I ain't dead....

March 13th 2006, 0910B

This is just going to be a quick post to keep this thing alive until I have chance to sit down & type up something decent for it.
I'm back in SA now, & it's really good to be home, even though as soon as I walked through the door of my flat it suddenly felt as though I'd only been awy for a few days, and not 8 months. Strange.....

Anyway, for the most part I've been having a great time catching up with my friends & enjoying a life style of the idle & lazy this first 2 weeks or so I've been home. I've been a little limited in terms of transport atm, as the bike's in the shop & costing me a bloody fortune to fix, so I've not actually done as much as I'd planned since I've been home, but I should be getting the bike back in the next few days. Or at least I bloody hope I'll be geting the bike back in the next few days as relying on other people for transport is wearing thin. In fact, not having wheels of my own has precipitated a serious argument with one of my friends, Colleen from the office, as I've not had chance to see her yet & it seems she's taken that to mean that I don't want to see her. What really precipitated the fight was that she'd offered to come pick me up twice, & I'd had to say no both times because of scheduling conflicts, so I can certainly understand why she's upset. But giving me shit because of it really isn't going to help....
I'll make a plan as soon as I have the bike back, but I have a feeling things are going to be strained for a little while between us, & I really don't need the stress to be honest...

Otherwise about all I've been doing the last few days is play lots of WoW over my lovely broadband connection at home, while drinking far too much coffee & smoking cigarettes. It's a really cool game, & much more fun than I thought it'd be. The cartoony graphics took a little getting used to initially, but they've grown on me now & I quite enjoy them. Best about the game though is the social interaction side of it - you always hear about the assholes in this kind of game who ruin it for everyone, but so far I've not encountered anything like that, & in fact have found a really pleasant & helpful bunch of people.

Anyway, that's going to be it for now as I have some sorting out to do here in the flat, but I'll get back to this soon.

Cheers for now though ;)

“Closer to fine….”

This is likely to be the last time I type anything up for this while I’m still in Burundi. You see, the other day I finally got feedback regarding my extension, and baring acts of God, plane crashes, the outbreak of war here, or other such significant events, I’ll be home – and staying home – very soon. Less than 7 days kind of soon.

It goes without saying that I’m very happy to be coming home, that I’ll get to spend some time with all the people I’ve missed so much over the last months, and that I’m rather looking forward to being on leave for 2-3 months. There’s also a certain relief to be found in finally knowing what is happening, but it also has to be said that I’m very bitter and disenchanted with army life right now. I can’t – won’t – go into the reasons why here, as there’s a great deal of hearsay & conjecture involved, and very little proof, but suffice it to say that I am not at all happy as to the apparent “why” I won’t be staying an additional 6 months. That I have significant questions regarding whether or not I wish to pursue a further military career in this country.
Overall this last week or so has been very difficult, and I’ve been experiencing some pretty serious spells of depression and intense anger. Mostly it’s to do with the way I feel I have been treated by the military over this extension, but I’ve also been really struggling with comms the last few days, and that really hasn’t helped at all. It’s added a feeling of isolation & being cut off to an already battered emotional state, at a time when I really need the contact with home. Of course, there’s also my old friend mefliam making its contribution to things, but at least I only have to take those for about another month now.

But as the title suggests, things are getting better. I’m still nowhere near a happy camper, but I’m managing, and the positive aspects of not getting the extension are busy jumping up & down, trying to get my attention. For a start it means I don’t have to spend another 6 months in Burundi, surrounded by Burundians. Burundi itself is actually quite pleasant, & is a really beautiful country, but I’ve expressed previously my opinion of the locals, & they’ve made it very hard to develop any genuine affection for the place.
I also have a nice long leave to look forward to when I get home, & I fully intend for it to be a busy one. First off, though I’m really not sure how successful I’ll be with this, I need to get into a gym and do something about my fitness levels. Losing the extra weight will be an added bonus, but my physical condition is appalling and is in dire need of attention. And I call myself a professional soldier….
I’d also like to look into scuba diving when I get home, not only as a physically active hobby, but also with the intention of expanding my skill base for future employment possibilities. Cost here is going to be something of an issue though. I don’t think the initial course is too bad, but the equipment can get very expensive, very quickly. My bank balance won’t look as healthy as I’d hoped it would, given I won’t be staying the extra 6 months, so I have to be careful with how much I spend. I may be able to get away with borrowing some of Rob’s gear at least initially though, as he used to dive at one point & still has a fair bit of the kit lying around the house.
Financially speaking, the largest disappointment I’m experiencing other than not saving as much as I’d hoped, is that I won’t be able to get that zoom lens I’ve wanted for so long. Come to think of it, this is something Ash should be pissed about too, as I’d planned on giving her the 75-300mm of mine she’s been using while I’ve been here when I got the new lens.
Still on the subject of Ash & photography, awhile ago she asked me to join a photography club with her, & that looks like it should be interesting. One thing I’ve not had as much of as I would have liked since I’ve been away is “peer review”, & joining a club would be good way to get that.
It’s not as good as doing a proper course, but joining a club will also be a good learning opportunity & will likely broaden my skill base where photography is concerned. Something else to add to the cv.

I also have a fair amount of software and shiny new toys to look forward to playing with, such as the i-Pod, new keyboard and mouse, and also the stylus & pen I bought for the pc. The new notebook should also be waiting for me by the time I get back, & I’m very keen to see if it’s as good as the reviews I’ve read say it is – I bloody hope it is given how much it’s costing me lol
One thing is for certain though, that it’ll run WoW like an utter dream, & I’m quite pleased that I’ll be able to spend some decent time on the game, rather than the odd chance I’d have had if I was only home for two weeks. A secondary reason I’m keen to start playing WoW is that there’s a fair chance I’ll bump into Nicole online pretty quickly that way, as I’ve still not heard from her since December, despite numerous sms’s being sent. I’m sure it’s just this fucked up Burundian cell provider losing messages either coming or going, but I’ve really missed hearing from her & it’ll be good to get in touch with her again.
On the subject of notebooks, the guy who’d been going to buy this one to can’t anymore, as he also got shafted on his extension application. It’s not a problem though, and this should also make Shirley quite happy, as she’d claimed first dibs on it if I didn’t sell it before I got home. I’ve been asking around, trying to get an idea as to what it’s really worth before I give her a figure, as I have a feeling I should be embarrassed by what I’d been asking for it here:p
Speaking of selling things, I’ve also got a 20gb Sony Walkman MP3 player that’s up for grabs for in the region of R1.5k – anyone interested is more than welcome to give me a shout.

