Another fine day in the neighborhood...

Well, now that I am back at Club Taji I can relax...except that our email connection to Army Knowledge Online is down...the link I use to connect with my account here.  I hope that no one is trying to contact me...

I did get to play rugby tonight, and it was only three on three...which means that I had to do a lot of running.  We had some good prospects come out and play, and two South Africans.  Still missing the Brits, though.  They have been gone a few weeks now, and Rugby is starting to get a little thin again.  On a positive note, my Margarita mix got here, I found a bag of ice, and now I have frozen Margaritas!  I used Blue Monster instead of Tequila, so instead of going to sleep I will be able to stay awake for the Blackhawks game, I hope.  And, I even got to ice my knees with REAL ice tonight!  What a relief.

I did get to snap a few pictures of the Baghdad Skyline while I was in the IZ, so I thought that I would post them here for you guys to see.  I also received another package from my Cousin Dawn...what was in it was so awesome, I just have to show you.  Just in time for the regular season, too!  I also got an awesome Cubs trivia quiz book.

So now is the perfect time for an obscure Cubs Trivia Question of the day:  How did the great pitcher, "Three Finger" Brown get to be Three-fingered? a.) He had a Birth Defect.  b.) He was hurt in a farm equipment accident.  c.) He was hit by a pitch during a High School game.  d.) He was run over by the caboose of a freight train.

So here are the Baghdad pictures...

The first one is of the clock tower in downtown Baghdad, and the second one was of the skyline over one of the sets of crossed swords, I think. The third is another one of the skyline.

This last one needs a little explanation.  We had our final dinner of the conference at a little restaurant that opened up on Union III where my whole adventure began...  The place is called the Oasis.  I could not remember what I had ordered, but I knew that it probably had something to do with steak, being the carnivore that I am.  I also knew that I ordered some Turkish Coffee...now that is something that I think EVERYONE needs to experience at least once.  Well, when I finally found the sheet that I had placed my order on, I found out that I ordered Pepper Steak.  I like pepper steak, actually, if you ask my mom, I love the stuff.  So since I am one of the last people to get served, my mouth is watering already when it finally comes.  And there it is...a steak and a very large Hot Pepper...I don't think that I have ever laughed so hard.  I had to take a picture just to prove to everyone what I got.  None of us could believe it...I wasn't the only one who took pictures.  At least I ordered a conversation piece...the steak sucked, it was way overcooked.  But I enjoyed the company.

I can't close without sending my sincere thanks to Balls Out! Rugby for sending the Taji Rugby guys three Rugby balls to help us with our training.  Not that we will ever play anyone over here, but who knows?  Many Thanks to Regina and Sharon from Balls Out!

Later everyone...