Sunday, December 28, 2008
Umm Qasr, Day Two
Umm Qasr 12272008
This morning, after no shower because I had no hot water because I had no electricity, I put on some clean clothes and went to breakfast with “Tiny.” The chow hall is small, but the food is excellent. I had one French toast, some bacon, a small flat tater-tot and some orange juice. We came back and chatted a bit, then met some Army guys from the POETT and walked to the port. The walk took us through some trashed-out areas of the port- someone had stacked containers on top of railroad tracks, seriously denting them. One interesting element occurred- “Sandbag,” a large white dog for which someone got shots and a collar, trotted along with us to the port. When we got closer, there was activity that he didn’t like, so he went back to our camp. Or maybe he just went where he wanted.
There were rows of brightly-painted trucks waiting for something to do. Lots of Iraqi guys chatted in twos and threes as we walked by. We waived to them, smiling and trying to do the “Hearts and Minds” thing. The port building is pretty big. We went to see one guy who was pretty busy, talking on his cell phone while signing some documents that people kept bringing him. He surprised me by talking with us about his problems. I expected to hear that everything was fine, no training needed. Maybe that’ll be a subsequent shoe that drops.
The meeting lasted an hour, and then another of our group opened the door and said there was a line a mile long waiting to see him. We didn’t dawdle, thanked him and walked back. I talked with a Captain who seemed interested in my lore of port operations, container volumes, etc.
When we got back, Tiny said we didn’t have anything else to do today, so I organized myself, cleaned my room, re-organized the room, cleaned more, and finally have a pretty acceptable room. We spoke with a nice guy who seems capable in a maintenance sort of way. He got us into the room next door where my circuit breaker lives. Our water heater is in that room, too. We reset the main breaker, and then a few minutes later it popped. We reset it, waited and it popped. They left the door open, telling me that if the circuit breaker opened, I could go in and reset it myself. Sure enough, that’s what happened. I timed it- every three minutes, it would pop. I think it was the water heater that overloaded it. While waiting for the circuit breaker, I got some hot water in a bucket and scrubbed my shower, toilet and sink. The floor was next. Then I came into the main room and swept lots of mess out the door. I moved the fridge and splashed water from the drain on the floor. I got the shower mat from the bathroom (that said Holiday Inn Dubai) and put it on the wet spot. The towel soaked up some of the damp, but six hours later, I still have a dark spot where the water isn’t dry yet.
I put two cases of water inside the fridge and one inside the freezer so it’ll work less and maybe I’ll have cold water. I used the cardboard boxes from the cases of water as a place to store my underwear and uniforms. The room next door has a broken dresser- the front panel is secured to the sides with small pegs. If I can find some Elmer’s Wood Glue (or a European substitute), I may lug it into my room and put it in the corner where I have a 750-watt heater going to take the chill out of the room.
After taking one bed next door, my room now has two dingy Ikea chairs, a fridge with water, a nightstand and a reading light, a bed with clean sheets and a blanket, a small table with a TV that doesn’t work because there’s no signal, a chair that fits under the table, a small electric heater and a few rugs. The bathroom has a collapsible basket for dirty clothes and a small collapsible table that may be where I park a newspaper or magazine for those moments when moi needs a bit of time to complete moi’s bathroom activities. (Details will not be provided upon request.)
I’ve got a few things that came with the room and I just didn’t want to take next door. I’ve got a cot and an extra blanket. I’ve got three pillows that I’ll use after I get the pillow cases back from the laundry. And tomorrow I’ll find out how to do the laundry. I’ve got my clothes plus a big flat sheet-envelope that fits my blanket well. I’d use it but it smells like some strong perfume. A good wash will take that aroma away and I’ll use it. When I drop it off, I’ll ask about washing a big fluffy blanket, too.
I spent the afternoon scrubbing and cleaning and unpacking and organizing. Maybe tomorrow I’ll relax in the Ikea chairs and put my feet up on my footlocker with a cloth over it that I’m using as a coffee table. Moi desires to live a slightly civilized life, after all. My cold weather clothes are in the canvas bag that I brought from home. The closet doors are closed, making the place look tidy. If this were mine, I’d get a carpet cleaner and curtains for the windows. But since I’ll be here only five months, I’m satisfied with the way it is.
Moi would like to get something to watch TV with- a satellite maybe. And a few movies, too. A vacuum cleaner will be on my wish list, but at the bottom. KK, time for late chow.
When I went to the chow hall at 1800, someone else said the chow was delayed until 1930. At 1930, I went and got in but the place was nearly deserted. However, I got some pork in what tasted a bit like curry and some white rice with something like beef stew over it. Diced tomatoes were one side, diced peppers on another and something I couldn’t identify- kind of crispy yams, but without the sweetness. A bit bland, but the flavor that was there was nice. I took my time eating and when I got done, I was the last one there. I think they might have been delayed a bit, but not much. I had my mouth set for ice cream and did without. I took my opened Diet Coke and slipped another into my pocket for later. I don’t think it’s such a big thing but I don’t want to become a compulsive hoarder. I have a cookie and an apple and some peanut brittle and gum and a few cigars. Plenty of diversion for when the moment strikes my fancy.