Best of all I have to look forward to though, is spending time with my friends again. It’s been a very long 8 months away at times, & the support I’ve received from everyone at home has gone a long way to making this manageable, so I’m looking forward to getting home & spending some decent time with everyone. As soon as I’m physically back in Durban, I’ll get in touch with everyone & arrange to get together for at least coffee or a few drinks ASAP – given that pretty much everyone is working these days I’m not sure that there’ll be chance for any heavy duty catching up the first few days I’ll be home, but there’s a weekend shortly after I get back & I’m sure we can plan something decent for that. A braai the Friday and / or Saturday, followed with breakfast at Joe Cools & a day at the beach for Sunday, perhaps? As always, suggestions for group activities are welcome, so if anyone has ideas for things to do, give me a shout ;)
Actually, here’s another reason everyone should be happy I’m not going to be coming back up here after a 2-3 week break – given how limited time would have been, I put some thought into the most efficient way to use the time I’d have available, & the answer I came up with was multi-tasking, or doing as many things at once as possible.
Thing is, the first 3 items on my “to do” list were “spend time with friends”, “long hot shower”, and “session of hot & nasty sex”…….
I have a feeling that the little shower I have at home would have been a little cramped with everyone in it, & there would likely be a new definition to the term “good friends” by the time the hot water ran out :p

Anyway, I’m going to end this off here. I’m probably being going to be rather out of touch ‘till I get home, as the landline here has gone tits up & I’m pretty much out of airtime. I don’t think I’ll be getting more airtime for the cell when what I have left is finished, as it’s not really worth it given the time remaining. I’ll be seeing everyone in person soon enough though, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Cheers till then though ;)

A quick update….

February 17^th 2006, 1825B

There’s a chance I’ll get to a net connection tomorrow, & seeing as I’ve had so little contact with everyone at home lately I figured it’d be a pretty good idea to update this. Besides, it’s also been quite awhile since I spent any time on this, & funnily enough I’ve sort of missed sitting down in front of the pc to waffle on about my day.

Actually, it’ll be interesting to see if I carry on with this after I get home. I mean, the whole reason I started this blog was to keep in touch with people while I was away from home, but it has become something of a habit now. Getting home will obviate the need for the blog, as I’ll be in regular contact, face to face for the most part, with all of my friends, but I have an idea that I’ll be carrying on with putting down my “brain farts” – as Noelle once described blogging :p – for at least a little while after I’m back in Durban.

Anyway, to get on with the “brain farting”….

It’s been a fairly busy week since I last updated this, with the breaking down of Palace Base in town, & the move to the new base. Breaking down the old base was a significant amount of work, & it’s the most physical labour I’ve done in a very long time – I’ve not been so tired, or sore, in many years lol Strangely enough I actually enjoyed the work for the most part, though I must admit my enthusiasm for the task had waned significantly by the third day. One thing that really pissed me off though, was the way that basically half of the section worked, while the rest sat and watched. Even one of the guys who was deployed to an outside base came in to help out, & really worked, but the others literally did nothing. It didn’t go unnoticed who worked & who didn’t though, & the major in command of the section effectively banished the slackers to the external bases for the remainder of the deployment. I don’t know that I consider that much of a punishment myself – I mean, I’d far rather be in Mwaro right now lol – but I think they got the message.

Something else that’s been keeping us surprisingly busy lately is the number of escort missions, & there’s been at least 3 every day this last week. It’s keeping me busy though, & it easily beats sitting around the base with my thumb up my ass, even if sitting in the back of a Land Rover for 5 hours at a time wears a little thin. Another benefit to the number of escort missions I’ve been going on lately is that it’s afforded me chance to dust off the camera, & even though I’ve not actually taken too many photos, I’ve managed to get a few pretty decent shots. I’d have taken a lot more if it wasn’t impossible to take photos from a moving vehicle on these roads though, & once again I find myself hoping my extension comes through, if only so that I can afford that stabilised zoom lens I’ve wanted pretty much since I got here.

Speaking of the extension, there’s no change there since I last typed something up for this – I still don’t know for sure what’s happening. I had a meeting about the extension on Thursday with a visiting staff officer from Pretoria, and I was promised an answer “within a few days”, but I gave up on holding my breath while waiting for feedback a long time ago. One way or the other, I’ll be home within the next few weeks, and it goes without saying just how much I’m looking forward to the break, & to seeing everyone again. I think I’ll carry on with being non-specific with regards to exactly when I’ll be home though – God knows I don’t want to jinx things again – but I’ll keep everyone as updated as possible within that context.

Otherwise there’s not a whole lot of news – all I’ve been doing really is escort missions & counting down the days. One thing I’ve missed since we’ve been at this new base is comms, as cell coverage is unreliable here, & we didn’t have a landline until yesterday. I’ve managed to get in a call to Ash & Rob at least since we’ve had a phone again, & I really enjoyed speaking with both of them, but I’m still having trouble getting through to everyone else.

Rob had some good news for me, in that he was able to confirm a price & availability on that new notebook I’ve mentioned previously, & while he’s not had chance to buy it yet, he should easily be able to manage that by the time I get home. So it looks like I’ll be clubbed like a baby seal at Warcraft on my new machine after all :D

Rob also sent up a few parcels for me this week, which was really appreciated. Mostly it’s stuff like peanuts & those cheddar biscuits, but he also included must be about 3 litres of whiskey and an engraved hip flask, which I’m busy sucking on as I type this up so if my grammar & spelling suddenly go to shit, you know why :p Something else he included in the parcels was a new external hard drive case to replace to one I have here, but it looks like it’s the drive that’s toast rather than the case, as the new one doesn’t work either. Hopefully it’s just a blown fuse in the drive or something, & it will be simple to recover the data on the drive when I get home, but I’m really worried that I’ve lost what was on there. Most of what’s on it is stuff I have backed up already at home, but all my photos from this deployment are also on that drive, & if I’ve lost those I’ll be really disappointed. All I’ll have left are the low-res ones I’ve uploaded to travelgallery, & the photos I’ve taken since the drive crashed. It’s not just the lost memories either, as Shirlz has also suggested I try get some of the photos published, & I’ll need the original high-res files for that. And data recovery is also not a cheap undertaking from what I understand, which is something else I’m concerned about – I’ve managed to save a fair amount while I’ve been here, & I don’t want to eat into that any more than is necessary.

Anyway, I’d best end this off for now as it looks like supper is ready. I’m not sure if I’ll get chance to update this again before I get home, but failing that I’ll keep in touch as best I can by phone & sms. In the meantime, I hope everyone reading this has a great weekend, & I’m looking forward to seeing you all soon :D

Cheers for now though ;)

“Communication Breakdown….”

February 9^th 2006, 1120B

By the look of things this is going to be the last time I’ll be updating this blog, at least for a few weeks. The base I’m staying at right now, the one in town, is closing this weekend, so we’re all going to be moving to the site of the new base that’s been under construction since sometime not too long after Noah parked the Ark. Unfortunately the new base just a little too far out of town to make getting to the net café I use an easy feat to accomplish, and additionally the facilities at the new base are still under construction, so it’ll be awhile before there’s a net connection available there.

And on top of that, there are as yet no phones installed there either, so I’m likely going to be a little out of touch for awhile. I’ve still got the cell at least, so I’ll be able to maintain comms by sms, but that’s a very poor substitute for a phone call.

But in reality, this isn’t going to have too much of an effect on me, as I’ll be deploying to one of the outside bases within the next week or so, where I’d not have had access to a phone or net café anyway. I had been supposed to deploy this Sunday already, but that’s been pushed back until after we’re settled at the new base, so chances are I’ll head out to the field by around Wednesday or so. Yay, I get to spend longer in Bujumbura….. fucking whoopee!!!

Otherwise there’s no real news. I managed to arrange an extra 2 days off on top of my 7 days leave, so I’m still enjoying the life of leisure right now, which is rather pleasant. I guess I’ll be making up for it on the weekend though, as breaking down the base here in town is going to be a huge job, especially if we have to do it all ourselves. I’ve heard rumblings that all that’ll be required is for us to pack out personal kit & the equipment from the sickbay, & leave the base as it is for subcontractors to break down, but I really don’t know that I’ll be so lucky lol

So far as news regarding the extension & the leave goes…… no change there really. One day I hear one thing, the next something else, so I still have no real idea as to what’s happening. Needless to say I am less than overjoyed about this, but I guess I’ll just have to keep on taking things one day at a time. As frustrating as it is to not know for definite what is happening, ultimately I come out ahead whatever happens – I mean, if I stay for the extra 6 months, then I’ll get all that extra dosh, & will also have opportunity for a break at home soon. And if I don’t stay longer then I get to leave this place behind with nary a back-ward glance, and will be able to spend some decent time with my friends after an absence of far to bloody long.

Anyway, I’d best finish this off as it looks like the chow is going to arrive any moment – I’m busy typing this up at the Chinese place, prior to heading off to the net café. The joys of a notebook & all that lol

As I said earlier, I won’t have the access to comms facilities that I normally enjoy while I’m here in town, but I’ll call as many people as I can while we’re still at this base, & from then on keep in touch as best as possible by sms.

Cheers for now though ;)

No news is good news, right?

February 6^th 2006, 1105B

I seem to be on a funny “up” & “down” cycle at the moment. One day I’ll be in a pretty good positive mood, & the next I’m either maudlin or else inclined towards acts of mass-murder. Chances are it’s just cabin fever & frustration, but it’s starting to wear a little thin, let me tell you. I’ve had about as much of this “swinging in the breeze” shit about my extension & leave as I’m inclined to put up with, and I’ve pretty much made up my mind to laugh it off. Should written authority arrive from Pretoria in the next week or two then I’ll stay on for the extra 6 months, but if it doesn’t arrive by the time I’m scheduled to return to SA then I’m going to flip them the bird and go home.

Verbal assurances that the extension has been granted, that I’ll be permitted to take leave soon, just don’t cut it for me anymore. Like I say, if they get their shit together & give me something on paper I’ll stay – I mean, I did ask to stay after all, & cannot in good conscience withdraw the application at this late stage – but they’re running out of time to get that authority to me, and I am not going to be following up about it anymore. I am tired of being fucked around, & I am not going to kiss anyone’s ass to do them a favour. I am tired of speaking to my friends on the phone – those I can get through to at least – and having to tell them that I still have no fucking clue as to what is going on.

But I’m just pissing myself off all over again, so it’s perhaps time to change the subject – I’m not so young anymore, & I have to watch my blood pressure :p Other than the iffy sense of humour lately, it’s been going well enough. I’m still on leave so I’m having a nice restful time of it, though it has proved expensive – I’m eating too much Chinese & drinking way too much beer lately. And my waistline seems to be expanding in proportion to my wallet shrinking, so it’s probably a good thing I’ll be deploying again this coming Sunday lol

I don’t know where to as yet, & while I’m inclined to ask to go back to Mwaro again for this last deployment, I’m considering asking to go to one of the other bases instead, maybe Muramvya. I’m still not all that fond of Muramvya, but the climate there is better by far than at Kabezi, & I really don’t want to spend any length of time at the new base that’s being built just outside of town here. This last deployment to the outside bases is likely only going to be a short one, given that things are winding down for this contingent – current planning is that the next contingent will start arriving in the mission area from around the 22^nd February or so, and will assume operational responsibilities right off the bat. But as has been the case all along, the details change on an almost daily basis, so I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.

Contact with home these last few days has been something I’ve really enjoyed, & I’ve managed to get in a few good chats with Ash, Rob, & Shirley lately. I’ve also had chance to chat with Mark on MSN a few times in the last week or so, which I’ve really enjoyed. It’s not hard to tell he’s really chuffed about his new set of wheels, & I’m looking forward to seeing the new car when I get home. I really don’t want to know what his fuel budget was with the Opel, so hopefully the Nissan is a bit lighter on go-go juice.

Actually, that reminds me I’m going to have to make a plan for transport when I get home, regardless for how long I’ll actually be in town. The bike has stood for over 7 months now, & there’s no way it’ going to be in running order when I get home, so getting from A to B could prove a little tricky for awhile. I don’t really know that getting the bike running will be cost effective, especially if I’ll only be home for a few weeks, but I’m also not keen on the idea of relying on lifts & so on to get around.

Anyway, I think that’s about it for now. As soon as my washing is out of the dryer I’ll be tracking down some lunch, & then I’ll probably pop into the net café again so that I can upload this, & also see how the last photo I submitted to GFXArtist was received – the first few garnered some positive remarks, & positive feedback is always good for the happy thoughts :p

Till next time ;)

“And then the morning comes…..”

February 4^th 2006, 0510B

Well, once again I was faced with the choice of tossing and turning for another hour, & then having to get up anyway, or of getting up now already & putting the time to constructive use.

Actually, I’m busy with a sort of a compromise as I’ve climbed back into bed, with the notebook on my lap, after having made a cup of coffee. The coffee is tasting a bit weird though, having been made by boiling water in a pot on the stove, but it’s better that nothing I guess.

Anyway, so what’s new from the last few days? As usual, not very much really, but seeing as I’m on leave at the moment that isn’t really a surprise. It’s been a bit of an up & down week though, & Wednesday in particular was not a pleasant day, even before I found out that my uncle had died. I didn’t get a whole shit load of sleep the night before – which meant I got to watch the early morning repeat of Mythbusters, at least – and the caffeine depravation really didn’t help, but even taking that into account there is no way I should have been so acid. I mean, we’re talking a “boil people in oil for breathing too loud” kind of temper here, & it only got worse as the day went by. I’d managed to recover a few of the happy thoughts by the evening though & was feeling far more serene, until I called the old lady at least…..So yeah, I also spent most of Thursday in what could charitably be described as not being a very cheerful mood.

But this isn’t going to be a “woe is me” post. So far as the shitty mood on Wednesday goes, I’m inclined to attribute that to the mefliam, & also to the fact that I could easily have been on a flight home that afternoon if a certain office at the HQ had proved capable of finding its collective ass without benefit of a map & fucking gps system. Maybe I’m just turning into an intolerant & cranky old bastard, but I find these days that being on the receiving end of incompetence and people not doing their bloody jobs puts me in a foul mood.

My uncle dying I think I’ve pretty much made peace with now. He wasn’t really that old, but he was starting to get on in years and, as I said in the last post, he was also a very unhappy man. I’m certainly not happy that he died, & I’m going to miss him – particularly considering that he was busy packing up his stuff to move to SA to live with my old bat, & I’d have actually been able to spend some time with him from then on – but I’ve been able to maintain a sense of perspective about it at least.

Something that “helps” is that I’m at that unfortunate age where the senior members of your family start dying in droves, so you gain a certain experience in dealing with this kind of thing. I’m down to one surviving grandparent – he’s not got much longer to go either – and one aunt & uncle, who are both nudging towards their 60s’ now. After that, it’s just my sister & 5 cousins that are left. The funny thing is, at times like these you start to feel a certain pressure to have kids of your own before you run out of relatives. Or in my case, a certain pressure to convince my sister & cousins to have kids, ‘cause I’m not entirely convinced of my suitability as a parent :p

Then again, perhaps I shouldn’t try too hard to convince my sister to have kids, because I have an idea she’s even less suited to having kids than I am lol

Otherwise, it’s not been a bad week. I’ve managed pretty good comms with home the last few days which I’ve really enjoyed, though once again I’ve not had much joy getting through to G or Shirlz. I’ve bumped into Shirley on MSN a few times now at least, but I think I’m going to have words with her network admin when I get home – the way her connection falls down all the time is annoying enough for me, so I can only imagine what it’s like for her. I’ve been able to get through to Ash fairly often lately, & it’s been great to chat, though I gather that “evil corp” – as Noelle describes iX – is busy trying to give her a “promotion”, only they’re trying to weasel out of giving her an increase while they’re at it. She’s understandably very unhappy about that, as I’m sure you can imagine.

