Taken by Meg on Dec. 22.:)
Jp
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
A Perfect Week
The best thing about the last eight days at home was how perfectly natural and normal everything felt. Even though it was brand new for everyone!
Before the beautiful evening walk on the 22nd, we had a lovely morning too. Took it nice and easy, as most of our mornings, having eggs and toast, and sometimes oatmeal... so nice! The only scheduled event was to pick up Meg & Jason from the airport (they were returning from visiting family in North Carolina). So we were back at the airport the very next day after Mike arrived! On our way home this time we stopped at the Padvorac's house and visited with Jason's mom (and had some great cheese sandwiches) and played with their dog Trixie. We went home separately, and took Spiffy on a jaunt around the block before heading out on a walk of our own. While still floating on clouds, we visited Meg & Jason's apartment nearby and then went home and broke the news to the family. They were both excited and had reservations... a very expected response.
The next morning after breakfast Mom, Dad & I had a good, long conversation together, and I was very glad that Meg was able to keep Mike occupied, playing games and talking. What could be more nerve-racking? I found out a little bit as Dad and Mike had a long talk together the last night on the 28th. :)
After the talk, Mike and I went to Fred Meyer to pick out a ring at their jewelers... and also did a little Christmas shopping. I always thought I'd only want a plain band (hard to lose a diamond that's not there - or catch it on anything), but the saleslady showed us something less expensive that we liked more! It needed resizing, so we would get it the next morning. Mike tried out driving my car with me later as we went to Taco Time for lunch, and back at home we watched "Letters to Juliet" downstairs with my brother Zac and the rest of the family on his projector. But that wasn't all to the day! Zac and my Mom had arranged to have longtime family friends over that evening for a lasagna dinner. They're church friends of ours that used to come over every Saturday night after evening services... sometimes they'd watch Remember WENN with us... yeah, it was that long ago. :O So Mike didn't only have lots of my family to meet, but also lots of friends! They have seven children, so it was a full house!
Christmas Eve we picked up the ring (and I think it's perfect - it's my first time wearing any kind of ring regularly... I think I play with it too much) :) and then we went to North Seattle to stop by and see my friend Julie. She knew about Mike, but the ring was a big surprise and she shrieked and wished us happiness :) We really couldn't hang out because her mom was sick, so I took Mike to the University of Washington (nearby) to show him where I spent several years. He loved all the trees and grand buildings... it was really lovely because there was a bit of sunshine again that day as well.
We had to get back home though, in order to go with my parents to the candlelight Christmas Eve service at my church at an early 4:30. We met more friends there and afterwords went out to our traditional Mexican dinner in Woodinville. Tom and Bette were very happy to see me... Tom is prior service Navy, so that was neat to talk about as well. And then back home we had our traditional carol singing in the living room (Andie & Nathan & family and Meg & Jason came over for this), with reading of the Christmas story and putting all 24 ornaments on our advent wreath... we got a little behind this year. :) What a beautiful evening! We sang all my favorites.
Christmas day was very normal! Except for my Aunt & Uncle's friends that decided to spend the day with us... ! We had our traditional breakfast with everything, including fresh waffles... and presents lasted until around 1pm. My 96 year old grandma was very moved to see the day when I got engaged. LOL! She was very sweet! I showed everyone my dress white uniform and had a picture with her. After everyone left, we settled down with some cookies and hot drinks and watched the BBC "Lion, Witch & Wardrobe" (very Christmasey and very fun! haven't seen it in a very long time!) and later on, Andie & Nathan's copy of "How to Train Your Dragon", which I had seen in the theater a while ago and wanted to see again.
Sunday the 26th was Mike and I's day together. We both got up sort of early, and went to the 9am service at church. It was a great little unexpected sermon given by one of the associate pastors... all about working on areas of our lives that we know need improvement. But as is the tradition with the services around New Year's, we had an extended time of prayer, literally getting on our knees and talking to God individually (yeah, we held hands though :) The whole morning was just lovely. Later on we drove out to Carnation to take a look at the horses, enjoying the long drive and carefully avoiding the mud in the pasture :) I picked their hooves and we brushed them a little, but it was too cold to think about getting on. We went back a different way over Tolt Hill Rd, and then stopped by my old house in Redmond, where I grew up.
Not long after we got home, we got ready for our "New Year's Eve" date in downtown Seattle. I had mentioned on the phone that I've always wanted one, so Mike thought it'd be fun to have one anyway, although we'd be back in our respective places on the 31st. Drove to the waterfront and enjoyed a fantastic, fancy dinner at Ivar's, a famous Washington-only seafood place that's been operating since 1938. We had a window seat on the lake with a view of the city's fireboat and the ferries to the peninsula coming and going all evening. The table was candlelit, and we had a lovely conversation... the whole evening was of the stuff that dreams are made of. :) And then we realized we would only have less than an hour for the Space Needle... lol! So we had a little drive, and ended up enjoying the night-time view, despite the low clouds, intense wind and little kids running around. :) Got home around 11:30, but stayed up to bring in the new day. LOL!
December 27th was a little more relaxed. We enjoyed walking the dog some more... this was Zac's last morning with us. He had to fly back to Yuma in the afternoon, so we had a nice lunch at Olive Garden together and then a nice talk with everyone back at home in the living room. Later on that night, Mom, Mike and I went out to our favorite Chinese place for dinner. I think I'm going to need to hit the PT pretty hard when things get back to normal. :)
Our last full day on the 28th we took a day trip to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island with my Mom and Dad. An hour plus drive north, and then an hour plus ride on a ferry. We were a little worried as we drove through the pelting rain in Everett, but not long after that we came to the edge of the clouds and the rain stopped altogether, with even blue sky on the horizon. The ferry ride was breathtakingly beautiful like usual... the blue mountains surrounding the rings of bright green evergreens above the blue waters and below the bright sky. You should have seen the sunrise! Wow! The goals in Friday Harbor itself were simple. Meg had gotten me something there for Christmas that I already had (so we returned it for her - the trip was her plan in the beginning, but she was sick and they didn't go) and then they have the Whale Museum there that I've been interested in seeing for a long time. There were neat specimens... lots of skeletons... and a neat video on scientists observing Orca Whales. Because of the ferry schedule, we decided to go to lunch first. It was another fancy restaurant on the waterfront called "Downriggers". I had an incredible mushroom and onion burger and Dad tried the chowder in a bread bowl like Meg did when her and Jason were here. We had a bigger ferry on the way back with a second passenger level with a deck that wrapped all the way around. Between sitting and chatting with my parents, Mike and I took the tour around it, enjoying the views. It was dark by the time we got back home... I think I slept more than half the return drive. :)
Wednesday morning, the 29th, we woke up to a light dusting of snow! It was a perfect parting gift. After breakfast, Mike and I took the dog for a walk. As we were out, it started snowing heavy flakes again! So fun! This winter is much different from the kind I had seen in Chicago! :)
We were able to spend our last minutes together even! Our flights were originally at the same time, and our gates were only a couple numbers apart! We had time for a lunch at the bagel place I love, and I had time to say goodbye as he boarded, because my flight had been delayed due to that good ol' Chicago weather. :)
It was a Christmas to remember! :)
As you can tell, I am all smiles.
