Labels: Egypt Cairo

# posted by matthew : 2/12/2011 05:54:00 PM  0 Comments

A smaller plan took me 90 minutes - and perhaps back 100 - or more - years - into Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan. A world capital with maybe 3 paved roads and the lowest life expectancy and literacy rate of any national capital (checking that for accuracy)

# posted by matthew : 3/29/2009 11:29:00 PM  0 Comments

Labels: Hash Morocco

# posted by matthew : 7/17/2007 01:45:00 PM  0 Comments

1774 steps up that needle on the left ....

# posted by matthew : 4/02/2007 12:15:00 PM  2 Comments

OK, it's not American Idol. But I enter speech contests, and in the case this year, speech evaluation contests. And - BRAGGING ALERT! BRAGGING ALERT! I have met with some success.

In 2005, I managed to win the Club, Area and Division International Speech contests which covered sort of northeast Florida. Unfortunately I was off volunteering in Rwanda and had to let the runner-up take my place at the "District" contest which covered Florida plus Bahamas. But got a nice haul of 5 trophies on the way (I was also in the impromptu "Table Topics" contests).

This year, I represented my Toronto club and won the Area and Division contests and in 2 weeks compete for the Ontario 'District' championship in the Speech Evaluation contest.

Those of you who know me may be thinking: well no suprise there, that cranky clod can criticize anyone!

Anyway, there is a tiny bit more to it than that and I do try to be nice. The speakers we evaluate in the contests are very good speakers so even though evaluations are 75-90% positive feedback, it can be a challenge to find much to suggest for improvement.

If you have never attended one of these contests before ... you most likely won't attend this one :-) but here's where I'll be competing April 15th: http://triontex.com/SpringConference2007/.

What do you say, "break a leg" isn't really appropriate ... "Split a lip?"

This year's trophies:

Labels: Toastmasters

# posted by matthew : 3/28/2007 10:17:00 PM  0 Comments

Getting back from Mongolia took a few more hours than the planned 24. I flew Mongolian's MIAT airline from UlaanBator to Beijing and United to O'Hare 5 hours later. I cleared customs and had 75 minutes to connect to my flight to Orlando; the people in line to check in for domestic flights filled the hall.

I was trying to hop onto an AirCanada flight to Toronto, but the agent was - I regret to say "the usual AirCanada type" - and uninspired to be much help offering only - "I doubt there are any seats left" - How's that for specific, timely, useful information?!

So I jumped the United line, while listening to the announcement: "We recommend you go home if you can, all flights after 7:00 pm are cancelled". Aha! My flight to Orlando was scheduled for 5:45 pm - still hope! I already had a boarding pass, and bags tagged to Orlando, so just dumped my bags onto the conveyor belt and headed to the gate.

The crew was there, the coming ice storm had not yet arrived, the plane was there and ... no gate agent to let anyone in!

The agent arrived and the crew boarded at 5:15 and we waited, seeing a delay until 6:00 posted, then we boarded ... and waited

A series of fortunate and unfortunate events then transpired including:

• Bad: ice pellets started to fall, we were informed we could not fly
• Good: crew said we could dash off for 10 minutes to buy food - I seized the chance - along with about 5 other people - and got a sub and muffin for later - turned out to be a good decision
• Bad: the pilot reported that he wasn't getting a lot of information
• Good: ice turned back into snow
• Bad: a passenger needed to deplane for an emergency which cost us our spot in line to de-ice
• Good: Crew started a film for us to watch
• ??: Crew handed out granola bars (bars not great but were food so not bad)
• Bad: the de-iced plan behind us just sat there for 45 minutes blocking us while our de-icers waited for us
• Good: Crew started a second film ("The Prestige") for us to watch

All in all United Airlines crew did a great job of keeping us informed and kept a courteous and cheerful attitude through our 6 hour runway sit, though they seemed to be getting sparse and innacurate info all through the evening.

check back and I'll post the link to a short video of the de-icing in case you have never seen that ...

# posted by matthew : 2/26/2007 05:58:00 AM  1 Comments

I did a getaway weekend in Beijing in what is probably the BEST weekend of the year to visit one of the world's biggest cities. I met up with friends from Mongolia also visiting China and we hiked for 3.5 hours on the Great Wall neat Simatei and saw about 16 people all day. Beijing traffic, known for 5 hour traffic jams flowed smooth all weekend as so many people headed to the countryside to celebrate as families.

Being 1 in a ... billion. Just to make sure my Great Wall experience was unique - I did one pushup in each of the 32 towers on our walk. Yes, I know there is something wrong with me.

I managed to visit the Forbidden City, Tia'nenmen Square and watch the fireworks all over Beijing 2 nights. I heard the fireworks in Hong Kong are wilder and featured the first ever in the world Chinese character produced by fireworks, but Beijing is pretty special. EVERY person sets off fireworks. We had about $200 worth at our part. It sounded like a war zone... Watch some fireworks here!

And the highlight of the trip was 2 days with the Beijing Hash House Harriers, we had a great run and party at the Hash 5:19 bar, food and beer all night for about $10. Then the usual suspects met up again the next night and we ate sashimi and sushi and beer at all you can eat/drink Japanese place for another $10. Great Hashers and people in Beijing and China!

