Bye-Bye tiny base

To everyone, I am sorry about the recent block to my site. Eventhough I have everyone that is appropriate checking it out which includes 2 different corporations, the Military and the Taliban- (that I thank for giving me importance) checking my blog site and even a censor that helps and cuts all the good  stuff out, there was still an issue that was brought to my attention and a paper trail started. Now I can see why I am the only blogger that allows everyone to view my blog. You just can't please all of the people... And since I've been near the chopping block more times in 4 months than I thought possible, I thought to be selective, but WTH??? These are me stories and my adventures. I really trust in God that he has a reason for the possibilities  and realities that brought me here in the first place. And when it's time to leave, he'll be doing the send off and no one else! So read on....

I'm leaving the tiny base to go back to my new/old base very soon. People are funny- have I mentioned that? I have made a bunch of friends here, this being the friendliest little base that I've ever been on. I have enjoyed my time here. Many people have asked me to stay and even tried to make it happen, but this base " is not big enough for the both of us." So off I go. As this event unfolds, I watch and hear everything, selectively discarding what doesn't pertain to me- like everyone else does. I've watched as I've said my good- byes to all and their responses. Some cry... and I know I'll be wailing like a baby as my ride swoops me away. I'm taking a ton of pictures and many have stopped me to take mine. Then there's some who I've hung around with who are now pulling away. That's what we all call survival mode...don't feel, don't get hurt. And that's the hardest thing about FOB hopping. It's not the getting to know you part- at least not for me Ms Social Butterfly. It's the leaving part. I've never laughed so hard and bonded so easily with a group of people (EMS excluded). I blame the Site Manger. He's been a good friend. He's a tough bugger and very authoritive. He's here as a leader and to make decisions and make sure things run smoothly and get done... a job which does not encourage friendships. His kindness is expressed in his decision making and for the good of all. He really cares about everyone in a family sort of way. Plus everyone wants to please him. Recently he went on a short vaction and the group performed as he was still present. (He really needs to bottle that! He'd make a fortune...in fact I want me some). He has picked the best of the best in his personnel and he wanted me to work here too? Now that's a man that knows quality!! And he's not too bad to look at...but I'm getting into dirty old lady territory. Speaking of Alen (no I didn't mispell. It's Bosnian Alan) has also been a good friend. The first day, the guy I was replacing took me to introduce me around. Alen came up to me in a way that I described later as overwhelming- and you know that's a big word for me since I can be a too cheery at times. There he is and barrels over to me, looking very cute with his outstretched hand and come hither voice and says, "Hi! I'm Alen." It was enough to make any girl swoon. Since I'm well on my way to making Alen blush as he reads this, I also told him that I would post his picture and make all the girls back home jealous and he laughed! So look at the picture...he is adorable and nice in an unassuming way.

 The girls here...what can I say? I will really miss them. They have been like bestfriends and I'm rooming with them now. Going back to that was almost like going home. Even the military interact and have been the best and nicest. I have never had that experience and I'm so glad that it happened here. I have always been grateful for their service and frequently tell them so, but now it's personal...really good people here.

The clowns of anywhere were here as well: the one-liner Brit with a great chuckle, a simple, sweet guy from Chicago, Illinois (2nd in greatness to Michigan- 'couse I'm partial and the one with the blog),   who can turn any of my words around and make me blush-  and a Texan who sings oldies through meals and always has a joke. And my adventure buddies Steve and Roger. Thank you for a good time.

So as I ready myself to leave, the only blip in my funfilled time here was that I lost my cell phone. I don't have anyone's number anymore. If you would be so good as to email or privately Facebook your number to me, I will try not to be such a bonehead again. Hasta manana

Get your meds!

I have been so busy! It's been difficult finding time to blog. We've had dignitaries/corporate people to entertain...fun, fun! In between that, I'm on a mission to make sure that everyone has anti-mosquito medication. It's a little difficult convincing some people that it's good for you when there's nothing flying about and the weather right now is only good if you're a penguin. I have to get proof that everyone has it or I'm to give them a new bottle and almost every time the Americans give me a hard time. That's got me wondering... We all know that too much antibiotics is not a good thing. It won't work if you abuse it, so the Americans or anyone that can google- who we call cyberchondiacs (thanks Bill for the term), don't want it or they think they'll get an infection "down under." YUK! Who wants that, but compared to death...come on people. As I've said before, everything here is out to kill you and that includes mosquitoes. Meanwhile the poorest of poor, ie; Indians and Kenyans, want as much as they can lay their hands on. I actually heard one person tell another...take it and send it home. I guess that way they don't have to buy antibiotics when they need them. I understand that it's hard to get care in the poorest of countries. (Like when they thank us for their immunizations) The only gauge I have is Cambodia and I never saw a hospital there. I also heard that I didn't want to either. So in those countries they make it easy to buy medication. (ala Mexico for those back home). One young fellow brought me his prescription from his homeland as proof that he already had some anti- malaria medication and it was exactly what I was handing out...'course I had to tell him that it might not be the same thing...strength and additives and such. But I told him it was FREE to take from the company and in fact it was required. So as a good employee he took it and signed on the dotted line. Another gave the excuse of an allergy. When I offered the suggested medication for allergy prone individuals, they took the original but was not a happy little camper. Another enterprising fellow asked how much it would sell for on Ebay. Good grief...see how it goes when the care is free. Then again...no one wants to be told that they have to do anything... even when it's good for them.

