Life is an adventure, so live it to the fullest.
What a deal! My laptop went down last Thursday. I am not sure what the problem is, but I suspect it is something in the bios, because it wont even boot up. I was freaking 0ut. I have not backed things up in about a month and can’t afford to loose some of the stuff I have on that hard drive. It is still under warranty so I can’t just have “someone” look at it. So I decided that I would buy a desk top. I went to Hawalli where all the computer shops are here and told them I wanted a desk top computer. They asked me what I wanted in it. Cool! They don’t really sell ready made systems, like HP, Dell, Toshiba and so on, here. You can get them, but they cost you more than it is to just have one built, so I had one built. I got the 3.2gig P4 processor, 256 N-Vida G-force video card, DVD writer, 1 gig of ram and a Samsung 17 in LCD ,monitor, to give you some of the spec’s for it. 24 hours later, I brought it home, plugged it in and looked for the button to turn it on. Just my luck, I heard something pop and nothing came on. I didn’t make sure the power supply was set to 220. Somehow in transport or hooking everything up I have flipped the switch to 110. Now I had blown the power supply and still was without a computer. WHAT A DEAL!I took it back down to Hawalli the next night and had the power supply replaced and rushed home to give it another try. Now, for those of you that have never been in Kuwait and tried to driver down to Hawalli, you can’t imagine the torturous drive that this is. The traffic is a nightmare!! Imagine rush hour traffic in any major city in the states and multiply it by 3, then add in the fact that these people can’t drive and not many of them are very courteous, and you can see what I had to drive through. Not once, not twice, but three times, to get my computer. But, night before last I got it home, plugged it in again, making sure that it was set to the right power setting and was ready to load a few software programs and get on-line. I plugged the internet cable in and……………… nothing. The internet was down. Frustrated?! OH, yes, I was frustrated and pissed! The caretaker of this building tries to make you think that he can’t speak English, but I know he understands it. But I called the gal that showed me the flat when I was looking at them and told her my problem with the internet. She said that he internet was running fine, but that she would give him a call. At 22:00 I gave up on him showing up and went to bed.
Yesterday, I felt a bit under the weather and called in sick. I have not felt good since my trip to Bahrain and as much as I tried to fight it, I couldn’t yesterday, so I stayed home. Here I am, resting in bed, not worried about getting on-line at the moment, cause I don’t feel good and there is a knock at the door. I drag my tail out of bed, answer the door and guess who? The caretaker, speaking Arabic and trying to tell me something. (I have got to learn some of this language!) He wants me to come with him. I follow him down to the 5th floor where the network is set up, if ya want to call it a network, and look at the jumble of wires in this little box attached to the wall of the stairwell. I groaned and started looking at it. The wires are marked with a piece of tape indicating to which flat it goes. I didn’t see one for my flat. But there was one unplugged and labeled with a 25. 25 is not my flat, but I plugged it in anyway, ran back up to my floor and checked my computer. It was working! YEAH!! I ran back down to the 5th floor and gave him the hand signal that everything was good and came back to my flat and went back to bed. Then yesterday afternoon, I started loading software onto the computer and noticed, that computer shop had partitioned the hard drive into two drives. This is just and 80gig driver and I didn’t want it partitioned. So, I had to format and start all over. Thanks goodness I looked at it before I loaded to much on it. Anyway, I have most of my software loaded now and as you can see I am on-line now. It will take ma a few days to get it to where I want it, but at least I am up and running again.
Well, that’s it for this morning; I have to get ready for work. Even though I am still not feeling to well, I am going in. I have the next two days off and hopefully today they will give me one of the easy runs. So, till tomorrow, one my day off, ya’ll take care. Those of you up north, keep you heads down and watch you tails.
