We're at Pope AFB with all of our cargo and passengers. (I'm blogging from inside the plane.) We loaded 38,000 pounds of cargo on our C-17 and picked up two Army soldiers. In our cargo is 10 decontamination untis that can be (or have already) been converted into showers. The soldiers know how to work the units and are going to Haiti to set them up. (It's cold here in NC.)
FYI--when we were in Haiti yesterday it was completely dark and we took off maybe a half hour after the sun rose. That's why I didn't have any decent photos of Haiti to share with you. Hopefully this trip I'll be able to share and show you more.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Off Topic - Haiti
I wasn't able to get to my computer to blog about this as it happened, so I've been taking blog notes. Let me try to catch everybody up. (Please remember this is my personal blog. I'm not speaking on behalf of the US Air Force Reserve or any other gov't agency - I'm just passing along my experiences and what I see and do.) I'm in the Air Force Reserve out of March Air Reserve Base, California and I work with the media... here goes:
Monday: I found out that I may be going to Haiti as a media escort. (Neat!) However, if one or two more media want to go - I'll get bumped off the flight.
I'm out here in California on my two weeks of Annual Tour and the gear and supplies I need are at home in Las Vegas. If I drive home tonight and back tomorrow morning I could get them. But that's a 5 hour drive and Murphy's Law always rules. If I go home, I'll get bumped off the flight. If I don't go home, then I'll go to Haiti. I'm going to stay here and see how the cards fall.
Tuesday: The flight has been postponed until Wednesday morning. We have 8 media going and I'm a solid member of the team. See--I didn't go home so now I'm going to Haiti.
A girl in my office loned me her backpacking pack (she's awesome) so I just have to get a few things tonight and I'm set. (BDU jacket liner, food and water for 5 days, sleeping bag, hand sanitizer, sunscreen and a BDU belt) I'm getting pretty excited about this - what a neat opportunity.
Wednesday: The day started off well. I packed up and checked out of my hotel room, ran by the office and had some espresso and did last minute errands. At 8:30 I picked up the media at the gate - we had one guy cancel - so 7 members of the media.
8:30-picked up media
9-briefing with aircraft commander
9:30-passenger terminal to drop off bags & get on manifest
10:30-quickly move cars to long-term parking & go out to plane
11-take off!
3 p.m. West Coast or 6 p.m. East Coast time - land in Louisville, KY to get 70,000 pounds of cargo (mostly Army vehicles & supplies) and passengers bound for Haiti
9 p.m.-take off for Haiti
The Army vehicles on the plane were jiggling around on take-off (that is normal). Thank-goodness we have good loadmasters, at the end of the flight the vehicles & pallets hadn't moved an inch.
Thursday: We landed just after midnight California time, so about 3 a.m. East Coast time in Haiti. We anticipated picking up approximately 200 Haitian evacuees but it turns out we didn't. We picked up 7 folks, some of which were aid workers who had been helping and working for the past week. The airport used to operate 24/7 so that they could get supplies & equipment in, but as things have progressed they've made the airport a day-time operation. Meaning that they send out evacuees during the day, when the State Department is open to help with Visa or Passport problems or questions.
One of the aid workers said that it's terrible. Most of Port-au-Prince should/needs to be bulldozed to the ground because it's so unsafe. He said that people are and will be dying of simple things like broken legs. They just don't have the medical equipment, medicine, antibiotics or the things they need to save lives. It's so sad, almost like we've stepped back several hundred years.
It looks like we may make another run to Haiti with supplies... more to come.
Monday: I found out that I may be going to Haiti as a media escort. (Neat!) However, if one or two more media want to go - I'll get bumped off the flight.
I'm out here in California on my two weeks of Annual Tour and the gear and supplies I need are at home in Las Vegas. If I drive home tonight and back tomorrow morning I could get them. But that's a 5 hour drive and Murphy's Law always rules. If I go home, I'll get bumped off the flight. If I don't go home, then I'll go to Haiti. I'm going to stay here and see how the cards fall.
Tuesday: The flight has been postponed until Wednesday morning. We have 8 media going and I'm a solid member of the team. See--I didn't go home so now I'm going to Haiti.
A girl in my office loned me her backpacking pack (she's awesome) so I just have to get a few things tonight and I'm set. (BDU jacket liner, food and water for 5 days, sleeping bag, hand sanitizer, sunscreen and a BDU belt) I'm getting pretty excited about this - what a neat opportunity.
Wednesday: The day started off well. I packed up and checked out of my hotel room, ran by the office and had some espresso and did last minute errands. At 8:30 I picked up the media at the gate - we had one guy cancel - so 7 members of the media.
8:30-picked up media
9-briefing with aircraft commander
9:30-passenger terminal to drop off bags & get on manifest
10:30-quickly move cars to long-term parking & go out to plane
11-take off!
3 p.m. West Coast or 6 p.m. East Coast time - land in Louisville, KY to get 70,000 pounds of cargo (mostly Army vehicles & supplies) and passengers bound for Haiti
9 p.m.-take off for Haiti
The Army vehicles on the plane were jiggling around on take-off (that is normal). Thank-goodness we have good loadmasters, at the end of the flight the vehicles & pallets hadn't moved an inch.
Thursday: We landed just after midnight California time, so about 3 a.m. East Coast time in Haiti. We anticipated picking up approximately 200 Haitian evacuees but it turns out we didn't. We picked up 7 folks, some of which were aid workers who had been helping and working for the past week. The airport used to operate 24/7 so that they could get supplies & equipment in, but as things have progressed they've made the airport a day-time operation. Meaning that they send out evacuees during the day, when the State Department is open to help with Visa or Passport problems or questions.
