“By dawns early light…”

September 10th 2005, 0545B

Just for once I’d like to sleep in till after the sun has come up, say till about 0630 or so. It’s actually the nicest part of the day right now though - quiet, cool, & peaceful - & I quite enjoy this time of the morning, but just once I’d like to have a lie in on a weekend, instead of waking up an hour or more before dawn :P

At least I’m feeling pretty cheerful this morning, and that’s a pleasant surprise. I’m tired & still a bit groggy from the immovaine, but cheerful all the same & I’m looking forward to the day.
Don’t ask my why, because we have to do foot inspection on the battalion personnel who are in the base this morning, & that can be really unpleasant at times – you should see the way some people neglect their feet. Then again, the fact that it’s only foot inspection is a big relief, and that we’re not also doing a…. er, “short arm” inspection like we used to do :P
Those were scary, let me tell you lol

Moving on, something that will have contributed towards the upswing in my mood was last night I had chance to have a quick look at some of the comments that people have left here. With time on the pc being as limited as it is, it’s not often that I get to look at the comments people have left, & I usually only get chance to copy-paste the new entries before I have to make way for the next person who wants to use the pc. I had a few minutes extra last night though, & had a quick look to see who’d commented. Something like Wes saying “Racey says hi” is surprisingly good for a guys morale. I’ve never met either Wes or his fiancée in person, only knowing them from The Pond, but that they’ll read this & then take the time to say hi is really appreciated.
Wes was also saying that he’s looking forward to seeing some photos of the scenery around here, & I’d love to oblige & upload a few, but until I can make a plan with this connection…… I’m just waiting for the blank DVD’s Rob sent up to arrive, & I’ll send a disc home for Ash or someone to upload a few photos for me.
I actually don’t have too many shots of the scenery around here though, come to think of it – most of the time when I’ve travelled I’ve been the driver, which can make taking photos a little tricky as I’m sure you can imagine :P On the days I’ve been a passenger I’ve found that taking photos from a moving vehicle is something of a challenge, particularly on these roads, but I’ll keep at it.

One very pleasant surprise was seeing the comment by Nicole, as I’d wondered if I’d managed to lose track of her completely. It’d been quite awhile since we’d been in touch, & I didn’t get chance to let her know I was leaving early to come up here. I don’t even know if she’s still in SA, as she’d mentioned getting married & leaving for Sweden at some point, though I’m not sure of the timing for that. Needless to say it would have made getting hold of her in future quite challenging lol
I’d actually been thinking about her quite often lately, remembering the great chats we used to have while I was in the Congo, so it was really good to know that she’s still around & I’m looking forward to getting back into more regular contact with her.

Towards that end I’m still working on trying to get my hands on the encryption key for the wireless network here so that I’d have full time net connectivity in my tent, which would make keeping in touch & up to date with everyone a far easier proposition. I became a regular MSN & YIM junkie while I was in the Congo, & I’ve missed the ease of communication that IM allows for while I’ve been here. Chances are that getting it right to connect to the UN lan & their internet connection would probably do more for my continued happy thoughts than regular oral gratification would :P
It’s really frustrating that the wireless adapter on this notebook picks up the network like a dream, but without the key it’s about as useful to me as a glass hammer. I’ve not been able to track down the local UN IT section yet, & even when I get that right I’ll have to come up with a sufficient inducement to have them give me the key, so I don’t know that I’ll ever get it right unfortunately. It’s worth the effort though, so I’ll keep trying.

It’s time for me to get a refill on the coffee & then jump into the shower though, so I’m going to say cheers for now.

Hasta luego, everyone ;)

2115B

I really should know better by now than to go to sleep so late in the afternoon after drinking as much beer as I did today. I don’t mind waking up in the morning with a hangover, but it just seems unnatural to wake up at 2030 after spending the afternoon in a drunken slumber, with a thick head & a mouth that tastes like something incontinent moved in while you were asleep :P
In spite of not feeling so kosher right now, it was really quite a pleasant day. After foot inspection this morning a few of us felt in the mood for a few beers, & despite not having much in the way of ready cash between us we made a plan to scrape funds together and took a stroll around the corner to the sports club, same as last weekend. Come to think of it, the only difference between today & last Sunday is that there weren’t any girls in bikinis at the pool, & the pizza at the hotel next door was a bit cheaper this time. It was still fun though, as my hangover would suggest lol

Anyway, this might be the last post I upload for awhile as I’ve been trying to organise that I deploy out to the field on Monday when the next rotation takes place, rather than spending the rest of the month here in town. I’ve been trying to organise that I go to Kabezi rather than Mwaro this time though, & I seem to recall there being a UN computer at the base there. With a little luck it’s hooked up to the network & I’ll be able to get online while I’m there. That was one thing about the Congo that’s different here – just about every second office in Kinshasa had a UN computer with an internet connection, but here you really have to go looking for one.
Even if I’m mistaken about the computer there & there’s no internet access, Kabazi looks to be quite pleasant, from what I remember of the night I spent there last month. It’s a bigger base than Mwaro, with a company deployed there rather than only a platoon, so I’m likely to be somewhat busier. The main reason I’ve tried to arrange to deploy there this time is that the base is right next to Lake Tanganyika & I’m hoping to get the opportunity to do some travelling around while I’m there, & take in a little of the scenery. The downside to the base being so close to the lake is that the heat, humidity, & mosquitoes are pretty rough but I should manage for two weeks, & it’s a beautiful area from what I’ve seen. Just so long as I don’t get malaria while I’m there, as it’s a high risk area for it. I can just imagine how seriously pissed I’ll be to have taken these bloody mefliam for the last 9 weeks, and have had to put up with them making me feel as shit as they have, and then STILL get malaria. We will not be amused, I can assure you :P

That’s about it for now though, as I’m going to see if I can get onto the pc here to upload this now. I’m trying a little later than I usually do this evening to see if I can’t get a little more time on the pc this time – I’m hoping everyone else has crashed already, & if I get it right to be online longer I’ll upload a few photos.

Till next time then ;)