Books, Bombs & Brothers

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted anything.  This week has been an…interesting week.  Still, I am going to focus on the positive:  I got to meet Chuck Yeager!  I got three videos from his talk, but the first one is too long.  I’ve been trying to upload it all week, but the internet won’t stay connected long enough (the service goes down repeatedly).  Still, videos 2 and 3 are posted and I will post them here.  Enjoy!

“I spun airplanes every time I flew them”  – Chuck Yeager, 16 April, 2012, Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan

It was a typical Monday.  Lots of stuff going on, everyone wanting everything yesterday and meetings galore.  I slogged my way though the day and went to my last meeting…only the conference room was dark.  I asked around and was told the meeting was cancelled because of Chuck Yeager’s visit.

Ok, before I go on, in order for you to gauge my reaction, you need to realize that I grew up with this guy as my hero.  I watched “The Right Stuff” about a million times.  I did a report on Chuck Yeager in high school and another one my senior year in college.  When I was first commissioned, I went into flight school because of this man.

This afternoon, I found out he was on my base.  Chuck Yeager, an American hero…my hero…was on my base…the same piece of ground that I was occupying.  Chuck Yeager was here.  I just didn’t know where.  Fortunately, LTC Todd Burton saw me and guided me to the building that Mr. Yeager was going to be speaking in.

There was a country singer who was going to do a few songs first.  I don’t know who he was and don’t remember his name.  At the risk of sounding crass, I didn’t care…Chuck Yeager was here!!!  I just had to wait a few songs before I could listen to the man speak.   The singer wasn’t bad, and I am touched that he would come out here to do a few songs for us.

But…I was also touched (and WAY more excited) that Chuck Yeager came out here to speak to us.  He was pretty funny too.  I guess there is a lot you can get away with when you are 89 years old and an American hero (did I say that he was an America hero already?  my bad…)

I got some pictures, but they are kind of fuzzy because of the light.  I also got some video of snippits of his talk.  I will try to upload them to youtube and post them, but they are large files and will probably take all night just to upload one of them.

Still, if it works, I will post the videos so you can see parts of his talk.  I’ll share what I can, but I don’t really need either pictures or videos, because I got to meet and shake hands with my boyhood hero.  It was a fantastic end to your typical Monday, and event I won’t soon forget.

…how many words is a video worth?

I tried taking a few videos during our ride the other day.  The videos are short, they have to be so that I can upload them.  They don’t show much and may be a little shaky, but hopefully they give you a better glimpse of the outskirts of Kabul than the photos.

I hope you enjoyed them.  Please let me know if the videos were ok, and I will try to take more.

As I was getting ready to head out on a trip this morning, somewhat hurriedly as they moved up the SP time, a coworker and I were talking.  During our conversation, I realized that while many things here are quite different, some things are  almost exactly the same.  Maybe it’s just me, I know what I like and I like what I know, but certain patterns seem the same.

For example, when I worked for the VA, I had a certain routine every   morning.   I would leave my house around 7 AM.  Before I walked out the door, I made sure I had my badge, my cell phone, my government issued cell phone and my office keys.

Sometimes I would forget one or all of the above, but for the most part, I would go through my routine and that ensured I had what I needed for work. I would get to the office around 7:15-7:30, check the news, briefly look through my e-mails to make sure there was nothing pressing, get a cup of coffee and sort of ease into my day.

Being a man of routine, I have developed one here, while in Afghanistan.  I leave my room around 0700 every morning.  Before I walk out the door, I make sure I have my badge, my cell phone (it’s my camera/watch/mp3 player here), my government issued 9mm and the key to my room.

I usually get to the office around 0715-0730, get myself a cup of coffee, check the news, check my various accounts to see if their are any pressing items that need immediate action, read the morning briefs and generally try to ease into my day.  I’m not as successful at the “easing” part here as I was at the VA, but I try.

Still, as similar as things are, I don’t get to give my wife a hug and kiss goodbye when I leave, or get a tackling hug from my youngest boy when I get home.  Gives me a few things to look forward to :).