Jp
Before the beautiful evening walk on the 22nd, we had a lovely morning too. Took it nice and easy, as most of our mornings, having eggs and toast, and sometimes oatmeal... so nice! The only scheduled event was to pick up Meg & Jason from the airport (they were returning from visiting family in North Carolina). So we were back at the airport the very next day after Mike arrived! On our way home this time we stopped at the Padvorac's house and visited with Jason's mom (and had some great cheese sandwiches) and played with their dog Trixie. We went home separately, and took Spiffy on a jaunt around the block before heading out on a walk of our own. While still floating on clouds, we visited Meg & Jason's apartment nearby and then went home and broke the news to the family. They were both excited and had reservations... a very expected response.
The next morning after breakfast Mom, Dad & I had a good, long conversation together, and I was very glad that Meg was able to keep Mike occupied, playing games and talking. What could be more nerve-racking? I found out a little bit as Dad and Mike had a long talk together the last night on the 28th. :)
After the talk, Mike and I went to Fred Meyer to pick out a ring at their jewelers... and also did a little Christmas shopping. I always thought I'd only want a plain band (hard to lose a diamond that's not there - or catch it on anything), but the saleslady showed us something less expensive that we liked more! It needed resizing, so we would get it the next morning. Mike tried out driving my car with me later as we went to Taco Time for lunch, and back at home we watched "Letters to Juliet" downstairs with my brother Zac and the rest of the family on his projector. But that wasn't all to the day! Zac and my Mom had arranged to have longtime family friends over that evening for a lasagna dinner. They're church friends of ours that used to come over every Saturday night after evening services... sometimes they'd watch Remember WENN with us... yeah, it was that long ago. :O So Mike didn't only have lots of my family to meet, but also lots of friends! They have seven children, so it was a full house!
Christmas Eve we picked up the ring (and I think it's perfect - it's my first time wearing any kind of ring regularly... I think I play with it too much) :) and then we went to North Seattle to stop by and see my friend Julie. She knew about Mike, but the ring was a big surprise and she shrieked and wished us happiness :) We really couldn't hang out because her mom was sick, so I took Mike to the University of Washington (nearby) to show him where I spent several years. He loved all the trees and grand buildings... it was really lovely because there was a bit of sunshine again that day as well.
We had to get back home though, in order to go with my parents to the candlelight Christmas Eve service at my church at an early 4:30. We met more friends there and afterwords went out to our traditional Mexican dinner in Woodinville. Tom and Bette were very happy to see me... Tom is prior service Navy, so that was neat to talk about as well. And then back home we had our traditional carol singing in the living room (Andie & Nathan & family and Meg & Jason came over for this), with reading of the Christmas story and putting all 24 ornaments on our advent wreath... we got a little behind this year. :) What a beautiful evening! We sang all my favorites.
Christmas day was very normal! Except for my Aunt & Uncle's friends that decided to spend the day with us... ! We had our traditional breakfast with everything, including fresh waffles... and presents lasted until around 1pm. My 96 year old grandma was very moved to see the day when I got engaged. LOL! She was very sweet! I showed everyone my dress white uniform and had a picture with her. After everyone left, we settled down with some cookies and hot drinks and watched the BBC "Lion, Witch & Wardrobe" (very Christmasey and very fun! haven't seen it in a very long time!) and later on, Andie & Nathan's copy of "How to Train Your Dragon", which I had seen in the theater a while ago and wanted to see again.
Sunday the 26th was Mike and I's day together. We both got up sort of early, and went to the 9am service at church. It was a great little unexpected sermon given by one of the associate pastors... all about working on areas of our lives that we know need improvement. But as is the tradition with the services around New Year's, we had an extended time of prayer, literally getting on our knees and talking to God individually (yeah, we held hands though :) The whole morning was just lovely. Later on we drove out to Carnation to take a look at the horses, enjoying the long drive and carefully avoiding the mud in the pasture :) I picked their hooves and we brushed them a little, but it was too cold to think about getting on. We went back a different way over Tolt Hill Rd, and then stopped by my old house in Redmond, where I grew up.
Not long after we got home, we got ready for our "New Year's Eve" date in downtown Seattle. I had mentioned on the phone that I've always wanted one, so Mike thought it'd be fun to have one anyway, although we'd be back in our respective places on the 31st. Drove to the waterfront and enjoyed a fantastic, fancy dinner at Ivar's, a famous Washington-only seafood place that's been operating since 1938. We had a window seat on the lake with a view of the city's fireboat and the ferries to the peninsula coming and going all evening. The table was candlelit, and we had a lovely conversation... the whole evening was of the stuff that dreams are made of. :) And then we realized we would only have less than an hour for the Space Needle... lol! So we had a little drive, and ended up enjoying the night-time view, despite the low clouds, intense wind and little kids running around. :) Got home around 11:30, but stayed up to bring in the new day. LOL!
December 27th was a little more relaxed. We enjoyed walking the dog some more... this was Zac's last morning with us. He had to fly back to Yuma in the afternoon, so we had a nice lunch at Olive Garden together and then a nice talk with everyone back at home in the living room. Later on that night, Mom, Mike and I went out to our favorite Chinese place for dinner. I think I'm going to need to hit the PT pretty hard when things get back to normal. :)
Our last full day on the 28th we took a day trip to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island with my Mom and Dad. An hour plus drive north, and then an hour plus ride on a ferry. We were a little worried as we drove through the pelting rain in Everett, but not long after that we came to the edge of the clouds and the rain stopped altogether, with even blue sky on the horizon. The ferry ride was breathtakingly beautiful like usual... the blue mountains surrounding the rings of bright green evergreens above the blue waters and below the bright sky. You should have seen the sunrise! Wow! The goals in Friday Harbor itself were simple. Meg had gotten me something there for Christmas that I already had (so we returned it for her - the trip was her plan in the beginning, but she was sick and they didn't go) and then they have the Whale Museum there that I've been interested in seeing for a long time. There were neat specimens... lots of skeletons... and a neat video on scientists observing Orca Whales. Because of the ferry schedule, we decided to go to lunch first. It was another fancy restaurant on the waterfront called "Downriggers". I had an incredible mushroom and onion burger and Dad tried the chowder in a bread bowl like Meg did when her and Jason were here. We had a bigger ferry on the way back with a second passenger level with a deck that wrapped all the way around. Between sitting and chatting with my parents, Mike and I took the tour around it, enjoying the views. It was dark by the time we got back home... I think I slept more than half the return drive. :)
Wednesday morning, the 29th, we woke up to a light dusting of snow! It was a perfect parting gift. After breakfast, Mike and I took the dog for a walk. As we were out, it started snowing heavy flakes again! So fun! This winter is much different from the kind I had seen in Chicago! :)
We were able to spend our last minutes together even! Our flights were originally at the same time, and our gates were only a couple numbers apart! We had time for a lunch at the bagel place I love, and I had time to say goodbye as he boarded, because my flight had been delayed due to that good ol' Chicago weather. :)
It was a Christmas to remember! :)
As you can tell, I am all smiles.
