Trip Up North

Earlier this week I was able to take a trip to northern Iraq. We stopped in Tikrit and Mosul. We visited many palaces at our destinations in our spare time.

It was nice to get away from the camp for a while. Especially nice was the fact that I got to see many trees and hills! Our camp is as flat as flat gets with very few trees. Mosul and Tikrit, on the other hand, have many of both.

The trip was uneventful and we didn't run into any danger, but I was glad to be back. Upon return, I had lots of mail! I received a new home and some food for Gary from Joanna. Thank you for that! Also, I got in the mail EIGHT CASES of Girlscout cookies from the Overseas Girl Scouts-Iwakuni. Thanks Girlscouts! I will have to share the love around camp.

Haulin' through Tikrit. 

Josh and I agree that we could get used to life as dictators. 

Did you know that Saddam loves children? I didn't either! My buddy, Rob, poses in front of a mural in a Mosul palace. 

Apparently Saddam enjoyed Green Beans Coffee, because in one of his palaces in Tikrit we stumbled upon one. 

It's starting to get a little warmer over here. "Thank you" to Jeanne and Terry for the thermometer! 

A New Buddy

I know that recently I've been posting some gross things such as spiders and bloody wounds and whatnot. Because of this I've decided not to post a really good picture of a scorpion that we have in captivity. Instead, I will post a picture of Gary. He's much more "cute."

One of the other medics found Gary hiding out under a sandbag a few days ago. Now he lives in the Tupperware hotel, where he gets three square meals a day and water. Everyone has become quite attached to Gary.

Meet my newest friend, Gary. 

Gary poses with me. 

MTV Cribs Comes to Iraq

I just moved into a new tent a few weeks ago. This one is the luxury model. Its so awesome that "MTV Cribs" came and took a look around. I've posted some frames taken from their footage below.

This is the front yard of the estate. We've spent considerable time on the landscaping, as you can see. However, we've chosen to leave the place it's original color. The dusty olive-drab green suits the surrounding natural environment. 

Here's the foyer and the main hall. We've had some beautiful persian rugs imported. My roomate sleeps in the bedroom on the right, while I am on the left. The roomy is from Boston, hence the Red Sox jersey. Also, take note of the lawn flamingos in the box adjacent to his dresser. We've haven't had time to have them installed yet. 

Here's my "bedroom." As you can see, I've opted to sleep in a cacoon. It's camoflaged so the bugs can't see me. I've also got some pictures and original artwork above the bed. 

This is our "entertainment room." We've got the PS2, the big-screen TV, and the internet access. The hand-crafted desk came with the place. I know it looks like its poorly made, but that's just part of the rugged-yet-accomplished look we're trying to achieve. 

Here's the garden. It's still in its infancy, but once it gets going it will be glorious. 

This is part of the "guest bedroom." We often have distinguished personnel sleep here when they visit our camp, such as optometry and preventive medicine. 

By Far the Most Gross Thing I've Seen Yet

I moved into a new tent this evening. While myself and another occupant were moving things around, out popped the little lady pictured below. I caught her in a plastic bag because I'm fascinated by things of this nature... especially up close.

Now, I'm not one to get the creeped-out by spiders and snakes and such, but this thing gave me a mad case of the heebie-jeebies! If you look closely you can see that all of the little bumps on it's back are baby spiders. I didn't believe it myself, until I saw a couple of them fall off and scurry their little spider behinds around inside the bag. She also had them on the underside of her abdomen.

Unfortunately for the spiders, I didn't feel like having any cohabitants of another species. They were soon evicted.

When I tried moving into my new tent I was surprised to find that a family already lived there. 

Fun With a Scalpel

Today my good friend of many years, Josh, came in to have a cyst removed from his neck. The physician assistant was nice enough to let me at it with a scalpel. He talked me through it, of course. It's a simple procedure for an MD or PA, but something I'd never be able to do as a civilian EMT.

The area was sterilized first. After it was clean, it was numbed with some lidocaine. Next, I made a small incision with a scalpel and then removed the matter inside. After everything was out, I closed it up with a stitch and covered it with a band-aid. Below are some pictures.

I would like to add a "thank you" to Josh, who was kind enough to allow me to post this.

Before. 

Numbing it up. He didn't like this part very much. 

"Throwin'" in a stitch to close it up. 

Finished product.