Spencer and Jazz made it in today — Mom and Dad come in Wednesday … it’s gonna be another busy 2 weeks … Hawaii Connie has been here about a month and it’s been pretty laid back since she had so much time to spend…this net couple weeks with the fam is gonna be a whirlwind of trains, boats, walking and craziness…today we already checked out a couple little sights to see–Vicopisano, a little town close by with a castle on top of the hill…and a watch tower area way up on a sheer cliff, overlooking the Tuscan countryside…both very close to the hosue and both very beautiful…now Spencer and Jazz are passed out after their long plane ride–tomorrow’s plan is for me to work all day while they go to Florence with Hawaii Connie…and after regular Air Force work I have to work at the Italian carnival that is currently set up on the base…it’s a yearly thing for the base and the locals to come together in fun and games–our main goal (us working) is to make lots of money…this food booth fund raiser project basically pays for our squadron Christmas/Holiday party…last year they made something like $24,000…so I am working all day tomorrow at real work, then working from 1700-2400 hrs at the food booth…but, that means I get Wednesday off and that’s when the parents fly in, so it worked out pretty good…the latest in the Afghanistan trip is that we are trying to figure out how/where to get tool boxes to take with us …being stationed at a small fire base is something the Air Force doesn’t usually do…we go to big bases with a flight line, a supply system, continuity, and stability…at these bases there are established vehicle maintenance shops with tools and equipment that stays at the base forever–well, at least for many many years, until we close the whole operation down and move soemwhere else…well, these little fire bases are always considered “temporary”…5 months or 5 years–it’s still temporary…with that, the Air Force doesn’t want to purchase stuff that would be permanently assigned to one location…they want us to buy a tool box at our own base, take it with us, then bring it back–that’s an extra 100lbs and an extra “bag” to carry from our home location to the north east coast, then all over Afghanistan, then back home when we leave…my guess is that this will cost more than buying new equipment, leaving it in place, and just giving it to the locals when we pull out–one tool box with all needed tools left in place- approx $10,000.00….a new tool box for each mechanic, airline fees for carrying everywhere, replacing any broken/lost tools along the way- my guess is around $50,000.00…but I’m not the finance guru of this whole operation…whatever… I guess I’ll make it happen when it gets time to go… OK… tha’ts about all for now … I gotta get some grub… love you and miss you all
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ok, so I guess I’ll start writing again …it’s been a long time, but now I am gearing up to head back to Afghanistan again this fall–this time it’s a 6 month tour….another month of Army training at Ft. Dix, NJ….basically the same stuff I went thru at Ft. Bragg back in 07–I guess they cut out a lot of the BS and are focusing on the main skills needed for combat….I found out I will be sent out to a Fire Base–kinda like a FOB but smaller, and I will be working with Special Forces teams…of course, my main mission is to be a mechanic…from what I am hearing I will be working on Humm-vees and ATVs(all terrain vehicles) like 4-wheelers…this trip should be very interesting as well…more “in the thick of it” type duty…although, I am told we do not go out on missions unless we volunteer–that’s a good thing, but I have a feeling if I think the team needs me outside the wire I will volunteer with enthusiasm…that’s just part of being on a team…so, as I start my process of preparing to leave Italy I will keep you all informed on the happenings…love you and miss you all…talk to you soon
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well, where to start …I got some new pipes on Black Betty — now she actually sounds like a real bike, and looks like a custom chopper… I LOVE it ..I have been able to go riding only a few times, but those few times were great … cruising around Pisa is just awesome and ALL the locals stare at it–either because it’s too noisy and bothers them, or because they appreciate the awesomeness of pure American power…either way it turns heads…I also tested for promotion last week… I feel pretty good about it, but I won’t know anything for sure until June–that’s when the results come out and the time of official announcement of the selected promotees …now, if I did make it, that will mean some big changes for my future…to accept the new stripe I will have to extend my enlistment so I have 2 years of retainability from the promotion date…that also means I will have more than 12 months left in the Air Force when it comes time for me to leave Italy…which means they will give me an assignment, most likely to the US…that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I was planning my whole future around the fact that I would be stationed here until I retired…that also means a few more months till I can head to my island and live the easy life…in other news, I got word from headquarters that I am slotted to head back to Afghanistan–Kabul this time…it doesn’t seem like very long ago that I was leaving Bargram, but by the time I actually go it will have been over 18 months since I departed the trash pile that is Bagram Air Base…I am totally not looking forward to going back, but it’s my job and that’s what we do…this time will be with an Air Force unit and I will be working in vehicle maintenance with a very small chance that I would ever head outside the