Post 290

I can't say I feel bad. I didn't work out yesterday night, the night before I wasn't in any stride. When I do Card and Abs I do 30 minutes on the Stair Stepper ad 30 on the Elyptical. I usually hit just under the equivalent of 4 miles with the Elyptical, doing 2 miles in about 15:25. I was 20 seconds behind that yesterday night. Tonight I did 4.5 miles in 30 minutes, doing 2 in 14:26. I believe I burned about 378 calories according to the read out. This is after doing 30 minutes on the Stair Stepper (240+ calories is all I know, didn't pay much mind) and 50 Inclined Crunches. Some days your better than others. I don't mean to brag, but it feels pretty good.

After I had been here a couple of months the 172nd Brigade was extended four months and brought down from Mosul. They lived in the Gym trying to make time go quicker. You couldn't hardly get in there for them, and, you couldn't blame them. It sucked to be them. That and working longer hours when I first got here kept me from going. Now I'm making time go quicker. By all indications I'm under 100 days left....Just knocked on wood. You do that allot here. And, you never say never.

I learned today that someone I met briefly a few months back got blew up yesterday. I was in BIAP on my way home for two weeks. I had to go to the terminal only to be told to go back and stay at "The Stables", a collection of sand bagged tents and cots. I was waiting for the bus to take me there and saw a Security Contractor that ran some convoy's to us. They were doing a PSD Run to Abu Grhaib. He said they would drop me off (He owed me a favor) and I hopped into one of the trucks. It was driven by an EXPAT American that I had not met. Nice feller, he had no attitude about going a little out of the way for me. He was listening to Nickel Back and the Kurdish Trigger Pullers were grinning at me. When they pulled off I wondered for a few seconds if I had somehow messed with their fate...That was in October. Today I learned the guy that drove that truck got hit a little north of here. A South African guy was with him and two Kurds killed. He and the South African were Airlifted to Germany. Nice feller.

That night at The Stables I talked with a 20 year old Medic that had to scoop his buddies intestines out of a Gun Truck trying to save his life while under fire. He didn't realize he had been wounded too until he got to the CASH. He was fine though. That's War.

I have another post under construction I just don't have the ending direction with it. I don't know when I'll post it. Don't get ancie and bug me about it.

The Appalachianist