Finally, an update!!!

Whew! In the time that stress should be going down, it's only increasing. More on this later.

Anywho, first things first.

I found the info for the brownies. But not all the info, so the winner will have to claim their prize. The winner is the cheesecake brownies!

Next, the bike race.

So, 3 or 4 days before the race, I'm getting ready to leave work. I grab my camera bag without realizing the top is open. My new (to me) Nikon camera goes for a tumble onto the hard floor. No visible damage, but the shutter no longer works!!! No worries, I still got my digital camera. Now it's the morning of the race. I take out my digital camera to start snapping photos. "Memory card read error". Yes, that morning, the memory card in my camera decides to give up the ghost. Thus, I personally have no pictures of the event!!! However, not all is lost! Many others had cameras that day, and I should have pictures shortly.

So on to the results...there were 47 riders who signed up. Some for 25 miles, some for 50, some 75, and some 100. There were 8 from my unit (2 at 50 and 6 at 100). Of the 6, only myself and one other guy, SGT Zegarra finished the 100 miles. Of the 47 total riders, only 8 completed the 100 miles. I came in 3rd place (1st in my unit)! I owe a big part to my family, my 4-H leader, and Russells Cycle and Fitness! I was a little skeptical of the bike at first, when compared to the competition, because they all had road bikes with thin, fast tired. However, the mountain bike proved to be the better choice when I was one of the very few that never had a break down or a flat! Thank you!

Then moving on, like I said, it's getting more stressful. The new unit has arrived, so now there's a lot of people in a small space. This is just asking for problems. Also, there has been a huge influx of Ugandan guards at this base. For those that don't know, there is a huge contract for Ugandan security guards here in Iraq. Anywho, it's made for some stress because there's often a 1-1.5hr wait to use the computer, the shuttle buses are always packed to the gills with Ugandans, there's hardly any seats in the chow halls, and there are certain times of the day that it's pointless to try to use the gym.

Then, my hours at work have increased, but the workload has decreased. I can use the internet there, but more sites than not are blocked, like myspace, facebook, youtube and even my bank's website are blocked! It's like driving a car that has a max speed of 20mph on the highway! So then I finally get a chance to use the public computers, and due to Facebook updating their page, I can't even use Facebook there! The chow hall is out of milk, leaving soy milk. (BTW, I will be drinking a very tall glass of real fresh milk when I get home). And this is my first chance to be online since I last posted.

Sigh, I know it's little stuff. I know I should be thankful, considering I'm in a war zone, and not in danger. Yet, it's at the point where I just want to go home. I want to be able to drive a car without needing to take a second person with me, or wearing a helmet, or having someone guide me as I back up, or be able to walk around without a rifle on my back, or wear headphones while exercising. Like I said, little things. Sigh....it's almost over!

JP OUT!