Speaking of Noelle, I seem cursed to never be able to call either her or Paul while I’m here, but at least we manage to sms each other on a regular basis. It’s going to be damned good to see everyone again in a few weeks, though I have a sneaking suspicion that one reason Noelle is keen for me to get home again is so that she can kick my ass at Warcraft – I mean, I suck at RTS games, so it’s probably going to be akin to clubbing a baby seal :p

But with a little luck, said clubbing will be administered to me while I’m using my new laptop, which should take some of the sting out of it lol

I don’t know exactly what it’ll be yet – I know which one I want, but Rob is having a little trouble sourcing it – but I’ll definitely be upgrading for when I get home. This notebook has served me well for the last 18 months or so, but she’s starting to show her age now & the time has definitely come to upgrade. The new one I’m looking at is also an Acer, the Travelmate 8204, & it’s a real beaut – 2gig dual core processor, X1600 graphics card, 2gb ram, & so on – but like I say, Rob is having a little trouble getting hold of one. There’s no real rush though, at least not while I’m still stuck here in Burundi, & I’m sure he’ll be able to get hold of one by the time I get home. If that falls through, then I’ll likely get one of the Ferrari 4000’s instead, and while I’m not crazy about effectively providing free advertising for Ferrari, it’s a nice enough machine, & also well within my budget. I’ll miss the dual core processor on the 8204 in that case though, especially when it comes to Photoshop.

Anyway, that’s about it for now. I’ll be heading off to the net café a little later, & I’ll check mail and upload this then. I’ll get in touch again soon, but in the meantime I hope everyone reading this has a great weekend, & I’m looking forward to seeing you all again soon.

Ciao till then though ;)

Cheers, Dave…..

February 1^st 2006, 1930B

I just got off the phone with my old lady in Howick, first time I’ve spoken to her in probably 3 or 4 weeks. I could really have done with a more cheerful, upbeat phone call in all honesty.

It seems that my uncle, Dave, died in his sleep about two weeks ago. He’d developed an aortic aneurysm over the last few years, and it finally let go. Given the size of the aneurysm, chances are he was dead before he even realised what was happening. I guess that would be the silver lining to the cloud.

He’d also been a desperately unhappy man for quite some time, since his wife – my mothers’ sister – died after a long & bitter fight with cancer about 3 years ago, so this probably came as something of a relief to him. Still, it’s never easy to feel good about it when a family member shuffles off the mortal coil, even when they’re likely far happier for it.

Anyway, I think I’m going to call it quits here. Till next time then.

“Management 101 : How to make a bloody decision….”

January 30^th 2006, 1845B

As is perhaps evident from the title, I have once again met with disappointment & frustration when it comes to feedback about when I’ll be given chance to go home. That I’ll be staying for up to another 6 months is 99.99% certain, but until such time as we actually receive written confirmation from Pretoria that the extension has been approved and granting permission to take 2-3 weeks leave, those of us who’ve asked to stay longer are stuck in fucking limbo. Apparently the problem is a case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing in a certain office in Pretoria, with one person saying “by all means, the guys can stay if they want to, and can take a few weeks’ leave”, but another going “Huh? First I’m hearing about it. Send me a fax with the details & I’ll get back to you”. And this is what I’m hearing damn near 3½ months after I submitted the initial statement, after repeated requests for feedback & clarity…. and people wonder why I’m frequently a cynical & disenchanted grumpy old bastard.

Anyway, said written authority could arrive as soon as tomorrow afternoon, and in which case I may make it home this week even, but I guess we all know just how likely that particular circumstance is.

Enough of the bitching though, even if I feel it’s justified for once. So far as the rest of the day goes, it’s been quite pleasant. I spent most of the morning at the net café checking prices and reviews on the lens(s) & laptop I want to buy. I think I’m going to try save a little money when it comes to the lenses though, as the 80-400 is a bit more expensive than I thought it would be, at R13k as opposed to the roughly R10k I remember it having been. I had been going to get a 28-300 and 2 x converter at the same time as the big zoom, but I think I’ll be better off by buying a 28-110 that I saw instead & saving up for the converter rather than buying it now. I’ll still be within budget if I get the converter & more expensive 28-300 lens now, but there’s no sense spending money I don’t have to. And besides, I’m going to need cash in the bank for when I get home lol

Actually, I think the 28-110 may even work out a better idea than the 28-300 would have, as not only is it about R1.5k cheaper, but it’s also an ultrasonic lens – makes for faster auto-focus – and to an extent the 28-300 is something of a waste. I mean, it makes for a very convenient carry lens with a nice wide focal range, so you don’t end up swapping lenses every 5 minutes – the bane of SLR type photography – but there are often distortion issues at the far ends of the scale with a lens like that, and it also strikes me as rather a waste to duplicate so much of the range of the 80-400 that’s the priority purchase. Better by far, I think, to get the 28-110 which is a: cheaper, b: faster focussing, and c: likely to provide better image quality. And the last is the most important, ‘cause there’s no point spending any amount of money on cameras & lenses if the photographs you take turn out crap.

So far as the notebook goes, I see that Acer have just released a new range, the 8200 series, which is very tasty, & has my name written all over it – providing it’s within my budget, that is lol I’ve asked Rob to find prices for me, & I’ll call him tomorrow to see what he’s been able to find out & let him know which one he should order. I think I’ll spend a little time at the net café before I call him though, to see if I can’t find few more comparative reviews & so on, just to make sure of the specs & features.

Something I did spend a little money on today was one of those little tablet & stylus combos’ for image editing, the same model I got Shirlz for her birthday. I’m quite keen to get my hands on it so I can start playing, & I have a feeling that it’ll really help so far as developing my Photoshop skills. Generally I only apply global adjustments to the photos I edit, because fine editing is a severe pain in the ass when using a mouse, so mostly I don’t even bother trying. The stylus should make that significantly easier, particularly when it comes to finicky selection tasks, and can only help me produce better results. Or at least I hope so, but if it turns out I’m wrong then I’m only out of pocket a few hundred rand, which I can live with.

Speaking of Shirley, we had brief chance for a chat on MSN earlier, & it was great to hear from her, but when I say “brief” I mean really brief. I think we managed about 3 sentences each before her MSN fell down & went splat, which was really frustrating. I managed to get hold of her on the phone a few minutes ago at least, & while that was also a frustrating experience given the shitty line quality, it went a lot better than the IM did this morning. Until the line went dead & I couldn’t get through again, that is. It seems she’s having serious hassles with her hay fever again, & I really hope that clears up soon.

