Reviewing

It was a very good week for me, test wise. A pair of 100%'s does very nicely.

However, Monday and Tuesday were drags. I started off our free PT 0500 Monday the 12th with a 1.5 mile run on the elliptical in 14:00. Then I went to the basketball court for peace and quiet as I spent the next 15 minutes doing push-ups and scissor kicks. The rest of the workday slowly crept by as we went through a couple power-points. I nearly finished USS OLYMPIA: HERALD OF EMPIRE in class, but ended up finishing the last page after class the next day, as it was due that night. I loved reading about the proud old cruiser, and her famous captains, Dewey and Gridley. So interesting to learn about its missions before and after the Spanish American War, as well as the details from the famous battle. I had no idea she was the one who bore America's Unknown Soldier back from France in 1921... or little about the ceremony itself. Lots of neat pictures of the crew and ship too.

Tuesday was a bore because it was Duty Day. Listen to me complain! LOL! I was only put out that I had to endure the galley: the 0630 muster falls right when I would normally go home for a good breakfast of my own after PT. That and I had to return to base at 1500-ish for the 1530 muster, and only after that mercifully short session, could I return home, change clothes and relax. But I'm sure that at some later date I will pine for days as easy as this. The only thing we did in class was our practice labs...

...because Wednesday was our test day. I again took just over two hours to complete it. I racked my brain trying to find the answers on at least two or three... but I finally did. When most of us were let go at 1100 (two were still working on it) STG1 Gonzales told me he needed to talk to me out in the p-way. As Witte first needed to talk, I was left to worry and wonder whatever I did to deserve it... but only for a brief moment. We spoke just outside the door and he let me know that I was the only person so far to ever get a natural 100% on one of the difficult tech-doc tests. He wanted to let me know they'd have to look at the questions again (because their goal is to not let anyone get above a 98% outright), but also he wanted to congratulate me. So that was pretty neat!

And PT Wednesday morning was good, although I had very seriously not wanted to get out of bed. It was another set of circuits on the basketball court as a class... and the lunges and wall-sits made by butt hurt only a little, compared to the ordeal of 5 or 6 days of severe stiffness the last time it happened. Progress! :)

Thursday was alright. I did another solid set of PT, running 1.5 mi. on the treadmill in just about 14 min. again. I barely made it back to class at the arranged 0715... besides breakfast at home, I made my bed and washed & dried all my dishes. Class was rather slow... I got to do my practical first, and chose to do it with Baldwin (we had done the lab together) and we got a hundred (as everyone else did). Other than regular cleaning at the end of the day, and a couple power-points at the end, I started my fifth book for interim reading in class... The Sand Pebbles (a recommended Navy reading list book - and it's a page-turner!).

Along with that milestone, I witnessed my third open Captain's Mast for this month's GMT. The first guy was there for being UA (AWOL). He had been put on FEP (extra PT people in the morning) because he couldn't show up to work on time. So he missed FEP 4 times in a row... and went to Mast. "I forgot to set my alarm" was the plea. rolls eyes. The Captain was extremely lenient... only 7 days restriction and one month's 1/2 pay... and a one-page essay about how he should fix his problem... one every day for 45 days. LOL! And if he's late or misses an essay, he'll get the whole punishment, so he'll have to think about the consequences for once. The other guy cheated on his final exam in A school and will be re-rated... or administratively separated if they feel like it. While more interesting than a regular GMT (it's neat to see our CO in person), I'm getting tired of these dopes who don't think and don't care. There were little comedies: first guy tried to refuse the CO's order to remove his full sea bag (as an illustration of the weight of decisions) and the MA nearly pounced on him. The second guy looked like he was going to fall over; he was shaking as he executed a very sloppy about-face to leave. I was home by 1430.

Today was short and sweet. We finished two slideshows, and did the lab for this week's piece of equipment: the T/R switch. Because of its sturdy and simple design, it wasn't upgraded with the A(v)15 system, but remains as legacy equipment from the days of the 53C. So in other words, the lab was easy and straightforward. I was even able to troubleshoot for STG2 when he was showing us how to take a reading on test ports.

A fine week, indeed!