Happy New Year!

Yes, this year, I'm starting 2006 in late March, because this year nothing noteworthy will happen until I take a tired little hop off the bottom step of a commercial charter jet somewhere near Jackson, MS. That will mean i've left this troubled region to it's own devices. (that will happen within the next 3 weeks) If you wanna know what what i've done for the last 3 months, click archives on your right, and reread three months from 2005... August - October would be a good bet. I assure you nothing new has happened where I'm sitting in Iraq. I've diligently driven back and forth past the same irritated looking locals more times than i want to remember. I really hate to be so cynical, because i know i could write books about the insignificant little stupidities i encounter on a daily basis. On a more positive note, i could write paragraphs about the thoughtful, humane things i witness.. from time to time. I think, however, the bottom line is that right now, I am to a degree, less informed about things happening over here than you are. I know it sounds strange, but here's why i say that.

By the end of the first 6 months here, I had driven through many of the convoyed routes in Iraq, definitely all the ones I've ever driven. Plus while I did the escort duty I had a great time finding out what some of the people that live here think about the war and Americans. During that time, I had a chance to reasess the preconceptions i'd formed about Iraq, the war, Iraqis, military, blah blah blah. so I got myself good and informed about the general realities of living and warring in Iraq, but all that happened in some mysterious "moment", as a history professor might say. For example, i got a really good feel for how these southern townspeople think about Americans, and how they live with rotating electricity schedules and boiled drinking water, but when one of their important mosques burns in Samarra or some local cleric makes a stand, I dont have any idea about it till the semi-violent protests cross in front of our convoy. This was basically just a really long way of saying that although I grasp the generalities of the war, we dont get any real official updates on how this project is actually going. i get to know how many IED's were found on a route the previous week, but have no idea why they've increased 200% since the week before. I can always look up some stupid headline on cnn.com or some other website, but it's fair to say that we are safely out of the loop when it comes to current events, especially the people that arent inclined to go out on their own and look for the news.

So after all that, some of my ideas changed, some of them stayed the same or got stronger, but my point is that after that period of "philosophical recalibration" nothing changed. All I was left with to write about was either mundane descriptions of daily activities (fun for you but gets old for me), or introspective diatribes such as this one, which satisfy me a great deal, but may leave others feeling cheated. sorry. Anyway as I indicated earlier, we will be leaving here in the next three weeks. It's odd, I should be in a better mood with every passing day now that we're so close to leaving but i assure you it's the opposite. I'm more irritated every day. it's the nearness (but still 21 days away)ness of it that pisses me off. I think i've been altogether too condescending to my roommate lately, and i shouldnt have poured water on alan from the turret this morning... he shouldnt have kept hugging my leg. i think i'm just gonna get increasingly aggravated until the time i drive under I-526, and then i'll start humming a little tune. i've exaggerated a little but thats the basic idea. As for this "blog" or whatnot, I'll soon be free from the oppression of having to write about iraq, just because i friggin happen to be here. dammit. it was cool to have just jan 05 to dec 05 and then nothing. something aesthetic about that maybe.. see you soon
-billy