Sunset in Iraq 

Scorpion in Iraq 

C2 in Iraq writes...

My 'weekend'? Hmmm, let me recall.... I worked 12 hours on Saturday and oh yea, I worked 12 hours on Sunday. There really is stuff to do here but I'm trying to make it more 'quality stuff.' For example, I set up a DVD presentation the other day and it took over an hour getting everything together and testing it.

Why hasn't Matt and/or Sandy emailed me yet? Did I piss them off? I've emailed both of them. I may have the wrong email though. I know you're not my secretary but would you please ask about that?

Might you also have C6 and/or Flying J's email? All that I can find is their snail mail address. Thanks.

Sunday evening I went to Taste Washington. It was an all you can taste wine and fine food exhibition. Over 200 wineries where there and lots of great restaurants.

After two hours I was bloated and drunk. I had a lot of great wine, but it all started to blur.

C2 writing from Iraq...

This weekend we're pretty much in armour vests the whole time when moving about the base. Most of the vehicles I ride in have been armoured as well and I must say, there is a comforting feeling driving around in an armoured Toyota Land Cruiser. Very secure and safe. Uh, you've sent no pics other than a fish. Ask RO to help you point out what to take a pic of. RO has has artsy gay-gene thing that say "Wow, now that would make a Fabulous Picture!!" (LOL)

C2 is in Iraq. He wrote...

Hello All,

How are you doing? ... I've been in Iraq a several days now and before that I was in Kuwait. I'm been sick with 'Kuwaiti Crud' for much of the time. I hack up green smurfs and have nearly lost my voice. It's about 95 here but will get hotter. Keep in touch.

I pretty much work 7 to 7 (if you can call it work) with generous time for breakfast and lunch. At least that's the schedule now. It really should change. Sorry for taking so long to reply. It was a Very long drive to Tallil from Kuwait in armour vest/helmet.

I've started writing C2 longer emails to give him something to do in his copious free time...

Hey C2.

How are things with you?

The weekend here was good. Fairly rainy. Some of the skii resorts have re-opened for spring skiing, but from what I hear the snow is very wet.

Saturday I did house work. The gardens are comming together. Everything is growing right now so I need to stay on top of the weeds. I planted about 100 sunflower sprouts on the hill next to the deck. Hopefully some of them will take off and hide the vines underneath.

RO was in a small accident with his car. He swearved to avoid some deer and ran into the ditch. It broke his axil.

I got a telephoto lens for the camera. It's fun though you need more patience to use it. The extra zoom means it's easier for camera shake to make blury picture. So, unless it's very bright you need to use a tri-pod.

What have you been up to?

B

I just got off the phone with C2 in Kuwait. Thanks to the magic of internet-phones, and free nation-wide long distance, I can talk to someone half way around the world for free! And the connection sounds good.

C2 is in Kuwait. Mostly he's bored. He sent me this email...

I very much appreciate your email. They have IP phones here that call as if one were in Houston but I don't have a calling card handy otherwise I'd give you a call. I'm 11 hours ahead of you and it's interesting watchin rush hour develop on the traffic cams. I'm staying here in Kuwait at what is referred to as a 4 star villa but it's really dump and 4 stars means there is running water and a flushable toilet. This really is a F#$% up part of the world. I leave for Tallil on Sunday in an armoured vehicle with bullet proof glass/etc. But frankly, the real action is in Bagdad and there is opportunity there too. Also the camle spiders really are over a foot across!

At work I've started on an interesting and scary new project. A co-worker has a very tight deadline for an important feature. If he doesn't make that deadline, the feature will be cut and all his work will be for naught.

The co-worker knows he can't make the deadline, so our manager asked me if I wanted to help out.

When I asked my co-worker why it wasn't stupid for me to join this feature, he was speechless for a whole minute. They he gave me a stock motivational speaks about new and unknown challenges.

Joy.

Vic and Steven's wedding was at Poets Cove. What a beautiful place. Pender Island is quiet and out of the way.

It rained on Saturday morning but cleared up for the wedding which was on Vic and Steven's patio. They had a great view of the ocean. It was the first wedding I ever attended where the wedding party (8 people) was larger than the audience (2 people)

Silken Lauman, a former Olympic athlete, was in the cottage next to Vic and Steven's. She's an interesting person.

Sunday Steven and his brother went out canoeing. They tipped the canoe. Fortunately someone saw the accident, boated over and picked them up.

