Postcard from Charlotte!

Exactly one month remains before I begin my final R&R.  That’s 31 days from now.  I’ll be returning to Manchester for about a week before we head out on our 2013 Fisher Family vacation.  When I return from this vacation, I’ll have about 34 days remaining in this Afghan tour.  So, today also marks 91 days until this tour is over.

It was an extremely busy work week.  We have a lot of planning and coordination work related to our future move to a new compound on the airbase.  This project has been my main effort all year and we are getting close to making it a reality.  A highlight to working on this project is that I get to work with a friend from my time in Bern.  Rod Schellack and his wife Nancy are great folks who served in Bern while Terry and I were there.  Rod just arrived in Kabul and one of his job responsibilities will be working with me on projects here at KAF.  It was good to catch up with Rod this week and I’ll enjoy seeing him from time to time when he travels down here occasionally.  

With all the work competing for my time, I had a less than successful week of physical fitness.  I think I was able to run or work out three times this past week.  I guess that is what is recommended for most folks so at least I’m keeping up the average guy.

The beard experiment didn’t last very long.  At about day 10, it was just getting too itchy and hot.  Of course with daily temperatures going over 100°F, it was pretty uncomfortable.  SO, yesterday I shaved the beard off.  Besides, my lovely, caring wife would not Skype with me while I grew the beard.  I could call on the phone but she refused to look at my scruffy face.  Can you blame her?  Look at this photo I took just before shaving.

The highlight of my week was receiving a cute little “American Girl” post card from my granddaughter, Charlotte which was addressed to “Papa.”  Sha Sha is only 2 years old so, with the help of her Mom, she scribbled a little on the card and put some cute stickers on it.  Thanks Sha Sha!

Hair and a Helicopter

Sorry about the gap in posts.  The previous two Fridays did not lend themselves well to sitting down and writing.  I was either working or trying to just relax.  Needless to say I am staying quite busy.  But, this week I refocused on what is important and started making time during the day to get a run or workout in.  Since the first of the year, I've really been a slug in that regard.  Yeah, I still went out and ran the races they had on the base, but otherwise, I was either working or too tired.  I had the intention of getting up early every day to get my run done before getting to work but that was not working because I was so tired, I didn't want to get up and out.  So, I am leaving the office late in the afternoon to exercise before supper.  This past week, that has seemed to work.  There is one more 5K planned, on May 24th.  I've been mixing things up a bit too.  More hills (on the treadmill), push-ups and ab work and getting on the stationary bike for some cross-training.

Okay, here's the hair part of the post.  I have about five and a half weeks left before my last R&R and our family vacation!  Between now and when I depart for R&R, I am not going to shave or get a haircut!  Why?  Because since I joined the Army at age 19, some 36 years ago, I have had short hair and never grew a beard.  Of course Terry does not like beards, and likes my head shaved.  No fear Terry, I'll get it back that way before the R&R but now is my only chance to try it.  So, here goes!  This picture is two full days of not shaving.

 

I know it will look very scruffy for the first few weeks, but I don't have anyone here that I have to impress, right?  I bet my wonderful bride is thinking, "Oh no, what if he likes it?"  I'm looking forward to bringing my left-overs back to the hooch with me and enjoying seconds (remaining food in the beard). ;-)

I received a belated birthday gift from Chris, Marissa, and Charlotte!  Here it is, a small, remote-control Apache helicopter!

It is really kind of a cool gift.  I've flown it around my small room a couple of times but I know it is going to take some time to get the hang of it and get used to operating the controls.  Later tonight, I might take it over to our small conference room and give it a try in a bigger space.  The helicopter is surprisingly rugged and can survive crash landings quite well.

It's been like Christmas around here.  This week I received a huge box of breakfast food and snacks from my wonderful wife and three boxes from Chris and Marissa which had everything in it from smoked oysters to t-shirts to Trader Joe's snacks!  I've got so much breakfast food now, I'll never have to eat that meal in the DFACs again!

I have less than 100 days remaining in this tour!  Speaking of 100s, that is where our daytime temperatures are now.  I am sure it will get even hotter but anything over 100 is still oven-hot.  What better time of year to grow a beard!

