This week is our Final Contract Trials (FCT) inspection. It’s not an inspection a Navy ship can go through, it is the inspection. I’m busy enough, and I can feel the significantly heightened stress around me as high ranking officers flood our ship and pick apart everything. Yet, I’m still junior enough to be largely unaffected. Those that are ( Read more... )

It has been so great to be home. Time has been flying by. Tovah and I saw Serenity which was awesome (though I expected nothing short of brilliance from the creator of Buffy/Angel). We went dancing last night and had a blast, though it was difficult to knock the rust off from having not been on the floor for over a month. Tovah on the other hand is ( Read more... )

There’s only a few more days left until we get back home to San Diego. It’s going to be great. I feel as though this sterile environment has desensitized me to all the wonderful things out there. Being home is going to be so refreshing ( Read more... )

I’ve been wanting to write more in my LJ because while out to sea I do a lot of reflection but our internet connection is extremely slow (remember 2400baud modems?). Luckily, we can e-mail the outside the world in near real time and I just happen to have a great friend (justjus) who said he would post whatever I e-mail him. Thanks dude ( Read more... )

Another week underway completed and we have another short port visit. However this time we didn't go home to San Diego and instead pulled into Port Hueneme (200 miles from San Diego, west of LA on the coast near Ventura, CA). We head back out pretty soon but it was great to have Sunday off. Another one of the officers and I had a good day off the ( Read more... )

My ship pulled into port but I only had 14 hours off of it. We're heading back out and I won't be home for three more weeks. This life is certainly hard and I find myself often questioning whether or not it's the one for me. However, it does help one realize the important things and brings about a greater understanding of what is truly important. ( Read more... )

My ship was gone for almost two weeks and then I had a week home. That week went by far too quickly. I'm going to miss Tovah terribly. It seems like I just got her back and now I'm gone for a little over a month. Fortunately, after this underway period I'll be home a lot until April (there will be a few a week out here, a week out there, but home ( Read more... )

someone keyed the hell out of my car while I was out to sea.

We're in port in Seal beach right now, a town near Long Beach in South Cali. I wish I had my camera. The port side of the ship is toward the ocean and it's really amazing. There was a plankton bloom which turned the sea a strong red color. The horizon is full of haze/fog and scattered throughout the haze are eight or ten oil tankers anchored for ( Read more... )

It's been good here--busy, but good. I estimate I'm working 50-60 hours on a given week because the ship has been keeping me busy. We go out to sea for a bit this week. My time home has been great though mainly because Tovah and I are having a blast. Yesterday we went to Seaworld and purchased year-long passes. They're only $35 more than the one- ( Read more... )