Morale Day

Enjoyed a morale day on Sunday. We gave about 20 people a tour of all of the camps and the border. Also went into the city to let them actually see the Gulf. I think they were impressed as they were taking lots of photos and trying to outrun the waves on the shore. Kind of funny watching grown men, many about the same age as I, acting like kids on their first visit to the ocean.

We had dinner at a Chili's that was on a pier overlooking the Gulf. Forgot I were I was for a little bit as the menus were in english and the wait staff were, I think, mostly Phillipino and spoke english very well. The patrons were "Western" dressed for the most part and a pro basketball game was on the big screen. The waiters/waitresses performed the Happy Birthday routine for one of the parties while we were there.

Some of the guys are beginning to miss their families. They are showing me pictures of their families and telling me about their kid's achievements. Do I have a sign on my head? I knew I should have packed my WHK cap. Actually, I'm feeling the same. I asked Margaret to send me some photos too. I hate to rain on their parade but our kids really outshine theirs.

I purchased a new English-Arabic phrase book. The Albanians should appreciate that.

The musical group Lone Star entertained the troops here last night. Jim happened to be in the area of the stage and witnessed one of the performers get shocked when he touched the microphone. He and our British Master Electrician checked it out for them to find a grounding problem created when using two different power sources.

While I was at the PX I noticed a young fellow who kind of stood out from the crowd. I asked one of the girls in our group if she recognized him, as I thought he might be David Cook from American Idol. It was actually him and the young lady wanted her picture taken with him. She was slightly disappointed to see that my photography talent is lacking and the photo turned out fuzzy. She is going to try to get it cleaned up with some photo-shop tools. He did not perform here for some reason.

I watched the Inauguration last night. It was very interesting to see the young, and older, folks watching and applauding to a big screen TV. It was an historical that I almost missed. I called home to see if Margaret was watching. When I told her I was going to call it a night she suggested that I should try to stay up to watch. I thought about the significance of the event as I walked back to the bunk. I returned to see our new president take the oath.

Thanks dear.

Things are moving along slow and steady. The weather is beginning to moderate towards warmer conditions. The regulars here say that the cold weather is now close to ending for the year. I did feel some rain drops yesterday morning on my way to breakfast. It was clear by the time I left the Defac.

Today my task was to go to the airport and purchase minutes for our trac phones. I arrived at the airport entrance freeway at about 12:00 noon to meet squad cars and armed vehicles. The airport had been shut down because of dignitaries coming and going. The officer I talked with said it would be closed until 8:30 PM. It was strange to witness an international airport closing for dignitaries.

I also found and cleaned out a small closet for my office. I'm sure that when my boss realizes the solitude and efficiency of the space he will be moving in and I will be moving out. Oh well, anything to help the cause.

Well we've been here for a week now. The weather has been clear and sunny for the most part. Mid to upper 60's during the daytime and 40's at night. Sometimes very windy. We're working through logistics of office equipment and transportation. Just today getting the last five vehicles on site. Lots of red tape involved. the teams have split up and our work is slowly taking off. I've made at least ten trips to the airport so I'm getting to be comfortable with the traffic system and patterns.



Also many personalities to get to know. Some very funny stories to talk about someday.



Have had the oportunity to talk with some of the "locals" to get some idea of the culture. Locals is not really the correct term as most of the people working here are from other countries. The locals really don't do the actual work. They mostly manage and hire others.



Haven't posted until now because when I accessed the site it was in Arabic and I couldn't figure out how to change it. I hope this posts in English.

I'm packing for the return tour beginning Tuesday 01-06-08. I will travel through Detroit to Amsterdam and on to Kuwait. I intend to be back the first week in March.

The first trip was interesting. Basically getting to know the lay of the land and reviewing the tasks to be completed. We think we have a plan, but as we begin the work with 48 additional people, things will probably change.

I think I will be traveling to, and staying at, the different sites to assist and give my two cents worth on code related issues. I'm not the expert here and am confident that there will be people working for us that have more knowledge than I in many areas. I hope to learn much more and to become familiar with British and Kuwaiti Electrical Standards. On each site there will be situations where all three codes will have to be interpreted for one installation.

Safety is not an issue, except for driving on the freeway systems. Much like driving in Chicago or any big city areas in the states. People driving at high rates of speed, crossing several lanes of traffic, pulling off, and entering, the freeway through the ditches and across the desert at no apparent exits. I think when a car is damaged beyond repair they just leave it and go buy another one. There are many "totaled" vehicles just sitting along the freeways. No Deere crossings but an occasional camel, goat, or sheep.

I'll try to do a better job at posting updates. We had some difficulty trying to establish Internet access on the first trip, but I think we have solutions worked out to allow easier use. Money is the key.

Enough for now I'll post again, I hope, by the end of the week.