Ok, I know I have been promising this for a while.  I’m sorry it’s taken so long…things have been especially busy lately.  That being said, as promised, finally, here is the third FAQ post:

Q:  Has the weather gotten any warmer?

MUCH warmer.  Things warmed up very quickly in March and now we are seeing temps in the 70′s.

Q:  Do you ever get a day off?

No, not really.  I “took” Easter off, sort of.  Power went down for maintenance, so it made for an easy excuse.  That’s pretty much the only time I get “off”…when the power is off.  That being said, I am not chained to my desk 12 hours a day.  I take time to go to the gym and do whatever errands I need to, without any problems.  My boss is very good about leaving me to get things done without micromanaging, so if I need to take a few hours to do something, that is not a problem, so long as things still get done.  Plus, I visit other camps once in a while, and that gets me away from my desk for long stretches of time.

Q:  Do you spend most of your time in the field or behind a desk?

Behind a desk.

Q:  What’s all that stuff on your vest?

Mostly ammo.  I also have a CLS Kit, a carabiner for my M-4 and my gerber multitool (another brand of leatherman).

Q:  How is the gym there?

It’s pretty good, actually.  They have a basketball court (where recently lost my change at a career in the NBA), some mats, free weights, nautilus-type machines, treadmills, bicycles and ellipticals.  I typically alternate between the the treadmill and the weight machines, one on one day and one an the other.

Q:  What do you do for fun?

I like this one…believe it or not, there are parts of my job that are fun.  I work with some very funny people.  Admittedly, some of the humor is not appropriate for all audiences, but a laugh a day…

My “fun” actually comes from going to the gym and chatting with my family and friends back home.  I recently learned of a movie place on base, so I may check that out one night.  Plus a small group of us have instituted a weekly “game night.”  That’s a pretty good time, as well.

Q:  You’ve been quiet lately…

That’s more of a statement then a question, but a few people have mentioned it.  I’ve just been busy.  Plus, last week they had a service every night for Holy Week, so I used my blogging time to go to church.  I usually get back to my room any time between 7 and 8, blog for a bit, chat for a bit and then call it a night.

=======

That’s about it for this go round.  I will probably start a FAQ page, so if you have questions, let me know.  I’ll answer them and then add them to the page.

“This is the day that makes every other day matter.”  – Padre Mark Gibbons

The day started like any other.  I went to the office a little earlier than normal because skype was acting up and I decided to call home instead.  Otherwise it was a typical day at Phoenix.

But today is not any other day.  It is the one that makes every day matter.  This is the day where our Lord has risen!  Padre Gibbons gave what is one of the best Easter messages I have ever heard.  In a sense, it was an Easter free from distractions.  Aside from the bunny type things that were hung in the DFAC (beady little eyes, kind of creeped me out), there has been little in the way of bunnies or colored eggs or any of the traditional things assoicated with Easter.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.  I love decorating eggs with my kids, and I love me some candy.  Still, Holy week here has been a little different that what I’ve experienced in the past.  Each day has been a typical day, but each night a somber reminder of what Jesus went through on the last few days before His death.  It ended in silence on Friday, and picked up today in celebration.

Before I go on, I need to correct something I mentioned above.  See, I wrote that part before lunch, and took a short break to go eat before continuing on.  During lunch my buddy a real, live Easter Bunny in the DFAC.  He was walking around, giving people hugs.  My buddy prudently suggested that we leave before he came our way.  On the way out, a Marine held the door for us and quipped, “I thought we were in Afghanistan, until I saw the Easter Bunny.”

Holiday fun aside, today truly is the day “that makes every other day matter.”  I know it seems like I am being redundant, but I think it bears repeating.  Today, thousands of years ago, a man who was killed for going against the status quo, for teaching things like loving everyone and forgiving those who wronged you, rose up out of His grave.  And because He defeated death, all of us have the option of eternal life.

⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s not about the bunnies or the candy or the eggs, and until lunch today, my Easter season was largely free of those things.  During Holy Week, it enabled me to focus on what is truly important:  Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, willingly gave His life, paying a debt that he did not owe.  Then, after sacrificing His life, He rose again!    Now, in spite of our own sin, we may have eternal life with Him.  That my friends, truly makes it a day worth celebrating!

Or is it?

One of the things they drill into us over and over and over again is that we must clean and maintain our weapons regularly.  Especially here, with all the dust flying around everywhere.  The dust is very fine, so it gets deep into the little nooks and crevices and can be very detrimental to the weapon.

I’d like to say I’ve been very judicious about cleaning my weapon, but…well, there were the meetings and there were the trips and I didn’t have a cleaning kit…and…and…and…

Excuses aside, I actually was quite surprised as how time has gotten away from me since I’ve been here.  It’s been two months already!  It’s hard to believe.

Anyway, I finally managed to acquire a cleaning kit, so the other day, I took my M9 apart and went to work.  There were the usual cracks from the peanut gallery…”Sir, don’t do it!  It’s not worth it!”  ”Just because it works, doesn’t mean you’ll hit what your aiming at”  etc, etc.

Someone finally wised up and realized it was probably best not to razz a guy who had a weapon in his hands…even if it was in pieces…and I was able to continue cleaning sans wisecracks.  I was quite proud of myself too.  I got in every crevice, every nook and cranny.  I was as detailed as possible.

Once it was cleaned, I added a tiny bit of CLP oil and put it back together.  I thought it would be happy, but as I was reassembling the weapon, it bit me!  Right on the thumb.  To be honest I didn’t realize it at first, but then I picked up a cleaning pad to wipe off a small bit of excess oil and saw there was some red on the pad.

It was minor, no big deal…in spite of the civilian suggesting I should receive a purple heart, but I thought I was making my weapon happy by cleaning it.  Maybe it was warning me not to go so long before cleaning it again…

When I left, I mentioned that I had two goals for this deployment:  to get into shape physically and to get into shape spiritually.  When I was at Camp Swampy, the first goal was easy, and the second goal was tough.  Once I got here, things switched up.  However I am fortunate that I have a boss who doesn’t expect me to spend all day at the office as much as he expects me to get my work done.

He doesn’t micromanage my time, so long as things get done.  I can safely leave for a little while in the middle of the afternoon.  This allows me, on days like to day, to leave for an hour or two when a bad migraine comes on.  On other days, it enables me to get to the gym when it’s not so crowded.  Still, I must confess, that progress on both of my goals has been unsteady and inconsistent.

However, I can safely say there has, in fact, been progress on both fronts.  It’s easier to notice on the physical side:  my goal was to get rid of the “keg” I was carrying around and turn it into a “six pack.”  Well, the keg is gone – now I just need to work on that six pack.  In other areas, I’m also starting to see a little definition in places that used to have “flab.”

Spiritually, it is harder to notice, there are no physical changes that come from praying and reading the Bible, but I think some of the negative changes I’ve gone through over the past few years are starting to go away.  They are not gone yet, but I think the spiritual “flab” is staring to go away.

There is no “magic bullet” with either goal.  Both require hard work, consistency and discipline.  I’ve got the hard work down and am working on the consistency and discipline.  However, I did, in one sense, find a short cut recently.  There is a noted author and preacher in N.M. by the name of Al Maxey.  He has an ezine called Reflections that has tens of thousands of readers, and has authored many books and CDs.

I started communicating with him years ago, when he first started sending out his Reflections newsletters.  Recently, he sent me a bunch of CDs.  They contain MP3s of his sermons and studies on 1 and 2 Peter.  He sent them to me free of charge, which was very kind and considerate of him.  I have put some of the studies on my phone so I can listen to them while I am at the gym.

Now, I can work on getting in shape both physically and spiritually at the same time.  I pop in the head phones, go for a run and kill two birds with one stone.  I like how Al teaches…he doesn’t talk down to the audience and he doesn’t use big words to try and impress them, either.  He takes complex topics, digs deep and present in in a way that some one like me can understand.

