Monday, November 25, 2013

800 Posts

Ben had a song stuck in his head early on in the deployment. I offered to get the song out by playing something else. I played Don't Stop Me Now by Queen.

I joked this was my alarm clock every morning and began acting out the lyrics. It became a stupid dance I would do while waiting around everywhere we went. It later became the theme to everything I was doing. Ben started to film these stupid segment everywhere we went. So in an attempt to learn to use iMovie on my iPad and with plenty of stupid footage I present the video of dumb dancing throughout the deployment.





Thanks for reading everyone!

LOU


Deployment Day 108 The End!

I writing this ahead of time as I will be out of here come tomorrow. The journey home will stretch the entire time I've been gone into 110 days. Nearly twice the length of  my previous deployment. It was really only supposed to be 30 days longer but either way happy to go home.

Also this is another cheap blogging trick to get me to my 800th post.

LOU

Downrange Caching

So in an effort to kill the evenings I took Leo and Biccum out Geocaching. (Surprise!)

It took us a while to find the first one. After signing the log both those guys got the geocaching bug.

We went on a hunt all around the base looking for more. Mostly no luck but Bics couldn't stop looking on his phone for more caches.

Leo and I went out the next night. This time with his "DAGR" just a portable gps unit that he entered
co-ordinates in.

We found a few. A lot of the caches over here were missing from construction or just being lost.
Leo and I climbed the rock pile to see how far one was. A little to far and we would look sketchy walking around out there at night.

I did get a picture from the summit.

LOU

Deployment Day 103-107

Tying up loose ends over the last few days.

The big one was the pallet shipment home. Preston set me up with the funding back home. So Bics and I load up all the stuff and head over to get it out of here.

The TMO guys were happy to help but were short pallets. They tried to call them but no answer. Bics and I take it as a cue to pay them a visit. We go around the base to the terminal which was as close as we could get. So they set it up to get a pallet. Bics and I get a coffee to kill the time until it's there.

We finally dump all the stuff and build what should be documented as the best pallet ever.

 Biccum posing for the award.

I just wanted to ride it home.

LOU 

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Deployment Day 99-102

The nothing-ness is consuming me.

I did however end up helping a PA guy setup a broadcast satellite for a base exercise. They actually keep it at the band building. Weird!

I didn't think to take a picture until we were breaking it down.

It took a couple hours to get it just right. The power from the building was falling out of the outlet so the ground wasn't making contact. So if you touched the thing anywhere that was metal and you had contact with the concrete you got a nice little shock. Eventually we located the satellite and we ready to broadcast, should the need arise.

This posts brings us to the present. Almost home. Almost 800 posts. Almost done!

LOU

Deployment Day 97-98

Gigs!

This was our pen-ultimate gig. Again at the Kasbah. Here we see the single ladies dance. And a wide shot of the whole event.

For some reason I missed a picture of the final gig at churchill's. I do have show recordings so they did happen. Now we unload the gear and get ready to get out of here.

LOU

Deployment Day 96

The new band arrived today and with it my good friend Leo Smith.

Bics and I went and got their pallet of gear and we are cleaning up the place for their arrival and rehearsals.
We have a couple gigs left to go. Then we are done. I'll still be hanging around but without much to do.

I'll be lumping some days together just so I land on 800 posts for something I've prepared and laziness (surprise!)


LOU

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Deployment Day 93-94-95

Been catching up on blogging and getting some out processing things done.

Now we wait to leave. There are still a couple shows to go but for the most part we are done.


LOU

Deployment Day 92

Travel day.
I really messed up today. I can't see the letter Z anymore.

I was sen the flight time but it was zulu which is marked with a little z after the time. I missed it and got everyone up early to go. Turned out we got there four hours earlier than we needed.

We hitched a ride back and crashed in the tents a while longer. Then hopped a plane back to Al Udeid. No more planes until we leave for home.

Ben's head is not amused.


LOU

Deployment Day 91

This was a day off.

Everyone but Biccum and I went into town to see a beach and shop. I wasn't into so we stayed behind.

I got some things done and had a relaxing day watching movies. I managed to watch the entire Matrix trilogy and the Animatrix in one day. I don't recommend this.

LOU

Deployment Day 90

90?!

We've been gone a long time. Tonight is the show and also today is my sister Sarah's birthday.

During the show I talked the band into playing Happy Birthday for her so I could send her a video.


LOU

Deployment Day 89

Strolling day around the base. Which is very tiny.

First stop the pax terminal. No pictures as I was dealing with our power converter up and dying. No bass amp for this show.

Next the fire station. These guys are always fun.

The mariachi Yonders made a second appearance at the chow hall. Going from table to table while everyone ate.


The crew in the kitchen wanted to hear us but had to work so we came to them. Hairnets and all. These guys were fun. Dancing and yelling and having a great time.


Our last stop the thirsty clam. This is the bar hang out area. Its in a big tent that they open at night. Our big show is here tomorrow night.


Job completed. Hopefully a lot of folks will be here tomorrow night. So more ping pong and some sleep.