Anyway, that’s about it for now. I’ll catch up again as soon as I have more to add to this, but for now I’m going to buy some beers & then go blow off a little steam. Chances are I’ll be giving myself a hangover to add to the frustration in the morning, but that’s the price you pay for the fun you have I guess :p

For now though, ¡Hasta luego! ;)

“I can’t get no sleep….” Part II

January 30^th 2006, 0300B

Well, this sucks. Normally I pop a double dose of immovaine before I crash at night, but even then I normally wake up around 0400 or so. It’s not that I seem to be able to have an afternoon nap lately either, so I’ve been getting a little tired & grumpy lately – nothing major, ‘cause I can manage well on 6 hours sleep a night, it’s just I don’t really like being awake so damn early every morning. There’s no Kate Beckinsale to keep me amused, you see ;)

Anyway, to get to the point. Last night I figured I was only going to take one sleeping tab instead of the usual two, & I also took it a fair bit later than is the norm, with the idea being that if two tabs aren’t really doing the job anyway – I mean, I should sleep till next fucking week sometime after a double dose – let’s see if I can get away with just taking one. Ok, so the logic of reducing the dose when it’s not working too well also kinda escapes me at the moment, but it seemed like a good idea at the time, & there’s no way in hell I’m going to swallow a triple dose.

But did my little experiment work?

Fuck, no.

And this is after popping the tab on top of swallowing a reasonable amount of beer at super, you understand. I’ve been awake since must be bloody 0200, & all that drinking the tab on top of the beer has done is give me a bloody headache. Actually, that could be dehydration come to think of it, ‘cause the beer is literally all that I had to drink all day yesterday.

But don’t mind me – it’s just early, I have a headache, and there’s no Kate Beckinsale to keep me amused, nor any bloody coffee either because some fucktard blew the damn kettle up this last week. Bastard. Of all the things adding to my general “grumpy bastard” disposition first thing in the am, the no coffee is the worst, & I’m really missing my caffeine fix right now.

But at least I’m putting the time to constructive use – I’ve already got one load of washing about to go into the tumble dryer, & as soon as that’s done I’ll be giving my sleeping bag, pillow, & body armour a trip through the spin cycle. The body armour – well, the fabric part of it anyway, not the ceramic plates – really needs it, as I never seem to remember to wash the damn thing, so it’s looking a touch “manky” by now :p

I’ll also spend a little time when the washing is sorted out putting together the next package to send home, a whole shit load more coffee – which should make Shirlz happy ;) – and the last of the little sundries I can live without here, crap that is just taking up space & weight. The hardest part about that is finding a box large & strong enough to pack the coffee & so on into, but the guy who runs the canteen is a mate, and he should be able to organise a few empty boxes for me.

Otherwise, aside from not sleeping well at all I’m in a pretty good mood, & I’ve had a pleasant enough time of it since I got back to town. The shower when I got back to base was especially welcome, after having had to make do with a “splash bath” out of a fucking bucket for the last two weeks. That’s the one thing about Mwaro I don’t enjoy – everywhere else has reasonable ablution facilities, but at Mwaro you’re stuck with making a plan with a bucket, and it’s a serious schlep.

Anyway, after the shower it was off to Chinese to eat more than is likely healthy for a body, and as usual the food was great. The restaurant here isn’t in the same league as Maan Hing, but it’s still bloody good & I really enjoy their food. I have to laugh at Hans though – we go there together often, & every time he orders the same bloody Sweet & Sour Pork without fail. No sense of adventure, that lad :p The cold beer really went down well, given that Hans & I were both taking strain with the increased humidity here in town as opposed to Mwaro. Not to put too fine a point on it, I was sweating like a cheap ho, so I don’t think that first beer – and we’re talking 750ml’s here :p – even touched sides lol

After Chinese it was off the net café to catch up on the email, blogs, & so on, though I’ve not had chance to look at them yet. I also managed to get in a quick look at the Pond, & also a chat with Wes which I really enjoyed. I gather he’s not too well right now, a stomach bug of some sort, & I hope that clears up soon as it’s evidently rather uncomfortable for him. I should probably be careful about chatting to Wes though, as he has this knack for pointing out nice photography stuff to me, which promptly has me struggling to keep the credit card in the pocket lol

Last night it was the new Canon D5 he showed me, & I have to say it’s bloody nice…… but R25K!!! Actually, I’m going to hold off on upgrading the camera for quite awhile I think – lenses are a different story though lol – until Canon bring out a 20D equivalent in the 12MP+ range, and I also want to see what happens with the fovean sensor technology first. That looks really exciting, & it looks to be the way forward in terms of addressing the colour accuracy issues inherent in digital cameras at the mo – the way CCD & CMOS sensors work is that each photosite on the sensor only records one colour, red, blue, or green, and then software fills in the gaps through interpolation and educated guesswork. It does a pretty good job, but it’s far from perfect, & this is one area that film still has digital solidly beaten in. The new fovean sensors that are coming out look to fix that problem though, as each site on the sensor records all colours, & colour reproduction is evidently far more accurate than with the CCD & CMOS sensors. It’s a technology that comes with its own problems though, so I think I’ll wait awhile to see how it develops before I upgrade. Besides, I’ve still got a long way to go towards knowing what I’m doing with the 20D, so it only makes sense to learn how to use that properly first lol

Another person I had a chat with on MSN last night is a guy called Riddick, though I have absolutely no idea who this person is, & in fact I’m rather interested to know where he got my msn id from……. on reflection his story that he got it from the NAG forums just doesn’t ring true, ‘cause I don’t think I’ve ever posted on NAG in its new incarnation, & I certainly never added my MSN details to my profile there. I shall perhaps have to take a look at NAG later & see just what’s going on there.

Enough of that though. Probably the highlight of yesterday was getting chance to call Ash after I got back from the net café, & it really was good to hear from her again. I also tried to get hold of Shirlz & G last night, but couldn’t get through & unfortunately ran out of time. I’ll have another go tonight though, with hopefully better results.

I gather Ash must have been in a somewhat “cheeky” mood yesterday though, as she sent me a rather unexpected sms just as I got back to town, & I see another arrived last night after I crashed lol We had a good laugh about it on the phone though, & I really enjoyed chatting with her. It goes without saying that I’m really looking forward to seeing her again, & I’m really happy that we’re back to a close, happy and comfortable friendship, especially given how much hurt & anger there was floating around when I came up here. Where to from here still remains to be seen, and will require a great deal of careful thought, but it really means a great deal to me that we’re such good friends again.

Ross, however…… let’s just say my opinion of that little boy remains unfavourable, and leave it there.

Anyway, that’s about it for now, & it’s time to go check on my washing and sort out that parcel. I’ll be going through to the HQ today, even if I am on leave, on what will likely prove to be a fruitless search for info about my extension – I’m expecting “we’re still waiting for a reply from Pretoria”, like fucking always. But maybe somebody has pulled their thumb from up their ass and finally made a decision, in which case I’ll let everyone know what’s happening asap. After that I’ll be heading back to the net café so that I can get as much of my admin done now as possible, so that if I am only going to be home for a few weeks, I won’t waste time on little shit that I can just as easily do here. I’ll update the blog while I’m at it, & also hopefully get chance to chat with a few people on MSN / YIM.

Till next time though ;)

Killing time….