wire…that’s a good thing…I enjoyed it while I was doing it, but it’s not something I long to do again…although, I am still waiting on clarification of the position–if I get promoted I might not be able to fill the slot…it is for a wrench turner, not a superintendent …we’ll see about that one…oh yeah, I also got to witness and help clean up the destruction that a flood causes…my buddy Jeff lives in a group of government leased houses…there are 7 homes in a sort of townhouse set-up …well, this is where we BBQ, drink, play Rock Band and generally hang out on the weekends…a few weeks ago we had a torrential downpour and the streets of Livorno were totally flooded…cars stuck and stalled all over the place …well, all seven of these houses have a below-ground-level garage and basement…all seven completely flooded…Jeff called me Friday afternoon when he opened his garage and found his motorcycle, 4-wheeler, and small dirt bike under water … well, the 4-wheeler was actually floating because of the oversized tires…he asked if he could use our shop-vac from the shop… I told him to go ahead and grab it, but it was useless…a shop-vac is meant to clean up small spills, not empty a swimming pool…all of the families ended up going to the base to spend the night because the flooding knocked out all the electricity and there was no running water…Sat morning Jeff called to see if I could come over in the Jeep and help carry out the massive amounts of garbage that used to be books, pictures, documents, keepsakes, and other random items that people keep in their garage or basements…I headed over pronto…it was unreal…there were contractors from the base with large water trucks sucking up the 3-5 feet of water that was sitting in everyone’s house …when I got to Jeff’s the place was a wreck…everything was completely soaked and most of it ruined…it was terrible to see his wife going thru old wedding photos, pics of grandma that had passed away, certificates of whatever, kids toys and baby clothes–all going into the large black trash bags…I brought over a case of Corona and a case of Bud Light Lime–Jeff had been looking for it so I thought that would be a nice surprise for him …Jeff didn’t seem too upset about the whole thing … he just popped open a beer and said “what are ya gonna do?” …and we started cleaning …in these houses there are 4 Air Force and 3 Army families … thru the day a whole bunch of people showed up to help out with cleaning and organizing and trash gathering…of all the people, there were only 3 Army people that showed up–one was complaining about it being his day off, and another was bitching because he thought he was gonna miss the movie on base that evening…I could not believe what I saw…there were about 25-30 AF people and 3 Army guys–complaining about being there…it was a true sign of how the AF takes care of their people…all the AF guys, including myself, helped out all 7 families and we did everything we could to get the families back into a livable house…I spent all day and night there, and worked my ass off…I felt really sorry for everyone involved…it took all those people about a week to get their houses back to normal…it was nice to be back in Jeff’s basement drinking and playing Rock Band last night …I even got to sleep on my futon down there…I have also been out snowboarding a few times this month…the mountain was super icy last time we went .. it was a beautiful clear sunny day, but it was so cold that even the powder in the treed areas was frozen solid … that makes for a bad day if you fall a couple times …and I did fall a couple times .. it hurt…it hurt bad …it’s like falling on straight concrete, but cold, so it hurts even more…but, we did have a great time …we made it over to parts of the mountain we had never experienced…that place is HUGE …miles and miles of trails…we spent about 7 hours there and still didn’t hit all the open trails…I didn’t come away with any disabling injuries, but I felt it for the next few days …anyhoo…things are better in the work arena…we are back on regular work shifts, and the shop is nice and clean…we are actually starting to get more vehicles out than in…the bosses are happy and they are pretty much leaving us alone…we also got a couple guys back from the desert and they will all be back in the shop working next week…that should help us get those trucks fixed…some other great info — mom, dad, bro and niece all got plane tickets to come see me in June…that is awesome… we are planning a trip to the Shetland Islands in Scotland since that’s where my mom’s relatives are from…that should be a great trip… I can pick up some awesome Glen Scotch while I’m there too…it’s gonna be a busy summer, but I am looking forward to it…on to my fanancial dilemma—I tried to order something on line and got an email that my card had been declined…then I tried to use it to buy something on base…declined again…I go to the ATM–declined…so I called my bank to find out that my card had been cut-off, canceled, put on hold, etc…the reason being someone stole a credit card processing machine from either WalMart or Target and everyone who had used that store in the past year had their cards cancelled…I guess the machine keeps every card number in it’s memory and can be accessed to use those card numbers…crazy…so, my card was sent to AK’s house and she emailed me to let me know she forwarded it that same day…not that I am hurting without the card, but it does make things a little more difficult…now I have to cash a check at the BX, take $$ to the bank and convert it into Euro…just a hassle that the whole debit card is there to aleviate…I guess I should have the card early in the week…well, I guess that’s about all for now…I am gonna hit the sack early tonight so I can go out and cruise Black Betty all day tomorrow…the weather today was awesome and tomorrow should be the same…I love you and miss you all… talk to you soon
