Still here

Not much new to report. Still hanging out in Qatar. It's gotten extremely hot here, to the point where it's difficult to go outside at all when the sun is up. Even at night, it's still in the high 80's enough humidity to make it feel sticky.

Went out for dinner again on Saturday. Always nice to get off base and check things out. Prior to dinner, we shopped around at the Gold Souq. Basically, it is a small market of jewelry stores. Lucky for me, my wife doesn't like jewelry, so I didn't buy anything.

The news out of Afghanistan has been disheartening. Two attacks against US bases 9 years after we started the war doesn't sound like progress. Someone asked me today if I thought the idea of limiting air strikes was an effective policy. I answered that if I could provide any insight into effective policy in Afghanistan, I'd be making a heck of a lot more money. The next 6 months will be very telling for the future.

Getting fatter in Qatar

Been awhile since I've posted last so, I've got a lot to cover.

First, I've started a new diet and work out plan. I'm pretty much on a see-food diet that requires me to drink a gallon of whole milk a day. Along with a gym regiment that requires me to lift heavy sh@t. So I'm assuming you are asking yourself 1 of 3 questions: Are you eating meat? Are you eating Burger King? and did someone make you do this? Yes, I am eating meat again. Lots of it. The socially conscious side of me doesn't like it, but I plan on it being a temporary thing. Once I reach my strength goals, I'll go back to a normal diet (normal for me anyways). No, I'm not eating BK. Don't plan on it. I have visited the Pizza Hut a few times, but only for BNP. The chow hall has all the food I can eat for free. At this point in my life it's pretty safe to say I'll never eat at BK or McDonald's again.

No one is making me do this. A few weeks ago, I started doing some of the crossfit workout's of the day. They were totally kicking my ass (which is a good thing), but I was having a hard/impossible time doing some of the prescribed weights. One of the strength programs crossfit referred to was starting strength. I googled it, messed with it for a week or so, then bought the book. Said I'd give the whole thing a month to see how I feel and to see if the strength gains were enough to continue on. It's now been two weeks, and I've put on about 10 lbs. The strength gains have been very good, so it will be interesting to see how things look in 2 weeks.

I've been going out to Doha just about every weekend. The odds of me buying my own Hookah goes up significantly every time I try it. We went out to dinner last night at Tex-Mex Chinese restaurant (it was a Chinese restaurant that served breakfast burritos and chili) then went to a hookah bar for an hour or so. The guy I was with is from India. He 28 and is planning on visiting his family in India after his deployment. When there, he'll start the arranged marriage process. The way he explained it to me, sounded like your parents taking over your Match.com account. I'm totally fascinated by the whole process.

Also, It's freeking hot here. Last week was in the 110's and it felt hotter because of the haze and humidity. The third-country-nationals that do all the work cover themselves from head to toe and look like they are wearing a bad Halloween costume. But I guess it works.

Finally, my beard is pretty unimpressive. The hair under my chin grows substantially thinker then the hair above it.

People come here for vacation

I could go on and on about the dichotomy of Al Udeid. On one hand, the base is in the Middle East, surround by terrorist harboring nations and across the way lies a very determined enemy. Yet on the other hand, people come to Doha Qatar for vacation. I've been to downtown Doha as much as possible and the city is really very nice and there is an amazing mix of people. There is a large population of Indian's, Pakistani's, Iranians with some British businessmen mixed in. The Qatari's stick out because of their traditional garb, but aside from that it's business as usual.

With all that, we are still here taking a large number of precautions (of which I can't discuss) and spending a lot of money to prevent a no-kidding attack on the base. I'm don't get it, but what do I know.