Jp
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Big, Big News!
As Mike just said: a little bit has changed since last Tuesday. :)
Mike and I went for a walk on the Sammamish River Trail on Wednesday evening, stopping at the Bothell Landing. Slowly sauntered over the bridge and then sat down on a bench nearby. Unbelievably, it had been sunny that day... and we sat and watched the sun slowly disappear over the trees on the horizon, turning from gold to light blue to deep purple. Yeah... it was really nice. :)
Many things were talked about and we finally realized we wanted to spend our lives together.
I am so happy. :)
We picked out the ring the next morning. And I've been floating on clouds ever since! This holiday is one for the ages!
Jp
Mike and I went for a walk on the Sammamish River Trail on Wednesday evening, stopping at the Bothell Landing. Slowly sauntered over the bridge and then sat down on a bench nearby. Unbelievably, it had been sunny that day... and we sat and watched the sun slowly disappear over the trees on the horizon, turning from gold to light blue to deep purple. Yeah... it was really nice. :)Many things were talked about and we finally realized we wanted to spend our lives together.
I am so happy. :)
We picked out the ring the next morning. And I've been floating on clouds ever since! This holiday is one for the ages!
Jp
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Welcome Home
I woke up to receive Mike's call that he made his connection alright, and he did, although he said the first leg of the trip from OKC to Denver was on one of those tiny planes and it was even bouncier than he remembered. The longer flight to Seattle turned out being nice and smooth on a big one though.
My friends from Aerojet were going out to celebrate a birthday in the group and invited me to join them when I talked about visiting. So Mike and I went directly to Coho Cafe in Redmond for a fun lunch and meeting my friends. It was so great to see them again and to go out like we used to! I talked a lot about boot camp and enjoyed my usual chicken tacos and seafood bisque. And after this we all went to Aerojet to say hello to more friends, show off my uniforms, and show Mike where I spent the most of my last four years. Because of all the people we ran into and chatted with, it took much longer than I thought! Lunch was at 11:30 and we didn't get home until 2:45 or 3:00.
And when we did, we were exhausted! Mike met Andie and Nathan and my niece Beckie and nephew Micah... and Spiffy! That was the fastest he's warmed up to any stranger in a long time! The cookies and games helped a good deal, but he even let him pet his head! We napped in the living room between playing with the dog and visiting with people. Mom made beef stroganoff for dinner and later on we watched a movie from Netflix.
What a day!
Jp
My friends from Aerojet were going out to celebrate a birthday in the group and invited me to join them when I talked about visiting. So Mike and I went directly to Coho Cafe in Redmond for a fun lunch and meeting my friends. It was so great to see them again and to go out like we used to! I talked a lot about boot camp and enjoyed my usual chicken tacos and seafood bisque. And after this we all went to Aerojet to say hello to more friends, show off my uniforms, and show Mike where I spent the most of my last four years. Because of all the people we ran into and chatted with, it took much longer than I thought! Lunch was at 11:30 and we didn't get home until 2:45 or 3:00.
And when we did, we were exhausted! Mike met Andie and Nathan and my niece Beckie and nephew Micah... and Spiffy! That was the fastest he's warmed up to any stranger in a long time! The cookies and games helped a good deal, but he even let him pet his head! We napped in the living room between playing with the dog and visiting with people. Mom made beef stroganoff for dinner and later on we watched a movie from Netflix.
What a day!
Jp
Monday, December 20, 2010
Holiday!
I'm loving being home! I've kept myself pretty busy these first days, straightening my room, going through the piles of mail, putting Christmas lights up (Saturday), having a wonderful time at lunch and at home with my good friend Julie (Sunday), and helping Mom with cookies (today). I've slept like a log each night and re-learned driving on the freeway... timidly going under the speed limit (argh! what's happened to me?!) lol! I've had wonderful breakfasts (that I dreamed of at school) and games of backgammon with Dad. Today I watched 'Miracle on 34th Street' for the first time... which was great!
I think going back will be hard... but the dvd of the Boot Camp graduation ceremony came in the mail this afternoon, so we watched that. It was strange to remember how that felt to be there, especially since everyone at school despises even thinking of Boot Camp (and often act like they didn't go). But it made me very proud again of what I'm doing, so hopefully it won't kill me on December 29th.
Jp
I think going back will be hard... but the dvd of the Boot Camp graduation ceremony came in the mail this afternoon, so we watched that. It was strange to remember how that felt to be there, especially since everyone at school despises even thinking of Boot Camp (and often act like they didn't go). But it made me very proud again of what I'm doing, so hopefully it won't kill me on December 29th.
Jp
Friday, December 17, 2010
A Muddle of Two Days
or "How I Escaped From Crazy Land".
Thursday morning was exciting... I even went to breakfast. We had three hours of school and an hour of "field day" in the classroom. When they finally let us out of the building, I went to lunch before returning to muster at noon. Since it was my duty day, I volunteered to join a working party that was needed at the Bldg. 3 Legal Investigations office for "moving stuff". Lasted less than an hour, and then it was back to the building for another muster. Stayed inside the whole day... Packed for the trip and took an hour's nap. After that, had pizza delivered, and then took a lay-awake-nap, singing myself hymns and praying. Soon it was the muster at 2000 (8pm) for sweepers. I mopped the female passageway... it was loud with people's music blaring and excited voices as people cleaned their rooms, packing up stuff to go home with. Another hour later it was the expiration of liberty muster... my fifth for the day. That was fast, as usual, and our LPO said some nice things as he's leaving for a new duty station. I talked on the phone for the remainder of the day, until getting into my blues at 2330 for my job as Messenger of the Watch from midnight to 0200. The guy who was supposed to relieve me at 0145 payed me off $10 to take his 45 minutes until the watch was secured for the holiday stand-down beginning at reveille at 0230. He caught me on the quarterdeck just before our pizza came and I was on my way to buy a bag of Sun chips from the vending machines (because it was taking so long).