It's so unfair that in many cultures pigs symbolize all things uncultured.
In English we have idioms such as to pig out (to overeat), to be pigheaded (stubborn), to be piggish (greedy or slovenly), to hog (take more than one's share) -- all reflections of our bias. In truth, pigs are the most intelligent animals after primates. See more HERE

pignus (PIG-nuhs) noun, plural pignora

  1. A pledge.
  2. Something held as security for a debt.

[From Latin pignus (pledge).]

# posted by matthew : 2/20/2007 04:03:00 AM  1 Comments

There are basically 2 types of cars in Ulaan Baator: nice, big 4-wheel drive hulks and ... unofficial taxis. Ok, there 3 types, because there are real taxis too.

Driving is on the right hand side here in Mongolia - like the States - but plenty of cars are left hand drive. And my commute between hotel and work has become one of riding in many types of cars. Like many locals, when I want to go somewhere, I don't bother phoning for a cab, I just stand on the road side with my arm extended down at about 45 degrees and wait for a car to pull over. They often reset their odometer to measure the ride. I only take them around the city so I know there can't be a fare over 1500 Mongolian Tugriks ($US 1.30), and I try to overpay just a bit and leave a little extra money in Mongolia.

Usually it is a man driving around by himself looking for fares and they rarely pick up someone extra once they have a fare, but yesterday I got in a car with another passenger and today, coming 'home' from work, a young woman 'picked me up'.

I've driven in a lot of places and anyone who has been in Egypt knows about wacko driving, but here is the most aggressive driving towards pedestrians I've ever seen, and last week was the absolute worst taxi ride I ever had in my life - 6 minutes of jerking and screeching in the normally straight road to my hotel. Not a great story but that was the last time I got into a real taxi.

Some others on the bottom of the food chain are the maids in the hotel, so they are very appreciative of their 90 cents tip/day and my room never wants for any supplies.

# posted by matthew : 2/15/2007 07:46:00 AM  0 Comments

Actually it was 6 men, 2 women, a baby and a teenager: 10 in all in the jeep we drove from Mongolia's largest city, 50 kilomteres into the countryside for the weekend. I had taken the sleeper train Friday night from Mongolia's capital UlaanBaator to the 3rd largest city Erdenet. Video of the dining car

The 4 person compartment with a mini-TV

And they collect water from the bit of a river about a mile away which is no completely frozen these days video of collecting ice from frozen stream

Most of the family

and me on a hike in the mountains, wearing my borrowed herder coat - WARM!

Labels: Mongolia

# posted by matthew : 2/14/2007 08:50:00 AM  0 Comments

1. It's warmer here than there - maybe. Stuff is melting! So the "World's Coldest National Capital" is NOT, at least for today

2. Just when you thought the bureaucracy would be horrid: I arrived at the Chinese Embassy 1 minute before the Visa section closed, seeing the hours for the first time (not listed on the website) and figuring I would have to come back in 2 days, and allowing for my total lack of how to say anything in Chinese, I thought this trip would be a waste. The smiling clerk took my application, smiled and said, 30 seconds later, "It'll be ready next Wednesday!"

3. The play I was directing has been canceled. One highly motivated person can wreck something, unfortunately. I stayed positive and offered to do whatever was necessary, but 2 of the cast gave up and decided to quit. Apparently there have been 3 attempts to do shows in UB in the past 3 years and - including this one - all 3 have been canceled! And there is one person involved in all 3 - Ugggh! If only I had known when I started and cast the thing! If you are interested in the soap behind the play-that-wasn't email me and I'll send you some of the emails that went back and forth - I find them hilarious :-)!

By popular request - here's more photo's: SMOG - the morning view from my hotel room - Chinggis Khan hotel room 815: Coal burning in the ger's (tents) makes the air truly ghastly - that's NOT through the window - I stuck my camera outside to take the pic

# posted by matthew : 2/06/2007 11:59:00 PM  0 Comments

News story here

TOP 10 SIGNS YOUR ASTRONAUT MIGHT NEED A CHANGE OF "STATUS":
 

10. Non-stop singing to herself, "And I would drive 900 miles, and I would ...."

9. No pantie lines but diaper pins showing through dress

8. Overheard at lunch, "please pass the salt and pepper spray"

7. Nonstop accusing other astronaut of "trying to abort my re-entry"

6. Wearing wig and trench coat around office claiming overexposure to solar radiation

5. Starts trimming nails with 4-inch folding knife

4. "Yes, I have 3 kids, I need all the diaper sizes you got"

3. Oh, "a mission to Outer Space", I thought you said, "a mission to bust her face" ....

2. Fills in emergency contact form: relationship: "... more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship"

1. One small step for [MY] man, one giant leap into a life sentence

online at: http://raslife2.blogspot.com

and pardon the graphic nature, but that was also one small stepout in diapers and a whole shitload of trouble for one astronaut!

Would you roll down your car window for THIS WOMAN (photo) ?

