Better Late Than Never

Hello everyone and welcome back. I must apologize for my hiatus; it has been a mad house of late in the office. I'm not exactly sure why or how it got this busy, but I've been getting home around 9:30 to 10:30 PM pretty much every night for the last several weeks. I don't really want to complain that much since it could definitely be much worse, but I felt I have to give some kind of reason. It's actually kind of hard to believe that it has been over a month since I last posted. I know I said something similar last time, but the time just gets away from you. I guess with the long days you just don't notice them going by. You just keep plowing along and when you finally look up you realize how much time has gone by. This is in fact good news as I am now in theory over half way through my tour in Pakistan. It hasn't been to bad, but it is getting kind of old.

I had actually planned on posting this in the beginning of the month but I get sidetracked again. The good news through is I have more things to talk about. So without any further ado, let me try to get you caught up with all the fun and games that has transpired since our last conversation.

And that is about it. Thanks for checking in... I'm joking of course, but there really hasn't been too much besides work. One thing that was kind of interesting is one of our guys set up a monkey show. Now before you start thinking Tijuana or Thailand remember that Pakistan is a Muslim state. Let me start at the beginning. The other Navy Programs dude in the office, Raja, happens to be originally from Pakistan. I think I mentioned this before, but the reason it is relevant to bring it back up now is it kind of explains the story as the monkey show is something that pretty much only a local would know about. We have Liaison Officers (LNO's) here that work with the different component commanders (Navy Central Command, Army Central Command, etc). This is important because the Marine LNO, the Navy LNO and we program officers make up the Navy/Marine Corps team and Raja and the Marine LNO, Dave became very good friends over the last six months. So when it came time for the Dave to depart, Raja set up a going away party which included the monkey show. I mean a party with sailors, marines, beer and monkeys... sounds like fun to me.

The questions I am sure you are all asking by now is, "What is a monkey show?" Basically there is a guy who has trained a monkey to act out a skit. Now, I have no doubt that the methods used to train the monkey are less than humane and that by watching the show I am perpetuating this misconduct and I'm probably going to hell because of it, so please no chastising remarks. That being said it still really funny. Here is just a taste of the show.

Personally I'll applaud anything I can't do.

Dave in a push-up contest with the monkey. Unfortunately I do not have it on the video but it was ended when the monkey did a back flip and Dave didn't want to end up in traction doing that.

He is a gentleman monkey (or bandara in Urdu). You can tell by his posture.

My new best buddy (as long as I keep giving him bananas).

Another somewhat interesting thing I did was finally make it out to a nice restaurant here in Islamabad. I guess I should stipulate that it is nice for Pakistan. I've been to better, but you take what you can get. The restaurant is up in the Margalla Hills which bound the northern edge of the city. Usually this affords a really nice view of the city. Unfortunately it was kind of hazy which kind of ruined the view, but here is what I got.

Islamabad stretching out below you.

Faisal Mosque, the largest mosque in Islamabad.

The food was traditional Pakistani, which was nice because you really have to try some of the food in any new country no matter where you go. I had eaten at a Pakistan Navy base and my house keeper cooks us some local dishes, but you never really know if they are changing things because you are American. This restaurant was authentic. The food was good, if little oily (they use a lot of oil when they cook). The problem with it being authentic was it had the potential to put me down for the count if I wasn't careful. I avoided what I thought was going to be the most detrimental to my gastro-intestinal system and fortunately I experienced only minor issues.

That was I all I had up to the beginning of this month which is kind of sad when you consider this covers most of June and all of July. But August brought travel which is always nice. You may recall in February that I had two trips back to the States for program management reviews(PMRs); well these meetings are semi-annual so August was time for the second meetings of the year. In case you are having a hard time following: yes, this means I came back to the States again; no, I didn't get to take any leave, just the trip (which was not bad); no I didn't call anyone while I was back; and yes, I understand this makes me the worst son/brother/uncle/friend in the whole world... I'm sorry.

This trip was slightly different in that instead of going back and forth twice in a short time, the PMRs were back-to-back so I only had to make one trip. The flight was the usual stops in Doha, Qatar and Washington, DC before getting to my first destination, Orlando, FL. The PMR was held at the Disney World Yacht Club; not to bad. I only took the opportunity to go Disney World one day but it still a lot of fun. I have to thank Monica, who works with Stephanie and was going down there anyway for vacation, for letting me tag along with her group to Disney World. I would have felt a bit odd going there all by my self. I would expect all the parents to look at me and think "That creepy guy prowling the park had better stay away from my kid". Fortunately I was spared from being the creepy guy; or at least not standing out as the creepy guy. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Me, the Man and the Mouse.

The castle lit up for the evening.

Me and the castle at night (it was a little warm that day).

Another night shot of the castle.

From Orlando we drove up to Jacksonville, FL to tour the spaces the Pakistan Navy guys are going to occupy when they start doing training with their newly refurbished P-3C aircraft. I got to see a couple of friends while I was there and we all got together for dinner. I only had a single night there though for the next afternoon we were off to Greenville, SC which is where the aircraft are being refurbished. Greenville is a neat little town; fun to visit, but I don't know if there would be enough to keep me busy if I lived there.

I've mentioned before how some cities have these mascots scattered around town (peanuts in Dothan, apples in Winchester), well Greenville has little bronze mice. I'm not exactly sure why, but I think if you follow the trail it takes you throughout town on kind of a tour. I didn't have the time to go searching for them all, but here is what I found.

Some general dude who apparently is not afraid of mice.

This one has a tri-corner hat (very colonial).

See this outside a restaurant sends the wrong message to me.

I just don't understand the significance. If some one know please fill me in.

The last stop on the trip was a week in Durham, NC. I've actually been to Raleigh/Durham once before for a friends wedding and I had a great time. Of course this was ten years ago and we were all young and enthusiastic and most of the group had gone to UNC so they knew there way around and we won free tickets to a Jimmy Buffet concert. This time I didn't have all that stuff going for me so it was a rather dull stop. Still, it was better than being at work in Pakistan.

Well that is all for the moment. I would like to make one last shout out to my niece Kaleigh who recently turned 18. I'm sorry I couldn't make the trip home for the party. Aside from that, it's time for bed. Please feel free to drop me a note or comment on the blog; I always find your comments fun. Until next time, be good, and if you can't be good then be good at it.