Monday, August 15, 2011

Drawing First Beer

So here I sit, Monday morning in Doha.  I just put the wraps on a deployment tradition, having drunk my last MOAC.  I doubt I'll be able ti find a morning caffeine jolt like that back home.

Yesterday was a red-letter day.  Sitting in the back of a Ford Exploder, I got a whirlwind tour of downtown Doha.  I tried, without much success, to hang out the window and snap some photos while my driver, a DIA colleague of old, drive like a man possessed as he dodged the local drivers, who make Neapolitans seem tame and traffic-law-abiding.

Later that evening, I divested myself of two duffel bags of gear I'd been issued, including gas mask, first aid kit, and all the chem gear and protective clothing which never even got unpacked, much less used.

After that, time for dinner.  And my first beer in six months.  Yes, Virginia, there's beer to be found in the Middle East, and in the middle of Ramadan, no less!  The various eateries (not the DFAC) here at Camp As Sayliyah (CAS) serve up beer and wine, limited to three drinks per 24-hour period.  The stifling heat killed most of my appetite, so I opted for an appetizer portion of lumpia and washed it down with a pint of Stella Artois. Not too shabby.  And in a very short time, I'll be sampling a fine variety of German lagers and pilsners.  Life is good.

Later today, I do my post-deployment medical evaluation and psychological screening.  That's it, sports fans, until the van come to pick me up and whisk me away to Doha International.

But don't despair, Wirehead Jack isn't ready to go inter hibernation.  There's still post-deployment vacation and other post-deployment re-integration topics for me to ramble about, so I'll keep this blog running for a while yet.

Stay tuned!

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