found it

well they called me to the company office from work the other day to let me know they had found my wallet. I walk into top's (1st sgt) room and i immediately sense that something strange is going on, and i realize that i'm about to be interrogated; so naturally thats when i relax, because i know from observation and experience that interrogation is a word that this man can almost pronounce but has much less luck when it comes to the actual act. I could make this funny story short or long, so i'll just summarize it: As i said, I lost the wallet at the PX, however it was found in or around the Italian complex, a place from which US soldiers are strictly prohibited because they can have "cold beverages" whereas we cannot. They told me this, and then i was asked where i had kept my wallet when it got lost. As i had told them before it was in the little side pocket on the shorts -- this is where it gets funny -- and top says "ooh?" and he pulls out a pair of PT shorts, my wallet and (I presume this was the first time he had tried this little experiment) proceeded to try to shove my wallet into the undersized-looking wallet. 10 seconds pass and he stops with a small frown after he has succeeded in putting the wallet in the pocket. He then turns to another Sgt and says "huh, i guess it does fit in there." I try not to laugh. He goes on to suggest that i did not lose my wallet in the PX, but rather I somehow snuck into the italian camp, lost my wallet, snuck out, made it into the PX without showing an ID, and then constructed the story about losing it in the PX to cover some debauchery in the italian camp. The really crazy part is that not only did i see and talk to about 10 people from the unit during that 2 hours inside the store, but get this, 1st sgt - was the first person I saw on my way out of the PX complex and consequently the first person i reported the loss to. eh? eh? crazy? I told him that his theory was way off the mark and to consult with various people i had seen who helped me search the store that afternoon; he just tells me that he's going to have a talk with the guards that check ID at the PX to make sure that noone else (after my supposed infiltration) would be able to get in without id. wow. I left the room shortly after that with my sqd and plt sgt, and i dont know if they had the same urge to have a belly laugh, but since the one of them saw me pacing around the store that afternoon, i know they didnt believe in some ill-concieved italian-connection conspiracy. no harm done, interesting that top thinks im a clever villain though....but maybe i can use it against him in my plot to [insert evil deed] across the globe!! HA Ha HAR HAr HA!!!



well im close to finishing up and i still havent analizized the current political and military situation here in this beautiful country....so i think i'll just do it later. wow george W, you see? great minds DO think alike. ha. Oh and in my infinite boredom i've actually listened to much of that previously unlistened to music on my computer and ipod, plus some that i bought recently..like that new weezer cd is bad-ass, and although i havnet listened to NIN seriously in years, their new one is great too. I found bright eyes, saves the day, and the cure on my iopd and really like em. I listened to all of my widespread panic yesterday and now like them a lot more. There more i wanted to mention, buti just got called, cant wait to get back....
-billy

No sir, I don't like it.

This place officially sucks now, I've done all the cool things there are to do and now theres nothing in the forseeable future that i have any enthusiasm about. plus i've had a pretty irritating week as i'll explain. The reason i havent posted lately is because the sattelite dish feeding internet to this place (called the MWR for morale, welfare & recreation) was knocked over by some idiot backing up a 5 ton truck. what a way to have your name known around base. besides that, the whole internet project for the trailers completely fell apart. I'm not really sure why, I think they were short on money bc not everyone had paid or something but i blame it on the guy organazing anyway because he did a terrible job, just really bad. He shouldve gotten on that shit and pushed it if he was in charge of it. People started to ask for their money back because he had taken like 60% of the money from the people who paid up in the first day or two and then didnt ask the others to pay up or really ever even announce that he was trying to collect the rest of the money. so for 2 weeks he just sat around with $6000 waiting for another $3000 to magically appear. ridiculous.



Besides that, the day before yesterday my f-ing wallet dissapeared from inside my pocket. To get into the store here, you have to flash your id at a gate. I did that and then i distinctly remember putting it in the wallet and the wallet in the pocket of these army pt shorts. Walked into the PX, as we call it, and got like some razors and that new gorillaz cd and a book that i think would make me look smarter if i was caught reading it, and then went to the cashier all in a period of 10-15 minutes. somewhere in that 500sqft area, during those 10 minutes, that thing left my pocket becuase it wasnt there at the counter. I stayed in that awful store for almost 2 hours looking for it, waiting for someone to turn one in, and pacing the floor in a deeply frustrated way. Talked to the the manager like 5 times, gave him my info, talked to the gate guard, checked the garrison command lost & found....nothing. Even today, i went back there to check and noone turned it in....but dammit someone picked it up. im pissed because yesterday i spent all afternoon getting a new id card and cancelling my debit & credit cards. I really liked that wallet, had it since i was 16.



