Iraq - Day 13

I got to take a tour of the other side of camp today.  They have a "mall" over at Camp Slayer where the local merchants set up shop on Saturday and Sunday.  It was interesting to say the least.  Since I didn't need a $20 Rolax :) watch, or any Cuban cigars, I settled for something a bit more appropriate.  I'm not going to say what it is because it is a present for some of the folks who read this blog.  I can be sure that the don't already have one.

Here I am at the entrance to the camp:

Down this way were two of Sadam's palaces, some blown up tanks and the Mall.  No pictures of the mall allowed.

In the afternoon, I got an emergency call to help install a SQL server for a down SharePoint portal.  It just so happened that the server was in one of Saddam Hussain's palaces.  The pad was pretty cool with marble walls and heavy wood doors all over the place.  No pictures allowed here either.  Something that would surprise many folks who know me - I have not been fooling around breaking the rules.  These folks are serious and you do what they say.  They say it nicely, but you'd better listen.  I do.

The weather turned hot today.  How hot was it?  I'm glad you asked.  As I came out of one of the vision boxes (porta-potty), I hit the hand sanitizer dispenser.  That sanitizer had been sitting there in the sun just waiting for me.  It was so hot I think the burn will leave a scar.  That might be stretching the facts a little, but it sure felt like it was burning through to the other side of my hand.

It has also turned dusty as hell.  The mosque from earlier posts all but disappeared this afternoon.  So this is a dust storm.  It's not real windy, though there is a good steady breeze.  The air is hot, so the breeze actually makes it feel hotter.  It looks like orange fog, but it's not cold.  This can be a really strange place.

I have plans to play poker at Falstaff's tomorrow afternoon.  I'll let you know how, and how I do in the next post.  More pictures coming soon, too.