“And So it Goes….”

October 5th 2005, 2030B

I’ve been trying to type something up for this for the last two days now, but always end up deleting what I’ve just spent an hour struggling to come up with. I’m having writers block typing up a blog post? What the fuck is that about? It has been fairly quiet the last few days to be sure, but that’s never stopped me from finding at least something to waffle on about before. Weird.

Anyway, as I just said it’s been fairly quiet since I last added to this. Pretty much all I’ve done the last few days has been read, drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, & play an hour or so of San Andreas every now & again. Oh, and lots of Minesweeper. I finally managed to beat that damn game twice on the same day on expert, after numerous attempts and much frustration, so I’m pleased about that. Something I’m not pleased about, on the subject of games, is that the copy of KotOR II I brought with me is buggered & refuses to install. At least the original discs are safe at home, & I think the cd images are on the drives that Rob is sending up to me so I’ve not lost it completely, but I’m still annoyed.
I’ve been hankering for something fresh to do lately, & that game would have done very nicely in terms of keeping me amused – just ask Ash if she managed to get more than two words in a row out of me for two weeks after I bought it :P Boredom has started to become a problem lately, & I’ve been getting a touch cranky, moody & irritable. I think I’m heading into the “mid-deployment slump” stage, which is when the cabin fever starts to set in. It’s round about at this point when you start running out of things to distract yourself with, & the same scenery & faces every day wear very thin. It’s a phase you go through on any deployment, though it’s a bit worse on these long ones, but it’ll pass before too much longer. It’s not as bad here in Burundi as it was in the Congo last year though. Here at least I’m only in the same place for two weeks at a time, whereas I didn’t spend more than 3 days at a time out of Kinshasa last year, & infrequently at that. I was sick to death of that town & the people there by the time I came home :P
I was able to keep myself busy editing a few photos today at least. I’ve not taken any photos the last few days, so instead I went back over a few of the photos I’ve already taken since I got here, seeing if I couldn’t do a better job of editing them the second time around. For the most part I reckon I succeeded, but I’m still keen on sitting down with someone who actually knows what they’re doing with Photoshop when I get home. I’ve come a long way in the last few weeks in terms of my post-processing skills, but there’s a hell of a lot that I need to learn still.

Other than that, pretty much all that’s happened is that I was in town again on Monday to sort out some paperwork on the busted ambo, & while I was there I had chance to do my laundry & also make a few calls. Actually, the laundry & phone calls were the main reason I went into town – the paperwork on the vehicle was an excuse really :P – as I loathe doing washing by hand, & I needed to call Rob to wish him a happy birthday, the old bastard :P
I also needed to confirm if he’d been able to send up the latest package yet, as I really need the new camera bag. The “daypack” I’ve been using till now to carry the notebook & camera is literally coming apart at the seams, & I’ve run out of material to sew together to keep it from falling apart. He was only going to be sending the package today, which is fortunate as there were also a few other small things I needed him to get for me, but I should still receive it this time next week. Hopefully the cheap ass piece of crap I’ve been using till now will last that long :P
The Nepalese contingent here have backpacks for sale, very good ones at that for the ridiculously low price of $25, & assuming I ever get chance to get out to their camp I’ll be buying as many as I can get my hands on. I’ve been trying to get one since I got here, as they have a daypack that zips onto the outside of the main bag which would have been perfect for carrying the camera & notebook. Even if that’s not an issue any more, I still want to get one for myself & a few others if I can as they’ll make good gifts.
I’d also hoped to update this blog & upload a few more photos while I was in town, but lucked out with the net connection. I managed to check my mail, & send a few of my own but everything else timed out on me, which was a tad frustrating. I’ll be back in town again next week though, & I’m sure I’ll manage then.

I’m going to end this off for now though, as I’m rapidly running out of steam & this body is in dire need of some beauty sleep.

Cheers for now ;)