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Letters from Lisa! SACS goes global
(Click on any image on this page for a larger version.) Hello to all! Hello to all!June 12, 2005
First of all, I need to say thanks to all who have sent care packages. I'm sorry ~ I have been absolutely TERRIBLE about getting thank you notes out. Lori A. - WOW! I LOVE the Vitamin E lotion! It makes a HUGE difference. Dayton and all the Tobacco Pouch guys - I finally received my cigars and have shared several with various people. We have quite a large (and ever growing) group of cigar smokers here. I'm still trying to get the humidor adjusted correctly. Dr. K ~ I only smoke them occasionally - they're mostly to share. Rick B. ~ I've had to use the goggles quite a bit the last couple of weeks. THANK YOU!!!Mom ~ if anybody is an expert at shipping to an APO, it's you! Thanks for keeping the stuff coming. All is well here. I stay super busy. For those who don't know, at the request of the Military, my office is now inside the Mayor's Cell (the governing office for this base). I still do the same job. It gives me a very unique and interesting perspective at life inside the military and on a forward base. I make and receive lots of calls on the "green phone" and am exposed to many aspects of what's happening. Because my supervisor is in Baghdad on business, I was recently asked by one of the Major's, to sit in on the Construction meeting w/all the lead Engineers as our company representative (instead of our site manager). I have to admit, I'm having a hard time grasping the level of trust and confidence the Military have placed in me by bringing me into this guarded environment. To the best of my knowledge (and theirs), I am the only civilian actually inside a military office anywhere in theater. It is a gratifying and humbling experience and no, there is nothing I can, should or will talk about. Sorry :\ I will be back state side for 10 days in November when Matt & Melissa's baby is born around the 12th. M&M, I'd like to be there for the birth but there's no way to time it perfectly. To all, while there, I'd love to see as many as possible so, we may just have to plan one BIG gathering. For my first R&R, I'm going to Ireland w/my parents the end of June. Mom & Dad ~ the car is rented! I am scheduled to leave the 22nd but that may be moved up a few days. For a 10 day leave, I will be away from my base close to a month! We've been in a dust storm for 10 days now. My eyes are so tired and irritated and my hair and skin feel sand blasted half the time. I've been through 3 large bottles of lotion since I arrived and 2 bottles of conditioner in the last month! Travel has been condition black (no travel) several times over the last 2 weeks. I/we are all ready for some rain!!! Temps have been over 100 for a month with many days in the 120's. It's funny, 120 is hot but...... 95 + humidity is by far worse than anything I have experienced as yet. Then again, I do work inside an air conditioned building all day. I might think differently if I was outside like the trades guys in my department. Walking back and forth across base it feels more like being in a low temp, dry heat sauna. I drink at least a gallon of water per day, lots of juice and milk and some coffee. Pics included and will be posted to the website later:
Well, things are picking up so I need to go. My thoughts, love and prayers to all. LisaRun Forrest! Run!Wednesday, 27 April 2005These pics were taken yesterday by a friend of mine at Al Asad (the base I was stuck at for 3 weeks).
Hi to all!Monday, 11 Apr 2005Hi to all! Just a quick note to let you know I received 5! boxes in todays mail! WOW!!!! It felt like Christmas all over again! except....all the contents were listed on the outside of the box. :) Hey mom, you can just list clothing, toiletries, meds, personal items, etc. rather than listing single items. Just a time saving thought and, some items could raise enough interest (like dvds - walmart's cheap, discounted movies - melissa, you know what I'm talking about) that the package would disappear in transit. FYI - it's a good thing we had the shampoo and stuff in that ziploc baggie because, something leaked. ooooo yucky. Something I would like several boxes of, are those cheezy, twister, blue cheese/hot wing things (you know the ones Melissa). I left a couple boxes there for you to send but would like several more. We can't get anything like that in the px. Also, Pace picante sauce (medium) in the large PLASTIC containers. I slipped away for an hour yesterday to go to a Military BBQ party. Volleyball, Basketball, loud music and TONS of good food. It was a lot of fun! I feel honored...very few civilians are invited. The building that was supposed to be a rec hall for KBR staff is now going to become the base laundry so, I've taken on the mission of creating an area for everyone to hangout. The military gave me a HUGE piece of camo netting for shade and I'm having the carpenters build me the frame for a TIKI bar. We'll use palm leaves for the siding & roof. I've ordered a couple wooden decorations (they're being shipped to the house and you'll have to forward them). There's a 5' wooden "wire" spool that I'll have turned into a table when the wire is gone. One of the mil units gave me a smoker/grill that they had built when they left so, it should be a pretty cool place when it's done. Well...temps are starting to creap up (95 in the shade at 4pm) and tempers are obviously rising as well. Just finished our second "block party" of the day. Well, I need to get back to work. I'll be in touch soon. Love to all. Lisa / mom / momma yesa / cuz, etc. PS - the pics may be repeats - if so, sorry. I know not everyone has seen them.
