Just a Few Things

Monday, Tuesday, and half of Wednesday, actually.

Monday the 15th, the best thing that happened was being able to see the dolphins so close to the barge as they went on a feeding frenzy. They were even jumping out of the water completely, and I saw one juggling a fish as it did! What a circus! I was able to catch a Jack again on my newly replaced pole from Walmart.

Tuesday, I kept myself busy by cleaning all the 600+ yogurt lids we're saving to send in to the Susan G. Koman Foundation. Otherwise, Chief went off as she does sometimes about the FSAs not cleaning between the meals (I was guilty myself of napping in the lounge on Monday). That night, I had a nice long talk with Mom, Dad, Andie, Beckie and Micah! Beckie had just gotten her first pet... a blue and white parakeet she named Tweety-Bird. :) Just like my little Sweet-Peep. :)

Wednesday, we had command sweep of urinalysis testing. I nearly forgot about it I was kept so busy in the scullery by myself for breakfast and lunch. I would have hopped on a van for Town Center before I remembered, but the first one before dinner was going to Mayport. CSC conducted it for NC1, LSC and myself. I felt a little out of place as these senior petty officers were joking around together. And to top it off, I was in my civies! Thankfully, that made no difference for providing a urine sample. :)

I've been keeping my boots very shiny as I have lots of time to shine them. The ship was drawn freehand by one of our Ensigns on the wardroom whiteboard... !

Berthing... view from my rack.

Here's a pic of a t-shirt from the NEX this last weekend. It's the same as my maiden family name's (Payne) motto.

Feast or Famine

The deal was that Combs, another FSA, would take my workday today after I took his Monday. He had a four-day weekend last weekend, and I'd have a four-day weekend this weekend; and combined with my half day yesterday, makes it more like five.

As I noted last, we had a problem with the water tanks... the problem continued all day long on Saturday, even though they promised we'd have it back Friday night. They had it up and running on Sunday though, so that was nice. I had a job again! Weekend duty isn't too bad... there is no quarters in the morning, no stores on-loads, and no berthing inspections... so I don't have to worry about straightening my rack, folding my blankets, locking everything up in my drawers and hiding my nearly-empty-backpack behind my pillow (I don't have enough room)... at 0445. :) So one can relax a little bit. I think I took several naps over the two days, watched a lot of football (Navy/Air Force, Gators/LSU college games on Sat -they let us off for dinner- and a bit of Dolphins/Bengals on Sun), and read quite a bit in The Hobbit.

I was sort of ready for everything to start up again on Monday, and the transition wasn't as bad as coming back from a weekend off, believe it or not. It was kind of hard to go straight into long days of work though. We had stores on-load right away. My self-appointed project of this week was to straighten up the condiments on the mess decks. Separated out the ketchup, mayo and relish packets... and good thing... we had burgers yesterday and we're out of the mayo bottles. Also, no one had bothered to notice that we were out of coffee creamers all weekend, and I even had the CO ask for some Monday morning. That really got my interest spiked in getting the 1st classes to get some for me from stores (only they have the keys). Put them out after lunch, and got several comments in just a few minutes... especially from the wardroom. Also thought we needed ketchup and mustard, and brought up a couple cases of those. Good thing, because people drink ketchup on burger days. :)

Tuesday was the other scullery guy's last day. We got an un-designated seaman as his replacement, and I like this guy a lot better. Takes care to do everything well, and thinks about what's going on. We talk about music too, because he likes classical and singing. I showed him everything and set him up to work that day, and the next day he told me he wished that FSA was a rate! :)

It helped a whole lot to have this long weekend ahead of me through Monday and Tuesday. Even though Wednesday was a half-day, I worked like crazy. We had stores on-load and a milk on-load right after it. Helped CS1 down in the refer (walk-in fridge and freezer next to it), and took the trouble to get the milk and juices loaded up, even though I'm not in charge there. Our new mess decks MA is not a hard charger like FC1 was, and I find myself leading quite a bit. I don't mind though... :) We've had a lot of new people in, and since I celebrated my half-way mark yesterday, I have a bit of seniority.

The five long days in a row are over, the four off are upon me!

