Enjoy the “little things” (Rule 32 from Zombieland

Saturday night was “Yankee’s’” (Can’t use names) birthday. He told us that he wanted have a BBQ and then watch Pen and Teller’s Bullshit on a projector. With all of us having different responsibilities after work most of us keep to ourselves and don’t have large BBQ parties everyday. A lot of people were not going to go because….. lets say the guys is real lonely and can bug the hell out of you. I realized that on most days this guy was struggling to keep it together. I made the effort to tell everyone that I was going and they should stop by, they would want the same on their birthday.

On Saturday we had about ¾ of the company come by and say hi, mainly because it was next to the bathroom/shower. Regardless Yankee had a good time. We carried over a picnic table, and fired up the grill. Yankee and “Fixitall” bought a case of N/A beer, some sodas, burger, and dogs. My first experience with the N/A beer was when I got a warm one, and then had no desire to ever try it again.

The beer was Ice cold. Between the music outside, (IPod and little speakers), the smell of a BBQ grill, and good conversations all convinced me to try another N/A beer. It was a becks and it was icy. After I had three I realized that the buzz was not what I was missing. It was the social aspect of good friends and conversations. Had a blast.

To finish off the night we set up a projector on one of the walls. It really looked great after we ask the neighbors to turn out their porch light. For some reason Pen and Teller’s Bullshit did not play, but “Theroommate” had Ron whites: you can’t fix stupid. We laughed and enjoyed the beautiful night as if we were sitting in one of our own backyards. It is Important to enjoy the little things.

I hope everyone at home is living life to the fullest

God Bless

~Peyton

New Phone

The other day the Internet went out for about 5 hours, my lines of communication were cut. Not being able to call people I previously told that I would call causes panic. The next day I went to the store and got an Iraqi phone. Now in that situation I can call people and tell them everything is fine, the Internet just went down.

The phone was $40 (has a built in flash light) and the SIM card was $20. I was told it cost 15 cents a min to call the state, and it already comes preloaded with some 3000 “Phone card min” on it. I have no idea what that really means but it does work. The cool thing is that it is a simple, cheap unlocked phone that I will be able to keep. This way if I am in Germany for a week I can just buy a SIM card there and use the phone.

Quick Notes

I got invited

to breakfast by my interpreters

one day. Hell Yeah! It is like this bread that has this sauce on it. Delicious (See Pictures)

The other day our security staff put up shade tents to keep the trucks (and more importantly, my lunch) cool. It is kind of interesting to watch someone work while having a rifle attached to him.

Pimp Shoes

Pimp Shoes

I just had to take a picture of these shoes. They are the hottest thing here, HAHA.

~Peyton

Work stuff

Everyday that I was in the states working I saw safety this and safety that. I never really saw anyone get hurt and thought all of those safety things were overkill. Over here it is a different story. One guy was out for 4 days for some kind of work injury, and he was the highest ranking one.

The first day we were working on the hydraulics one of our guys got hydraulic fluid in his eye; he is ok, but still. Since then I have been bringing my clear shooting glasses or them to wear. They all try so hard and it is sad that the working conditions are so unsafe, and we work on their military base. I wonder what their real workshops are like.

We give out a coin (army thing) to the best student every week. I was on stage with the two colonels and the lieutenant colonel giving out the coins when they called my student in front of everyone. He is no where to be found, Kind of look like a jackass because I pick the guy off todays attendance sheet, which marked that he was here. Sadly his mother had just died and he had left right before the ceremony. But I was able to get pictures of the coins.

Everything is cool, the colonels just kind of walk around with a stupid look on their face any way. “Oh hydraulics….. interesting….. fork lifts” All I am thinking is oh, leave me alone now because you have no idea what you are looking at and you are most likely going to hurt yourself.

Everyone be good,

Peyton

The computer guy

The computer guy

Most of the guys here are older and really don’t have much computer experience. I have kind of become the “Hey can you look at this” guy when it comes to computers. It is a great way to make friends and I have been able to help out a lot of people.

And I get a lot of “You have a mac, do those things work” “They are like different right???”

Three weeks gone by.....

Reallocation

Most of the people here just throw out the stuff they have bought form the PX or had shipped here. They could try selling it but it is really hard to get money for a desk, chair, fan, tv, etc. The general attitude is to you take what you can find, you should take a crappie desk because you don’t have anything else right now. Then when you find something better you take that and give your crappy desk to someone else. And the circle of Iraq continues.

The goal is to get the best stuff; it is kind of a game. We had a guy leave that liked us and he just gave us all of his crap. A power inverter, extension cord, more cleaning products then I have at home, and a bunch of little stuff you would not think you will need.

Yesterday I got a desk/trunk thing. It is not the greatest, but it was free and when I find something better I will replace it. Today I found a free little table and made that into my desk. (See Pictures).

