Holiday Cheer in the Dining Hall

In thinking of how we could reach the most service members on Christmas day, our minds immediately turned to the one venue where we knew everyone would go, the DFAC. The wonderful soldiers that run the dining hall were generous to loan us a small portion of their space to set up a display and distribution point for all our holiday giveaways. Securing the space was the easiest part, putting everything together was quite a task considering our already busy schedule. But with the help of two volunteers, and a little resourcefulness, we made it happen.

Having secured a large piece of wood and red and white paint, we again put our arts and crafts skills to the test. Note that arts and crafts skills do not include carpentry skills. We have a volunteer to thank for that. On Christmas Eve, yes we were cutting it close, our volunteer managed to cut our large hunk of wood into three rectangular pieces that would be perfect for our display. Now we had to pull out the paint brushes and hope the dry desert air would work its magic. 

 

Neelum and Jon working on our DFAC display.

So Neelum put on a flannel shirt (possibly in the spirit of the holiday…but most likely to keep from decorating our work shirts with red and white paint) and we enlisted the help of our official Red Cross artist (a title recently earned) Jon to get to painting. A few hours later we had three beautiful display boards. In anticipation of holiday cards from our Holiday Mail for Heroes program, I had created some mail boxes (again, brown paper is invaluable) and our display was coming together! 

 

From 11am to 3pm on Christmas we handed out Holiday cards, phone cards, stockings and magazines and just enjoyed taking pictures, greeting soldiers, and enjoying the bustling atmosphere at the DFAC. Couldn’t have chosen a better venue to truly enjoy the spirit of Christmas Day. 

Red Cross staffers spreading holiday cheer in the dining hall on Christmas Day.

 

Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell RUN

The suit that didn't quite make it to the run!

For a brief moment, I thought about wearing the entire elf suit, stockings included to the jingle bell run. Our volunteer Eddie had brought it with him hoping one of us would be brave enough to model it in front of an army of runners. But my shyness prohibited such an act, and Neelum and I ended up just wearing little pieces of the costume. So while there was no life size elf at our water station, we did make use of our van to make for a rather festive rest stop! With lights and bells, I hope we weren’t too much of a distraction. Many of the runners were wearing hats, and we even had a pack of individuals dressed as reindeer, literally interconnected, running the race…talk about coordination! 

The Red Cross crew and volunteer Eddie with our decorated van.

 

House Guests

Our office is the size of a small house. The upkeep makes me grateful for my one bedroom apartment, especially this past week as we prepped our office for a holiday open house. I’m pretty partial to event planning, but my drive to have everything perfect sometimes makes for some long hours! 

Our office had collected more than a hundred stockings from family and friends in the United States, and with the help of volunteers, we stuffed them with an assortment of delectable delights. 

What a wonderful invention Pandora has proven to be, this time helping to stream holiday music through our office. We had stockings set out next to our makeshift fireplace (I’ll probably never have another job where arts and crafts hold such a predominant place on the list of responsibilities) and I put fresh batteries in our light strings so they had a vivid twinkle. We even found an old Red Cross banner to hang in our already festive office, which I am now referring to as our house. 

The holiday season would not be complete without the showing of The Christmas Story which we played in the internet café, along with other classics. But the thing that stole the show was not necessarily anything mentioned above, or the assortment of typical party food. It was the competition!

The key to any successful event, especially involving the military is a little friendly competition. Thanks to my mom for figuring out how to keep sugar cookies intact across thousands of miles. You made the cookie decorating competition possible! One of my favorite Christmas past times is decorating cookies, and so I was happy to bring a memory of my own home to our Red Cross home here in Balad. 

With an assortment of different colored frosting, sprinkles, and cookies in the shape of Christmas trees and snowmen, there was plenty of room for creativity, and an enjoyable time for all involved, including the staff. I must share that we lost one cookie (luckily after the judging had occurred) to someone who probably thought they tasted as good as they looked. But I’m thinking he/she might have been in for a tummy ache; they had been sitting out quite awhile!

All in all an excellent start to an eventful week here in Balad. 

A Birth on Birthday Day!

December 20 was a birthday day in more than one fashion. One negative of the night shift is I don’t always have the energy to work all night, and then stay all day for the actual event. So after I finished setting the scene, I imagined what the day would bring, hoped the easy bakes wouldn’t burn down our office from overuse, and then went home to sleep.

The glory of the digital camera took me through the day’s events. One of the more memorable visits was a husband and wife (lucky to be at the same base) that came to bake in celebration of her 21^st birthday. While I did miss out on the cakes, I didn’t miss out on the brand new birthdays that took place in our legacy room. It just so happened that a service member came to the office in the late afternoon and his wife was in labor. A baby boy AND a baby girl were on the way. What a wonderful way to end a birthday day, with the beginning of two ones! 

