The name game

Today we spent the day at a Qatari Mall. I would tell you the exciting difference between a mall is the states and a mall here, but there are NO difference. Okay, some store names are spelled in Arabic and some women are wearing burkas, but that's it.

I thought it would be fun to show pictures of store names in Arabic and see if you can guess which store it is. The shape of the logo and/or color should give you a good clue. Have fun!

*Answers posted below pictures.

1.) Cold Stone Creamery 2.) Burger King 3.) Clare's 4.) Baskin Robbin's 5.) Starbucks 6.) Me enjoying my Cold Stone!!!!

The best gym in the WORLD

For the past two days I have been working out at the gym on base here in Qatar. I love this gym. No, not because it's clean, they play music I can understand or the fresh towel service. Check out the picture above. They actually have a Dairy Queen in the middle of the gym. That's right, nothing goes down better after a long, hot workout than a Chocolate Chip and Snickers Blizzard. Hey, you paid the price... now treat yourself to a treat. That's my motto. It's also the reason I actually GAIN WEIGHT after coming to this gym.

Very, very, very funny!!!!

This audio clip has nothing to do with my deployment or my current trip to Qatar. A friend sent it to me and I laughted and laughed. I'm still laughing. It is definately worth three minutes of your time and I promise, you'll be chuckling all day long.

Fun in the Qatari sun

Buckle your seatbelts and come along on our wild ride.

What a great day

Today was an awesome day. For $30, we took the Inland Sea Picnic tour. The day began with a 1 hour ride through the Qatari sand dunes in SUVs. After that, we spent three hours along the surf of the Persian Gulf playing vollyball, eating traditional Middle Eastern food, smoking a shesha pipe, laying out in the sun and collecting sea shells.

Stress, what stress. I have roughly 55 days left on this deployment and am completely confident that after a few more days here, I will have no problem coasting to the finish line.

I found it!

Here in Qatar, I have once again found my "happy place." This trip is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Heaven on Earth

For the first time in five months, I spent an entire day without putting on my uniform. If this doesn't sound like that big of a deal to you, try wearing the same cloths for just one week.

I'm here in Qatar and this place is the closest thing to paradise I can imagine outside of being home with my family. The food is even better than Bagram, the weather is like Phoenix in the spring, and they have lots of fun tours you can take.

All of that is wonderful and I plan to partake, but today I only wanted one thing. I haven't had a long, hot bath since the day I left Memphis and that was my only goal. To my heartbreak, there's no bathtubs to be found here... but they do have a hot tub.

After two hours in the hot tub, life is once again good. The stress has melted away. I could easily go back to Kabul tomorrow a very happy man. You'd have to take me kicking and screaming, but I could go back happy.

Tomorrow we're doing the inland sea picnic. Tour guids will take us in SUVs through the sand dunes to an inland cove whre the Persian Gulf and the Qatari desert meet. There we'll have a picnic in big Arabian tents eating traditional food.

Life is an adventure. Drink it up.

Only in the military

Only in the military will you need 10 days to take a four day vacation. Hello and thank you for flying Afghan Airlines!

I have been here at Bagram Air Force Base for two days waiting to catch a flight to Qatar. Trust me, I'm not complaining. Until my flight takes off, I'm just hanging out here at the Pat Tillman USO. I've got a spot on a comfy futon in front of a giant plasma screen and an endless supply of great movies. Okay, not every movie has been great. I really wanted to slap the guy who put in Larry the Cable Guy in "Witless Protection." I must have been witness to actually watch that piece of crap film.

Just down the street is the dining facility and the food here is 1,000 times better than at the headquarters. If I'm not in the mood for what they're serving in the DFAC, I can eat at the Subway or Burger King. These people have it soooo easy. I've heard a couple people complain about serving here and like the guy who put on Witless Protection, I wanted to slap them too. They have no idea how crappy we have it back at the headquarters. I'd trade with them in a heartbeat.

I've run into two people from ISAF who are also going on R&R; TSgt Connie "Ski" Czerwinski and Seaman Matt Jeffrey. We're having a good time kicking back, relaxing, watching movies and eating good food. If I had to stay here for my R&R, I'd have no problems with that. No, wait a minute... they have beer in Qatar. I guess I'll still catch that flight afterall.

Okay, the next movie is on... gotta go now.

Stress

The past couple of weeks have been the most stressful of my deployment. Not since my days at NBC 24 in Toledo have I been so frazzled. If you knew me back then, you know exxactly what I'm talking about.

For much of February, I have gotten little sleep, bit my nails to the bone, barked at people and in general been a collasal "grump." This isn't me. I'm usually the guy whose smiling and laughing. I thought over and over again why am I so pissy and have finally come to the conclusion. Man was not meant to work seven days a week, 12 hours a day for four months straight. Toss in the pleasures working with NATO and this is enough to send anyone over the edge.

If I found out Lee Harvey Oswald or James Earl Ray hit their targets after just coming home from a deployment, especially a deployment with NATO, I would actually understand their screwed up mental state. I'm nowhere near this level of insanity, but I am more than ready to get out of the headquarters.