I have made my last mission into Iraq, at least for a while anyway. I went to Tallil as usually yesterday and came in this morning to find my name on a list of people to go to Heavy Lift 6 Sunday morning. The military has asked PWC to provide American’s to escort the TCN’s around Kuwait on local missions. Since I am one of the few driver’s that have the right DOD card, I told them I would do this if needed. This is what Kenny and I agreed to when I came back over this time. For me to stay out of Iraq. At first, I couldn’t do this. Going into Iraq was part of the mail mission, not to mention I miss the action of running up north. With this offer, I am hoping that this will keep me busy enough that I wont be so board most of the time and I can be true to the agreement that Kenny and I made. I am not sure how this is going to go, but I am going to give it a try. I know that it will make my family happy, I wont be in such a dangerous area as well.
I will be making a trip to Bahrain this weekend as well. My visa runs out on the 8th and with that I need to fly out of Kuwait and then back in. PWC is taking their sweet time in getting us the Visa 18 that we all need to stay working here. Even though they have said that they will pick up any fines that accrue if the visa we have now runs out before they get us the Visa 18, I just don’t like it. Besides, I have never been to Bahrain. Bert, my brother, ahs told me that if Iever got the chance to go there, I should. I wont have but about 24 hours there, and it will be on my own dime, but I plan on making the most of it. Like I have said many times before, I am a tourist in all that I do here. I will give ya’ll a report of my trip and maybe a few pictures when I get back.
The morning started like any other day. I got up at 0500 and was on my way to work by 0620. As I arrived at ECP (the camp gate), there were 3 SUV’s and a small bus full of soldiers. We all cleared the inspection and head into camp. It surprised me when I saw that these vehicles were headed to the JMMT yard. I stopped and checked in the guard for the yard and asked him what was going on. Operation Santa Clause was his answer. There were 3 Generals and their entourage. This was going to be interesting.
I pulled up and parked beside the SUV’s, got out and preceded to go on with my normal routine of getting ready to run my mission into Iraq. I loaded my gear into my truck and got the things from the office that we would need for the mission. I walked into the mail building to get that days bundle of Stars & Strips to hand out to the soldiers pulling guard duty at the gates we would pass through that day. The soldiers were opening a box that had Santa hats in it and putting them on. Then they all went to the dock and stared loading the mail onto the trucks. They had asked the head of the guys that normally load the mail to please hold off so they could do it. A lot of us saw it as a dog and pony show. The mail was going to be leaving late today because these guys wanted a photo opp. Several of us thought, “The soldiers don’t care who puts the mail in the trailers, just so long as they get their mail.” But I guess you have to give them a little credit, they didn’t have to come down there and do this. Maybe in a way, it did mean something to someone that all this brass was willing to fingerprint some mail for the troops. Morale is a big deal when you are in a combat zone ya know. So we all waited for them to get the mail sorted and loaded. I met one of the General’s and had a picture taken with him. When I introduced myself as one of the drivers, he shook my hand and thanked me and all the drivers for doing what we do. One of the Sergeants said that he would not go across the border without a weapon and thanked us for being strong and brave enough to do this job. For us, it is no big deal. We are not brave, it is our job!
But I have to say that this day was special. This was the last mail that would go out before Christmas day. We were helping in making Santa’s Christmas Eve run!
Well, what can I say?! I have made a few trips into Iraq in the last few days. The trips have been uneventful as usual. I know everyone at home likes to hear that. The rain has not started yet and I am in fear that when it does show, we are going to be in for a flood. Of course, it doesn’t take much rain to fall to flood things around here.
I had hoped to go diving Wednesday, but my diving buddy, Mickey, Hollywood to others, works for KBR and was not able to get loose from work to go. With him going on R&R soon with his daughter on a diving trip, he is having to train someone to do his job. That person just didn’t feel that he had it all down, so Mickey had to stay in camp. Dive Caroline, the dive shop I dive with usually had a boat on Thursdays and Fridays, but as my luck lately would have it, there are not enough people to go today, so once again, I am stuck on land. It has been about a month since I have been in the water and it is driving me nuts. I bought all my gear about 2 weeks ago and am dieing to try it all out. Other than getting in the pool to test it, it has not seen water yet. ARGH!!!
Yes, I am addicted to diving! I love it!!!
