Tuesday, first day back this week, you know of. After I took care of the orders stuff in the morning, I had another usual workout before the afternoon Holds PT muster. Elliptical and weights for about a half hour.
Wednesday I found out some specifics from my sponsor on the Truxtun, and got a welcome email from my Senior Chief (LCPO - leading chief petty officer). I had my screening with the doctor, and along with getting that done, we found out that we were both very much in to military history. She recommended reading Helmet For My Pillow, and we talked about the Norfolk area. She also had the neatest picture on the wall of her grandmother from 1938, dressed in Sailor dress blues outside a house... sort of like this old recruiting poster, but much more normal. :)
Today was crazy! Went straight into the office and turned in my medical clearance page from the doctor. Then I talked with a lady in admin about the transfer days, about how it meant I could detach anytime in June 2012, not on June 12th, like I had mistaken it for. She gave me an extra week so that I could get money for the transfer in advance (it needs processing time). So it's official: I leave June 8, and with my 11 days of leave on the books and requested, I report on June 19. She told me I'd get up to 8 days back when I arrive. To fill out the form completely, I had to go home and get my banking information... and I let my family know the news. Back at base, they helped me find and print my "Page 2"... proving I was married so that my husband could transfer with me. Then I was handed a checkout sheet. Just like that.
Went straight to Dental, got my record, swung by the Post Office, and they stamped my sheet. Dropped off my car at the NEX so it could be safety-checked for the long drive and smog-checked so I could already have military decals when I arrive, and not have to mess with vehicle access. While I waited for that, I walked over to Medical, got my record (checking out) and stopped by for the checkup on my immunization from Tuesday. Walked a little further and had an outstanding "Mediterranean chicken salad" at the Luna Grill in Liberty Station for lunch, and even caught a little of the women's softball world series on TV. Walked back to the NEX, got the next installment of MHQ, then waited at the NEX garage for the car to be done (reading a great article about Midway... it's the 70th anniversary next week). When I did get it, I cleaned the windows and got gas around the corner, then went to the Sub Base for my decals.
When I got home from that, it was 1400, and time to change into the PT uniform for muster. Muster was short, then I went up to the Cabrillo National Monument for a half-hour run/walk on the 3.2K trail loop. What a view! I forget how I hate running when I'm out there.
Back at base, I called my Senior Chief from the boat to tell him the dates and talk about housing. Cleaned up at the pool house (the gym's showers are closed), then waited for the Van Lady by the barracks to pick up the two extra sets of coveralls (she sewed all those patches on) and the new dry-cleaned dress white pants that I had dropped off on Tuesday.
Then I talked with my family in North Carolina and then my family in Seattle (who are going to North Carolina during the time I'm driving across the country) for a good long time about our very near plans.
Showing posts with label orders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label orders. Show all posts
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Orders!
I routinely checked my orders from home this morning, but this time it had changed! So very excited... I immediately made phone calls to my closest family, then reported in for the morning Holds muster. And instead of a working party, I worked on getting my Sea Duty Screening (medical stuff) on the way to getting completed. Dental was easy, needed an immunization at medical, and signed up for an appointment with a doctor.
I am assigned to the USS Truxtun, DDG 103, home-ported in Norfolk, Virginia. When I got home, I did a bit of research on the various commands it is assigned to, its commanders, and history. It's the sixth ship to be named Truxtun (after one of the first Captains in the US Navy who served on the original Constellation, one of the first frigates to be made after the Navy was officially established by Congress in 1798).
I told my instructors before the muster and they had good things to tell me about the people there. I know one person from the previous Ops class who is stationed on it, and since I emailed the boat this morning to establish contact, I was already contacted by my sponsor, an STG2 who seems very friendly. She friended me on Facebook. :)
The Truxtun joins five other DDGs, three CGs (cruisers) and one FFG (frigate) in Destroyer Squadron Twenty-Two, attached to the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) - which I was so moved by watching it being commissioned in January 2009. Interestingly, that's the same year my own ship was commissioned.
