You Mates! Roman's Kabul Blog

[Times Roman]

I will learn my camera tonight (it's new)

[SlimmerMe]

Can't wait to see what is all around you.....

[Standby]

Ya I wanna see pics too old timer!

[Times Roman]

OK.... learned my camera, and more importantly, how to make them small enough so i can post here.... now I gotta take a few so's you folks can see.... jet lag is getting better, been up for a couple of hours, pinned for the first time here, now I just need to start exercising

pics to follow

[MACHINE5150]

your gonna be looking back on all this in a few years sitting on a sandy beach in the Bahamas saying "it wasn't that bad after all" Just hang in there bud.

[Times Roman]

finally have some pics for your approval. I'll bust em out one at a time so the narrative doesn't get confusing. Be warned ya mateys that old Roman here has not actually left the compound yet, but you'll see that life is very different here than back in cozy ol' US of America


ok this sucks. my new nikon camera coolpix S6000 allows me to make small pics, but when i try to attach them, i get error messages. you mates are probably thinking i'm sitting in a pub somewhere in cali cooking this whole thing up. So we have two options, either one of you brighter than me can explain to me how I can fix this. the pics come out as .jpg, and when i tried to attach the regular size pics, i get the familar "too large file" error.

or you can email your requests to [email protected] and I will be happy to email them to you just for the 'ell of it.

of course, i'd prefer to figure this out, but my behind is getting sore from sitting on this "fancy" desk chair (cough cough!)

eventually, i will be setting up a travel blog site away from here, and you are all more than welcome to come visit, but it aint happening tonight as my sitter is pretty well sat out.

[SlimmerMe]

Hope a geek comes around to help you....I bet it is a different world!!!

[Times Roman]

I thought I had this thing figured out...
.jpg format.... check!
file size not too large.... check!
only 52.2 kb

the error message i get is this....

500[io error event type = "io error" bubbles = false
cancellable = false event phase = 2text = "error #238"]

maybe I should check with admin and see if they want to earn a browney point and help me figure this thing out... brb

[DSM4Life]

[wmaousley]

Be safe brother and don't break any Shiite laws. I'd hate for a bunch of us to have to get to get together and pull a "Uncommon Valor" to get you out of there.

If you can tell me what a shiite is I will ignore your post.

[wmaousley]

aw shit mates.,..... ber very very careluf whaty u typew n since evetry time i hit the escape button it disappeaRS...

you know whta? of the 32 boxedsi i shipped,20 arehere, an d i hage to tell the purchasing guy tyhtat threw[ is 10 almopsty 20 kilos of evans williams in there.,

Good luck bro. I am in kuwait have been for 5 years if you need anything at all I can get it to you really easy through either apo mail or a major carrier. We ship consumables to kabul and bagram daily.

[Times Roman]

i have apo over at camp eggers... the mail lady is pissed since i shipped 32 flat rate boxes here.... (trying to save money)... still waiting on 12 boxes.

(edited). they even delivered one that was smashed up and soggy, can you imagine that? i am being loose with the term "deliver" since we have to pick up

you know, you can pm me your email address, and you can teach me middle east ways?

[Times Roman]

I am confuse mr. dsm... why would you send me picture of man with red shirt wearing glasses?

[SlimmerMe]

Hey TR!
I hope you enjoy your Bourbon.....

[wmaousley]

i have apo over at camp eggers... the mail lady is pissed since i shipped 32 flat rate boxes here.... (trying to save money)... still waiting on 12 boxes.

sneaked in 8 bottles of 1.75 litre bourbon. they even delivered one that was smashed up and soggy, can you imagine that? i am being loose with the term "deliver" since we have to pick up

you know, you can pm me your email address, and you can teach me middle east ways?

Well bro I def know how it is up there, and they def do not give a fvck what you mail to yourself. She is probably pissed because she has to do something lol. Bro I can teach you ME ways but with you in Afghanistan ME ways will not do you any good. Afghani people are considered Middle Eastern but not Arab, pashtun or persian (Dari) + 30 others is their language instead of arabic. They are mostle Sunni Muslims, but have a small percentage of Shiite Muslims and come from many different ethnic backgrounds.

I could go on for days about the Afghani people but rule #1, if you didnt put it there dont pick it up or it might explode....

[SlimmerMe]

OH MY!!!
DO NOT PICK UP ANYTHING TIMES ROMAN!!!! DID YOU HEAR THAT?

I bet TR would love to hear more tidbits. He probably knows a lot already but you just never ever know.....

[Times Roman]

OH MY!!!
DO NOT PICK UP ANYTHING TIMES ROMAN!!!! DID YOU HEAR THAT?

I bet TR would love to hear more tidbits. He probably knows a lot already but you just never ever know.....

actually, i know NOTHING about Afghanistan, it's people or their ways.... only been here since saturday, and then cofined to compound.