Also the roommate and I moved our lockers into the center of the room, making a berlin wall of privacy. (See Picture)

Week Three

So far it has been a

lot like Boy Scout, just don’t have to worry about the creepy leader. Right now there is a lot of new stuff to see and do. However we will be getting board when we have seen all there is to see and do all there is to do.

The list so far: Huge lake to go fishing (if you buy a pole), basketball and volleyball courts, the gym. A POOL (not been there yet). The palace, Strip malls and a few shops.

Places to study: I have found the office after we get off work the best place, but no Internet. I am working on a desk.

There are a few little strip malls with shops and activities. One has a bowling alley with a few restaurants and stores. There is one that has good food and an outdoor fire pit area (See Picture) where people go to hang out at night. There are soldiers there, contractors, and locals. They sell a variety of N/A beer, which taste like crap. The raspberry beer tastes great, which is a few flavored malt beverages that are also non-alcoholic. They sell real Cuban cigars, but I don’t think they are anything special. At the same mall there is a gaming trailer (See Picture).

The Girls (I got mine at home, But I feel like I should talk about it)

From what I have seen….nothing to write home about. However putting thousands of men in a confined area with about 100 woman changes people their standards. The women get more attention then they can handle and (from what I have heard, HONESTLY) the woman like you more if you just hold a conversation with them and not hit on them. All of the men I have heard talk a LARGE game but are afraid to say hello to a woman.

And yes, so far the best woman (HERE!!) are owned by the Air Force. But good luck, I have never seen one without an entourage of men.

Teaching: It's what we do!

Teaching

We get up in the morning, put our Kevlar (Helmet) and IBA (Body Armor on) and go …….. …………. …. … ….. ……… ….. …. … … .. … …..….. ……… ….. …. … … .. … …..….. ……… ….. …. … … .. … …..v….. ……… ….. …. … … .. … …..….. ……… ….. …. … … .. … Censored..….. ……… ….. …. … … .. … …..….. ……… ….. …. … … .. … …..….. ……… ….. …. … … .. … …..….. ……… ….. …. … … .. … …..….. ……… ….. …. … … .. … ….. When we get to work we have a classroom and a large warehouse to use as a shop.

Our Students are Iraqi police, military or SWAT. We are teaching a class on hydraulics right now because they had no one else who could teach it (nice to be valuable like that). Yesterday “My roommate” (NO NAMES) got moved to NTV to give them a hand. We were originally planning for 28 students and only got 18. We have a small classroom with a projector screen.

One thing that is hard are most of my students have more experience than I do, most of them doing it the wrong way but whatever. They like to act stupid to see how much you know and how full of shit you really are. They have never learned anything mechanical in a classroom so it is difficult for them to see a diagram of what they are working on, and then trying to learn from it. Most of them don’t want to see it on a projector and would rather go work out in the shop, because that is how they learn. I totally understand how they feel.

Some Funny quotes

So far it has been a lot of fun. They like to joke around and have a good time while learning. You CAN NOT talk to them about WOMAN, SEX, ALCOHOL and or PORN. They will test you so you need to keep on your toes, don’t be afraid to not answer!

“Mr. P***** here the woman don’t have sex till they get married, is it that way in America”

*They know that we don’t so you must be careful

“All the good girls wait until marriage”

*All of the women in Iraq have sex in hole #2 so that they will be virgins when they get married.

(To my Roommate)

“Mr. Blank why do you carry a pocket knife”

We are all thinking the same thing, for protection….duh

“Um…. To cut stuff at work when I am working on stuff”

Nice Save

“You must change the oil filters….”

“Mr. Blank can we just soak them in gasoline and them blow them out with air?”

“Um…. NO”

The bad thing is they will be standing over a bucket of gas while cleaning a filter and smoking a dam Cigarette.

Electricity

They run a generator while we are at work so we have power, some days they cut it off early (I think because they want to go home). We have two A/C units in our class room ….. But they don’t work …. Yet. Myself and the other mechanically inclined crew could fix a lot of the things that don’t work quickly, BUT we are not allowed to touch any of their hotwired electrical outlets. Insurance reason… I understand.

Security

Lets just say I am not worried about it. Very Confident!

And there is stuff I just can’t talk about on here.

I know I need to write more, I am working on it. I have to be cool about what I can and cannot say. I am guessing the brig is worse then the drunk tank.

Stay awesome and American (thanks Danielle)

Peyton

Day 3-6

Part of the Lake

The Fields of bottled water, about a 1/3 of the field (CLICK ON THE PICTURE AND ZOOM IN)*******

Lets start with water

When you get here all you want to do is drink water to quench your thirst…. Good luck. I drank 4 bottles in an hour and all I accomplished was to find every bathroom (Water closet, head, Shitter) on base. On top of that the bathroom is about 100 ft. away from where you sleep and after drinking all that water you will be waking up 3-4 time a night to pee, at least until your body gets used to this. Guys I know what you are thinking, piss in a empty bottle and dump it out in the morning… duh. Well if they catch you with a piss bottle in your room you get moved to tent city, yes a city full of tents, and you don’t want that.

