6 Jan - Saturday

The first week of Jan was very busy and the weekend brought it's own surprises to the New Year. Saturday was the first day I put-on my gortex jacket - the day was cold and full of rain - at least the rain waited until the New Year. Saturday was one of those days you just wanted to head back to bed and wait for the sun to come out...and that seemed to be the mood across the board. The dreary day produced little progress across the range of activities at my location. Sure, we accomplished some things but Americans and Iraqis alike were a little slower in their step than normal. It is not that we in the military can not operate in the rain - as a matter of fact the saying goes, "if it ain't rain'in we ain't train'in." But when most of our projects are outside construction there is little we can do in the rain. On the other hand, when the sun comes out we all get to play in the mud...yea :( To some degree the mud here kind-of reminds me of dirty snow back on the East coast. Ya know, the snow that turns gray, black and brown because of the sand that has been mixed with the road grime by the tires of passing vehicles. Or the clumps of snow near the back of the car that turn a dirty brown or black from the muffler exhaust. Additionally, not only does the mud clump-up and sticks to your shoes when you walk but on the roads when several vehicles follow the same tread line the mud gathers in the middle of the road and it looks like dirty snow piled up just high enough to skim the underneath of your car as you drive over it. Hey...when you are driving 35 km/h (about 18 m/h) for 20 minutes slipping and sliding down the road in the middle of nowhere your mind starts to wonder and you start making analogies to some memories in order to help pass the time. That or turn-up the radio and listen to the local Arabic music...if you can call it music. Well enough about my thoughts on mud...have a good night.