Rain Rain Rain

The rains I mentioned have started. They are way more harsh then I thought they could ever be. I poured harder then I have ever seen in my life for a whole 24hrs. It rained so hard, it kept me up at night. The Lighting didn’t help either! It looked like the Red Carpet was outside my room. Literally a few lighting flashes every second for ten or fifteen seconds at a time. I woke up in the morning to find the water up to the top of my second step. I had to trudge though the shin high water for about 100 yards to my truck. I took 3 pairs of socks with me that day and use every set. Luckily I have found a pair of rubber boots that go over my work boots.

The rain has made everything muddy; the halls of every building are tracked with footprints. In some places the mud sticks to your boots enough to make you a few inches taller after walking a few feet. Other places it is so thick it can rip a boot right off your foot. It has gone from one extreme to the other. However, it has made for some AWESOME driving. I find myself picking the muddiest, wettest, path I can find to get places. I’m wasn’t a huge fan of this big ass truck, but in the mud, it is awesome. I have had it so sideways going though muddy fields that you can still see permanent palm prints on the steering wheel from me squeezing it so hard. To say the least, I am having a blast driving in it. The more of the muck I can get to stick to my truck the better.

Unfortunately the big vacuum truck is not so mud worthy. I was tasked with taking our Indian guys out and sucking out the secondary containments in the bulk fuel area. They are big, dirt walled, structures that are lined with bladder material. They are made so if the fuel bags that are inside burst, the fuel will be contained. Unfortunately, when it rains and they fill up with water the fuel bags begin to float. It puts too much strain on the bags and can cause them to burst. I successfully got the truck stuck twice within one hour trying to get it backed up to the fuel bag area. The second I guided the truck off the road it sank up to its Axles in mud. They came and pulled it out (after crawling though the mud to hook up the chains) and before they got out the gate I got it stuck again in another spot. They were not happy, but although the Indian guys thought it was hilarious. They mocked me as I called heavy equipment on the radio.

On the upside, the 28th was Diwali. It is a festival in India that could compare to combining our Christmas, New Years, and 4th of July into one. In India it is a big deal, and is also known as the Festival of Lights. They exchange gifts, have fireworks, eat massive amounts of food, and have lots of candles lit. Both the Hindu and Sichik religions celebrate it. In India they tell me the Hindu and the Sichik religions are “like brothers.” Completely different religions with different Gods living side by side and they don’t fight.

To celebrate the festival I got the guys together for a little pizza party. We got snacks, soda, French fries, and of course, pizza. We had the little get together in the conference room and everyone had a good time. It also coincided with the last day for Sonu, he got on a flight to go back to India for the first time in 3.5 years the next morning. So it was a combined celebration. We need to have stuff like that more often.

O yeah…. HOW BOUT THOSE PHILLIES!?!?!?!?!?! BOOYA!
Another thing, I made an “Insturctable” for this website I read a lot. It ended up getting featured and put on the homepage and the news letter.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How_to_grow_flowers_on_a_military_base_in_Iraq/