# posted by matthew : 2/06/2007 02:45:00 AM  2 Comments

Read about the making of airag here

I am not completely clear about the Ankle bone thing, but the Mongol Post reported that: "The Mongolia AnkleBone shooting Federation in Thailand(!) has demonstrated its sport to promote the national sport. Ankle bone shooting is a game played by two opponents in two teams and involves flicking small bullets (!) at ankle-bones arranged in a row." I'll keep you posted ...

Another ankle thingy: It seems the custom here is that if you accidentally kick someone's shoe or foot, you must shake their hand. I got kicked yesterday in a meeting - no harm no foul - but I did get a handshake.

# posted by matthew : 1/25/2007 10:07:00 AM  0 Comments

It also honors the first Mongolian to climb Everest, be a cosmonaut and explore Antacrtica - making Mongolia the 37th country to have someone go there - bet you didn;t know that ;-)

I also roamed the downtown area around "SukhBaatar" square where the main government buildings are, along with communist statues and leftover Soviet style boxy buildings.

There are tons of Korean restaurants here providing relief from Mongolia food, which is pretty much mutton: fried, grilled, and in soup. And fatty and kind of miserable

• 3 menu items I did not select: "Camel's foot with garlic": Ok, get the camel toe jokes over with
• Shrimp meat with kidney nuts - no comment
• and from the Vegetarian section: Tofu with meat

# posted by matthew : 1/22/2007 05:00:00 AM  0 Comments

I will try to get more details on this, but there is a local explanation that Mongolia has nine sets of '9 days', and we are the 4th one, the coldest one.

The first 9 days, it's cold enough to freeze milk, the second nine days cold enough to freeze oxtail, etc. this one is cold enough to freeze anything!

I registered with immigration since I am staying longer than 30 days, it cost $1.10 to do that and 5 minutes of my life, so I'm good to go until Feb 24th now. I'm not sure if any more 9-day periods hit while I'm here.... but when I went outside to go to immigration, it had "warmed up" again +5F(-15C)!

# posted by matthew : 1/19/2007 03:12:00 AM  0 Comments

Mongolia is called the Land of Blue Heaven. Will find out why and let you know. I've been at work 2 days, in the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour, and have found the people to be very nice, friendly and warm. Nothing else about the place is warm - but it is sunny!

My hotel - the Chinggis Khan Hotel - is excellent with a pool, gym, adequate breakfast with egg chef and attached grocery store and little "mall" (very little) that is the biggest in UB (The capital city Ulaan Baatar).

There are exactly 2 Mongolian Buffet restaurants in UB, and the food is supposed to be good. Apart from eating once to experience real Mongolian food, I'll stick to Korean, Hungarian, and even a Ukrainian restaurant I've spotted. Mongolia food is .... mutton - fatty and salty and pretty much Blech!

# posted by matthew : 1/17/2007 11:48:00 AM  0 Comments

On my way to Mongolia for 6 weeks on a project for the Asian Development Bank to help the mongolian Governement establish a plan to modernize the Information Systems for the Social Security and Labour Ministry.

Today I had a 5 hour and 11 hour flight. The plane needed to be de-iced in Vancouver (so did the one leaving Torono) but I'm leaving the warm weather behind. The high in Mongolia will be -15C or so (4 F or so) in January, and the lows will be below -30.

Getting through Seoul airport was easy. Gentle, friendly place. A guy from the hotel showed up when I got Info desk to call, they had 3 other people in the van. We had a high speed drive in the dark along long roads with pretty much nothing in sight for about 15 mitnutes, then popped up at the hotel. Korean food in Korea! Kimchee and noodle/miso soup.

My hotel room has a PC in it, but I connected the Internet cord to my Laptop. It has a nice hot/cold water dispenser and my own vending machine!. CNN is the only English language channel and I also found the past Winter Olympics playing showing the Korean beat Canada and USA in the 5000 meter skating relay.

Breakfast then a 4 hour flight to the capital of Mongolia - Ulaan Baatar - tomorrow.

Labels: 2007, Mongolia

# posted by matthew : 1/14/2007 08:11:00 AM  0 Comments

Melanie and I traveled to Chiang Mai for the Wolrd InterHash event, where I MC'd the stage entertainment and we ran and partied with old and new friends. 5800 Hashers invaded Thailand for the event and the wolrd largest ever Red Dress Hash was held on the Thursday. That's right, over 2400 wackos in Red Dresses (technically Iwas in a cape) wandered through Chiang Mai.

The Hash was great but we had some great travel ahead. My usual cast iron stomach failed and on a flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap Cambodia I sprinted to the lavatory and just made it - unfortunately I didn't get the toilet seta up and projectile vomited into the mirror. I'll spare you further details but it took me cups and about 5 inches of paper towels to clean up the little room while the tiny Thai stewardesses just went about serving drinks to all the passengers NOT throwing up.

I ended up with a fever and stayed in bed the rest of the day, our first in Cambodia. I rallied the next day - and Melanie fell ill the next afternoon. So we managed to see the amazing Angkor Wat temples together and apart for 3 days.

