Anyone seen my camel?

They do have camels in Iraq!


Nearly missed this shot of my first sighting of a camel here in Iraq. I saw him or her on my last trip back from Camp Adder. (As everyone should know by now, traveling between the two camps of Cedar and Adder is my only real form of entertainment around here.) Other then in a zoo, I had seen camels before back in 1985. While still in the Navy, my ship, Guided missile frigate USS Boone FFG-28, made a couple of port calls in Egypt. I had gone ashore on a sightseeing tour, I forget where now, and the bus had stopped at a roadside cafe for our lunch. Across from the cafe I spotted a white Toyota pickup truck with two camels kneeling side by side in the bed. That's the truth. That was quite a sight to see.

On the 5th of Sept I completed 2 months of my 12 month contract. Yea! Only 10 more months to go. Some of the guys here are a few months away from completing their 12 month contract. The company is offering a raise of $1.25 to their base salary. That just doesn't really say to me, "We want you to stay on." I'd like to see a higher $$$$ incentive to stay. I still have 10 months to go so, I have no idea right now what I'll decide to do when the time comes.