DAY 81, A QUESTION

I'm now inside of 100 days. I thought I'd be happy to be in double digits, but I keep remembering I'm not even halfway, yet it feels like I've been gone forever.

Anyway, I was typing an e-mail to Tiff and had to type horseback riding. Here's my question: Why do we call it horseBACK riding? Why not just horse riding?

I mean, there's really no other part of the horse we would ride, is there? Is it really necessary to qualify the statement with the word back.

After all, we don't call it bicycle SEAT riding, do we?

Seems like a waste to me.

98 days to go.

DAY 79, YOU'RE FIRED

Here's a quick snapshot of more downtime. The Colonel challenged one of our subordinate commands to a basketball game. We came out on top. Everybody had a good time except the guy I was guarding - seems he doesn't like people talking to him during the action. Which, of course, made it that much more fun for me.

Quick random video . . . I've become addicted to wimp.com. Just another distraction to help take my mind off where I'm at. I thought Conan O'Brien was a weak replacement for Leno until I saw this video: http://www.wimp.com/oldbaseball/. He's my guy now. It's 7 minutes long but worth it to see how he works the shy girl.

For those of you who read my earliest blogs from Baghdad, you'll remember the interesting Deputy Commander. For those that need a recap: fat, lazy, incompetent Army Lieutenant Colonel who was in charge for three weeks while the Commander was home on R&R. Unfortunately for me, it coincided with my first three weeks in theater. It was not fun. Dude yelled all the time, sent us e-mails we couldn't understand because his English and grammar were so bad, and kept us late on X-mas eve, X-mas day, new year's eve, and new year's day. It totally sucked.

Well, guess who went home this week after only 5 months of a 1 year tour? You guessed it, loser boy. Fired and sent home. Wow. From what I understand, several people lodged formal complaints. I wasn't one of them - I put up with far worse from 5 of my 6 older brothers growing up!

Anyway, it all went down in less than a day. The Commander decided it was time, told the NCO in charge to get him on a flight, we drew straws to see who would drive him to the airfield (about 30 minutes away), and next thing you know, he's gone.

So my immediate thought was, "what do I need to do to get sent home early?"

100 days to go.

DAY 77, MOTIVATION

My days seem to be getting longer. I look for distractions wherever and whenever I can get them (hence this blog). I also need motivation wherever I can get it. Motivation to get out of bed, motivation to work hard, motivation to stay physically fit, etc.

Somebody here at "Victory Base Complex" (VBC) decided to put on a marathon. Normally, I'd be totally ecstatic about it. Problem is we only have 3 weeks to get ready. I know I can finish, but it's going to be ugly. I haven't been training for long runs since I left LA. I need some motivation.

So, my first step was to find someone else to do it with me. That really helps my motivation. All my normal running buddies are 6-7 thousand miles away. As it turns out, my boss, the Army Colonel, is game. His longest run to date is 8 miles. I tried to warn him, but he's set on doing it. We're running 9 miles tomorrow together. (Did I mention how great it is to have a boss that runs?)

Then, to really motivate myself, I went surfing to RunnersWorld.com and found this video:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1431564019/bclid1508311825/bctid1349141442

Holy crap! That's all I needed to motivate me. (For those not interested in watching, it's about a 13-year old girl who finished a 50-mile ultra marathon). Hmmm, Taylor turns 13 in a couple months . . . .

102 days to go.

DAY 75, SPRING TRAINING

There are a few things I really miss. Obviously, being with my family everyday is #1. After that, I have to rate Little League very high. I really miss watching/coaching my kids. Taylor and Hannah decided not to play softball this season. As you can see from the picture, AJ is playing baseball. That's him as catcher at their first scrimmage.

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It's going to be really hard not being there to coach him and see him improve.

104 days to go.

DAY 73, WHERE'S WALDO

Examine the picture, then let's discuss . . .

Here are all the things wrong in this picture (not necessarily in order of "wrongness"):

1. My haircut

2. The concrete "t-walls" encircling all the buildings

3. My form

4. The crumbling sidewalks

5. My attire

6. The fact that I can go to Salsa Dance classes at a military camp in Baghdad

The one thing right in this picture:

I hand-picked my number before the race started (23 was not available, so I got the next best alternative).

106 days to go.

DAY 70, WEEK 10

That's right, I have officially completed 10 weeks (miles) of my 26-week (mile) journey. For you non-runners out there, let me explain the importance of finishing mile 10 of a marathon.