I am assigned to the USS Truxtun, DDG 103, home-ported in Norfolk, Virginia. When I got home, I did a bit of research on the various commands it is assigned to, its commanders, and history. It's the sixth ship to be named Truxtun (after one of the first Captains in the US Navy who served on the original Constellation, one of the first frigates to be made after the Navy was officially established by Congress in 1798).
I told my instructors before the muster and they had good things to tell me about the people there. I know one person from the previous Ops class who is stationed on it, and since I emailed the boat this morning to establish contact, I was already contacted by my sponsor, an STG2 who seems very friendly. She friended me on Facebook. :)
The Truxtun joins five other DDGs, three CGs (cruisers) and one FFG (frigate) in Destroyer Squadron Twenty-Two, attached to the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) - which I was so moved by watching it being commissioned in January 2009. Interestingly, that's the same year my own ship was commissioned.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
First Day Back
There was a little confusion this morning as we all tried to figure out where we were supposed to stand for the Holds muster. Apparently, they've been making one big, long line spanning the side of the schoolhouse. But IC1 had everyone form up the old way when he came out.
And of note, this was the first time my name was called out during a muster as "Waters". :)
Over by the Holds office, I volunteered with a former classmate to work up in the schoolhouse for a certain working party he had been on before. We joined two others up in the student lounge, and waited until someone came for us and gave us something to do. We ended up cleaning two classrooms very thoroughly, wiping down tables, cabinets, sills, and even the bases of swivel chairs before sweeping and mopping and taking out the trash.
There was some down time before we were let go for lunch, and I was able to do my PT early, before the afternoon PT muster. I worked out for over an hour, doing my own concoction of sets on the basketball court. As I've said before, I really like the setup in the big gym. I did some strength training, as well as lots of cardio before I was through. Finished out with a 10-min. cool-down on a bike.
And there was a super-fast turn-around time for my out-of-bounds chit in admin. I got a phone call during lunch that it had been approved, even with turning it in just the day before. And another classmate got orders this afternoon... for San Diego. I think I checked mine about three times, but alas, to no avail.
And of note, this was the first time my name was called out during a muster as "Waters". :)
Over by the Holds office, I volunteered with a former classmate to work up in the schoolhouse for a certain working party he had been on before. We joined two others up in the student lounge, and waited until someone came for us and gave us something to do. We ended up cleaning two classrooms very thoroughly, wiping down tables, cabinets, sills, and even the bases of swivel chairs before sweeping and mopping and taking out the trash.
There was some down time before we were let go for lunch, and I was able to do my PT early, before the afternoon PT muster. I worked out for over an hour, doing my own concoction of sets on the basketball court. As I've said before, I really like the setup in the big gym. I did some strength training, as well as lots of cardio before I was through. Finished out with a 10-min. cool-down on a bike.
And there was a super-fast turn-around time for my out-of-bounds chit in admin. I got a phone call during lunch that it had been approved, even with turning it in just the day before. And another classmate got orders this afternoon... for San Diego. I think I checked mine about three times, but alas, to no avail.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Aux's
The first three days of class on the Fathometer have gone by. The first day wasn't much because it was interrupted by a "Captain's Call" or something, where all the staff members had to go hear him speak a few words about something. But on Thursday we started off with a short lab (in the classroom), doing a check on the equipment. Baldwin and I were the first to go, and after that, I spent a lot of time reading Battleship Sailor as other groups did it. Today we finished up the labs (some folks had their PRT yesterday) and then went through the Tech Pub... a super-wide (landscape-printed) technical manual solely for the Fatho, bound together by 7 or 8 clip rings. It's similar to the Tech Doc, but I think it's much better organized. And they lied to us... we will be having tests... they just don't mean much because there is no mandatory extra study. Only a 75% is required to pass.
Speaking of percentages, yesterday we were given a final class ranking from Maintenance. I did indeed stay at third place, only under one percent from second with a final of a 97.22%.