Before we headed to Viet Nam we visited the volunteer run landmine museum and landmine clearing project (http://cambodialandminemuseum.org/)

Labels: Asia, InterHash

# posted by matthew : 11/15/2006 12:02:00 PM  0 Comments

OK, not of my best moments as a human being but pretty fun :-)

A Beer Mile ( http://beermile.com) involves, as one can sure guess, running a mile and drinking beer, things I have done most of my life - since I was 14. Well, not the beer part, I stepped onto the track and did my first 5 minute mile when I was 14

The days of sub 5-minute miles are gone for me, and the days of drinking like a college student are, well, at least less frequent. The Beer Mile, DC Hash style makes some variations from the 'Official" BeerMile © rules:

• 6 beers instead of the usual 4
• Drink your 72 ounces of beer any time from the gun to finish (official beer mile rules are: drink a beer, run a lap -repeat 3 more times). Which made me think there needs to be the Beer 10K/marathon ©, using the beer/lap rules: 25 laps=10K, and a case of beer - you get the first lap free with no beer.
• Yes, I realize that is a very bad idea and it would likely kill most of the participants - it was joke!!!
• Drink from any vessel you like. In an official BeerMile © one must drink from the original bottle or can and no 'wide-mouth' bottles are allowed.
• There is no gun; although one might have been advised in the neighborhood we were in. The "track" was basically a macadam road inside a fence with a soccer field in the middle. Just like roads in some bad DC neighborhoods, this one was littered with water and soft drink bottles on the edge and little bits of broken glass in spots, cracks, pothoes, etc.

So, you see, it is not so much about the running, and (readers with good taste or sensitivities are advised to stop reading at this point)...

There is an award for 'best vomit', which seems like a sane idea to get as much of the 72 ounces of hastily consumed (usually cheap) beer out as quickly as possible!

Oh, I finished in 8:08, 2nd place out of about 30 whackos who showed up early Friday evening to participate in front at least that many fans and supporters sitting in stands leisurely drinking beers from their own coolers.

In 20 months, I plan to set the world age group record for the offical BeerMile ©!

# posted by matthew : 8/05/2006 08:22:00 AM  0 Comments

I forgot to mention that we went to the Olympic ski jump in Oslo which was used or the Stockholm Games. There, I rode the simulator which did the ski jump and the Lillihammer downhill ski run.

The Olympic city theme continued as we visited Innsbruck and Munich, though we didn't get to Munich Olympic Stadium, which was being used for the World Cup.

One place we did visit in Munich was the Dachau 'work camp' site of the famous metal sign 'Work Will Set You Free'. It is a moving experience to visit the place, now the site of reconstructed sample barracks, several relgious memorials and a museum. The original baracks are all gone, they have marked them and left the gravel lot empty where 32 baracks, each 10 by 100 meters stood.

Each baracks was originally designed for 208 men, some held as many as 1900 when the allies liberated the camp. they had gas chambers but none at Dachau were used. over 200,000 people passed through and 30,000 were experiemented n, executed or died miserable deaths from diseases like typhus.

# posted by matthew : 6/04/2006 12:14:00 PM  0 Comments

• Just becasue it is light in Stockholm, it doesn't mean it is time to get up--- unless you like getting up at 3:25 a.m.
• If you build the most expensive ship in history and it sinks after 20 minutes, that doesn't have to end up a bad thing. See the Swedish 'Vasa' museum for a great tourism project. www.vasamuseet.se

# posted by matthew : 6/04/2006 12:14:00 PM  0 Comments

Stockholm is a great city. Most amazing stuff includes the Vasamuseet, the museum of the resurrected 1628 ship which sunk after 20 minutes. Found in 1956, surfaced in 1961 and in the museum after 17 years spaying with polymer coating in 1988, it is a fascinating story and amazing 'BIG BOAT'.

Nearby in the Skanka area with an outdoor park, museum and zoo and where I bought a hunk of dried reindeer meet which is great snack food.

# posted by matthew : 6/04/2006 12:10:00 PM  0 Comments

Flåm (pronounced like Tom) is a one horse tourist stop at the end of the spectacular 55 minute descent train from Myrdal, on the way from Oslo to Bergen. We missed the last boat to Aurland and the 6:30 bus showed up at 7:25 and we headed to the relatively big town of Aurland.

There appeared to be one other hotel guest in Aurland - none at our hotel though and we made dinner and breakfast in a huge kitchedn with spectacular fjord views. Waterfalls every few hundred yards poured like milk from atop and out of th e middle like sigots in the mountainside.

Highlight? a crazy woman talkig to a lamp post for 10 minutes.

# posted by matthew : 6/04/2006 06:22:00 AM  0 Comments

Actually on the 2nd day of the trip we did 5 modes of public transport: cruise shipp, ferry, bus, Tram and underground train (t-bane).

In sevral towns we seem to find 'the last hotel room available'. Although we are ahead of the start of tourist season we have bumped into a classifcal music conference in Oslo, the 2 week conference season in Copenhagen and the Stockholm Marathon and 'Taste Stockholm'.

We walked the final couple km of the marathon and sat in Olympic stadium to watch the finishers pour in for about an hour.

After the awesome train, racthet wheel train, fjord ferry, and mountain bus ride between Oslo and Bergen, we bolted early from Bergen to the sun of Sweden. Bergen boast 60 days of sunshine per year and it didn't look like there were going to be any this week

# posted by matthew : 6/04/2006 06:15:00 AM  0 Comments

No, I did not get married.

When I booked 2 persons for the Copenhagen to Oslo overnight cruise, I apparently clicked on the 'Mrs.' salutation for myself and Mr. for Andy so they put us into separate cabins. Each of the low price cabins we got (cheaper with our 25 % eurail discount) has 4 people in them. However, no one else in either of poru cabins, so we have 8 beds between us.

Copenhagen is a fairly expensive town and doesn't really have that much to offer, at least pre-summer. The buskers were few but people watching was was better Tuesday with more sunshine. We found a great vegetarian mediterranean buffet for $35 with a bottle of wine and 2 meals which was about $20 less than a cafe lunch cost.

The hotels were virtually all full, we got the last room in Hotel Windsor in a great location, which we stumbled into after asking at a women's boutique for directions to another hotel. The hotel reception was 4 flights up; $90 for a double rom with a sink. Toilet and shower down the hall. And a big black labrador outside the door in the morning.

I managed to forget my fleece and bought one for $1.60 out of a cardboard box on the street in Copenhagen.

We arrive in Oslo tomorrow morning and plan to take 'the best train ride in Europe' to Bergen the next day - 7 hours, 300 tunnels and 200 bridges with a steep descent to the fjords...

When I find a net cafe which lets me USB connect I'll post photos of all this...

# posted by matthew : 5/30/2006 02:53:00 PM  0 Comments

OK, I am not going anywhere cool - for at least 8 days, when I go to Europe for 17 days with my college roommate (ex).

So why write? It occurred to me that with all the fuss and furor over 'Identity Theft', there has been little attention paid to the growing crime and nefarious act of 'Personality Theft'

Yes, that's right, there is another risk out there in the scary world; someone could actually - using new technology - steal your personality!

What is truly scary about this crime is that you do not even have to be a credit card user - although early reports seem to indicate people without credit cards are distinctly lacking in personality. That is not to say that EVERY credit card user HAS a personality. In fact it is almost the opposite, and credit cards users may be able to breathe a little easier knowing that most of the early victims of this horrific crime have not been active credit card users (and they also did not have yappy little dogs).

What are the symptoms of Personality Theft?
Initial reports link these activities to post Identify Theft complications ...

• Excessive watching of 'COPS' along with many other TV shows too numerous to list
• Use of cell phones in public places, on public transport (even when there is actually someone on the other end of the line - people who have conversations with people who are not reallythere have EXTRA/Multiple personalities and shold actually seek out to have at least one of them stolen)
• more than 4 hours / day spent at no less than 2 Starbucks locations - especially if the person doesn't like coffee

What can one do if they suspect their personality has been stolen?
First of all, don't panic. There are several web based firms who will help you rebuild your personality. For a fee they will analyze your credit record, buying patterns, cell phone usage, etc. and reconstruct a profile which you can follow and simulate your previus personality.
Other firms will actually come into your home, examine your wardrobe, personal hygeine and habits and for a fee - based on how disgusting the above turned out to be - tell you whether or not you are better off without your old personality.

What can one do to protect themself from Personality Theft?

To be continued... If you want more, leave a comment and I'll expound on this further....

I apologize for this post, I do not know what came over me, but I just had to write it.

# posted by matthew : 5/19/2006 07:27:00 AM  0 Comments

On the way into work (I am now working at home from about 5 a.m. - so I can communicate with Baghdad before they leave work for the day +8 hours from EDT) I noticed a one-day conference for COGNOS software in the Ronald Reagan Bldg. So I registered and dropped in.

I only atended the main afternoon session which featured Ted Koppel as Keynote speaker. He is - as you might imagine - shorter than he looks on TV, and a fantastic speaker. The first 15 minutes included stories about people spotting him and talking to him as a celebrity, Henry Kissinger leaving his fly down on an Air Force One flight, and his dog's digestive problems and the solution involving frozen vegetables.

Ted also had some great views to share on changes in journalism and politics. When he started out - he was one of the network's 30 or so overseas correspondents. He said ABC now has 5 - none in China, none in India, ...

But the highlight of the day, no doubt, at least for Ted, was getting his picture taken with me. When I get it in the mail, I'll post it

# posted by matthew : 5/11/2006 07:48:00 AM  0 Comments

16:55 Yesterday, we booked a van to take 5 of us to the HeloPad 5 minutes drive from USAID and across from the PX, next to the Palace/Embassy. "Showtime" is one hour before scheduled flight time and we were fairly confident that we would get to go and not get bumped because a Marine Colonel who works at USAID was 1 of our 5 and booked the Helo.

17:00 we arrived at "Landing Zone Washington" and all put on our helmets and flack jackets and rolled our luggage up to the barriers and 2 helochoppers landed (they kick up a lot of air). Col. Brazee checked in and they told him, those were our birds, so let's go.

