Wasting Time

I’m really not wasting time, actually, I’m getting some good stuff done. Mapping, report writing. Although, mostly mapping. The good thing, however, is that my trip reports already address the majority of issues I need to write up for my sections, so it could end up being a lot of cut and paste kind of stuff from what I’ve already written. Either way, it’s under control. Mostly.

So, the Yemen guy said that, with my approval, they want me there as soon as possible, meaning early December, preferably the end of November. Well, that basically means that I will, indeed, be turning straight around when I get home to go to Yemen. (And I think I’ll likely be flying Yemen Air, aka: Yemenia at some point. Why can’t my life resemble a Friends episode in *other* ways??) I think what I’m going to do is leave Nov. 30^th, arriving in Yemen on December 1^st, then heading home, no stopping anywhere this time, on December 15^th. And that, my friends, is enough to make my head explode. Really, and truly *explode*. It’s a good thing I got almost all of my Christmas shopping done over the summer – I’d never finish it otherwise.

Oh, how I wish I could fly business class, for the extra leg room. I also wish I could get danger pay, what with having actually read the State Department’s Travel Warning page about Yemen (Mom, Dad – don’t read it. It’s not going to give you warm fuzzies) and knowing that US Goverment employees there would. Neither one is in the cards, I feel, although I suppose I could ask. I know the danger pay is out – we’re only authorized to get that if we’re in Iraq or Afghanistan, but I’ll see what I can do about the other stuff (maybe at least United’s Economy Plus to Frankfurt?). Yemen is only 8 hours ahead of DC, so while that’s more confusing to remember than the nice and easy 12-hour time difference I’m working with here, it’s less to (re)adjust to. The good thing about the two-week trip is this: I have a chance to get the lay of the land, figure out what kind of work I’ll have to be doing, what kind of clothes I’ll have to wear (grrr…), and all that kind of stuff. So when I return, I can focus on work after having gotten my feet wet, so to speak.

It’s good, however, that I don’t think I’ll catch any grief about the time I need to be home – I reiterated it in an e-mail today, and while he didn’t explicitly say “that’s cool”, he didn’t say anything to the contrary. But my boss told me that he would back me up on that request, so that’s good to know. Hopefully, that won’t be necessary, but it’s always good to know you have support if you need it.

I am *so* bringing the tiny suitcase on this trip.

I’d best be getting back to my work now. Yeehaw!