food

1. We actually had lettuce! In three weeks that has happened 4 times.  Very exciting.  

2. Vegetable soup.  I'm finding that soups are usually a good choice in the DFAC

3. Apple Sauce

4. An egg roll from the "oriental bar."  

airforce one

I found this picture on my phone from the day I left the states.  That's air force one landing at SFO.  I was a little scared I wasn't going to make my connecting flight but for President Obama I was ok with it.  If it had been one of our other presidents I would've been pissed!

poo ponds

I was at the gym this morning and the wind must have changed because the gym was suddenly down wind from the poo ponds.  I had to stop doing cardio because of it.  You can't run on the treadmill if you are trying to hold your breath.

I took these pictures of the poo ponds from the side of the gym.  My favorite is the top picture.  I want to know who decided to put in a bench that overlooks the poo ponds.  

driving

List of countries I've driven in:
USA
Germany
Austria
Italy
Czech
Iceland
san marino
Spain
AFGHANISTAN!

mythbusters

Not an Afghanistan post but when I was home I volunteered on an episode of mythbusters.  The preview for the season came out at comic con.  I'm a passenger on the airplane.  

Mythbusters 2012 preview

food

My sister told me to keep a food journal while I'm here because she finds military food fascinating.  Today there was pastrami sandwiches on the grill.  Fried chicken and cheesy garlic mashed potatoes on the hot bar as well as fish, onion rings, beans, and a few other things i don't remember right now.  We always have a salad bar that usually has a beet salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, and a full range of salad fixins except for actual lettuce.  I guess the lettuce always goes bad by the time it gets here but if you want a full plate of croutons, celery, olives, and salad dressing they've got you covered.  After all of those bars there is the themed bar.  Today it was "oriental bar" yesterday it was "afghan bar."  It might look like I take a lot of food but you never know what's going to be delicious and what's going to be inedible. Today I ate the potatoes, chicken, and chow mein.  The sandwich and the egg roll weren't very good. 

I miss...

I know its a little early to be missing things but the last two days I have been craving anything covered in mozzarella, not the crappy mozzarella but the delicious mozzarella from a cheese shop.  Grimaldi's pizza in Brooklyn and gnocchi covered in tomato sauce with chunks of mozzarella are coming to mind.  I guarantee that todays lunch at the DFAC (dining facility) is not going to satisfy this craving! only 5.5 more months till I can have some delicious mozzarella.  I wonder if I could use the milk in the DFAC to make my own. hmm...

for future reference

The insignia for a Major is not a gold flower its a gold oak leaf.  Hopefully this will keep you from making the same mistake I made.

the day just kept getting better

My parents recently retired.  They marked that big moment in their lives by burying their alarm clock in the backyard.  They are now proceeding to go through all the crap we have in the house, starting with the attic.  If anyone has every been on shopping trip with me you know I usually buy anything that makes me laugh.  That usually means I buy the stupidest things.  I get that from my parents, specifically my dad.  This stuff has accumulated over the years,  we're not at hoarders status but we do have a lot of stuff.  My mom just sent me an email that they found my beloved Spice Girls lunchbox in the attic.  I thought that lunchbox was lost forever.  I am so excited to be able to use that lunch box again, I can alternate between my Spice Girls lunchbox and my Fraggle Rock lunch box.  

I can die happy!

Steve Guttenberg responded to one of my tweets!  I sent him a tweet saying I was reading his book in Afghanistan and that he should stop here on his book tour.  Yup, Steve Guttenberg from Police Academy and Three Men and a Baby fame responded to my tweet. This combined with getting all my stuff, seriously, BEST.DAY.EVER!!!

FOOT LOCKERS ARE HERE!!!!!

I had been told that sending things from germany through military mail to Afghanistan could take more then a month to get.  This morning when I was lying in bed, thinking about putting on the same pants  and shoes that I've been wearing for two week, I was telling myself only 3 more weeks of these pants and shoes and I'll have my stuff.  This morning our admin assistant came into my office and told me that my foot lockers were here.  My eyes bugged out of my head and I did a little dance.  I ran back to my room to put them inside and I quickly changed my pants and shoes.  ahhhhh clean pants and shoes and all my stuff here with my in Afghanistan.  I'm pretty sure this is better then Christmas!

poo ponds

I had heard about "poo ponds" before I arrived in Afghanistan but hearing about them and experiencing them are two very different things.  I worked at The Oakland Zoo for a really long time.  The smell of animal feces usually doesn't bother me, in fact, it usually gives me a comforting feeling, the Afghanistan poo ponds do not.  Luckily, our poo pond is located out of the way.  Some bases they are front and center on the base, letting that smell infiltrate everything.  My roommate and I got up the other morning at 6am and went for a walk and our path took us right past the poo pond.  If I ever start running I will take the same path, nothing motivates you to run up a hill at lightening speed like trying to get away from that smell.  Today, when I left the office to run to the bathroom the wind must have been coming in from a different direction because the poo pond smell was everywhere.  I hope the wind changes before its time to line up for dinner!

I found this article describing poo ponds in the NY times.  http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/the-poo-pond/

embarrassing secret

I never realized how consumed I am with the color of my urine.  I drank a lot of water at home and it was always clear but now that I'm here I have to make an effort to keep it clear.  I wake up and wonder what color its going to be and if I have to drink more water then I did the day before to get it back to being clear.  We have to drink bottled water here and there are stacks of bottled water everywhere, usually out in the sun.  I shutter to think how much BPA I am ingesting before throwing the bottle in the trash since there's no recycling.  

apo address

I have my APO address.  Please send me goodies or letters.  Any connection to life outside the wire would be nice.  My address is:

Army Education Center
Kerry Kurtz
FOB Sharana
APO, AE 09311

I posted the APO rules below.  

I have arrived

I have been at FOB Sharana for 3 days now.  So far its good.  My co-workers all seem nice.  The 12 hour days aren't bad.  The DFAC (dining facility)  isn't terrible.  This is my opinion after 36 hours.  Ask me again in a few weeks and I might be singing a different song.  I'm not posting any pictures yet since I'm not sure what's allowed but as soon as I know I'll put some up.  I sent my clothes out the friday before I left and packed a bag for the three days I'd be traveling.  I forgot to factor in that my stuff was being shipped by military mail.  I'm pretty sure I'll be living in the one pair of jeans I have until my stuff gets here in 3-4 weeks.  My co-workers have all lent me clothes so hopefully it won't be too bad.  It will be a happy day when those boxes get here.  

sorry

i've been without internet for a while at the hotel in Germany.  Sunday I left Germany.  I had a flight from Frankfurt to Istanbul, Istanbul to bishkek, bishkek to bagram and I am now sitting in the bagram airport waiting to leave.  As God as my witness I will never complain about Southwest airlines ever again.  10 minutes before my flight I got bumped from it to make room for soldiers coming back from R & R.  Don't they understand that a test examiner is just as important to the war effort?!  So its been about 32 hours since I started traveling,  I'm exhausted, I smell and I'm a tad bit grumpy.  The army also has a lovely little rule about no bags, purses, luggage allowed in the food places.  So I have been lugging my backpack, my purse that includes all of my electronics, and a 30 pound vest with a helmet around with me.  They don't have lockers just open shelves you can leave your stuff but apparently your bags are safe but your vest isn't.  I can't think these crazy bullet proof army vests are cheap so i'm just hanging out with all my crap until I can get on a flight!  fingers crossed I get on the next one!