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so this week was pretty rough– I almost got fired …of course, I am in the Air Force and they can’t just “fire” you in the typical sense…however they can take you from your current position and make you do something else if you’re not doing your job the right way …well, I wasn’t doing my job right–lucky or me we are the only mechanics here and they can’t really fire us…there are only 3 of us in the shop and the trucks seem to be just breaking down left and right…so, I was focusing all of our attention on turning wrenches so the shop looked like shit…the floors were dirty–really dirty, the tools weren’t put away, the paperwork had slipped, and the shop was in general disarray..plus, I happened to come in late on the day this all started…my boss was walking around the outside of the shop at 0715 and I came in late…he was pissed…so, we were not to work on any trucks for the day, we are on 12 hour shifts until further notice and the shop needed to be in inspection order that day…so, we worked all day on the shop and got it back in order…my priorities are based on my past 17 years of experience in the AF–FIX TRUCKS…of the shop is overflowing with broken vehicles, we work on them, everything else gets put on hold…now, don’t misunderstand, I know the shop is supposed to be cleaned up and I know I wasn’t enforcing the rules of every shop in the AF…but I didn’t think it was that big of a deal… my boss, and the rest of the people on this base are all Munitions guys–they deal with bombs all day, every day…they do everything by the book without question…I know this is important, and it is necessary when dealing with explosives…the problem is that they expect us to be as anal as they are– well, that isn’t how Vehicle Maintenance rolls…anyhoo…I have go back to making sure ALL shop jobs are being accomplished instead of just turning wrenches… that’s how the military works and, as they say, the job isn’t done until the paperwork is done–and in our case, shop clean up is part of the job….so, whatever, we’ll be working 12’s and keeping the shop straight and fixing trucks…the week wasn’t too bad, even tho I did nothing but work, eat dinner, and sleep…Friday was a Commander’s Call and promotion ceremony, so the promotees bought some beer and we hung out at the club on base for a little bit in the afternoon…then we decided to head to Jeff’s house to party it up for the night and then we would all leave from there to go snowboarding…of course, we all woke up later than planned and we didn’t get to the slopes until around 1130…the parking lots were completely packed and there were lots of ticket cops walking around–a few cars had parking tickets, but I don’t think people here really care…it tooks us a while to find parking, but luckily we both have 4×4 vehicles and we found a nice snowbank to park on… my Jeep was leaned to the side so much that I pretty much just fell out when I opened the door…it was a good day of boarding –the snow was nice and sft, but not wet, the sun was shining and the sky was clear…Jeff and Rudy are just learning–I am teaching them, and they are doing pretty good for it only being their second day on the mountain…we all had a good time — the new guys got a lot more enjoyment today because they weren’t falling as much and they didn’t hurt as much…again, the ride there and the ride home sucked…2 hours of crap roads is not fun…but, the boarding on the mountain is all worth it…ok, well it’s late, I am wore out and the Superbowl party is tomorrow night–oh yeah, we get a “down day” Monday because the Superbowl doesn’t come on until midnight here…so, I am gonna get some sleep to be prepared for tomorrow night’s festivities…party at Jeff’s house, BBQ, some Rock Band, and betting–Rudy told everyone to bring lots of one dollar bills…they want to bet on EVERYTHING…the next pass, the yardage of the next run, the possible fumbles, who’s getting the ball, whatever… ok…love you and miss you all, I will talk to you again soon
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Today I woke up with the sun shining thru my bedroom balcony door…it was nice and pretty outside…not too cold and only a slight wind blowing thru the huge windmills out in the farms behind my house …so I decided it was time to take out Black Betty…had a shower, made some cappuccino, and got all my gear on…long johns, doubled up the socks, long sleeve shirt under the turtle neck, neck gaiter, and glove inserts…I was ready to roll…as I pulled the bike out of my garage I heard what sounded like Santa’s sleigh…bells–jingle bells…lots of jingle bells…I got out to the small dirt road that is my driveway and it was filled with sheep–tall skinny sheep–basically it’s a giant ball of dreadlocked, brown wool bouncing atop four long, skinny stick-legs…all of them had bells around their necks…it was a shepherd and his flock…behind my house is all farm area…grape and sunflower farms…no grazing or livestock farms, but for some reason this dude was walking his sheep thru this area…he had a cool looking Border Collie running around the animals, and what looked like a shotgun slung over his shoulder…something I would expect to see on a green rolling hill on the coastline of Ireland…it was cool… they didn’t seem to mind the sound of my bike…they all just filed thru and went out to the main road in front of my house…they turned in the direction I was planning to ride, so I took a left instead…it was quite the spectacle for me, but it seemed to be normal operating procedure for all the other cars and