Watch went by rather smoothly. Had conversations with the Petty Officer of the Watch and with the 1st Deck Sentry... before the Chief came in and yelled at him to stand back in the p-way where he was supposed to. :(
They played a song about going home over the 1MC for reveille, and then we got our leave chits signed. Hung out in the lounge, lay down and tried to block out the Adam Sandler movie someone had put on. It worked until I heard Rupert Holmes singing the Pina Colada Song... lol!
That got over, and then they stuck in Avatar. We got almost to half-way through when we decided to go catch a bus to the airport (0730). Left at 0800, and arrived at 0845 a second later. :) I did a lot of napping this morning, causing me to be very disorientated most of the time.
It was odd to be back at the airport where it all began. But it was nice to see it in the day-time. The USO was very friendly... had lots of free snacks and drinks, but it was also pretty crowded. They only had 6 recliners (and they were taken) and a couple dozen comfy chairs in front of a big screen TV with football on (and they were all taken too). So I sat out in the hall for a while, and then came back to grab a seat at a table that had been vacated. About 1030, the CO and CMC from the Training Center came in to talk with Sailors and make sure they were being treated right. So I had a quick conversation with Captain Olinger! She's very nice! When she found out I had such a late flight, she had somebody find out about getting an earlier standby one for me. A little while later I had a free back massage! Gee, they think of all the important things here! Soon after that I took my bags to the next terminal and checked in (checking both my sea bag and backpack for free) and made my way to the gate and relaxed. I was worried, because the flight was full, but I ended up getting on! This was a full FIVE hours earlier than my scheduled one at 9pm. Thank God!
It wasn't the most comfortable flight, but I really didn't care! I nodded to sleep off and on, catching a few hours of semi-rest. :) Getting back to Seattle was so wonderful! My bags were there just fine, and Mom and Dad arrived just a couple minutes after I walked outside into the much warmer winter night air. I wasn't giddy with happiness as I imagined, when getting off the plane... some of that was because I was so tired, but some because being in the military drains much of a person's giddiness away from them. I was all smiles though, hugging my parents there and petting my puppy when we got home. That was really nice!
After a home-made meatloaf and baked potato dinner (with pie afterwords), I took the dog on our old route in the cold night air. It was only partly cloudy, so I could see the moon and Jupiter very well. Back home I dried the dishes as mom washed and then we sang a few songs together by the light of the Christmas tree. Ahhhhhhhhh! And then I soon realized how hard my mattresses have been in the Navy. :)
Jp
Thursday morning was exciting... I even went to breakfast. We had three hours of school and an hour of "field day" in the classroom. When they finally let us out of the building, I went to lunch before returning to muster at noon. Since it was my duty day, I volunteered to join a working party that was needed at the Bldg. 3 Legal Investigations office for "moving stuff". Lasted less than an hour, and then it was back to the building for another muster. Stayed inside the whole day... Packed for the trip and took an hour's nap. After that, had pizza delivered, and then took a lay-awake-nap, singing myself hymns and praying. Soon it was the muster at 2000 (8pm) for sweepers. I mopped the female passageway... it was loud with people's music blaring and excited voices as people cleaned their rooms, packing up stuff to go home with. Another hour later it was the expiration of liberty muster... my fifth for the day. That was fast, as usual, and our LPO said some nice things as he's leaving for a new duty station. I talked on the phone for the remainder of the day, until getting into my blues at 2330 for my job as Messenger of the Watch from midnight to 0200. The guy who was supposed to relieve me at 0145 payed me off $10 to take his 45 minutes until the watch was secured for the holiday stand-down beginning at reveille at 0230. He caught me on the quarterdeck just before our pizza came and I was on my way to buy a bag of Sun chips from the vending machines (because it was taking so long).
Watch went by rather smoothly. Had conversations with the Petty Officer of the Watch and with the 1st Deck Sentry... before the Chief came in and yelled at him to stand back in the p-way where he was supposed to. :(
They played a song about going home over the 1MC for reveille, and then we got our leave chits signed. Hung out in the lounge, lay down and tried to block out the Adam Sandler movie someone had put on. It worked until I heard Rupert Holmes singing the Pina Colada Song... lol!
That got over, and then they stuck in Avatar. We got almost to half-way through when we decided to go catch a bus to the airport (0730). Left at 0800, and arrived at 0845 a second later. :) I did a lot of napping this morning, causing me to be very disorientated most of the time.
It was odd to be back at the airport where it all began. But it was nice to see it in the day-time. The USO was very friendly... had lots of free snacks and drinks, but it was also pretty crowded. They only had 6 recliners (and they were taken) and a couple dozen comfy chairs in front of a big screen TV with football on (and they were all taken too). So I sat out in the hall for a while, and then came back to grab a seat at a table that had been vacated. About 1030, the CO and CMC from the Training Center came in to talk with Sailors and make sure they were being treated right. So I had a quick conversation with Captain Olinger! She's very nice! When she found out I had such a late flight, she had somebody find out about getting an earlier standby one for me. A little while later I had a free back massage! Gee, they think of all the important things here! Soon after that I took my bags to the next terminal and checked in (checking both my sea bag and backpack for free) and made my way to the gate and relaxed. I was worried, because the flight was full, but I ended up getting on! This was a full FIVE hours earlier than my scheduled one at 9pm. Thank God!
It wasn't the most comfortable flight, but I really didn't care! I nodded to sleep off and on, catching a few hours of semi-rest. :) Getting back to Seattle was so wonderful! My bags were there just fine, and Mom and Dad arrived just a couple minutes after I walked outside into the much warmer winter night air. I wasn't giddy with happiness as I imagined, when getting off the plane... some of that was because I was so tired, but some because being in the military drains much of a person's giddiness away from them. I was all smiles though, hugging my parents there and petting my puppy when we got home. That was really nice!
After a home-made meatloaf and baked potato dinner (with pie afterwords), I took the dog on our old route in the cold night air. It was only partly cloudy, so I could see the moon and Jupiter very well. Back home I dried the dishes as mom washed and then we sang a few songs together by the light of the Christmas tree. Ahhhhhhhhh! And then I soon realized how hard my mattresses have been in the Navy. :)
Jp
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
At Ease
Last night I considered doing more extra school to help catch up (I'm three days behind the recommended schedule - which isn't too bad on the average, believe it or not. I think the planners were a little too optimistic when they assigned the lessons per day.), but instead I went to the Bible study that I was invited to.
It was a neat little meeting. Introduced ourselves and then talked about the wise men's gifts and God's gift to us (from Matthew). It was great to meet other practicing Christians! I was greatly encouraged.
