Days Thirty Nine - Forty Four

WOW. Seems like forever since I wrote my last post on day thirty eight. Things are happening here finally, so it's been harder to find time to get in here to post my daily blog messages. Plus, the internet connection is getting worse and worse here now that more people are coming to camp. But, I'll try to catch everyone up on what's been going on.

The weather has taken quite a dramatic turn for the better as of late. It's been near or over seventy degrees for the past few days, and looks like that is going to continue. I don't want to jinx it, but I think winter is finally behind us. It's been beautiful outside, but makes you really wonder about the summertime here. I've heard that 120 degrees is not out of the question. OUCH.

Work has been good. We have alot going on now, and you can see it all by logging into our Facebook and YouTube pages at:

Facebook - RC North PAAT
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/TheRCNorthPAAT

After the session we had with our ANA PA soldiers where I had to be a little bit more "firm" than normal, things have progressed rather well. I've trained them quite a bit on shooting techniques, camera angles, camera setup, importing and digitizing video, and some basic editing techniques. It's fun to see the excitement in their eyes once they finally start to catch on to things and can do them on their own. Of course there are problems initially, but for the most part, they're getting it down pretty good.

We're working on a couple projects right now. One is the video of "A Day in the Life of an ANA soldier" that I have mentioned before. The other is a promotional video for a new concept just added to the ANA; allowing more women in the military. We've done interviews with commanders and women already, and have put some things together to get on Afghan news to promote more women joining. It's interesting, as the videos that I work on in my little office can help boost the numbers of the Afghan Army, and ultimately help the Army secure their country. The "big picture" sure is fascinating when you stop and think about it for a second.

I've been running still. My "runner's knee" hasn't been too bad after I took those couple days off a couple weeks ago. I'm up to eighty nine miles now, and in a distant second behind Sandy. Chris is still doing his marathon training, but know that he could run circles around me if he wanted to - like I've said before. Chris and I are lifting together now too, so I'm getting back into the weights like I should be, along with the running. It feels good. I plan to be in pretty good shape when I leave this place in a few months.

Work, work, work. That's what I'm here for, and I'm glad we're finally getting into things, and glad our ANA guys are receptive to what we're trying to teach them. We have some pretty lofty goals set for ourselves over the next few months, but I'm sure we can achieve them. Much of what we do depends on things we cannot control, so we'll see what happens. Either way, I'm alive and well and happy...and making a difference I think. That's what I'm here for.