But I get to go shopping today
get me a 10key adding machine
(doing an Irish Jig most enthuiastically) =)

[Times Roman]

I got some advice about a website i can post pics to and then bring them over from the web. I'll check out the website tonight if i have enough time.

[stack_it]

Upland your pics to photobucket dot com. Then post the image tag here. It's a lot easier and there's no resizing required.

[Times Roman]

I'll try that now.

BTW... got off compound for first time today. what an experience!

brb

[Times Roman]

Ok... uploaded several small pics to photo bucket, now I need to figure out next step of transferring to this BB. be patient with me since internet is hopping up and down right now... did i say we get internet from russia?

[Times Roman]

I took this pic from the plane as we flew over head! =)

[Times Roman]

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[Times Roman]

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[Times Roman]

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[Times Roman]

Notice how luxurious my office is? I had to steal that guest chair. Also notice that my ten key hasn't yet arrived. My motto is a fella's just gotta be comfortable!

[stack_it]

Have you met Alladin yet?

[Times Roman]

Office Compound
As seen from the second story balcony. Notice how smoggy it is? (edited)

[Times Roman]

Have you met Alladin yet?

no, but I met abdullah

took me shopping for my ten key today!

[Times Roman]

Always happy to see you, these guards make about $120 per month. This is why, Nathan and Emily, it is very very important to get a college degree. Else you will end up in Afghanistan stanging out in the freezing cold in the middle of the night, living in a mud hut, no running water, no electricity, and holding the gate open for me to cross.

[Times Roman]

[Times Roman]

ok mates... i'm beat, this is taking forever, the internet keeps bouncing on and off, and my links are failing. I'll try again tomorrow, but at least I was able to post a few, and shed some doubt on the theory I'm simply sitting in a pub in cali, drinking a cool one, and cooking up this whole story.

Cheers!

[stack_it]

Great pics so far. Makes me happy to be In America lol.

[Times Roman]

Trying to get up to speed here..... let's see if you can follow this link to a photobucket album i created... some of it is repeat, some not. If this works, we are in like flynn....
(edited due to Im switching accounts on the photo bucket)
this is called first album.. i decided i'd get really creative when i named it

[Times Roman]

these pics were taken yesterday from inside the (edited). there are areas where cameras are strictly not allowed, near ministeries and governmental office for example. there are also areas where it is not advisable, such as near a local cop. you run the risk of them taking it from you. Then there are certain "rules" you must adhere to.... don't be a fool and act like a tourist snapping pics of everyone, especially the women folk. The men folk may get pissed. They could never ever afford a camera such as what I have, and it would be like rubbing their noses in this fact if I just freely started taking pictures. So one must be descrete when doing so.
[edited]

[MACHINE5150]

Reminds me of some of the shitty parts of Turkey i traveled through a few months ago.. except that place is dangerous. Look at the bright side, you get to go home. How are your work mates?? besides the one you already knew.. they will determine how hard this is going to be for you in the long run.. Whether you are trapped on a beautiful deserted island or a shitty desert... it will be equally crap, the thing that matters is who else is with you to keep you company.. same thing goes for military guys and prisoners. The best thing you can do is keep your mind away from home as much as you can by trying to have some fun (even if you have to try really hard to pretend)..

Whats the story there with shooting guns and stuff?? will they let you shoot at a range or something?? just an idea to pass some time since it seems they have loads of big guns over there.

[MACHINE5150]

Notice how luxurious my office is? I had to steal that guest chair. Also notice that my ten key hasn't yet arrived. My motto is a fella's just gotta be comfortable!

This looks like the desk i had that my buddy gave me so i could cold call mortgage leads for him about 8 years ago.. cost $40 at Staples and i had to build it myself on my first day... eventually i was an owner of the company and had a nice cherrywood L shaped desk with a mini fridge.. just got to do your time.

[Times Roman]

edited
No, no shooting for me. Guns aint allowed.

[wmaousley]

these pics were taken yesterday from inside the AV (armoured vehicle). there are areas where cameras are strictly not allowed, near ministeries and governmental office for example. there are also areas where it is not advisable, such as near a local cop. you run the risk of them taking it from you. Then there are certain "rules" you must adhere to.... don't be a fool and act like a tourist snapping pics of everyone, especially the women folk. The men folk may get pissed. They could never ever afford a camera such as what I have, and it would be like rubbing their noses in this fact if I just freely started taking pictures. So one must be descrete when doing so.
http://s1120.photobucket.com/albums/...0%2018jan2011/

hahahahah I see your living in "poppy homes", its a term we gave homes like this because most are owned by druglords and leased to US company/forces. You have it made bro, living like a King compared to most people.

If you need anything let me know bro

[paulzane]

I love Americans and their unbelievable lack of security UNBELIEVABLE ..... so now we (and every Tom Dick and Harry or should that be Hamed, Ali and Abdulla?) know where you live .... where your office is ...... how many and where your safe rooms are and how long they are designed to hold out for..... how long the military back up should take ......... how many vehicles and which ones are armoured and I have only looked at three photos!!!