January 27^th 2006, 1630B

I’m having one of those funny “off” days today. Not really a bad day, more apathetic & irritable than anything. Chances are that it’s just a touch of cabin fever, & I just need a change of scenery to sort me out, so it’s probably a good thing I’ll be heading back to town on Sunday. Not that I’m looking forward to spending any length of time in the capital, you understand – just one or two days is enough. Just long enough to do my washing, make a few calls, and get to a net connection so that I can check my mail, & see what my friends have added to their blogs in the last 2 weeks. I’m especially looking forward to a little contact wit home, as it’s been really quiet in the respect the last few days, & I’ve been starting to feel a little isolated & cut-off. I guess it is the end of the month, & people are running low on airtime, but I’ve really missed the contact all the same.

And one other thing I really need to do when I get back to town is update this bloody McAfee anti-virus, because if the bloody reminder to do so pops up one more fucking time, I’m going to break something. I mean, I appreciate that it reminds me that my definitions are out of date, but to do so 5 times a bloody day? And that it forces Windows to task-switch away from what I’m busy with at the time is something that really gets on my tits. It’s become as intrusive & unwelcome as a bloody prostrate examination.

But this is starting to sound suspiciously like a bitching session, so it’s probably an idea to change the subject. It’s been a pleasant enough last few days since I updated this, if just that little bit too quiet for my liking. Of course that makes it rather tricky to actually come up with anything to say here lol Mostly I’ve spent the last few days reading, playing around with a few old photos in Photoshop, & trying to keep myself amused so that the time doesn’t drag so much.

The last is proving to be anything but easy to accomplish at the moment, given that I’m really excited at the prospect of getting home soon. There’s still no definite news as to when or for how long I’ll be home but, one way or the other, it’s at least sooner rather than later now. And I know that I sound like a broken record with this by now, but if I’m going to be staying on for that extra six months, then they have to give me leave in the very near future, so I should get some clarity next week when I’m back in the capital.

You never know, but maybe the next time I update this blog it’ll be from my connection at home. I doubt it, but I’ll let people know what’s happening as soon as possible. Till then, I guess I’ll just have to take it one day at a time – I’ve survived the last 209, so a few more aren’t going to kill me.

It just feels like it will lol

Anyway, that’s about the limit of what I can come up with right now, & it’s also time for supper so I’ll be finishing this off for now. Have a great weekend everyone, & I’ll catch up with you again soon.

Cheers for now though ;)

At the end of the day….

January 23^rd 2006, 2020B

I really doubt that this is going to be a very long post, given that I’m already in bed, & the sleepy drugs are starting to do their groovy thing. Besides, I typed up an entry for this only yesterday, & it’s not that there’s much of anything going on right now to talk about here :p

About all of real interest that happened today is there was a brief earth tremor at around lunchtime. It’s funny how our reaction to something like that is often out of all proportion to the event itself though. I mean, the tremor today was barely noticeable, but when it happened, Hans – the other medic here with me - & I stopped chatting dead in mid-sentence and gave each other one of those “Uh oh…..did you feel that too?” looks that lasted a whole shit load longer than the tremor itself did. I imagine you know what I mean, when you have that “waiting for the other shoe to drop” feeling, where you hold your breath & wonder if the universe is about to drop on top of you that always seems funny in retrospect.

Then again sometimes the other shoe does drop, with tragic consequences, so perhaps a “disproportionate” reaction isn’t that strange after all. But what I really find remarkable about these little tremors we feel from time to time here in Burundi, is that it’s apparently the volcano at Goma in the eastern DRC that’s getting restless again which is causing them. About as best as I can figure from the admittedly low-detail maps I have access to, Goma is around 400km from where I am now, and the amount of force required for me to feel something that happened so far away must be mind-boggling. I doubt it was much of a tremor in Goma itself either, but that I felt even as little of it as I did over that distance makes me happy that I’m not any closer. At least the military evidently has someone in Goma studying the volcano, so there should be enough warning if the sucker decides to blow that we’ll be able to safely evacuate our personnel from there – there’s a small contingent of SANDF firefighters, cargo handlers, & medics stationed at the airport in Goma. Or at least stationed at what’s left of the airport at Goma after the last eruption :p

The fact that the SANDF actually has a vulcanologist of all things in service, is a source of some amusement to me I must confess :p I can just see the meeting, where some UN bigwig is asking for troops for a peacekeeping mission, and the reply being “Sorry, we haven’t enough troops or tanks to do the mission like you’ve asked, but we do have a spare vulcanologist you can use….”

Anyway, other than the brief moment of worry brought on by the restless ground, pretty much all I’ve done with my day is play a little Desert Combat Extended – a few more maps & different models compared to the regular DC, but maybe worth a look at the next lan – and do a fair bit of reading. The game was fun enough, but the reading I thoroughly enjoyed, having decided on a whim this afternoon that I was going to read through all the blogs that I’ve saved on the pc since I’ve been here. I only made it through Gareth F’s & Noelle’s today, but it was fantastic to read their blogs again, from July last year till now, and see what’s been going on in their lives since I’ve been away. BTW, Gareth, you really need to update you blog more frequently man :p

Hans, the other guy here with me, probably thinks I’m in need of professional help right now though, as while I was reading them I’d frequently burst out laughing at something either Gareth or Noelle had written – in particular, Noelle’s description of how her perception of He-Man has evidently changed over the years had me in tears I was laughing so hard. “Ultimate gay fantasy” indeed lol And having read through Gareths’ blog again, and being reminded of how excited he was to have met Denbeigh, just makes me want to meet this interesting young lady all the more.

Tomorrow will likely also be spent reading through some of the blogs I have saved, most likely Shirlz’ & Ash’s, both of which are fairly large – Ash’s in particular – and should keep me going for the whole day. One thing I’ve noticed about the other blogs that I read, is that they all make good use of images – Noelle’s Girlz’nGames strip and pics of the gang, & also Ash’s photos for example – to bring their blogs “to life”, and make them more interesting & engaging for the reader. That’s something I’d love to do myself in this, but with my net access being what it is…. Maybe when I get home, & have access to a decent connection all of my own, I’ll go back through this blog and add a few photos & so on to old posts where appropriate, as well as hopefully to any new posts from then on.

One downside to going through these blogs today has been that it’s really brought home to me just how long I’ve been away, how much I’ve missed in that time, and how much I’ve resented that lost time with my friends. It wasn’t an especially cheerful realisation I must admit, but I’m consoling myself with the thought that I have an incredible group of friends, & that it won’t be too much longer before I get to see everyone again.

And on that note, I’m going to have to bid you all goodnight, as the immovaine is making it hard to focus, & sentence construction is also proving rather challenging lol

Till next time then ;)

“Still haven’t found what I’m looking for…..”

January 22^nd 2006, 2010B

If it wasn’t for the hangover, this would’ve been a very pleasant day. Then again, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised I felt rough as a bears ass today, given that after we ran out of beer last night I opened the box of cheap-shit Chateau Cardboard the mess handed out the other day. The beer on its own would’ve been fine – I mean, you really have to work at it for Primus to give you a hangover – but the wine was most certainly a Bad Idea. Every sport has its injuries I guess, & it was an enjoyable evening spent making the world go blurry at the edges & watching old Indiana Jones movies, so I really shouldn’t complain. I just wish I didn’t wake up feeling so damned…. ”affectionate” when I’m hungover – that just strikes me as mean, given there’s a distinct shortage of young ladies to be affectionate with here, & I doubt I’d feel well enough to manage even if there was lol I reckon it’s proof that sometimes God has a nasty sense of humour lol

But as I say, other than the hangover, it’s been a rather enjoyable day. Best of all I think was the call I got from Shirlz this morning. I’ve not had much in the way of contact from home the last few days, so hearing from Shirley was a very pleasant surprise, & very welcome. Given the hangover, I don’t know that I was really capable of intelligent conversation though, & she seems to have a knack for calling me when I’m in a state of diminished capacity, either doped to the gills or drunk lol Her dad may not be too happy when the phone bill arrives though, as we chatted for the best part of 20 minutes, & that can’t come cheap, not at the larcenous rates bloody Telkom charge.