Christmas is just a few days away and I am still not in the Christmas spirit. Before over here I was able to scrape up SOME Christmas cheer, but this year, just can’t seem to do it. We are busy with getting the mail to the troops and I have been running a lot of the Iraq missions instead of the Kuwait camps lately. That is by choice of course. Ya’ll know me, I like to stay busy and I have this adrenaline rush thing I have to try and feed once in a while. I had planed on cooking a big dinner for some of the guys, but that has not worked out yet either. OH well, the turkey is in the freezer and I will get to it one day.
In other news of what is happening with me, I am trying to quit smoking. I have been working on it for 2 weeks now. I have gone from a little over 2 packs a day to ½ a pack a day, to about 5 a day. I tried to go cold turkey, but that drove me nuts as well as those around me. I am hoping that within a week or so, I will be totally smoke free. Why am I doing this you may ask? Well, diving of course!!! Told ya I was addicted to it.
Also, I think I am going to be moving. The apartment building I am in right now has no security. Several times I have had strange men start following me while on my way home form work. Two of them have followed me all the way to the turn for my street. I have heard rumors of women being kidnapped here in Kuwait. So, for my security, I am looking at an apartment building that has some security and that I can park right in front of my door. Not to mention that several of the guys I work with live there. One guy lives there now with a room mate and two others are thinking about moving there. We have all talked about trying to get flats that are side by side, with mine in the middle. I have a lease on this flat and will have to wait till the first of February to move, but until then, they try to help watch out for me when I come home. Please don’t worry, I will be safe.
To my Mom, Sorry about missing your birthday. I loose track of what the date is and the day of the week over here. I hope you had a great birthday.
Till next time, everyone take care, and my love to all!
Today when I got to the office I have 2 pieces of mail waiting for me. One was a package and the other a letter. The package contained 4 or 5 dozen home-made brownies and a few other things. The brownies were from a friend from one of the groups that I belong to. I had expected to receive these a couple of weeks ago. Char, that lady that made the brownies, had made enough for the whole mail crew here in Kuwait. We all have been waiting in anticipation for this package to come in. Every morning when I would get to work, I would get an update on that fact that the package had not come in. This morning, several people told me I had a package and my boss made a special trip to pick up our mail just so I could get it. Since it had been about 3 weeks since these were made, I was not sure if they would still be ok to eat. I took the package into the office and opened it. The guys dug in before I had a chance to check them out. Well, to make a long story short, the brownies were still good and everyone pigged out. Thank you Char for thinking of me and the mail crew here in Kuwait. You brightened our day!
The other piece of mail I received today was a letter from my Mamaw. Being in her 80′s, writing is not an easy task for her. So when I saw the return address, I felt very proud. Mamaw does not write often, but this makes the second year I have received a letter from here while over here. The first was on my birthday last year and then this one today. In this day and age of email and cell phones, so many people forget how important a hand written letter can be to someone so far away from home. I like so many other soldiers and civilian contractors, check the mail list every day, looking for that piece of love from home. Many of us take that with us as we travel the roads in Iraq, either on patrol as a soldier, or on a convoy as a truck driver. We open the flap of our flack vest and put, behind the plate a picture of our kids, wife, husband, our family, and also that piece of mail, that hand written letter from home that shows us we are not forgotten. That someone thought enough to take the time to sit down and put pen to paper to write us a letter. I know one soldier that keeps a letter form his 5 year old daughter in his flack vest. All it says in crayon, is “I love you, Daddy! Come home soon.” Others that I know keep similar letters in their vest or their pocket to remind them that they have something to come home for. I, myself, have a box that holds several very special things that go on every mission with me. I wont go into what all is in there for the stories that belong with them would take me all night to type out. But I will say, I now have one more item that will travel the roads with me and help keep me safe from harm. Thank you Mamaw for the letter, I love you too!!!