After getting back to the ship, one of my roommates burst in the door with a friend, rather plastered. She doesn't have school today or tomorrow, so it wasn't a big deal... and I'm glad she was safe. But at muster they told me I needed to talk to a ship's yeoman... they didn't know if my leave request was approved or not. So I put all that in the Lord's hands and had a beautiful sleep anyway :)
This morning at school I started off with my block test (cumulative for a set of lessons) that I was worried about. But I ended up pulling off my first 100%! A night of sleep helped, I think. And this noon I had a fast lunch and then went to my ship to check with the yeomans again... and my request had been approved. Whew! :) So everything is going according to plan, and I am on my way home in two days time! How good the Lord is!
Yippppeeeeee!
Jp
It was a neat little meeting. Introduced ourselves and then talked about the wise men's gifts and God's gift to us (from Matthew). It was great to meet other practicing Christians! I was greatly encouraged.
After getting back to the ship, one of my roommates burst in the door with a friend, rather plastered. She doesn't have school today or tomorrow, so it wasn't a big deal... and I'm glad she was safe. But at muster they told me I needed to talk to a ship's yeoman... they didn't know if my leave request was approved or not. So I put all that in the Lord's hands and had a beautiful sleep anyway :)
This morning at school I started off with my block test (cumulative for a set of lessons) that I was worried about. But I ended up pulling off my first 100%! A night of sleep helped, I think. And this noon I had a fast lunch and then went to my ship to check with the yeomans again... and my request had been approved. Whew! :) So everything is going according to plan, and I am on my way home in two days time! How good the Lord is!
Yippppeeeeee!
Jp
Monday, December 13, 2010
Busy Day
And it was back to school... and the math is... continuing. :)
I spent an hour and a half tonight at Open Learning and only got through one lesson...
But right after muster tonight, I volunteered for the Armed Forces Blood Drive that sends donated blood directly to the battle zones. I've never donated before, so I thought this'd be a good opportunity to start (and for a super good cause). I was a tiny bit nervous, but my technician was so funny... wanted me to sing my name... and made bird sounds... it was the end of the day for him. I was one of the last to give, actually. And I did it in a record time... They said it usually takes 5-6 minutes for a pint, and usually longer for women; but I finished in 3:22!
They gave us neat challenge coins for doing it, along with great snacks and orange juice after we were done. And there was a shuttle back to the barracks! How neat!
Jp
I spent an hour and a half tonight at Open Learning and only got through one lesson...
But right after muster tonight, I volunteered for the Armed Forces Blood Drive that sends donated blood directly to the battle zones. I've never donated before, so I thought this'd be a good opportunity to start (and for a super good cause). I was a tiny bit nervous, but my technician was so funny... wanted me to sing my name... and made bird sounds... it was the end of the day for him. I was one of the last to give, actually. And I did it in a record time... They said it usually takes 5-6 minutes for a pint, and usually longer for women; but I finished in 3:22!
They gave us neat challenge coins for doing it, along with great snacks and orange juice after we were done. And there was a shuttle back to the barracks! How neat!
Jp
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Blues & Music
Saturday morning, slept in quite a while. :) I think I ended up getting out of bed around 0830. Didn't have my plans finalized yet, but I did go to chow with my roommate and made it back around 1000. Brunches are odd on the weekends at the galley. You can get both breakfast items like made to order omelets and lunch items like hamburgers. Crazy.
I went to the Loft around 1100, and then left for Chicago around noon. I was with someone from my division at bootcamp who I hadn't seen in a long while and a group of her friends. When we got to the train station we had a bite to eat in the food court (grilled chicken sandwich and chicken noodle soup!) and then got a taxi to the Aquarium. It was raining cats and dogs (and blowing pretty hard) so we didn't want to bother with the buses, even if they were free. :)
I thought the Shedd Aquarium was neat, but it wasn't as incredible as I heard it was. They did have an indoor (Pacific white-sided) dolphin show (along the lines of sea world), but that was "holiday" themed, complete with a Santa Claus wishing everyone a "Happy Holidays! Ho, Ho, Ho!" I thought the aquarium in general (like many of the new/updated ones I've been to) are way to grand and too focused on being new and different than presenting the sea life. I guess I'm spoiled with the simple and wonderful Seattle Aquarium. I did enjoy it though. One of my favorite things was the ray tank downstairs that you walked on... And they did have two very cute otters. :) Hard to complain though! It was free for active duty military!
After the aquarium (my friends needed to go back to base), I made my way to the Chicago Symphony Center. Had to make my way through the rain in the picturesque, paved, lake-front park to the busy street for a free (with active military ID) bus ride several blocks north. Along the way I could see Navy pier (from my first weekend) in the distance, all lit up. Walked in the door of the Symphony Hall and I heard the chorus singing something beautiful... and then I purchased a student-priced ticket. The seat ended up being in the 7th row in the middle on the floor... probably a pricey one... but for me... $15. :)
Since I was there so early (5:30), I decided to explore the surrounding streets a little. I changed clothes from my jeans into my dress blues in a local Mc'yD's and then made my way back to the Symphony. They had their own little restaurant/bar, so I enjoyed a fancy cheeseburger up at the bar. The lady that sat down next to me struck up a conversation, and it turned out she was a regular symphony-goer, and showed me around a bit after we finished. What was neat was right when we got done it was time for the pre-concert lecture about one of the pieces we'd be hearing, and the speaker was very knowledgeable. He'd play examples from the concerto on the piano, or play a snippet on the radio. It was very fun!
But that was nothing, compared to the concert itself! My seat afforded a fabulous view of the soloist especially and most of the orchestra. The pianist had floppy hair and he moved with the music so suddenly that it would bounce all over the place. :) Hearing all three pieces was so refreshing. It was so, so beautiful.
I had to leave quickly once the final applause began though, because the last train left a half-hour after the show ended. I grabbed a taxi and made it to the Ogilvie Transit Center faster than you could say supercalifragilisticexpialadocious. Or however you spell that. :)
I sat with three other shipmates, going back for a late-night ride and spent most the journey on the phone while they slept, talking to Meg and Mike. I followed them back to base and I got in just after midnight. I think the day couldn't have turned out nicer.
Sunday, today, was my duty day. Right after getting up I had a watch to man in my dress blues for the first time. Pier Sentry... checking bags and pockets for illegal items, and making sure folks took their coats off when they came in. Wasn't bad at all! The Quarterdeck is the more interesting place to stand, with the most activity. And it was only for three hours because we had a scheduled "chow relief" for the last hour where we could go to the galley for brunch.
Upon returning from that, I went straight to my rack for three hours more sleep. :)
But at 1500, as I was waking up, they suddenly announced a surprise muster for my duty section. The Navy Band concert at the movie theater was short on patrons... so all the duty sections on base were mustered and sent over to fill in seats. LOL! I didn't mind too much... I had even thought about requesting the time to go. But then I fell asleep and forgot about it. So by the time I got there (again in my dress blues) it had already been going for 40 minutes... (about half over). But I did enjoy the Christmas music. They played as a wind ensemble and had a jazz band too. Felt just like a university performance, except this was the Navy.