One of the aid workers said that it's terrible. Most of Port-au-Prince should/needs to be bulldozed to the ground because it's so unsafe. He said that people are and will be dying of simple things like broken legs. They just don't have the medical equipment, medicine, antibiotics or the things they need to save lives. It's so sad, almost like we've stepped back several hundred years.
It looks like we may make another run to Haiti with supplies... more to come.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
A Continuous Challenge
Vante is doing well on her new prescription diet. However, I'm sad to report that she, apparently intentionally, urinated on the bed today after getting into an under-the-door disagreement with her two sisters. Luckily for us we had put puppy piddle pads on the bed and she happened to land squarely on that. So thank-goodness for that easy clean-up.
To give Vante the benefit of the doubt we bought a bigger litterbox for her today. So we can rule out a dirty or small litterbox bothering her. I doubt that is the issue, but it's worth a try.
I'm sorry for the lack of posts but with the holidays I was quite busy. As I continue to integrate Vante, Amelia & Callie Mae I'll keep you updated with the exciting events.
To give Vante the benefit of the doubt we bought a bigger litterbox for her today. So we can rule out a dirty or small litterbox bothering her. I doubt that is the issue, but it's worth a try.
I'm sorry for the lack of posts but with the holidays I was quite busy. As I continue to integrate Vante, Amelia & Callie Mae I'll keep you updated with the exciting events.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Vante's goes to the Vet
This morning Vante went to her first Vet appointment with me here in Las Vegas. Here are the details:
-Her bloodwork looked great.
-She needs to have her teeth cleaned and we'll schedule that in a few weeks.
-They gave her a vaccine she needed, so she's up to date on everything.
-She has crystals in her urine but no stones or infection. This means that the pH in her urine is off, so they've put her on a special diet that should fix the problem. It will take a few weeks to work and she'll have to eat this special food for the rest of her life.
This explains why she would urinate where she slept - she had to go quite frequently apparently.
While crystals in her urine isn't good news, it isn't bad either. This means that she wasn't urinating on the bed to mark her territory, she was just having trouble holding it. It's a medical issue, not a behavioral issue. Now that is good news. Soon we'll be a happily integrated household with three cats - I can't wait.
-Her bloodwork looked great.
-She needs to have her teeth cleaned and we'll schedule that in a few weeks.
-They gave her a vaccine she needed, so she's up to date on everything.
-She has crystals in her urine but no stones or infection. This means that the pH in her urine is off, so they've put her on a special diet that should fix the problem. It will take a few weeks to work and she'll have to eat this special food for the rest of her life.
This explains why she would urinate where she slept - she had to go quite frequently apparently.
While crystals in her urine isn't good news, it isn't bad either. This means that she wasn't urinating on the bed to mark her territory, she was just having trouble holding it. It's a medical issue, not a behavioral issue. Now that is good news. Soon we'll be a happily integrated household with three cats - I can't wait.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Harness Snafu
We had an exciting event two days ago. I put Vante into her harness and we went to explore the back yard. After maybe 5-10 minutes Vante said it was too cold so we came inside. This is the 'exciting' part. While I was helping Vante out of her harness she tried to get away and got her right leg through the neck hole.
My father and I loosened the harness as much as possible but we had no luck getting her unstuck. We fidgeted with that silly harness for maybe 5 minutes and we tried our best to get her leg back through the hole but it wasn't happening.
During this Vante was less than amused. She was quite vocal about her unhappiness and even tried to bite me once (her heart wasn't in it--she didn't even break skin). So, finally I cut the harness off of her and Vante ran away, quite pleased that her ordeal was over.
Since then we've been painting our house and she's found it absolutely fascinating. All the furniture has been moved, the Christmas decorations have been put away and long-lost cat toys have been rediscovered under the fridge and chairs. Here is a photo of Vante helping my father paint. She's an excellent assistant and didn't get any paint on her tail, toes or whiskers (thank-goodness).
My father and I loosened the harness as much as possible but we had no luck getting her unstuck. We fidgeted with that silly harness for maybe 5 minutes and we tried our best to get her leg back through the hole but it wasn't happening.
During this Vante was less than amused. She was quite vocal about her unhappiness and even tried to bite me once (her heart wasn't in it--she didn't even break skin). So, finally I cut the harness off of her and Vante ran away, quite pleased that her ordeal was over.
Since then we've been painting our house and she's found it absolutely fascinating. All the furniture has been moved, the Christmas decorations have been put away and long-lost cat toys have been rediscovered under the fridge and chairs. Here is a photo of Vante helping my father paint. She's an excellent assistant and didn't get any paint on her tail, toes or whiskers (thank-goodness).
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Vante's Christmas
Vante's first Christmas with us was a lot of fun. Extra food and treats flowed like milk and honey to the birds, cats and humans in the house. Vante spent most of the morning curled up in a sunny spot on her window ledge. However Christmas evening she was out and about exploring the wrapping paper that was everywhere. She found an excellent nook and relaxed for a while.
As for Christmas presents, Vante got some cat milk, ribbons, a cat scratcher, treats and toys. And of course all of the wrapping paper and bows were just as exciting as her presents. It was a very good Christmas.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Enjoying the Lights of the Season
Vante is enjoying the Christmas lights from her bedroom window. She's also enjoying helping wrap presents (and I use the word help loosely). She's met my sister and my parents and they're all having a ball. She's keeping everybody's lap nice and warm this holiday season. We all hope that your kitties, puppies, four-legged and even two-legged children are enjoying the holiday season.As Vante said, Merry Christmas... I mean Merry Catmus!
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