 

Salute to Civilians!

This week seemed to fly by rather quickly.  No complaining here though.  The faster time slips by, the sooner I get to the end of this tour.  Don’t get me wrong, this is a professionally rewarding assignment.  I work with some great folks here, both civilian and military.  I simply miss my wife and family and all the creature comforts (beer!) we have back in the “civilized” world.  So, as of today, there are 58 days until my next R & R and only 120 days until I depart Afghanistan.

Terry and I have been assigned our housing in Wellington New Zealand.  We’ll be living in a 4-bedroom, 2-bath single story house in a suburb just north of downtown Wellington.  The house has a nice, small fenced back yard for Mikey and should have plenty of room for a small home office, home gym, guest room(s), etc.  Here is a picture of the front of the house.

This morning I awoke early to participate in the “Salute to Civilians” 5K run.  This 3.1 mile race started at 06:00 for walkers and 06:10 for the runners.  I started off running with a couple of my security colleagues but after a few minutes decided to pick up the pace a little.  Speed is all relative.  I ran the distance in just over 29 minutes which is pretty slow, I think.  I used to be able to run these in under 25 minutes.  I guess since I just hit my 55^th birthday this week, I have an excuse.  We all slow down a little as we get older, right?  Well. There are three more 5K races scheduled this month on base so I’ll try to run a faster time with each race I run.  I have not really been doing much with regard to my physical fitness.  I consider myself lucky if I can get one or two runs in a week any more.  With daytime temps approaching the 90s now, the only time to run comfortably is daybreak.  Sometimes, I just don’t want to get up that early, especially knowing how much work I am going to have to do during the day.

Chris and Marissa were kind enough to give me an on-line Amazon gift certificate for my birthday.  THANKS GUYS!  I’ve never shopped at Amazon.com.  I am puzzled as to what I should get.  I am trying to live a pretty austere life here and not collect a bunch of “stuff.”  I am certainly open to suggestions.  Maybe I’ll look at what running shoes they offer or maybe some music.  Maybe by next Friday I will have decided what to get through Amazon.

How to Clean a Hooch!

I’ve been glued to the news today as the events unfolded overnight in Boston.  I was saddened and really mad at the news of the bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon.  These races are friendly, happy events full of friends and family cheering and supporting runners who’ve put a lot of effort in to preparing for and running this distance.  The Boston Marathon is the premier marathon in the U.S. every year.  Unlike most large city marathons, the Boston Marathon has strict entry requirements.  Runners must either qualify with a very good time from a previous marathon or raise a considerable amount of money for charity in order to gain entry into this event.  A number of friends and acquaintances have run or qualified for this race.

So, it looks like authorities have killed one of the bombing suspects and have the other pinned down somewhere in Watertown, MA.  My thoughts and prayers go out to those killed and injured in the bombings as well as to the families of the police officer who was killed and another who is critically injured.

Well, today was the first time since returning from my R & R that I’ve had the chance to relax a little.  I arrived back here on Monday, April 8^th.  As I was travelling back from the U.S., colleagues of mine here were involved in a deadly attack in the city of Qalat, in Zabul Province.  Zabul is one of the three provinces in the southern region of Afghanistan, the area my organization is responsible for.  One diplomat from the embassy in Kabul was killed along with three soldiers and another man, a Defense Department contractor, whom I knew quite well.  Another colleague who worked with us here at KAF was severely injured and is recovering in the U.S. at Walter Reed Medical Center.  So, as I arrived back, we were still in the midst of all the activity and work that encompasses the aftermath of this kind of attack.   It was not a pleasant environment to return to.

So, I slept in this morning!  Then, after the appropriate amount of caffeine was consumed, I went about cleaning my hooch.  My living quarters had not been thoroughly cleaned since before I left on R & R so it was certainly time for a scrub.  So, my little hooch got a good dusting, the rugs were beat and swept, and the floor swept and mopped.  I also changed the sheets on my bunk and aired the place out.  I bet you all really needed to know what all was involved with cleaning a hooch so there you go!

