I wonder... If I came back to America and started working a typical job, would it feel the same?
How would a 40 hour work week feel? It seems like 40 hours should be a part-time job. Those 8 hour shifts would be nice. Oh! and TWO whole days off? I wouldn't know what to do with that much free time!
We are at a busy point and have been for a few weeks and will be busy for another month, at least. Busy means 10-16 hour days, 6 days a week and then working for a few hours on our day off, sometimes that few hours turns into another day of work. If I didn't have to do service calls, talk to people, shake their hands, I wouldn't mind the field work - climbing on T-walls (concrete walls around the trailers), running around doing physical work in the sun. It's good for me since I'm not playing sports at the moment.
We are excited for the time when the network becomes fully functional and the housing area issues are solved. The time when we don't have 10-30 people per day complaining their Internet isn't working. The time when we can sit back and study how we can improve the network, rather than spreading ourselves thin and bending over backwards to fix issues that we know will be resolved when we are done with upgrades.
While a lot of soldiers understand we are in the middle of a warzone and desert, and that speeds and stability will be nothing like in America, not all tolerate the network as it is currently. We are working on getting the Internet out to a new housing area, as well as redesign an existing area to improve service, and change a few things on the back-end and also the hardware that is used to get the signal around the base.
Many, many soldiers don't care what we are trying to do, they have this mentality that it should be working and if it's not, we should be able to snap our fingers and fix it same day. Reminds me of America. Even some people who use the free Internet we provide in one spot complain that it's too slow or not stable. The free network.
Don't get me wrong, there are lots of really cool soldiers out here. Real nice guys and gals.
On another topic, I finally bought a watch so I can keep track of time now! Bought an alarm clock too, but haven't hooked it up yet.
My trimmer battery is pretty much dead and won't really charge, so my goatee has been growing a bit. Bought a trimmer today to resolve that. :)
Maybe I'll upload some pics someday. I'd like to get out and sneak some pics around the base. Just the thought of taking my camera out in the dust and heat all day makes me change my mind. I need to set some time aside to drive around, take pics, then go back to camp and return my camera to safety.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wrinkle Fingers
All week I had been looking forward to Sunday (usually do, expecting that it will be a day off), planning on actually waking up early enough to get to church. But before the day rolled around, ended up having to make a service call around church time, unfortunately. Next week I'll make it though.
After lunch though, the Egyptian crew and I went to the outdoor swimming pool. I delayed our leaving slightly so it would be 1430 (2:30pm) when we got there. Not a fan of the midday sun on my chalk white skin and don't trust sunblock to protect me.
It was my first time swimming that I can remember in the last 6-8 years or so. Ever since I get foot cramps while swimming, I've rarely gone. I love swimming though. Still remember how to do it too. ;)
While we were just treading water and talking, I remembered being able to hold my breath for a long time under water when I was younger. I guessed maybe 45 seconds or more back then. I was curious to see what I could do now. Let's just say I am quite out of shape for holding my breath under water. First time, 5-8 seconds would be accurate. I improved, but was pretty disappointed.
I had a blast though. We swam for about 3 hours. Wrinkled my fingers. Dove off the lowest diving board twice (about 2 meters above the water?) and the 2nd tier diving board once (4-5 meters high?) and messed up on my angle and ended going straight in instead of slightly angled and my legs flipped back behind me and tweaked my lower back a little bit. I stopped diving after that to avoid serious injury. Good stuff. Shoulders were sore for a day, too. I think I'm starting to tan...not sure though. And I didn't get sunburned!
In other news, the Firestation crew invited us to a BBQ they were having last night, but we all forgot about it and missed it. They are some nice guys. Bummer that we missed it.
After lunch though, the Egyptian crew and I went to the outdoor swimming pool. I delayed our leaving slightly so it would be 1430 (2:30pm) when we got there. Not a fan of the midday sun on my chalk white skin and don't trust sunblock to protect me.