Will we run out of water? Nope! There is a lake here that you can go fishing in. They bottle their own water here and have fields of it (Pictures).

Working out

They have a really nice gym here that has plenty of space for the amount of people that come. It’s almost all army people with a few contractors who take way too many steroids. And yes I wear a marine under armor shirt when I go to the gym (thanks Casey).

Rooms

Our rooms are like a GMU two person room; 12ft by 12ft. You start out with two beds, two metal cabinets, and two nightstands. Thanks to one of our guys being a hoarder we got a free fridge, T.V. (OH YEAH 13” with DVD Player) and a lamp. The room has an independent heater/A/C unit so the temp in the room is never a problem.

The PX (Army version on a Wal-Mart) and other stores

I started calling the store the small and XXL store because they would sell out of any normal sizes those were the only two sizes of things they had. They have all the basic stuff you would need. They do sell a Weber BBQ grills and meat (I SMELL An IRAQ COOKBOOK COMING SOON).

There are also locally owned shops. They have the same cheap stuff you see when you cross the boarder into Mexico. All of the electronics look real but you never know, and they are not that much cheaper. Oh and everything here is haggle for your best price, it can be fun. I will work on some pictures of that stuff.

I will write an article soon about my daily work, but I am waiting to find out what I can say and can’t. Security is no joke here.

Talk to you all soon.

God Bless and remember to be American

Peyton

P.S. and no joey we did not sing “Bombs over Baghdad” on the way in

Day 2

Day 2

We took an hour ride to the base. Our boss told us that people over here buy exotic car and tend to wreck them a lot. When they wreck them here there is no one to fix them. Because of this there is a junk yard full of exotic wrecks. He said you could get any piece of the car you want and ship it back to the U.S. Also people over here drive like crazy, did about 100Mph to the base and still took an hour. Gas is only $1 us a gallon so who cares.

We are getting our CAC and then waiting for the next plane to BIAP. Should be able to leave this afternoon so I wont need to spend the night here.

Communication

The ability to stay in touch with people has been great so far. I have used my Google voice account to talk to anyone that picks up the phone. I have not been able to get my phone to work yet because there is not a lot of wireless Internet yet. If you call me and my computer is open I will get the call.

The food has been great!

We have not been able to eat in the main hall yet because we are still waiting for our ID card. But there is a Subway, McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut….. hard to starve. The only down side is that none of the wonderful food has pork. No sausage or pepperoni on your pizza, no bacon on your cheeseburger, no salami on your sub. I have heard that there is a standard food hall and a healthy one. I will be eating at the healthy one, trying to loose 60lbs before I come home.

The Weather

Today has been like a day at the beach. Nice 70 degrees with a nice breeze. It feels like a day at the beach. But that will change because it is their cold and wet season right now. Soon it is going to be 130 at high noon. “But it’s a dry heat” SHUT-UP that is still fucking hot!

Weekends come sooner here

Found out today that Friday is their Saturday, Saturday is their Sunday. That must mean that thirsty Thursday is on Wednesday. And yes it is sandy as hell. My computer is covered in sand dust just sitting here trying to write this.

Talk to you all soon.

God Bless and remember to be American

Peyton

Day one BABY

Monday night I flew from Dulles to Qutar and then to Kawit. The first flight was 12hrs long but was able to sleep for eight hours (Thanks god for sleeping pills). Then Kawit took us a quick 2-hour. When arriving we were not able to get through customs without a visa..."I am American Let Me through". We went up and down the stairs before we finally found an American who could explain the process to us. We decided to pay extra to take the fast lane (10 fake dollars), where the short like looked more complicated then the DMV but only cost 3 fake dollars. After we go through customs we realized that we had just paid about $40 for 10 of their fake bucks…oops. The exchange rate sucks.

After getting our visas we went right through customs with out a question, stamp, or even an id check... They just wanted our dam money. We quickly found our bags to the right where men in a blue jumpsuit and a cart tried to help us. I ask them how much [money] 5 time and he kept saying you will like it you will like it. Then after some frustrating negotiation we figured out $5 US for my stuff and $5 US for Adrian’s stuff. We agreeded because we had over 200 lbs in just checked luggage and quickly we were on the way out of the customs zone. We found the SPS employee quickly and got out of the airport quickly.

We jumped into his Chevy Taheo and went driving through the city at 120 kph. I noticed that all the streetlights were wrapped in rope light and had 50, 20, and 5 hanging off of them. Our guide explained to us that they were celebration the three Independence Day. Which was for their freedom (40 years), out from under British rule (20 years), and the new rule they are under (5 years).

We then got put into a high-rise building with plenty of security, this place is like a 10 person condo…HUGE. It has a kitchen, tv, bathrooms even with Ball Washers, ever thing we need, just don’t drink the water. We will be sleeping here until we go to the base tomorrow morning at 7 (11:00 Pm EST). We should be getting our CAC (Military ID) first thing, after receiving that we will be waiting on a list for the next flight to Baghdad.