Just under 2 to go!

As it stands now, I have about 55 days left in this place, and I can't wait to get outta here! The exact date isn't set yet, but I'm counting down anyway. Life has been good the past couple of weeks, no complaints. I have really felt like Bill Murray in Groundhog day lately, only no Sonny and Cher. I have tried to keep it interesting but with so little to do its been tough. Lots of reading, lots of CE, and lots of movies. We are starting to pack things up in the clinic, so we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Lately I have been the only dentist on the base here, which is crazy considering the fact that there are 15-20,000 people here. Fortunately work hasn't been too crazy. My faithful assistant is on his R&R this month, so I have been without my sidekick. SPC Hollins has been my crutch for the past 5 months. Don't know what I would have done without him. The only beef we have had was over who was going to win the VT/Alabama game thats coming up. He's an Alabama boy....born and raised a die hard Crimson Tide fan.........too bad he won't be here when they lose:) We will see.....its too bad our starting tailback is out for the season......

2.5 months left..... I hope

Last week I was asked to represent our unit at the Viper Olympics in Balad, just south of Tikrit. The Battalion that I am assigned to goes by the name "Viper Medics". It was a great week, and a crazy one with barely any sleep. Myself and 4 other people from my unit here flew to Balad on a Chinook. Terrible ride....but can't blame the Army. It was cool (as in fun) for about 10 minutes....thank God I took Dramamine. Terrible weather, dusty and hot. Anyway, we made the trip to Balad and competed against 6 other units from within our Battalion. We smoked em all. Actually we should have, but we didn't. We actually won due to some wonderful tactics, which I can't take credit for. I wish I could. But we walked away after 4 days and a handful of events which included a 4x400 relay, tug of war, 3 on 3 basketball, volleyball and some others. We had a great time and traveled to a from without any real hitches. We didn't get gold medals.....so don't wonder where your tax paying money is going. But we did get a painted wooden plaque. Its real nice.... Anyway, hopefully I have just 2.5 months left!

How the other half lives

It was country come to town this past week. I spent the past week in Balad, just south of where I am located. Balad is home to a much bigger base here in the desert, and this base makes my little COB look pathetic. I actually swam in a swimming pool.....a very nice pool. We don't have a pool in Columbia,SC this nice. I went into a movie theatre, I went into a PX bigger than the one at Fort Jackson, and I had Krispy Kreme donuts.....wow

Technology

Technology has truly changed the deployment experience. With a single internet connection and a router the world is at your fingertips. Unfortunately I have been without that internet connection here for a while and now I know what it was like before all this advancement. The past few days I have sat in line for hours to make a phone call and check my email. With a time limit of 15 minutes, you just hope that everyone is at home. Usually they are not. I haven't met a soldier yet that doesn't have a laptop here. I guess as cheap as they are, you would be a fool not to have one. Its the best 500 bucks you'll every spend. Unfortunately the bandwidth here is owned by a criminal organization and they charge millions to give you the speed of dialup. I pay 100 bucks a month to stay connected. Go figure. I just hope this all doesn't support some terrorist organization. Skype is an amazing program, and its amazing how easy it is to get connected with people 10,000 miles away. An internet connection, a webcam and Skype..... we are truly lucky.

HOT!

This is the cradle of civilization?  You gotta be kidding me.  The weather here is unbelievable.  No wonder the people here are the laziest creatures on earth.  It has been a constant 115 plus everday for the past month.  Thankfully most of my day is inside.   I looked at my calendar the other day and it appears that I have crossed the half way point!  Hopefully my return date is still around the beginning/middle of October.  We will see.  Life is good, no complaints.  Except....for the heat. 

Not much going on these days...

I can't believe that its been almost 3 months here in Iraq.  It feels like 6.  The time was going by very quickly until the last couple of weeks.  Work has been hard to find.  The clinic has slowed down a great deal, and most of my day consists of exams and the occasional chipped tooth.  Still getting lots of requests for bleaching and cleanings.  Still telling them no.  The weather here has gotten crazy hot.  I usually get up around 6 and its already 100 degrees outside.  I don't even have to dry off in the shower, it evaporates off.  By 8 am its a toasty 110 and by noon, you don't want to know.  Its so unbearable that you just stay inside.  Thank God I'm a dentist, so most of my time is in the shade.  If it keeps up like this, I may have to abandon my bike riding and resort to riding in the HUMVEE.  I had an opportunity last week to go to visit Camp Victory for a dental meeting, but the weather here makes it impossible to fly out, so the blackhawks couldn't take us.  I'm hoping to go sometime in the next couple of weeks.   We will see.  Our base is in the middle of the desert, so flying in here is difficult.  We had a crazy sandstorm last week.  It was truly amazing.  One minute I could see a mile in each direction and then in no time I couldn't see five feet in front of me.  It was freaky, like out of the movies.  The sand got into everything.  Except my computer.....thanks to the ole Pelican case.....it was a good investment.   We spent three days putting the desert back where it belongs.... till next time.