Sandbag RecipesHi all. This is my response to a friend's request for the recipe for making sand bags. It turned out so well, I thought everyone would like to see it.
Interesting thing with my roommate, both our middle names are the same and spelled exactly the same. That's a rare thing. Ours is the "Mona/Lisa Kaye" hooch. Ahhh, so you want the beloved Sandbag receipe. Well, I've cleared it with security and since it's not classified information, here you go ~ Enjoy!!
For the next phase, may I suggest hosting a keg & pizza party .... that way you'll be sure to have a large number of "big guys" around to help. Since we have no beer here, they did the next best thing... they served prime rib, lobster tails, crab legs and near beer (non-alcoholic) for Saturday night chow. Hey, I'm tellin ya, it's a rough job but, somebodies got to do it! ;~)
After working an 8 hour day (do allow a lunch break after 4 to 5 hours or you will loose the majority of your crew to exhaustion) no additional baking is required - just allow the sandbags to rest on the pallets over night.
Enjoy! I hope you have the opportunity for your very own "sandbag party" real soon. Hope all is well with you. Although I have contracted an upper respiratory infection from breathing all the dust, I am on the mend and doing well. Received the nicest gift a girl in the middle of a war zone could....my very own ppe vest - just like the military uses! Guaranteed to stop all kinds of things including bullets! I was so excited I started to kiss the guy who gave it to me but oops...that's against company policy. Oh well. He knows how much I appreciated his gift. I'll have to get someone to take a pic of me in it. Keep in touch. LisaTanningWell....tan's fade. The best I can do now will be a farmers tan. Actually, the fireworks were pretty lame for my welcoming however, they have improved over this past week. They even switched things up throughout the day. So much I would love to tell but alas, I can't. :\ Sandbags are great! Check out the pics I've attached. We make them until the piles of sand are gone.... huff, huff. Best guess is 50 lbs ea. Then on Sunday, we stack them on the bunkers for added protection. It's a wonderful concept - self protection. (Pictures available upon request, just respond to this E-mail if you would like to see them) Vector control is doing too good a job, other than flies, I haven't seen any other bugs, spiders, snakes or scorpions. Heck, I haven't even seen any of the hundreds of ferrel dogs. As for my roommate. She's a nice younger woman (30 something) from Texas. She signed up because her boyfriend signed up. She got called and he chickened out. Go figure. We spend 12/7 in our offices across camp so we don't see each other much during the day. By the time she comes in, I'm crashed. We should get along just fine. Hey, together we are very famous painting! "Mona_Lisa" Well, I've got work to do. Take care. Miss you guys. LisaNews from the Sandier RegionsHi to all. Here's my Latest Lisa update. I finally made it to my final destination - longest 70 miles of my life but arrived safely. The insurgent welcoming committee provided a brief display of incoming to mark my arrival. No damage or injuries - only about 1 hour in the bunkers. The dust is thick and the people are nice. Few people want to come to these camps and many go home after experiencing the welcoming. I'm in for the long hall. I take advantage of every opportunity to visit with the troops. Since my arrival, I have had several meals w/local top military brass and fire chief. It's not so bad for a Midwestern girl. The food is good, lines are much shorter than at last base and this feels more like a small tight knit community (probably because of all the "close quarters" bunker time). I like my supervisor and so far, what I do...mostly computer/paper work although we make sandbags on Saturdays and place them on Sundays. Living conditions are a cross between a mobile & motor home. We have beds, wal-mart style armoire and entertainment center (unfinished plywood that covers the end of your bed but hey - what can you expect in a war zone) for each person - all in a 12x24 space bathroom included. Each room has a sm bathroom w/shower. I am looking for a tv, dvd player, dorm fridge & microwave (I'll try to get these from troops that are leaving to give them some pocket change). It's difficult to get supplies through to here but PX does have limited quantities and brands of a variety of stuff. I did have a room to myself for 4 nights before I was notified at 9:45pm that my roommate would be arriving in 45 minutes. The food is good, temps are warm by day and cool to cold at night and the bugs are increasing in numbers. I already have a good tan on exposed skin areas. For those interested, my address is:
Gotta run. Lisa |
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