15:20: We landed at a different spot at the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) and were driven to 'Camp Sulley', a new facility with bedroom-only 1 and 2-bed trailers, a TV lounge, men's and womens' lavatories and showers, and a 'Coming soon' Internet cafe. We got a ride to the DFAC to eat, the PX to kill time and back to Camp Sulley.

21:13 Tired, I lay down to read

21:15 Fell asleep (all lights on)

Wednesday

03:15 Woke up after 6 hours sleep. That is about the most straight sleep I've gotten in 6 weeks, with no blast(ed) interuptions. Was hoping I wouldn't be up for good.

??? (not long after 03:15) turned off lights, fell asleep

06:35 Woke up, fully rested

07:25 they drove our luggage about 200 feet to where we check in for the MilAir flight to Amman. We were joined by the Supervisory Executive Officer (EXO), who I had worked with all the time in Baghdad. (Amazing lady who has done it all). Good thing.

8:25, Checking in, the man says, "I just need to see you Military ID and your orders". Then: "Sorry, sir, I can't let you onto this flight - these orders are expired." Yes, well, I was supposed to leave by April 10th, Then I and USAID decided I should stay longer. I did not need new orders to stay longer, THAT I was told. However, I did need new orders to LEAVE LATER, that I forgot to ask about.

a blur of time (knowing that the flight briefing is at 9:30 - 60 minutes) and the next plane (which I could get on) is in 4 days...

9:10 My buddy Mohamed, from Uganda, with direction from the EXO, whipped up a Travel Authorization, scanned and emailed it to the check in desk at BIAP

9:11 The golden words: "You're all set".

I'm in Amman Jordan and heading out to find sushi!

# posted by matthew : 5/03/2006 09:07:00 AM  1 Comments

When I got up yesterday, I had passed a threshold: 43 days in Iraq. That means money. Part of the incentives / compensation for living in a place where they risk of mortars is slightly higher than Johnstown, PA, is that after 43 days in Iraq, an extar 35% pay (for 5 days/week) get paid retoractively from day 1 and onward.

That, along with the 35% danger pay, paid from day 1, makes a 70% bonus. People working here as employees (not me) also get %20 for the expected overtime for which they are no longer paid.

I am looking forward to not working a day - may next weekend, when I visit Cairo, before flying back to USA. It'll be 2 months since I had a day off. And I feel great, the work has been fun, the people great and the food - well it was always there.

Was it dangerous? I didn't feel concerned except for about 90 seconds of the entire time. If you read about the Egypt bombings recently, we all know danger is everywhere, 2 Hashers were victims and were medevaced to Germany to have their leg bones reset and start PT and recovery.

# posted by matthew : 4/30/2006 11:23:00 PM  1 Comments

Let me be clear, I am loving it and this is not a complaint, I've worked 44 straight days and have had a ball. The people here at the USAID compound are great. But the fact that I spend most of my day either at the office or working on a laptop in mytrailer using a computer mean I have put my eyes through boot camp

When several people tell me my eyes look like my shirt (which isn't good since I more often than wearing a traditional white work short, wear some silly shiny silk shirt from Thailand, and in this case a reddish-orange one!) I know it's time to work in some eye-breaks.

To the rescue: the exploding salad dressing foil packs!

Why spend exorbitant money (using the $11/day per diem we get while in Baghdad) on frilly eye masks and balms, when I can just take "fat-Free Ranch dressing" in a foil pack straight from the fridge, lay down with it over my eyes and ... bliss!

Yes, I realize I need to come home soon!

# posted by matthew : 4/25/2006 11:56:00 PM  0 Comments

(and Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom and Boom!)

I was "dooking" after #2, and helmet-on and under my mattress somewhere between #5 and #6. At the pause, I jumped up and put the door ajar to avoid blown in windows if any percussive blasts got close

I sometimes act a bit like a cynic when people tell me they 'knew something was going to happen.' It's not that I think they are lying, it's just that I know our subconcious thinks all kinds of things all the time and when something actually does happen, we forget that there were 1001 things we thought would happen and one of them sort of actually did. It doesn't mean we didn't think of it, it's just we have a batting average of 1 for 1001 and make a big deal out of the 1.

Then again, those crazy coincidences are amazing and when something happens in close proximity to the time one had the feeling, I'm a believer.

Maybe I'll just use the elliptical machine in a flack jacket!

# posted by matthew : 4/25/2006 11:42:00 PM  0 Comments

Last night was Indian night in the cafe (as usual on Saturday nights), with, for this place, great chick peas and cauliflower Indian versions along with that mildly spiced chicken and shrimp. It could have been several orders of magnitude hotter to suit me. The shrimp are a bit scary - they are all exactly the same shape and texture, I'm not sure they're from this planet.

So I wonder if someone is reading my draft blogs! Today's lunch had grilled salmon and platefuls of smoked salmon. Then dinner at Da Palace! I worked 11 hours today and joined a couple colleagues who left after 7:30 so we could hit the Embassy chow hall before closing. Prime rib and lobster tails are the Sunday night usual offerings, which were great and the place (called the DFAC) was decorated for Easter.