10 miles down means double digits. It also means you've hit your stride, you've made significant progress and you're closing in on half way. The weak have fallen back significantly and you have a good feeling of how well (or how not well) you will finish.

Anyway, enough of the running talk. Most of you could care less. Some random thoughts:

Lately, I have had an overwhelming sense of, "Okay, I've seen everything there is to see here. Time to go." I really don't know how the Army dudes can stay for 12-18 months. That has to be absolutely brutal.

I found three guys who like to play Euchre ("you-ker"). I had never played before. I describe it as a much quicker version of Spades. We play every other night or so before we go to bed. We're not allowed to play for money, but bragging rights go a long way around here.

I don't recommend playing basketball in steel-toed boots. I think I'm going to loose both my big toe nails this week.

It took two months, but I am officially tired of facebook.

Many of our drinks are served juice-box style, milk included. We have to have our weapons when we go to chow. Imagine how funny it is to look around at hundreds of soldiers with M-16's and 9mm's sipping 8oz of juice/milk through those tiny little plastic straws. It makes me laugh every day.

Kellogg, Brown, and Root (KBR) is one of the large contractors my unit oversees. They're here to provide logistical support at the bases. KBR has 75,000 employees in Iraq and Afghanistan. You read that correctly: SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND.

Hannah (8) sent me an e-mail the other day. She said, "I like my nickname (Hannie). I like yours too, Bill." Best e-mail I've gotten since I left. There's something really funny about having my 8-year old innocently call me by my first name. Guess I'm easily entertained at this point.

109 days to go.

DAY 69

Nothing worth noting today other than I couldn't let day "69" go by without blogging.

179 (-69) days left.

DAY 64, SANDSTORM

Well I survived my first sandstorm yesterday. It lasted all day and was quite remarkable. When I woke up, I could hear the wind howling. I looked outside and saw what looked like dense fog. Only problem was, it wasn't moisture in the air, it was sand and dust.

Complete nastiness. Hard to breath, hard to see. I quickly realized that, without goggles (mine were packed away), it is best to walk with eyes shut and only open one for a split second to make sure you're still on your intended path.

Everything became coated with sand including vehicles, buildings, and all parts of the body when going outside. Try to talk to somebody outside - grit in the mouth. Nothing like walking around feeling dirty all day.

It was so bad I ran on a treadmill - something I despise more than anything (except running in a sandstorm).

115 days to go.

DAY 60, SIDEOUT

We went over to Uday's house today, but he wasn't home. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uday_Hussein

So, we had a volleyball game without him. It wasn't the same as playing at Manhattan Beach, but it was a hell of a lot better than what I've been doing the last 2 months.

Here are some pics:

UDAY'S BOMBED OUT LAKE-FRONT HOME

AIR FORCE, ARMY, NAVY, AND CIVILIANS

WE EVEN HAD A ONE-MAN MARIACHI BAND

INTENSE COMPETITION

SEE WHAT I MEAN

AND LOTS OF STANDING AROUND, TOO

SEE WHAT I MEAN

VERY ATTRACTIVE AIR FORCE FITNESS CLOTHING

A COOLER FILLED WITH . . . BOTTLED WATER!

NO COMMENT

VIEW FROM THE "CROWD"

THE INCOMPLETE "VICTORY OVER AMERICA" PALACE - SERIOUSLY, THAT'S WHAT SADDAM NAMED IT

THAT'S ALL FOLKS

119 days to go.

DAY 58, MONKEES

I've had plenty of experiences in the last 58+ days that make me ask, "Why?" Whay are we doing this, why are we doing that, why, why, why.

Then, I saw this video and it's all clear to me now. We're just a bunch of monkees.

http://www.wimp.com/ourlife/

121 days to go.

DAY 55, LOUD NOISE

So, I'm lucky enough to work in a trailer across the street from a Gatling gun like the one you see above. If you'd like to read the details, go to: http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/rtnwcm/groups/rms/documents/content/rtn_rms_ps_phalanx_datasheet.pdf

The problem with where I sit is they don't tell us when they are going to test fire the gun. I can't really describe the loudness and suddenness of the gun. During the first split second, my heart stops and I jump up out of my chair. Then, my brain catches up and processes what I'm hearing. By then, my heart is racing and everyone in the office lets out a few choice words. The whole event is over in 3-4 seconds, but I feel the effects for at least 10-15 minutes.

Makes life interesting, at least.

124 days to go.