And two more folks have been given orders this week: first Fierro on Wednesday... he is starting out in San Diego on a destroyer, but within a month it is being reassigned to Everett (San Diego was his first pick, Everett was not on his list). And today Baldwin got orders for a destroyer in Pearl Harbor, his third pick. So the rest of us (6 of 11) went down to the student resource center (SRC) to check for orders to no avail. Also looked at my PRT scores... this cycle I scored an EXCELLENT. Last cycle it was a GOOD, although my run time was almost precisely the same. It was my pushups that improved. My first two PRTs were both OUTSTANDING. Must bring it back up!
On Wednesday I decided I ought to go ahead and get a new pair of boots and dress shoes and dress white trousers. My boot camp boots are worn, cracked at the ball of the foot on each and dinged up so much... I started working on shining the new ones and the difference is remarkable. I was amazed how much better of a shine I got in five minutes on my new pair than I did for the first few months on my old ones. Amazing what practice can do! The old dress shoes were really the catalyst for the spree. Since my foot fell asleep on watch last time, I realized I needed a roomier pair. This time I got Men's 9 E, and I think that'll do the trick; they're much roomier and lighter too.
On Thursday I got my new dress white trousers fitted for hemming; I'll pick them up Monday. These were much needed because my boot camp pair were hemmed too short... and had become a little too tight. And I hear we might have to wear them for our graduation 22 MAY.
Speaking of percentages, yesterday we were given a final class ranking from Maintenance. I did indeed stay at third place, only under one percent from second with a final of a 97.22%.
And two more folks have been given orders this week: first Fierro on Wednesday... he is starting out in San Diego on a destroyer, but within a month it is being reassigned to Everett (San Diego was his first pick, Everett was not on his list). And today Baldwin got orders for a destroyer in Pearl Harbor, his third pick. So the rest of us (6 of 11) went down to the student resource center (SRC) to check for orders to no avail. Also looked at my PRT scores... this cycle I scored an EXCELLENT. Last cycle it was a GOOD, although my run time was almost precisely the same. It was my pushups that improved. My first two PRTs were both OUTSTANDING. Must bring it back up!
On Wednesday I decided I ought to go ahead and get a new pair of boots and dress shoes and dress white trousers. My boot camp boots are worn, cracked at the ball of the foot on each and dinged up so much... I started working on shining the new ones and the difference is remarkable. I was amazed how much better of a shine I got in five minutes on my new pair than I did for the first few months on my old ones. Amazing what practice can do! The old dress shoes were really the catalyst for the spree. Since my foot fell asleep on watch last time, I realized I needed a roomier pair. This time I got Men's 9 E, and I think that'll do the trick; they're much roomier and lighter too.
On Thursday I got my new dress white trousers fitted for hemming; I'll pick them up Monday. These were much needed because my boot camp pair were hemmed too short... and had become a little too tight. And I hear we might have to wear them for our graduation 22 MAY.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Dragging, Tuesday Through Thursday
That's what happens if you don't take a nap! I've had trouble these last three days, getting up and at 'em. Tuesday morning I fell asleep immediately after I swiped my phone's alarm off... and then next thing I knew, STG2 Root called and asked what was going on. "It's five?!" was my reply. And I was in class at 5:30. He broke us for breakfast when I sat down in my chair, so I immediately went home again for a bit of eggs and oatmeal. It was nice we had the extra time, because this was our Whites inspection at Quarters. I led everyone in the Creed for the third time.
First on a timer at the overflow parking lot across the street. Second in the women's locker room in the gym. My pants are a little tighter than they used to be, and they shortened them too much in boot camp... needless to say, I need a new pair.
Tuesday was also our test day on the consoles and the CADRT. It was very tricky, because there were two versions of each that we needed to keep straight. Don't know the exact score yet, but he's told us that no one got below an 85% (which would mean mando).
