1st gear is a little tricky!

That was the start of the journey. Turned out to be an understatement. Add to that, “If you can’t find it grind it” and countless numbers of whiplashing brake checks that would have snapped off the head from a bobble head doll, that’s how the journey to Arifjan went from Buehring. Mind you, it’s a 2-2.5hr trip that took 4hours. How, I still don’t know. But then, the trip from Kalsu to Adder was only supposed to be a 4 hr. trip and it took nearly 10 hrs. That’s the Cav. for ya. Drivers in Kuwait are nuts. More so than Iraq, I think. A car cut off our bus from behind the truck just forward and to the right of us. I mean, if this car was 15’ long, he had 16’ to maneuver! And our driver would see the bus in front of us slowing down, brake lights blazing and he wouldn’t stop or even slow down until he was forced to SLAM on his brakes. Normally that’s jarring in a car with hydraulic brakes, but air brakes are just downright brutal. Add in the fact that I was tired and trying to sleep, I hear the squeal, raise my head just in time for the brakes to grab and bounce my forehead off the seatback in front of me. Ay yi yi! Crazy I tell ya! Now once we got close to Camp Arifjan, at the outskirts of the nearby city, we had a police escort. That was cool. They’d fly past us, stop traffic at intersections so we could roll thru red lights. Felt like a VIP! But they are crazy drivers too!!! All in all, we FINALLY made it and had the evening off. Walking around the camp, that place is HUGE. Way bigger than Camp Buehring. We were in Zone 6 which I guess is transient housing for units drawing vehicles, and had to drop paperwork off at the TMC in Zone 1. Taking a bus (yeah, it’s that big, no walking!) we ended up over there and were floored. They had a REAL track (that rubber stuff) and a turf soccer field. The fake kind with the little rubber pellets. They also have a pool, 2 PXs, the obligatory Starbucks and a Hardee’s. That’s Carl’s Jr. for you West Coast people.

Early the following A.M. we woke up got chow and coffee then went to the draw yard. Who has 2 thumbs and forgot to put on sunscreen thereby getting wind and sun burned? THIS GUY! Yeah. I’m rocking the raccoon eyes for a bit as my cheeks are RED. Kinda like a good day at the Wedge or Big Bear. Just not as fun ha-ha. But my Sr. medic and I got our vehicle checked out, all done and had hours to spare. We got back in time for dinner and then bed. The next morning we got to sleep in a bit, then formed up to go back “home”. Buehring being home. A bad omen was the busses showing up 30-40 minutes late. THEN we go and sit in a staging line for 30 min to an hr. I mean WTF, I’m sure there’s a legit reason, but I coulda used getting on the road in a timely manner! On our way back, we got the police escort, but these weren’t normal cops. Normal cops don’t drive camo pickups with machine guns in the back. Not even in Kuwait (I think lol) But on our way back got to see a lot of Bedouin tents. It was highway, then 100m off was the tents and then a 1000m away was a town/city. Very interesting. As you leave the city the number of tents drops too. Near Ali Al Saleem Air Base was a Bedouin camp w/ a herd of camels. Very cool. Being in Arifjan you had to REALLY remind yourself you were in the Middle East, more than we have to do here at Buehring.  Driving into AJ (short name for Arifjan) you can see past the refineries and oil pipes and such and see the ocean. SO close yet SO far!

A band crossed my radar about a year ago. Alestorm. Scottish pirate metal. What is pirate metal? Well, it’s a heavy/speed metal band that sings about being pirates. Everyone knows pirates are cooler than ninjas. It blends Pirates of the Caribbean with Iron Maiden and Dragonforce. Pretty cool stuff. It makes a long drive go by faster and makes you wanna hit the ocean. One song, “Back through Time” is about getting time warped from the pirate age to the Viking age and destroying Vikings. Entertaining to say the least. This is the perfect music to listen to while playing Battle Pirates on Facebook.

Occupy.....Starbucks

So the Army has this wonderful idea of making these mandatory online courses. Problem is, internet around the living tents SUCKS. But Starbucks has GREAT internet. So, i go and start my courses. 5 days later, i've finished my courses but have found that i pretty much live there. save myself the effort, i should move my locker and bed down here and leave to go to PT formation. The Venti Caramel Latte is on the verge of being renamed. And then i discovered the White Mocha. this sin in a cup is NOT good. it tastes delicious, but is of the devil. You drink it knowing that you are headed down a bad path. and then you order another and another. All this time online has led me to the phenomenon of Battle Pirates. Basically the bastard offspring of Command & Conquer and POTC (Pirates of The Caribbean). So with all this time spent at Starbucks, my family thought it genius to send their son gift cards for Christmas. ANYWHERE else in the world, awesome idea, perfectly executed. However. the ONE starbucks that i have in my AO, doesn't accept them. "The one downtown does" says the barista. WTF?!?! I can't GET "downtown" and he says downtown all nonchalantly as if i was in LA by the Colosseum and a tourist asked me where the Staples Center is. THAT is downtown. like a couple miles away. NOT 4 HRS away!

Its illegal to walk in the road on post. Do it and you're slapped with a $25 ticket. I'd frame that! But its odd. what is the street? The street is very different than the sidewalk, mind you. The sidewalk is DIRT or SAND with some rocks. the street, on the other hand, is vastly different: It's gravel, with some dirt and sand. Easy. no confusion. Roger. Tracking. Horse puckey! you start out on the "sidewalk" and then BAM! you're in the middle of the road. its like Doc Brown altered the Space-Time continuum and you shifted grid squares.

So, this medic is bored. fortunately the CO signed my Tuition Assistance paper so i can go to REAL college and the legitimately need starbucks just to stay awake. On a side note. its interesting, that we make fun of the beret wearing starbucks patrons and in a strange twist, we ARE beret wearing (not as much anymore) patrons. Only difference, we're trained killers, not haiku writing pansies who wouldn't even wear a free-range organic leather cut from the hide of an already dead cow belt.

Tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel, same bat drink, one step closer to bat-shit crazy.