Takes a Hit and Keep on Ticking

All the traveling I’ve been doing since my return home from Iraq has finally caught up with me. While on the way home to my parents house in Michigan I got rear ended by a dump truck pulling a bull dozer. The accident happened on I-70, about two miles from merging onto I-75 (not even 30 minutes from my Ohio apartment). Nobody was injured because my Jeep absorbed most of the impact.

After it occurred Casie pulled over, but the truck continued. My Jeep was still drivable and we followed it to the I-75 northbound ramp where it stopped safely. No damage was done to the truck, but my Jeep had a couple scrapes above the license plate, and bumper took a little damage. The driver offered right away to pay for any damage as long as we didn’t call the police. His reasoning was he was driving with a commercial license with a special caveat. He stated it was very hard to get and very easy to lose. I called my auto insurance to double check, but they insisted I get a police report to record the injuries. So we did.

After waiting for 30 minutes for the Ohio State Police to show up, the cop looked at the little damage I had and made us exchange insurance info, but no report was filed. I was kind of pissed it had to happen after only having the Jeep for less than two months, but my Dad brought up a good point. For has much mileage I’ve put on my vehicles I’ve been lucky have this be my first accident (and with very little damage).

Wicked Fun!

Casie and I received our initial Air Force assignment notification last week. Of course, we were up in Cedarville, MI so we were the last ones to find out. We are both going to Boston, MA (Hanscom AFB)! Our Report No Later Than Date (RNLTD) is 30 November, but we will more than likely begin our travels 15 November.

We are both very excited to move out of the Midwest and see what the East Coast has to offer. Boston has always been an area I’ve wanted to live since I joined the Air Force. I have already been doing some research on their language and Casie has been practicing her pronunciation. I think if we can break the language barrier it will help finding a house (cross your fingers) a little easier.

There is so much to do and think about, but for now I just want to enjoy the great news.

As soon as the wedding planning ends the travel planning begins! Ugh!

Party Like It’s 1776!

Well not literally, Casie and I celebrated our independence from Great Britain with food, friends, lawn games, and of course Starbucks. Katie has already beaten me to the punch with a blog summary of our afternoon, here. Casie’s Apple Crisp was delicious!

Yesterday felt like a Saturday and Sunday wrapped into one. It was nice to spend the day at home. Casie and I have been out of town the last three weekends and will be out again this upcoming weekend. Tuesday night we went to the movies and helped Transformers earn $27.5 million dollars at the box office! It was a great action flick (even Casie thought so). I wanted to go out to the toy store afterwards, but it was too late. [somewhere Casie's breathes a sigh of relief]

Summer Vacation '07

It's that time of year again when Cedarville, Michigan is renamed Bourque-ville, Michigan. The last week in June (23-30 June this year), every year, Casie’s mom’s side has their family reunion. I need a vacation from my vacation, so I will summarize our week in pictures.

Les Cheneaux Landing Resort (AKA "The Cabins")

Oh, the joys of summer living with bug bites and dirty feet.

Croquet and no laundry! :-)

Mackinaw Island

By bike or by stairs! I did survive to type this!

An English telephone booth...too hard to resist.

A little bird on my shoulder.

Casie cooling off during our 8 mile bike around the island.

Detroit Tigers Fans!

Packed up and on the road again. It went by too quick.

Welcome Home Party

This past Saturday Casie and I were in Michigan for a party my parents were having for my return home from Iraq, my brother's graduation from Michigan State, and my sister homecoming from Las Vegas, NV.

It was great to see my sister for the first time in over a year! There was a tent, catered food, party maids, volleyball, Frisbee bowling, soda, a keg, friends, and family.

I didn't manage to take many pictures, but here is my brother, John, my sister, Jen, and Me!

And my buddy Steve enjoying a Bass.

It was a great party, thanks Mom and Dad!

Meet the Jeep

One of my first orders of business when I returned home from Iraq was to purchase a vehicle. Just before I left for Iraq, the lease on my 2004 Jeep Liberty was up, which couldn’t have worked out better. I had no car payments or auto insurance while I was deployed. While I was on Rest and Recuperation (R&R) I made a weekend trip to Detroit, MI to pick up my “dream vehicle”, a Jeep Green 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with a HEMI engine.

I have wanted a Jeep Grand Cherokee since I was 16 years old. My dad had one back then. I love the way the body looks, but the interior always came off as old fashioned to me. Chrysler finally remodeled the Jeep Grand Cherokee’s interior in 2006. I actually purchased it instead of leasing, since it is my "dream vehicle". I got all the goodies; 4x4, sun roof, leather bucket seats, fog lights, trailer tow package, upgraded speakers, and MP3-CD changer/satellite radio.

It isn’t as bad on gas as people seem to think. It costs me about $52 to fill up the 21.1 gallon tank about every 10 days. My Jeep Liberty costs me about $38 bucks every week (when gas was $2.19/gal) to fill up a 19.5 gallon tank. I love the hum the engine makes, but Casie insists it is the HEMI gargling the gasoline. WHATEVER!

I’ve been meaning to post these pictures for a while.

Yeah, it’s got a HEMI. :-)

Back by Popular Demand!

BEN-JAM-IN Returns!

After taking a much needed break, I am back. I’ve been busy tasting wedding cake, looking at flowers, registering for gifts, and trimming guest lists. I have thought long and hard about the direction I want to take my blog. There is no way I can be as creative as my previous entries from Iraq, but I still want to keep my family and friends in-the-loop with what I am up to. Plus, I miss your comments.