But, the big news is they broke out the good china!

I should say they broke out THE china. Usually we eat there on plastic plates with plastic utensils. But in celebratory style, we had real plates (we have real plates every day at the USAID cafe) and real silverware. And whether you prefer Coke or Pepsi, Diet Pepsi is like nectar after the only diet cola availble for a month has been local "Coke light."

# posted by matthew : 4/16/2006 12:23:00 PM  0 Comments

RKO records presents the greatest hits from USAID in the Green Zone in Baghdad, who can forget that song we pull out when celebratory gunfire is heard...?

Bullets keep fallin' on my head,
But that doesn't mean I am going to turn up dead,
Duck and Cover is no lie,
But - Someones's got to do some explainin' -
(please) Don't shoot the sky!

And then that song about the Personal Security Detail (armed guards who accompany USAID staff out of the IZ) from the old country ...with the Sound of Music

We're Super U S A I D-ers guarded by P S D's
When we go out in our flack jackets we cannot hardly breathe
After work (When's That?!) we like to swim at Pool Liberty<
But we cannot float while while holding onto our P S Ds

And then From - rest his soul - the great Sammy Davis Jr

more to come!

# posted by matthew : 4/12/2006 09:57:00 AM  0 Comments

I got lunch at Da Palace and pocketed a few foil packs of fat free ranch dressing since I really can't stand to eat buttermilk ranch dressing any more than 22 days in a row. Out cafe hasn't come through with the Cesar dressing that I asked them to make (fair enough they are not a custom shop, except they do whip up omelets on demand). And I should mention I ate lobster tails last night at Da Palace.

With my clean getaway, I felt a refreshing, cool sensation in my pocket - wait, that isn't the pocket where I have the can of Diet Pepsi from the PX! One of the foil packs of salad dressing decided to explode in my pocket.

But now I'm afraid of the contents since my thick Khaki pants didn't show anything... Shouldn't something organic actually be absorbed by cotton-y pants and show through. Maybe I have super-pockets in them and didn't know it...

I'm happy not to have big stain on the front of my pants but do I eat this salad dressing tomorrow at lunch? It's that or day 23 of Buttermilk ranch... (there are just so many titles: how about "Back at the Ranch" :)

# posted by matthew : 4/10/2006 01:20:00 PM  0 Comments

I bought 8 DVDs from a hole in the wall shop in the compound with the sports field. So will catch up on the latest movies. The photo is just outsid my trailer; no cats this morning but that was yesterday's scene when I came back from brunch.

# posted by matthew : 4/08/2006 11:49:00 PM  0 Comments

And now this.

The first thing I saw was my new neighbors: the cats who huddle on a towel just outside the trailer across from mine (2-B). There are many cats on the USAID compound and they are bold, one of the yellow ones desperately wants into my trailer, which brings up another thing, occasionally I hear birds but I hardly ever see any - although chopper fly overhead regularly.

Melanie was the first to email me after midnight here and say Happy Birthday on April 7th, you've 14 hours and 19 minutes left!

I'm not the only one craving attention! See Help me win my bet - adult subject matter

# posted by matthew : 4/07/2006 12:09:00 AM  0 Comments

Yesterday morning there was a boom in the middle distance followed by a PA call to "duck and cover. duck and cover." It is done in the voice of one of the South American (Peruvian) security guards (who are polite, dedicated and great to work with) on the USAID compound and sounds like "dook" (rhymes with 'book') and "cOvair". I thought up a skit if our planned comedy show comedy happens (planned for next week or the one after) : A guy in helmet and flack jacket goes to pee. He is obviously uncomfortable with the gear and is confused what to do with it while he pees. He takes his helmet off and puts it down. Picks it back up and puts it on and tries to take the jacket (actually a vest) off over his head. Takes his helmet back off, takes the jacket off and puts it between his legs to hold it while he puts his helmet back on. As he unzips the zipper gets stuck on the vest. Just then a call of 'Dook and covair" comes and he panics. The security calls intensify as he tried to free himself from the vest and ends up rotating and spinning and slamming himself with the vest around his groin. When he finally crumples into a heap, he ends up standing up with the flack jacket pulled on like pants covering his crotch. Looks around, shrugs and goes out.

I also have a bunch of Dick Cheney bits. One is Dick coming in saying "I shot another one, call the press." "Another one what?" "Another Republican!". "How?" "We were out in the woods trying to get something - a trophy - something to stuff and hang on the wall and I mistook hm for game."
"Oh no." I don't get it -again?" "Yes! Call the media!"
"What did you think he was that you shot him?" .... " a TROUT!".

Maybe also have a bunch of one-lines by a new anchor throughout: "Dick Cheney today was rejected as a starter for the Boston Marathon. He has been asked to be a ceremonial starter for the historical race but was rejected when he insisted on launching the race with a machine gun." They almost write themselves

The "All Clear" came about 8 minutes after the Dook&cOvair -I took off my helmet and vest (and freed my zipper) and went back into bed.

Then in the afternoon we heard a loud boom much closer - I was working in the supposedly bomb-proof office building, but could feel a very slight tremor with the boom. Another 'Dook and cOvair' announcement but all we have to do inside the office is stay away from the windows.

