New Pillow

It’s amazing how much a good pillow can enhance your sleep experience.  Or how a cheap, crappy, lumpy pillow can throw you off your game.

A package arrived from my bride yesterday containing, among other things, a real pillow.  I rushed back to the B9 tent, ripped the issued pillow from the pillowcase, and gently stuffed the new one in place.  I had my best, most restful night since I got here, all thanks to a new pillow.

In fact, I felt so rested, I came out of my introvert shell on the way in this morning.  While waiting for my morning cappuccino, I struck up a conversation with another fellow in line.  Seems he’s from Romania, and was talking about how much he loves it here, as opposed to boring old Bucharest.  Excuse me?!?  Anyhow, we had a nice chat, as he told me about how government corruption, unemployment and drug abuse are taking their toll on Romania’s population.  Many young Romanians are moving to Western Europe, trying to establish a new and productive life elsewhere.  Government corruption and unemployment … where have I heard that litany of woes before?  Could it be … Afghanistan?

After we parted paths, I struck out for the office through tent city, steaming hot cappuccino in hand.  And I came across two guys smoking stogies at 8AM!  Naturally, I had to stop, talk, and find out what they were smoking.  One had a JR’s special, the other was working on an Arturo Fuente Double Chateau.  We chatted for a while, and it turns out they are both working on the aerostat program.  For my parting shot, before finishing my trek into the office, I told them about the Cigar Shura held every Thursday evening outside the French Hospital on base.

Since I skipped breakfast (at least the solid part), I was hungry for lunch.  Even DFAC lunch.  So I worked my way down the line, and the choices included poached chicken breast filets and “turkey burgers.”  Now the last time we had turkey burgers, they were breaded, deep-fried, and made of some unidentified ground meat-like substance.  This time, they looked like whole pieces of meat.  So I took that option.  And after eating two pieces, I still couldn’t tell if it was chicken or turkey.  Some ambiguous white-meat cutlet.  The fries were mediocre, and the sautéed red cabbage was underdone.  So I went for dessert … finally, the auto-dog machine had something other than strawberry (or, as I call it, pink flavor).  The vanilla, with a squirt of caramel topping, was the high point of the meal.

On the other hand, there’s a going-away dinner for one of the Brit officers I’ve worked with during my time here.  Major Craig Alexander will be sent packing with a dinner at the Thai restaurant.  It’s not up to the standards of a Thai Pilin (Vienna, VA) or Thai Kitchen (Annapolis), but for Kabul, it’s pretty darn good.  And the red curry is excellent.  So I can expect one good meal today.

And then, tonight, my alma mater takes on my good friend Stu’s alma mater for the women’s college basketball national championship.  The Aggies vs. the Fighting Irish.  I’m not a huge b-ball follower, but a win by the Maggies will be good for bragging rights … especially given how our men’s team got blown out of the water in the first round of March Madness.  Stu, since it’s dry here, have an extra beer for me!