The days continue to fly by here on Al Asad, with one weekend seeming to meld into the next.

We all like it this way.

Everything is working at the moment, too: my slow-but-steady internet keeps rolling, AFN is back on, the sand has gone away for the moment, the lights have remained on for one week straight, my bedsheets are clean and on my bed, and things are generally in their proper place.

Tomorrow is, of course, the 4th of July, and we are expecting some kind of celebration on post, though none has been mentioned as yet. At least, there should be something decent for dinner. As for our clinic, we are open (as always). But I and the senior enlisted have volunteered to “cover” for the day, so that our junior enlisted can take the day off.

Some random brain droppings, for what they are worth:

1. I am not a big reality TV fan (other than Fox News), but while channel-surfing a few days back, I came across the Gordon Ramsay-hosted “Kitchen Nightmares.” It was like watching a train wreck, and I am now addicted. The way this rather brutish, rude, self-absorbed host deals with the arrogant, equally self-absorbed, and incompetent chefs he has been dispatched to help, is truly awe-inspiring. And yet, in the end, they always end up liking this dude who has called them lazy, stupid, haughty, and untalented throughout the entire program.
2. Now that it is high summer in Iraq, we are unable to take any kind of a cold or even cool shower. The barrels which house our “non-potable water” are above ground and often dark blue, so they get very warm by about mid-day. No one even touches the hot-water knob anymore. We just crank the “cold” water and hope it is merely lukewarm.
3. The Red Sox are a decent team this year, but their lack of a bullpen has sunk them lately, and will continue to do so. Also their lack of David Ortiz.
4. There is a single BMW on Al Asad, which is often parked at one particular location which I will not mention here. The owner is a local national. The car sticks out like a sore thumb, among all of the tactical vehicles, white pickups with red flame stickers on the sides, and Chevy Trailblazers, the latter of which are a rather recent phenomenon. Our clinic has the only purple Trailblazer I’ve seen here.

Sorry, folks, not too much for you today. Just a small helping of the usual stuff. Whenever something interesting happens at work (usually interesting in a bad way), the medics look at me with a straight face and offer this only-partly-facetious condolence: “Well, at least you’ll have something to write on your blog tonight.”