Wednesday I set the alarm differently, so I thought I'd get up better. Nope. But I made it to PT with about five minutes to spare. It's easier to get up and go on PT days, simply because a t-shirt and shorts (and usually a sweatshirt) are much faster to get into than the t-shirt, socks, trousers, boots, blousing straps (for the bottoms of the trousers), blouse and cover of the working uniform. I did the first bit of the workout on the elliptical, then followed Witte and Hibbard over to the volleyball court for a great abdominal workout, just us three. Very glad I had my book... all we did all day was our practicals. And STG1 Fletcher assigned me the last of the five groups with Nordgren. I read over 50 pages in the 3+ hours I had to wait. At one point everyone's chatter was bothering me and I was getting pretty cold just sitting there, so I took a walk around the third and second decks of the school and then came back. Much better. I had to do that a couple times in Ops, I remember. :) The practical itself was just fine. Actually went through an MRC (maintenance requirement card), verifying it with the MIP (index page), tagging out the "PP" (power panel) and "removing and replacing" the battery on the CADRT. We were given 100's.
Today, I had to sprint to the gym from my car in order to make it on time; and I got there seconds before STG1 came to muster us. (ARRG! So angry at myself!) I was seriously tempted to just go home, since my backpack with my uniform was still in my car. But I did the right thing, came back and worked out. Bench-pressed, shoulder-pressed, pushed-up and called it a morning.
Back in class at the normal 0715, we had STG2 Root back. He forgot to bring our tests back, but after I suggested it, he printed out the cumulative score from the last two weeks combined. I passed up Wagner, climbing to 3rd place with a 97.0% behind Trimpe and Witte. Today we went through the slides for the XBT (expendable bathythermograph - measures temperature vs. depth) and the LAMPS (light airborne multipurpose sonobouy system - talking with the helos). We only have three weeks left to this course, and only three more short topics, the final, and last practical. I also read a bit between us figuring out what we were going to do for our class party.
Oh, and Hibbard (from my RTC division) got orders to Washington State today. That's made me think seriously again about how short my time left at this command is. Three of the four on the bottom of the class ranking have been given orders now. What a silly coincidence! They joke that they did it on purpose. :) So I checked my orders today in the Student Resource Center, just to make sure the new ones haven't posted yet... and they didn't.
And this afternoon I had my first interviewee for my new job. I am such a booter! I knocked on the door before coming in... just to make sure. The chief was very friendly... he came into the office in PT gear after I had arrived, having forgotten all about it. I listened to the others talk with a Senior Chief while he changed. There was a double-pinned, undesignated seaman there, talking about getting out. Nobody can find her an A-school! So Chief and I went to a room upstairs for the interview, and it was very interesting. I told him about myself first, then we got into how he got into the COOL program and what he's been doing. He's a Damage Control guy, wanting to get into FEMA or Homeland Security when he retires in five years. It was an interesting little conversation. If the half-page I write about it ever makes it online, I'll be sure to link it! :)
First on a timer at the overflow parking lot across the street. Second in the women's locker room in the gym. My pants are a little tighter than they used to be, and they shortened them too much in boot camp... needless to say, I need a new pair.
Tuesday was also our test day on the consoles and the CADRT. It was very tricky, because there were two versions of each that we needed to keep straight. Don't know the exact score yet, but he's told us that no one got below an 85% (which would mean mando).
Wednesday I set the alarm differently, so I thought I'd get up better. Nope. But I made it to PT with about five minutes to spare. It's easier to get up and go on PT days, simply because a t-shirt and shorts (and usually a sweatshirt) are much faster to get into than the t-shirt, socks, trousers, boots, blousing straps (for the bottoms of the trousers), blouse and cover of the working uniform. I did the first bit of the workout on the elliptical, then followed Witte and Hibbard over to the volleyball court for a great abdominal workout, just us three. Very glad I had my book... all we did all day was our practicals. And STG1 Fletcher assigned me the last of the five groups with Nordgren. I read over 50 pages in the 3+ hours I had to wait. At one point everyone's chatter was bothering me and I was getting pretty cold just sitting there, so I took a walk around the third and second decks of the school and then came back. Much better. I had to do that a couple times in Ops, I remember. :) The practical itself was just fine. Actually went through an MRC (maintenance requirement card), verifying it with the MIP (index page), tagging out the "PP" (power panel) and "removing and replacing" the battery on the CADRT. We were given 100's.