You can still expect journal-type entries from me (a little less often), but I may post about less personal topics if I deem my life is too boring that day! I have some cool ideas, but you have to be patient and provide me feedback via leaving me a comment. Who knows, I may actually listen to it!

Stay tuned…

All Accounted For

Sorry I've been bad about this blog thing since I've returned to the states. I've been enjoying the good life; eating Moe's burritos, pizza, and drinking beer!

After completing inventory of all my Superman statues, I deemed something was different. All of them were accounted for, but they weren't in the same condition I left them. Casie and her friends decided to get silly. I didn't notice until the next morning, but in my defense I did get in late and was tired. This is what I'm talking about:

They got every statue and framed picture, but they missed the cookie jar. Some welcome home, eh? Thanks Casie, Chris, Jacob, and Todd! I will never look at them again in the same light as I once did.

I am sure this wasn't what Todd wanted to portray. It looks just wrong.

I am still evaluating the "scotch tape damage"...just kidding! :-)

Homeward Bound

The past week has been a blur. As I am sure you've probably guessed I did catch my third rescheduled flight out of Mosul. I woke up at 0345 on Friday morning to make it to the airport by 0500. I flew in a C-130 to Ali Al Salem Air Base (Kuwait), not Al Udeid (Qatar). From there I waited until 1730 (5:30 pm) to check in to my next flight. I killed most of my time in the MWR watching TV and taking pictures of some of the base.

Checking out of Kuwait (pictured below) was a project. My actual flight didn't leave until 0330 on Saturday (the next morning) but you have to go through customs. I had to empty all three of my packed bags completely so U.S. custom officials could make sure I was trying to take back war souvenirs, such as weapon parts.

I had a three hour layover in Germany. It was so nice to breath in the crisp, cool air. I knew I was on my way home. Doesn't the picture even look crisper?

First stop in the states was Baltimore. I arrived at 2:25 pm, but my flight back home was not until 11:00 am the next day. Of course I asked to see if there was anything earlier. I didn't feel like spending the night at the airport for another night. They did have a flight leaving at 4:45 pm, but it had a three hour layover in Charlotte, NC. It was a small layover in comparison to spending another night in an airport. I made it back to Dayton, OH at 11:00 pm.

Then I was home. I still can't believe it!

Black Hole

According to Merriam-Websters:

Main Entry: black hole
Function: noun
Date: 1968
1: a celestial object that has a gravitational field so strong that light cannot escape it and that is believed to be created especially in the collapse of a very massive star
2: something resembling a black hole: as a: something that consumes a resource continually (a financial black hole) b: an empty space : void

I'm still stuck in Mosul, or as I like to call it, the black hole. My rescheduled flight, for this morning, was cancelled late last night. No flights support my destination today, so I am working on a flight for Friday (tomorrow).

I am still optimistic I'll be able to get out of here tomorrow, but cross your fingers. If I don't leave Mosul tomorrow, I won't be home Sunday.

Cancelled

After waiting at the passenger terminal for two hours they announced my flight was cancelled. And I was just starting to believe I was actually leaving Mosul. The cancellation doesn't affect my return date because I have built in time for things like this that come up.

Before I left the JDEC folks had a meeting that really was a going away presentation for me. I received a rug embroidered with the time I spent in Mosul. It was a great parting gift. I would post a picture, but my camera cable is packed away. I also received a couple cards with many nice parting words. As cool/important as this job was, I will miss the people the most. I almost feel bad leaving, but then I think of the life (Casie) I have waiting for me at home.

Tomorrow I will try again to leave the black hole that is called Mosul.

It’s in the Hole

My deployment is good as over. Many times I felt like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. I have not had a day off, or slept-in past 0630, since 26 September. The 13-15 hours days, "the walk" to the showers, 21-day chow hall menu, tripping over everything in my path, and falling asleep with generators buzzing in the background are all coming to an end.

Each day is new again. One day may be training, the next packing, the next cleaning, and tomorrow the traveling begins. When I am at work, I pretty much sit around waiting for "the new guy" to ask questions. I play more of an advisor role. I am packed up for the most part. I dropped off my last load of laundry this morning.

Tomorrow I leave Mosul (Iraq) to my next stop in Al Udeid (Qatar). I'll be in Qatar for about two days before I take the 18 hour flight back to the United States of America. So I will probably drop off the radar for a few days. But I will make sure to take plenty of pictures to show you next week.

Dare I say, "See you soon."

Waiting is the Hardest Part

Yesterday I received my commercial/stateside travel plans! I also updated my deployment countdown for the final time! It looks like I'll be back in good ole Ohio next Sunday. It seems like a dream.

I am still in shock from my replacement, Shawn, arriving Thursday night. I have been enthusiastically training him the past two days. I'm still in disbelief that this deployment is actually (finally) coming to an end. Now I am consistently thinking of how each day of the week is my last in Mosul. It's hard not to smile (just a little). I may even be smiling in my sleep.

Next, I wait for my travel itinerary out of Mosul, Iraq, and AOR.

I think Tom Petty said it best, "waiting is the hardest part". (video)

I Gotta Wear Shades

It's extremely bright outside today. It is so bright, if you close your eyes, you can see the shadows of objects through your eye lids. Well, maybe it's not that bright, but very close.

Currently, 2:10 pm local, it is 77 degrees and rising. My knees are sweating as I type. People told me it would get hot fast, "like someone flipped a switch," and it's true! Just last week it was 67 degrees, now we are in the low 80s!

I was hoping to be out of here by the time things started to heat up, but it looks like I'll be sweating my butt off while I drag my 200 lbs of gear next week. Still I won't complain, I am heading home!

"The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades"