Short 1

This is entitled "Short 1" because there will most likely be a "Short 2" and a "Short 3" and so forth. Be warned. But by the end of this, it will probably end up being kind of long...

For some reason at work, part of my job includes taking people to Baghdad International Airport. Usually it's guys who are just getting here and are going out to their Forward Operating Base(FOB). Myself, and another guy named Chapman, are the ones who are in charge of setting up their flights, and making sure they make it there on time. (I'm getting frustrated just thinking about this) We go out of our way to hunt people down and make sure they know what time to be ready the next day. As it is, we don't find out flight information for a certain day until 10:00PM the night before the flight. It's ridiculous, really. Most of the other people we know who set up flights wait for the sailors/soldiers/airmen to come to them for the information. We really do go out of our way to make people happy. I don't mind it really. Until last night. I walked into a tent where the transient people are staying until they leave Baghdad. I was wearing my hat and weapon like I'm supposed to (in proper uniform). I notified everyone of their flights (for today) and was about to leave when a Lieutenant Commander stopped me and asked "Hey man, is your head cold or what?" I knew that he was referring to my hat and the fact that I was wearing it inside. I didn't give him a smartass response, I just told him that I was doing my job. He told me to take my hat off. I kind of lost it there. I gave him the specific uniform instruction that says when indoors, carrying a sidearm, and on official duty status, the servicemember SHALL NOT be uncovered. He just kind of looked at me like I was the ass. Then he changed the subject back to his flight and said that he'd call me if he had any problems. I said "alright". Then he corrected me by saying "That's yes, sir. Not alright". Sure, I probably should've said "yes, sir", but everyone was being informal, and he didn't even have his flight suit zipped up! I hate people like that.

We're all out here in this terrible place. No one really WANTS to be here anymore. So why make it worse for someone else by being a jerk? Why are you bringing a bad attitude to someone who's trying to help you out? And believe me, this isn't the first place I've complained about it. So, by my calculations, he has actually made at least nine people upset by his comment. And if you get upset when you read this, it just keeps adding up.

Something else that really grinds my gears: I wanted to do the EWO job. After I found out that I'd be working directly with the Army, I was actually pretty excited. I was kind of excited going through all my schools, and now that I'm NOT doing the EWO job, I'm really upset. I still want to do that job. But I can't, because I get tasked to do stupid stuff like take people to the airport and create pointless excel spreadsheets that other people already have. Some of the stuff I do - someone really does have to do it. I'm not saying I'm better than that. I'm just saying that there are people who don't want to do the EWO job. Take them away from their job, give them mine, and I'll be an EWO. It makes sense to me. I get really steamed when I think about it. Why oh why am I doing this job? I don't know. I hate being a complainer, but it's just so frustrating. I feel like I have so much more to provide but I don't have the opportunity. It's driving me crazy. God, this place sucks.

Have a good night, everyone.

-C

education and other stuff

I spent the last hour or so of work today looking at online/distance schools. It will really hurt my career in the next few years if I don't start actively pursuing a degree. I'm not satisfied with the programs that the majority of people in my field are taking on. It would be easiest to get my degree in something dealing with electronics or engineering, or even electrical engineering. Most of my military courses I've had would be excellent for transferring to that area of study. In fact, Southern Illinois University offers a program that's just over a year long; but you have to attend school every other weekend from like 8:00 until 4:00 Saturday and Sunday. That's a pretty good deal if you'd like to work with electronics. I think I'm "decent" with electrical/electronic systems, but I don't really enjoy it. I've been looking for the "perfect fit". I can't find it.

The last formal education I've had was in high school, nine years ago. From what I remember, I was good at writing and other english-related work. Sure I could use some polishing, but I didn't really struggle with it. I also remember enjoying math, but getting frustrated when I was challenged. Which is ironic, because I'm overly frustrated with my job now because it's not challenging whatsoever. Is that all I need? Something challenging? Life is challenging enough; why would I want more? I hope I figure this out soon.

I think when I look at the options in front of me, the only idea that stands out is that I want to do something with my life that is important. I honestly believe everyone wants to do something important. Something defining. I want both - I want to be defined as an important person. Is that greed? Can I want to much out of life if I don't have a lot now? Perhaps it's just a dream.

To me, there's a certain romance interlaced with being a mathematician or a literary. Maybe it's just because I don't have any friends pursuing those avenues. I always enjoy standing out. Maybe I respect math because I admire my father so much, and he always appeared to be a master with numbers. He passed that on to my brother definitely. I wish it was with me too. I wish I could find my calling. Ahhh... so many wishes, and no genies in my head to help me along.

If anybody has any advice for me, please help. I'm open to ideas and suggestions. It's going to be hard for me to make chief or ensign without getting started.

On a lighter note - I've also been playing my xbox 360. More specifically, NBA Live '08. I'm currently 7-1 with the new Boston Celtics. I hope I get a chance to see them play this year. Also, Jen just bought one of the new iMacs. I guess we're becoming an Apple family. Now if I can just get her to send that camera. We have been talking on iChat the last couple days, and that's been nice. Kael is crawling now. He crawls backwards faster than forwards. Our youngest dog, Figo, is getting to be a monster. He's only about 5 months old and his head is larger than Kael's torso and head combined. I guess we can only expect that kind of growth seeing how he's a mastiff.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, and didn't find it too depressing.