pedestrians caught in the flood of wooly waters…anyhoo… I went out on the road and cruised around for a few hours … I always try to go on some new back road thru the country side so I can just see what’s out there…a few times I have been “lost”, but it’s pretty easy to follow signs back towards Pisa or Pontedera…once I see either of those signs I know how to get back to my house …most of the places I go don’t have main roads or highways close by, so I just have to follow the signs to the next little town and hope I am going in the right direction…it’s fun tho…and it doesn’t really matter where I go as long as I am on my bike…I just need to make sure I start heading in the right direction before it gets too late… I don’t want to be out there when the sun goes down and the temp drops to 30…that would suck…so now I am home in front of the fireplace, sipping a Corona…today was a good day…talk to you all later
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well, xmas has come and gone, it is the New Year … things in Italy are great .. the weather is kinda shitty, but it has made for some good snowboarding…over the past month or so I have only ridden Black Betty a couple of times…the rain and cold around here aren’t optimal for cruising a motorcycle…I guess I’ll just have to wait for the weather to clear up…a couple weeks ago I went snowboarding up at a mountain in the Appennines–a mountain chain that runs from north to south thru the center of Italy…the mountain is called Abetone…it was a great resort–rivaling any resort in Utah that I know of…the snow was great, the sun was shining, and there was plenty of fresh powder everywhere…I went with a few guys from the base…it was a good day on the mountain, but I was beat … the night before the trip I was up partying until about 0530 in the morning and then got up around 0730 to hit the road …this was my first time snowboarding in about 6 years …I was feeling rough the whole ride up–which took a little under 2 hours …but once I got on the lift and headed up the slopes I started feeling excitement and adrenaline pushing the hangover out the window…I was a little anxious about getting on the board after so much time, but as soon as I started down the run it felt like I had been riding the whole past 6 years …I guess it’s like riding a bike–you just don’t forget…I was ripping it up and flying down the hill just like I remember doing in Utah back in 2002…it was awesome …I was totally drained of energy but I kept riding all day long, only taking short breaks here and there…we all had a great time and decided we would be hittin the slopes on a regular basis this winter…after the lifts closed and the sun was setting we packed up all the gear and headed home … the ride home was horrible … I was driving and my passenger was sleeping …I was tired as hell and all the muscles I hadn’t used in 6 years were starting to ache …when we finally got home I was more drained than I remember being in a long, long time …it was a great day, but I was so happy to be home …I sat in a hot bath for about 20 minutes and went to bed …I didn’t even unload the gear from my Jeep…when I woke up in the morning I was completely sore all over …but there was an especially harsh shooting pain in my side…I looked at it in the mirror and there was a huge black and purple bruise …I don’t remember hitting my ribcage on anything, but I thought it might have been a tree branch that whacked me in the side while I was riding thru the forest areas…the bruise was about the size and shape of a bannana…after some further self-examination and internet searching I figured out I had torn a muscle…I had never experienced a torn muscle before so I had no idea what it felt like …well, now I have that experience…the bruising looks like a regular smack to the skin bruise, but there was a large hard lump under the whole thing …and any time I turned my torso it felt like someone was kicking me in the ribs…I suffered thru it for a few days and the pain subsided, but the bruise was still pretty nasty looking …after about 10-12 days it went away, but it was still there the following weekend when I went snowboarding again … this time it was with our whole squadron…some people had set up, and got approval, for a squadron ski/snowboard day–a duty day in the mountains…someone asked me about my snowboard instructor experience and asked me to teach a few people…so, that day I set up a mini-lesson to get people on their feet and learn some basics…it was fun … I taught about 15 people the first few steps in boarding …there were military guys, their wives, and a few kids …I spent about an hour with them on the bunny hill and got them all to a point where they could make it down and ride the lift back up…it was time for me and the “already-learned” to hit the top…it was another awesome day of riding … again, it was sunny and the snow was great … around 2pm the snow started getting a little wet and mushy–it was a lot warmer than the first time we went …also, me and a couple other guys that are pretty good on the snow headed over to new parts of the mountain where we hadn’t ventured before …the whole mountain is really a big place with lots of different lifts and ticket houses…the way it works is you find where ever you want to start, buy a “mulit-pass”, and then you can go to any part of the mountain and ride any lift up there…it’s really nice…we hit about 15 different runs thru the day…once again it was starting to get colder and darker so it was time to roll out … this time I had plenty of sleep the night before, but I was still pretty tired…teaching is a taxing event, and then riding hard with good boarders is something that will wear you out too…so, we packed up the gear, filed in