Day 73

Yesterday we finished all of the paperwork and officially began our duties here in sunny Iraq. Now I just need to figure out how to do my job and I'll be happy. When I installed Skype the other day I accidently put my location as Iraq, not the United States, and that information bled over into other programs, such as Blogger. So, now, whenever I start this program, the log-in screen is in Arabic, and whenever I run the spell check, it says all of the words are mispelled. Ah, war is hell. Things here really aren't all that bad. There are two dining facilities, and there is lots of food and it is better than average. They rotate through a 14 day menu, and we've had steak, and surf and turf, and turkey and stuffing, and there is a sandwich bar, and a potato bar, and a very extensive salad bar, and a pasta bar, and a dessert bar, but nowhere do I find a bar bar. They serve non-alcholic beer in the chow hall, and you can buy it at the PX, but I figure if I can't catch a buzz, what's the point. Down at the PX compound, there is a Burger King, a Pizza Hut, and a Taco Bell. There are several resturants on post, one Italian and one Mexican. I'm going to do supper tomorrow night at the Italian place. The PX is stocked with esentials, such as Doritos, and dip, and salsa, and pretzels, and microwave popcorn, and sodas, and movies, and shoes, and bedding, and TV's. And I do like the PX people. Rather than have any of that stuff at a reduced price, just to make it easier for us, they kept the prices the same in this PX as they have in the PX in North Dakota. Isn't that nice of them? This way I'm not confused while I'm shopping. I'm so glad they're here for us. I still don't have a TV in my room. We have a cable hookup, and I understand there are 15 channels to choose from, and they're all free, but I'm liking coming home and not having to watch TV just for something to do. I do so enjoy the peace and quiet.