When I went outside, Sandbag was there. He was about 30 feet away, looking at me. I made a noise with my tongue, clicking at him to come over. Another soldier, whom Sandbag recognized, got his attention for a moment, then Sandbag came over to me. I held my hand out to the side, so he could watch me and sniff my hand. Then he sniffed my holstered Beretta and turned around and sat down, letting me pet him on his neck and head. I think he liked it, but didn’t get all puppy-ish with pleasure. I think he’s a good dog. I’m glad someone got him a collar and some shots. Now I’ll have to look for something like bacon or tuna or some other people food that he might like to nibble.
We also have cats. I haven’t seen the white and tan cats with the ringtails but I’ve seen several grey cats, skittering along a bit antsy. I think they are less socialized to people. They probably scrounge what they can from the garbage and maybe prey on rodents who are attracted to the garbage as well but they don’t seem interested in people or in slowing down when they cross my path. I’m remembering the clutch of white and tan cats that patrolled past the place where Johnny and I had coffee- very attractive felines. There were several males ahead of a larger, heavier female. Not sure of the dynamics in that clan but the males seemed very equal in size. I told Johnny that when I get home to California, I want to find the pound and see if I can find a cat that looks like these ones- short-haired, cream-colored with tan splotches, ring-tails and a kind of chopped-off pointy nose.
See where Sandbag took me? I started out with scrubbing my room and ended up with wanting another cat in California, one that looks like an Iraqi cat.
Took a nice hot shower in my clean shower. Put on a long-sleeve thermal shirt to sleep in and my warm-up bottoms. Just in case my tootsies get cold, I put on the freebie socks that came in my first-class seat on the SFO-LHR flight. I didn’t shave because I’ll shave tomorrow morning before we go out. Tiny says we’ll see how the weekly passenger ferry processing goes. I’ll take my camera.
In a bit, I’ll brush my teeth and take my pills and play Hearts until I get sleepy. Then it’s time to close my eyes until tomorrow morning. All in all, I’ve got a pretty decent place to live here. Gotta find a way to get internet in my hooch but if I can only use the one that’s available to the entire camp, that’ll be OK. Tomorrow will be two days without checking emails, so my queue will be full. I’ll try to upload the last two days to my thumb drive so I can put ‘em in my blog and send ‘em to my big Richiesohn.
G’night, gentle reader.
This morning, after no shower because I had no hot water because I had no electricity, I put on some clean clothes and went to breakfast with “Tiny.” The chow hall is small, but the food is excellent. I had one French toast, some bacon, a small flat tater-tot and some orange juice. We came back and chatted a bit, then met some Army guys from the POETT and walked to the port. The walk took us through some trashed-out areas of the port- someone had stacked containers on top of railroad tracks, seriously denting them. One interesting element occurred- “Sandbag,” a large white dog for which someone got shots and a collar, trotted along with us to the port. When we got closer, there was activity that he didn’t like, so he went back to our camp. Or maybe he just went where he wanted.
There were rows of brightly-painted trucks waiting for something to do. Lots of Iraqi guys chatted in twos and threes as we walked by. We waived to them, smiling and trying to do the “Hearts and Minds” thing. The port building is pretty big. We went to see one guy who was pretty busy, talking on his cell phone while signing some documents that people kept bringing him. He surprised me by talking with us about his problems. I expected to hear that everything was fine, no training needed. Maybe that’ll be a subsequent shoe that drops.
The meeting lasted an hour, and then another of our group opened the door and said there was a line a mile long waiting to see him. We didn’t dawdle, thanked him and walked back. I talked with a Captain who seemed interested in my lore of port operations, container volumes, etc.
When we got back, Tiny said we didn’t have anything else to do today, so I organized myself, cleaned my room, re-organized the room, cleaned more, and finally have a pretty acceptable room. We spoke with a nice guy who seems capable in a maintenance sort of way. He got us into the room next door where my circuit breaker lives. Our water heater is in that room, too. We reset the main breaker, and then a few minutes later it popped. We reset it, waited and it popped. They left the door open, telling me that if the circuit breaker opened, I could go in and reset it myself. Sure enough, that’s what happened. I timed it- every three minutes, it would pop. I think it was the water heater that overloaded it. While waiting for the circuit breaker, I got some hot water in a bucket and scrubbed my shower, toilet and sink. The floor was next. Then I came into the main room and swept lots of mess out the door. I moved the fridge and splashed water from the drain on the floor. I got the shower mat from the bathroom (that said Holiday Inn Dubai) and put it on the wet spot. The towel soaked up some of the damp, but six hours later, I still have a dark spot where the water isn’t dry yet.