line–we had 3 cars–and headed down the icy roads…the road to get home is similar to what you would find in a backwoods mountain area reserved for logging or hunting–not the type of roads you would travel to find a large ski resort…winding, narrow, snow-covered, pot-holed roads with no room for passing or speeding…it’s a long ride after a hard day of “extreme sports”…but, once again, we made it home safe and sound, ready for a hot bath…I actually cracked a cold brewskie when I got home …the beer was good…then the hot hot water in the bath tub was awesome…I had a beer and a smoke while sitting in the tub thawing out…the day after the squadron trip I rolled up to Verona with Rico–one of my co-workers…the Verona convention center was the venue for a HUGE motorcycle expo…there were a bajillion bikes there … every kind of bike you could imagine …choppers, moto-x, crotch rockets, cruisers, 3-wheelers, and everything in between…it was awesome …and there were a bajillion kinds of people there too…including Hell’s Angels-Luxembourg Chapter, the Swiss Devils Motorcycle Club, kids, old people, hot women, party people, clean cut business men, Americans, Japanese, any and all Europeans, Russians, Africans, and whatever else you can imagine…beer was flowing, beautiful women draped themselves over motorcycles, loud music was in every corner, there was even a bar where there were girls stripping and spinning around poles…my boy Mike from Aviano met us there…we hung out there for about 4-5 hours and then decided to roll out … I rode with Mike back to Aviano…I spent the weekend with him….he found out a few weeks ago that his wife has breast cancer…their whole family went back to the US for her immediate surgery…lumpectomy, or whatever it’s called…Mike came back to request an early assignment out of Italy…his wife is in Texas going thru the pre-chemo/radiation preparations while he packs up the whole house and tries to get out of here…so I went up to hang with him before he actually leaves Italy .. .Mike was my boss in Utah back in 2000-2002, then we were in Hawaii together and we went dirt-biking together all the time, I taught him how to surf, he watched my apartment while I was in Qatar, blah, blah, blah… so me and him are pretty good friends…he has been down here a couple times to hang out and party, and I wanted to make sure I got to see him before he left Italy…who knows when I might see him again …we had a good weekend partying like rock stars…went out to a strip club while I was up there with a whole gang of people, including Michelle–a friend from way back, and Wig, another friend of mine who was in Hondo with me…I also got to hang out with my boy Meat who was in Hondo with me and Wig …he and his family just moved to Italy … he was in Korea for a year and his family was in Miami…he’s married to a Honduran girl from the island where I will retire–they have 3 boys together …the boys are cool kids …I ate dinner with them and hung out sipping some brewskies for a while…it was good to see him–haven’t seen him since 2004 but we talk on the e-mail all the time …so, it was a good weekend and I am glad I went up there …and now, back to the grind at work …well, for a few days anyway …last week was a 4-day work week, then this week was a 4-day work week for us too…we had what we call AMMO Call Friday…it’s basically a BBQ/party with a safety briefing and maybe some new people introductions and good-byes to the people leaving soon…after the AMMO Call that started at noon, a few of us headed over to Jeff’s house for some more beer and some Rock Band on the x-box or whatever it is…it was a good time but I was done by midnight…today I wanted to go riding but the weather is complete crap… rainy, foggy, cold, dreary…it’s all good, I spent the day cleaning house and doing laundry…maybe it will be better weather tomorrow so I can ride…a snowboarding trip is planned for next weekend so I am looking forward to that –I think we might hit a different mountain called Cimone…if it’s shitty out tomorrow maybe I will go into Livorno and try to set up a tattoo appointment … I visited a few places about a month ago and they all look like they do pretty good work, but they seem to be booked up pretty far in advance…each of the shops only have one dude working…he is the artist/owner/admin/clean-up crew…we’ll see… OK, well, I guess that’s about it for now…talk to you all later
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well, it’s hard to believe I was in Afghanistan at this same time a year ago…time flies when you’re getting older–or something like that…anyhoo…I am really enjoying my time in Italy and this Christmas promises to be much better than the last one …I finally got my bike on the road and I have been cruising as much as I can stand the cold wind…it’s beautiful…cruising around the countryside is so nice and relaxing…so, over the past month or so I have been traveling, working hard, and trying to enjoy life as much as I can…the weather was horrible tho–I think we hit 45 days of no sun…it was rainy and cold and just shitty the whole time…just last week the sun came out, the skies cleared and the weather became bearable again…still pretty cold, but clear and sunny…I would be out riding my bike right now, but it’s pretty cold out there…so I thought I would write some and catch you all up…Thanksgiving weekend I headed out of here for a class in Germany…Thanksgiving day I drove up to Aviano Air Base to see some friends…we had turkey dinner at my frind Mike’s house …he is the Chief of Vehicle Maintenance up at Aviano and he invited all the single people over to have a “family” type dinner/party…I got there around 6pm and all the food was laid out and most people had already eaten…I filled up a