This is my car. It's a '78 280Z. I've had it for 15 years and it's been a great car. Since I'm in Iraq, I can't give it the attention that it needs so I'm selling it for $2500/obo. I've got the original front bra, extra parts and a car cover for it as well. I've thought about selling it in the past but never did and always ended up glad that I didn't but it really needs some attention. It will make someone a great car.

The biggest landmark on the horizon at Tallil is the ziggurat. It's quite a monument and is truely on the level of Stonehenge, the Great Wall and the pyramids of Egypt. Here was the ancient city of Ur and there are tombs nearby as well. I've been in the tombs many times and they are completely swept clean. Here's a great pic of the ziggurat as well as a link.
http://odysseyadventures.ca/articles/ur%20of%20the%20chaldees/ur_article.htm

Here is a picture of an aerial shot of the base. As you can see it's very much like a small town. Things are laid for the basic life support such as water, power the DFAC and the local store (PX.) The 'lake' is a water resevoir where raw water is stored before it is processed.

Another basic commodity is ice. Ice is very important to all aspects of life here. Medical needs ice just as much as the dining facility (DFAC) needs it.





I've been here now for 12 months. In a few days will be my 1 year mark. For my 'going away' party (last year) I was given a cake by my friends. Having no idea what I was getting into, the cake was a little disturbing while of course being just plain funny (albeit dark humor.)
Everyone in his life comes to a fork where one path leads to the uncertain but potentially great adventure while the other path is generally safer and much more certain. Neither is right or wrong but simply a choice. There are many times when I wish I were back in the states in a comfortable bed or eating food that was more agreeable or not having to worry about what alarms I might hear tonight. But the life of an EXPAT is different and drawing in itself.

Iraq has lots of bugs and critters to eat the bugs. You really don't see too much in the summer as it's very very hot. What you do see are the bats at night (and there can be many of them.) You also don't see many bugs during the rainy season of November to March or April. It last rained here about 2 weeks ago and when it does rain everything is Very muddy. There really isn't soil in this part of Iraq but there is a clay type soil. The ground doesn't perk here neither. Anyway, in a few weeks there'll be small bugs hatching and then larger bugs will come to eat those bug. In March there'll be millions of scorpion beetles and then by April, there'll be many more vector calls for scorpions. Camel spiders eat smaller bugs and a hedgehog will gobble a camel spider in a second. There's a den of foxes that live on base and generally only come out at night but we do see them in the day every now and then.
There are feral cats here as well and if they cause no problems, vector leaves them alone. Animals that do cause problems are caught and given the needle. Then there's the story of the Commanding officer at a nearby base who sorta broke the rules and befriended a cat. A new animal control (vector) guy showed up and on his first day or work caught a cat and proceeded to humanely put the cat down. He basically did his job but that didn't matter when the base commander found out that his cat was dead. Needless to say, the vector guy was transferred the next day.

I had severals goals when I left for Iraq and one of them was to ride in coalition force military vehicle. These vehicles are souped up Hondas for the Japanese here. There are cool looking, fast and very cool looking AND small inside! I could barely fit inside but didn't get a ride. The Japanese are very friendly. Heck, I wave to a dozen people every day here that I don't even know. It's ironic that I and others feel pretty dern safe around so many friendly people in a war zone.

This is a picture taken while I was working, er sorta working. It's an interesting pic so I thought I'd post it. The buildings are all modular structures manufactured in Italy. The final assembly is at the site. Essentially it's a big air conditioned Winnebago (as the recruiter put it.) When I first left for Iraq I had no idea what I was getting into. I ended up in a good (but maybe not great) location. A not so great location would have been Fallujuh or any of the small bases near Syria. I get hazardous duty pay but I certainly don't earn it like those guys do!

Being in Iraq has been quite an experience. The Ziggurat of Ur (you can Google this) is the best preserved of 16 ziggurats in Iraq. They were built 4000-6000 years ago by the Summarians. You can drive right up to the zig and then climb to the top. Pottery shards are everywhere. Nearby is a king and queen tomb where the Harp of Ur was found. Its really something. The pic with the soldier is a Polish soldier visitor. Europeans are much more receptive to taking pics and will get right up next to you and pose for a good pic. These pics were taken last summer. I think it was over 120 on the day the pics were taken.

Here are some pics of camel spiders. The biggest that I've seen are about 4-5 inches but I've been told they get larger. They're not really spider and have no venom but they are very aggressive insects and will run but if cornered will come right at you.

Ok, After being in Iraq for nearly a year, I thought I'd start a blog. What the hey. Here is a pic of me outside where I work. It's an eery day here. There's a bit of dust storm going on and planes are not flying. Yesterday it was blue skies sunny and beautiful. Today. dusty and windy. Such is life in paradise.