Water, Heads, Rain, Fish & Chaplains

Well, yesterday and today were a little wild. Thursday began normally enough... Until the sewage backed up onto the mess decks and galley again (first time in a week or so, actually). So we shut off the dishwasher, and I was out of a job. During quarters we found out that we had a mandatory flu shot at 0800. After the shot, we did some sweepers and took out some trash, but then I took a wonderful nap in the lounge because there wasn't anything else. That was, of course, until lunch, when I had to get the washer up to speed post haste. So that was hot and heavy. Chief even came in, checked the temp (88 deg. F) and told me to go get a drink of water.

Right afterwords I got off since it was my early day. Walked to the parking lot in uniform just as it was starting to rain. In seconds it was pouring. I was on my way to the Lay Leader training at 1400 on Naval Station Mayport. Borrowed the restricted FSA's black Mustang, and got there just in time. This training is one of the three things a Sailor needs to become an official religious leader on their ship. The other two are letters from our church confirming the tradition you say you belong to and also a letter from the CO at the end, confirming it. It was nice to get the first step accomplished, and get to know exactly what I'd be doing. Main responsibilities (while underway) include conducting services (with only a devotional... no sermons), leading the evening prayer over the 1MC (general announcing), organizing Bible studies, and providing general encouragement.

When I got back, the water was off yet again. But on the way home I stopped by Target for some steel spoons (the ship is running dreadfully low because people take them... and I have to work harder to get the few we have out on the line), and got Arbys in the drive-through... With the two-hour training, I didn't get back to the barge until 1800. Somebody else was waiting to use it. :) It started pouring soon after, so I went fishing for a while, until I caught two little trout, lost my bait,and ended up breaking the tip of my $8 rod trying to get it unstuck from a rope in the water.

Today we had more trouble with the water, so I was bored out of my mind whenever we were not doing stores onload or breakouts. They even delayed quarters by ten minutes because of the food truck that came. It was mostly frozen meat... which was very heavy, especially down the skinny, steep ladders. After breakouts for tomorrow, a milk truck arrived with fifteen, five-gallon boxes. Those also had to go down into the refer. Other than all that, I took a couple nice long naps between meals, even dreaming during them. Dinner tonight seemed to take forever, but here I am, resting in my rack, finally. I made it through another day. Hopefully we will get the use of our heads back tomorrow. Kind of odd, having to use a trailer.

The Next Three Days... and pics

My new home... the scullery. These are the wardroom silver, that I tried to de-tarnish by scrubbing... the stack of mess trays that I have to keep moving back to the line after every meal... and a typical breakfast. The pizza boxes were ordered the first time we lost the water on the barge.

 










I did see one during a late-night talk with my husband... :)

The mirror is at an angle, so it makes a person look a bit skinnier than they actually are. :)

I thought this last one was funny at the time... this is in the crew's lounge. An officer and a 1st class with some sort of expectations... :)

I think the river is beautiful! Lots of time to sit and watch it, that's for sure! In fact, I go out there often between meals since it's right next to the mess decks, but it's serene. I fish there a lot, and sometimes just relax... and sometimes I see turtles! One of the officers agreed with me when they stopped by one afternoon.

There's only been three working days since last I posted! Thursday the 27th was a long day, and besides not even getting a bite while fishing, the only thing of note is that I set up my boot polish in the scullery for myself and the other FSAs to use before quarters. I put a good shine on my own, touching it up the next day. I gave up my early day on Friday, switching with GM3 so she could go out with a friend. I'll get one back tomorrow!

Yesterday, October 1st, I had the scullery all to myself; and that means a lot of work! The other guy who works in there had the day off (like me today!). Chief did a uniform inspection at quarters, and only one person was talked to about their boots. :) Afterwords, Chief told me that I had been selected as the Chief's Mess FSA. So I took the time to straighten it up a little (that's really all I need to do, anyway). It was another long day, but I got to stay at a hotel that night! :)

Another Indoc, Two Tests and an Anniversary

My first Indoc (or indoctrination - an introduction to a command) was a formal class at Naval Station Great Lakes, and it appears as a week-long class on my CTARS (don't ask me what that stands for - its a confidential list of all the schools I've attended in the Navy). That one started my very first day... but that's a huge training command, and they've got to get people through it. The less formal one I had at the Fleet ASW Training Center occurred within one month of checking in. Here on the destroyer, I just finished Indoc this week, after being here for over two months. Life in the fleet is much more busy and complicated than at shore commands!