plate and got my grub on…the food was great–Mike’s wife, Billy and the kids all cooked everything…we all had some brewskies and desserts and had a great time …it was cold and snowy/sleeting the whole time up there too…but, it was a great time…I got to meet a lot of the people in the shop up there that I deal with thru work emails and phone calls…we are a bare minimum shop down here so we get a lot of help from the guys at Aviano–it was good to put faces with voices of all the people that give us a lot of assistance…so, we all partied like rock stars and had a good time…the next day I hung out with Mike and his kids–we went to a sporting goods store and I picked up some snowboarding gear that I need for the slopes…that night we went out to a couple bars, but took it easy…we were kinda worn outfrom the night before…I talked with Sandra–she and her husband own the hotel I used to stay at in Honduras–she just happened to be in Austria visiting her family…so, I decided to swing up thru there for a night on my way to Germany…she said she would have to work Saturday night, but I was more than welcome to come visit anyway…I thought, whatever, I’ll just hang out at the bar while she works…so, Saturday morning I headed towards Vienna….the drive was beautiful…driving thru the Alps crossing from Italy into Austria was awesome …it was snowy and all the mountain tops were white…a few places were really bad with the snow but my Jeep just cruised thru with no problem…at the border I had to stop and pay 7 Euro for road taxes–this “pass” was valid for 10 days…so, across the border and heading Northeast, the landscape was amazing…rolling hills into huge mountains, and then into flat open plains…I had to pass thru a few little villages to get from one highway to the next, and while passing thru one little town I was pulled over by the Austrian Police…apparently I missed the big signs that tell you what the speed limits are in certain areas…I was going 80kmh thru this little place…I guess it’s an understood law that once you get inside the town limits the speed drops to 50kmh…I aksed the police “Sprechen sie English?”, and he siad yes…we spoke for a minute and he asked where I was coming from–he looked at my license plates as I told him I was coming from Italy…his facial expression was one of confusion …he said, “you speak very good English for an Italian”…I had to explain that I was an American, stationed in Italy, traveling to Germany…anyhoo… I ended up paying 35 Euro cash, right there on the spot, for going 30kmh over the speed limit–I think I got off pretty light…so, back on the road thru all kinds of awesome places…I loved the drive–even tho it took 9 hours…I finally arrived at the spot I was supposed to meet Sandra…there were a few country/dirt roads/trails off the road and my GPS didn’t know exactly where to take me…I called Sandra and figured out that I had to go up this long trail thru the woods and it was all covered with snow…I put the Jeep in 4-low, 1st gear and headed up the mountain…good thing I have big 33 inch mud+snow tires…I was still slipping and sliding a little, but I made it…the house was unreal…something you imagine when you hear “Austrian Alps villa”…it was dark, so I couldn’t really see most of the outside of the house, but what I could see was awesome…it was set far back in the mountain side, covered with snow, steep, high A-frame roof that came almost to the ground, large hardwood pillars with stone walls…Sandra met me outside and we went in … I haven’t seen her in about 6 years–since I left Honduras…it was good to see her again…inside the house was even more amazing than the outside…hardwood floors, stone walls, obviously old, handbuilt, handcarved everything…there was a large ceramic wood-burning stove that heated the whole house…the house was a square shape with the stove in the middle…each of the walls of the stove was in each room…so, one room had the door to fill the stove and each of the other rooms was heated by the sides or back walls of the stove… it was such an innovative idea….the guy that lived ther told me the house was built back in the 1600’s…so we talked and had a cup of Italian coffee-ironic…after about 15 minutes we headed out…Sandra and I jumped in the Jeep and carefully descended the icy, snowy slope back down to the road…we drove for another 45 minutes and got into the Vienna area…the roads got really busy and there were a thousand on and off ramps …we missed a turn and ended up driving straight thru the middle of downtown Vienna… it was beautiful…again, it was dark so I couldn’t really take in all the sights–not to mention, I was driving and had to pay attention to the road…it was awesome tho…we got to Sandra’s friend’s house–Sabina was going to work at the bar with Sandra…we went inside and hung out for a little bit while they got ready to go to work …it was nice apartment in the middle of Vienna…how cool is that…I was just hanging out in an apartment in Vienna, getting ready to go out for the night…so, after about 30 minutes we hit the road again…another 45 minute drive to the club…this was a huge, high-class, “disco-teque” place…ther were a few different bars downstairs and we were directed to go to the bar upstairs–the VIP lounge…this is where the girls would be working–and eventually I would be working there too…the manager is a good friend of Sandra’s…she told him who I was, introduced me, and he hooked me up with a beer…I was drinking on the house that night…I ended up helping out the girls with stocking the bar and throwing ash trays on the tables, and checking over the inventory…around 10pm people started coming in for drinks …most of these kids were 16-18 years old and they were buying bottles of Johnny Walker, Grey