Been a While . . .

Hello Sports Fans!

Hope everyone is doing well. I have been in hiatus for quite a while now, for a host of reasons, some good, some not so good. October was a challenging month to use the Internet at all out here. We were off line for almost 3 weeks solid (should I really be surprised at this, being in the middle of Afghanistan? Nope.). After that, I was in Kabul for a conference, and then in China visiting my wife, getting reacquainted with married life. Shanghai is an easy city for foreigners, it really is. :)

I've actually been back in country since November 8, and back in Bamyan since November 11, but I just have not had the heart to get back into this. The workload has been crushing (moreso than before), and the change of seasons (I'm not sure if this qualifies as fall or winter, but it continues to snow here), all have made me pretty un-motivated. It was not until today, Thanksgiving Day for us American-types, that I finally had the time and inclination to do a little blogging for all of you.

Apologies to the 3 or 4 of you who read this with any regularity. I should be getting back into the swing of things more and more, especially with small milestones coming up -- the Kiwi team handover, real @#$%^* cold winter notes, Christmas (or what passes for it in a Muslim country), and a few other tidbits here and there. For some reason the pictures I keep trying to load don't want to be part of this, so I will just have to describe what I see with words.

Take care, out there, and enjoy your holiday season everyone. For those of you who are safe, be thankful for that. For those of you in harm's way to keep the rest of us safe, thank you. For those of you still recovering from the hurricane season, don't lose hope or faith (I wouldn't put too much faith in FEMA, mind you). Life will turn around, one way or another.

Peace.