Yo!
Been a while since my last entry. I suppose I'm beginning to lose track of time as my days meld into one another amidst a blur of insomnia.
As the end of this deployment draws near, I find myself with little to do — my days consisting of little more than visiting the gym and compiling the daily news summary.
My recent tasks as the group illustrator have consisted of large memorial posters; my last one was for a dog handler who had been killed in action, and today I was given a request to put together a poster for a Military Working Dog who had been killed in a training accident.
Within the last couple of days I've seen the return of my transient insomnia with a side of mild depression and self-inflicted solitude. On the nights I do manage to get some sleep, it's usually drug induced, and when it's not, I tend to wake with a feeling of disorientation that resembles a formidable hangover — I'm suffering from a similar feeling as I type this as a result of the delusional nap I took at lunch.
I've also been spending quite a bit of my free time reading a Web comic called Questionable Content. Within a three-day period I've managed to read 632 strips.
That's all I've got...really. On a side note, I believe the world would be a better place if Ann Coulter were to be mauled by a pack of irritable badgers; but hey, that's just my opinion.
Feelgoode, out.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Easter in Afghanistan: Kinder Eggs and Friendly Fire
Leon,
The days since my last entry have been, until recently, full of absolutely nothing. I was given the opportunity to once again ride in an RG-31 to accompany some Marines during training. This sardine can of a vehicle has seen some changes since my last romp: the interior of the vehicle is now padded as are the seats, and the leg room is slightly more abundant.
The portholes in the windows are now entirely solid, lacking the porthole that could be opened and closed for return fire purposes. I'm sure this sounds like an improvement; however, I would like to note that the turrets on all four vehicles no longer functioned by the time we headed back.
I would also like to mention that we had tested these vehicles late into the night, and at one point, a gunner who had become disoriented in the moving vehicle began to fire across the range in our general direction. Granted, the fire wasn't aimed at us, but just a little too close for comfort. Some took to hiding behind the stationary RGs, while one Marine chased the vehicle down, throwing his water bottle to get the driver's attention.
A day or two later, I was requested to provide photo coverage of a competition that was being held by one of our battalions; a competition, might I add, that I had made the flyer for. This competition consisted of multiple stations, which would present some sort of challenge. Upon completing a challenge, the teams would run to the next station, which provided a new challenge. Between each station was a distance of a number of meters, and by the end of the competition, the accumulated distance would be roughly four to five miles.
I was given a vehicle in which to drive between the two stations I would cover, while the combat camera that accompanied me on this task would cover another two. After my second event had finished, I headed back to camp to take my comrade's place and finish photographing the final challenge.
Afterward, I changed into a set of civilian clothes, which would be my attire for the remainder of the day, and later headed back to the battalion to photograph the winning team. I also attended a barbecue that the host of the competition had invited me to.
Today was particularly interesting. I awoke 15 minutes before I was to be due in the office, dry shaved with a dull razor and gargled some mouthwash. Within 10 minutes of me sitting in my chair, I was called — by the same individual who had hosted that competition — and told that I was needed at the memorial site ASAP; no camera needed.
Upon my arrival, I was placed in a spot within a formation designated specifically for me, and we proceeded to march in a circle before being dismissed. Confused and irritated, considering I hadn't had my usual cup of coffee, I headed to the Commander's Update Brief, since I was in the area.
Upon completion of the brief, I exited the building and was informed that the waste of time I had just committed was in fact a rehearsal for a ceremony in which I was to be awarded the Army Achievement Medal — imagine my jubilation, which as you should know, was nowhere to be found at the time. However, over the course of the ceremony, I began to feel the joy of being awarded for the work I had produced.
After completion of the ceremony, I shook hands with a number of fellow soldiers who had attended and proceeded to the dining facility for coffee and a power bar. The rest of my day, even as I type this, was fairly relaxed, despite the fact that the folder I needed for a project seems to have been eaten by cyber nymphs.
After lunch, I played a quick round of Super Smash Bros, brawled with a friend and headed to the office to finish out my day. It would be shortly after that our office would receive a large box of pleasantries.
From the box of Pandora, I was blessed with what was called a Kinder Egg, which happened to be a chocolate egg that hid a small toy within itself. My little toy was to be constructed from numerous small parts that had been concealed within a yellow, plastic capsule.
When pieced together, it turned out to be an anthropomorphic paint bucket, which would shit a plastic paint blob with eyes upon lifting his paintbrush. I found myself enthralled with the little gadget and it now sits with pride upon my office laptop.
