Life in a Sauna

Its been a few weeks since my last post. Not much has changed besides the weather. For the last two weeks the winds have been coming from the south. The wind from the south brings wet air from the Persian Gulf. It is very uncomfortable. The humidity has been as high as 90% couple that with 120 degree temperatures and I am living in a sauna.

In fact, yesterday the humidity caused a buildup of water in my A/C; as a result my A/C shorted out and I had to attempt to sleep in the Sauna for 3 hours until the maintenance guy showed up, only by then I was in my buddy's room, sleeping on his spare bunk. When I went back to my room I found that I was locked out. I had to track the maintenance guy to open my door.

The winds are supposed to change tonight so hopefully life becomes a little kinder to us soon. There is another problem circulating though, "intestinal difficulties" is how I'll phrase it. It involves several visits to the bathroom shortly after every meal. It has spread like wildfire. I'm now on week two and hoping that my stomach will return to some semblance of normalcy soon.

I don't have all bad news though. I've been selected for a position in Qatar starting November 15th. This position should run until the end of the deployment. Things can always change so I'm not counting on it too much, but if I do go it means 2 beers a day and a pool! I don't know what I'll be doing there, but I'm hopeful that I'll at least get a day off to enjoy the amenities offered.

Here are a few pictures I took of my living arrangements here in Iraq. I was talking to Ana a few days ago and she informed me that she didn't know what my room looked like so here it is:

Settled Back In

Hey Everyone,

I'm back in Iraq. Relatively safe and sound. I had a great 2 weeks back home. It was way too short. I had too many people to see and things to do. It went better than I had imagined. I got a lot of rest and relaxed most days. I ate a lot of good food, had a few beers, and had lots of good company. The weather was kind of a drag though, but hey, 78 beats 118. I probably slept through a lot of the sunshine as most days I woke up around 1pm. The fun and no sun didn't last for long though.

As quick as my vacation started I am now back to groundhog day in Iraq. Same work, same heat, same food as before. Nothing more really to say. Now that I'm back feel free to email me or send me letters. Its always appreciated.

I'll start posting a little more, I've been slacking, sorry.

Jeremy