But as my brother said, some things in the military never change. I was skeptical that I would learn anything new, since I've been here so much already. Goodness, I'm already a quarter done with Cranking! But it turned out to be helpful, being introduced to certain people's jobs, where I knew people's faces, but not their rates.

Indoc started Monday the 10th, with... what other than a muster sheet? Then the CO came in ("Attention on DECK!") and gave us the same brief some of us had before on the "commander's intent"... that we're going to be ready for the country any time, any place to PURSUE, ATTACK and VANQUISH any enemy (it's our ship's motto - taken from a phrase used on Commodore Thomas Truxtun's gold medal that Congress struck on March 29, 1800 to award him for the defeat of the French ship of war L'Insurgente in the Quasi-War.) He also talked about how he wants the command to operate with rigor, transparency and I think the last was accountability. And then he touched on our ship's schedule again, which I had practically forgotten about since I've been cranking.

The XO came in after him and touched on things like berthing rules and the fact that all the administrative runnings of the ship are under his domain. We then had the command fitness leader (CFL) talk about the upcoming PFA... always fun to remember that I need to lose weight. :) CSC then came in and asked us a lot about ourselves, then went over the suicide prevention power-point... page by page. (My husband thinks it's funny that a month into cranking and suddenly I get a suicide prevention talk... the timing is odd that way, but no matter what a person's doing they're going to talk about that - since Big Navy has a big issue with it, we have to do it... all the time.) Lastly, CMC came in and talked to us about standards for work and for liberty. There have been some issues lately with people wearing "inappropriate" clothes off the barge.

The next day we talked a little about watch standing and force protection (with MA1), but I've already been through Between the Life-Lines... which is all about that. Next, SIGWO (signal warfare officer - boy, did that one take me a while to de-code while I was working the wardroom) came in and talked to us about OPSEC (operations security) and had us sign a "page 13" (acknowledgement form) - who knows where that term came from - about social media posts... and how we should be careful about how much we say where. CS2, who was also in the class, commented that he knew of a half-dozen guys at the Navy prison he was last working at who were spending 25 years to life for giving out too much information. Whoa. The rest of the day was with HM3... smoking secession, STDs (thank the Lord the projector was broken... no nasty pictures to look at this time), and finally CPR.

Wednesday was a succession of topics covering Tag-Out procedures, electrical safety, oil spills, entering void spaces, HAZMAT, fraud+waste+abuse, safety, ORM, awareness, MAN OVERBOARD procedures, and then finally a little tidbit on schools and doing PQS.

On Thursday the 13th, there was a little interruption to our Indoc schedule... namely, the Petty Officer 2nd Class Examination (mandatory test for 3rd's aspiring to the next pay-grade) held everywhere in the Navy that morning for three hours. It was awful! Hardly any Oceanography questions (which I can do better at) and lots on random equipment from all the fields of Sonar. Pretty hard to study for mine, since the test is classified Secret. That and we've been a little busy coming down to Mayport... and cranking on top of that. Won't find out the results for another couple months.

In the afternoon, we finished up Indoc with talks about (you guessed it!) Sexual Assault/SAPR, 3M (our maintenance procedures), PQS info and financial counseling. A whirlwind for sure. And indeed, before and after these trainings, CS2 and I had to be working on the mess decks. There was no skating off for us, even though we had this class. I even worked in the scullery during our lunch break.

It was my weekend to work right before this too... Friday the 7th I kept myself busy all day, trying to get the wardroom silver untarnished... worked it over with steel wool and cut my hand in the process. Saturday I saw a sea turtle for the first time (lots hereafter) and worked through a power outage during dinner with a flashlight. Sunday, the 9th, I got up to clean up the night's remaining dishes even though I was told to sleep in. Did go back to sleep for a couple hours before the extra-long lunch.

Wednesday the 12, during Indoc, the sewer tanks overflowed onto the mess decks before breakfast and the water was secured through lunch... and we had to use the heads (bathrooms) on a trailer parked next to the barge. The tanks flooded again the next Wednesday the 19, my first day back after my 96 hour liberty.

