Martin Kleynhans
How great is the sum of thy thoughts?
Bomb Voyage Time…
Feb 19th
So I am starting to really repeat myself a lot now over the last few posts, but time really does fly out here, its absolutely ridiculous to think nearly a whole month has passed once again. Lots of people are saying that they cannot believe im going to be out here for a whole year…. well I feel right now, its like “WOW, only a year, will be gone in the blink of an eye at this rate.” Next thing I know I will be back in Sunny South Africa… 
I am also starting to settle into a routine which is good, being able to plan time better is my top priority at the moment. Work is becoming a more manageable beast which is always a good thing
The first few weeks here have just been chaos to compare to how things have improved for me personally… although maybe thats just a learning how to manage tasks thing as well. Or just adapting to a new pace of things… who knows.
I was relfecting bck through the posts on this blog of ming and its safe to say that for the time i have had it up and running, i have really neglectied it… I’ve lost track of things for blogging about, going to definately have to re-think this whole blogging strategy with a fine tooth comb or at least put my facebook profile to bed so I spend less time on that beast and more time writing. Hmm… there is a thought now.
Roll with the Bagger Punches
Jan 27th
So its been a very busy time this last number of days have not really had time to write a blog post. But though I would put something up quickly since I received four SMS’s asking about the Bomb Blasts in baghdad and whether I was anywhere near the Blasts…
Well here is the low down on the situation, I am inside the American Military Installation here in baghdad. The chances of a Bomb being delivered into the base by means of a car or a suicide bomber are pretty much zero to none. Now thats not to say that the base does not get attacked. I am just saying when you do see newsreels regading Bomb blasts of Hotels and Government Buildings etc. it’s no-where near to me because thats in the Red zone in down town Baghdad and we are very much in the Green Zone
But ultimately I am stilll having a fantastic time here in Baghdad, I started weapons training last week so thats been very exciting, hoping to post something really worthwhile online soon.
The Phalanx, She are a screamer
Jan 12th
Yesterday at around 14:00 I was driving past one of the “Phalanx’s” near where my Billeting is located, on occasion the army test fires the Phalanx. I have hear them test fire them before over the last few days but normally this is from a distance. Well as you can imagine after you do a little research as to what the Phalanx actually is you can imagine what an exhilarating explosion of energy comes out of this device. For your enjoyment I have got a video for you to watch just to put this into perspective.
The Baggy Diner
Jan 10th
So I have been writing this post on and off for the last week, mostly because I haven’t had my own PC until today, YAY
The food here in Baggers is unbelievable, here we are in a war zone in the middle of the desert, and of course I too had to see it to believe it, Lobster for Dinner. Amazing… well thats only the half of it to be honest.
Well I have now lost my train of thought thinking about what to have for dinner, so ill be back soon.
Now Live, From Baghdad
Jan 4th
So it’s the end of my first working day in Baghdad, what a trip so far, I was in transit from 6:30 on Saturday until Mid day on Sunday when I landed in Iraq.
After landing in Iraq I have a whole new concept now of flying, its called “Evasive Manouvers”… on a commerical airline by the way, the pilot cruises in at around 30000 Feet and informs the crew to prepare for landing… shortly after that you hear the landing gear come out and then this rapid descent from the sky occurs… he drops the plane from that nice cruising altitude to the ground in little more than two and half minutes. *Jeepers*
Needles to say ive been so franticaly busy I havent slept since leaving Johannesburg on Saturday, doubt at this point that I will even be able to sleep at all.
Tomorrow I will fill you in on the fantastic Dining here at camp.
All set for a Bagger Deployment and some M*A*S*H
Dec 24th
On the 1st of January ill be flying to Baggers (aka – Baghdad, Iraq)… I am going to be working there on contract for a year. Its an opportunity I am very thrilled about. I will be available for random chatter on Skype, Gmail, MSN and ETC… but during the fractional spare time I might have between the various IT related tasks I will have, I intend to at least try and Blog a little more than I normally do. Thus keeping you, my friends and family, up to date about my whereabouts and what’s been happening. I’ll also do my best to take some photos where its allowed.
So with that I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, have a wonderful New Years, the year 2010 is going to be a very exciting one for me and I wish excitement in 2010 for you as well.
So near to SCI FI, I can almost… taste it.
Nov 3rd
Wow November 2009 and its nearly 2010, its ridiculous to think how fast this year has gone by, just the other day I was going on about how much I was enjoying my new career opportunity at i5… Now its near the end of another great year and I am celebrating in another new exciting career opportunity at Sandbox Projects. When did we begin to be so particular in our career choices and how often we changed that path?
Strange but true especially in the IT industry, we seem to chop and change quite often and then as far as trends go you move into consulting which is essentially your own business where you work for someone else on a daily basis. A bit bizarre if you ask me
Other than that little history lesson, its time for some new photo’s of my place, with all the wood new practically stripped of paint and some of the wood is sanded and treated… still a long way to go that’s for sure:
My House (paint removed)
Better late than never
Jul 4th
So I have not been blogging too much since New Years, I suppose that is because I had lots of photo’s for reference over the New Year Holidays in Cape Town. Well much has been happening over the last six months I don’t even know where to begin.
After a year in waiting while staying in my flat I finally had the opportunity to move into my house on the 1st of June, well…. lets just say it has already turned into quite an exciting little adventure.
The first night I thought id go in and take some photo’s, to have as a reference to how the house looked when I moved in and then during the course of making changes id take photo’s as well. So here are the pictures I took from the first night I moved in:
My house (before the cleanup):
Then after the first week of cleaning and scrubbing and moving some furniture in and around the house the place starts to take a bit more of the shape I want:
My House (after the initial cleanup):
So after this whole initial cleanup thing was done I got a whole heap of nice stuff thanks to my mom, I will be sure to be taking a whole bunch of new photo’s soon because some painting has been done. I will be stripping all the paint off the doors, door frames, window frames and the skirting boards. Once that is all done ill be sanding and sealing all the wood.
Fun and Games, until next time, hopefully not a whole six months later:
One More in the Sun
Jan 4th
We headed to the Beach today, tomorrow I am heading home and Vanessa starts work, what a nice way to end off a perfect holiday, just going to keep this post short and sweet, include some photo’s and two fun panoramic shots we took with my L’Cheepo digital camera.
Another Day at the Beach for 2009:
Panoramic shot of Jason and Vanessa:
Panoramic shot of Me:
Later on we went back to the beach to get some photos in the sun set.
Another Day at the Beach for 2009, later on:
New Beginnings… Finally
Jan 3rd
So my New Years resolution for 2009 started over a year ago, I really wanted to take things a bit easier last year, from the beginning of the year. As simple as that sounds its not always the easiest to just chill out and not let the worries of the world bug you so much. I suppose it starts with worries of your own, thoughts of loneliness and how you would cope with that cause you aren’t going out as much anymore. As it turns out I managed to keep myself very entertained the whole of 2008 by just enjoying some movies and keeping tabs on all the various things I love to read about online…
Sort of a lazy reader myself, I like online reading, I really don’t have the urge to hold a book for too long. Must be because I can distract myself for shorter periods of time before i feel the urge to do something else like fiddle around on Facebook or chat to people online and on Messenger.
This New Years Eve was quite possibly the most unique in all the years I have celebrated New Years and also the best yet.