Oddly enough, I'm going to begin the story of this 24 hour session with the end of my day yesterday, because it started with a surprisingly good breakfast at the new dining facility. Since this camp was built they've used several large tents as a chow hall. It wasn't bad, but there's something about eating dinner in a tent that just doesn't appeal to me.
To give you a better idea of the layout here, our worksite is right next to the pier. Because the logistics of getting all the soldiers back and forth to the LSA (Life Support Area ... military speak for living quarters and dining/shopping area), they built a small DFAC (dining facility) at the port and it's "catered" by a local restaurant. It's not too bad, but sometimes it's not that great either. The best part is Mexican night on Thursday and Sunday... but I digress.
Anyway, the new DFAC at the LSA is a large building (a bunch of trailers joined), and it opened a couple of days ago. I had gone up there for a late night chow run one night, but it wasn't that great. However, someone hinted that they made omelets to order, and I just had to see this myself... IT WAS TRUE! Unfortunately, it was to be the one of highest points of my day...
So I had my omelet, finished up my shift, and headed back to the apartment about 8am-ish (dodging crazed Kuwaiti drivers... but that's typical). Couple of hours spent reading and watching a movie... fell asleep...
Woke up around 4pm and did some paperwork (yes dear, I'm working on my expense reports and review...). Then it occurred to me to check my webcam. I was rewarded with a beautiful sight (one of the OTHER high points of my day...):
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I also took a couple seconds of video, to give you an idea of how I see this images... very slowly. Like 1 every 3 seconds or so... but considering it's 8000 miles away, I'm happy enough with it!
Because I spent way too much time watching him, I was too late to get dinner (and hadn't eaten anything since breakfast). So I got to work, got some things started, and decided to go to McDonald's. I called Shelley on the way, and we just talked about their plans for the day. During this, I ordered the food, then parked the truck waiting for them to come out with it. I usually get stuff for the guards and a few of the other soldiers onsite, so my orders are usually fairly complicated. Sure enough, they forgot MY chicken nuggets (all this food for someone else, and they forget what I wanted...). I got out of the truck, locked it, and went inside ... You're probably already guessing what happened.
I locked the keys in the truck. This would be a bit more funny, if not for a few facts.
- 1. It's happened before, and we had to call the sponsor for a spare key ...
- 2. The sponsor is a 45 minute drive away ...
- 3. We never returned that spare key ...
- 4. We lost that spare key ...
- 5. They don't have any others.
So now they're telling us it will have to happen tomorrow morning. This wouldnt be a HUGE problem... except for a few more facts:
- 1. All the food was locked in the truck (not REALLY important, but...) ...
- 2. The headlights were on (a LITTLE important, but we could jump it in the morning...) ...
- 3. My military ID was inside (VERY important, and the only reason why we didn't abandon the whole thing.)
While I'm waiting for Mike (our site chief) to bring me a coat hanger, I go for a walk to a local computer store. I bought a few toys to placate myself (nothing major ... really), and as I'm walking back I pick up a fist-sized piece of concrete (plenty of that just lying around) ... "just in case".
So there we are, two blatantly apparent Americans in the middle of a Kuwaiti McDonalds with a coat hanger breaking into a truck. We got more than a few strange looks (and quite a few smiles as well), but no one could offer us a phone number to call a locksmith. Apparently they don't work after hours (just like the damn Canadians!).
Finally a taxi driver offered us the use of a screwdriver to pry the top of the door enough to get the wire hanger in the door... did I mention this flimsy little ALUMINUM wire hanger sucked? Yeah... it did...
Mike and I had both of our Leathermans holding the door (the taxi driver got a call... and took his screwdriver). After several attempts, I pulled it all the way out, bent a tight hook on the end, and managed to snag the door handle...
So I resumed my trek back to work, handed out all the food, and settled in for another evening of Saving the World... One Email at a Time...
| And now I'm posting this, while enjoying my third (and most likely, last) high point of the past 24 hours |  |
... is it bad that two of the three things that brought me joy today were food related? Is that a commentary on me, you think?
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