And that Wednesday the 19th, I caught up on the Damage Control Indoc that I had missed the first two days of due to my anniversary trip with my husband. Turns out all I missed was power-points about the same stuff we went over in boot camp. I copied someone's notes and studied them while we were waiting for DC2 Vigilant (awesome name for a DC man!) to take us on a walk-through of the ship's DC spaces... to show us the fire-fighting gear, the repair lockers, shoring and hoses and the like. Later on, after we were let go, we had a Dress Blues inspection (on the hanger, thankfully!) for the upcoming uniform shift on October 1st.

Thursday the 20th was the DC Indoc test... 100 multiple choice questions. Apart from that, it was my day off from cranking, so after the test I changed into civies and read my Peter Wimsey book for a long time before getting the first bus to the Mayport Naval Station (around 1500).

Friday the 21st was my TWO YEAR anniversary of joining the Navy. Goodness, it has gone fast, and slow. Seems like only yesterday, and it seems like forever ago. As for the day itself, I figured out a secret to keeping the dish-washing machine working better, and we had to hold Quarters on the rooftop due to yet more flooding on the mess decks. Someone was late again that morning, so as our MA promised, the next two early days were cancelled. That affected me on Monday... after working through the weekend. Yay.

Saturday was crazy. They secured the water ALL DAY LONG on the barge. That meant a continental breakfast, and hamburgers grilled on the roof for lunch. We had to carry lots of stuff up there... tables, chairs, food, ice... but it was a very good meal. For some reason, Chief thought after lunch would be a good time to field day (clean/scrub) the galley. That put us all in a very lousy mood. Dinner was pizza and wings... and I hated life until I woke up from my long nap afterwords. Went to bed at 1815 and woke up at 0100... went outside to talk to my husband, and while I did that I saw a manatee nibbling algae off the barge! I had very much wanted to see one, so it all worked out alright! I had done a good bit of fishing earlier in the day and caught a good sized Jack on my cheap pole. I do love that about this place! All the sea life I get to see!

Sunday the 23rd, all of note was I got my shins very mosquito-bitten while I cleaned my fish in the evening. Bad decision!

This week it was hard to keep going after the weekend. Monday I was running a little late, but thankfully no one noticed. The ventilation in the scullery wasn't on in the morning, so I was working in a sauna... FC1 said it was 100 degrees in there. I was really tired, my shins itched like the dickens, and for some odd reason, my left wrist hurt just that day. I wanted to hit something after work, so I consoled myself with crumpling up the 3x5 comment card we were given at our divisional training that morning. I didn't have anything to say that they wanted to hear. Life was better after taking a shower and reading while I did my laundry. I suppose I'll have to un-crumple the card.

I survived Tuesday with the knowledge that it was the only day to get through before my day off today. It was cloudy and cool too... and that helped. Caught and released a couple smaller Jacks in the break times and caught the bus to Mayport to spend the evening and next day far, far away. :)

Hello From the Barge

The "coziness" of my rack... that's my alarm clock on my towel rack, my tennis shoes (the steps to get up hurt my feet if I don't wear shoes) and randomly, my box of Raisin Bran before I started storing my extra food stores in the scullery.

Life in Dry Dock

----post updated 11 SEP 12---- (it was first attempted from my phone because I was stuck on the barge and had lots of time) :)

August 27, the Monday after my first break, was a wild first day back. It started with a command urinalysis sweep, since somebody popped on a test, I heard. The skewed schedule allowed me time to go to my parent division to print up a request chit and submit it before lunch. Interestingly, it just got approved today.

The rest of that first Monday was taken up with going over to the ship and bagging up all the food that had been left behind by accident and spoiled. My, was that a hot, disgusting mess. I made six trips carrying bags of trash and left-behind dishes. You could say that I got an intense stair-stepper workout while at work.

It's been nearly another two weeks since I've last posted. I worked the ward room a couple times, but I've since switched myself over to working the scullery as my main job. I'm good at it and I like watching all the dishes get clean as I spray them off before sending them through the washer. Just today I got a compliment from a Chief for working so hard every day.

