Do you SEE how I sacrifice for you, my loyal readers? I haven't any good photos, but I have gone ahead and posted this crappy one just so you have something to look at besides white words on a black screen.

WOW!

I am in big trouble...

...because I haven't blogged in 5 days! I apologize unreservedly. Please forgive me my lapse. I have loads of brilliant excuses. I submit this one for your scrutiny:

Boss lady left last week, leaving little ole me at the helm. Well, the good news is that I feel I have purpose in life and am really enjoying the thrill and challenge of leading my team here in Baghdad. (I use "leading" loosley, since my team is so incredibly awesome that they HARDLY require leadership!) Each day just flies by, and I barely even noticed this week float past. If I stay this busy, I'll be home in the blink of an eye.

The bad news is, I am busy enough that I cannot muster enough motivation at the end of a long and busy day to actually sit down and blog for just a few minutes about my day. I am the epitome of lazy. On top of that, I rarely remember to bring my camera with me to take snapshots of interesting items here, so I don't have any new photos.

Today and yesterday, I have been busy doing what English majors like me fear the most in this world: MATH. I have been doing budget stuff, crunching numbers like an inept bean counter with my hair on fire. It just ain't right. I mean it. English majors should never be allowed to meddle with numbers to this extreme. I must say, though, that I am proud of the higher-math-trinomial-quadratic-multiplifcation I have been able to muster to get myself through this ordeal. Actually, I was called away, after getting through the first two paragraphs of this blog, to provide newer, interesting, better numbers for the umpteenth rendition of a budget slide I thought I had handed to our client for the last time earlier today. Because I have finally learned my lesson, I am no longer foolish enough to think that is the last time I will be required to tweak that slide. But that is why they pay me the big bucks, so I am not complaining; I am merely relating a tale from my weird life here in Baghdad. The really good stuff is entirely classified, so I won't tell you about it...since I don't want to have to kill you... You will have to just trust that I get to do things that are more fun than budget manipulation. Anyway, it is all fun once it is finished.

Um...wow. I have bored myself into a corner. I am at a standstill and haven't the fortitude to write on any further. I do promise to post again very soon...maybe even tonight...if I'm not too busy watching my new TV passion, Six Feet Under, or chatting with Dave. So there.

Every time I try to feed the goose, I get snubbed. Here is a rare shot of him actually accepting my offering. I tried to give him SARDINES today, and he turned me down. Apparently, he enjoys corn. I was snubbed for, like, the 5th time in row; and to think I was going to take up a collection to buy the goose a bubble with a respirator inside to protect him from the bird flu that is fast approaching this area! Have fun fending for yourself, Corporal Aflac von Whacky Quackers!