They didn't make us sign out to go, so after it ended I went straight to chow in the 50mph wind. It was incredibly cold, but thank the Lord I had just bought a warm white scarf yesterday at the train station to replace my very thin bootcamp-issue scarf. It saved my face, for sure!
When I got back I was able to finish my laundry before duty muster at 2000. What a weekend!
Jp
I went to the Loft around 1100, and then left for Chicago around noon. I was with someone from my division at bootcamp who I hadn't seen in a long while and a group of her friends. When we got to the train station we had a bite to eat in the food court (grilled chicken sandwich and chicken noodle soup!) and then got a taxi to the Aquarium. It was raining cats and dogs (and blowing pretty hard) so we didn't want to bother with the buses, even if they were free. :)
I thought the Shedd Aquarium was neat, but it wasn't as incredible as I heard it was. They did have an indoor (Pacific white-sided) dolphin show (along the lines of sea world), but that was "holiday" themed, complete with a Santa Claus wishing everyone a "Happy Holidays! Ho, Ho, Ho!" I thought the aquarium in general (like many of the new/updated ones I've been to) are way to grand and too focused on being new and different than presenting the sea life. I guess I'm spoiled with the simple and wonderful Seattle Aquarium. I did enjoy it though. One of my favorite things was the ray tank downstairs that you walked on... And they did have two very cute otters. :) Hard to complain though! It was free for active duty military!
After the aquarium (my friends needed to go back to base), I made my way to the Chicago Symphony Center. Had to make my way through the rain in the picturesque, paved, lake-front park to the busy street for a free (with active military ID) bus ride several blocks north. Along the way I could see Navy pier (from my first weekend) in the distance, all lit up. Walked in the door of the Symphony Hall and I heard the chorus singing something beautiful... and then I purchased a student-priced ticket. The seat ended up being in the 7th row in the middle on the floor... probably a pricey one... but for me... $15. :)
Since I was there so early (5:30), I decided to explore the surrounding streets a little. I changed clothes from my jeans into my dress blues in a local Mc'yD's and then made my way back to the Symphony. They had their own little restaurant/bar, so I enjoyed a fancy cheeseburger up at the bar. The lady that sat down next to me struck up a conversation, and it turned out she was a regular symphony-goer, and showed me around a bit after we finished. What was neat was right when we got done it was time for the pre-concert lecture about one of the pieces we'd be hearing, and the speaker was very knowledgeable. He'd play examples from the concerto on the piano, or play a snippet on the radio. It was very fun!
But that was nothing, compared to the concert itself! My seat afforded a fabulous view of the soloist especially and most of the orchestra. The pianist had floppy hair and he moved with the music so suddenly that it would bounce all over the place. :) Hearing all three pieces was so refreshing. It was so, so beautiful.
I had to leave quickly once the final applause began though, because the last train left a half-hour after the show ended. I grabbed a taxi and made it to the Ogilvie Transit Center faster than you could say supercalifragilisticexpialadocious. Or however you spell that. :)
I sat with three other shipmates, going back for a late-night ride and spent most the journey on the phone while they slept, talking to Meg and Mike. I followed them back to base and I got in just after midnight. I think the day couldn't have turned out nicer.
Sunday, today, was my duty day. Right after getting up I had a watch to man in my dress blues for the first time. Pier Sentry... checking bags and pockets for illegal items, and making sure folks took their coats off when they came in. Wasn't bad at all! The Quarterdeck is the more interesting place to stand, with the most activity. And it was only for three hours because we had a scheduled "chow relief" for the last hour where we could go to the galley for brunch.
Upon returning from that, I went straight to my rack for three hours more sleep. :)
But at 1500, as I was waking up, they suddenly announced a surprise muster for my duty section. The Navy Band concert at the movie theater was short on patrons... so all the duty sections on base were mustered and sent over to fill in seats. LOL! I didn't mind too much... I had even thought about requesting the time to go. But then I fell asleep and forgot about it. So by the time I got there (again in my dress blues) it had already been going for 40 minutes... (about half over). But I did enjoy the Christmas music. They played as a wind ensemble and had a jazz band too. Felt just like a university performance, except this was the Navy.
They didn't make us sign out to go, so after it ended I went straight to chow in the 50mph wind. It was incredibly cold, but thank the Lord I had just bought a warm white scarf yesterday at the train station to replace my very thin bootcamp-issue scarf. It saved my face, for sure!
When I got back I was able to finish my laundry before duty muster at 2000. What a weekend!
Jp
Friday, December 10, 2010
Testing for Liberty
Goodness! I haven't been online much this week! I didn't have any watch at all on Wednesday night, so I got to bed early. School was pretty normal, but afterwords I tried passing the Phase II Oral Board with my friend. One of our SDC's (student division commander), FC1 Seebeck, administered. It was a watchstanding test to make sure we would do it right.
The perks of getting Phase 2 Liberty includes staying out as late as I want Friday and Saturday nights, needing only one liberty buddy instead of two, wearing civilian clothes, and drinking responsibly if I want to. But once getting Phase 2, I'm also responsible for standing the watches with more responsibility, like Petty Officer of the Watch, who allows people to come in and go out of the barracks. So because I had big plans for Saturday, I wanted this very much.
FC1 tested us on our General Orders of a Sentry, our Chain of Command, and what we would do, or are responsible for doing during certain scenarios... a fire in the building, a bomb threat, an injury accident, a lock down... or if the commanding officer decides she wants to visit. :) I only messed up slightly, forgetting what TSC stands for (Training Support Center). This has to be said if the Captain comes aboard. :) And my friend had problems with other things, so we did not pass. We had muster like usual at 2100, I talked on the phone afterwords and then went to bed.
After school Friday, I went to the bank (needed coin for the next day) and then worked out with my roommate for a half hour before coming back for another Oral Board with the same Petty Officer. Somehow I was more nervous... but he didn't ask me more than a couple questions in the couple hours it took. Two more people were trying out and they had to go over the stuff we passed yesterday. So this was a breeze, and I passed just fine.
No muster on Friday nights, so I decided to celebrate by having something nice to eat at the Sam Adams Brewery on base. By the time I put on my jeans and t-shirt from home after the test though, I found I was pretty darned tired. Went back to the barracks, talked a bit with Mike, decided to go to bed and then ended up watching the rest of the new Star Trek movie my roommates were playing on a laptop (it would have been hard to sleep with that going on anyway) and that was fun. :)
Jp
The perks of getting Phase 2 Liberty includes staying out as late as I want Friday and Saturday nights, needing only one liberty buddy instead of two, wearing civilian clothes, and drinking responsibly if I want to. But once getting Phase 2, I'm also responsible for standing the watches with more responsibility, like Petty Officer of the Watch, who allows people to come in and go out of the barracks. So because I had big plans for Saturday, I wanted this very much.