# posted by matthew : 3/29/2006 02:31:00 PM  0 Comments

We met after dark Friday night near Saddam's Place (one of the 63 he had), 3 women and about 20 men, mostly military, ran through the streets of the IZ, doign what Hasher;s do: chasing "hare's" who laid a trail of flour blobs, false trails and checkpoints that took us past the tomb of the unknown soldier, rows of humvees, fortified walls and various compounds yelling "On On" and "Are You?" to communicate the pack that we were on trail or wondering who was.

On On (On)The trail finished in a gated villa where we did the Hash 'circle' and Down-Downs in the grass, with ice seats for the offenders, and named 4 hash virgins, including one elder Scotsman who protested loudly when his new Hash name of "English Rose" was announced - his real name is Rosie (not sure how he spells that.)
Then we headed to a giant party with an open bar somewhere with some group (I never found out who) but it was a lively gathering and filled with a mix of civilians and military from all over.

The disco at USAID After all that I returned to USAID to join the outdoor party in progress in the compound with dancing festivities into the wee hours.

Photos and more detals are coming for this post. check back later.

# posted by matthew : 3/25/2006 01:02:00 PM  0 Comments

I then picked up my 'Full metal jacket' and helmet whcih will be with me until I depart Iraq though I didn;t have to put it on until preparing for the Balck Hawk 4 minute flight into the IZ (international Zone).

This entry is being updated - please check back for final version!

# posted by matthew : 3/22/2006 07:00:00 AM  0 Comments

Boarding. More than an hour later than expected we were told to 'get on the bus' for the short ride to the waiting, cmao-green C-130 4-propeller plane, sitting with it's back end open and several soldires directing us inside.

Window Seat I went in almost first on the left side of the middle column and took the second seat since the first had a helmet on it. The seat was a red nylon base with nylon webbing forming the back and hanging from a pole running the length of the aircraft. Our backs were to the port side of the aircract and we faced across the body - sideways from how one sites in a commercail aircraft. 12 inches from my knees were the knees of a sleepy looking civilian in a baseball cap. Once we took off, a huge soldier strapped in next to me, his sidearm digging in to my hip. As we settled in wearing our required earplugs, most people slept, after the scenery below disappeared I read until 'civilization' reappeared below. I watch up cross the Tigris and start the spiral descent into Baghdad Interantional Airport (BIAP). I had been warned 'don't eat' before the flight, but since I ended up on a military flight instead of a smaller Airserv jet, it was hardly noticeable when we spun into the airport.

The pre-flight briefing. A female soldier told us to fasten our seat belts and explained the oxygen masks, which one puts ocmpletely over their heads and 'breathes normally.' We were also told, that in the event of a requirement to disembark in an emergency my side of the lane was to go to the nearest exit - the gaping backside of the aircraft. The other side would go out the front.

A safe and smooth landing!

# posted by matthew : 3/20/2006 08:14:00 AM  0 Comments

A cool thing about Jerash (named Philadelphia in ancient times) - which I have visited several times - they keep finding new stuff. Today we saw a mosaic tile floor only uncovered one month ago and a church that was underground the previous time I visited. And there are apparently another dozen churches and a half mile of Roman Road left to uncover. We hired Akram, for $10 as a guide and wandered for about 2 hours. A policeman walked right across the mosaic, which was roped off, so I yelled at him and told him not to do it again (in Arabic), he sheepishly nodded and headed off.

We had a great mezze lunch at an open air Lebanese restaurant near the ruins and I am now repacking for tomorrow morning's flight to Baghdad Internatial Air Port (BIAP).

# posted by matthew : 3/18/2006 01:44:00 PM  0 Comments

Here in Jordan, there seem to be NO traffic rules, and virtually no mototrcycles. Since the last time I was here they have lifted the ban on motorcycles in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, but I haven't spotted any bikes yet. That's probably agood thing. The driving is the same bizarre anything-goes as in Cairo but at higher speeds.

# posted by matthew : 3/17/2006 06:05:00 AM  0 Comments

There have been obvious security issues in the news plus some administrative happenings which made my scheduled flights from Amman to Baghdad not available. Next plan is a military flight on Sunday morning.

# posted by matthew : 3/17/2006 04:46:00 AM  0 Comments

I just had a great breakfast at the 4 Seasons (Amman) Hotel, featuring fresh hommous and of course, Foul Medames. Foul (pronounced "fuul") - a staple of the Egyptian diet - always reminds me of the title of this blog. I see a waiter offering it to a visiting Ameican tourist and her saying "NO! I haven't even had any beans yet!"

Sorry. Foul beans are fava beans ladled out of a deep gold or bonze colored cooking pot where they have slow cooked and simmered with spices.

I'm off on the 'carnival ride' fight to Baghdad tomorrow, which I just confirmed, there are no flashing lights - as far as I know - but they don't put they air sickness bags on this flight just for show! - Can't you just hardly wait for updates? :-)

# posted by matthew : 3/15/2006 02:29:00 AM  0 Comments