It was my first time swimming that I can remember in the last 6-8 years or so. Ever since I get foot cramps while swimming, I've rarely gone. I love swimming though. Still remember how to do it too. ;)
While we were just treading water and talking, I remembered being able to hold my breath for a long time under water when I was younger. I guessed maybe 45 seconds or more back then. I was curious to see what I could do now. Let's just say I am quite out of shape for holding my breath under water. First time, 5-8 seconds would be accurate. I improved, but was pretty disappointed.
I had a blast though. We swam for about 3 hours. Wrinkled my fingers. Dove off the lowest diving board twice (about 2 meters above the water?) and the 2nd tier diving board once (4-5 meters high?) and messed up on my angle and ended going straight in instead of slightly angled and my legs flipped back behind me and tweaked my lower back a little bit. I stopped diving after that to avoid serious injury. Good stuff. Shoulders were sore for a day, too. I think I'm starting to tan...not sure though. And I didn't get sunburned!
In other news, the Firestation crew invited us to a BBQ they were having last night, but we all forgot about it and missed it. They are some nice guys. Bummer that we missed it.
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Boring Title to a Somewhat Boring Post
I couldn't decide what to title this post, so notch that one off the list of choices.
Thursday (5/7), myself and Youseph drove to one of the housing areas (H6) for some scheduled service calls for some soldiers. Only this time, we were held up at the gate because I still don't have a CAC card and they didn't think an LOA & passport was good enough to allow me into the housing area. In fact, one soldier couldn't believe they let me on base without a CAC.
To keep the story short and somewhat interesting, we waited over 30min till they decided to take us to the badging office for a solution. The officer there explained to them that my LOA & passport was good enough till I get my badge, which they asked me to stay there and wait to see if it was possible to get it then. We waited there 1 hour before I realized it was going to take at least another 1.5 hours and we were already 1 hour late for service call appointments.
By the time we got into the housing area, the tenants had left their rooms. They weren't happy for a good reason.
----
The next day, Friday, was a long day compared to the norm. Worked 12.5 hours. Wasn't too bad though.
----
Saturday, we returned to H6 for a project to redesign the layout for a couple of housing pods. The project took longer than expected and had to play catch up to finish a 16 hour workday. :)
---
Skip to Tuesday. Buffalo wings are so good, but my body can't handle them 3 meals in a row (not counting breakfast, of course!). I didn't feel so well from them and slept till noon, then walked to work at 2:30 - a 15minute walk in the sun. It wasn't bad until the last minute of the walk, when I started sweating a bit. Thank God for the breeze.
On the positive side, Guitar Hero has been fun!! :)
Parts of the job are fun, and it will be more fun when I learn how to take care of the difficult things and understand the network better.
I know it's Friday now, but there isn't much to tell about the last few days except that Mexican food night did a number on a few of us. I wasn't thinking very straight as I walked down the food line. If it looked good, I had them serve some on my plate. For those of you who know how much I ate per meal the last few years, it wouldn't surprise you to see my plate. Granted I didn't finish it all, but I felt quite full even around lunch time the next day. (today)
Alrighty! Boring post finished. Maybe someday I'll have time to write something more interesting. Until then...
Thursday (5/7), myself and Youseph drove to one of the housing areas (H6) for some scheduled service calls for some soldiers. Only this time, we were held up at the gate because I still don't have a CAC card and they didn't think an LOA & passport was good enough to allow me into the housing area. In fact, one soldier couldn't believe they let me on base without a CAC.
To keep the story short and somewhat interesting, we waited over 30min till they decided to take us to the badging office for a solution. The officer there explained to them that my LOA & passport was good enough till I get my badge, which they asked me to stay there and wait to see if it was possible to get it then. We waited there 1 hour before I realized it was going to take at least another 1.5 hours and we were already 1 hour late for service call appointments.
By the time we got into the housing area, the tenants had left their rooms. They weren't happy for a good reason.
----
The next day, Friday, was a long day compared to the norm. Worked 12.5 hours. Wasn't too bad though.