It's been interesting in there too... There were a couple power outages last week, and today we had a hot water issue for breakfast and lunch. Had to stack everything up and use paper plates for a while. There are three gauges to pay attention to for temps: two wash tanks and a final rinse. Along with that, the tanks below should be filled with water, and sometimes they drain out and the machine works on steam. The problem is, to fill the tanks, cold water is fed in, which will cause the washers to go under the temp requirement if not watched closely. A duty officer even comes in every meal to make sure we're operating in the standards.

In a way, it's good that I'm cranking now... the duty sections have a lot of watches to cover, so everyone else is working hard too, usually standing 10 hours of watch on duty days (two different watches, thankfully!). Just yesterday, the mess decks MA came up with a new schedule, so that we get more days off. Things have definitely quieted down from when we first got here, and we're finally getting into a groove.

As for regular day-to-day stuff, we have Quarters every morning on the mess decks with all of Supply... CS (culinary specialists - or cooks), LS (logistics specialists), and SH (ship's servicemen). The First Classes rotate leading it, starting with the Sailor's Creed, then read the POD (plan of the day) to us, put out anything that needs to be put out, and call us to attention when the Chiefs and DIVO (division officer) arrive. Supply is so complex that there is a SUPPO and ASUPPO (supply and assistant supply officers). The Khaki, as officers and chiefs are known as, put out whatever was put out at the Officer's Call beforehand.

Sometimes Quarters drives me nuts because we have to drop everything and wait, and sometimes they come down hard on people for shaving and haircuts (and you wonder why people can't just get it together)but then I remember that it comes from a very long military tradition of mustering... and it's important for the dissemination of information... and it really doesn't take too long after all.

I really love our location on the river! There are dolphins breaking water almost every day, and the fishing isn't bad either. I saw a pair of sea turtles feeding on the algae growing on the dock, and it seems as if there are always herons, egrets, seagulls and pelicans to watch along with a beautiful sunset.

Between meals there are certain things that have to be done every day. Sweepers around the mess decks is one, but then also taking the trash out to the dumpster... there are four street-size trash cans in the galley, then the one outside the scullery too. It seems as if I empty them at least three or four times a day. :) Then there's the bread to be wrapped in two-slice packets (so people can easily make sandwiches for themselves), and then the cookies or brownies or cake to be plated up as well. The days usually pass by pretty quickly... it seems like I am always busy.

On Labor Day weekend I got myself a fishing pole and a cheap bicycle from Walmart in order to help me use the time I do get off constructively. I have caught a few little fish (catch and release) and I've made a couple trips across the river on my bike (using the ferry, of course). There is also Cable TV in the lounge below the mess decks, so sometimes I catch a football game with the guys. Otherwise, I have a few movies to watch on my laptop, and a few books to read too.

It is a little difficult not having my car, because the ship's shuttles only go to the base at Mayport and then one place for shopping, so the choices are a little limited. I've enjoyed rental cars on the weekends though, as well as a few nights at hotels to get away for a while. :)

Slideshow

Two Weeks That Seemed Like Four

This weekend has been my first days off in the last two weeks... that have been especially busy. We were underway to get de-magnetized for a few days, and then a few days more to come down to Florida, and we just moved into dry dock the day before yesterday.

More pertinent for me, we had to move all our belongings onto a barge. That included four separate trips for my personal stuff, and then later on for all of the mess equipment (dishes, utensils, pots, pans, etc.). The first trip for me was moving my mattress, sheets, pad and pillows up the three, narrow, 12 ft. ladders on the ship, across the brow, down the steep stairs to the brow, down the pier a few hundred feet, up the gangway, down a ladder, through the barge, up a ladder and finally into the tiny, 30-man female berthing. My arms felt like jelly after this first trip. Thankfully, the other trips were only carrying my sea bag and backpack with uniforms and books and things.

My job during the great mess move over was to stay in the galley on the barge and clean the big equipment... a steamer and a couple huge, steel cauldrons (that were still hot from boiling the grime off of other equipment). Had to be careful not to burn my fingers and arms as I rubbed them down with a steel wool pad and soapy rag. CS2 (in charge of the cleaning) told me I was very good at it, and at one point he even told me to take a break, I was working so hard. Just listened to music the whole time, and that made it much easier.

This is what it looked like after I was done.

