I'm Back

As I stood in line at the post office yesterday I could feel the sweat running down my back like someone was pouring water on me.  It is HOT!!!  Crazy HOT!

I apologize for dropping off the radar.  Things have been quite hectic here.  While I was on R&R, the new billeting building had finished construction so I immediately started moving in when I got back on KAF.  My coworkers were kind enough to have moved most of my boxes that were in the office to my room, but the furniture was not quite where I wanted it.  Made of plywood it is super heavy.  I grabbed a drill from the maintenance guy and unscrewed the headboard and footboard so I could flip the bed on the side to turn it.  The rooms are so tiny that there isn’t much room to work with. 

I like having my own room but I admit that it was lonely at first.  After I said good-bye to Mike and the kids I was all alone sitting in the airport.  There seemed to be families everywhere I looked.  It amused me to watch the different nationalities.  In the Rome airport, one Jewish toddler kept running over to me, he would stop and giggle then run away.  As we departed the bus which had taken us out to our plane in Qatar, a mother in Muslim clothing was trying to wrangle her boys in the right direction while looking back to ensure they didn’t leave anything behind.  I stepped off the bus all alone.  Now in my own room, I didn’t even have my roommate anymore.  I was quickly cured of my loneliness after my first day back in the office.

While my job here is as a Data Manager in Program Management, on the side I built a data system to tie together the personnel data with housing and accountability.  In order to meet the needs of the different departments I had to understand how they operate.  With the recently built buildings for housing we were able to get several people into their own rooms but multiple factors play in to who moves where as well as the room assignments for new employees coming in.  I was able to automate all these different factors and trained the woman in J4 (logistics) how to use the system.  Sadly, her brother died suddenly and she left for emergency leave two days after I returned from R&R.  The Chief of J4 asked if I could fill in.  Management agreed.  The timing was perfect because my coworker had been covering for me while I was on R&R so he was able to keep some of my tasks to keep me from becoming overloaded from doing both jobs.

Unlike the Business Office, J4 is not quiet at all.  There is always something going on.  I like the people who work there and made some great friends while jumping in and lending a hand.  Logistics deals with housing, supply, weapons, vehicles, etc.  The Afghans that work on the compound fall under J4 so I had an opportunity to get to know them and to learn more about their culture.

Doing both jobs had me working late into the night for many weeks so I apologize for not updating my blog.

 Here is a photo of my new room.