My Rooms
Well, I guess some of you might be wondering what type of conditions I'm living under. Not bad I'd say. Given that I was expecting to be living in a "dry-hootch" which is basically a converted shipping container (split in two halves, each half per person - 80 square feet of fine living space; "dry" meaning that I'd have to walk to a bathroom and shower facilities), I'm living high on the hog.
Because I was supposed to be going to Karbala and then to Diyala, and the powers that be didn't decide for sure that I'd be going to the Baghdad PRT until I was up in the air on my way over here, the Embassy folks put me in temporary housing. The top photo is of my temporary housing room. It's essentially the same two-bedroom flat, but with two beds in each room/four to an apartment instead of one bed per room/two to an apartment. Because they realized that I was supposed to stay here and they weren't sure when they'd be able to change me to a permanent room, they blocked the other bed so I wouldn't have a room mate. Rather nice of them. Thus, that's my junk on the other bed. However, these rooms didn't have a desk, so I did blog posting and IM-ing with Ann sitting on the chair leaning over the little table lamp. It wasn't very comfortable.
A week ago I got my new room.
It's the exact same room layout, but with a queen-sized bed and a desk. There's even a comfortable work chair at the desk. Good given that being on the computer is my favorite free time activity. I still haven't really figured out the TV channels yet, so I usually surf a few channels and if I don't catch an interesting movie, turn it off almost immediately. The big chair is also a nice change of seating when I just want to sit back and read stuff. I loaded up my iPad and iPod with reading materials before I left, so I should be good for awhile.
This week I also got my stuff from PRT Diyala. I'm finally totally unpacked and most things have their place. I suspect that on my first trip back, I'll be bringing some of my excess stuff to leave at home. Given I didn't know exactly what conditions I was going into, I packed for everything. I've got two closets you can't see, which is good for all my work clothes and stuff, but it would be nicer to have had a bit bigger drawer. Then again, I could have been in a hooch so I'll keep my mouth shut.
For those of you wondering about Pinky (the pink Walmart footlocker I shipped half of my stuff over in), he's hiding right behind the TV. He's not too obvious until you notice him. And yes, it is very pink.