Our First Frost

Merry Christmas everyone! Well, not quite yet, but none the less. Well, today it is 0100 of the 23rd, all of you are in the 22nd still. So your probably curious about my title there huh? Well, it's all true! Except that we don't really get a 'frost' here, it is more like a freeze; we have no moisture in the air, so you don't get dew, therefore, no frost. But anyways, it was pretty wild. My buddy Arends and I were working at the ECP (Entry Control Point), freezing our butts off, but minding our own business. Here comes this car, wipers flying across it's windshield, working feverishly to rid their windshield of slush.... wait, SLUSH!? Yes, slush. "Ok," we thought, "maybe that was a fluke of some sort."

So we continue to roast our water bottles over our heater, and put them inside our jackets to help keep us warm. Sipping on hot chocolate and tea from the same type of roasted water, another truck approaches, wipers going like crazy as well. "Hmmm, this truck looks funny." I thought, "It's almost like it's windshield is all fogged up. What in the world would he be using his wipers for if it is fogged up?" Well, as he got closer, it wasn't fog at all, but a nice layer of ice across the entire windshield! The truck passes us, the driver waving and smiling about his frozen windshield, and here we are, hands raised in an attempt to wave, but 'frozen' starring at his frozen windshield.... we bust out in laughter thinking about ICE in the DESERT!

Well, then the jimmy jon pooper suckers come to clean them out and wash them down. They usually come the same time we are delivered breakfast, so you can imagine the mixture of smells on top of a hungry stomach... yeah. Anyways, they suck 'em out and spray them down, soap sliding down the sides, and they drive on. We don't really pay any attention to the jimmy jons, because were trying not to gag while eating, but the pooper dudes drive back by us, and point at the crappers, smiling and laughing. "Hmmm, what could they be thinking?" I then look over at them and notice that the soap they sprayed is no longer sliding down the sides. I yell over to Arends, "Hey, did the jons freeze!?" I stroll towards them, cradling a hot water bottle in my jacket, moving quickly so I can get back to the heater as soon as possible. Once I got close enough to them, I felt like I went back in time to the ice age; the water they sprayed the jons down with froze completely, over the entire thing from top to bottom! It seriously looked like something from the ice age; a jimmy jon just chiseled out of a frozen glacier!

Not only that, but once I sat back down behind the heater, taking my bottle out to 'recharge' the warmth and sipping my hot chocolate, SGT Harcey comes over the radio and says that there is ice on the lake in areas! Arends and I started joking around about calling our wives and having them send us ice skates! Arends says, "Hey, wouldn't that be awesome if we got some snow on Christmas?" Sure, were just joking, but hey, it could happen! I mean, it is cold enough, all we need is some precipitation during this cold stuff and BAM! SNOW! We'll just have to wait and see though.

Hope everyone is able to dig themselves out of the snow there fairly easily, and don't worry, my boogers haven't frozen across my face like 'dumb and dumber' yet, so it's all good! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Brandon