FC1 tested us on our General Orders of a Sentry, our Chain of Command, and what we would do, or are responsible for doing during certain scenarios... a fire in the building, a bomb threat, an injury accident, a lock down... or if the commanding officer decides she wants to visit. :) I only messed up slightly, forgetting what TSC stands for (Training Support Center). This has to be said if the Captain comes aboard. :) And my friend had problems with other things, so we did not pass. We had muster like usual at 2100, I talked on the phone afterwords and then went to bed.
After school Friday, I went to the bank (needed coin for the next day) and then worked out with my roommate for a half hour before coming back for another Oral Board with the same Petty Officer. Somehow I was more nervous... but he didn't ask me more than a couple questions in the couple hours it took. Two more people were trying out and they had to go over the stuff we passed yesterday. So this was a breeze, and I passed just fine.
No muster on Friday nights, so I decided to celebrate by having something nice to eat at the Sam Adams Brewery on base. By the time I put on my jeans and t-shirt from home after the test though, I found I was pretty darned tired. Went back to the barracks, talked a bit with Mike, decided to go to bed and then ended up watching the rest of the new Star Trek movie my roommates were playing on a laptop (it would have been hard to sleep with that going on anyway) and that was fun. :)
Jp
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Twice PT'ed
I love my roommates! Even though I did PT by myself (doing shoulder weights and a mile&half run) on Monday, they encouraged me to go with them tonight, which I happily did. More shoulders and abdominals... I'm on a mission to strengthen them.
And both last night and tonight I've just eaten easy dinners I've picked up at the NEX to avoid the bother of getting bundled up and un-bundled again just for a quick dinner (that includes the same choices every noon and evening). Last night, after the wild brief, my roommates and I sat at our kitchen table and talked... and I found out a couple of them are interested in the symphony too! So we might be able to make an evening of it this Saturday after all! Gosh, and tonight I was alone and had the brilliant thought to listen to Christmas music... and I was overjoyed at the sound! "Come on, ring those bells..."
I'm happy and tired. :)
Jp
And both last night and tonight I've just eaten easy dinners I've picked up at the NEX to avoid the bother of getting bundled up and un-bundled again just for a quick dinner (that includes the same choices every noon and evening). Last night, after the wild brief, my roommates and I sat at our kitchen table and talked... and I found out a couple of them are interested in the symphony too! So we might be able to make an evening of it this Saturday after all! Gosh, and tonight I was alone and had the brilliant thought to listen to Christmas music... and I was overjoyed at the sound! "Come on, ring those bells..."
I'm happy and tired. :)
Jp
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
More Meaningful This Year
Flags at half-staff around the base and a moment of silence before class started.
MCPON's fleet picture of the day on Facebook was neat...
My day was rather odd and off kilter though. At the beginning I took a practice test that I didn't need to (my instructions were confusing) and so half my day was wasted and I got a little more behind... and then they told us the schedule was changing all day long, and it ended up being pretty much normal... and then we had a 2 hour "safety stand down" brief, pleading with us to not drink and drive, or be stupid in general. I thought it was ridiculous until they showed a chart at the end, indicating that the fatal accidents over holiday breaks the last six years have gone down from over 70 to around 30 last year. Thirty deaths! Holy Toledo! I know there are thousands of students that go home every year, but that seems a rather high number. I guess if it makes one crazy kid slow down or think before they do something stupid, it was worth it to sit through. The ice-cold wind, frozen fingers and slippery ice on the way there and back again were pretty memorable too. :)
Jp
MCPON's fleet picture of the day on Facebook was neat...
My day was rather odd and off kilter though. At the beginning I took a practice test that I didn't need to (my instructions were confusing) and so half my day was wasted and I got a little more behind... and then they told us the schedule was changing all day long, and it ended up being pretty much normal... and then we had a 2 hour "safety stand down" brief, pleading with us to not drink and drive, or be stupid in general. I thought it was ridiculous until they showed a chart at the end, indicating that the fatal accidents over holiday breaks the last six years have gone down from over 70 to around 30 last year. Thirty deaths! Holy Toledo! I know there are thousands of students that go home every year, but that seems a rather high number. I guess if it makes one crazy kid slow down or think before they do something stupid, it was worth it to sit through. The ice-cold wind, frozen fingers and slippery ice on the way there and back again were pretty memorable too. :)
Jp
Sunday, December 5, 2010
With My Friends
Another whopper of a good time!
Robert and Julie picked me up at 9:30, we went and had a fabulous brunch at "The In-Laws" (an oddly named, local family restaurant) where they had all-you-can-eat omelets, waffles, pancakes, corned beef hash, potatoes, fruit, sausage and bacon... and after 4 plates I was a little full. After staying up for watch that night and starving, it felt wonderful! :)
The food coma didn't hit me until halftime of the Bears game on TV at their house. They love football here... :) And I have to admit, it's pretty cool on their big screen. Wild game... the Lions almost upset them (and my hosts). :)
After the Bears won, we went to the movies at the local mall for free entertainment. While not working at RTC, Robert works there, so he has unlimited free tickets (including little bags of popcorn!) and we saw "The Next Three Days" with Russell Crowe. A loving husband breaks his innocent wife out of Allegheny County Jail... yes, Pittsburgh and its three rivers were spectacular on the really big screen!
And after this, we had dinner back at the house while Die Hard 2 was on. It was an action-packed day. :)
Jp
Robert and Julie picked me up at 9:30, we went and had a fabulous brunch at "The In-Laws" (an oddly named, local family restaurant) where they had all-you-can-eat omelets, waffles, pancakes, corned beef hash, potatoes, fruit, sausage and bacon... and after 4 plates I was a little full. After staying up for watch that night and starving, it felt wonderful! :)
The food coma didn't hit me until halftime of the Bears game on TV at their house. They love football here... :) And I have to admit, it's pretty cool on their big screen. Wild game... the Lions almost upset them (and my hosts). :)
After the Bears won, we went to the movies at the local mall for free entertainment. While not working at RTC, Robert works there, so he has unlimited free tickets (including little bags of popcorn!) and we saw "The Next Three Days" with Russell Crowe. A loving husband breaks his innocent wife out of Allegheny County Jail... yes, Pittsburgh and its three rivers were spectacular on the really big screen!
And after this, we had dinner back at the house while Die Hard 2 was on. It was an action-packed day. :)
Jp
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Back in Order
Even though staying up late on the phone again after a very tiring week, I'm doing great at the moment. Slept in til 0815, with muster at 0845. Then went right back to sleep after having breakfast with my roommate at the Galley (the freshly made omelet was outstanding). Three more hours... I felt like a lazy bum, getting out of bed at 1pm! - But I was a happy, lazy bum. :)
After that I took a long, relaxing shower, then did all my laundry and shined my boots. I checked all my email, and straightened my stuff. Had chow by myself and got a couple things at the NEX in my allotted hour outside the building. For duty tonight I swabbed the passageway outside my room... and I'll have watch after chat.
