Rekafinated

I got back to KAF way back on December 11th but I just couldn’t find my blog-writin’ mojo. Probably a combination of missing yet another Xmas at home and having just signed a contract renewal for another two years in this shithole. Having that kind of KAF time in front of me makes me just want to put my head down, do my job and let the time wash over me in a blur of monotony. However, a quick look at my paycheck along with my inability to keep my mouth shut have renewed my vigour…so here goes:

And The Winner Is…

The first annual KAF Pizza Challenge is complete. As M so eloquently put it “Well, we got that over with.”  It was a bit of a debacle but we managed to get some pretty informative data and I have declared a winner.

Homefront to Back

I got back to KAF last week from a slightly extended time at home. I’ve been remiss in writing any posts due mainly to needing time for:
1. my aged body to adjust to the time zone;
2. my foggy brain to get a handle on the work stuff; and
3. my broken spirit to accept my fate.
Sorry about that. Anyway, I’ve got a large selection of disparate anecdotes to share both from home and from my first week back through the looking glass.

Dining Al Fresco

With a couple of weeks left in my current roto, I was getting pretty bored with the usual DFAC fare and suggested that we head on up to the Boardwalk for dinner. “We can try out some of the newer places. Everyone can get their dinner at a different vendor if they like and we’ll eat al fresco”, I enthused. J was initially reluctant but came around once I explained that “al fresco” does not mean “in the nude“.  Here’s a compendium of a few of the Non-DFAC purveyors of comestibles that I’ve patronized over the last little while.

You Can Bank On It

Just another same old, same old few days around KAF. Saw some weird sights, ate some weird food but the big news is I managed to use the weird ATM. So, let’s go…

A Bone To Pick

Spotted just east of the Kandahar International Airport ramp today.

I’ve had a pleasant surprise and an unpleasant surprise over the last few days. But first, a picture of the completely unsurprising broken down Toyota Surf of the month (or perhaps week).

An Open and Shut Case

In response to a request for the DFAC meal hours, I’ve added a new page with photos of the meal hour signs from the various DFACs. Now can I get back to bitchin’ about stuff? Speaking of open hours…

The Mainstream of Our Life is in the Style

I do not condone taking photos while driving.

The title of this post comes from a Toyota Surf spare tire cover I was lucky enough to drive behind at 30 kmh (in a 40 zone) for an extended period of time. It briefly struck me as very deeply meaningful in a “he’s driving so slow, I’m so goddamn bored, I hate everything on the radio, maybe I should try to discover meaning in that fucked up Engrish on the spare tire cover”  kind of way. Then I thought “Fuck it, it’s stupid”. But it seemed like an adequate title for a post about inane crap from the last few days.

The Colonel and I

The Colonel of Kandahar Airfield

Several years ago when my daughter was in about grade 8, she told us about a little group exercise they did at school in which they were asked “If you could have one super power, what would it be?” My daughter told us that her answer was that she’d like to be able to make others do whatever she wanted. Smirking, my wife gestured to me and herself and said “Yeah, I think you’ve already got that one”. My daughter then asked me how I’d answer that question and I replied “I’d like to be able to eat 4 pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken without feeling sick”. My kids think I’m weird. I think I have a point (but then again, I always think that…hence this blog).

Two Steps Forward and Two Steps Back

I’d say I don’t like Mondays but everyday is pretty much the same here. Some people like to say that in KAF “everyday is Monday”. This isn’t really appropriate as that would suggest that you’ve just had two days off. For those of us who work everyday, each day is more like Wednesday. A sort of really shitty Wednesday in the middle of a 56 day week. Today was a typical KAF Wednesday…there was some KAF-good stuff and then some bad stuff. I like to end these blogs on a high “I think I can tolerate another few weeks” note so let’s start with the negatives.