WOW! The last 36 hours have been something! First let me start with the book. As most know, and have seen the entry, Free Press Publishing sends out a catalog to the book stores so they can order the books they and to put in their store for the next season. Well, night before last, I received 3 copies of the catalog from my editors office. This is sooooo cool! I know I have been working on this book for several months now. Terry and I have been emailing each other almost daily as well write each chapter. Liz and I have emailed about the cover design and what pictures to include. We all have been working very hard on the book. But I have to say, it all didn’t seem real to me. I mean, we all do things in our lives that we think would make a good book or movie topic, but nothing ever happens to it. Then to have several someone’s actually tell you that you should write a book about something you did, that you see as just part of your life and who you are….. WELL, that is totally cool. As each step of this book has been taken, I have become more and more aware of the fact that this is really happening….. it isn’t a dream! But the other day……..well, that really brought it all home for me. When I got those catalogs and opened to the paged marked, and saw the catalog entry with my name on it……….. I was speechless! Now most of ya know, my being speechless is not something that happens very often, but I was, for a few seconds. When the guys in the office saw that I had quite talking in mid-sentence, of course they all wanted to know what it was that I had gotten. I smiled and turned the book around and showed them the page. As much as they have heard about the book and have known that I was doing it, I think they felt as I did about it. Holding this in my hands, made it real for not only me, but for them as well. Some of these guys are new friends and some I have known since I worked for KBR. You would have thought that it was happening to them. I got hugs, hand shakes and a lot of teasing! I was told I have to make sure they ALL get autographed copies! I think I am going to get writers cramp very quick when this thing finally does come out! Anyway, after I made it home, I took the catalog out and really looked at it. There is my name, in print, with a picture of what the cover is going to look like. “WOW! This is so cool! This is really happening!” was my thought. It still blows my mind!
Free Press, June 2006
Cindy in Iraq: A Civilian’s Year in the War Zone
It’s one of the least covered stories in the Iraqi war. Now, the writer of the popular “Cindy in Iraq” blog narrates her harrowing experiences during a year driving trucks as a civilian contractor for Halliburton.
Cindy Morgan was on the front lines of Iraq––not enlisted in the military, but in a job just as dangerous: as a convoy commander leading groups of fifteen to thirty trucks through perilous territory. Having promised her three sons that she would always tell them the truth about what she was experiencing, she started her blog “Cindy in Iraq” as a way to stay in touch with family and friends back home. “Cindy in Iraq” soon became a valuable resource for families of contractors, and those thinking about becoming contractors, as well as a telling story of the disturbing realities facing brave civilian workers.
Here, we see Cindy’s story in full detail—how, after thirteen years’ experience as a truck driver in the U.S., as well as orientation by Halliburton, she still was shocked by what she faced. Unarmed, with virtually no training, one of the only female truck drivers, she became a moving target for insurgents, constantly at risk of being ambushed, shot at, kidnapped, or executed.
Cindy’s journey in Iraq also became a voyage of self-discovery. Having left an abusive husband, she went to Iraq because she was “tired of surviving her life and not living it.” She went to Iraq to find out “who I am and what I am made of here….Honor, integrity, pride and humanity can all be discovered.” As Cindy relays her experiences, both she and the reader are transformed.
Cynthia I. Morgan drove a big rig across the U.S. for thirteen years before venturing into Iraq in 2003, where she was a civilian convoy commander in charge of up to thirty trucks delivering supplies to American bases throughout the war-torn country. After seven months back in the U.S., she returned to Iraq. She lives, usually, in Tennessee.
September 2006
Free Press
Biography and Autobiography
6 x 9, 256 pages
8 pages of black-and-white photographs
Carton quantity: 20
EAN: 978074328640452500
0-7432-8640-5
$25.00 hardcover
$34.50 in Canada
Yesterday was one of the days that makes this boring job worth it. With the border being shut down for several days due to the elections, mail has backed up a bit. The soldiers in the couple of camps north of the border that we run to, have not had mail for 3 or 4 days. The camp I went to yasterday is a small camp and we usually only need a 20 foot trailer to ge the mail to them. With Christmas coming and the shut down, we took 2 40 footers! One was nearly full and the other was 1/4 fill.
We rolled up to the APO and they were happy to see us. Now, lots of times I get out there and help unload, the three of us tat did the run yesterday had planned on givng them a hand in unloading since there was so much mail. But, we didn’t have to. They had volunteers waiting. So Steve, Eric, and I went to lunch.