Actually, mention of her dad reminds me that she said that he took G up for a flip in the micro-light today, which sounds pretty damned cool & I hope Gareth had a great time. When I get home I’ll have to see if I can’t talk her father into taking me up, so that I can try my hand at a little aerial photography. It’ll also be interesting to contrast the experience of flying in a micro-light as opposed to the helicopters I’m used to. I’ll also have to see if I can’t get it right to arrange a flip in a glider one of these days. It’s a little strange that I’ve never done that actually, as a guy I know in Howick flies gliders. I’ve known Bill for over 20 years, & he’s offered to take me up a few times, but I’ve never been able to take him up on the offer, so it’s definitely something else to add to the “to-do” list for when I get home.

That “to-do” list is starting to get a little long though, particularly if I’m only going to be home for 2 – 3 weeks, as it’s two pages long already, & still growing. At least a lot of what’s on the list is stuff I’ll need to buy if I’ll be coming back here, & I’ll get that sorted out in one trip to the supermarket, & a fair bit of the rest is stuff that I can get done online or by phone – my tax & professional registration, for example – so getting everything done that’s on the list shouldn’t eat too much into the time at home that I’ll have.

So far as social activities go, I’ve not put down too many ideas so far, & I have a feeling we’ll be making it up as we go along. There are a few things I’d really like to do though, such as dinner at Spigga & Maan Hing with as many people as can make it, and also the breakfast buffet at Joe Cools on at least one weekend. Something else that I’m keen to do, if there’s opportunity & enough people are interested, is go on that train-ride up to Notties that Paul, Noelle, & Mark did last year, as that looks to be a very pleasant way to spend a day.

I’d also like to fit in a LAN on one weekend if possible, which should make Paul a happy man – he complained in an sms the other day that he had no-one to play games with lol And I must admit there’s an ulterior motive for holding a LAN – in addition to having loads of fun with my friends, I also fully intend to raid everybody’s hard drives for music, movies, books, porn, & so on for stuff to keep me amused for another 6 months if I end up coming back here :p

But if anyone reading this has any suggestions for things to do for while I’m home, please feel free to let me know – the more ideas & suggestions the merrier ;)

Now if only someone would make a bloody decision as to whether I’ll be getting the bloody extension or not, & then let me know what’s going on so that I can plan my life…

Otherwise, there’s no real news from the last few days since I typed anything up for this. With the deployment coming to an end, for this contingent at least, there’s a definite “min dae” attitude doing the rounds, with people doing as little as they can get away with, so there’s not much happening in terms of work. It’s usually at this point of a deployment that the foolishness & drinking start to get out of hand though, and you end up with a fair number of people getting hurt in stupid accidents or digging themselves into shit, so this can be a busy period for the MPs’ and the medics. For example, the week before I came out to Mwaro there were I think 2 vehicle accidents – none serious fortunately – and also one clown who thought it’d be a bright idea to try climb over the fence when he got back to base late for roll call. Actually, I’m sure there are plenty others who climb the fence after curfew, but I guess the others are just a little more careful of the razor wire than this guy was, & he sliced his arm up pretty badly when he slipped. Thing is, the cheeky bastard is insisting that 2 of the locals stabbed him when he was on his way back to the base, despite his injuries obviously having come from a dance with the razor wire. I mean, I really don’t like the Burundians – I think I may have mentioned that previously :p – but there’s no need to go falsely accusing them of shit like this, particularly when it was your own stupid fault you got hurt doing something you knew you shouldn’t have.

It’s been ok for that here in Mwaro, so far at least, & while the guys have been drinking quite a bit – myself included actually lol – the only “trouble” has been a little extra noise late at night, & the platoon sergeant put a quick stop to that. It’ll likely be a different story back in the capital though, so I’m glad that I’ll be on “leave” after this deployment to Mwaro, & won’t have to do after hours standbys & so on. I call it “leave” in that you can’t leave town, & still have to attend roll-call so there’s a limit to how much you can enjoy yourself, but at least you’re officially off duty so it’s better than nothing.

Anyway, I think I’m going to end this off for now as my eyelids are getting real droopy all of a sudden. I’ll be chasing my boss to follow up about my extension in the am, & if I hear anything I’ll pass it along asap. Till then, keep well everyone, & I hope you all have a great week ahead.

Cheers for now though;)

Here we go again…..

January 18^th 2006, 2025B

It really doesn’t feel like it’s only been four days since I updated this. Ok, so today has been a long & at times rather trying day which might be colouring my perceptions, but it really feels like it was last week sometime that I sat down with this last, and not just the other day. Then again, I guess Sunday would actually be “last week”, but you know what I mean lol

I guess it’s that countdown feeling that’s stretching things out & making the days seem longer, & it doesn’t help that it looks like the dates have gone and changed again so that I don’t actually know how long I have left to go here. I guess I should have kept my big mouth shut in that last post, & on the phone to people, ‘cause sure as shit I went and jinxed things. You know what, I think I’m going to hold off telling people when I’ll be home, & for how long, until I’m actually at home, in my flat, in bloody Durban.

At least that way, when I call my friends & say “Hey, let’s get together, drink more than is healthy, & catch up a little of the last 6 months,” I’ll be fairly certain that I won’t have to call back later and say “Yeah, about that date for drinks…….I’m really sorry, but can I take a rain-check till the army makes up its fucking mind what it’s doing with me?”

And as tired as I am of continually having to disappoint my friends, I’m even more tired of not knowing what the putty is happening myself. This uncertainty & inability to plan, the bloody goal-posts that keep moving, is getting right on my tits, let me tell you. And let’s just not go anywhere near whether or not I’ll be staying another 6 months either.

But enough of that. Otherwise things are going quite well, & I’m thoroughly enjoying being back in Mwaro. The weather here has been beautiful the last few days, if bloody cold at night, & the greatly diminished “asshole quotient” when compared to Bujumbura has done wonders for my blood pressure. I spent most of today in the capital though, having a raging argument with the HR people about my outstanding allowances from last year, which I really could have done without. But let’s just say that nobody was happy with the outcome of that little discussion, & leave it at that – I really don’t feel like getting all pissed off again by going into it here. It was a lovely day for a drive, the change in routine was welcome, and I also had chance for a quick chat with Rob, so at least it wasn’t an entirely wasted day.

Mostly I’ve spent my time reading, or working my way through Baldur’s Gate 2 again for about the 3^rd time this month – I keep getting to a point about half way through, & then deciding to try things a different way. It’d be frustrating if it wasn’t for the fact that there’s so much depth & scope to that game, & it’s helping the time pass, so I’m not going to complain. It’ll still be good to get home though, so that I can get my hands on all the new software that I’ve ordered over the last few months. It’s probably going to be awhile after I get home before I spend any time in front of a pc though, as I’ve got a lot of catching up to do with my friends first lol

And trust me when I say that I really can’t wait to see everyone again, that I’ve been away too long by far.

