- Ernie Kovacs
Friends and Family,
Today I had to get my head on straight so I called Mike last night and told him we would do an admin day. This is a lot like skipping work but it ends up, I got more work done at home.
You see, we go out and visit different bases for the first half of each day and then return to do admin work in the afternoon which of course includes eating lunch, taking a nap, and working out. But there is plenty of paperwork and admin to do because we have internet connectivity which means, just like going to the leau (Brits, again), the work ain’t done until the paperwork is finished.
Since I’m still wading through all the passdown I got from the last guy and the fact that I have a ton of email to process, staying home to have an admin day, believe it or not, is a legitimate concept.
It was a little tough staying in my villa all day and I couldn’t quite do it. So starting at about 0600 (still struggling with the sleep thing), I took one of a dozen walks over the course of the day.
I met two of my friends going to their cars to go to work and had some of the minimal human interaction I would have until tonight. One of them was missing his wife who was on vacation for 3 weeks and he could empathize with my general mood. It’s funny how guys will open up a little more than they would once you initialize the concept. I have no problem with people knowing I am hurting (as you all know).
All day I answered email, took walks, did paperwork, took more walks, read over old files, and took still more walks.
But there was one thing that I had to get done. I had to make hamburger stew.
Last night, I couldn’t wait any longer to fry the hamburger I had thawed out in the refrigerator a few days ago. I was going to make something (what, I don’t know) but then people kept feeding me so the meat was sitting in there needing to be cooked.
So I browned it last night and today, it was time to make my wife’s famous hamburger stew for the first time since… let me see… BIRTH.
I pulled up the recipe that my wife sent and got a bit sidetracked when I cut and pasted ALL the recipes she sent into a Word document that I printed and will keep in the kitchen.
Here was the hamburger stew recipe I followed to the T:
Hamburger stew:
1 pound of ground beef
4 or 5 potatoes
2 carrots
1/2 of an onion
garlic
1/2 can of stewed tomatoes
1 chicken bullion cube
cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder
1 can corn or peas
Brown the ground beef in a large pot, and drain the grease, peel the carrots and potatoes and cut them into small pieces. Chop onion into small pieces and add it and the garlic to the ground beef. Add the seasoning (as much as you want, probably about 1/2 teaspoon of each , but 1 teaspoon of salt.) Add the chicken bullion cube and the stewed tomatoes cut into small pieces. Cover the whole thing with water and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil turn it down to medium and let it simmer for about 1/2 hour until the vegetables are cooked. Add the can of corn or peas and let it cook another 5 minutes until it's warm.
I checked and I had everything except garlic powder but had chopped garlic instead. I would manage.
I followed the directions except I accidentally dumped the corn in from the get-go instead of waiting until the end. The ONE time I looked away from the directions, I hosed it up.
That ruined it and I threw it all out.
OK, just kidding, I finished up, let it simmer, and called Mike to get over to my villa and eat it with me for lunch since we were going over to the Brit’s house AGAIN for dinner (God bless them!)
When I sat down to eat it, I was amazed: it tasted exactly like my wife’s. Funny how that works but it was such an odd taste of home.
The only thing that was missing was a sleeve of saltine crackers because it seems that if the Saudis had crackers over here, life as they know it would cease to exist. They have billions yet still wipe their asses with their left hand and don’t have something as basic as crackers.
We both had seconds which meant that Mike was not just being polite and I had enough for 2 or 3 more meals. Or one gluttonous pig-fest if I choose.
Once again, the Brits (sorry, Linda, the Brit AND the Irish) had us over for dinner. But we weren’t the only ones. It seems they invited half the residents of the compound as is their custom.
As you know, I received a package the other day from Jeanie and in it, unbeknownst to her, she included what is possibly my favorite candy of all time. Not just licorice but the Red Vines Original Red Twists in the rectangular box. As a kid AND as a grown-up, these particular treats have always topped my list and I can tear through a box in record time.
Yesterday when I went over to the Brits’ house, I brought a small baggy of Hot Tamales because they had never had them and I wanted to give some to Paul, one of their small sons. I felt horrible because it ended up that because of his braces, he could not have any and his mom thought they would be too hot for him after she tried one.
So I was hoping that the licorice would be OK. I grabbed the box at my villa and was going to open it to put a few in a baggie but then I remembered they don’t stay soft very long after they are opened so I thought, what the heck, I’ll give the kid the whole box.
When I got over there, I brought Paul over to me and explained to him how good they were. I mean, I really played it up before bestowing them on him and his eyes lit up when I handed them to him. Right then, I knew it had been the right move, even though his mother said he wouldn’t eat them all and then SHE felt bad for taking them from me.
Bullocks! If he eats one and throws the rest away, it was worth that look on his face when I handed him the box. Quite the Willy Wonka moment.
He promised to save me 4 anyway so we’ll see.
Now, you have read that I am very proud that I was actually able to throw together a hamburger stew that tasted just like home. I was even bragging about it once we got over there until I noticed the menu Linda had “thrown together.”
A turkey.
A ham.
Roast beef.
Two kinds of potato dishes.
Sautéed carrots.
Cheesecake
Jell-O (or what they kept wanting to call “Jell-E.”)
And that is just what I chose to lop on my plate. There was more such as cabbage, pudding, etc. that I skipped if only because my plate had 14 lbs (or a stone) of meat heaped on it.
I brought 2 bottles of wine that seemed to be a hit and even the Jell-O with fruit cocktail I brought got devoured.
It was more than a full holiday meal and every chair in the house was full.
What was the occasion, you ask?
Sunday.
After a very loud, funny, talkative, teasing, conversation-filled dinner, we were all stuffed. Jamie and Linda had done it again. These people are just relentless with their hospitality.
Some of the men went to the living room where the bongs were brought out. No, no illicit drug use, it was just flavored tobacco but smoked in these Arabian bong-like contraptions. I have yet to partake but I am assured I will before I leave. Trying to get one of those things back in the states should be fun if I get hooked.
Once again, Mike and I waddled out of their house so full that the few hours of sleep tonight will qualify as a coma. We were accused of leaving early (10:15 PM) but we had to get some sleep before tomorrow when we have a pistol shoot in the middle of the desert.
I know, it’s all a desert. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
About two minutes later, I was in my villa. It was dark and quiet which was quite a difference from where I had just been and it only highlighted the fact.
An empty house is a terrible thing to come home to. Maybe I should rethink the cat concept.
FML for Today: “Today, my co-worker insisted there must be an underlying, romantic reason for why I spend so much time teaching him everything, and that I didn't mean it when I told him that's what I'm paid to do. I'm actually supposed to train this guy for 3 weeks. 2 more weeks go.”/
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