The Visitor

My brother showed up out of the blue on Tuesday! I walked into work and Neelum told me that someone was illegally using the Legacy room and she wanted my help with enforcing our sign-in rules. I hate being the bad guy but agreed to help. When she opened the door to the Legacy room, there he was!

For once the flight patterns had worked in our favor, and my brother was at JBB for the night! It was so nice to have a hug! We went to grab some midnight chow and he made himself at home in the Red Cross Office. I brewed some coffee, gave him some of our baked goods (he’s a cookie monster) and we had a good time.  He made good use of our sofa in the day room. And even though he was sleeping and I was working, it was a good feeling knowing he was just down the hall. 

The visit was short, but I was thankful for it. Of course I sent him off right with a loaf of honey whole wheat bread for him and his buddies to share. I hope we can cross paths again!

Easy Bake Success

Our easy bakes have arrived, and we had a successful test run this week. 

As I was setting up the ovens an airman walked in, and said “Are those what I think they are, I always wanted an easy bake oven when I was a kid.” I told her she wasn’t imagining it, and revealed our birthday cake plans. I never owned an easy bake, but my friend Casey did. Her mom is a chef, and we use to always make cakes and cookies; good memories! 

Before our big birthday debut, we wanted to ensure they were functional. And we had two perfect candidates! On a nightly basis, we go to the dining hall and always talk with the exact two soldiers. One soldier had recently passed an exam that qualified him to change career fields, and the other just pinned on to Specialist. We wanted to show them a little love, and what better way to celebrate their accomplishments with a personalized cake and a musical card (a very corny musical card at that!)

We had another test run recently with Eddie, one of our volunteers. He told us it was his birthday so we immediately thought cake. I ended up firing myself after the first failed cake. Not sure what went wrong but maybe there is a reason why the instructions advise not to use Duncan Hines mix. (But most likely it was user error.) Luckily Neelum was with me so poor Eddie could actually have cake on his birthday. She laced up her apron, had the special touch and out popped a masterpiece; Strawberry cake, vanilla frosting, and sprinkles to be exact.  

Eddie, our wonderful volunteering celebrating his birthday at the Red Cross!

An artistic take on the cake

"The Extracurriculars"

Little Luxuries at JBB

Surprisingly enough, I’ve been spending some of my leisure time playing tennis and working out at the pool. (Yes, they really do both exist here, but generally speaking JBB has more comforts than a typical deployment site.)

One night a week there is a tennis hit at one of the gyms. We use the gym floor, so the surface is a little slick. It is a small group, usually no more than six of us. Every time I go home for a visit I always play tennis with my dad. And he always wins. (Dad…stop gloating if you’re reading this.) Perhaps I’ll come back from the desert with a little more tennis savvy. 

And for the pool. It’s cold. The first night I showed up to swim, there was an alert and everyone had to get out and lie on the cold tile. I shiver just thinking about it, and was glad I hadn’t shown up five minutes earlier. Despite the chill, it has become embedded in my weekly routine. 

Proper Exit

I had the pleasure of being a fly on the wall for an event this week involving Wounded Warriors. Named Operation Proper Exit, this is a program of the Troops First Foundation, to bring soldiers, airman, marines and sailors back to theater sites where they were injured to help bring them closure from the incidents that occurred in theater. 

Each of them had the opportunity to describe what had happened, what care they received, and what they were doing now that they were retired from the military. One thing that I was happy to hear was that all of them spoke well of the care they received, the attention they were given by their unit, and the overwhelming support of people and organizations in the community.  Many also mentioned how much forward progress has been made in Iraq; and by returning to witness it, they knew their efforts were not in vain. 

Rain

I was overcome by an eerie feeling earlier this week, and realized it was due to lack of sunshine. For the first time since I arrived in November. The clouds overtook the sky and the wind stirred. After being spoiled by nearly perfect weather for the last month, the weather was ruining my mood!

And a new discovery I have made. Add rain to a desert environment and what do you get? MUD. And the rank smells of wet dust. Suddenly, we are finding cardboard boxes a very useful makeshift doormat.

Around the Office

Legacy Room Update

Normally we use our Legacy room for births, but this past week we helped a service member plug into another special event; his son’s championship football game. I have to admit that it took some finagling by quite a few individuals to figure out how to work the site, but he was able to watch, and watch a victory at that! Another example of exciting technology; for a small fee,  having the opportunity to be able to watch your son’s high school football game live! I remember when my dad deployed in 2004, our team ended up mailing him a tape of our soccer matches. A bit more delayed might you say?

Mouse Friends

A mouse has tried to make our office home recently. He is a smart little critter too. While I have yet to see the mouse, he has been taunting my colleagues Jocelyn and Neelum.  Now a mouse in the Red Cross office is one thing. We just make good use of plastic Tupperware and make sure everything is sealed properly. A mouse on an aircraft is another. One of our volunteers is a mechanic, and he told us that if a mouse is on an airplane it doesn’t fly till it’s out…dead or alive.  Their little teeth can munch through wires, break equipment and wreak all kinds of havoc. So anything is fair game to get them out, in this particular instance they made good use of a power washer. 

