Africa: Day 14 (Home Again... sort of) July 22

Salem Alaikem everyone. I write these words to you having just returned to the comforts and familiar sights of my second home here in Tripoli. My day today began one thousand kilometers and 18 hours ago. I awoke in Benghazi this morning ready to get to work and get back to Tripoli as soon as possible. However, I should have known that no one knows how to rush anything, so I was delayed by four hours while the locals decided to have breakfast, then have coffee, then drive to work, then wait to get my equipment, THEN finally get to work at 11:00 AM this morning. Regardless of the delays however, I made the decision today that I was returing to my apartment tonight, to April, and to my team regardless of whether the job was done or not. I have spent entirely too much time this week waiting on others who aren't qualified to even have opinions on the decisions they have been levied with making. In the end, however, the day was a success. Tim and I completed the data center racks by mid afternoon, and moved the two completed racks into the data center room (closet). I then left Tim to complete the wiring at that location while I went two floors below to complete the wiring closet installation. By 1600 hours we were done and getting packed up for our trip home.

Jimal, my driver, was sent to Benghazi three days before we arrived there so he could transport us while we were there working. He took us out tonight to Pizza Hut, locally called "Pizza House," on our way to the airport. It's definitely interesing to look at an American Menu written in Arabic with the appropriate foods substituted for local varieties. In america of course, everything on a pizza is pork related. Considering we are in a Muslim country, that option is completely out of the question. Instead, we were greeted with options such as Prawns Pizza (shrimp pizza), Tuna Topping, Beef pepperoni, Beef bacon, Harisa sauce (YUCK), and even a salad bar. I almost got the salad bar just to see what was on it... then I looked; Their idea of a salad bar is green olives, black olives, dates, chick-peas, tuna salad, harisa sauce, and some other stuff I can barely recognize. As you might imagine,if you know my palette, I skipped the salad bar in favor of garlic bread.

For a nice surprise, the airplane from Benghazi to Tripoli was on time tonight; actually a few minutes early. We left Benghazi at 9:02 and arrived here at 10:00, caught a local taxi, and was greeted with the cutesy baby voice saying "Heeeey Baaabby!" (complete with miss-you-hugs). To my credit, I warned her that I most likely stunk! I've been working for three days in no air-conditioning and I've been eating pure crap all day, smoking cigarettes by the pack, slopping down the local idea of coffee at an amazing rate, and generally not shaved since I left Tripoli 4 days ago. It was good to get home and see the familiar sights and smells of Tripoli. I have been here long enough now to know by scent when I'm nearing the water, and to tell what part of town I'm in by the smell of the area. I don't know how to describe it, but in an environment where every building looks just like every other, it seems your other senses kick-in automatically to help you orient yourself to familiar areas.

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It is now 1:07 AM on Saturday morning and still I sit here. I have stopped writing from time to time to perform some of the necessary mundane tasks; unpacking, taking a shower, making coffee, stopping to smoke. No day here is complete however, until I have heard everyone complain about the lack of internet, how I should fix the issue, why we are being "screwed around" about it, etc. I have to admit though, the lack of internet has really dampened my spirits about this trip. I originally had access at the hotel but I was forced by my the PTB (Powers That Be) [There's that reference again Bannag] to abandon lodging there and to move here to save money. Personally, that's a stupid reason. I was paying my own hotel bill, paying for my own internet, and basically living the way I did before when I was here. In the name of "equality" for all the staff, I was asked... no.. I was ordered to move here and now I spend at least one hour everyday listening to the same dreary litany of problems caused by the lack of connectivity. No one can communicate with their families, pay bills, chat, or anything else they consider vital aspects of overseas travel and somehow I am expected to be able to snap my fingers and fix the issue. I'm going to spend tomorrow trying to find a way to get something figured out on this side since no one back home seems to be able to get things done, so I hope by the end of the week that we will have Internet access at the apartment. If not, I am afraid that this team is going to be just as upset as the last team they sent over here.

My attitude on this trip, from the point of an outsider viewing this blog, probably resembles a bipolar rant. One day is great and the next is miserable. [To be honest, I deleted my last post because it was a little over the top. I was a little upset that day when I wrote it.] Every day is really about the same. The difference is, from time to time, I run out of energy and just simply find it impossible to maintain the "everything will be ok" outlook that I try to keep up. It's easier on days where I get something accomplished or achieve some personal milestone that I set for myself. Other days when our driver is late, or I can't get anyone to get us lunch, or we can't get supplies delivered, or the stupid DOOR is locked, (that's another story ALL to itself.), it's harder to maintain the emotional motivation I need to thrive. Most people who know me are well aware that music is the heartbeat that pushes me through life. As such, it has become common for me to live with my iPod attached to my hip most all of every day. That seems to be the only way to make sure I avoid being thrown in a Libyan prison for killing someone in a murderous rage over here.

