So long Kandahar....it's been fun!

Yup that's right. I'm outta here! In what seems to be a concerted effort to keep me wondering where I am when I wake up...I am being pulled out of Kandahar and will be permanently (if there is such a thing) back up at Leatherneck. I gotta say, I've been somewhat expecting it as the workload up there is continuing to pile up at an absolutely epic pace. I have been bidding jobs up there almost exclusively and we have been winning more than our fair share. What I wasn't expecting is the reason for me being relocated.

Our company is doing a major re-shuffle as we are taking on a massive venture back into the country that got us on the map overseas...Iraq...hello Mr. oil company. So with that the head of Afghanistan operations is jumping over the border, leaving his position for my boss, which leaves my boss's position of In Country Manager open, and in what must have been a scenario that resulted in a massive head contusion, he has chosen me to step into that role. Holy shit! Sorry mom but I have no better words for this one! What a crazy place this is, 4 months into my career here and I am now the new In Country Manager, third on the totem pole in all of Afghanistan. This is a huge step on every level, it's really quite overwhelming to think about the challenge of this. It's had me on brain lock for most of the day. Not just from the quadrupling workload and responsibilities, but I am now going to be directly in charge of the day to day operations of our companies most successful operation. An operation that is now up to over 160 direct employees throughout our 4 beach front resorts (Kabul, Leatherneck, Bastion, KAF). My boss will take up his new position working from Kabul, so thankfully I won't be needed too much there but I will be responsible for the other 3. I will also continue to carry on being the main estimator here and have my hands in on all proposals and active projects, so lucky me, on top of the new gig I get to continue to do my original one as well. Anyone know of a watch that has more than 24 hours on it?? Or any Estimators and Project Managers that what to come live the dream? You know who you are!!!

The timing is still up in the air a bit as this is all still coming together, my guess is that it will be sometime mid to late December, but who the heck knows? The only thing that I can predict accurately around here is the weather and even that has me guessing a bit these days.

I'm actually going to really miss KAF. No really. I've come to appreciate the dynamics here. There's a real connection to things here that I don't really see up at Leatherneck. A feeling like you are really in the middle of someplace here. Leatherneck is extremely generic compared to here, but hey, at least I won't have to worry about the incoming rockets anymore, and the noise level is much lower there. As I sit at my desk right now there is a convoy sitting out on the road about 20 feet from my desk. Needless to say the sweet sounds of diesel engines have come to be my constant backdrop, but that's what you get when you are living on a postage stamp sized compound.

Funny thing happened on Thursday, at about 10am I realized that it was Thanksgiving. It's not that I forgot, I just woke up and subconsciously slummed into the office per my regular morning ritual. And when both people that you are working with at the moment are from the Philippines, there isn't much to remind you of the holidays back home. So what did I do once I realized it was the big day? Nothing. It's not like I could sit and watch the Macy's parade, it wasn't on until mid afternoon with time difference. I did go to the American cafeteria for lunch though, it was the only one here that was serving camel...I mean turkey. The line to get in was more than 1 1/2 hours, oh joy. Once inside I was greeted with the sounds of the Army Brass Band, swan ice sculptures, and absolutely no place to sit. I circled the place twice before finally finding a seat. And nothing says Thanksgiving like sitting with a table full of soldiers from Jordan. I mean no offense to them, but it just wasn't doing it for me. I pretty much ate and left. The good news is that dinner later on was the exact same menu and provided a entirely new opportunity for some good American pride on Thanksgiving. It was like having left overs!

It was kind of an up and down day for me, I just tried to keep myself busy with work. I got to talk to the boys and Jolie, and even her brother Kyle who was in town, but it really made me miss home. Thanksgiving has never been a huge holiday with me, I guess I'm just not really a turkey fan, but I do love the time with family and friends that always surrounds the weekend. But being my first official holiday away from home, it made me think of all the things that I am missing being away from them. I did finish the day with a smile though as the Patriots game was on at 10pm. Speaking of the Patriots, remember that Red Sox flag I found at the local market a few months ago? Well I went back over to the market yesterday, and as I walked by that booth, there it was hanging in the back..........

I love it!! The Afghans clearly love Boston sports teams!!!! Haven't I told you that I have felt a connection to the locals??

So I guess the possibility exists that the next time I have a chance to blog I may be gone from here already, not likely, but neither was the chance of me taking a job in Afghanistan.