Firemen

I happened to be the lucky one on shift when the smoke detector in our hallway started to sing a lovely tune. My initial reaction should have been to call the fire department, but there was no smoke. I ran to our canteen crossing my fingers nothing was on fire. And everything appeared normal. Luckily I wasn’t alone in the office, a service member tried to help me shut it off, but even with the battery out, it just kept going. Turns out it was hard wired to the building. I learned this after finally opting to call the fire department. The interesting tidbit to this whole story was that the firemen looked more like astronauts than anything else. They had very large silver shiny suits, like someone had wrapped them in aluminum foil. A little paranoia has set in about fires; I now feel like a see or smell smoke almost every night. I think that the smell of smoke blows through our vents, causing me unnecessary stress!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

With black Friday limited to buying beef jerky or white cotton socks at the PX, we decided to take a different approach to the day after Thanksgiving. We had a holiday decorating party instead!

We had two Christmas trees, stockings, and a handful of other decorations to beautify the office and even created our own fireplace...do you think St. Nicholas will find us in the desert? We set out Walker's butter cookies (thanks mom!) baked fresh bread, and had plenty of hot chocolate. Food...check. Decorations...check. Guests...hmm. I was worried for awhile because we only had one volunteer who was participating. But luckily for us, we had around five service members attend to partake in our holiday fun. We were small in number, but it was still enjoyable!

Wright, one of our Red Cross regulars.

Decorating the tree!

Neelum, fireside!

Toasting to good times in Balad!

A wonderfully creative airman who handmade the angel for our tree!

Building the fireplace!

My First Thanksgiving in a Far Away Land

Turkey Day Run

If I had to guess, there were more than 1,000 turkey trot road races that took place on Thanksgiving, and you can add Balad to the list. In my opinion, a road race is a great way to kick off the holiday as your running efforts will burn enough calories to justify an extra roll, slice of pie, or whatever you so desire. I know all you non-runners out there are shaking you head in disagreement. 

My teammate Neelum and I are both runners, having only participated in races, not assisting with them. We volunteered to run a water station at the 10k, with the runners passing by our stand twice on their route. I now have a new found respect for the people who distribute water during road races. I’m not sure if it was the poor quality of the cups or my lack of hand-off skills, but I left a few people wet and thirsty.

I think we filled the cups too high and I couldn’t seem to find the exact moment when I needed to release my grip. Add the fact that most runners didn’t want to stop or even slow down, and you are faced with quite a challenge. Nonetheless, we had a lot of “thank you’s” and I think all of the participants enjoyed the fact that we were cheering them on. 

Second chances don’t often come along …but thanks to a circle route, I had an opportunity to redeem myself. On the second go-around, more runners were in the mood for water, and I finally began to get into a groove.

Forget not what He has done for us; Thanksgiving Reflections

I may have mentioned this previously, but I started going to a series on Sunday evenings called the Truth Project, which goes in-depth on what a Christian worldview looks like. One module focusing on history discussed the fact that our society no longer includes God in modern academics, and has even begun to cut Him out of our history. Even people who are Christians can go days without acknowledging the role of the Lord in their lives. Yet, this very holiday, Thanksgiving, is centered on remembering our God. This passage was read at the chapel service I attended on Thursday. I believe. Mr. Abe Lincoln hits the nail on the head in his Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1863, that reads:

“It is the duty of nations as well as of people to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God…We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us…Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of the redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us…It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwell in the heavens.”

A Mini Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

 Eclectic is not generally a term to be associated with the military. But that is the only world that seems fitting to describe the DFACs on Thanksgiving. Upon walking into the dining hall, there before me is what I would describe as a mini Thanksgiving Day parade. Rather than describe the float’s intricacies, I tried to include a video, but a slow internet connection and large file size make multimedia impossible at the moment. I think the fresh fruit cornucopias were my favorite, though I half wish they would have served the fruit rather than displaying it. 

Posing with Blake,  one of our Red Cross Volunteers!

A sample of the floats.

Where I was, Where I am now

Approximately one year ago, I was on a plane headed to spend Thanksgiving with my brother; destination Hawaii. From tropical oasis, to a dry desert, what a difference a year can make. Though I enjoyed my day, meal time was one of the more anticlimactic events of the day. Perhaps it is because having your own family gathered around a table in front of a meal with your favorite foods is very difficult to simulate. But I enjoyed my company, Neelum and one of our volunteers, Stephen. And a lot if effort was put into serving a good meal, sparkling grape juice included. 

Enjoying good company at our Thanksgiving Meal.