We tripped a light Route Irish…

Today I strolled into the office – later than usual due the "extended" working hours of my new position and was told "grab your battle rattle and mount up… We're goin for a ride." Uh Yeah! They definitely got my attention - Excitement and Tension all at once. Up until this moment I was pretty certain I was relegated to the Hell of never seeing anything but the four walls of my hooch and the four walls of my office. I walk out the door to see my first real daylight convoy. OK – We're really going for a ride. I've had the opportunity to travel around the IZ once before - no biggie - but we headed out past the CP to the "dreaded Red Zone." We end up on Route Irish, The road the media have dubbed "The most dangerous road in Iraq." This is the highway between downtown Baghdad and BIAP. I check my weapon – always be prepared – Damn I wish I'd oiled this thing last week. While I keep my head on a swivel, what is most apparent is the lack of anything but trash on the road side. It reminds me of Tijuana (only TJ is clean in comparison.) Four years ago this was the scene of some pretty harsh fighting and more recently IED attacks and ambushes. At the moment it's a fairly empty road. I don't deny the possibility of danger but after all the build up from the media and my recent experience of insurgent shelling and the action around Haifa Street, Route Irish was…well rather uneventful and anti-climatic.

Morrissey almost had it right...

I asked our YN2, "How you doin today?" A typical question I ask most people I run into. What's astonishing to most is my genuine interest. Her response? "I'm fine thank you sir. Just another day" I counter "But it's Friday" And at the very moment I say it I have the same realization that she confirms with her wry smile and short reply. "Everyday is Monday here sir." She's right of course. I've lost track of what Friday actually feels like. When you work 7 days a week, 14 -16+ hours a day, getting 4 hours of, sometimes uninterrupted, sleep, and receive incoming "fun" of all sorts - everyday becomes the same. I just haven't been here long enough to stop intuitively knowing what day it actually is. Routine goes beyond rut. Normal exceeds mundane. Time sort of stands still. Truly bizarre. I was chatting with a friend in the blast shelter (Post BOOM and vibrating wall of glass) yesterday and we both realized that the explosions and close calls are the only things that make your day interesting. How telling is it when you are so starved for external stimulus that you are actually excited about an event that carries the possibility of violent death or dismemberment? In the words of my dear friend Matt "It's all fun and games til someone looses and eye!"

Oh by the way Matt – we have ultimate Frisbee teams here in the IZ – Go figure!

Toto… We're definitely not in Kansas anymore!

Sure things happen here all the time. It's a war zone. But in the confines of where I work it tends to get lost in all the politics. Seems no matter where I go I find myself in the most "challenging" of positions and my new role here is by no means different. This could be the inner sanctum of Warner Bros. but I liken it more to my days at Disney. However at both of those places I never had to think about the walls shaking, the glass blowing inward, and shrapnel tearing through the concrete and mortar. Things have been a bit tense here over the past couple of days. Watch the news and you know that. My roommate had a rocket land a couple hundred yards away the other night. That may not seem close but it got his attention enough to keep him up all night so he could call his kids and hear their voice. Today it was my turn. It was closer than a couple hundred yards. I was in the middle of politics when the rocket came in. Let's just say I've got great reflexes. My duck in cover definitely squatted and quacked. The concrete barriers and the glass film sealant did their job well and were all that kept the room from spraying with shards. To be sure I and all my folks here are safe… we went back to the meeting at hand after all the war must go on. Just another day in the neighborhood and another night in paradise.

By the way I've been here a month today! Yippee forever to go!