Who's your Daddy! (2/1/12)

Today our safety topic was Sexual Harassment. Our Site Manger and all around good guy, gives us these briefs every morning at 6 am with different safety topics each morning to keep us on our toes and keep us diligent and safe. I've been at this little FOB (base) since the 8th (3 weeks) and I can not believe that all required personnel show up for these meetings. Even I do and I don't even have to be there. I go because it's good customer service and the community has a chance to interact with me. This in turn builds trust and use of me as their care provider. So it was that this topic in mind that my buddy and I would entertain ourselves for the best part of today and take a turn in harassing the guys. Usually they're good sports and they think it's funny when we try to whistle anyways. And then it snowed and equipment blew again and the pipes froze and the heat went out and all that were not busy on emergencies were busy shoveling- me included. It is a team effort on these small bases. So now we're all too tired for games and it's Mother Natures turn to tease and say, "who's your daddy!." The sun came out for a brief reprieve and then it chickened out too.

The locals claim that they haven't gotten weather like this in 20 years. My halo/TelePrompter balloon that sits over my head sends a news flash to me- the weather is following me from home. I must keep this little secret or my contemporaries or the the talitubbies would really come after me. They attempted a sneak attack on the BIG Boys. I'd love to say silly mad men or even be rude enough to say dumb balls. But the truth of these missions is they give the farmers and such some money to care for their families, train them for 10 minutes and convince them to attack the BAD Americans. What's one more innocent, dumb Afghani life when they get blown to kingdom come. It done to keep us on our toes and gives them leverage for negotiations when we supposedly sit down in Qatar. In the meantime the Pakistani's, (who switched sides), are calling for our help after getting their butts handed it them by their buddies. I watch CNN too. All I can say is Who's your Daddy now!

Wintertime, Funtime! (1/26/12)

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it...enough already! This is day 3 of snow and so what I should be used to it because I'm from Michigan! Ok- I am a little. I do have a winter coat and snow boots that are water proof for the rainy season. Also, I was the only one out there pushing it off my walks. The others on this base thought I was nuts. We're in the middle of a desert. It will melt soon. And it did! It melted enough to make icy little paths all over the place today...except for in front of my little clinic- Ha! I still can't get over how beautiful snow is when it's falling, (and I get to see it again tonight- oh boy!) but the going out in it and walking in it is a drag. At least it now has a reason to be so cold in the desert. No flights out because of weather. It was a bit windy today, Four people are trying to get out to go on R&R and this is a painful reminder of how close I scheduled my own trip home. I did not use any days to get stuck here. I instead used my "stuck days" for when I'm home. We get 3 of these days and I chose to use them wisely being home and not for getting stuck anywhere. Pray that it works in my favor.

So the snow... It supposedly is a fluke to snow this far south and this much. I believe it! It was great fun watching it through others who have never seen it before. There were Kenyans and Nationals, out without their coats, sliding in it and taking so many pictures to send back home. I just wish we could've found something to sled on- no EMS sleds (backboards) here. Then the soldiers came out and started a snowball fight. I brought out my camera and got pummeled! There were a few falls but no one broke bones... so all's well.

Speaking of breaking something...I will be joining my family on a fun run when I get home. Plan on being there or be square. It's on March 11th at Corktown. www.runmichigan.com for further info. I understand our group name is "Shots in the D", so join in- it'll be fun! For me it means getting off my butt and giving up lazing around to train, but they're worth it. Thanks for motivating me! It also means breaking my smoking habit, as we all know I can't (or won't) run and smoke. Today was a huge success because I only smoked 6 cigarettes, because I'm in training and I did a mile in 20 minutes without too much huffing and puffing. I barely broke a sweat. I have just over a month to get ready- yikes! So I am training here in my bare feet (well- socks) on a treadmill because I left my running stuff at the last base, which was really stupid and a mistake I will not make again.

I'm trying hard to just take the essentials on these little hops. I have to carry all my own stuff and it's a lot of work! Let's start with the 2 lap tops that I have to carry and then my sleeping bag, pillow and blanket, sheets. Then my vest and helmet, (which weighs a ton). Then clothes and toiletries. I know exactly why some people smell! I broke down and bought an rolling army duffle and a better backpack. I'll see if it makes any difference. The bags I have all have wheels , but the rocks and gravel and sand are extremely hard on everything here. I could not even imagine dragging it through snow. We also have a weight limit of 50 lbs. It makes me laugh the stuff that I can hoard in my pockets!

So one more week on this cute little base and BIG tears when I leave. These people have been great and the best and friendliest military that I've ever met.

 Here's the patient area

 My room in the clinic...an actual room space!

 The view of the mountains from the clinic and look...carpentry stopped to pose!

I even get a desk!

Company day!

Today was a great day. I had company! I love entertaining. To prepare I mopped the clinic floor twice and dusted the furniture and made everything look pristine...then I got patients. WTH! I usually have to track them down to get them in to see me on any given day. I never get patients. They don't care how sick they are or how much pain they're in. They will not seek medical attention. They believe that all medical people are here to send them home. Sometimes it can not be avoided. A broken rotted, infected tooth for example. It will never get better on it's own and I am not equiped to pull teeth- so yes, home you go. Get your stuff done before you come here. Why is that my fault? It's rough and rugged here, bare minimum desert medicine. So on my special company day, here come the patients. I think that they like me here, but I'm thinking...Oh No! not today! They track in the dirt and sneeze and and get their whatever's all over the place. ..and scrub away I continue. At last, I thought to myself, this is a losing battle to keep the floor clean and show off the clinic and then I recall why it is that I am here. It's all in a days work. And I really love my patients. Bring me your achy backs and runny nose, yuk, yuk!

The company Care Counselor took a little side trip to visit this tiny little base and me! I had met him before and he's a great guy, so I had a chance to visit and show him around and introduce him to everyone. Thankfully he brought pamplets to hand out later because he falls under suspicion too. But, he's fun and he even knew someone here in no man's land, good sign of personability! We stayed up well after 8pm talking and me telling stories...well, he did too -good times! Speaking of bedtime...Isn't it crazy that back home I would easily stay up until 1-2 am and still get up around 7 am. I can't do it here and I don't know anyone that can.

The day ended in a crush of despair when we got the news of the tragedy at Kandahar. Bombs, suicide bombers, blah, blah...I almost forgot I was in the middle of a war and that there's talibaddie's to worry about. It just makes you want to go out and kick some a- -! And now that I've been around to a few places, visualizing the sites where the destruction happened make it more real. We don't get any information on anything. It gives a whole new meaning to head in the sand- that's us! We get our info just like you do...via CNN- unless we're right there as it's happening.

I'm having a blast on this tiny FOB. There's just enough activities to do everyday. We take walks around the base which would take all of 10 minutes if we didn't go up to the guard shacks and visit and explore the areas that have been bombed out and fortified. It's a really tight squeeze in some areas. Sometimes we view the province (look over the walls) and see what the locals are up to. There are architectural sites that are within our line of vision and that we don't talk about and can't visit, because the talitubbies might get us. They're like the bogey man with IED's and other bad toys. Then there's meal time which is social time, so I never skip that and it's starting to show. I'm committed to doing less eating and more coffee drinking and more hitting the gym.

Picture time of the clinic that I'm at temporarily manning...unless I can figure out a way to throw Frank under the bus and stay permanently...Just kidding Frank!!

I'm really missing my base too.

Just another day (1/15/2012)

A ground attack and I could hear the Talitubbies yelling! They never got in, but it was exciting! I thought about taking pictures of the action, but since they were shooting over the wall trying to randomly snipe us.. I thought better of it. Where I'm at, there not much separating us from them. I'm actually less than a Detroit block away from houses on the other side. Fortunately that's where the wealthier people live, so I shouldn't have need to worry.  The weather is freezing here, so I can't understand why the terrorist are heating up. Shouldn't we all be taking well deserved siestas? The troops were so funny. They are here to serve and protect and that means even us dumb contractors. They were so nice to come over and make sure I wasn't afraid. I did do a little shiver for their benefit...keep up moral and all that. But the terrorist seem to be all over the place right now. My buddy about an hour away also got hit, or the base that he's on did. Happens to be the same place that I slept thru an attack...funny coincidence.

We had a true storm complete with very loud thunder and sky illuminating lightning and it was so loud that I was thinking that maybe it was still the bombs going off. I really thought that I was going to lose my tent at one point with the howling winds and torrential rains, but I was tired so I rolled over. I keep my stuff close to me now, (just in case I do wake up). I have a bugout bag for my medical stuff that weighs quite a few pounds. In the mist of rushing to grab what I thought was important, reaching for that bag nearly broke my arm. Once we got the "All Clear" I lightened that baby up! I thought to myself, how many IV's am I going to be doing anyways? I kept a couple on hand anyway- I hate to say never.

So we are still on blackout and with the full moon the night should've been quite romantic. Too bad all the guys my age are in bed sleeping at 8 pm. Oh Well! Me, I like to live big and watch some TV shows that I have on my hard drive or read a book while I snuggle up alone. So I think I'll do just that before another alarm sounds. Rule #3, 4, 5 for deployment: Never pass up a bathroom, never miss a meal, never miss out on sleep! The last one was difficult for me to get used to. My saying used to be, "I'll sleep when I die."  Well one nighter in the cold, smelly bunker took care of that!  I'll sleep when I can - thank you very much.