When I want to get motivated, some good ol' Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, and lot of other new country from this year will keep me bopping along, oblivious to everyone else in the room. When I'm "working," just plodding along on a task, some of the older country like Randy Travis, George Jones, Alan Jackson, Eddit Rabbit, and others puts me in my automaton mode, where I just work ceaselessly for hours on end with no food, no smokes, no drinks, and as long as I'm not distracted by anyone I can maintain that pulse for extraordinarily long periods of time. It's really helpful on days when I have to perform the same repetitive, mindless task for hours on end. You can only punch down so many patch panels in a row before you start to feel like a little chinese kid in a shoe factory. The music helps me avoid that mental part that would slow me down.

I've found mornings lately to be the hardest time to "find" my mood... so that's when I turn on my Hard playlist, crank the iPod as loud as it will go and pretty much push pure adrenaline into myself for about two hours. The only problem with this is, I develop this "semper-fi" attitude; raging and aggressive and ready to do some serious work. This is usually fine unless I get molested by some geek who wants to waste my time asking for some asinine report, or a new implementation plan, or some other such useless drivel. Those poor people learn quickly to leave me alone when I'm all raged-up. April can hear the music from three feet away and usually takes it on herself to warn others away from me until I get calmed down. I'm not necessarily angry, but it's what I refer to as my anger music; the same stuff I listen to at home when I work out; Limp Bizkit, Nickelback, Tool, Primus, etc. It puts me into a major physical state of mind and I'm not the best person to ask stupid favors of when I'm like that. Sometime throughout those days, I'll usually work my own way back down to a normal state within a few hours, all on my own. That's when I take my headset off for awhile and talk to people... just to be sociable so they don't think I'm mad at the world or anything.

Now that given it thought, I think I'm going to take a few minutes right now and find me some new music for my iPod lists... I need new stuff.. especially hard stuff. I'll be back in a bit, maybe. I may just go to bed without continuing this, but I guess you'll know either way in the nex paragraph.. lol.

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Wow... it's now 3 AM and I've just finished a massive iPod rewrite. I need more hard music, but in the process of hunting for it, came across some of my old... umm... let's just call it Mood Music... so I rebuilt that playlist from back in 1997... you know how impressive/sad it is that I remember that playlist that well? Suffice it to say, it's a GREAT playlist. lol.. My cousin and I used to have a saying, that if you could make love from the beginning to end of that playlist, you must be a god. It's about 7 hours of, well nevermind what's on it... that is and shall remain my secret.

And Beach Music! Ooh... talk about memories! I can't think HOW many memories I've made with the Scoobs and some good beach music. I have about 30 CDs worth on my hard drive, so I put those on there too. Then I made a new top 40 playlist, etc... two hours later, I'm finally done and now I just want to play them all. lol. I SHOULD be in bed, but tomorrow is my day off so I'm not really sweating it. However, I think I'm gonna wrap this up and let you all get back to your regularly scheduled lives. I'm sure you have better things to do than read all this. If you don't, I would suggest taking some time alone, sitting down, and really seriously evaluating what in the hell you have going for you in life... get outside.. go for a swim... get some sun.. go do one of those hundreds of things that I'd rather be doing but can't due to the fact that I'm stuck in Africa for the whole summer. What a bummer. I'm a huge fan of summer and I'm going to lose my whole summer season to networking in Africa! Next year I'm rescheduling this crap for a part of the year that's NOT my favorite part of the year. I don't make enough money to want to give up my whole summer every year. Come to think of it, I don't think there IS enough money to make me want to be away from my friends and family for the summer. If I were home right now, I'd be crusing down the Tar River, pulling Doc on a pair of skis, and I'd have at LEAST three beautiful women on the deck of the boat. Instead, I'm in Africa, no boat, no river, the most beautiful woman in the world (you thought I was gonna slip up on that one didn't ya? Yeah, you did. Admit it.), but none of my friends from home to share it with. I think I'm gonna go rent a jet ski tomorrow and see if I can get some sun. See you all soon.. whenever I get online to post all this.

Later.