LOU



Deployment Day 87 - 88

Two travel days packed into one.

We head back to Al Udeid again in full rock star fashion. We get back to the rooms and find out we are leaving again at 4 something in the morning. No time to even do laundry.

I repacked my bag and get some sleep. Next up Oman the trip that was cancelled early on in the deployment.

LOU

Deployment Day 86

Our gigs were canceled today due to lunar anomaly. Actually a Muslim holiday coincides with a certain lunar phase at it happened this day. So we had a day off.

We took this time to get our pallet together.

The whole group had such a good time here. This was due to Ensign Perrien and MC2 Dietrich who were our sponsors. Alex (Ensign) was a great hang and we talked a lot about music and production and various other things.

So we were packed up and took the chance to get some picture of everyone.


Here's Sherry with those guys.



Ben with the Ensign. (BEnsign?)


A group shot of us at the pallet. The terminal guys netting it up in the background.

I would say this was the highlight trip of our deployment.

LOU

Deployment Day 85

We had nothing today until the show.

Tonight was the French Arts Center. This was a nice little theater. We were playing for the embassy. They had a lot of ambassadors and other folks here.

The show sounded great but was a little awkward due to the language barrier. Our interpreter was there to get the message across but French is a much more colorful language and I think he may have added some things that weren't actually said to help get the point across.

No pictures today. Although a story.

We were traveling with a chaplain for some of these gigs. He was a very odd person. Everyone else had lunch with them while I was taking care of something with the Ensign. They told a story of how the chaplain loved black pepper. So much so that he said he liked to just put it right on his tongue. He then made a motion with the pepper shaker and his mouth that would resemble the ending to a very adult movie. He went one to say he like to grind his own at home to which he made another motion that would belong in the previously mentioned movie.

All of us aren't sure if he was oblivious or trying to make some kind of motion toward some of us. He later was feeling Ben's kilt and asking what material it was made of. We assumed he was eyeing up Ben as he was a young man and the chaplain a catholic priest. But that joke is just to easy.

LOU

Actually found a picture.

Deployment Day 84

We are playing for a relief center in downtown. These poor kids have nowhere to go. They come here to wash their clothes and shower. Maybe get something to eat.

No electricity here either so the Mariachi Yonders was the idea. It worked ok.


We had a show that evening as well. The Djiboutian center for the arts. Not the greatest place and the power was sketchy as hell. Our interpreter was a nice but strange guy. He asked me after the show if a local group could perform. I didn't have a way to play their music as I only brought my ipad. They came with a laptop and did a few songs. It was like french hip-hop from Djibouti. No where else would I have seen this.

LOU

Deployment Day 83

Another show at 11 Degrees North. This time as the actual Yonders and not the family Adams.

A little less enthusiastic crowd but fun none the less. I actually brought my Tusker shirt from Kenya. I think it looks good with the kilt. Also Paul is attempting to be the elephant.

LOU

Deployment Day 82

Halloween.

I didn't get any pictures but others did. I'll post them soon.

The whole band dressed as the Adams Family. I was Thing in a full black suit. Again my deployment costume left little to the imagination so I had to wear something over it.

I had a problem connecting to my router because of all the wifi in the area. I ended up sitting on the stage mixing with my one exposed hand. It worked out great as All you could see was Thing mixing the show.

A fun gig. My PA is a little underpowered for this place but it held up just fine.

LOU

Deployment Day 81

A day off. We were anticipating it taking longer to get to where we were going but plans worked out. We went to the bar here, 11 Degrees North. They have Tusker!

Tusker is a Kenyan beer that Nate, Preston, and I enjoyed the last time we were in Africa.

I sent a picture to Nate to show him what he was missing.
Halloween Gig tomorrow.

LOU

Deployment Day 80

Travel Day to Djibouti Africa.

This was actually fun as we had the full rock star treatment. We had an entire plane to ourselves.

I sat up in the cockpit for take off. I was wearing my not feeling it shirt as I was tired and definitely not feeling it.

Ours is the only pallet on the plane. So much space!

Here's the full view from where I sat. Biccum posing inappropriately as usual.

We arrive in Africa to meet our sponsors. These guys were the best we've had. Just cool people trying to do their jobs.

So sleep the day away to make up for all the sleep lost. Gigs soon.

LOU

Deployment Day 78 -79

Since I've been up to my usual laziness, I'm attempting to get caught up.

These two days were spent at Al Udeid hanging around and doing Laundry getting ready for our African Safari. Not much more to say as the days at Al Udeid are slow and repetitive. Please read on for the other deployments adventures/shenanigans.

Almost forgot we played the American School in Doha. This was more familiar territory. School shows in a decent auditorium.

On the way there Paul was driving the equipment truck. The traffic was crazy. Lane markers are more suggestions than rules. Paul ended up cutting off a guy that was riding the median. He pulled out in front and got out of his car. I was thinking "international incident" however even when he argued it was polite. He was just yelling at Paul,"Didn't you see me? Give me a chance to get in." not, are you blind asshole?

We survived and enjoyed a nice indian dinner. We travel again soon.


LOU