Photos

Showing off
So calm
Bulkin' up


These are some recent pictures. Some even taken with in the the last 24 hours. Please enjoy and diseminate. There are alot of them so have fun.

The night crew

A mighty wind

I am going to the gym four on one off, I have the work out down to an hour and a half. I am getting in pretty good shape and feeling much more healthy. I run about three times a week. time really is going by nicely. We are watching South Park and spinning donuts in the truck in the parking lot.

Moments after I talked to you a crazy thing happened, let me tell you about it.

Dozing in the guard shack at three two thirty in the morning, I have my headphones in, listening to Tom Waits and the Pouges. The green lawn chair I am lounging in is beginning to be too small for my back and I have to continually adjust my back so that the supports do not dig into my shoulder blades. A red igloo water cooler is strategicaly arranged so that my feet may be kicked up.
Half way into a dream I will snap my head up thinking that I hear feet in the gravel, or to the possibility of a truck rolling up. This time, I wake to a loud BANG and a mouth full of sand and dust. Out of nowhere the wind sprang up to 60 knots and whipped the dirt into a furious sand blast. The cause of my gritty teeth is the rear wall of my hutch being half way blown in. Now I am wide awake standing in the entrance with the bubble wrap streamers that we use as a door acting like Medusa's snakes.
Looking up, the sky is glowing orange and echoing righteousness from lightning strikes. The intensity only grew with with rain the size if June Bugs creating craters in the dusty ground. this went on for an hour and made puddles where I was doing donuts in today.
Gotta go

I love you

Ryan

McCain's idea of an Indiana Marketplace

I am munching on choco coffee beans yumyum. I got Gram's care package. I can't eat the beans like I used to but I still love them bunches.
I ran before work today and it seemed to help out my mood some.

I can watch the daily show at times, though it starts to piss me off when they talk about the war. So simple, every one wants to be here and the less they know the bigger their opinion seems to be.

I will need to spend some downtime when I get back if only to get back some stability in my head.

I just heard that McCain said that Iraq is a lot like an Indiana market place in the summer time. I can only imagine what Indiana must be like. Random road side bombings, mortor and rocket attacks daily, kidnapings with beheadings, smells like shit, a hazzy fog of smoke falling into your living quarters from the garbage dump that is burned 24 hours a day, cold showers, off base electricity that works four hours a day, roving bands of islamic police that will kill you on the spot if you deviate from thier idea of good taste. WOW! Indiana must be great.
Just a little rant for you.

I love you, Mom

Ryan

Ryan's job description

There was an article written about us force protectors in the local paper here in Balad. I thought that I would send it off to you. It seems pretty silly to me, but that is probably because I am in the middle of it, so I have a little bit of blinder on my eyes.

Life is pretty smooth same stuff every day and the food just gets worse. I choke down the slop when I can stomech it. Oh well I guess it is as good as a diet. Lots of salads, sandwiches and grilled chicken. I have about forty five days left and really my only concern is to leave with all of my stripes in tact. I miss you all.

Ryan

Click on these blue letters to read about Ryan's job in Balad, Iraq.

Stay or Come Home?

A Minnesota Guard speaks. Read Sargent Thul from Chaska on the Power Line blog for a balanced and far sighted approach to this timely question.

Certification picture

This is a photo of me getting the certificate from the training course.

Checking vehicles today so I have to stay until eight. last night I went through my notes from the General, I had five pages. Unfortunately, the save function was not utilized, we can call that a four hour (with business) note transcription training session. Oh well, I will sit down again tomorrow. The night went pretty slow but I did get the chance to watch a lot of Family Guy. The computers were down in the office until around three this morning. I am in and out right now. Just wanted to say, Hi.

Love you,

Ryan