Topic: Daily Life
A few weeks back I went to a party hosted by a British personal security detachment (PSD) company. They had lost two employees in Basrah and had decided use the party as a fundraiser to raise money for the widows.

Finding the party proved to be more difficult than I originally expected. There are no road signs in Iraq, and with tall t-walls lining every road, it is nearly impossible to see anything other than what is right in front of you. I had general directions, but once I got close, I had to ask everyone I saw in hopes that they knew where the company’s compound was located.

When I arrived at the party, I tried to remind myself that the whole purpose of the party was to raise money, but I couldn't avoid the fact that the party was very lame. It cost $10 to get into the party, and it was a cash bar. When I arrived, most of the 100 men and approximately 10 women at the party were sitting around tables playing a trivia game, lead by an Irishman asking nearly impossible questions that even a Jeopardy champion couldn't answer. After finishing the trivia game, the company had a very short and tasteful memorial service. Sadly, just as I thought that the party would get better, someone in charge decided that it was time to warm up the karaoke machine. Let me give a little piece of advice to anyone organizing parties in Iraq - listening to drunk PSDs sign karaoke song is not fun.