Working in the Wardroom and the Mess Decks for the last two weeks has been an adventure of sorts. My first regular day... Monday morning the 13th (after getting underway) I showed up for breakfast in the Wardroom galley, opened the door to the sight of the other attendant throwing up into our big trashcan. I thought, "Oh, boy, this is going to be a fun day." Later on I took that trash down, and got some of that throw-up on my coveralls. Fabulous.

Here's the Wardroom and galley in Officer Country:

So I worked my tail off for the next two weeks, really without a break. There were a few perks though... I made my own breakfast most of the time... had eggs and oatmeal a lot. Also, GM3 put me in charge of doing the laundry (table cloths and napkins) every other day, so I've been able to do all my laundry as well. Every moment I wasn't setting up or serving a meal I was getting the linens done.

Our other responsibilities include washing the officer's laundry and sweeping the P-way by the Wardroom, and the two back aft by the other officer's staterooms, and keeping their heads stocked and clean (that always sounds funny to me... the officer's heads :) (for you landlubbers... their bathrooms). One night when we were conducting an in-depth field day, I was in charge of scrubbing out the CO's shower... a meeting got out while I was doing it, so I had to come to the door of the cabin and ask permission to continue when he came in. Recently I had to wash at least 7 or 8 pairs of coveralls. GM3 took care of the P-ways while I did the laundry, and I liked that very much. A chance to work alone and not have to sweep minuscule amounts of dust and change the toilet paper rolls. :)

It was last Saturday that was terrible. First full day underway, and I never had a chance to go topside... never saw the sun all day long. It was all day before I remembered what day of the week it was... but really just another work day. It was the day GM3 decided on the switch-off schedule between Gili and I... meaning I'd work on the Mess Decks. I had been under the impression I always worked upstairs, so it was a little jarring, and she wanted the laundry key back the next day because she didn't trust me to not forget to take care of it one day. The work was long and hot in the scullery when you clean up after 150+ people. The Mess Decks MA had yelled at me for eating before dinner out of turn... the CSs were a little late cooking the pizza, so the FSAs were sort of at a loss for when we were going to get to eat. And that evening at 8pm, when the division officers served up ice cream, I was turned away because I was in my Navy sweats and sweatshirt and not in coveralls (which I learned we're supposed to be in "all the time underway", which wasn't explained to me before). Couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks as I walked back forward to Sonar. I had changed out of my uniform and boots just an hour or so earlier to nap in my rack before it started. I was exhausted and sore all over. But in Sonar I was able to chat on Facebook with my husband, and one of the Sonar guys was up there and brought me back a scoop of cookies & cream. I was much calmer by the time I went to sleep, but still kept a Kleenex nearby for any stray tears. :)

The next day was so much better. I made a point to go outside at least twice... once in the morning (the deep, bright blue of the ocean took my breath away at the first glimpse), and again in the evening around 1900... the sun was just going behind some big clouds in the distance and all of a sudden a couple dolphins popped up right alongside, below me, swimming with the ship.

I've already described the Mayport barge ordeal at the top of the post. The day before getting underway for dry dock I was helping move some final things over to the barge in the dark hours of the early morning and once I didn't pay attention to where my feet were going as I stepped onto the brow of the ship. I fell down hard on the unforgiving metal on my right knee and left shin, and nearly burst into tears right there, it hurt so bad. I said something to medical after breakfast was over and was able to sit down for a while and ice them on the Mess Decks. That afternoon I and a couple others were let off early, and as I took my socks off, I opened up the wound on my shin. Had no idea I broke the skin, and medical soon patched it up. Unfortunately, it still makes it difficult getting into my top rack... I have to kneel on the mattress for a second at least when I get up there, and even that hurts.

The day we got underway for dry dock was a crazy long one. Breakfast was normal, along with Quarters on the Mess Decks right after it, although that was hurried, since the barge was getting underway before the ship. I spent roughly the entire day on the near-empty ship. Everything useful for living (food, bed, computers) had been moved over to the barge and was gone. A few of us walked over to the McDonald's nearby long before we had to leave, in order to have something different for lunch that we'd have for dinner (boxed dinner was the same as the one for lunch... sandwich, pear, water, chips). I had to be at Sea & Anchor (line-handler detail) from just after 1300, and wasn't let go until just after 1900. That was a lot of time... read a little in "Clear the Decks" ... a Navy captain's hilarious experiences from WWII and beyond. After waiting around for those 6 hours, I was able to wait the next 4 and-a-half where ever. The dry dock was rising out of the water and there was no way to get ashore for all that time. I will say this though, they had mid-rats (late dinner) and ice cream waiting for us on the barge when we all got back.

