uh oh, only 3 more days...

I hope everyone has their finger's crossed...I will sure need it! On the other hand, I was fortunate enough to meet a few other participants here at BAF, and we all seem to have a similar pace...that is of course, except for "Lance, the fast Canadian"!

World's oldest camera...not really..

Not true, the camera obscura way outdates this...

PR what?...

Although I have seen the enemy's resourcefulness firsthand, and it is not laughable, as you would expect. Their PR efforts, on the other hand, leave quite a bit to be desired. LOL!

training for the marathon...

OK, since it is "All-American Week", (82nd Abn Div runs this place right now, can ya tell? lol), we had the option to do a unit run on Friday. I think I was the only contractor, but that is OK, since I am a reservist too, lol! A great time, since the last time I ran 'as a whole' was 12 years ago at basic training. The Air Force could learn a thing or two from the Army, and vice versa.
Anyway, here are pics from the run with my unit.








Before:










































During:








































After:

Almost famous...

Here I am in an article about my upcoming fun/torture next week.

Who knows, if I just run the VA Beach half marathon in SEP, and the same in Philly two weeks later, then I would end up with four different ones of these by the end of the year, in addition to the three finishers medals I would have earned at each event!!...hmmm....

6600 miles away...

...At least I still feel at home next to a camera...

Horrible commute!!!!....

It is 16 steps to work every day. Man it tires me out! Just kidding.

My work, right next to my 'home'. Fascinating stuff, I know... lol

far flung friends...

Well, as promised, here is a recent pic of myself and Cory (from my old unit in MN). Notice he is sporting the Air Force's new ABU digitized tiger stripe pattern. Air Power!! jk

"Mondays, mondays..."

What better for a Monday morning than being woken up and rushed to the bunkers in helmet and vest, gotta love those mortars!

Busy day down south.

More suicide bombers...

Going to have to call my coworker in Gardez and make sure she was not caught in this, although I don't think she leaves the base much.

"How do ya like me now?!"

Not a country music fan by any stretch of the words, but Toby Keith made a visit to Bagram Airfield tonight, and I am really glad I went! He is a patriotic person, as he not only came here for a day and left (like you might expect), but he is here several days, visiting a lot of the smaller forward operating bases (FOBs) in remote, and sometimes far less safe, parts of Afghanistan. Truly a great person, love his lyrics-some made even Jen, the Marine, blush!

Here is a photo of us before the concert: LtoR, Jen (USMC), Ricky (USAF), me (HSA), "Agent X" (FBI) not shown for security reasons. ;)

"For you only my friend, special deal!"

Yeah right! And yet that is what they say to everyone who walks by at today's bazaar here on Bagram Airfield. It was opened today for the first time since the suicide bombing (which, coincidentally did not happen far from where we were today) in FEB. We only had a few minutes there, but it was still nice to get out of the lab and find some deals (boosting the poor Afghan economy, haha!!!):
Seasons 1-5 of "Scrubs" box set: $40
L.O.T.R. Trilogy (Ext. version): $30
Most movie DVDs:P $2 or 3/ea (recent hits, etc.)

The movies are not the same as you would find in Best Buy, but they are not simple DVD copies like you would make for a friend, either. The quality is somewhere in the middle, they come shrink wrapped, in boxes, etc. I think they are copied here in Asia, likely Thailand. Anyway, rumor had it that this was the last time the bazaar could sell DVDs, preumably because AAFES is starting to crack down on these types of things. I am glad I had my chance to buy while I could.

Also, my coworker Jerry haggled a little bit with a man to get some nice marbleware to send home to his wife, Jess. Anyway, I caught them both in action:

Happy Mother's Day...

Mom, Meshell, Alisha, and everyone else; Happy Mother's Day!

Also, thanks to some coalition warriors in Kandahar, here is a bad guy who won't be calling home to tell his mother the same!

i've created a MONSTER!!!

Hey, a lot of you are asking what you can send...so while magazines and books are plentiful here, I thought of two things that I can't find here that I would really enjoy:

-"Lo-carb (it's sugar free) Monster" energy drink
-Any teriyaki/regular beef jerky

Thanks!

happy anniversary to me...

...jk. It's true, 90 days in theater today. (12-15FEB in Krgyzstan, 15FEB-Present here). It remains to be seen how much time I will remain here, but it will be at least 90 more. At this point, it depends on the Reserve recruiter at Riverside...to be continued.

Zurawel > Herrick

Congratulations to my cousin Adam and his soon to be new bride, Katherine (Kat)! I am very excited for you both, wish I could be photographing your wedding in St. Louis this weekend, if not at least attending! Send me a link to the pictures and I will post it. I love you both, and welcome to the family, Kat!

anyone else...

Is anyone else training for the marathon (June 3rd)?? I suppose I should be, haha!! I barely have enough time to work/eat/sleep much less go for runs...maybe that is why I like to do it; it allows me to clear my head and get away for a little while.

While on lunch, I expectedly ran into Cory, from my last reserve unit (934th CF in Minneapolis, MN). Even though I am always glad to have my current coworkers, it is still a week-brightener to see a good friend from 'back home'. Great to see you made it safely Cory!
I wonder if he is a long-distance runner...hmmm....

In the next day or two, I will get a picture of Cory with the NEW Air Force utility uniform, it looks AWESOME!!

Busy week...

Operation Achilles in the Helmland Province (down south) is busy this week...

Afghan Emeralds...

Interesting story about the emerald trade here in Afghanistan...remind anyone else of Blood Diamond?

delayed...

Sorry for no new pictures lately, but there will be some this week! :)

...30th birthday one month away...hmm...

grab the "leish"...

Just warned about another disease to avoid here, as if malaria was not already enough.

Interesting story about it here in Afghanistan...only about 45 mins away...

What am I missing?...the caste system?...haha!

Ok, someone must be trying to tell me something!!...

Because my ISP is through India or Pakistan, (presumably based on my IP address) I get all these side bar ads inside my browser, even "Yahoo India" ads: www.simplymarry.com and the like. They say things to the effect of "Pick a wife today", haha!!

Gee, if only I was Hindu, lived in Islamabad or Karachi and was 22 years old! jk