-C

One-upper

If you don't know what "one-upping" is, here's the joke... (Regretfully, I can't remember the comedian who talked about this)

One-upping is when when you tell a story, and there's always that idiot who has to tell a story that is just a little bit better than yours. Like if you're at a party and you're telling people how much it hurt when you had two wisdom teeth pulled. There's always someone that will "one-up" you and tell the story about how they had FOUR wisdom teeth pulled. In turn, you don't look like so much of a badass anymore. One-uppers are out there, and they'll always get you. I wouldn't even suggest telling a story of getting FOUR wisdom teeth pulled because there's bound to be some freak of nature (or liar) out there that had SEVEN wisdom teeth pulled! You know who the ultimate One-upper is? Neil Armstrong. No one can one-up walking on the moon. Picture this: Neil's at some party drinking his cognac like Neil does. He's sitting quietly in the corner while listening to some blatantly obnoxious person talk about how they were going 160 miles per hour in their new Ferrari. Finally, the situation gets out of control and Neil decides to step in...

"You went 160 in your Ferrari? Wow! That's amazing! You know what? You know what?! I walked on the MOON! And I even drove my rover there. I don't know if I was going 160 or not though... because... that's right! I was on the MOON!"

*The guys at work should love that - we always one-up each other*

The whole point of my rant is that I'm going to one-up my story of working so much the other day. Today, I had to get up at 5:30 to take some guys to the airport. It was about an hour drive. When we got back, we had to go back and pick them up because their flight got cancelled. Before you know it, it's lunch time. I don't know if the time stamp on this post is accurate, but I just got home from work and it's midnight. No sleep, only a short lunch and dinner break. I don't think I've ever worked this much. Funny thing is: When I have nothing to look forward to at the end of the day (i.e. family), I don't mind working so late.

I think I'm almost at the point now where my job has some meaning. I should be getting more involved with the EWO training out here shortly. I've been deemed the "Excel Guru" even though I am far from being even considered literate with the same program. Over the last few days I've just been compiling reports and input from guys/girls that are working in the Baghdad area. Nothing exciting at all.

We did have a few rocket/mortar attacks on base yesterday. I was in a meeting when it happened, so I was safe. For some reason, they don't even faze me. Even the first one I heard on the first day I got here, my heart rate was still steady. Apparently they don't bother me like they should (even when my chair shakes when they hit). Maybe I'm too used to the louder 5-inch guns on the ship?

I'm off to call Jen on Skype now. The only time my internet has any bit of haste to it is after 11:00PM and before 7:00AM.

Thanks for the comments everyone! If it wasn't for the comments, I'd probably slow down even more on the posting.
Pam- I'll see if I can find Rob. Pretty sure I don't have the clearance/need-to-know where he works, but I know someone who does. Maybe I'll be able to pull him away for a while.
Darby - I miss you too! I wish I could come back sooner! Do you have any more direction on what you're doing for Christmas? I know you mentioned going to Chicago, but I haven't heard anything else.
Grandpa- I'm going to give a good reply to your email when i get some free time at work!

Baghdad

I typed something up on the plane as we were leaving South Carolina to come to Kuwait... I thought I saved it, but apparently not. For starters - my internet is crap here in Baghdad...

We left SC a couple of weeks ago. I gotta say that SC was pretty damn good training I thought. There were a few people who thought that it was a waste of time. For people who have never been in a combat zone, and haven't fired many rounds from a gun, it's definitely a good introduction. I polished my rifle and pistol skills pretty well.

Our flight to Kuwait left early on a Saturday morning. I think we were all pretty tired and excited at the same time. Sitting at the military terminal in Columbia, SC I remember looking around at everyone. There wasn't much going on, but I found it interesting. Everyone was making their last minute phone calls to their wives/husbands/girlfriends/family, etc. I was one of them. I texted everyone in my cell phone phonebook. I only got through a few by the time I started receiving responses. I gotta say "Thank you" to everyone that responded. It truly means a lot to me. My mom called. She sounded sad... I definitely was sad. I had to put my sunglasses on inside to cover up my tears. I wasn't the only one. Looking around, I saw a lot of sad faces. But I think since we were in the company of so many people joining up from so many backgrounds to accomplish a similar goal, their was an air of confidence around us. Even though I'm not that religious anymore, I felt blessed. We were scared but confident. Kinda weird really.

The plane ride was weird too... in my life, since I've had the capability to think of disaster, the thought of a plane crash always crosses my mind when I board a plane. This was the first time where I truly felt safe. Maybe it was because of all the other servicemen/women. I don't know, but it felt good. So, I guess what I'm saying is: Don't worry about us. When we're together, nothing can stop us... not even a plane crash.