I put two cases of water inside the fridge and one inside the freezer so it’ll work less and maybe I’ll have cold water. I used the cardboard boxes from the cases of water as a place to store my underwear and uniforms. The room next door has a broken dresser- the front panel is secured to the sides with small pegs. If I can find some Elmer’s Wood Glue (or a European substitute), I may lug it into my room and put it in the corner where I have a 750-watt heater going to take the chill out of the room.
After taking one bed next door, my room now has two dingy Ikea chairs, a fridge with water, a nightstand and a reading light, a bed with clean sheets and a blanket, a small table with a TV that doesn’t work because there’s no signal, a chair that fits under the table, a small electric heater and a few rugs. The bathroom has a collapsible basket for dirty clothes and a small collapsible table that may be where I park a newspaper or magazine for those moments when moi needs a bit of time to complete moi’s bathroom activities. (Details will not be provided upon request.)
I’ve got a few things that came with the room and I just didn’t want to take next door. I’ve got a cot and an extra blanket. I’ve got three pillows that I’ll use after I get the pillow cases back from the laundry. And tomorrow I’ll find out how to do the laundry. I’ve got my clothes plus a big flat sheet-envelope that fits my blanket well. I’d use it but it smells like some strong perfume. A good wash will take that aroma away and I’ll use it. When I drop it off, I’ll ask about washing a big fluffy blanket, too.
I spent the afternoon scrubbing and cleaning and unpacking and organizing. Maybe tomorrow I’ll relax in the Ikea chairs and put my feet up on my footlocker with a cloth over it that I’m using as a coffee table. Moi desires to live a slightly civilized life, after all. My cold weather clothes are in the canvas bag that I brought from home. The closet doors are closed, making the place look tidy. If this were mine, I’d get a carpet cleaner and curtains for the windows. But since I’ll be here only five months, I’m satisfied with the way it is.
Moi would like to get something to watch TV with- a satellite maybe. And a few movies, too. A vacuum cleaner will be on my wish list, but at the bottom. KK, time for late chow.
When I went to the chow hall at 1800, someone else said the chow was delayed until 1930. At 1930, I went and got in but the place was nearly deserted. However, I got some pork in what tasted a bit like curry and some white rice with something like beef stew over it. Diced tomatoes were one side, diced peppers on another and something I couldn’t identify- kind of crispy yams, but without the sweetness. A bit bland, but the flavor that was there was nice. I took my time eating and when I got done, I was the last one there. I think they might have been delayed a bit, but not much. I had my mouth set for ice cream and did without. I took my opened Diet Coke and slipped another into my pocket for later. I don’t think it’s such a big thing but I don’t want to become a compulsive hoarder. I have a cookie and an apple and some peanut brittle and gum and a few cigars. Plenty of diversion for when the moment strikes my fancy.
When I went outside, Sandbag was there. He was about 30 feet away, looking at me. I made a noise with my tongue, clicking at him to come over. Another soldier, whom Sandbag recognized, got his attention for a moment, then Sandbag came over to me. I held my hand out to the side, so he could watch me and sniff my hand. Then he sniffed my holstered Beretta and turned around and sat down, letting me pet him on his neck and head. I think he liked it, but didn’t get all puppy-ish with pleasure. I think he’s a good dog. I’m glad someone got him a collar and some shots. Now I’ll have to look for something like bacon or tuna or some other people food that he might like to nibble.
We also have cats. I haven’t seen the white and tan cats with the ringtails but I’ve seen several grey cats, skittering along a bit antsy. I think they are less socialized to people. They probably scrounge what they can from the garbage and maybe prey on rodents who are attracted to the garbage as well but they don’t seem interested in people or in slowing down when they cross my path. I’m remembering the clutch of white and tan cats that patrolled past the place where Johnny and I had coffee- very attractive felines. There were several males ahead of a larger, heavier female. Not sure of the dynamics in that clan but the males seemed very equal in size. I told Johnny that when I get home to California, I want to find the pound and see if I can find a cat that looks like these ones- short-haired, cream-colored with tan splotches, ring-tails and a kind of chopped-off pointy nose.
See where Sandbag took me? I started out with scrubbing my room and ended up with wanting another cat in California, one that looks like an Iraqi cat.
Took a nice hot shower in my clean shower. Put on a long-sleeve thermal shirt to sleep in and my warm-up bottoms. Just in case my tootsies get cold, I put on the freebie socks that came in my first-class seat on the SFO-LHR flight. I didn’t shave because I’ll shave tomorrow morning before we go out. Tiny says we’ll see how the weekly passenger ferry processing goes. I’ll take my camera.
In a bit, I’ll brush my teeth and take my pills and play Hearts until I get sleepy. Then it’s time to close my eyes until tomorrow morning. All in all, I’ve got a pretty decent place to live here. Gotta find a way to get internet in my hooch but if I can only use the one that’s available to the entire camp, that’ll be OK. Tomorrow will be two days without checking emails, so my queue will be full. I’ll try to upload the last two days to my thumb drive so I can put ‘em in my blog and send ‘em to my big Richiesohn.
G’night, gentle reader.
# posted by rich @ 8:01 AM 
