Birthday...

Thank you everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday!  My birthday was quite regular, actually - pretty much just like any other day.  One of my colleagues piped up at the end of our morning brief that it was my birthday.  The section boss volunteered to buy coffee and doughnuts (from Tim Horton's Kandahar, no less!).  Aside from that - not much happened.  It was just a regular workday same old, same old... except for the wonderful greetings everyone sent!  (Thank you!)  I did manage to have some 'birthday cake'.  Actually - it was dessert at the end of my dinner, since I don't normally treat myself to dessert unless it's Sunday.  It was a sponge cake slathered in this warm liquid custard...  Mmmm!  It's an English dessert which I've never had before coming here.  Since they have so many Brits here, the dessert appears here quite often.  The custard is even in an electric crock pot to keep the sweet, yummy dessert topping warm!  Anyhow - I closed off the night just listening to a recorded CD that was sent to me about the Book of Revelation.  I spent time sewing my nametag on a piece of kit.  After that, I just hit the sack.  Well, for a treat, maybe one of these nights I'll try and watch a film of one of my favourite Filipina actresses: Bea Alonzo.  Watching Filipino films has helped me in trying to learn the language.   (Haha - I just went to get a haircut with one of the guys here.  Another guy just came in right now to talk business.  He turned around to the guy who went with me to get a haircut (he shaved his head bald) and exclaimed quite seriously: 'Ahhh - what happened to your head?!!!'.  Given the circumstances, I thought it was pretty funny seeing the insulted look on the guy's face.)   Speaking of Brit things, did I mention they have a dining facility here that serves curry on a nightly basis?  Yep - when we get tired of the same old, same old, we head over there to get some curry into us.  I must say - it's quite nice of a change.   One of the guys here got a care package from home.  His daughter's primary school class made a bunch of Christmas wreaths with greetings to all of the soldiers overseas.  I told the guy - why not hang them up all over the workplace?  So they're up on the wall, and they do look quite cute - all these crayon coloured photocopied wreaths.    Right now our Muslim friends are preparing for Eid.  Remember how there was a 'little Eid' at the end of Ramadan?  Well, this is the 'big Eid' where those who can make the pilgrimage to Mecca.   The temperatures keep swinging from cold to warm here.  So far, I'm OK and keeping healthy.  I'm trying to keep the rooms ventilated, and am eating well.  People around me are falling ill in some cases, and I suppose that's because of the changing temperatures.   Can you believe it's December?!  Wow - I can't!  Time does fly.  We'll see what the upcoming month is like.  Christmas in a war zone - that'll be different.  I keep on thinking back to one Christmas when I was watching the CBC.  They were filming from here on Christmas Day for transmission back home, and showing Christmas greetings from family and friends back home to troops over here.  Back then, I wondered what it would be like to be deployed over Christmas.  In the course of my activities here, I pass the spot where I think that was filmed.  I guess, that this time around - I'll find out.   Today is the Feast of St. Barbara.  The reason why I bring that up is because she is the patron saint of gunners (Artillery) and sappers (Engineers)... pretty much the professions involved in making things go up in a really, really big BOOM!  Here - one can really get an appreciation for that!    She has a fascinating story if you're interested: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02284d.htm   St. Barbara - Pray for Us!