Thanksgiving in Iraq

Once again, another Thanksgiving in Iraq. This is the 3rd one I have spent out here. Really there isn't much excitement during Thanksgiving except in the chow hall which we call the DFAC. DFAC stands for Dining Facility. This picture on the right is made out of food from the DFAC. Now, this is a great idea and sheer creativeness. The walls of the ship are made of macaroni and the deck is made from pop tarts and power bars. I am a bit torn as I think the soldiers and everyone out here deserve a nice show, but at what expense to the tax payer? Rumor has it that each meal costs close to 40 dollars per person. I am suspecting this ship was very expensive. Is this a waste or a gift? I guess it is up to each individual to decide. This was just one piece on display. There are other pieces throughout the DFAC. The turkey on the left was geniusly made out of potato chips. The meal this year was very good compared to other years. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and the works. I think the deserts were probably the best as usual. Hard to go wrong with those. On another note, heard on the news that a Walmart employee got killed on Black Friday due to customers breaking the door down and trampling the man to death. What has this world come to when a bargain constitutes breaking down a door and bum rushing through employees? My prayers go out to the family of this maintenance worker. It's too bad that people don't have any respect anymore. Credit for the above pictures go to Dwayne Machinski. He is a new photographer to be.

New House

After many problems with Wells Fargo, we decided to go with another bank. Let me rewind a bit. Candice and I finally found a house that we both loved. Wells Fargo seemed to have the best rate. We gave them all the paper work that they asked for and th0ught we were on our way to a closing date on the 20th. A few days later, I receive an appraisal report. The report listed the house 27 thousand less than what we were going to pay for it. Wells Fargo will only loan 95% of the appraisal value. After fighting with Wells Fargo for days, we decided to go with another bank. The house we are purchasing is a brand new build. So, there is no way inflation or depreciation is a factor. Market value may be one thing, but the cost of a 2x4 is another. Well, we got the new appraisal report and it was a lot more accurate. Actually, they appraised it higher than listed. So, we are now going to be the proud owners of a new house in Ooltewah, Tennessee. Here is the link to the realtor page for the house. Our House

Playing with my Sigma 150

This shot was pretty difficult for me for many reasons. First of all, I just got through working out. I could not keep a steady hand. I went to get a tripod and that helped. Low lighting at that close was a problem as well. I think with this picture I got a shutter speed of 1/20. My lovely subject, Candice, was moving a bit. The mosquitos(State Bird) were swarming all around. It wasn't as crisp as I would have liked it to have been but I was able to salvage the shot through Lightroom 2.0. Hopefully I can get a better shot with a higher f-stop to get the depth of field I want.

Welcome

I have decided not to start a blog with this is my first time doing this blah blah blah hope you enjoy blah blah blah. So, instead I am going to welcome you all to my blog. I have not decided what the theme of this is going to be yet. My first thought is photography. Then again, I wonder if this should be the day in the life of Chad. I have no idea at this point so let's just go with photography. Welcome to my little place on the web!