Iraq Updates by Cake

So,
It doesn't look like I'll be getting leave in June. There are still 1st Armored Division soldiers out here that didn't get leave the first year they were here and they get priority. Hopefully I'll get leave this summer though. It's starting to get scorching hot and it's not even June yet.
I went to downtown Baghdad about a week and a half ago on a little side mission. I managed to get a handful of good pictures.

Here's a picture of those famous parade grounds:


This set is of a really cool dome we passed under:




And finally, a magnificant looking mosque I got while we were driving by:


I'm getting a suit custom made here since it occured to me that I don't actually have any suits of my own. Anyway, it only costs $170 for the fabric I chose and I might order more if the quality is good.

Until later...

Help the US build alternative TV stations in Iraq
www.spiritofamerica.net
Plus, if you haven't read any Iraqi blogs yet, you should. Go to
dear_raed.blogspot.com
and from there check out the other links that are supplied to other blogs. I've merely picked this site because his links offer an interesting variety of views.

So, this is the first day that the internet is working for our rooms. It's not too bad now that the administrators disabled the ports used with file sharing software. Anyways this means that I can post all of the cool pictures I took from the first part of my stay here. I won't comment below, just email if you have questions. The first few are from Kuwait and the rest from Iraq.








BTW - This is not one of our vehicles and the people who were in it are OK.

Hey, I got to put out a pretty funny site here... especially the desktop wallpaper they have in the gallery section.
www.overcaffeinated.net

Other than that I've been keeping a journal. Oh yeah, I read almost all of the Scientific American and Discover magazines I've received in the mail. Speaking of mail, supposedly I'm supposed to be getting some packages soon. I'm guessing that it's just shitty mail handling or something. Well, later

After the initial culture shock and vivid stories, there isn't much more to say. Things seem to be getting pretty routine objective-wise and I keep trudging along. Approximately 10 months left now huh? Well, that's six months down.

I get this feeling that I've done something wrong and this is my purgatory to work it off. Pretty random feeling but it sticks.

Time goes the fastest when you're talking to the locals. The only locals that really talk to you though are the kids. I hear it's not all happy go lucky crap that's going on in the town we're by. Supposedly there are pro-American and anti-American gang fights that happen. In good news... we are going to start getting a day off every 5-6 days supposedly. That'll be good when I get my stuff... I'll probably be able to finish my math class that I was taking the semester when I got deployed. Hopefully one more class that wasn't a total waste. I would still need to talk to my English teacher if I wanted to finish composition though.

Nothing else to really note that I can say... and my job right now doesn't exactly take a lot of brainpower and as such, I haven't reached any extraordinary conclusions about anything. So.... Later