Another Day down

There are three things I'd like to talk about today; Army stuff, my next job and Apple.

The Army operates a lot differently than the Navy.

Point one: The Army considers the Army Physical Training (PT) clothing a uniform. Now I don't have a problem with that...in fact the outfits are a whole lot better than the Navy's. They have silky sweat suits that actually match and are somewhat decent; unlike the Navy sweatshirt and pants. The problem stems from walking down the street and getting saluted by someone in PT gear....I think that is just plan silly. The Army believes in saluting indoors and outdoors with or without headgear (Navy: Cover). The Navy only salutes outdoors and while wearing head gear. Now there are exceptions like during a ceremonial Change of Command indoors...salutes galore. My point is that the Army is different than the Navy.

Point two: Everyone in the Army says Hoo-ah and it has many meanings. It can mean good morning, or yes, or understood, or I am having a crappy day. Now as a Navy guy working with the Army, we are all getting acustomed to using the Hoo-ah term like a bad habit. I'm sure once I get back on the ship, I'll be quickly broken of the habit or be sumarily ridiculed.

My Next Job: I found out that I am staying put where I currently reside. I'll have to move to my permanent living quarters and learn my job. I cannot tell you specifically what I'll be doing, just know that I will be supporting the Army guys to WIN! Our class is being scattered all over Iraq. We'll see each other when we leave.

Apple: Arggg!!! My new MacBook has died. When we were leaving Kuwait to fly here, it was acting funny then all of a sudden no startup! After a bit of troubleshooting, I concluded that the Hard Drive (Seagate 60 GB SATA Piece of Crap!) went bad. I tried calling the 1-800 number using my AT&T calling card and guess what? It doesn't allow 1-800 numbers. I called the operator and asked and they informed me that the card doesn't cover those numbers and if I wanted to I could charge it to my credit card. I asked how much it would be and the response flattened me: $12.95 for the 1st minute and about 5 dollars for each additional minute!!! HOLY COW! I kindly said no thank you and when I went to work I used the phone there. It took me one and a half hours to get a new Hard Drive sent to me. I spoke to the Technical Support Engineer and explained the problem. His response was to send the computer to Apple to have it repaired. I explained that his solution wasn't viable (~5 weeks without a computer...NO WAY!). He directed my call to his supervisor and I re-explained my case with two possible outcomes; either he sends me a new computer or a new hard drive. He agreed to send me the Hard Drive. When I gave him my Iraq FEDEX mailing address I was further informed that they don't "DO" international shipping.....so so make a long story shorter, I had them send it to my wife and she is FEDEX'ing it to me. So I should have my MacBook back up and running by the end of the week....hopefully.

The picture above is of the pallets and pallets of bottled water outside of every location here....Stay Hydrated!

That's all for now.....Love to the ones I love!