Today, I had to sprint to the gym from my car in order to make it on time; and I got there seconds before STG1 came to muster us. (ARRG! So angry at myself!) I was seriously tempted to just go home, since my backpack with my uniform was still in my car. But I did the right thing, came back and worked out. Bench-pressed, shoulder-pressed, pushed-up and called it a morning.
Back in class at the normal 0715, we had STG2 Root back. He forgot to bring our tests back, but after I suggested it, he printed out the cumulative score from the last two weeks combined. I passed up Wagner, climbing to 3rd place with a 97.0% behind Trimpe and Witte. Today we went through the slides for the XBT (expendable bathythermograph - measures temperature vs. depth) and the LAMPS (light airborne multipurpose sonobouy system - talking with the helos). We only have three weeks left to this course, and only three more short topics, the final, and last practical. I also read a bit between us figuring out what we were going to do for our class party.
Oh, and Hibbard (from my RTC division) got orders to Washington State today. That's made me think seriously again about how short my time left at this command is. Three of the four on the bottom of the class ranking have been given orders now. What a silly coincidence! They joke that they did it on purpose. :) So I checked my orders today in the Student Resource Center, just to make sure the new ones haven't posted yet... and they didn't.
And this afternoon I had my first interviewee for my new job. I am such a booter! I knocked on the door before coming in... just to make sure. The chief was very friendly... he came into the office in PT gear after I had arrived, having forgotten all about it. I listened to the others talk with a Senior Chief while he changed. There was a double-pinned, undesignated seaman there, talking about getting out. Nobody can find her an A-school! So Chief and I went to a room upstairs for the interview, and it was very interesting. I told him about myself first, then we got into how he got into the COOL program and what he's been doing. He's a Damage Control guy, wanting to get into FEMA or Homeland Security when he retires in five years. It was an interesting little conversation. If the half-page I write about it ever makes it online, I'll be sure to link it! :)
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Test #2
Well, yesterday was the written test. It was more difficult than the first, in that I didn't realize I needed to use the terminal for finding out the answers to command line functions. The whole business of getting into a screen that can manipulate hardware and software is sort of beyond me. It feels unreal... and foreign to my poor, non-technical sensibilities. But with a little help, and near to the end of the two hours allotted, and after the angry tears stopped... (felt rather helpless and hopeless... and that I had gotten into the wrong rate... and what was I doing there anyway?)... I did just fine with a 96% (94 originally, but there was one give-back).
Today we waited a good long time for things to get started (I suppose that was the same yesterday too), I read a bunch more in "In Harm's Way", and then STG1 Gonzales had to teach us a lesson for his teacher's certification, then one-by-one, four of us took our practicals... and we all got 96%'s so far. So it's a solid 96% total for me this round. I've practically given up worrying about my place in the ranking, and my score is alright so far. And we found out that Kosi's orders from yesterday are also to Hawai'i; his first choice. DDG 93. So some of us are hoping that'll stay true for us all. :)
Today we waited a good long time for things to get started (I suppose that was the same yesterday too), I read a bunch more in "In Harm's Way", and then STG1 Gonzales had to teach us a lesson for his teacher's certification, then one-by-one, four of us took our practicals... and we all got 96%'s so far. So it's a solid 96% total for me this round. I've practically given up worrying about my place in the ranking, and my score is alright so far. And we found out that Kosi's orders from yesterday are also to Hawai'i; his first choice. DDG 93. So some of us are hoping that'll stay true for us all. :)
Saturday, February 4, 2012
The Stories of "A" and "M"
Interesting things have been happening to my classmates this week. For their confidentiality, I'll just use the first letters of their first names.
Maybe a couple days into class, a few weeks ago, "A" was sent up to DRB (disciplinary review board - a panel of chiefs who yell and tell you you're lower than dirt while you stand at attention in your dress uniform and politely try to answer their questions - usually you're there because of a dumb decision, so good luck). "A" was there for getting a tattoo where the Navy says specifically a person can't. It was pretty much an act of defiance... everyone is clear from the day they swear in about this rule.
