27 Dec

With Christmas now over, it's time to get back to work. What I failed to mention yesterday was that the employees hired to assemble furniture for the new buildings finally finished. After inspecting their work it was clear that some things needed some additional attention...most of the discrepancies were corrected on the spot. However, there were numerous items that were damaged and will be replaced in the near future - the company does not receive one penny until the contract is fully completed and signed off by my CO. As far as today, Wednesday, Dec 27th I have been here for almost one month and each day is a new adventure...at least I am not stuck behind a desk working on Power Point all day. On my way up to the construction site I heard a new crew was scheduled to arrive to help move furniture and organize the rooms for the opening of the new building which is scheduled for next month; I thought to my self, "This ought to be an interesting day." I must say I was presently surprised, the workers that arrived today were top notch. They were from the local area and if I could hire them as permanent workers I would. We have seven buildings that need repair, cleaning, and organizing prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony. With the help of these new workers we were able to complete 70% of the set-up in five of the seven building before they called it a day. These guys are awesome, they are in ready for work at 0800, they take a 20 to 30 lunch break and keep on going until 1600 or as long as we need them. I believe this crew will enable us to make up for the lost time caused by the previous crew. As darkness settled on to the desert floor it was time to have dinner with the senior Iraqi officer. Tonight I, more accurately Jessica, supplied the desert for the evening. Jessica's homemade toffee quickly became the talk of the evening after our Host took a bite. Unfortunately for him this "desert delicacy" is only "in season" in the winter for this part of the world, for it would not hold its shape more than 5 seconds in the sauna like heat typically associated with the Middle East. I guess that means more for me..... ;) Have a good evening.