WELCOME TO THE MACHINE

what? I can leave??

2006-04-08T11:36:00.000-05:00

It doesn't even seem like it's for real but we're really actually leaving this place... like i'll be in the states in under a few days. Right now I just came back to the room from one of the last briefings being done to get everyone organized for flights out. The company is leaving here over the course of several flights, but once we get to Kuwait, I think we have a designated jet for our company. Do you know what that means? That means I get to make a pillow-fort in one of the middle isles and have it all to myself... I would say no girls allowed, but merit-based exceptions can be made... ;) Anyhow as soon as we get some time to run around when we get back to the states, I'm gonna try to get my phone activated again with the same #, so if you're feeling curious next week, gimme a ring becasue it might work. I'm gonna keep this short cause I have some stuff to get done, obviously, before we leave, and I just wanna chill out cause the last days have been ridiculous. I am so very fucking excited to be coming back. I don't really have the words for it, but it seems like a dream thats too good to be true right now. You guys and girls have seriously "held me down" and kept my spirits up while i've been over here and trust me, i'm grateful to everyone I know and i owe you all something special for keeping me in your thoughts... even if it was just to laugh about how wasted I got one night... right? right? but it meant a lot, so i will thank you all somehow. i'm gonna do my part to make this summer kick ass. i'll try to post back or talk to someone next time I get a chance, but they're snagging our internet away tonight, so it might be few and far between until i get some cell minutes. Moving in for the summer on may 1, but i may make it down before then.. never know.. :) ok thats it, gotta go but i'll seeya soon.

Happy New Year!

2006-03-23T07:06:00.000-05:00

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

i still like nada surf

2005-12-23T16:48:00.000-05:00

apparently they've put out a new cd, from which i've heard a couple songs and it sounds pretty decent. I should delve further. sorry i havent been posting much, maybe just lack of enthusiasm. honestly theres been some pretty interesting things going on lately, but i dont feel like writing about it. not because it's embarrasing or restricted or "a touchy subject" or anything.. i just dont really feel like planning out an essay type thing for the general audience. so if you want an anecdote, email me, or better yet instant message me. (demosthenesMMII) hm. well i havent really been on that much lately, or facebook for that matter, but i will. I just havent been on the computer much in general. been trying to stay out of my room so i dont turn into a vegetable, or worse, my roommate. he is a myspace addict. he has 300000000009 friends. but thats cool, i'd love to have that many friends, im just lazy i guess. i just finished a game of poker, we played for 4 hours because at least 4 of the 7 people bought back in, sometimes more than once, so noone left the game. So even though i was the second person out of the game, technically i came in something like second, maybe third place because I didnt buy in a second ..or third time. i made sure to announce that several times after i ran out of chips. oh, i wanted to reproduce this segment from mcsweeneys.net because i think it's really good.

TRULY GROUNDBREAKING
ADVERTISING IDEAS.
BY DAN KENNEDY

- - - -

Client: Any major brand of pain reliever

OPEN ON: A middle-aged woman is doing the dishes, answering the phone, tending to the kids, and in general being Super Mom. At one point, we cut to her point of view and everything shifts to a slow-motion blur. She presses her hands firmly to her temples.

[Sitar music.]

CUT TO: A shot of a jackknifed semi on a highway somewhere in the mountains.

[Shotgun blast.]

Suddenly it's daytime. We're clearly someplace else now ... a sunny meadow.

CUT TO: Close-up of a smoking, spent shell lying in the sun ... we PULL BACK and realize there's a target range in this meadow.

CUT TO: Night again. We're looking at a wide shot of a man camping in a tent in a suburban driveway. In the tent, he is surrounded by sexy women in lingerie. He starts weeping.

Suddenly we're back in the kitchen we saw in the establishing shot.

[The sitar music is getting frantic at this point ... it peaks and then shifts seamlessly to Bob Dylan's "Tombstone Blues."]

Mom takes her hands off her temples and looks into the camera with a painless, stoic stare, just in time to silently lip-synch the line "The sun's not yellow, it's chicken."

CUT TO: Product shot on white. We see the bottle of pain reliever sitting there.

[The only audio under the product shot is a man laughing in the distance with a little reverb on it, and a 911 operator saying something about a vehicle catching fire.]

END

theres several more, equally funny... given that you've been drinking robitussin.
thats all i have, and i now feel better for having posted this. and merry christmas.
-billy

fuck. im back.

2005-11-28T02:04:00.000-05:00

i finally got brave and dropped the f-bomb in the title, i think thats worthy of some note, but i think it sums things up pretty well. its easier and harder to leave the second time. it's easier because you know whats coming. and it's harder because you know whats coming. does that make any sense? i can honestly say, though, that i had a really good time back in the states, i did almost everything i wanted to do, and i got to see almost everyone, but it's that 'almost' that gets me when i think about what i did and what i didn't. the problem was simply not enough time. wait, problems? what the hell am i talking about? there really was nothing better than getting to see some of you, be it for 2 days, or 2 weeks. i just want to start my life in chas again for good. i've never even spent more than 2 weeks there over the summer. again, thanks army. anyway i hope, as always, that you guys enjoy my company, cause next time i show up it'll be for good :) well thats all i have to report, being that i just got back here last night. i can say that theres a certain quality, comfort maybe, that im back and in the last stretch of this deplorable deployment.. heh. plus my friends here seem happy to have me back so it's all good. i suppose i'll keep posting, and with some new pics to counterpoint the awful drunk ones taken of me at various times and levels of intoxication lol peace

out of here

2005-11-05T07:29:00.000-05:00

this'll be my last post till i get back here after my vacation, but when i get home and find myself a cell phone i'll post the number up here i guess. so anyway, im still gonna keep it up, im just not gonna trouble myself to do it while i'm having a good time at home. see everyone later.
-billy

2005-10-25T06:21:00.000-05:00

the email address i'll be using is waslater@gmail.com. the army email software was irritating and slow.

some more..

2005-10-24T10:06:00.000-05:00

Here are some more i decided to put up. most of these are from that mission to al kut that i was raving about late at night in my last post. we went through 3 little towns, you can see how congested some of them were but like i said, there weren't any problems. i came back from that one to kuwait a couple days ago, but theres nothing worth taking a picture of down there. oh, and today i finally found out that i'll be flying out of here on nov 7 to go back to the states. im pretty excited. seriously, because i want some la hacienda. maybe i'll see some of you there too... lol
-billy

some pics

2005-10-23T12:41:00.000-05:00

gratification

2005-10-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

it's nice to have a nice trip like the one i just had. i said that we would be stuck someplace for about a week and thats exactly what happened.. but it was really nice. nice short day trip there and what followed was a solid 4 days of nothing at all. camp delta is almost completely run by eastern european countries, the accommodations are comfortable, the chow hall is good, and theres nothing to really spend money on. we had a 6 person crew there during the election just to have some extra firepower there in case anything happened, but we weren't needed at all. so anyway i spent those days playing spades, finishing like 3 books i was in the middle of, sleeping late witholut getting bugged, and a lot more of peaceful nothingness. well i gotta cut it short for now cause im headed south and i gotta get some sleep. oh i didnt get into it, but the gratification came in part because while riding in the turret through the 3 towns on the way to delta, the only things i saw were iraqis walking around looking happy and waving while they did their morning duties, and their iraqi vehicles which were inexplicably good at obeying my hand signals from the rear truck. so i was in a really good mood there and back waving like a clown and feeling pretty good about things, at least in that neck of the desert. i dont have time now, but i'll put up some pics of the trip when i get back here in a few. goodnight. -billy

bad movies and crappy ping pong paddles

2005-10-11T10:27:00.000-05:00

two things that i really hate but always seem to get stuck with. i guess since my last post i've been on two more missons, one to the north and one to the south. the one to the north was a pain in the ass, no battles or anything like that though. we were escorting civilian fuel trucks driven by a group of indians or pakistanis or something like that and they kept making us stop. one broke down 30 into the trip, a tire blew later on, and finally just before we were supposed to make our final turn, one decided to rearend the truck in front of it. a 4 hr trip turned into 8 hrs. the kuwait trip wasnt much better, we got down there allright, but the next day i had to lead a group of trucks to somewhere else in kuwait so they could drop off their cargo. i end up the convoy commander because the real convoy commander is a lazy idiot. i'm serious, the man is almost retarded in the legal sense of the word, i had to redo a bunch of his paperwork and research contacts that he conveniently didnt provide for me. on the other hand, i really didnt mind doing it because afterwards i could gloat about my compentence and his lack thereof, i'm doing that now. then the next day we leave and have truck break down 30 into the trip, so we screw around on the side of the road for 4 hrs till we decide that we can't fix it and call a tow truck.

somehow i let myself watch Son of the Mask, and then malibu's most wanted in a relatively short timespan. i regret it and thats all i'll say about that. i'll go ahead and touch on the ping pong issue. it was news to me too, but i like ping pong and i'm getting pretty good at it. anywhere we go they have ping pong tables so its really easy to blow a couple hours ping ponging. anaconda is the place that we really got the ping pong addiction started and it also happens to be the place with the best equipment e.g. good pads on the paddles and nets that are the corect height/material/tension. we played there for like a week and got spoiled. everywhere else seems like they have paddles and tables that were used for gardening and/or construction. it's really not a big deal, it's just one of those things that that i wonder about while rolling into the camp and either get pleasantly surprised or irrationally frustrated. i'm leaving here again tomorrow, and might be stuck somewhere for a week or so beause of the road restrictions that are being put into place during this constitutional referendum. i dont know all the details other than theres gonna be a few days of no convoy traffic. i rarely get on the internet when we're out at a different camp, but we'll see how this one is, i've never been to it before.
but heeey i'm haveing a pretty good time lately, i like being busy driving to these different places, it's interesting and it makes time pass faster. and that reminds me that i dont have much longer to wait before getting back over there for my vacation. that'll be nice. well im pretty much out of material for now, i didnt really have much to say anyway but i wanted to put something up before i get stuck out in the middle of nowhere. i cant wait to get out of here and see you guys. lata
-billy

a short break

2005-09-24T06:03:00.000-05:00

well we went to kuwait right after i wrote that last post and we stayed there at camp arifjan for a couple days. arifjan is a pretty large and established base, i know it's been there at least since just before the first gulf war and it's pretty much just like a medium sized base back in the states. it's pretty relaxed; once you cross the kuwaiti border, the weapon comes down from the turret and the body armor can come off. likewise in the base, we can finally walk around in regular clothes without lugging around a weapon and ammo. the only problem is the constant struggle against blowing all your money while you're there because there's like a million ways that they have thought of to part a soldier and his/her extra pay. it's all just a bunch of crap you think you need.. nothing special really, its the same things that every other post px has, just a whole lot more of it. plus gobs of local and international merchants there trying to sell cheap gadgets or unremarkable souveniers. you either go to arifjan expecting to spend a lot of money, or go expecting to spend nothing at all because it's going to be either one or the other.

anyway, i had a good time there, woke up late both days, hit up the coffee shop, played a little tennis and ping pong, made it to the pool, and watched a couple of movies. at one of my filipino friend's advice, we all went to get a massage at the salon or whatever that they have there. wow is all i have to say, that 40 year old filipino amazon had some magic hands cause i felt completely relaxed for the rest of the day, plus the turret was cramping up a spot underneath my shoulder blade and that felt a lot better afterward too. we were all a little disappointed that noone got the happy ending.. but regardless, that spot is now on the list of things to do in arifjan.

it was fun, but that wasnt the short break i was talking about. i got back to tallil a couple days ago, and we have another mission coming down the pipe, but it's not for another little bit, so i have some time to put my room back together - it was looking like a storage bin that i would just come by to throw things in periodically. i woke up really late this morning because last night 6 of us stayed up strung out on coffee and played poker until almost dawn.. the game and things in general got a little strange and spastic after about 3, but it was still alot of fun. i tried to sleep really late today too, but lately they've been cutting the power randomly throughout the day. and today it was ridiculous, they cut it at 10am and didnt turn it back on till 2pm, way to go idiots, turn off the power during the hottest part of the day. the heat got me out of bed by 11 and i was just pissed trying to read a book outside for the next 3 hrs.

the state of this war has me a little bit concerned. im not sure how all of this is reflecting on the "news" everyone watches on tv in the states because i stopped watching it. partly because it's crap and partly because the tv signal has been horrible for the past month and i havent been here to watch tv anyway. i try to be an optimist, but some stuff is really starting to go down. we've had attacks (more than 1) on this camp in the very recent past while i was on the road. people here are really on the alert now, it's a different climate almost. i don't catch a lot of the headlines, but i know that a lot of the people up and down the country are just getting scared. iraqis are killing iraqis more than they are killing us. i'm just not sure what's here that can hold this country together other than continuous military enforcement. this operation needs a serious strategy re-evaluation. the man says that if we leave iraq without finishing the job, it will become a hotbed for terrorist activity just like afghanistan was... well i'm sorry to break it to you but it already is a terrorist hotbed, where is the best place in the world to go to easily find and fight plenty of american soldiers? don't think too hard. anyway, i expect to see some chaos in the near future especially with these two sets of elections coming up before anything really gets better, but i really, really hope it does. i hope you didn't underestimate their resolve george because if you did, things are not going to be pretty here for a very long time.

oh, i think i have a leave date now, it's tentatively scheduled for the first chunk of nov, so hopefully that doesnt change again. i gotta go get some dinner, but i'll be in touch,
-billy

back... not for long

2005-09-19T06:31:00.000-05:00

thats another trip up north in the bag, this one was notably boring, which i guess is a good thing, but feels almost like a let-down. i thought it was something unusual to have a trip or two with no enemy contact but i talked to some of my friends in other convoy groups that have been going all over for quite some time and out of 25 or so trips, they still have yet to run into anything. we just got lucky :) i dont think you can imagine the excitement of getting attacked on the road, but let me tell you...whew, its pretty dang exciting. i guess i'll say that that night last week we were the lead gun truck and just missed getting smacked by a roadside bomb and then had some guys shooting at us from somewhere off to the left and there was an rpg in the mix there somewhere too, and we were hauling ass, shooting, dust, smoke everywhere, dodging concrete barriers, made our exit...and that was that. and then we were hootin and hollerin, yelling things like, aww man that was f-ing crazy! mighty two-handed high fives, plus some kudos for me for not driving past the exit during the mayhem. couldnt resist throwing that in.

this trip though was nothing like that, we had to stop several times for the convoy drivers to get out and pee, thats about it. gotta leave very soon though, but this one is definitely in the more favorable direction for a boring trip. i guess thats all there is to say, but i'll say that i was never really concerned about our safety, i have 2 great guys in the truck with me that know what they're doing, and our truck cab is literally a solid 2 inch thick shell of class 2 armor. it could be blown off the truck frame and land 50 feet away intact. all in all, i find myself enjoying this job a lot more than i thought i would, you just really need to see baghdad at night, from a turret. see ya soon, -billy

freedom costs a buck o' five

2005-09-14T10:50:00.000-05:00

well we made it back in one piece after running up and down the larger part of this awesome country. (we almost went clear to mosul) all in all it was a pretty good time, we had a couple of 24+ hour days just trying to make it to where we were supposed to be, but at least we had decent places to crash when it was done. we were discussing the possibility of stenciling some sort of logo or slogan (slogo?) on the sides of our trucks to sort of separate ourselves from the herd, because of course, we are the best that can be hoped for when it comes to convoy security. we were thinking maybe "Freedom - has a Hefty Fuckin Fee" or "Doing our part to save the motherfuckin' day.. Yeah". we ran those by chief and although he really liked them both, he suggested we use the title of this post.. i think it lacks a certain conviction. but whatever i'll let you know what ends up on our trucks cause something's gonna be put there.

just before coming back here, we were stopped at anaconda for about 2 days so the trucks we escorted could load up on what they needed to bring back here. anaconda is another major camp a little bit north of baghdad. that place is pretty nice, they have themselves a pool there, which is where i was for most of the afternoon both days we were there. i got a nice little sunburn and made kind of an ass of myself doing crazy shit off the diving platforms, but thats pretty much what i was going for, so i'm satisfied.

normally we get a day or two off here between missions but damn if we didnt just get back when they tell us to get ready for another tomorrow, so i'm off again, but this one should be much more simple because of the direction, if you know what i mean. im not sposed to be specific. speaking of non-specific, me and my buddies all qualify for the new combat action badge.. back at ya later, -billy

be back soon

2005-09-08T01:48:00.000-05:00

i'll be outta here for a week maybe, shouldnt be longer than that but it just got sprung on us so i figured id say something about it. cant say much other than its gonna be an interesting one. if i can i'll drop a few sentences when i get there, but if i dont, then i'll be back in a week, hopefully less. peace,
-billy

back at it

2005-09-05T05:01:00.000-05:00

hi there folks, i know i haven't posted anything in a little bit. Sorry about neglecting it, but i can't help but feel like i've been losing interest in it lately. I know why though, it's because i'm getting closer to getting back home for that little vacation. whats the point of typing a bunch of crap when i could just talk about it in a few weeks. october, by the way, is when im supposed to get my 2 weeks. I thought it would be september, but all the slots got filled before i could grab one up this month.

So about a week ago, another company that did jobs very similar to our own, was reassigned to some other part of the country. When they left, we were originally going to take over the escort spots at the VCC which would double the number of people from our company that would have to do that duty - a real pain in the ass. Luckily, two days later, they decided to pull everyone off of vcc duty so that our whole company could take over the other job that both our units are responsible for - guntruck convoy escorts. So instead of double the escort duties we have double the convoys to escort around. I was split 50-50 doing escort and convoy duties, but now i have several missions this week, i got back from the first one yesterday. I'll admit that the missions have their risks, but they're infinitely more fun and interesting than even the most engaging conversations i've had with a contractor here. plus, as i've said before, here in the south things are quiet and a lot of our missions are headed even further south, so no worries.

Well as i said, i'm still a little apathetic about writing alot on this post, but i think it'll be easier now that we got the internet up for our rooms. (I failed to mention that) but i have pics now so heres one i took on the road, and one i just took of myself in my room. seeya soon, Billy

word.

2005-08-15T08:49:00.000-05:00

word, i'm here at the computers again bored out of my friggin mind. i dont really have much to say other than i'm thinking i should have more to say since im in, you know, a war-torn country. if you want a very true quote about the military, look me up on facebook and i think i stuck a good hunter s. thompson quote there a while back. wow thats all i have to say, but i'll compensate for it later. but, while im thinking about it, i want to 'holla' at a couple great friends i havent seen in a bit or two. i know they both had a good time in the UK, the lucky fuckers, but when i return, i'll be glad to be able to hit the upper deck again with a couple of seasoned pub junkies, legally this time. blimey. ilani, john, welcome back to the land of the free. cant wait to see you guys.

-billy

i can do that??

2005-08-14T06:54:00.000-05:00

hah, while clicking all fast to get in here and post something i happened to read that i can now snag pictures directly off the web and stickem in my blog, so in lieu? of writing anything relevant, I think i'll just mess around until they call me off this computer. My nice little headphones that come with the ipod got destroyed by the tire of a truck so now because of the lack of headphone variety at the px, i now look something like this:

hopefully this works because all i see while i write this is a bunch of wierd internet gobbledy-gook. And the other day, one of the drivers i was escorting got himself banned from the base because he tried to sneak a cellphone onto the base by hiding it under the mercedes logo on his truck. If you ask me, it was a pretty good hiding spot but i guess we were too smart for him, so anyway they caught him and then he got this look on his face:

wow that was fun, thanks google images, sorry jon. anyhow this is all fine and dandy, but what id like to do is post this video that me and a friend made that has some stirring images (videos) of life on the road all choeographed with metallica's "turn the page". it's totally cool, seriously. i need to brainstorm on it. I'm tempted to keep playing with stolen pictures but i wanna check how much they're compensating me this month for my invaluable service. it's not a lot. then im hittin the gym biotches, grrrrr!
-billy

today's post

2005-08-05T08:58:00.000-05:00

original title today heh? well since i graced the web with so much last time, im just going to do i concise little update for now:

-same old stuff going on, escorting locals and truck missions; havent shot anyone so far...shucks

-my roommate is watching a lot of dragonball z which would be ok if i were 8 years younger..

-today is my sister Marisol's b-day so i wanted to give a shoutout? to her and congratulate her on enduring my cruel tutelage for 17 years.

-also, yesterday was one of my best friend's 21st birthday...wish i coulda been there nate, happy birthday man

-the weather here, after holding for maybe a week, has returned to normal, meaning it sucks again.

-for dinner most days i've started eating these "simply asian" noodle bowls and they are pretty good.

-i've run out of movies to watch except that i have that steve zissou movie on the way from amazon, but i dont think it will be here before i'm forced to watch office space again.

-sara, thanks for the ireland postcard, i got it today... and guinness is indeed good for you.

-this girl i met here the other day claims to "dig" me, but i get the definite impression that she is the one getting dug...often

-still don't have a definite leave date yet but it's coming around pretty soon. cant wait to get back..
-billy

muh.

2005-08-01T08:15:00.000-05:00

the title has nothing to do with anything, its just a sound i've taken to making when something is frustrating. this'll be short because i've sat here looking at bank statements and various crap instead of writing diligently for your benefit. since i mentioned that the internet plan fell through because of someones lack of motivation, i've "spearheaded" a new plan to have us internet in 2 or 3 weeks depending on delivery times. i do have a sidekick and together we have "rallied" 25 or so people to commit themselves financially by 9 august. so with all luck and allah's help, in 2 weeks i will be able to blow hours of valuable time watching strongbad's email and stick figures that box each other.

i'd kinda like some feedback on this, but is this war considered a "quagmire" yet? dont take me the wrong way, we're not in "the shit" or anything like that and compared to vietnam, this is like an afternoon sampling pralines on market street. But just by virtue of the fact that i seem to be inexplicably stuck here for an indefinite period of time, (and i would say that "several or more" other service members have found themselves in a similar quandry) and also by virtue of the fact that there seems to be no consensus on whether we are actually winning over the people of iraq, it's hard to say exactly how well this thing is going. but i do have some input. for all the liberals reading this, i'm not selling out, just being pragmatic. ...fuck the man!!

Given, i am in an area of Iraq that is predominately shia muslim, which means that they've always been 'bout it when it comes to american occupation, but i have not talked to one iraqi, inside or outside camp, who say or imply that things are not better for them now than they were 3 years ago. yea i know thats really flimsy, but i ask that to almost everyone i meet, and it's nice to know that at least some section of the country doesnt want me dead. concrete examples though, they now have relatively steady electricity for the vast majority of nasiriyah, and the drinking water has finally stopped killing babies and old people. I was talking the other day and this guy made a couple good points, both arguments to stay in iraq because i told him i wanted the hell out of here. he said iraqis still dont understand freedom well enough. Some people here, local sheiks in particular had a grand epiphany, "ooh we have freedom now, now i can do whatever the hell i please". so they start exercising the local power they have to suit their needs, and as i wrote in a previous post, that includes extortion, intimidation and bribery. thats the jist of it. his second point was that the only thing holding the country together right now is us military power, exactly the same type of power that saddam used to hold the country together. The racial and ethnic divisions heere run deeper that you can guess. you probably know the sunnis and shias dont really get along, and the kurds dont really get along with anyone. but anyway thats the challenge i guess, but he's convinced that if the US left now, there would be civil war here (if there already isnt) and the country would be left worse than it was before. So i guess thats enough for me to justify finishing the job. However much good is being done here though, it never justifies us coming here in the first place. ESPECIALLY under false pretenses. If w had said, "hey america, saddam hussein has tortured and oppressed his people for too long. we want to go in and remove him for the good of the iraqi people and the stabiliy of the region. and guess what else? we'll proably get lots of cheaper oil too!" if he had said that rather than "ahh scarrry saddam wants to kill yoouuu! booo! and hes gonna do it soon too, so we better fuck him up now so YEAA GO AMERICAAA!#@$!" if he had said the former rather than the latter, we may not have been as quick to go to war, but ya know, maybe thats not such a bad thing... maybe we woulda had a little more time to PLAN and ANALYZE.... for a complete reconstruction of a frikin COUNTRY. or maybe some time to FINANCE A WAR and NOT GO BROKE. those are all key concepts here.

anyway, we're here and hindsight 2020 whatever im not complaining, but before we get all hellbent and rabble-roused, i assure you that there are good things going on here that even i, a most heinous? and verdant liberal, had no idea about...but i am happy to see that they are happening. We (I) might be all pissed off that if we have our way with these people, they will surely be poisoned by fastfood, wallmarts, processed foods, credit cards, cameraphones, tivos, paris hilton... I'll get over it though, because by that time I wont have to see so many people starving and begging on the roadsides or getting shot because they're the wrong denomination of the same religion, or drinking gross-ass water, or living in hard mud with no AC. there, bite me.

holy christ i just realized i wrote a little bit there. and it occured to me that i profane? quite a little bit here on thius blog here, so i'm really sorry if i offend anyone. (not really) anyway i think this is quite enough so i'll leave it at this..there, i miss my city!
-billy

found it

2005-07-28T06:09:00.000-05:00

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.

2005-07-24T06:47:00.000-05:00

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...

2005-07-15T07:20:00.000-05:00

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

2005-07-07T11:41:00.000-05:00

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

Some pedictions, random musings

2005-06-30T11:46:00.000-05:00

oops, well there went 10 days, that was fast. Time seems to be going by pretty quickly here, i'm not sure if it's just me. I'll ask scott, my roommate, what he thinks. We were sparring today in our tiny room and i accidentally punched him in the nose...he gets nosebleeds like all the time anyway, so i really dont know what the problem was. I think he'll punch me later tonight or maybe tomorrow, but i predict it. Whats funny is we go to the gym together but he is a very skinny man trying to round out, and i am a not so skinny man trying to flatten out, so i wonder if we shouldnt be doing the same exercises. well except i run because i hear that running in the desert heat can be extremely effective. but everything else works pretty much the same or else they would have a fat people side and a skinny people side in the gym with totally different machines. I think that would be cruel and funny. we're both making some progress i think, so we'll see how it progresses over the next couple of months. did you hear in the news about any planned attacks over here during the 4th of July weekend? If you did, let me know. I like to stay informed. Now that i think about it, the upcoming holiday seems to have been shrouded in a veil of mystery. Did i miss some flyers about the huge BBQ that most carnivorous americans insist on having? What about the fireworks? OK i just asked, no BBQ, but we do get ribs at the chow hall where every meal is served. which makes it like every other meal. the fireworks i dunno, but it would be nice if they were of the recreational variety.

They just trained a new batch of hajji watchers so i suspect they'll swap us out sometime soon. I'd like a change of pace. The group we work with has nearly completed the project and after three weeks, in their presence i've achieved a god-like status among them. he who brings cold water and pacifies angry vengeful captains with soothing tones. thats my complete name, i am what i am. in return i get offerings of trinkets, bread and cheese, and of course, adulation. ha, i'm kidding but me and a couple others have gotten along great with the contractor (who is one loaded iraqi) and his workers. i've had to work at other projects too but if neither me nor the two others who work at the theatre with the usual crew are there, they complain and we hear about it, which irks me because it's one of the longer duties and i like to be lazy in the afternoon heat. there it is, and my number just got called so i gotta go. be back soon.

good? bad? i dont know

2005-06-20T13:25:00.000-05:00

dag yo, i cant wait till i can post my pictures or other little funny drawings that i may or may not have the inclination to contruct in a fit of boredom. To contradict what i said earlier about the internet situation within our company, it looks as if they have done some research, done some math, and done some printing and copying with the goal of giving us little "fact sheets" on how much the whole ordeal is gonna cost and when it's going to be functional. It's looking like its gonna be almost $16K!! ... for three months. After you do all the long division thats gonna end up at someting like $250 per person for 3 months of internet. Now i know what you're thinking: gawd, billy just take the flippin walk to the MWR building. Granted, when i first heard that number i had similar sentiments, but just in the past couple days i've been thinking it over and came to the conclusion that you, all of you, and myself included took (and take) the internet crap for granted. Its only when you're relegated to 30 minute blocks of internet time after an hour wait that you recognize the value in being able to answer email AND complete one other simple task without being interrupted by some asshole on a megaphone. which i predict will happen in about 7 minutes. I got lucky and wrote that really long post a couple of posts ago when for some awesome reason, they forgot to call me off for like 90 minutes. that doesnt happen much though. Whatever. so because of the fact that i can never get anything done within this tiny timeframe that they give us, im gonna cough up the money like the good little consumer I am. hey, at least i'll be able to chit chat with you guys a little more, and probably figure out some fun stuff to put up here. camel shots maybe. id still give this thing another month to get finished but eventually it looks like its gonna happen.

Oh on an irritating note, all 20 of the people on escort duty with me have been extended on that duty for another month while they ...train more people for escort duty. whaat?? train someone to, for the most part, sit on one's ass and watch people work?? thats just incredible. Ok theres a little more to it, but nothing that can't be taught to a 5 year old in 15 minutes. I would be perfetly happy staying on the duty, if i didn't eventually want to get on the road and do what i was trained to do. It's technically "not as safe" but what our trucks do, which is mostly run to kuwait and back, is about as risky driving to mt pleasant and back. (driving the old bridge) I'm not too concerned though, this will be the last month, and as long as they pay me the same, i couldn't care less. Ok well im running out of time, so until my next walk down here, peace.

Time off

2005-06-12T06:21:00.000-05:00

I'm just in the middle of my sunday off but just by chance I got yesterday off too, so i've been catching up on sleep and watching some movies that i've been meaning to see. On friday, i was talking to some of the Iraqi guys that run the local shop here on base and we started talking about the internet and how available it was in Nasiriyah, turns out, that it's really easy to get with a satellite dish, and many middle class families in the city can afford one without much trouble. It's like $100 for the dish and equipment and then another $50 per month. Thats really reasonable so I'm looking into having one of them bring me the equipment from the city and me and my roommate will set it up and split the cost. We were supposed to be getting a big superfast sattelite feed for the entire company to share, but the people that are supposed to be organizing it are moving very slow. So yea, if i can get my own internet thing set up for just me and my roommate, I'm gonna jump on it cause who knows when theyre gonna get a companywide network in place....ha probably never. I also talked to those guys about getting a sim card for my phone, and they can do it, but it's one of those things where im not sure if it's worth it because the card is $130 and i think the airtime to call the US is like $.70 per minute. I'll decide tomorrow when i go ask about the dish again, but i think it'll be nice to be able to make some quick phone calls from my room, instead of walking half a mile to this building. Thats all for now, talk at you later.

Arabic

2005-06-07T14:01:00.000-05:00

hey, whoa whoa... Im sorry, :) didn't want to freak anyone out during that little hiatus I took. It won't happen again, honest. but on the one hand, thanks for letting me know cause that keeps me from getting lazy about coming down to the computers. We've had one hell of a dust storm for the past several days, I was driving some of my escortees today and couldnt see for more than maybe 30 feet past the windshield, It only stayed that bad for a couple hours but i say again, it is amazing where sand can go when it's blowing horizontally. Also for the past several days, i've been working with the same group of locals as they plan and survey for a movie theatre that they are finally going to build at the camp. Today they brought some workers in to start grading the base of the building so me, another escort, the airforce construction officer, and the two iraqi supervisors sat under a little tent for most of the morning sipping their local tea and snacking on their pita bread and cheese. that bread and cheese and tea thing is becoming a daily routine, which is excellent for me because i think the tea is frikin amazing and the bread and cheese is too. We've been having some pretty good discussions on topics that range from ancient sumeria to michael jackson. Turns out some people in iraq are losing sleep over whats going to happen to mj.

Another thing that i think would be interesting is picking up as much arabic as i can while i'm here...Which reminds me just now of some RUMORS that I've been hearing. Please dont count on it being true, I certainly am not. Anyway the rumor is we're gonna be getting out of here early, maybe around december or early next year instead of April. but again, just a rumor. mom dont ask the family readiness group cause even asking about that will start everyone talking. Its become such a problem, i've even been seeing some stupid ass "dont spread rumors" military commercials on the broadcast stations that they have beamed across the camp. It's like a public service announcement type thing but it was such a dumb commercial that i guess i'm ignoring it right now simply out of spite for the dullards that created it. But as i was saying, i'd like to learn at least a little bit of arabic. I have this little translation book thats not too useful, but the workers are more than eager to teach. I've already learned a few words and phrases, but now that i think about it, like 50% of what i've learned are obscenities. I can say, Hello, i'm an american ...lame. I could follow that up with a snappy fuck you but maybe thats not the smartest, because besides "thank you" and "goodbye" i will have depleted my vocabulary. In reality though, the iraqis, especially the older supervisors are more than happy to teach us arabic to kill some time while we sip that delicious tea.

One little thing that has really started to become irritating are some of these guys that love to tell me (or anyone nearby) how wonderful their mate is back at home and how much they miss each other, or how wonderful their mate used to be before the nasty breakup that took place just before we left the states. Most of you know me, and know that i'm a fairly patient person... I still am, so maybe i'm sparing them a little anxiety by not telling them that their wife/gf/ex could probably be getting passed around like a poker chip at that very moment. What I do do is use the "nod-yea man-repeat" technique until they decide that i dont care. I feel like throwing a dashboard cd at them and suggesting that they cry it all out in their pillow tonight so that i dont have to hear it anymore. I guess it doesnt happen as much as I just made it sound, but it happened pretty bad today at work so thats probably what brought it to mind.

Well i'm wrapping it up now, I think there's gonna be a comedy show at the outdoor theatre today, so i'll probably check it out and see if it's worth sitting all the way through. It's 5 comedians that i've never heard of but i'm gonna give it a chance. Again, thanks for the feedback, I'm gonna try to do one like this at least once a week, so if I miss it, let me have it harsh-like. The other day i just got asked during what timeframe would i most like to have my two weeks of leave. I told him to put me down for anytime during september or october, so hopefully that will come through and i can make it back while everyone is back for fall semester. Can't wait, i miss all of you hippies, drunks, intellectuals, jersey girls, and vanderhoes :) ..and moms and sisters of course, see you soon.

Still here

2005-06-01T13:33:00.000-05:00

Apologies for not writing in the past couple weeks, but they've finally put us to work! The job they have me and 15 others doing for a month rotation sounded bad at first but turns out it has it's strong points. We are the first group to act as escorts for the local civilians that come onto the base here to work or to do whatever business they need to do. We pick them up at the gate and basically tag along and direct them as they do whatever they had planned for that day. The bad days are when I'm escorting a group of sidewalk constructionists? constructionators.. they mix cement all day, there isnt much to do. But some of the time there are some locals that have to deliver things to the merchants on post (you can accquire some hard-to-get items) or some sort of local functionary coming with some grievance or request. I picked up some of the local politics in the area. Oh, right and once in a while, the visitor entrance center will be inundated with women in traditional dress and their kids, they've come for medical assistance or supplies or advice. Those were interesting mornings. There were at least two small childern there that prompted me to ask a few questions about the reason for their visit (and their appearance) They were scarred from burns quite badly on the face and arms and I immediately had that sinking feeling because I already knew how it had happened. Unfortunately I was right. They had been hit by our planes at the beginning of the war. Luckily noone in the family had died, but the scars were obviously going to be there for life. Im running out of time again, We're still working on the internet for our rooms, hopefully soon, but i do have some good info to post. My address here is:

SPC William Slater

414th Trans. CO , 2nd Plt.

Base Camp Adder

APO AE 09331

Thats all for now, stay classy charleston

Quickie

2005-05-14T13:54:00.000-05:00

Well I made it, but this is gonna be really fast. The internet is even more scarce here, but we're trying to work something out for the trailers we're staying in (much nicer) This place is ok. just ok. I can see the ancient city of Ur from here though, which is pretty cool. Remember the zigguraut on page 4 of your history book? that one. I'm taking pictures, but have no time to upload them now, so it'll have to wait. Thats all for now, but i'm doing fine, not much to complain about other than the heat, which just showed up after the wind died down. lata.

DUST

2005-05-06T19:25:00.000-05:00

Way, way back in a different dimension of another universe, (charleston) I used to think that i liked the feeling of the breeze in my hair and that relaxing whooshing sound you get in your ears when you're looking at the ocean in the afternoon... Now, i'm almost at a loss for words because of how far from that ideal the wind here in the middle east has fallen. Now, when i hear that sublimely relaxing whoosh, it is nearly always accompanied by an ear canal that has just begun to fill with sand and dust, as well as a nearly instantaneous loss of vision. Yep, thats when start patting myself down for my sunglasses and the camo neckerchief that i've taken to carrying around. The circumstances that have accounted for our weather during the time since my last post have got to be extenuating, because we've had lots and lots of wind and dust for pretty much 4 days. Sure it keeps the outside temperature down, but with my frisbee all hangared up from the wind, and the dust's constant assault on my bodily cavities, there really no sane reason to go outside. We had a little dust for a few hours before...but this is getting ridiculous. Thats -30 pts for mideast weather. And now i'm done bitching.

Well, we're almost done here, and consequently we'll be moving north into Iraq sometime in the next 10 days. I still dont have a permanent address for you, but you will know it as soon as I get there. Instead of these big communal tents that we've been in lately, we just organized ourselves into two-person rooms which will be freakin amazing. One of the main problems in these damn tents is that there are like 4 elec. outlets for about 40 people. The problem is not providing the number of sockets to everyone because i think we have record number of power strips present within a 1000 square foot area. The problem is...believe it or not, these tent circuits DO have a capacity and after tripping the breaker outside probably a hundred times in one day, we've mostly learned how to balance usage and rotate charging stuff up so that we only have a power failure once or twice a day. awesome, so yes, the two person rooms will be absolutely fucking amazing.

gah, i'm getting sleepy and i have to drive to pick up some more trucks in the morning so im gonna a let it be for tonight. on cousel from a friend here, I wrote (just for fun?) some short little philosphical-type essays in pen that i might type up and post. A couple are good, and a couple i know are crap, but I guess i'll putem up if i can remember to get them into the computer. thats all for now, I miss you guys a lot, can't wait to get down there for a couple weeks in the fall, (mid-tour leave) ...peace out!!!

Life is rough for a camel named Toe.

2005-04-29T19:03:00.000-05:00

we just came back to camp from picking up our trucks, the trip to the persian gulf (where they were unloaded) and back took pretty much all day. 2 hours there, two hours to get them ready, and 3 hours to drive all the trucks back here. eventually they will be armored and strengthened before we take them across the border. I hope everyone at home is doing ok, I've actually been in a pretty good mood lately but i'm not really sure why. I think it could be that after months of preparation, we're actually very close to doing the things that we've been talking about doing for so long.

Today was just a little taste. Our convoy stretched for probably more than a mile through cities and then towns and finally open desert. ..And then came the highlight of the afternoon, I saw my first camel. More specifically, my first two wild, wild camels not in a zoo. Sounds dumb, but i was pretty excited. I didn't see any sheperds or watchers anywhere around so my first inclination was to coax one camel into the back of my truck and drive away with a new company mascot. Ten seconds later, i threw that idea out, but thats about the time i saw the rest of the camels over the next hill. There were about 50 in all and sure enough, there with a couple of sticks in hand were two squatting men dividing their attention between our sprawling convoy and their gaggle? of camels. I waved at them and thought about yelling that two of their camels were on the run, but we were moving way too fast and they probably didnt know english anyway. btw, i named that camel 'Toe'

The weather here is great, no joke. Yesterday it was really windy and dusty early, but not too hot. Oddly enough, today it rained for a couple of hours. That was really excellent because it brought all of yesterday's dust out of the air. Once it stopped it was clear and warm and pleasant. Pleasant weather in iraq? Noones told me that before. So far NC weather is no comparison to Kuwait weather, we'll just have to see for how long that holds true.

Well i'm gonna call it a night cause im paying for this crap now. when we get to our permanent station "up north" as they say here in kuwait, i better get some free frigin internet. Peace

-Billy

In the Sand

2005-04-24T14:54:00.000-05:00

Just real quick like, its almost 4am and i got here tonight, i'm in Kuwait but can't post exactly where for security reasons. We just spent a few hours doing what a regular airline baggage claim would do in 15 mins and with a lot less obscenities. Im just gonna post these few sentences for now but i'll come back and fill the story out a little later. peace

Back from the woods, Almost to the sand

2005-04-20T14:12:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a good little while, we just, not 15 minutes ago, got back in from the FOB (forward operating base) where we've been training for the past 10 days. Right now im just sitting here after putting my things away, wishing i could go ahead and get in the shower cause its been 4 maybe 5 days... yea. We're supposed to wait because there are more things to be unloaded, where they are I have no idea, and it doesnt look like anyone's too concerned. I'm not concerned either, which is why im busy writing this.

guess what? it's now days later since i wrote that first paragraph because naturally, i got interrupted to go unload the crap that was waiting to be unloaded. That was friday, and this is now Wednesday so again, sorry about the delay. I had a pretty good time this past weekennd, i wish it had been a bit longer..but life isnt fair. Oh i posted new pictures in the yahoo link immediately to your lower right (you may have to scroll down depending on how much i write today.) Theres some of me posing like an idiot male model and some of my friends just posing as idiots. I did get some nice pics of the fob in the evening, so when you take a break from laughing you can enjoy the scenic highlights of ft bragg.

you should see exactly how much crap some of my buddies here can accumulate in just a few weeks. Granted i've been buying some useless stuff too, but i know someone who was driven to purchase, among other things, a portable dvd player, a new game boy, a psp, and a laptop just for boredom prevention. i voiced my opinion that the dvd player and laptop are a little redundant but "the dvd player is way smaller." Ok, i said, "as opposed to just one or the other?" I just got a shrug in response. Maybe the problem is that military personnel make too much money? Nah, thats not it, it's that some of these kids fresh out of high school have decided that a 2k per month paycheck can mean a bill gates style wall-mart run. So don't go lobby congress to decrease military pay, because aside from the immediate crucifixion that would take place, you might be limiting my ability to impulse purchase 5 new dvds. I would be just a little upset. thanks for the comments, I am reading them and im gonna start retorting with my own comments just as soon as someone instigates me. oh ive been asked to put this up as well:

waslater@edisto.cofc.edu

william.slater@us.army.mil

Send to either one you wish, if you wish. I'll post once more before I leave here on Sat. and I'll post again just as soon as i touch down, hopefully with a new address. Peace.

It was nice while it lasted :)

2005-03-27T22:11:00.000-05:00

hi there,

well, I'm back at good ole fort bragg tonight, and consequently I'm in a pretty sour mood. In any case, i had a freakin good time back at home it was great to see everyone. I know i didnt get to kick it with everyone that'll be reading this, but you and i can both console ourselves with the knowledge that theres one more chance to do it later on in april. plus i'll have a little more time to work on my alcohol tolerance before then because jesus, it was pretty low when i pushed it on friday. I should limit the drinking at La Hacienda to those solid 32oz XX. I think theyre putting a little too much punch in the margarita pitchers... or maybe it's just me. I'm sure i'll get some practice though, i know some of you know the important anniversary that coming up for me on friday so just wish me luck cause im gonna do my best.

It is getting closer to that time, that time when i have to go and actually earn some of this money i've been collecting from the rest of you. It's starting to become a little bit more real now. We've started to do the little things that signal our departure from training. I've got nametapes and geneva convention tags sewn on my flak jacket now... my name is on a truck, ouch. yea those are the type of things that really make you think about whats gonna be happening in a few short weeks. I really am kindof looking forward to it in a way, not in a good way, but in a way that makes me a little excited. it's like the kind of excitement that one might get right after accepting a dare to bellyflop off the high dive. Or the kind that one might get right after slapping a cop in the face, or something of that nature. lol that was a little cynical, wasnt it? so be it.

Well, its getting late and we probably have to get up early to do nothing tomorrow, so i'm gonna go ahead and prepare for that. now that i've seen you i miss you more, and I wish i'd seen more of you too, you know who you are :) peace

-billy

2nd post in two days...wow

2005-03-16T23:19:00.000-05:00

hey, this is just a quickie but in case you would like to greet me in pen or pencil, it is:

SPC William Slater
652nd ASG/414th Trans. CO, 2nd PLT
5722 Pratt Street, Stop A
Ft. Bragg, NC 28310-7500

I really hope that blocks right and separates from the rest of the text like a mini-paragraph but if it doesnt, its the right address anyway...someone teach me html. This address will be good as long as I'm here in Fayettenam. I just came across some good lyrics, know who it is? (not indicative of my present mood) :)

I found a liquid cure
for my landlocked blues.
it will pass away
like a slow parade.
it's leaving but I don't know how soon.

and the world's got me dizzy again,
you'd think after 22 years I'd be used to the spin.
And it only feels worse when I stay in one place,
so I'm always pacing around or walking away.
I keep drinking the ink from my pen,
and I'm balancing history books up on my head.
But it all boils down to one quoteable phrase
"If you love something give it away".
A good woman will pick you apart,
a box full of suggestions for your possible heart.
And you may be offended, and you may be afraid,
but don't walk away, don't walk away

We made love on the living room floor
with the noise in the background from a televised war.
And in the deafening pleasure I thought I heard someone say
"If we walk away they walk away".
But greed is a bottomless pit,
And our freedom's a joke we're just taking a piss.
And the whole world must watch the sad comic display.
If you're still free start runnin' away
'cause we're comin' for ya.

I've grown tired of holding this pose.
I feel more like a stranger each time I come home,
So I'm making a deal with the devils of fame.
Sayin' let me walk away, please.
You'll be free child once you have died
from the shackles of language and measurable time.
And then we can trade places, play musical graves
till then walk away walk away walk away walk away...
So I'm up at dawn, putting on my shoes.
I just want to make a clean escape,
I'm leaving but I don't know where to,
I know I'm leaving but I don't know where to.

Good stuff, take a stab at it. Again i hope it blocks the text the way i've inteded but whatever. Im going to bed though, stay in touch. -Billy

Internet...finally

2005-03-14T14:35:00.000-05:00

heh, i just read through that last post and it is pretty funny now... but whatever, I guess I have something to blame that one on. damn teeth. I'm going to start posting shorter and more often while I have this digital luxury next to my bed. Hopefully that will help the cohesion within the posts too. All this past weekend we've been shooting our rifles at the ranges. It was actually a pretty good time too, good for stress relief. I havent shot since basic training a couple years ago, but after a couple of rounds, it pretty much all came back. Saturday I had to zero my sights so i could shoot where i was aiming, and on sun. we went to a different range to do the qualification. There are like 7 targets from 50-300 meters that pop up 40 times and you have to shoot at least 23 of them to qualify. I ended up with 32, which is up there, but not as well as i've done in the past. and thats all i have to say about that.

Oh i found out that starting at 1200AM March 24th, we get to go wherever we want for 4 days, so i'm thinking about either going to Snowshoe or NH, to get some skiing in before i hit the sand in April. We're also going to get a 4 day pass starting just before we leave on like April 18th or so, but I don't really know for sure about that one or what im doing. I was pretty surprised that they actually gave us the extra pass for easter weekend, but i guess the leaders and officers here wanna get out as much as we do. just kidding btw, i'll be seeing some of you in chas for both of those breaks.. :P

Like i said up there and in every other post, i'm gonna keep it short. plus, i'm starting to get irritated with the douchebag standing over my shoulder saying something, so i'm going to stop writing grab my M4 and perform a buttstroke-to-the-head, buttstroke-to-the-groin combo to render him combat (and irritation) ineffective. peace out =0) -billy

Fun at Bragg

2005-03-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

hi there, sorry its been a little while since the last post, but internet is scarce where we are staying now. This will have to be fairly short too, because i'm on a rec room computer with a 15 min time limit. We all got to Ft Bragg on the 24th do do this two months of prep before we leave. We're getting issued all of this brand new equpiment, i must have like 400 lbs of crap by now, I probably wont even need half of it. I'm having a little bit of trouble typing now cause im on a heavy (but nice) dose of percocet. They pulled my two bottom wisdom teeth earlier this afternoon. The doctor mustve spent 35 mins on just one tooth that wouldnt come out, i was getting mad. the pulling was painful but afterwards and up till now i havent had any real pain, but they gave me two days of quarters which is where i just stay in these WWII era barracks all day and chill. I think the percocet will be purely recreational by then :) Apparently we'll be here till mid april now, which sucks because i just want to get out of here and get back, but not before coming back one more time at least. I still think about all of you every day, and I can't wait to get some real time there to hang out. I've made a lot of great friends here, but there are times when i still feel pretty lonely, i think it's just the distance thats making me more homesick. It's all good though, i know that everyone here is going through the same. Well i just hed to get up and get back in line but it was only a 5 min delay. tell me how its going in charleston, i need to get on my phone and call you guys but theres not always a lot of time make calls. Oh, there are a few units here in the same area that have been over there and are demobilising now. They're giving us some good advice about things to watch out for, things we can and can't do, and some stuff that will probably just make out stay a bit more comfortable. I'm jealous, I can't wait for that day. So far i havent seen any shellshocked soldiers or anyone suffering from post traumatic stress, and for the most part they say that they really didnt have any bad firefights or major attacks, even the ones in and around the sunni triangle. I think it should go fairly smoothly for us too. As i've said, i think the unit im with is pretty competent with the exception of just few. any of you that know me know that i'm not gung ho about any of this crap, but i've been pleasantly surprised at how much most of the leaders are really concerned about out well-being. I'm gonna get a digital camera soon so I will post some pictures once I can get internet to my laptop. We are actually making plans to have the cable company come in in a couple days and install cable internet so we can set up a wireless network in the barracks. well i think i'll go for now, i ended up writing a lot despite my drugged up state, and i hope this isnt too rambly. heh, well i just read through what i wrote and it is pretty disjoint and mundane, basically just what i've been doing for the past week or so but whatever. I miss charleston deperately and you even more. I'll see you soon and keep reading. -billy

What I do when I'm bored

2005-02-15T22:04:00.000-05:00

Does anyone think it a little trite to not use the proper rules for punctuation and capitalization?
I think it might convey a bit of latent rebeliousness... Maybe a little disdain for centuries of grammatical and syntactic development?

Nah, It's just that I'm lazy and don't like to stretch my pinky all the way out to the backspace button. so if you were enjoying that bit of proper prose, im so sorry. i'll probably keep some commas and periods as needed to avoid confusion but you can forget about most apostrophes and capital letters, theres no need to push two buttons at once for only one character. btw, this is what i do when i'm bored.

We've reached new heights of inactivity here at the 414th. i thought hours and hours of paperwork was boring until i realized at least the paperwork occupied some time. Today was the day for us to get together as squads and review the CTT which is: common training tasks. there were 12 tasks to teach classes on. we would take turns teaching classes to each other on tasks such as "Maintain the M16A2 Rifle" or "Respond to direct fire while in Convoy" Yeah, it sounds interesting until you know that we've had these classes probably a minimum of 50 times each and it took 10 minutes or less for each of them. So we finished in like an hour an a half and then had most of the morning and all afternoon to play paper football or wander aimlessly around the reserve center. At one point I found myself and three others in the parking lot playing catch with a half filled water bottle. let me tell you, that was a good time. Also, I went to the country kitchen buffet today for lunch. If that strikes anyone as funny, know that I too am also stricken.

I think i may finally get over my sleep deprivation by tonight, i'm on track to go to bed early, as soon as i finish this actually. The poker game on saturday night and then the visit to charleston sunday had me spent spent spent. by yesterday afternoon I felt like a defective robotic zombie. less than 6 hours in 48 isnt a good ratio. for the few people i saw, it was really great for me, I hope it was great for you too. I'm coming again soon and with more time too so i can have some real fun. I wish I'd seen a few more people but all in all not bad for just a few hours. i've been in a good mood since, it was great. On that great note I think i will retire for the night to my luxurious and feather-soft days inn mattress. see you soon -billy

Orangeburg...

2005-02-10T15:41:00.000-05:00

This is my 6th day here in the beautiful town of Orangeburg SC. i found out that my new unit (414th Tansportation) has been created pretty much from nothing over the past few months. About 120 others like myself have been taken from other units to build this unit thats about to deploy. that means that not only did I not know anyone here, neither did anyone else. Thats a good thing though, everyone is going through the same thing and i think its helping us become like family, as cheesy as that sounds. It's ridiculously easy to bum a cigarette or even a buck or two because we all know that noones really going anywhere and there will be plenty of time to return the favor. All in all i'm pretty pleased with the people who i've met, i can't really name anyone thats being an ass or not doing their part. but it seems like noone's see napoleon dynamite....i'm gonna need to buy it so i can quote the movie without getting any funny looks. i keep stressing the importance of having good skills. oh i think we might be going to ft jackson in columbia tomorrow to do land navigation. Thats pretty much us just walking around in the woods with a map and compass, it's relaxing. right now, like right this second, i need to find my squad leader to see if i can get out of here and go to charleston for the night, but she isnt answering her phone. as soon as that happens i'll make sure to let some of you know. i need to do laundry. for free. at my house. thats a good excuse to leave. Im sure i'll have a few more chances to get back to chas, probably whenever i like, but i do have to drive back here early in the morning, so i should pick my times wisely. well i need to get on that so i can hopefully leave, or should i just leave and tell them later? risky. keep reading, i'm still here
-billy

Paradise Lost

2005-02-03T13:51:00.000-05:00

music today - elliott smith

I know the title is a little dramatic.. but not if you've lived in charleston and then had to leave, so the title stands. I appreciate all of the gestures of love and friendship that i've recieved in the past week, i really take that to heart and i hope that i can reciprocate that somehow. anyway, i'm home, it isn't so bad, get to see some old friends, and i'm actually pretty busy with stuff to get ready. I hope it stays that way. the only thing im a little upset about is that i didn't get to see some of you before leaving town tuesday. I really kind of underestimated the amount of things that needed to be done on tuesday, especially since I put it all off till the last minute. Well on sunday i get to meet my new friends for the next little while and i'm actually pretty excited about that. i wonder if anyone will share my passion for fine port wines and imported belgian cheeses? Will anyone engage me on the finer points of Heidegger's metaphysics? Was he really a Nazi? hmm.. maybe i should stick with malt liquor and samuel l jackson. (i like them too) I really dont want to make any quick judgements, time will tell. (have they seen napoleon dynamite??) TINA! you fat lard, come eat your DINNER! sorry. In any case, experience tells me that I'm usually wrong, and that i'll probably be pleasantly surprised by at least a few of the people with whom i will be spending my time. we'll see. I think this should do it for now, hopefully the posts from iraq will be a little more exciting, i'll probably have more to say. I miss you already...no, not you I dont miss you yet ;) but you yea i miss you a lot. -billy

I guess this is the first one right?

2005-01-25T02:09:00.000-05:00

Hi, I also suppose that this one will end up at the bottom, which may be very good in case this turns out shitty. maybe if i get better at this, at some point, someone tell me if my writing has improved. I may as well get down to business. I am going to commence my stint in the "real" army on Feb 5th. I'll be in Orangeburg for like 18 days but thats only an hour away from my home. I'll have to see if I can make it out of there so see any of you before the real thing goes down on Feb 24th. oh, and I'm going to have my phone till I leave the country (which may not be until late March) so please call. As long as I have signal and a way to charge it up I will check my messages and call back. I'll make this one short, but I want to say now that I am going to miss all of you, some more than others of course, but for those of you who know me well, know that I will be thinking about you probably about all the fucking time. I am looking forward to getting out there and doing what I can do to end this (pointless?) occupation as soon as possible. I am not looking forward to the lonliness of being away from people i care about so much. being away from a handful of you even for a month, feels like it might drive me completely insane. If you aren't sure who you are, include yourself anyway. thats all i guess, but I'll post again before I leave and i'll tell some people in between now and then, so that I can feel like someone might be reading this. & remember to post comments -billy