As I start my 30th and final year with the military, with 10 of them on active duty, this is the only time I have been away from home for the holidays. I have been mostly lucky, and my last mobilization I took R&R to come home from Yemen, but this time I am away. Now, full disclosure, I could have gone home this Christmas - I would have just had to fill out a leave chit and buy a ticket - there was no 'you must stay in Doha' mandate. But we debated and it was a lot of pain and expense for limited benefit - the kids are older and not into Xmas morning anymore - definitely not like the past where they would wake us up before 6am to open presents. So, it was an ordinary day in Doha - woke up and went to the gym, and then back to the apartment for normal stuff (reading, watching some videos, doing a bit of work). Am nursing a mild hangover, as there was a small party last night in the complex with a group from the embassy and there was wine there. It broke up pretty early because a bunch of them had to work on Christmas. Why?
A 'CODEL' (Congressional Delegation) is in town on Christmas to 'spend time with the troops on Christmas'. Really, it is just a taxpayer funded boondoggle for the person to get some pictures to post on social media to show that 'they support the troops'. The truth is that 'the troops' do NOT want to spend time with the CODEL - some number get 'voluntold' to be there on a day they would rather be chilling to meet with someone they have ZERO interest in seeing. Now, if it is was a sports personality or an entertainer - THAT is what people want to see. NOT folks from Congress. Not only does it mess up the day of 'the troops', there is also a contingent from the embassy and base who have to manage the CODEL and ensure they get where they need to go and ensuring their agenda is met. And the CODEL isn't just the person from Congress, it is a contingent of 'staffers' - I think this one is 18 people. So, bottom line, people that nobody wants to see are here wrecking Christmas for bunch of people for their own selfish agenda on our nickel. Our government 'at work'...
But besides the extra days off (Embassy closed 24th and 25th...) it hasn't really seemed like the holidays. Part of it is the weather - no snow here, and I even hung out by the pool on the 24th.
I did bake my 'traditional' cookies this year - chocolate chip and peanut butter with chocolate kisses - though it was not without some challenges. Ingredients were mostly not an issue - I imported the chocolate via Amazon, and most everything else was available locally. Vanilla extract was the one ingredient that I could not get - it is not allowed locally (contains alcohol!), and I could not even import via Amazon. Luckily, one of my peers had some he had brought in with him and he gave me a bottle. As I started the process, I discovered I didn't buy all of the equipment I needed - I did get cookie sheets and a cheap mixer, but forgot measuring cups and mixing bowls. I was able to wing it with stuff I had, but there were issues and my peanut butter cookies were just a bit off.
A 'CODEL' (Congressional Delegation) is in town on Christmas to 'spend time with the troops on Christmas'. Really, it is just a taxpayer funded boondoggle for the person to get some pictures to post on social media to show that 'they support the troops'. The truth is that 'the troops' do NOT want to spend time with the CODEL - some number get 'voluntold' to be there on a day they would rather be chilling to meet with someone they have ZERO interest in seeing. Now, if it is was a sports personality or an entertainer - THAT is what people want to see. NOT folks from Congress. Not only does it mess up the day of 'the troops', there is also a contingent from the embassy and base who have to manage the CODEL and ensure they get where they need to go and ensuring their agenda is met. And the CODEL isn't just the person from Congress, it is a contingent of 'staffers' - I think this one is 18 people. So, bottom line, people that nobody wants to see are here wrecking Christmas for bunch of people for their own selfish agenda on our nickel. Our government 'at work'...
But besides the extra days off (Embassy closed 24th and 25th...) it hasn't really seemed like the holidays. Part of it is the weather - no snow here, and I even hung out by the pool on the 24th.
I did bake my 'traditional' cookies this year - chocolate chip and peanut butter with chocolate kisses - though it was not without some challenges. Ingredients were mostly not an issue - I imported the chocolate via Amazon, and most everything else was available locally. Vanilla extract was the one ingredient that I could not get - it is not allowed locally (contains alcohol!), and I could not even import via Amazon. Luckily, one of my peers had some he had brought in with him and he gave me a bottle. As I started the process, I discovered I didn't buy all of the equipment I needed - I did get cookie sheets and a cheap mixer, but forgot measuring cups and mixing bowls. I was able to wing it with stuff I had, but there were issues and my peanut butter cookies were just a bit off.
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| Cookie baking 2019 |
Interesting comment on the CODEL. Did you share the cookies with your friends?
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't even dish the dirt on the CODEL.
DeleteYes, I shared a bunch of the cookies with the guards at the embassy.