By Major John Rosnow
Sunday, May 11, 2003 2:52 PM
Happy Mothers Day to all that it applies too.
The hot weather is back again. 100+ It is almost midnight and it is still 85.
Well, here is the latest and greatest.
Have a great week everyone.
2 May 2003 - The days are starting to blur together. It must have been busy as I cannot even remember. The pace picked up again as I am here without anyone else to answer technical questions. We have a few people help to answer the phone, but they usually cannot provide the answer.
3 May 2003 - We got mail today J. I got a package that had cookie bars in it, a newspaper, and a card. I also got one from work. All kinds of neat things in there, including a bunch of stuff to share, such as the 74 pack of disposable razors. The management team sent me a cell phone with a note on it that said as long as I have such a cushy job over here, I can do the afternoon manager calls from over here. I got a book and some other goodies in another box. The last box had all kinds of things in it. Small shampoo, conditioner, and lotion from the Luxor and other hotels, playing cards, Chinese spices like soy sauce and hot mustard, cereal, peanut butter, and a few decks of playing cards. It was neat to get everything. I got a few postcards and cards too. Alex got a bunch of mail. He must have at least 25 boxes. Jay got some boxes from some women he does not even know. He figures it was his weekly status report that got sent around and someone just sent something.
4 May 2003 - Busy day again today. I did get to the post office to mail some cookies to my brother. I also sent a box home. I did not want to carry my old MOPP suit around with me the rest of the war. I sent a few other things home too that I no longer needed. I got an Iraqi flag too and sent that home, in case they decide some day we can not send it later. I got off work early, midnight. I did take a break about 2100 and sat out on the patio with Alex and Dan. It is so hot inside and there is really no breeze at night. It is really odd that I have not seen the moon since we have been here. I am up late enough I would think to at least see some of it. It is clear every night and I can see lots of stars.
5 May 2003 - It is hot again today. I think I have drunk 4 bottles of water (6 liters). There are a lot fewer dogs around now. I think they are getting rid of them, as they are wild and will spread disease. There are also a lot more people here now too. CW3 Young got her award tonight; the Bronze Star, and a coin from the CG. She certainly deserved it. She gave a great speech after receiving the award. It was not written, but from the heart. She was grateful for having the opportunity to server with BG Fletcher and the ACP. I was getting ready to wrap things up for the day, and then got a phone call and had several issues come up again. I was up working until about 0200 this morning. I did download my e-mail so I can read it on Tuesday.
6 May 2003 - Wow, it has been busy. I have not written in the log since May 1st. I am going to go back and see what I can add. This morning I got up at 0630 (we are on local time now). I attended the morning briefing, and then took CW3 Young and LTC Wicker over to the airport so they can catch a helicopter back to Kuwait. They are both leaving the unit, so they got to leave. They will catch a flight back to Germany in a few days after they out process in Kuwait. We heard machine gun fire this morning while in the meeting. Not sure what that was all about. I lay down for about 45 minutes later this morning, then got up and took a shower. It is hot here again today. You feel like you are in an oven outside. We have an AC unit, but it does not really blow cool air. Some of the guys are working on it now so it is off. I am drinking a lot of water, but it is still hot. We at least have a little breeze today.
7 May 2003 - Well I judged too soon on the moon. I actually seen it early this morning/late last night. It was just a sliver, but it was out. It was hot out again today, but did not feel as hot as we had a breeze from the West to Northwest. It was 102 though. I think I only drank 4.5 liters of water so far. I will have some more before I go to sleep. It is almost midnight here. I had another busy, but productive day. I had several issues to work this morning, and then worked the rest of the day to get answers. I still am waiting on a few e-mails to come in and I have a couple of more phone calls to make. No BUB in the morning though, so I am not going to set my alarm clock. That will be good for a change as I woke up tired this morning, even after 6 hours of sleep. I will keep trying the phone number while I check my e-mail. I got another box today from work. I have not opened it yet though. My roommate Dan was going to sleep, so I will wait until morning rather than taking it out in the hall and opening it. I am also running out of room to set things, and did not want to be finding a place to set things up tonight to keep the roaches out. I think I have a lot of sand flea bites. They itch a little, and look like gnat bites.
8 May 2003 - Well I went outside about 0100 and the moon was already set. No wonder I never notice it. I just got through to the contractors that I had been trying to reach all day. The person I was tracking this down for has been questioning this for over two weeks already. I feel pretty good that I was able to make contact with them today. (OK, really yesterday, but it was close to midnight and ran over). The day was busy as usual. I worked on things for the 4th ID and the 101st ABN DIV. I got a call from a friend at the 3rd ACR. He said they have running water and all the windows are in place where he is at. The people moved out of there like a day before the troops arrived so everything was still in pretty good shape. He said they even have water in the pool. I got done about 2245 last night and was going to check e-mail, but decided to go to sleep. On the way to the room, Alex and Dan stopped me and we went outside and sat around. It was nice and cool outside. I was still in bed by midnight. I woke up once to use the bathroom and once when I thought a roach was on me. I did not find it though. They sprayed yesterday, but we still seen some afterwards.
9 May 2003 - It is cool out this morning. I almost slept in but decided I better go to the meeting in case anyone needed anything. It was a pretty steady day for being busy. It was warmer out again today. They spayed for bugs in the building today. The cockroaches have been fewer and I do not think I have any new flea bites which is good as they were starting to itch. Glad I had some melaleuca oil to put on them. That helped. Things got crowded at night in the office by my desk so I went outside about 2000 and took a shower, then came back in and did some e-mail and some other work. I paid off my truck loan last night on the internet. I was up until about midnight trying to get in touch with someone on the phone. It was cooler out at night so it was a good nights sleep.
10 May 2003 - Well 20 years in the Army today. Time sure does fly. I slept in a bit this morning. I was up by 0830, but did not set an alarm clock. It was slower today. I got some laundry done. CPT Sachariason has CW3 Young's coffee pot so I have the coffee deal worked out with him now. I had some breakfast blend this morning. Good stuff. I got a box from a friend of my mom's. It had some cheese filled waffle snacks in there. I have never heard of those, but they sound pretty good. I got some other hygiene products and some candy too. It is 2150 now and I am going to check some e-mail, update the journal, and then try to get to sleep at a decent hour again. I am also trying to make an MWR call home to mom, as it is her birthday. No luck on the phone. It is almost 0100 so I should get some rest. I am sure the phones will be even busier tomorrow night. At least I got an e-mail off to her.
11 May 2003 - Hot one today. I got to sleep about 0230 and was up at 0700. It was already hot out when I got up. I went to the 0730 meeting and then did some downloading of files and checked e-mail. There was not a lot going on and I was tired so I lay down for about another hour or so. It felt good. We had something different for dinner tonight, chili over rice. We usually have chow mien or beef stew. I am just going to send out the weekly e-mail and get some rest. I tried to call my mom again tonight but the lines are busy. That does not surprise me.
