Magic words

Hi folks,

I just got off the phone with the Discover Card people ('the card that pays you back') trying to resolve an issue that came up in May when I first deployed to Iraq. There were $6.54 of interest charges still on the account, which I had closed out during my last trip home.

I tried to pay it over the internet, but because I had reported the card stolen, it wouldn't allow me to do it.

So I called them.

I said 'I am calling you from Iraq' and they wiped the slate clean. Few more points for my credit score, hopefully.

In other news, today I got red and yellow construction paper to make red and yellow cards to use on the field. Need to cut out the shapes and get them laminated as appropriate.

My boss goes on leave tomorrow, so I will be in charge of the office for a couple of weeks. These will be big weeks because there are a lot of issues going on.

We have Eid-ul-Fitr coming up, and no-one knows exactly when it will happen, because it depends on when one certain Mullah in Mecca sees the moon at the right phase. I can recall from years in Bosnia, that they can wait several days to declare it, if there are clouds or dust storms over Mecca. So the staff has to come to work and pretend to work for four or five days while waiting, because we can't schedule any training in the window of time when the Eid might happen.

Don't know why the Al-Jazeera people can't point their satellite at the moon, take a picture, and send it to the Mullah, so he can time it properly....apparently it has to be with the naked eye, according to the Holy Koran.

In any case, I will get a couple of days off in the next week or so. Nice to catch up on sleep and clean my room. Also, will not be training with the boys those days, so a bit of rest for a weary body.

That's what holidays are for, in the end, right?

An excuse to sleep in, play golf, barbecue, see friends and family, and play board-games. Or bored-games. (Unless you're with my grandmother, because she plays a mean game of Scrabble, and tries to distract you the whole time with her banter.)

Eid Mubarak to all.

Love and PEACE!