Goose, and other “good” liquor…champagne, wine, whatever…apparently kids in Austria have rich parents or really good jobs…these bottles were anywhere from 85 to 120 Euro each…that’s up to $150.00 for one bottle…so, we worked the bar and I took it easy and had some drinks between helping out with whatever I could…the manager came up a few times and saw me working, he told me I could come back anytime and I would have a job waiting for me…it was awesome…I was tired as hell, but I was having a great time…the club was packed with about 2000 people, there was a live MC, a few people working the turntables, and hot girls dancing on the bars…it was all “house/techno” music, which isn’t exactly my style of music, but it was a great night…we ended up working until about 7am…when they decided to close the bar upstairs I told Sandra that I was gonna pass out …I went over to one of the big couches and laid down… I was out in about 2.6 seconds… I slept on the couch for about an hour before the girls woke me up and told me they were finished….the manager took us downstairs and bought us breakfast…that was some of the best eggs and bacon in the world…so now it was time to drive back…it was cold as hell, snowy and foggy…. I laid in the back of the Jeep and let Sandra drive home…it must have taken about an hour and a half to get back to Sabina’s place …I was hurting…tired and a little drunk and maybe a little dilerious…we got inside and Sabina told me I could sleep in her son’s bed…her son was with his father for the weekend…her son also was a little guy…the bed was only about 4 feet long…I didn’t care…I hit that tiny bed and passed out hard….I knew I had another 8 hour drive to get to my ending point in Germany so I had set my alarm for 10am…yes, I only slept for about 2 hours…I got up and took a shower, got my crap together and said my goodbyes…oh yeah, and while working at the bar I regained some of my German language skills…some things I couldn’t really get, but for the most part I knew what people were ordering and whatever questions they had … some of the people spoke English, but mostly it was a crash-course in German for me…I still remembered the basics from when I was a kid living in Germany–about 22 years ago…so, I hit the road and the weather was beautiful…it was a little cold–in the low 50’s, but it was perfect for driving…lots of snow-capped mountains and green rolling hills…I tried to stop and take some pictures, but of course my batteries were dead…well, I still have the vivd memories of the beautiful scenery…although my descriptions don’t do it justice, you get the picture…lots of little Austrian villages, just like the label on hot cocoa, or chocolate packages…it was great …so about 5 hours into the drive I hit Germany and still had another 4 hours to go…the sleep deprivation was kicking in … I stopped a lot more than I wanted to, but I had to get some coffee and stretch the legs…wake up a little…I finally made it to Spangdahlem Air Base around 9pm…I called my boy David, who was in Afghanistan with me for a year…he is stationed there…he met me at the gate and we headed to billeting…I got checked in to a barracks room, and since David works with the billeting people he took me back in there and got me an aircrew room…much nicer, full on “hotel” room…it pays to have connections…actually David isn’t just a connection, he was a really good friend thru the war zone….of course, we had to hit the bar on base and have a couple beers to catch up and hang out a little…we left the bar around 11pm, hit the shoppette and got a 12 pack of Corona…we sat in my hotel room drinking and BSing till about 1am…my first day of class was in 6 hours …I crashed out and woke up around 5:30 to get ready for school…that was one of the hardest days to get thru in my life…the class was some training on a computer system that is about 20 years old and really has nothiong to do with my job here at Camp Darby…if I was in a real shop at a real base it would be great training, and it’s something I need to progress in my career –but, at the time it was pure torture…I made it to lunch time and headed back to the hotel for an hour of sleep…the rest of the class was ok and I actually learned some usefull info…while up there in Germany I went out with David a few times and hung out with a guy from the class…the weather was crappy the whole week…snowy/rainy/sleet/cold/cloudy… we didn’t see the sun one time over the whole week…Tuesday night we went to Trier to find a couple cool bars that David knew about…it was kinda dead due to the fact that it was Tuesday night, cold and dreary weather….but, we had fun … we sat around telling war stories, talking about work, Italy, Germany, travel plans, and whatever else came up…another night we went out to a local German restarant and had some good fat, fried, breaded, German schnitzel, sauer kraut, and good ol German bier…I hit a few different restaurants to enjoy the local flavors, and of course, being on base for lunch I hit up some Taco Bell, BK, and Popeye’s chicken….I don’t really need or crave the American fast food, but it is very convenient and familiar…also, there were two guys working at the schoolhouse that I knew from back in 1992 while deployed to Saudi Arabia…it’s crazy how small the Air Force really is…a few nights I hung out with David and we partied like rock stars, had a great time, and made plans for him to visit Italy…it was a good week away from the shop here and hanging out with old friends…so, Friday at noon we “graduated” and were released to do our thing…I headed down South with one of the guys from the class… he caught a ride with someone else to get to the class and needed a ride to where I was headed…next stop was Sembach Air Base, Germany