I just found out a couple days ago that "A", while having been on restriction on 32nd street this whole time (for 45 days, with a reduction in rank, and a half month's pay times two), that after this is all over, she is being processed out of the Navy. ! ... I guess that makes sense, since it's hard to undo a tattoo... but how very strict. She and I went through both A-school and Ops together.
Now "M" was in the division before me in boot camp. Her A-school was right after mine, and we did Ops together. She's still in my Maintenance class, and Thursday, our instructor told her to go talk to someone downstairs for a sea-duty screening, because her orders had come through! She told us yesterday in class (to a very attentive audience) that she'd been selected at random to go with the last set of people manning the Precom (pre-commissioned) ship USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) after she finishes class, and she also mentioned all the neat places they get to see on the way to their home port. (My roommate Kat from the barracks, along with her friend D. were also assigned to that ship as operators.) What news! Maybe more of us will be getting our orders soon.
Maybe a couple days into class, a few weeks ago, "A" was sent up to DRB (disciplinary review board - a panel of chiefs who yell and tell you you're lower than dirt while you stand at attention in your dress uniform and politely try to answer their questions - usually you're there because of a dumb decision, so good luck). "A" was there for getting a tattoo where the Navy says specifically a person can't. It was pretty much an act of defiance... everyone is clear from the day they swear in about this rule.
I just found out a couple days ago that "A", while having been on restriction on 32nd street this whole time (for 45 days, with a reduction in rank, and a half month's pay times two), that after this is all over, she is being processed out of the Navy. ! ... I guess that makes sense, since it's hard to undo a tattoo... but how very strict. She and I went through both A-school and Ops together.
Now "M" was in the division before me in boot camp. Her A-school was right after mine, and we did Ops together. She's still in my Maintenance class, and Thursday, our instructor told her to go talk to someone downstairs for a sea-duty screening, because her orders had come through! She told us yesterday in class (to a very attentive audience) that she'd been selected at random to go with the last set of people manning the Precom (pre-commissioned) ship USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) after she finishes class, and she also mentioned all the neat places they get to see on the way to their home port. (My roommate Kat from the barracks, along with her friend D. were also assigned to that ship as operators.) What news! Maybe more of us will be getting our orders soon.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Holds, Before & After the Holidays
The first day, Thurs. December 15th, all was confusion. At least a dozen of us were slapped onto the Liberty Hall working party... which usually only has 3 or 4 people at most. So they had a bunch of us head over to the basketball court to help find and load gift bags into people's cars, who came to pick them up. This was also over-manned, except for when the folks from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan came to pick up hundreds of theirs. While we were helping load folding tables onto a truck (don't ask) I knocked my shin on the trailer hitch... that left a nasty six-inch bruise that stayed with me through stand-down.
Friday, I was assigned to OS1 Bragg's working party in Bldg. 52. All we had to do was clean the lobby, and escort the construction workers who were sanding the stairways. I only did the latter, and we were let off at 1040 by Master Chief. But not before Senior Chief came by and gave us, who were escorts, a blue Christmas ball ornament with the command's logo printed on it. I was all smiles on my way to admin to check out!
Tuesday, January 3... back to work. I was able to turn in my name change chit again, while I returned my leave authorization before 0730 muster. And I did the very same thing as on Dec. 16th in Bldg. 52... we cleaned the lobby, then I escorted the construction guys, now working on a different staircase... for a couple hours. Went home at lunch, tried to change my name at Navy Fed, and had a quick lunch at Panera. Got back a little bit late, but did more escorting. Then after PT muster at 1430, I did some running across the street at Liberty Station as well as 30 pushups.
Wednesday, I wised up! Stopped by McDonald's for a cup of fast oatmeal to start. I arranged with the POIC's of the working party to get a rotation going for escorting. I conveniently did the first two hours, then posted for the day (returning for the 1230 muster). I went home and put my room back together and had a snack. After muster, I went and saw my mentor about the command patches I heard were for sale. She didn't have them, but we had a long talk about everything: my class coming up, the likelihood and timing of orders, the possibility of becoming an officer. Found out she's been trying herself for some time... and that she's going to Afghanistan on her next orders. She told me about the new Oceanography officer field, and there might be someone on base who could answer questions about it! How neat would that be?!