I dont have the time right now but soon i wanna write a little about what i've been seeing in the news, about the london bombings, the recent global escalation in terrorist activity, and this deadly, quagmirish, interminable, and once optional but now mandatory occupation this place. but right on cue i have to give up my computer spot, catch yas later.

-billy

still busy...

the one post per week policy seems to still be in effect, but just barely.. They're still keeping us really busy, my roommate scotty has been going outside the wire every day with a few other soldiers to guard a group of engineers doing construction. it's very close to base, but he sits out there sticking out of that hole in the ceiling of the truck and roasts for 6 hours a day. i know it sucks cause i do pretty much the same thing. i just have to chase down unruly iraqis now because my longtime theatre group is finished and i now have a new crew. now during my workday im constantly hit with a barrage of unintelligible questions and odd requests... "michael jackson freaky freaky?"...what does that mean?? this group is so needy, like everyone has a headache after lunch and i apparently have a big sign on my uniform that says RITE-AID because im supposed to cure everything from heartburn to the common cold. im sympathetic to the fact that maybe it's difficult to get medication in nasiriyah, but please iraqi man, ask once, and then go tell your friends that the white man has no cure. it's like i got the redneck group this time because they're mostly loud lazy and after my stuff. seriously all of my things, anything thats in my hand has it's ownership debated. magazines? sure you can have it but lemme finish reading it. gatorade, no problem. my watch? no, thats my watch i need that. you want my mp3 player? haha. i guess i couldve expected the behaviour based on the job they do. the other group built a theatre, these guys dig asphalt.



well i'm itching to get back, a lot of people are leaving here for the two week thing. makes me irrationally angry. i'm glad its not till fall though, means everyone will be in town and primed up, early fall all the way to halloween is always a good time. im gonna have to play it cool though, cause i wont be able to hang with the best of them anymore, or possibly even the worst of them. so no binge drinking at laha before 7. well fellas and honeys keep it cool, i'll hit you back later.
-billy

mafia

ah hey again, this can't be too long today because i'm doing several other things on the computer and time just really doesnt allow for much. fortunately, i just paid half on the internet with my roommate for our trailer. only 115 for 3 months, not bad right? plus you'll finally get so see some stuff i've been seeing when i get all those pics frikin uploaded. We've had a fairly interesting past couple days at the VCC. I was working a few days ago, and the crew engineer pulled me aside and started telling me about how the sheik's men had come to where they were lined up outside the gate in the morning with rifles. apparently they announced to all the contractors in line that the Sheik had decided that he gets no benefit from having us, the Americans, on his land operating a military base. Therefore, no more contractors or workers should come to the base to work. but heres the interesting part, he gave them a 1 day grace period to finish and move all their equipment out from the base, and not come back or else he would shoot, kill, or otherwise engage the workers who showed up. Now the engineer hadn't made up his mind as to whether he was going to comply with the sheik, but he asked me to inform the superiors of what was going on without giving his name. i did that. apparently it was some serious shit. he also said he would try to bribe the sheik, because he suspects that the shiek just wants to extort a tribute payment from all the contractors. Well sure enough, the next day, maybe 20% of the usual workforce arrived, and today even less because i heard that the threat was made again that second morning, despite the preparations of the security people here. By the end of that first day my supervisers had heard this from several different escorts and contractors so they took it pretty seriously. but we'll see how it turns out



hey i miss you guys, i was gonna write some stuff about you guys without using names to see if you could pick yourselves out, i'm sure it'll be easy, but i think it's an interesting idea so i'll do it anyway. in a later post. oh, justin, if you read this post your address in the comments so i can mail you a much deserved check for putting my leftover crap in storage...thanks man, hope you and john had a good time in espana. how do you make the special spanish n? well i cant wait to get back and i've really been meaning to call a lot of you but every damn time i come down here to use the phone i've forgotten my damn cell phone from which i can reference your damn numbers! like today, i forgot to bring that crap today. but anyway, i have a lot more to say actually, but not enough time. i'll have to save it. Peace