----
Saturday, we returned to H6 for a project to redesign the layout for a couple of housing pods. The project took longer than expected and had to play catch up to finish a 16 hour workday. :)
---
Skip to Tuesday. Buffalo wings are so good, but my body can't handle them 3 meals in a row (not counting breakfast, of course!). I didn't feel so well from them and slept till noon, then walked to work at 2:30 - a 15minute walk in the sun. It wasn't bad until the last minute of the walk, when I started sweating a bit. Thank God for the breeze.
On the positive side, Guitar Hero has been fun!! :)
Parts of the job are fun, and it will be more fun when I learn how to take care of the difficult things and understand the network better.
I know it's Friday now, but there isn't much to tell about the last few days except that Mexican food night did a number on a few of us. I wasn't thinking very straight as I walked down the food line. If it looked good, I had them serve some on my plate. For those of you who know how much I ate per meal the last few years, it wouldn't surprise you to see my plate. Granted I didn't finish it all, but I felt quite full even around lunch time the next day. (today)
Alrighty! Boring post finished. Maybe someday I'll have time to write something more interesting. Until then...
Monday, May 4, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Dusty Days
Busy. I have been busy.
Between 9-15 hour work days this past week (6 days) and 5 hours today (Sunday), I haven't had much time to get around to taking pictures on the base or updating this blog.
Work is a lot to learn still, but I've been in the field a lot this week with Habib. We've been making service calls to customers and troubleshooting hardware at the sites. This is the main reason why we've been working such long days lately. It takes time to troubleshoot issues and to go from unit to unit or across base.
Many of the soldiers who pay for our Internet service say it's definitely worth the money to be able to talk and see loved ones at home. It's $60/month, which may seem like a lot compared to the USA costs. But there are no fiber optic lines here, and satellite bandwidth costs a LOT. It is worth it for the soldiers, but we still get some who complain that the Internet isn't fast enough for the price and that the signal should go through 1.5 ft thick concrete walls and trailer walls and be perfectly fine. Not gonna happen.
As for other updates, Thursday I setup Guitar Hero and can now play that. I'm happy about that. :)
Saturday night there was a weird and kinda loud noise somewhere on the base. Michelle said it was the sound of the anti-mortar defense system shooting mortars before they landed on base. Yes, someone shot some mortars at us, but the defense system successfully intercepted them.
As for pictures, I haven't been able to take any because it's been sooooooo dusty outside.
1. I don't want to get my camera all dusty.
2. The light is dim and the pictures won't look as good.
3. Been busy, as I said before.
I'm going to upload the Lebanon pictures in a couple hours, but for now, I'm going to watch a movie with Peter and Michelle.
Between 9-15 hour work days this past week (6 days) and 5 hours today (Sunday), I haven't had much time to get around to taking pictures on the base or updating this blog.
Work is a lot to learn still, but I've been in the field a lot this week with Habib. We've been making service calls to customers and troubleshooting hardware at the sites. This is the main reason why we've been working such long days lately. It takes time to troubleshoot issues and to go from unit to unit or across base.
Many of the soldiers who pay for our Internet service say it's definitely worth the money to be able to talk and see loved ones at home. It's $60/month, which may seem like a lot compared to the USA costs. But there are no fiber optic lines here, and satellite bandwidth costs a LOT. It is worth it for the soldiers, but we still get some who complain that the Internet isn't fast enough for the price and that the signal should go through 1.5 ft thick concrete walls and trailer walls and be perfectly fine. Not gonna happen.
As for other updates, Thursday I setup Guitar Hero and can now play that. I'm happy about that. :)
Saturday night there was a weird and kinda loud noise somewhere on the base. Michelle said it was the sound of the anti-mortar defense system shooting mortars before they landed on base. Yes, someone shot some mortars at us, but the defense system successfully intercepted them.
As for pictures, I haven't been able to take any because it's been sooooooo dusty outside.
1. I don't want to get my camera all dusty.
2. The light is dim and the pictures won't look as good.
3. Been busy, as I said before.
I'm going to upload the Lebanon pictures in a couple hours, but for now, I'm going to watch a movie with Peter and Michelle.
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