And more good news: they finally retired the Bldg 52 watch! Yay! Duty sections have moved down to 8 sections today, instead of 10, but that makes it easier to keep track of. If you have duty on Monday, you know your next Duty is on the next Tuesday.
I took off after the PT muster, because I wasn't feeling like working out with just getting my period that day. And there was a new girl named Liz at the muster who talked about how she wished she could go shopping, since she just arrived from boot camp last weekend and how she just got Phase III (for being old, like me). So I took her out to Target and Payless Shoes to outfit herself and for a burger, fries and a shake at In & Out as a welcome. Had a great little time together.
So I loved Wednesday... it was almost like a miracle... I did whatever I wanted, practically! :)
Today, just had an oatmeal bar from Christmas for breakfast. Did more of the same, except it was more just hanging out and being bored. Helped clean the lobby, but then the CO came in so we were told to get out of the way. Went to the galley for lunch with Hibbard, Trimpe & Addesso... and set up a duty-swap with Hibbard for next month. Big plans afoot! We've got MLK Day off on the 16th, as well as President's Day on February 20th. Did a little bit of a workout before the PT muster, then took off right afterwords, giving a friend a ride home.
Just one more day of Holds, then it's off to class for 5 months, starting Monday! Gosh.
Friday, I was assigned to OS1 Bragg's working party in Bldg. 52. All we had to do was clean the lobby, and escort the construction workers who were sanding the stairways. I only did the latter, and we were let off at 1040 by Master Chief. But not before Senior Chief came by and gave us, who were escorts, a blue Christmas ball ornament with the command's logo printed on it. I was all smiles on my way to admin to check out!
Tuesday, January 3... back to work. I was able to turn in my name change chit again, while I returned my leave authorization before 0730 muster. And I did the very same thing as on Dec. 16th in Bldg. 52... we cleaned the lobby, then I escorted the construction guys, now working on a different staircase... for a couple hours. Went home at lunch, tried to change my name at Navy Fed, and had a quick lunch at Panera. Got back a little bit late, but did more escorting. Then after PT muster at 1430, I did some running across the street at Liberty Station as well as 30 pushups.
Wednesday, I wised up! Stopped by McDonald's for a cup of fast oatmeal to start. I arranged with the POIC's of the working party to get a rotation going for escorting. I conveniently did the first two hours, then posted for the day (returning for the 1230 muster). I went home and put my room back together and had a snack. After muster, I went and saw my mentor about the command patches I heard were for sale. She didn't have them, but we had a long talk about everything: my class coming up, the likelihood and timing of orders, the possibility of becoming an officer. Found out she's been trying herself for some time... and that she's going to Afghanistan on her next orders. She told me about the new Oceanography officer field, and there might be someone on base who could answer questions about it! How neat would that be?!
And more good news: they finally retired the Bldg 52 watch! Yay! Duty sections have moved down to 8 sections today, instead of 10, but that makes it easier to keep track of. If you have duty on Monday, you know your next Duty is on the next Tuesday.
I took off after the PT muster, because I wasn't feeling like working out with just getting my period that day. And there was a new girl named Liz at the muster who talked about how she wished she could go shopping, since she just arrived from boot camp last weekend and how she just got Phase III (for being old, like me). So I took her out to Target and Payless Shoes to outfit herself and for a burger, fries and a shake at In & Out as a welcome. Had a great little time together.
So I loved Wednesday... it was almost like a miracle... I did whatever I wanted, practically! :)
Today, just had an oatmeal bar from Christmas for breakfast. Did more of the same, except it was more just hanging out and being bored. Helped clean the lobby, but then the CO came in so we were told to get out of the way. Went to the galley for lunch with Hibbard, Trimpe & Addesso... and set up a duty-swap with Hibbard for next month. Big plans afoot! We've got MLK Day off on the 16th, as well as President's Day on February 20th. Did a little bit of a workout before the PT muster, then took off right afterwords, giving a friend a ride home.
Just one more day of Holds, then it's off to class for 5 months, starting Monday! Gosh.
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