in the other (figuratively speaking) and jamming some Clutch, at the moment. It's about time to start the next episode of Voyager.
Luke 17:10
I just finished a conversation with Chad. We were talking baseball. Keep in mind he's 23. He didn't know who Johnny Bench was. Freakin' kids...
Had Chicken Stir-Fry for chow tonight. It's not sitting well. I may be excusing myself from the poker game tonight, more than once.
The days and nights are running together for me right now. It's bad when you wake up and don't know what day it is... Everyday!
49 days, 49 days 49 days... etc...
Mark 6:46
Today was like any other day. The most exciting part of the day was getting my hair cut... and I almost fell asleep in the chair.
The PX got more food in and so I picked up some stuff there. Then it was over to the laundry point to pick up my things. All was well at the TOC and so I returned to my hooch. About an hour or so later, a poker game started. Go figure.
I've been watching Voyager while waiting for the blog to pop up so I could update it. It only took three episodes. Stupid internet.
I know that some of you have been watching the news and have heard some things about Mosul. Yes, insurgent activity here is more prevalent than most of the rest of Iraq but, the media always paints a worse picture. As far as we (the folks on the FOB) are concerned it's pretty much status quo. Our boys and girls outside the wire are a little busier so pray for them. We "Fobbits" are ok here at the Shire.
Proverbs 27:6
Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. Especially the mother of my two boys and the one that brought me into this world.
Proverbs 18:22
Psalm 139:13
"If too shallow then dig it more deep, if too narrow then dig it more wide..."
Ok, so we finally get real eggs. Real ones, not that fake powdered crap. And what does our lovely chow hall do? They overcook them to the point that they look, feel and taste like rubber. Figures...
I haven't gone to sleep yet but I'm considering doing so soon. It's 1025hrs over here now and I've got to cook around 1600hrs. So, I may try and knock out a few hours in the rack, we'll see how that goes.
Have I mentioned that our internet sucks lately? No? Well guess what... It does. The other company was supposed to hook us up last week but now it's gonna take at least another month. Figures...
The weather is the only bright spot. Warm, mild days and very cool nights. It actually got down to 57 degrees the other night with a nice breeze. I'm sure we'll all be hating life though soon enough. June is around the corner and July and August are fast approaching as well.
And now I'll leave yall with some words from "Mr. Floyd":
"Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but its sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in the relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the American way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say..."
Numbers 20:10
