Al Rasheed Hotel Baghdad

After 4.5 years in Iraq, it's time to get on with my life!!! I wish I could show the pictures of all of my Iraqi friends I worked with, but for their safety, no pictures. Guys, thanks for all the times we had together. I am truly blessed to have you all as friends. Thanks for the going away party. It was really nice.

... glass with a gold rim. I burnt my fingers every time I had it. Who serves a ridiculously hot drink in a glass? Don't they have mugs? Paperclips Every once in a while, we would supply the police headquarters with office supplies. They had usually requested the same or similar supplies through their Ministry of Interior, but didn't expect to get anything from them. On one ...

... doing strategic communications. This isn't the position I was hired for but I quite enjoy my work. The environment at the Embassy is much like summer camp; they cook my food, wash and iron my clothes, clean my bathroom and make life very comfortable. The down side is that all the time I save not doing these things, I make up for by spending 12-14 hours a day in the office. I do take a nice break during the middle of the day ...

More than halfway there - back from my R&R, I was 55% done. It's all downhill from here. Ramadan started a few nights ago and I braced myself, but I have been pleasantly surprised at how quiet it is. I hope it continues. I also hope it's not the calm before the storm, because ...

I wake up in my trailer on the Army compound at 0530 just like any other day. But today something is different. This morning, I am actually smiling, unlike most days where I curse the prospect of another day of the grind. Today is my long-awaited travel day to go on R&R Leave from over eight months of a year-long deployment to Iraq. Work has been tough but this is truly a great reward - a free round trip ticket to anywhere in the world ...

I appoligise for the incredibly long delay since I've posted last, just nothing big going on (yeah right) anyway, at least this time I have some big news to report. Well, at long last, I have been able to do my reenlistment. I've signed up for another 3 years, in order to get a seat in an upcoming school for 91W P3, which is the specialty code for Eye Care ...

I just Finished the BolderBoulder Iraq edition, total time, 47:50, there ya go, a new generational record for the Dieters Family. You couldn't have asked for a better day to run, the sun was begind the clouds for the entire race, keeping the temprature down for us. (Below 85f), so it was great. Though I didn't make my goal of 45, I feel I did well. I've got the day off, so I'm outa here. Off to bed. Good luck tommorrow everyone!

... and Christina again, and hopefully pack up and move to Whiticha Falls for a year (yay). apparently the city has changed alot since I"ve been there, so who knows, it might not be that bad. nothing new to report, I just mostly wanted to send out the challenge to the other runners in the family, expect to see an update after that, with my time and maybe a puicture or two.

... out ALOT more. I've been working out 5 days a week for a total of around three hours a day. We run about 2-3 miles every morning, and then we go to the gym in the afternoon, to do 40 minutes on an eliptical machine, followed by an hour of weight lifting. Between that and a strict diet, 1800 calories a day, I now weigh in at 190 lbs! (I deployed at about 220 lbs) Furthermore, in a recent weigh and ...

... which will include ALOT of working out, that way, I can get my 'swole' off! Feelings are mixed, right now, as far as living conditions, it's a HUGE improvement. As far as job, it's considerably easier, and far more laid back. The main issue that I have is that at the aid station there are many things that I don't like how they're done, and I'm just not in a position to say anything about it. The issues between me and the ...