You should have seen the place when we came back. We walked around the corner of the building and all around were humvee’s, gator’s, and soldiers, soldiers, and more soldiers. Everyone was helping everyone else get their mail and get my trailer reloaded. There was a great energy buzzing around the area. I had to stop and just watch it for a few minutes. I have complained about my job being the most boring job over here. All I do is drive to a camp, back in, sit all day, and then drive back to the yard once reloaded. There is noting to do. But I have to say, yesterday, put things back in perspective for me. I still have a VERY boring job, but I have a very meaning full job, I deliver the mail to the troops. That is so very cool!
It has been brought to my attention that I may have offended some people with the following statement in this post. “Not to mention we only go north as far as Cedar. That is the boring part of Iraq. Nothing to get excited about.” Let me say this, as most of you know me and have read my post for the last 2 years, you know that I am an adrenaline junkie. But for those that do not know that about me, now you do. The roads from Kuwait to Cedar are boring to me due to the fact that there isn’t much that goes on, on it. It is a long, pretty much straight stretch of road with nothing on it. The only town you go through is right at the border and once through it, the rest is boring. Any driver here will tell you the same. But.. to those that feel that I have offended or demeaned the sacrifice that those that run out of Cedar have given, I wish to give my apologies. I should remember to write my post for those that do not know me. The sacrifices that the soldiers and contractors give are great. And the roads NORTH of Cedar can be very dangerous. For those of us that have run them and now only run SOUTH of Cedar only, the adrenaline rush is just not there. It is a great adjustment for some of us. Actually it is driving me nuts. I like to be in the thick of things. But due to a promise I made my son, Kenny, when I came back this< time, I am limited to Kuwait and southern Iraq. As most of you know, Kenny is a soldier and was in Iraq for 10 months. First in Taji and then in Baghdad. When I told him I was coming back to Kuwait after IAP’s contract ended, he had a fit. He didn’t want me running the roads through Baghdad in a truck any more. “Mom you can’t bull shit me any more about how things are there. I know how it is first hand”, that is what he said to me. So I choose a job that would keep me in a safer zone. Safer, means boring to me right now. As many of you that have had you DH’s come home to stay, after riding the gauntlet through Baghdad several times, they get board easily. I am still here and going through the same thing. The adjustment is not easy and will take time. So please forgive me if I sound a bit flippant about the runs I make now. I DO NOT mean any disrespect.
I have moved into my flat and it is ok. Even though it is furnished, I have had to pick up a few things. I really don’t like the beds and am thinking about buying one. If I do, I am going to pick something I like. That means that when I come home in August or September of next year for the book, I will be shipping it home as well. Doesn’t that sound lovely?
The job is boring. We go to a camp and deliver the mail, then sit there all day till the APO closes. It is good to bring the mail to the troops and to see their faces when they walk out with that one piece of mail that they have been waiting for. With all the communications we have these days; it still does not replace the hand written letter. I like seeing the soldiers get them, but sitting around camp all day sucks. Not to mention we only go north as far as Cedar. That is the boring part of Iraq. Nothing to get excited about. But I have run into several people that I had lost contact with that I worked with from KBR. Some of them ran convoys with me several times. It is cool to see them and hang out.
Mickey, my guy, and I are going diving the day after tomorrow, I think. I am going to get back into the music group I was in, when I was here with KBR. They meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month. So I may have a conflict this Wednesday if I go diving and one of the dives is a night dive. Don’t know if it will be yet or not. I have also found a Dojo that teaches Aikido and am looking at going there to get some self-defence. I have not checked that all out yet.
The book is going good. I got the cover design for the book the other day. I don’t know if that is how it is going to look in the end, but it is what they have come up with for now. The title is “Cindy in Iraq” with a subtitle of “A Civilian’s Year in the War Zone”. I think it is cool and I think ya’ll will like it.
Well, it is that time, time for bed over here on the beach. So I say my good nights to you all and hope to hear from ya’ll soon.
