Some new pictures of IRAQ

Well, since Angie is complaining about no one posting, I guess I need to get off my butt and do something about it. When momma's not happy, ain't nobody happy...

Here's a bit of a photograph of the wall on my new office building. I took most of the side of the building, but this is really the only thing worth seeing. Note the sand bags in front of the windows on either side -- help protect us in the event of a rocket or mortar blast. You really didn't need to know that, did you?

Now, we moved our office a bit over a week ago, at this point. We used to reside in the large Al Faw Palace, and were kicked out so some prima donnas from the Green Zone could take over our prime real estate. A couple of weeks ago we found out where they were going to put us, so Stephen, Ken and I went and found some paint, and patched and painted the room in the building that was vacated for us.

Ken and Stephen then proceded to mop the floor which likely hadn't been touched in 5 years...

Now this picture is of 6 of 8 people in our new room. Note the robin's egg blue, my empty chair by the window, and most of the guys that I work with. Stephen and Ken are on the right side next to me, with Simon, our token Australian, and Jeff, our sterotypical Alabama boy not being shown because they're behind me.

Speaking of Australians, here is a picture of the round house which the Australians appropriated back in 2003 when everyone was scrambling for real estate. They got this unique place in the middle of the lake, and the only functioning pool on the entire complex. They do share, but it's quite a walk being on the far back side of the lake.

To the right is the base commander's small abode, and to the left the joint visitor's bureau, which is short for a fancy hotel for VIPs passing through. In the distance is where I used to work (just below the tower) when I was with the PSDS2 program. It's about a mile away as the crow flies. A very long walk in the heat...

These are all cropped photos, so may not be up to your normal standards if you click on them. But, they do upload a whole lot quicker. If I can do this from a country that has no wires to the outside world, those of you "wired in" to the grid have no excuse. Get to it!!!