Mustache March - Final Week

Finally, Mustache March is over!  Well, there are a couple of more days in March but the show-and-tell competition at our monthly movie night is finished which means I can shave this thing off tomorrow.  I did win two "awards" though: Most Out Of Regulation, and Most Like Borat.  I think the judges were not entirely unbiased, but still, I did have the most full mustache of the bunch (partly I think because I didn't trim to the corners of my mouth per regulation - whatever.)  Regardless, it will be nice to be "me" again.

The other March news is, of course, March Madness and my Tigers are still tracking along with their third consecutive Elite Eight appearance.  The looked pretty good against Michigan State but the game Sunday against Texas is going to be tough.  Not only is Texas one heck of a team, but the game is in Houston, just a few hours from their campus so it is essentially an away game for us, even though we will be in the white uniforms as the higher seeded team.  I don't want to jinx the Tigers though, so I'll just add, "Go Tigers, Go!"

Only one more staff video night to go before I head home - whoo hoo!

Cheers, Pearl

Happy Easter

Here's week three of Mustache March.  I have to admit, having this thing is getting old and I'm definitely looking forward to April 1st when it can come off!  But, it is coming in pretty well and since I'm pushing beyond the boundaries of "within regulations" it looks even better than it otherwise would.  So far no one has called my on being outside regulations but I think that might be because the Army probably thinks we can still have beards and assumes the Navy Regs are more liberal than what they can have.  Sometimes it is good to be the odd duck!

I trust everyone back home had a good Easter.  We had our small gathering of Episcopalians/Anglicans this afternoon and walking back after the service, I was struck that here I was, in a predominantly Muslim country, celebrating the defining element of being a Christian.  I have celebrated holidays in other parts of the world before, including 4th of July while on a British Colony, but still, to be here in the Middle East on Easter Day gave me pause for reflection during and after the service.  I hope your Easter experience gave you pause as well.

Cheers, Pearl

Five Years

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.  This is a column from yesterday's Stars and Stripes breaking down the war into numbers.  For a complete picture of the war though, I also recommend you look at today's issue.  It has listed all 3,988 service members killed by name.

Cheers, Pearl

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Did you wear green today?  I did - he he he.  Did you have a good drink of green beer or some nice Scotch today?  I didn't - bummer!  (I had a near-beer anyway but it wasn't the same).  But, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I at least have a tentative departure date now and that's something!

Which brings me to the main part of today's blog - the good news / bad news part about having a departure date.  The good news is obvious I hope; in less than 60 days I'll be back home!  The bad news is right this minute, there is a guy I have never met who is going through the first day of training to begin his time out here.  I can tell you (actually I did at the time if you go back to my first posts for this blog) that his life stinks right now.  Not only is he at the start of ten months away from his family, but that first week in particular is so poorly done that it is nothing but a week of frustration.  Even all these many days and months removed, those of us here in Iraq still remark on what a crappy program the Navy put together to begin the whole IA process.  Later on the training will thankfully improve but that first week is a CWT (Complete Waste of Time - flashback from that first entry).  So, while I am selfishly very happy that someone is coming out to relieve me, I am also sad that someone still has to come out here and continue to endure the same things I've been through for the past 200 some-odd days.

Cheers, Pearl

P.S. But in 40 days he will still be my new best friend when we begin our turnover!

Mustache March - Week Two

Here's the latest on, as my daughter calls it, my "lip bling."  What's interesting is I keep getting compliments on it such as, "Nice 'stache," or "Good job on the mustache."  I say 'interesting' because it's not like I have any control over the thing's growth; it is certainly on it's own program in that regard.  But, I do have to add, compared to a lot of the other participants, yeah, it does look pretty good.  As one observer put it, "Sure you might not have anything to do with it's growth, but there's a lot to be said for realizing one just shouldn't continue!"

In other news of note the weather was very weird today.  Things were beginning to heat up a little heading beyond 80 degrees the past few days when a large cold/dust front moved in.  The sky went all orange/yellow with haze (I tried to take a picture but the camera keeps correcting for the bad light) but everything took on a surreal look today.  Plus, it got downright cool as well.  But, not to fear.  The weather guessers say this will move through tomorrow leaving behind clear skies and we can anticipate hitting 90 by the end of next week.  Joy.

Finally, back home my wife and kids are beginning Spring Break and I know they are looking forward to the rest from the daily grind.  I am looking forward to a break too - only mine will be in about seven weeks.  I have been tentatively scheduled to leave Baghdad on May 8th, head down to Kuwait to turn in all my Army stuff and get "decompression time" and fly out of here for good on May 13th which, coincidentally, is my 19th wedding anniversary.

Cheers, Mike

Mustache March - Week One

Progress on the 'stache front.  Comparatively, not too shabby even though it doesn't photograph well.  During a meeting today I was looking around the room at all of the MM growers and every one, I mean every one, was unconsciously brushing and fiddling with their new growth!

Otherwise, a slow news week.  Work continues on, and on, and on...  Oh, I do have a bit of news.  An old friend of mine ("Hildy")  is in town from the Pentagon doing a study and he found me on the Baghdad e-mail address list and wrote.  He is staying right here on VBC for a couple of days so I invited him over to our Sunday cookout yesterday where we caught up on family and work news.  We were in three different commands together in our younger years and it sure was nice getting back together, even if for a short time in less than accommodating surroundings.

Cheers, Pearl

Mustache March

Apparently the Air Force has a tradition of growing "barely within grooming standards" mustaches in March (hence the title of this post).  At the morning brief Feb 29th our Air Liaison Officer on staff gave us all the brief and invited us to participate.  Since few folks in the Army have mustaches I figure there's some sort of bias against mustaches in general around here, so I of course have jumped in with both feet, er, one lip - anything to buck the system. So, as of yesterday (we were to have been clean shaven March 1st) I have quit shaving my upper lip and am growing a mustache for the first time since I was a Lieutenant.

I'm curious how this is going to turn out.  My kids always laughed at my attempts before (I would grow one on det and it would be a surprise when I came home) because it would always come in a little reddish-orangish - quite odd when you consider my hair is dark, dark brown.  The other curious part is when I don't shave sometimes for a weekend back home, the whiskers on my chin are a lot more salt than pepper so I'm wondering if this thing is going to come in like a white caterpillar or worse.

Right now it just looks like a little shadow under my nose, but rest assured, I'll begin posting some pictures to keep you all up to date with Mustache March!  I tell you what, it's some exciting times here in Baghdad these days!

Cheers, Pearl