The best part is, each lesson makes me want to listen to the next, so by listening while I work out, I am getting consistency in both goals, now I just need to work on that discipline…thing…  :)

Ok, I am going to confess up front, part of the reason I started this blog was to vent and this post is strictly about my venting, so y’all can go back to your normal programming and I won’t be offended.  As the title suggests, I am going to vent about Facebook’s timeline.

I know some people love it, and that’s great.  I don’t.  As a matter of fact, the more I deal with it, the more I loathe it.  Ok, let’s see who’s still reading:  who said, “Hate, hate, hate, double hate, LOOOAATHE entirely…”  First one to guess right win’s an authentic Afghan rock.

Anyway, the new timeline feature that Facebook has now forced on every one has quickly gotten under my skin.  I don’t like the face that I am forced to make things public forever.  I don’t like the fact that my privacy settings were reset without my knowledge.  I don’t like the fact that apps can automatically post to my timeline unless I wade through four levels of privacy settings to opt out.  I don’t like that apps can automatically opt me in.  I don’t like that I cannot delete things from my timeline (note:  certain things can be “hidden” but they are still there).  I don’t like the fact that Facebook has automatically added
“events” to my timeline and prohibits me from deleting or hiding them.

Let me give those of you who are still reading (if there are any) a few examples:

I experimented with the cover photo option.  I had a few I was interested in putting up, tried them all out and decided which one I liked best.  Now, each of those photos that I put up are automatically visible to the public, forever.  I cannot change those settings, I cannot deleted those photos.  Had I known that in the beginning, I never would have added them.  The pictures are nothing embarrassing, but I really dislike being forced to share anything with people I don’t know.

There are certain things I don’t like being public and with timelime, Facebook has forced me to make things public in perpetuity.

Another thing that changed was the way apps interact with the timeline.  I had things set so that none of my app activity would post.  Timeline changed that.  Now, every time I use an app it shows up in “recent activity.”  I was able to fix this, but only by going to each app individual and re-resetting the options.  Honestly, who cares what word I played in scrabble?  Who cares if I got a new high score in some obscure facebook game that nobody has heard of?  That’s not stuff that needs to be shared and I resent the Facebook altered my privacy settings and made it so difficult to set back the way I wanted.

When arranging my time line the first time it showed up, I was shocked to find two things:  1) there were items I could not delete and 2) Facebook automatically put things on my timeline.  I’m sorry, but while I am proud of my three kids, nobody outside my friends and family need to know when they were born.  I don’t want that information out for the whole world to see.  Also who cares when I started or finished working for what company? [note:  I was able to fix this by deleting the information from my account, but I a still burned up that I cannot control who sees it or modify it on my timeline]

I understand that the whole purpose of timeline is for people to put their entire lives out there for whole world to see, but there is a tremendous difference between encouraging people to put things out there
and forcing them to do so.  Facebook is forcing people to do so, and that is why I hate the new timeline.

I know some of you may be wondering why I don’t just delete my account.  I may just do that.  I like being able to connect with old friends and keep in touch with new friends.  I had set my settings so that I could do that and only share with my friends.  The new timeline has changed that dynamic, so I may change my mind about staying.

//end rant

I held out as long as I could, but alas, I could hold out no longer.  The need to have one became greater than my desire to avoid one.  I actually told the 6 guy responsible for the phones that I was going to hold out as long as I could, so when went into his shop yesterday to ask about one, he just laughed.  ”Well, you said you were gonna hold out as long as you could, sir.”

And I did.

Not having one has become a pretty big inconvenience, though.  It was difficult to get things done, so I bit the bullet and got my new phone.  I learned how to program some numbers, but that’s about it.  Typing the names is more difficult than I remember.

I used to be really good at texting with the phone dial, but I guess having a smart phone has spoiled me.  It’s only a local phone, but it’s good enough to do what I need.  It hasn’t rung yet, hopefully things will stay that way for a little while.

Anyway, I know I have been promising a new faq.  I will get to it in the next few days, so if you have any questions on anything, let me know and I will include them.