Randomness

It actually rained in Djibouti on Friday. It wasn't just the little sprinkles that we've gotten a few times since I've been here where 15 drops fall in two minutes and then nothing but an increase in humidity remains. We actually had a good 10 minute downpour, which caused some minor flooding in low lying areas around camp. It has actually cooled off some lately, which has been nice. I think the low has been around 85 or so, I know that doesn't sound very cool, but when the high is 105 and the heat index is 115, 85 feels mighty nice.

I had an article published in the Warren Sentinel this past week. You can go to www.warren.af.mil and read the current edition online if you're interested. The article is about Kurtis Buenting beating the guy from Navy, which I blogged about almost a month ago. I decided to write something up and send it back home. The people in the PA office read it and put it in the paper, on one of the last pages, but at least it is giving Kurtis the credit he deserves (actually that's where the section for sports and fitness is usually located). I was slightly disappointed with the title they gave it...but that's because I'm not one to use the term "Mad Skills" in such a public forum.

To further add to the randomness of this post, I think I may have a stress fracture in my foot. I have been running a lot lately and I think it finally caught up with me. I have a sharp pain in the top of my foot that is sensitive to direct pressure or if I step on the ball of my foot. Hopefully I'm wrong and it will go away soon, if not I could be sidelined for some time to come.

Just to add more randomness here is a picture of me with my old roommate getting ready to go to blows in the middle of the church...


Well I hope everyone is doing well, more to come soon...

Finally, Another Update

It has been a while, but things have been a little busy. I'm still trying to get a boxing program off the ground out here, but it's not going very well, yet. They have some of the equipment necessary, but there isn't very much space. I've been doing a lot of one on one training with people that have approached me. It has been fun and rewarding, but not quite what I had in mind when I tried to start the program over a month ago.

I recently had the opportunity to go down to Ethiopia, it was quite an experience. The picture attached is next to a monument that was erected to celebrate Ethiopia's independence. The monument shows that there was a great deal of Soviet influence, note the hammer and sickel in the star. Unofficially, the coup that overthrew the monarchy of Haile Selassie was sponsored by the former Soviet Union. This also spawned the time period known as "Red Terror," when people who opposed the new government were put to death. Ethiopia is the original birthplace of the Rastafarian movement, which was started by Haile Selassie and then spread to Jamaica with Bob Marley (who was originally from Ethiopia). There's your random history facts for the day, maybe even the week.

Ethiopia was beautiful; rolling hills, green trees, and a cool breeze(I think it was only around 92), a far cry from the brown backdrop and dry heat of Djibouti.

I think that is about it for now, I'll try to be better about updating this page. Hopefully, the next update will be in less than 3 weeks unlike this one.

Congrats To Kurtis

For those of you who know him, Kurtis Buenting won his first interservice bout last weekend. He knocked out (RSC) his opponent from Navy in 1:30 RD 1. He was able to send me a video, but the file is too large to upload here. If I can find a way I'll try to at least post some still shots to share. This is the first time he has boxed against anyone outside of Warren, and let me just say, it was impressive! He is currently deployed, but when he gets back make sure you congratulate him.



Not too much else is new out my way, just trying to stay in shape myself and make sure I'm ready for the tournaments that will be starting this fall and continue through the winter.

My Own Space On The Net

Hey everyone, I hope you're doing well. I'm still enjoying life in Africa. My boxing program isn't doing as well as I had hoped, after a huge amount of initial interest it has dwindled to one person. There isn't much equipment to useand there isn't much chance of having any kind of show around here, so after the initial novelty I think people are realizing that it would be a lot of work with little hope of ever having a payoff (show). I think it's just a good workout and a good chance to learn the basics...but then again, I love boxing.

Well, I hope this is the first of many blogs to come on this page.


The picture is at a restaraunt in downtown DJ.