Last night we had Steven's Bachelor party at my place. Steven's brother got a stripper. It was hilarious. RO was way too into it. He took about one hundred photos of the stripper dancing for Steven.

Steven has been approved as a permanent resident in Cananda. Now he move to Cananda and marry Vic without worrying about work.

He's not sure when he's going to move in with Vic. For now he wants to keep his job in the U.S.

His wedding with Vic is in a week and a half in Canada. Last night we went over his vows. He's not sure if he wants the judge to say "I now pronouce you married life partners" or "I now pronouce you life parnters" or... Anything other than "I now pronouce you husband and wife." sounds odd.

RO, Matt, Sandy and I toasted Vic and Steven.

Steven has been approved as a permanent resident in Cananda. Now he can married to Vic.

He's not sure when he's going to move in with Vic. For now he wants to keep his job in the U.S.

His wedding with Vic is in a week and a half in Canada. Last night we went over his vows. He's not sure if he wants the judge to say "I now pronouce you married life partners" or "I now pronouce you life parnters" or... Anything other than "I now pronouce you husband and wife." sounds odd.

RO, Matt, Sandy and I toasted Vic and Steven.

I spent most of the weekend on Lopez Island. It's very scenic and quiet.

RO and Sandy flew down to California for a weekend with the American Coaster Enthusiasts. Basically they road roller coasters non-stop from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. They didn't even have to get off the coasters. They could ride the same one over and over.

C2 is gone. Sunday morning he called me from Phoenix. He sounds relaxed. Even though he's going to Iraq, he get's to leave his troubles behind and to start fresh. I also talked to Tommy on Sunday. I get to meet him in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to it.

I haven't talked to my brother since Christmas. Today I got this email from him...

lol gotta love our families long winded ness...

well I'll tell ya I'm pretty sure I'm never gonna have any luck in teh hight tech field, so I'm looking elsewhere. I've been unemplyed for some time ever since I pulled my back muscle. so although I've had work to do almost none of it was paying....

the sting with the goverment has been over since summmer jsut about and well they have a bills from me accumulatign to 70k and I'm not expecting to see anyof that. my latest bunch of web work offers was well once completly for free to create a tsunami web portal. and an other for Videoflicks to make a website for
them. and that was for no money but I was going to get free movie
rentals from them. and although they have the start of their website.
I'm not getting rentals and .................. annoying


SO I'm pretty much playing WoW for half my day and weight training the other half... and doo ing reasearch into the things that I'll ahve to
do and be able to do too qualify for being a police officer... My
problem with this is that I don't know given my prior back injuries and my residual knee iritation if I'll be accepted... So I'm talking to a cop or 2 and getting advice from them. looking into being a security guard in the interm... so I'll have something to referr too during the situational and aptitude tests for police.

All the while I'm affriad to let anyone know casue well I dont' know if I'll quallify and it's also possible I'm actually too tall to be a police officer but can't find anysuch limitations on teh web but I've
been told they exist .... so this may yet again be anouther
place/attempt to be gainfully employed that will fail miserably

But at least I'm getting into shape... my heal spur doesn't seem to be a problem anymore either so I'm relived about that.

My girlfriend is doing much better actually she's quite good she still has to learn what things go well with her stomach some foods seem to work sometimes adn doesn't others... she's well any time she eats shes burpy it's a little unpleasent but there are worse things that can exist.

Now enough about me how about U.

I like the cake 

I'm starting to worry about the tastefulness of the "Keep Your Head" cake. More than one person has commented "You're not actually doing that, are you?" in a surprized tone.

Tonight is C2's going away party.

Matt and I are bringing a "Keep Your Head" cake. "Keep Your Head" is written in icing on the cake. Then Matt will take a G.I. Joe, make it kneel, bind the arms, chop the head off, add a touch of red icing and voila a wonderfully tasteless cake decoration.

When I picked the cake up at the bakery, the decorator said they don't get many requests for "Keep Your Head." They mostly deal with "Happy Birthday" and "Congulations!"

The cake started out more innocently. C2 joked a few times that he wanted a sexy man to jump out of a cake at his going away party. I was going to get a G.I. Joe, strip it naked and shove it into the cake. When I told Matt, Matt had a better idea.

The beer is good! It's strong too. I feel it after one pint.

I am surprised how easy it is to make good beer. It's turning me into a beer snob. Now that I can control everything, from the taste to the carbonation, I don't see why I should drink mediocre beer.