Speaking of catching up with friends, someone I’m very keen on getting in touch with is Nicole, as I’ve not heard from her since Christmas & I’m starting to get a little worried about it. Chances are it’s just the cell operator here losing messages & so on again, but I’ll be a lot happier when I’ve heard from her & know that she’s well.

Anyway, I’m going to have to end this off for now though, as the sleepy drugs are starting to kick in & the world is getting just a little blurry. I’ll try catch up again soon, but cheers for now ;)

And the countdown begins….

January 14^th 2005, 0855B

Well, yesterday I finally received some kind of “almost” definite word regarding when I’ll be home, & for how long. Chances are I’ve probably jinxed things by letting people know – Murphy is a cast-iron bastard, after all :p – and mentioning it here isn’t likely to help, but as of lunchtime yesterday there are enough personnel available to fully relieve this contingent, & there is no need to accept any applications for extensions. As such, come 3^rd March I’ll be getting on a plane & leaving Burundi in my wake.

There is still a chance that this might change – there’s a large difference between names on a piece of paper, & actual bodies arriving in the mission area after all, and if there’s a personnel shortage then I might still end up staying for an extra 6 months. But right now it looks very likely that I’ll be home, and staying home, at some obscenely early hour on the morning of 5^th March, or about 50 days from now.

So how do I feel about this? Succinctly put, I cannot fucking wait to get home :D

Sure, I’m going to miss the money the extra 6 months here would have brought in, but not a damn am I going to miss this place, or the locals. I have to be honest, & say that I detest 99% of the Burundians I’ve encountered, and my opinion of Bujumbura is such that a carpet-bombing campaign could only serve to improve the place.

Conversely I have already missed, & significantly so, my friends and my life, and the thought of getting back to them again in a few short weeks is one that puts a HUGE fucking smile on my dial :D

Like I say, I’ll miss the money, especially if I am out of a job come September, & I’m disappointed that I’m going to have to hold off on upgrading the notebook or buying that tasty zoom lens I’ve wanted for so long, but all of that is less than nothing when weighed against getting to spend time again with those people who mean the most to me. Hell, I’ll even take the time to pop up to Howick to see my old lady for a day or two when I get home – I just need to time it so that my sister ain’t around :p

But like I say, this still might change, & perversely the more excited at the prospect I become, the more likely it is that there will be a last moment requirement for additional personnel in the mission area, or that this deployment will be extended to May or something – we’re still hearing rumblings about that, even now. I certainly bloody hope not, & needless to say I will not be at all happy should that come to pass, but I’ll keep everyone informed as to what happens. Hold thumbs for me, ok? ;)

Otherwise, there’s not a whole shit load of news from this side. Work continues apace, with the same shit day in & day out. Work’s gone pretty well for the most part, though I’m busy with an exchange of snotty letters with the HR department at the moment, about those outstanding allowances from August. That’s one battle I don’t honestly expect to win though, at least not in terms of ever seeing the cash. Right now, I’m just aiming for the satisfaction inherent in bringing official & high level attention to the fact that they didn’t do their bloody jobs, & that in my opinion they have lied to me every single time I’ve asked for feedback. Actually, I’m having lots of fun seeing just how obnoxious I can be in a letter whilst maintaining an illusion of civility :p

I’ll be out of town for two weeks from tomorrow – I’m deploying to Mwaro again, possibly the last deployment we do before we come home – so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of response to my last little “love note” they come up with in the meantime.

I’m really happy to be deploying to Mwaro again, as I’ve always enjoyed the place, & it’s probably the only thing about Burundi that I’ll actually miss when I get home. It really is beautiful there, peaceful & quiet, and I’m always going to have good memories of the place. I’ll be a little out of touch while I’m there, as per usual, but I’ll do my best to call as many people as possible before I leave tomorrow morning, & I’ll keep in contact by sms till the airtime runs out. For now though, keep well everyone, & I’m really looking forward to seeing you all again in a few weeks :D

Cheers till then ;)

And in other news…..

Actually, there isn’t too much really. We’re still a little busy here at the office, with half the section being on leave, but nowhere near as much so as last week. In fact, today is a local public holiday so we have the day off. It looks like the rest of the week will also be a little slower than last week, but there should still be enough work to keep me amused.

It’s actually been a fairly productive week for me so far as the office goes, & I managed to sort out that issue with my allowances I complained about in the last post. My “snotty letter writing skills” must have improved some since the last time I tried them out, because it only took the HR section 2 days to sort things out after my little missive of “thanks and appreciation” – yes, that would be sarcasm you detect there :p – landed on their desks. It’ll be interesting to see if they’ve managed to fix things in time for me to get my full salary on the 13^th, but if not at least I know I’ll be getting a fat bastard of a paycheck in February :)

You know, I might just make a habit of writing snotty letters actually, because God knows I’m sick & tired of being inconvenienced because other bastards haven’t done their bloody job. The next statement has already been submitted actually, about that UN cash allowance I was supposed to get in August and haven’t seen a cent of more than 5 months later, and I’ll likely typing up a third statement on its way on Thursday morning. I’ve been promised definite feedback regarding my extension for bloody months now, and tomorrow is the deadline – Joint Ops and the Mobile Formation sit down in Pretoria tomorrow to finalise the namelist for the next rotation, and if my name isn’t on it I’m going to be demanding an explanation as to why.

But enough of that – it’s starting to sound like a bitching session, & I’m really trying to avoid that. The happy thoughts are still doing remarkably well, & my outlook the last few days is also quite positive and upbeat. I’ve had really good comms with home the last few days, which has helped, & I managed to get hold of Rob, Ash, Shirlz, & my old lady in Howick, all of whom I really enjoyed catching up with. Shirlz in particular I was happy to get hold of, as I’d not heard from her since mid December, depite repeated attempts from both sides.

I did hit a bit of a dip when my old lady told me that her Jack Russel was attacked & killed by the dogs from the house next door though. I’m really going to miss Rusty, because he was a typical Jack Russel – all balls, no brain, & a whole shit load of character – and I’d become quite fond of him over the years.

My external hard drives also blew up on me yesterday – or the power supply for them at least, but the result is the same – which was rather annoying, but I should be able to get that sorted out in a few weeks at most so it’s not too big an issue. Or at least I hope the power supply is the only problem, because if the drives are also toast I’ll have lost over half the photographs I’ve taken since I’ve been here. The rest of the stuff on the drives is easily replaceable, so I’m really not fussed about that, but if I’ve lost the photographs I’ll be seriously pissed.

I still have all my books & music on the notebook hard disk, and some stuff on the DVD’s I brought with me – and especially the DVD Noelle & Paul sent, so thanks again guys :D – so I’ll be able to keep myself amused at least until I get home & can attempt a data recovery. And if I can manage to get my hands on a no-cd crack for Baldurs Gate II today I’ll be sorted, because I’m about a third of the way through it atm, just hitting my stride, & I really don’t want to wait a few weeks to carry on playing lol

Anyway, that’s about it for now and I’m going to end this off so that I can go get some breakfast – cigarettes & coffee ;) I’ll be heading into town a little later, after I’ve made a few calls – hopefully I manage to get through to Noelle this time so I can wish her a happy birthday, but it’d be a first from here – so I should get this uploaded then.

Ciao for now though ;)