A Geek’s Think

About a week ago I passed the 1-year mark in my naval career. Crazy, eh? I think so. Let’s recap:

• September, 2005 - Signed the contract.
• April 11, 2006 - Went to Boot Camp. Experienced annoyances beyond my wildest imagination. Boot camp wasn’t that hard, but the hoops one has to jump through to get anything done were extremely annoying.
• June 9, 2006 - Graduated Boot Camp. I’m free! (for the most part…)
• June 9, 2006 - Moved across the street to Naval Station Great Lakes, where I would spend the next four months being trained as an Electronics Technician (or ET). It would have been 6 or 7 months, but I (thankfully) finished ahead of schedule.  I’m not a big fan of the way the base was run, so I was very happy to be out of there.
• September 29, 2006 - Graduated ‘A’ School, the course certifying me as an ET.
• October 12, 2006 - Transferred to Norfolk, Virginia where I learned how to maintain several specific systems that I would be responsible for when I arrived to my first command. This stage of my military career was fairly uneventful, though not necessarily easy.
• March 20, 2007 - Transferred to my first command, the USS De Wert, FFG 45. A frigate with a crew of just over 200, the De Wert is primarily tasked with counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism tasks, known as CNT operations.

• I do get seasick. I tried to be a ‘manly man’ and not take the motion sickness pills before my first time underway and paid for it dearly with 24 hours of living next to a toilet, not daring to even stand up for longer than a few minutes. Believe you me, I take the pills without hesitation now.
• Small stuff is better than big stuff. When one has to fit one’s entire life in two lockers (giving roughly the same amount of space as 3 high-school-sized lockers), one learns to pack small. I even switched out my regular bath towels for camping towels that dry fast and pack small. They’re not as convenient, but they sure do take up less room.
• I have to be assertive and persistent to succeed. The Navy expects a sailor to be able to jump in with both feet when it comes to living and working aboard a ship, so in order to succeed I’m going to have to work hard at it and learn on my feet.
• Family matters. I’ve spent more time out to sea than in port this last month, and it won’t get any better during the next year. My family has always been there for me, and I’m extremely grateful for that. They are my solid rock when I’m out to sea.

Wow - Monday’s coming fast! That’s the day I graduate my ‘C’ School and start my drive down to Florida. I’ve been in the Navy almost 11 months without setting foot on a ship, so it’s about time!

On a side note, I found a site today with quite a few pictures of both the USS De Wert and what it looks like inside a frigate. Click here to take a look.

I never got around to mentioning it here, but my orders changed about a month ago. I’m still headed to Mayport, Florida, but to a different ship. Instead of heading to the USS Vicksburg (CG 69), a Cruiser, I’ll be stationed on the USS De Wert (FFG 45), a Frigate. And I’ll be there in two weeks.

When I was a kid, I loved eating these thin biscuits filled with raisins - something like a flattened raisin sandwich. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find them for about 10 years now, even though I’ve looked for them in nearly every supermarket I’ve spent any significant amount of time in. I couldn’t even remember who made them or what they were called. Well, last night I decided to find out what actually happened to my childhood treat. Off to Google!

Turns out my biscuits were called Sunshine Golden Fruit Raisin Biscuits. When Keebler bought out Sunshine, they discontinued the Golden Fruit line, which explains why I haven’t been able to find them. The Wayback Machine even has a copy of one of Keebler’s old product pages describing them. So sad.

Or maybe not! It also turns out that my raisin biscuits were actually a variation of a British biscuit first produced in 1861 called a Garibaldi biscuit. While not produced in the US, Garibaldi biscuits are still sold in England and can be found via various importers such as the British Food Shop or the Vermont Country Store. As Bill and Ted would say, “Excellent!!”

I bought 5 packages.

It's Christmas Day, and I'm on leave back home in Arizona. Ain’t life grand? I’ve been here for just over a week now, and the contrast with military life has been nice. Especially the not getting up at 4:30 part.

I’ve especially enjoyed seeing my nearly 2-year-old nephew Adam. The last time I saw him he only spouted gibberish and couldn’t walk a step, but now he knows his alphabet and chases the cats all over the house. His fascination with life could make even the grumpiest Scrooge smile. I sure have missed him in the time I’ve been away.

It’s only two days from now that I’ll start the drive back to Virginia, and I’m not looking forward to leaving. I’ve had too much fun here with my family and friends (although my bank account may argue with me on that one… )

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see everyone I would have liked to see while here, but I’ve done pretty well. If I missed you, send me a note - I may not have known how to contact you. In any case, I hope you’re well and happy. I sure am.