Today's been terribly relaxing and nice... watched the snow fall out the window... people made a 12-foot snowman on the football field (I can see it from my window), and a giant igloo on the smoking deck between the three barracks here.
And across from that was a snowman with stones arranged in a Navy neckerchief and a sad face. One of his stick arms was crooked in order to make him salute. LOL
What I really loved was walking around at night with the lights casting tree shadows on the blankets of untouched snow and the white-covered trees standing out against our pitch-black sky. Felt like a real winter-wonderland.
Jp
(photo from Facebook... those stones down lower are representing the 13 buttons on a male's dress blue uniform pants. LOL
After that I took a long, relaxing shower, then did all my laundry and shined my boots. I checked all my email, and straightened my stuff. Had chow by myself and got a couple things at the NEX in my allotted hour outside the building. For duty tonight I swabbed the passageway outside my room... and I'll have watch after chat.
Today's been terribly relaxing and nice... watched the snow fall out the window... people made a 12-foot snowman on the football field (I can see it from my window), and a giant igloo on the smoking deck between the three barracks here.
And across from that was a snowman with stones arranged in a Navy neckerchief and a sad face. One of his stick arms was crooked in order to make him salute. LOLWhat I really loved was walking around at night with the lights casting tree shadows on the blankets of untouched snow and the white-covered trees standing out against our pitch-black sky. Felt like a real winter-wonderland.
Jp
(photo from Facebook... those stones down lower are representing the 13 buttons on a male's dress blue uniform pants. LOL
Friday, December 3, 2010
And Another Wild Day
Between "Series-Parallel Circuits" and my leave business, it was another day for running around. Right after class (when my head was just about as full as it could be) I came back to my barracks to find that yes, in fact, I did need to get approval signatures from people at school (I still don't understand why, since the leave is during the stand-down ... aka, no classes).
This business has been driving me up the wall all week. First they say "go get a signature". I try. The other people say I don't need it. The first people again say I do. The next day the other people say: "This is wrong; start over" (leave on a different day). So I fix that and the first people say fine. But now I need the stupid signatures again, and the second people left early for the weekend. Everything will be fine, but I hate having something like that waiting for something so silly for so long. Maaaaaaaah!
So to calm down I thought about planning a fun day in Chicago for next Saturday if I get Phase 2 liberty (being able to stay out past 9pm). It would entail a trip to the Aquarium, Planetarium and Symphony... the things I care about seeing the most. We'll see if it works. The very idea put me in a more positive mood. :)
And then I caught up some more in class, plunging ahead into advanced DC circuits. Two more hours, two more lessons. :)
Whew! Am I glad it is the weekend!
Jp
This business has been driving me up the wall all week. First they say "go get a signature". I try. The other people say I don't need it. The first people again say I do. The next day the other people say: "This is wrong; start over" (leave on a different day). So I fix that and the first people say fine. But now I need the stupid signatures again, and the second people left early for the weekend. Everything will be fine, but I hate having something like that waiting for something so silly for so long. Maaaaaaaah!
So to calm down I thought about planning a fun day in Chicago for next Saturday if I get Phase 2 liberty (being able to stay out past 9pm). It would entail a trip to the Aquarium, Planetarium and Symphony... the things I care about seeing the most. We'll see if it works. The very idea put me in a more positive mood. :)
And then I caught up some more in class, plunging ahead into advanced DC circuits. Two more hours, two more lessons. :)
Whew! Am I glad it is the weekend!
Jp
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Wild Day
So the Christmas leave request got a bit messed up. When I was at the first building here, they didn't bother telling me that starting your leave on Monday morning was illegal. :)
Basically, you're supposed to take the Saturday & Sunday off as well... or either start your leave Monday night. They don't want you to have weekend liberty along with your leave. So I had the option of hanging around in Chicago on my own for the three days, or changing my flight and having more days at home. Of course, I did the latter. :) There was no penalty for changing because I booked it with the travel agents here and it was classified as a military ticket. It did cost a bit more, but that wasn't the end of the world because the first ticket was pretty inexpensive. So! Friday night, Saturday and Sunday with my folks as well! :) And because I had planned in the beginning to not take the extra days they allowed me, I had just enough to take these days and still stay as long as I planned after Christmas. Whew! What a headache! ...with a good result.
So I had to rearrange the shuttle passes and fill out a new leave chit. More fun and games with paperwork!
Jp
Basically, you're supposed to take the Saturday & Sunday off as well... or either start your leave Monday night. They don't want you to have weekend liberty along with your leave. So I had the option of hanging around in Chicago on my own for the three days, or changing my flight and having more days at home. Of course, I did the latter. :) There was no penalty for changing because I booked it with the travel agents here and it was classified as a military ticket. It did cost a bit more, but that wasn't the end of the world because the first ticket was pretty inexpensive. So! Friday night, Saturday and Sunday with my folks as well! :) And because I had planned in the beginning to not take the extra days they allowed me, I had just enough to take these days and still stay as long as I planned after Christmas. Whew! What a headache! ...with a good result.
So I had to rearrange the shuttle passes and fill out a new leave chit. More fun and games with paperwork!
Jp
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Hello, December!
With our first snow flurries and everything!
Not much to speak of yesterday, except I was very tired.
It was my Duty Day.
We did have a few sparse flakes on Monday and Tuesday, but barely enough to mention. Today it snowed from beginning to end, with a small accumulation growing on the lawns and sides of the roads. The wind is as icy as ever, making my face feel numb every time I walk anywhere for longer than one minute.
But there has been some big news... I successfully got Internet here in my room! I got the code Sunday afternoon, but I haven't had much time at all to get on, being busy with school and duty. But hurrah! this means that I'm relatively reliable again for having time online. :) Suddenly I don't have to change uniforms and walk half the distance of the base in order to get a good chair and a connection anymore. :)
Jp
Not much to speak of yesterday, except I was very tired.
It was my Duty Day.
We did have a few sparse flakes on Monday and Tuesday, but barely enough to mention. Today it snowed from beginning to end, with a small accumulation growing on the lawns and sides of the roads. The wind is as icy as ever, making my face feel numb every time I walk anywhere for longer than one minute.
But there has been some big news... I successfully got Internet here in my room! I got the code Sunday afternoon, but I haven't had much time at all to get on, being busy with school and duty. But hurrah! this means that I'm relatively reliable again for having time online. :) Suddenly I don't have to change uniforms and walk half the distance of the base in order to get a good chair and a connection anymore. :)
Jp
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