Our plane was supposed to refuel in Reyjkavik, Iceland, and then again in Hahn, Germany. We had a problem with one of the hydraulic systems and ended up pulling in to Gander, Newfoundland. We were only there for a couple hours. We met some British forces there. That was kinda neat. Then we landed in Germany at about 2:00 local time. We were there for a couple hours again. The Germans were nice enough to open the bar for us at about 2:30! I had a couple fine German pilsners and got back on the plane.

Kuwait was alright too. It's hot. As soon as I stepped off the plane (early in the morning) It felt like I was walking into an oven. There was a blast of hot, dry air. Soooo hot. And nothing but desert wasteland around us. Besides the oil, how can people fight over this? When I get my camera I'll show you. We stayed in 12 man tents for a week. Two of those nights we were on the floor. The other nights, we were on cots in sleeping bags. We had some more good training such as shooting in formation (i.e. walking in a line, and doing some reflexive fire in different directions/positions). I was also the lead humvee driver in a simulated convoy. My truck commander was an idiot and kept telling me to do things, and then kept changing his mind two seconds after giving the order. He made me look like a fool, but afterwards, all the officers were cool and knew that it wasn't my fault, and felt sorry for me for having to deal with that guy.

At night in Kuwait, my friend Matt and I sat outside drinking non-alcoholic beer and playing PSP. The first night was creepy. I saw some movement in the sand and immediately jumped up. (For those of you who don't know... my number one fear in life are scorpions. And a close second are bees/wasps/etc.) I thought it was a scorpion coming out of the sand. But no... it was a huge beetle! Bizarre. They were all over the place.

We were supposed to leave Kuwait one week after getting there, so we would've flown out on a Saturday. The command told us before hand that flights in the Middle East are "iffy". My first flight got bumped up. We were at the airport, and then they told us it was cancelled. Alright... fast forward two days. We get on the plane (in full body armor in 98 degree weather inside a cramped C-130 in the middle of the day) for about 30 minutes, and then due to a gauge being bad, we deplane. 45 minutes later, they think they have it fixed, so we get back on. We were on for about 30 minutes again, when they tell us that it's still not working right. WTF. They bus us back to a huge tent where we stay until later that night when we get back on a different C-130 (still hot as hell at 10:00PM). We finally make it to Baghdad at about 1:00AM. I think I sweated more that day than I have ever sweat in my entire life. I broke a hard sweat 3 different times that day! It was nuts.

Iraq has been pretty cool so far too. The food they serve us here is awesome. I can be totally satisfied and full 4 times per day. It's starting to cool down too. Like for instance, today, it only got up to 96 or so. The sun comes up at about 5:00 here, and goes down at about 5:30-6:00. The US military put a "bat tower" here. It's monstrous. All the bats sleep inside during the day, and at night you can see them flying all over eating the bugs that are attracted to the lights. I haven't seen a fly or mosquito yet. It's pretty cool actually.

I had about 4 days of training with the guys that I've been travelling with over the past month or so. Today we finally got split up. I'm now in a semi-trailer that has been divided into 3 portions. I'm in the center by myself. There's two beds in here, but no one else is here right now. Just how I like it. This is the first time in like a month that I've slept in a real bed with a real pillow all by myself. i've told my parents and Jen about my new assignment. I'm SUPPOSED to be doing Electroning Warfare... but for some reason, I'm working as the Assistant Training Officer for all the EWO's in the Baghdad area. not a bad deal really. Just not doing what I've been training to do for the last month. I could've spent a lot more time with my family. That's what really pisses me off.

A few more notes...

We took a tour of the palace the other day. It was amazing. There was a three story tall chandalier in the middle. That was cool. But the coolest part was meeting General Petraeus(spelling?). The neat part was watching the younger army guys around him. Lots of people don't realize that the General is kind of like a celebrity or even superhero to the soldiers. I felt really lucky to get a picture with him. Of course, it wasn't my camera, so we'll have to wait and see if my friend Matt (who's now up at Camp Warrior) is going to send it anytime soon.

Today at work, I got my first letter. It was from a girl in Texas. I'm going to save it because it means a lot to me that someone who doesn't know who they're writing to, takes time out of their day to give us thanks. I'll never get rid of this.

I've got a cell phone now too. The chief that I relieved gave it to me. The number is 7903607439. I know there's some sort of country code that you need to put in front of it for Iraq, and I'm sure it costs loads to call, but I just thought I'd throw it out there. I'm always happy to hear from you. If I don't answer, I'm either asleep, in a meeting, or can't hear it.

My address is:

STG1(SW) Corey Davidson
1st Cavalry Division
G-7 EWO
Unit 43207
APO, AE 09344

The emblem on the right is the emblem of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division.

If you have any questions.. my best email now is: corey.davidson@MND-B.army.mil
I gotta tell you - it's GREAT hearing from you guys. If you email me, I can probably respond better to specific questions. My internet her is wireless, but speed is worse than dialup was in 1994.

Alright, I need to get some sleep now. Can you believe it? I actually worked from 9:00 AM until about 7:30 PM... what's going on?!?!?! I love you all, and thanks for everything. I couldn't do this without you and I wouldn't do it if it wasn't for you. (that sounded like it made sense in my head).

-C