I was also given an opaque white bag adorned with a blue smiley face. Inside this happy bag were three bran muffins that, much to my delight, had been baked with Guinness beer — my personal favorite. These wondrous muffins shall be rationed over the next few days.
With the closing of this entry, I believe it to be important that I mention the return of my odd dreams featuring Jim Morrison. These dreams, of course, see me waking to extreme disorientation and unfamiliarity with my surroundings. Like before, these are not a result of my weekly mefloquine.
I'll have to set some time aside to evaluate these visions.
Peace,
Feelgoode
The days since my last entry have been, until recently, full of absolutely nothing. I was given the opportunity to once again ride in an RG-31 to accompany some Marines during training. This sardine can of a vehicle has seen some changes since my last romp: the interior of the vehicle is now padded as are the seats, and the leg room is slightly more abundant.
The portholes in the windows are now entirely solid, lacking the porthole that could be opened and closed for return fire purposes. I'm sure this sounds like an improvement; however, I would like to note that the turrets on all four vehicles no longer functioned by the time we headed back.
I would also like to mention that we had tested these vehicles late into the night, and at one point, a gunner who had become disoriented in the moving vehicle began to fire across the range in our general direction. Granted, the fire wasn't aimed at us, but just a little too close for comfort. Some took to hiding behind the stationary RGs, while one Marine chased the vehicle down, throwing his water bottle to get the driver's attention.
A day or two later, I was requested to provide photo coverage of a competition that was being held by one of our battalions; a competition, might I add, that I had made the flyer for. This competition consisted of multiple stations, which would present some sort of challenge. Upon completing a challenge, the teams would run to the next station, which provided a new challenge. Between each station was a distance of a number of meters, and by the end of the competition, the accumulated distance would be roughly four to five miles.
I was given a vehicle in which to drive between the two stations I would cover, while the combat camera that accompanied me on this task would cover another two. After my second event had finished, I headed back to camp to take my comrade's place and finish photographing the final challenge.
Afterward, I changed into a set of civilian clothes, which would be my attire for the remainder of the day, and later headed back to the battalion to photograph the winning team. I also attended a barbecue that the host of the competition had invited me to.
Today was particularly interesting. I awoke 15 minutes before I was to be due in the office, dry shaved with a dull razor and gargled some mouthwash. Within 10 minutes of me sitting in my chair, I was called — by the same individual who had hosted that competition — and told that I was needed at the memorial site ASAP; no camera needed.
Upon my arrival, I was placed in a spot within a formation designated specifically for me, and we proceeded to march in a circle before being dismissed. Confused and irritated, considering I hadn't had my usual cup of coffee, I headed to the Commander's Update Brief, since I was in the area.
Upon completion of the brief, I exited the building and was informed that the waste of time I had just committed was in fact a rehearsal for a ceremony in which I was to be awarded the Army Achievement Medal — imagine my jubilation, which as you should know, was nowhere to be found at the time. However, over the course of the ceremony, I began to feel the joy of being awarded for the work I had produced.
After completion of the ceremony, I shook hands with a number of fellow soldiers who had attended and proceeded to the dining facility for coffee and a power bar. The rest of my day, even as I type this, was fairly relaxed, despite the fact that the folder I needed for a project seems to have been eaten by cyber nymphs.
After lunch, I played a quick round of Super Smash Bros, brawled with a friend and headed to the office to finish out my day. It would be shortly after that our office would receive a large box of pleasantries.
From the box of Pandora, I was blessed with what was called a Kinder Egg, which happened to be a chocolate egg that hid a small toy within itself. My little toy was to be constructed from numerous small parts that had been concealed within a yellow, plastic capsule.
When pieced together, it turned out to be an anthropomorphic paint bucket, which would shit a plastic paint blob with eyes upon lifting his paintbrush. I found myself enthralled with the little gadget and it now sits with pride upon my office laptop.
I was also given an opaque white bag adorned with a blue smiley face. Inside this happy bag were three bran muffins that, much to my delight, had been baked with Guinness beer — my personal favorite. These wondrous muffins shall be rationed over the next few days.
With the closing of this entry, I believe it to be important that I mention the return of my odd dreams featuring Jim Morrison. These dreams, of course, see me waking to extreme disorientation and unfamiliarity with my surroundings. Like before, these are not a result of my weekly mefloquine.
I'll have to set some time aside to evaluate these visions.
Peace,
Feelgoode
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