So what can I update you about? Well the journey out was remarkably painless which is not normally ever the case. Normally it is the most stressful part of the whole deployment, getting passed from pillar to post and screwed around for days. You would have thought that after gods knows how many years now they would have manage to make things run smooth, lol. Not the case.
I suppose everybody will be wondering about the weather, well..... Eh..... First day I got soaked to the skin, it was absolutely chucking it down. That was not what I was expecting. The temperature during the day is around 28, so just nice. At night it's around 20, perfect beer garden temperature! No beers for Dave though, have to wait till I get home for that.
So what else can I tell you, I have to be careful what I say sometimes as this blog is kind of public. Food is typical American stodge. It contains too much salt, sugar, fat or combination of all 3. French toast with caster sugar anyone??? The accommodation is pretty basic, I'm sharing a room with one of the guys that is about 12' x 12', no en suite though and my mattress is like a crazy golf course! The showers are basic but warm. Depending which toilets I find my self in they range from ok to pretty basic. Still at least I don't have to put toilet paper in the bin anymore!!!
How is the working environment? Well the temperature is still fairly cool so wearing all my body armour, helmet, gloves and survival gear is just about manageable. Give it a few weeks and the temperature will slowly creep up towards 35 degrees which means too hot. At least I will be acclimatising slowly when it does start to creep up so I should not notice too much of a difference.
I have just about completed my handover from the homeward bound guys, should be finished by tonight hopefully. That means they can chill out and start to get all their stuff together for going home. There has not been any change since I was last here, its mad how many old faces you bump into and how little things do change. Even although it was 8 months ago that I left here it honestly feels like I have never left at any point. My old routines have just came straight back, its scary, I actually feel like this is home sometimes and just fall straight into things. I suppose its like riding a bike, you never forget, lol.
Speaking of routines it's quite funny how people act when they are away. Some guys take up smoking, others stop. Some drink lots of tea; others are never out of the gym. I have known people to do a year of Open University in a oner and others overdo it on porn. I have a few little routines and "things"
1 I don't get my hair cut (its like cleansing when I cut it when I return home)
2 I refuse to wear civilian clothes until I get back to the UK (I know I'm home then)
3 I hit the gym nearly every day (gets rid of frustrations)
4 I spend as little time as I can with the guys (stops me getting annoyed)
5 I hardly eat anything (crap food and detox. Lose 1kg a week whilst away)
6 I go through the exact same routine every day when I get up. I shave, floss, brush teeth (10 mins this takes) I shower, half dry off, walk to room, fully dry off, boxer shorts on, foot powder on my feet, get dressed, drop washing off, head to work. I never change that order, I don't know why, it just HAS to be done in that order, lol.
7 I hardly speak to anyone (not like me, I suppose it stops me ranting)
Those are just some of my more prominent quirks, lol. I suppose its just one of the ways to cope with the boredom and stress.
As from tonight now that I'm pretty much settled I'm going to start the gym. I'm getting physio just now for my knees so I can't run (hurts and "causes inflammation") so I normally just jump on the spinning bikes with a book and my iPod and cycle away for an hour or so. It's actually quite relaxing and chilled; I like just having time to myself and being alone with my thoughts. I do a lot of thinking when I'm away about all sorts and this is when I think about them the most.
AAAARRRRGGHHHHH Bloody mozzies are trying to eat me alive!
Well I think that is me up to date with everything, I will try to update you regularly but there are not a lot of computers that allow me to access my blog. We get all sorts filtered and blocked as it's a "security threat!!!"
Anyway until next time………
Surfing the web just got more rewarding. Download the New Internet Explorer 8
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment