How bout them Steelers????

Well the Eagles lost, bummer. O well I guess we will always have next year. I am happy that at least one of my two teams made it. It would have been cool to see an all PA Super Bowl, but at the same time would have sucked because I wouldn’t have been home to enjoy it. Maybe I’ll be luck next year.

I’m down to 30ish day until my big trip to Peru. I am very excited and am going to have the time of my life. I can’t wait to see Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Amazon. This trip alone will make the last few months here worth while. And to top that off, three months after this trip I’ll be going to Europe for 21 days. That trip will be even nicer, I can’t wait. These will just be a taste of what is to come, who knows where I’ll be headed after that.

There isn’t a whole lot new for me to report about me, but the Iraqi elections are revving up. This will be the second election since the fall of Saddam. It is clear though what I have heard, seen, and discussed with the Iraqis and soldiers that Iraq is more and more stable everyday. Every day more schools, hospitals, public work projects are starting up. Not only that, but the Sons of Iraq, Iraqi Army, and the Iraqi Police are handling 99% of the security here. They will also be the ones looking over this election.

I have been talking with Hotum and he doesn’t even need an escort anymore and has a military ID. Everyday additional Iraqis are working on base which shows me that the US military is trusting them more and giving them more responsibility. Soon they will be the ones overseeing and rebuilding there own country. It would be nice to see this place back on it’s feet again and let most of these soldiers go home. I also think the election of Obama is going to help even more, the Iraqis love him. All and all, everything is good here.

I don’t have much in new pictures but below are two that I have taken today. One is of me at my desk and the other is of a little Cement factory right outside the base.

How Bout them Eagles??!?!!??!

How bout those birds? I heard on the radio today that we kick some New York butt… Again. Not only had the Eagles won, but Pittsburgh as well. PA teams are doing awesome! It seems like since I have left, Philly teams have been doing well. Almost makes me think leaving somehow helped the Mojo of Philadelphia. As if me being here is good luck. All this talk about the Eagles on Sports Center as made me think of Philadelphia a lot.

Cheese Steaks, Whiz Cheese, Cold Pretzels, Herrs Chips, Independence Hall, The Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin, and let us not forget Tastykakes. Philadelphia is an awesome city with lots to offer, maybe one reason why it is hard for me to stay here. I could see why people from the South can be here till the wheels fall off, from what they tell me they don’t seem have much to go home too. My area back home is so nice, why wouldn’t I want to be home?

My roommate, by sheer chance of luck, is actually from the Philadelphia area too. He is the only one on base besides me. He grew up and lived in North Camden NJ. On my birthday I was lucky enough to receive enough Tasty Kakes to feed a small army. The look on my roommates face when I handed him a few boxes was priceless. The first thing that came out of his mouth after inhaling some Krimpits was, “Tell your mom I love her.”

My roommate and I had a chance to share our Philadelphia-ness yesterday while eating dinner with a guy from Chicago. While finishing our meal TC (my roommate) said that he was skipping the ice cream tonight because he was going to scarf down a Tastykake when he got back to the room. Confused, the gentlemen from Chicago asked, “What is a Tastykake?”

For the next 15 minutes while we walked back to our hootch to give Mike a Tastykake we tried to explain to him what a Tastykake is and how great they are.

Me: By far the best cake ever, they probably ate it at the last supper after the whole bread and wine thing.

TC: A Tastykake, is exactly that. A really really Tastykake. The first thing you are going to think when you have one is, “Wow, this is a really Tasty cake.”

Me: Tastykakes are so good, from here on out all other snack cakes will probably taste like dog do-do to you.

TC: I am almost afraid to give you one. You’ll end up knocking on my door at three am this morning scratching your neck and looking over your shoulder asking for “a fix.”

Me: Dude, they are so good, after eating one you will shit rainbow…No lie.

TC: Right now, if President Bush airlifted Tastykakes and dropped them by parachute to the countries of the world, no one would ever hate the US for anything and we could probably get away with whatever we wanted. They are simply that good.

Me: People atop bridges and buildings in Philadelphia trying to commit suicide are usually talked down with a box of Tastykakes.

We had a great time reminiscing about the SE PA area, and even after all that hype Mike still loved the Tastykakes. I even tossed in a bag of Herrs chips for him to take back to his room. He tells us when he get back from R&R he is going to bring us some tastes of Chicago. Apparently there is a company that makes good chips and popcorn he is going to have us try.

I got a chance to use some of the new lenses for my camera, the telephoto to be exact. The other pictures are of me and my buddy from Kenya. He is the one who asked me why I looked and talked different from everyone else. (Because I am Irish and not from the South!)