to visit my boy Mikey–good friend from Honduras–I also stopped and saw him when I took my R&R from Afghanistan–he was in Kuwait when I stopped thru on my layovers…the trip was nice and short–plus about half way down the road the sun came out….it was great to see the sun again…I didn’t really notice the absence until I saw it again…I thought to myself “ahhh… that’s what’s been missing this whole week”…so, we got down to the Kaiserslautern/Vogelweigh area and I dropped off Pat-the guy from my class- and headed to Mikey’s house…man, the GPS makes life so much easier…it took me right to his front door…he didn’t answer the first ring of the doorbell so I thought I might be in the wrong place…I looked around, double-checked the info I wrote down and rang the bell again… this time the dog started barking and Mikey answered the door in his boxers…I thought maybe I interrupted him and his wife or something…turns out they were just sleeping…I finally got to meet his wife, who I have heard so much about but never met…they are awesome people…I love Mikey to death and now really like his wife a lot too…they are just cool, good people…we hung out catching up and BSing about whatever… we headed to the store to get some brewskies…it was time to start partying…I only planned on staying the one night, but ended up staying Fri and Sat nights…around dinner time we caught the train about 15 minutes down the tracks and hit an Italian restaurant–another ironic twist…the owner was from Sicily,the waitress was German and we, of course, are American…so, I was speaking Italian, German, and English all at the same time …it got a little confusing at times…the dinner was German/Italian mix…some pasta, some schnitzel, and vino and bier…it was great…we walked down about 2 block to a quiet little pub and had some drinks…Mikey ordered a “meter of bier”…this is a meter long board/holder thing with about 8 glasses of beer…we ended up having a couple of them…it was just us 3 hanging out and then one of their friends showed up later…he was a cool guy that they know from the neighborhood…we closed the bar and headed back on the train…I passed out on the couch and had a good night’s sleep…the next day we just kinda hung out and took it easy…just hanging out at the house and basically doing nothing… talking about traveling and visiting and whatever…we all got pretty tired kinda early and went to sleep at a reasonable hour…the next morning I was ready to roll… it was Sunday, I was about 9 hours from home, and I had to work the next day…the drive was awesome…this route took me thru Switzerland…ok–the sun is shining and I am tired of typing so I am gonna go ride Black Betty for a while and I will continue later… love you and miss you all… Happy Christmas, Channukkaa, Kwanzzaaa, Ramadan, Chinese New Year, Cinco de Mayo, Happy Fasching, and whatever else you want to throw in there…I will talk to you all soon
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First, Happy Veteran’s Day to all… please take the time to remember all the men and women that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our great nation…and all the people still serving in a war zone…I just found out my little brother Ryan will be heading to Iraq in the middle of December–yaayyy–just in time for Christmas…that sucks…but, he is in the Army and that’s what we military people do–give up our holidays and time with family to get things done in the bad places…anyhoo…the past couple weeks have been great…I am still just enjoying my life in Italy and taking in all the wonderful experiences this place has to offer…I am still waiting for my motorcycle license from Florida–apparently the price changed by $2 and they sent the check back asking for more money to process my paperwork…dammit man…I also still don’t have any gas for heat/hot water in my house …it is getting rather annoying now …hopefully the problem will be resolved this week…work is work …same ol stuff, but we are getting things out of the shop and we are mostly down to just waiting on parts to repair everything…last Friday I bought steaks and sides for the guys in the shop since they have been kickin ass…I told them that my plan was to have things running smooth in the shop by Thanksgiving and we would shut down every Friday at noon to BBQ…the plan seems to be right on track…I am thankful to have some good mechanics working for me and making things happen…I am now getting ready for the winter around here–it’s been cold and rainy a lot of the time but the weekends seem to bring sunshine, which is cool…I bought a snowboard and all the gear to be ready for the first snow in the mountains –it’s been about 6 years since I have been cruising down a mountain and I am very excited to get out there…also, I have a TDY coming up–going to Germany for a week to attend a class on Vehicle/Fleet Management….that should be a good trip … a friend from Afghanistan is stationed at the base where the class is, another friend of mine from Honduras is stationed about an hour away, and another friend from Afghanistan is at another base close by…the plan is to head up to Aviano for Thanksgiving, spend a day or two, then to Austria to see a friend from Honduras that just happens to be there on vacation visiting her family, then up to Germany for the class…after the class I will spend a couple more days up there hanging out with my friends…I hope to get in some snowboarding while I’m up there too–hopefully there will be some snow by then…well, I guess that’s about all for now …miss you and love you all…I will talk to you soon

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There have been a couple of requests, so here is Raffaella, my wonderful, hot, Italian tour guide for my trip to Rome