Hey y'all!
Greetings from Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Africa. Things around here have become pretty steady. I haven't had an opportunity to engage in much else than work, sleep, pool time on base, gym time, and 11 Degrees North time. Same old, same old.
But I'll start with my most recent outing and the title of this particular blog. After A-Shift got off duty this past Sunday, 12 June, some of us decided to head off camp and hit the fabulous pool at the Kempinski Hotel. It's a very nice place - the nicest hotel in all of Djibouti (which actually is saying something, since it seems way too nice comparatively speaking to other hotels here). But anyway, we can go to the hotel and use the pool for a $30 fee. I tend not to go there just because $30 seems a bit much to me to lounge around and hang out in the pool...but it's been so hot here. And it was a chance to get off the camp.
It's been well into the 100's here and just so muggy. It is truly what feels like to walk into a blow dryer - but with the humidity added. It was overcast yesterday, but that didn't help with the hot mugginess. Sigh...
We've had a lot of quiet days at the Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) department. We get occasional calls - twisted ankles, dislocated shoulders, dehydration...usual stuff. A few weeks ago we had a full out Hazardous Materials event! That was pretty cool to help out with. They had to do a full recall of the entire F&ES staff to come in and provide coverage. A-Shift happened to be on shift that morning, so we were tied up for a good 5 hours on site dealing with the incident. Add to that the heat...and I don't know if you have seen those outfits they have to wear in order to handle HazMat! It was a scorcher. These guys did an awesome job - full gear, SCBAs...HOT HOT! In full gear most people could only stay in the scene/hot zone for about 10-15 minutes. We were constantly monitoring vital signs, including temperatures, and we had a couple guys not able to return to the scene due to the stress on them. In the meantime, we had a call for a fuel spill. Now, the odds of us having 2 full fledged emergencies at the same time is pretty small... Next we had an alarm activation in one of the main base buildings. So we not only had 2 emergencies, we had 3 at the same time! It was crazy! BUT WE HANDLED IT ALL! We got some good kudos when it was all said and done. Great job everyone!
Now my partner in crime is on R&R - she is back home with her family in Michigan. She is going to take her kids to FL as well while she is at home. She is one crazy lady - Sunshine is what we call her. Her name is Tshehynesh Ward - her name is Ethiopian, I do believe. I really enjoy being on the ambulance with her. She'll be gone a month. So I am running on the ambulance with a couple different guys these days.
I am anxiously awaiting the release of Dexter Season 5. Everyone here is watching the show from Season 1 on...so now we are all excited for the latest installment. It comes out in Aug. I've also started watching Rescue Me and Homicide: Life on the Street. I am enjoying Homicide - an oldie but goodie. It takes place in Baltimore, so I love the scenes where I recognize things in Fells Point or Camden Yards...makes me miss home of course.
So...any bets on whether there will be an NFL season this year or not? I will be bummed if there is not, but maybe it won't be so bad. It's hard to watch the games from here...but I will surely miss it. I am keeping tabs on training camp and what they are actually allowed to be doing at this point. Hard to tell what the season is going to look like when it is all said and done. But maybe it'll prove to be the most interesting season yet! Who knows.
My only complaints these days I think I would have to revolve around food. Taco Tuesday is getting old...I still love eating it...but I was watching a cooking show not too long ago and it just makes me really miss being able to hop in the car and just go hit a favorite restaurant! It's easy to take for granted. Of course there are restaurants here, but none I have had yet that I can honestly say I crave or think "Wow, I really want such and such for dinner tonight!" Oh well...it won't be long before I am in Italy...and I won't even begin to talk about the amazing food in Italy! Connie, Jennifer and I are almost done planning everything! It's going to be an amazing trip!
Other than that, it sounds like changes are coming down the pike on this contract. It is time to rebid for the contract and it's time to make things lean and mean around here to make us more desirable. So it'll be interesting to see what jobs are eliminated in order to help with this. Or maybe, a nice way to look at it, which jobs will not be refilled when people leave. We are still hurting here at the F&ES. We need more fire fighters...we have more leaving to go to Afghanistan. So we'll see what happens. We are told we have some in processing and should be here in the next few weeks. That'll be nice. Now, just to get my Sgt. here from back home! Keeping my fingers crossed on that!
I hope this note finds everyone groovy back home! I have to say I am becoming more accustomed to being here...but it will never be as grand as home! I have accomplished several of the things I set out to when I came here - including I have paid off my car almost 2 years early! WOO HOO That's a GREAT feeling!
Drop me line soon.... ;-)
Ciao from CLDJ!
Kathi
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