As for my R & R, I just went home and spent some quiet, quality time with Terry.  I really needed the rest.  We did simple things like going out to eat, or catch a movie.  We watched a bit of TV and talked a lot.  Terry introduced me to the British TV series Downton Abby.  I got hooked right away and ended up watching all three seasons while I was home.   Mikey has begun his six-month preparations for travel to New Zealand.  Even with all the tests and vaccines he’ll be receiving, the NZ government still requires a 10-day quarantine period.  This will be Mikey’s sixth country of residence and the strictest with regard to his importation.

Well, there you go, all caught up.  Until next week…

R & R Prep

Well, I was finally able to take most of this Friday off, with the exception of a few minutes on email.  So, what did I do on my down day today?  I slept in!  I awoke at about 0730.  After a couple cups of coffee, I went over to the MWR area and ran a few miles on the treadmill followed by a bunch of push-ups and various forms of ab/core work.  I am feeling much better than I was last week.  I’ve run three days so far this week, not long, about 30 minutes each time, and I’ve been doing the other exercises as well.  Like I said last week, I won’t be eating at TGI Friday’s again.  A colleague of mine ate at Friday’s the day after I did and he got sick as well.  He had to go to the aid station to get treated for his abdominal discomfort.

So, Terry told me this week that she just received the card I mailed to wish her a Happy New Year!  I cannot figure it out.  It only takes about a week for packages to arrive from the US but a simple card takes two months to get back to the US.

I leave for my second R & R on Wednesday.  I’ll be travelling for over 36 hours in order to get home to be with Terry.  I’ll first fly from Kandahar to Dubai.  I have a 10-hour lay-over in Dubai.  Fortunately, I’ll be able to spend the time in an airport lounge where I’ll be able to eat a little, nap, read, and access the internet.  Then I board the 14-hour United flight to Washington/Dulles.  Since United has no flights from Dulles to Manchester on Thursday, I have to fly home through Chicago, adding a few hundred miles and 3.5 hours to the trip.  I’ll finally arrive in Manchester late on Thursday afternoon.

I plan to bring home a suitcase full of clothes and winter gear I either no longer need here or never used while I was here.  My ultimate goal will be to leave here in August with just a small backpack of belongings so I am going to start reducing the amount of “stuff” I have here.  I will need my cold weather clothes still in New Hampshire anyway.  The daytime temperatures here are now approaching 80 every day and we’ve turned on the air conditioning in my office building.

I am really looking forward to just relaxing at home with Terry during this R & R.  I suspect we’ll go out to dinner occasionally, maybe take in a show or something but just hanging out together is on top of the to-do list.  I’ll have to do our tax return while I am home and it is time for Mikey to begin preparing for his move to New Zealand.  NZ has strict animal importation laws and they still require a period of quarantine.  If Mikey’s paperwork is all in order, he’ll only be locked up for ten days, but we have to start six months before he travels to have everything together.

I will probably not post anything while I am home so you can expect my next post to be published on about April 12^th.  Until then…

On the Boardwalk

Beware the Boardwalk!  The infamous Boardwalk on KAF is a large square-shaped wood-framed strip mall.  Inside the square is a soccer field, basketball court, beach volleyball court and (street) hockey rink. There is also a quarter-mile running track with a rubberized surface that runs around the interior. The shops on the boardwalk include at least a dozen food vendors, clothing, electronic and souvenir shops.

 Here you can see the basketball court and running track.

This lower photo shows the memorial to fallen soldiers (foreground) and the corner stage where USO show are often held.

There are two sit-down restaurants on the Boardwalk; TGI Friday's and Mamma Mia's Pizza.

Mamma Mia's serves about two-dozen types of pizza and some pasta dishes.  The pizza is not quite like Naples Italy or good Chicago deep-dish, but you can get a decent pie and will not leave the meal with any intestinal discomfort.  The only discomfort at this place is sitting on the hard wooden benches they use for customer seating.

WARNING - DO NOT EAT HERE!  While hosting some visitors from Kabul on Monday, we went to TGI Friday's for lunch.  I ate the Friday's grilled chicken sandwich and have been paying for it ever since.  I had to go to the PX and purchase some anti-diarrhea medication today.

So, no running this week, except to the porta-john!  Only 12 more days before R & R!