A lot has changed since the last time I posted here. 

We have had a suicide bomber, several rocket attacks and some mortar attacks. 

The food hasn’t changed much, and I have tried as I can to vary my diet and discover “new” foods.  This is getting difficult to do, but I’m sure it can happen.

My work-out routine was going well until I went to Qatar on pass.  The food in Qatar on the base was so good, I went hog wild (no pun intended.)  I gained over 10 pounds.  The trip itself was restful until it was time to go and delays piled up to extend my stay in temporary housing for 2 days.  Anyone who has stayed in temporary military housing knows that Motel 6 is the King’s choice between the two.

I have continued to work out and my weight has stabilized, I have gotten much stronger and am in much better shape than before.  I have even started running.

 My views on the military are much different now.  I am not sure if I will apply for warrant officer candidate school, or simply ride my next few years out and retire.  That is the more likely choice based on my experience here.

I am working on year 18 now, and will have 2 years to finish up.

Work has changed as well.  My mission has changed completely and I am now the Operations Sergeant for our facility.  This detail-oriented work keeps me busy and gives me great satisfaction.  I am basically a project manager but for the military.  Seems like something I may know something about??

As for my friends and family who have sent me goodies, I can only say thank you, thank you and thank you.  The coffee is the best.  Afghanistan is the only place where Starbucks does not have a footprint.   So, I have it sent over.  In addition, I drink Dunkin Donuts and Peets.   I can sort of thank my California Cousins for introducing me to Peets Coffee.  After they took me for a tour of the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Brewery in Chico, CA, they took me to Peet’s, where I quickly became addicted to Admiral Dikinson’s blend.  Thanks Peet’s.   It is quite tasty and only $18 a pound.

With regards to my family.  I do miss my wife, son and daughter.   My son is not taking it too good.   In fact, he was quite mad that I had to go and thought that I volunteered (hey, I’m not kidding.)  After many phone calls, letters, etc., he now understands that I am doing my duty.   My daughter recognizes my picture and voice.  We’ll see what happens when I return home on leave in July.  

My wife is the best woman in the whole world.   She continually writes me and sends me goodies.  We both make it a point to sit down and web cam every single day.  We have missed web cams probably less than 3 times since I have been here unless we purposefully couldn’t due to my work schedule.  The web cams make all the difference in the world.  I get to see her and she I.  I see my daughter playing, dancing and just being a little kid.  I plan to continue to web cam while I travel when I return to work.

Which leads me to the next item is work.  I can’t wait to return to BearingPoint.  They have treated me royally during this deployment and that was something unexpected and that will not be forgotten.  I am waiting for a fresh load of software from one of my compadres at webMethods so I can get back on the bandwagon with that software.  I hear that the new software release 7.0 is super. 

On another note, I have been learning Java and studying Oracle 10g.  I hope to have a good working knowledge of Java development and architecture to help me out in the future.   In addition, nothing really happens for anyone without Oracle, so Oracle is always a good choice when it comes to learning topics.

We have a new Captain at work who will teach me some Spanish.  She is from Colombia and I hear that Colombians speak some of the best Spanish.  I am also studying Indonesian.  This is in my slight spare time, so it is not getting 100% of my spare time.

I read books, magazines, but mostly, my spare time is spent behind the web cam with my wife.