It has been a crazy couple weeks. I'm pretty confident that things will calm down now that we're all set up for where we're going to be for a while. At least I hope. :)

Cooking and Cleaning

Well, I've had my first regular day(s) as a FSA (food service attendant). Between starting after 0900 and getting posted at 1800 on Thursday, to starting at 0500 and getting posted at 1300 on Friday (as a half day), I'm beginning to understand why people complain about "cranking". The hours are very long; thirteen-hour days are nothing to sneeze at!

Thursday started off normal enough... came in at normal time, had quarters with the CA (combat acoustics) division like usual, had sweepers as always, got on the Internet, then was reminded of the change-of-command rehearsal at 0900 on the flight deck. I had no role in the event... we were practicing where to stand on the port side of the canopy (where all those inviting chairs were set up). It was very warm out with the sun blazing down on everyone. Suddenly an announcement came over the 1MC... "S2 muster on the Quarterdeck with the Officer of the Deck". I noticed the guy I was replacing (for cranking) head out and STG3 confirmed that the S2 (service 2?) division was indeed mine now. I decided after a few minutes that carrying boxes of food below decks would be more fun than standing outside in the heat... so I chose that moment to check in with the guy I was replacing (another STG3). Senior had told me at quarters that he would come find me when it was time. :)

So we carried boxes of milk, yogurt and sour cream below decks to the storage refrigerators. After that, I was given a tour of the mess decks, scullery and wardroom galley. After a half-hour or so, it was time to start setting up for lunch. GM3 had started cranking a few weeks ago, and she was designated the lead wardroom crank. She already had the tables set when we got back. CS2 arrived and started preparing the fresh fruit, and finished baking some of the meal items.

Working in the wardroom isn't bad. It's small, much cooler than the big galley below (I think it only got up to about 78 during the middle of everything) and a lot more intimate. We personally take the officer's menu selections, and come back to serve them their plates. We wash the china and silverware in a little sink and dishwasher just inside the galley door and put them back in a stack next to the grill when they're mostly dry.

There was an all-hands call on the forecastle right after lunch, so we had to leave a few things undone while we went to that. They handed out awards for Sailor and Junior-Sailor of the quarter, and the CO gave a few brief comments to us about how this had been the best two-and-a-half years of his life. This was his last day as our CO.

So we finished cleaning up the wardroom and galley, then had a while before we had to help set up for dinner below for the crew. My job was to run the scullery... lots of dish washing! There's a little window that people come by, dump most of their leftovers into the big trashcan, then pile their utensils into a pan with soap-water, and leave their tray, tan plastic plate and bowl and red or white plastic cup(s) on the stainless steel counter. I loaded these items onto big trays, hosed them off in the sink (with scalding water), then sent the tray through the washer and rinser where it was so hot that most everything air-dried in just a few moments. Cups and utensils would go separately, but trays, plates and bowls would stand up in one tray together.

I wiped down all the tables in the mess just before the line was secured at 1730. I was glad of the Olympics being shown on TV... I watched a lot of water polo to pass the time. The US won gold! :)

Friday I was out my door so early! Checked into where I thought I had to be, but no one was there. FC1 (the mess decks MA) came by and said we don't muster in the morning... just go straight to your station. I was the first in the wardroom too. :) Remembered I had to put new ice water in the COs stateroom and empty his trash, but I didn't remember the code to get in. GM3 (lead wardroom crank) soon came and helped me out. Then we set the wardroom table with a new linen, glasses, silverware wrapped in cloth napkins (I wrapped a lot more of them while we were waiting), and menus for breakfast.

The officers came in by ones and twos... we'd bring CS2 (culinary specialist) their marked menus, then serve them their plates, and take them away when they were done. One of the hotcakes broke when being flipped... so I offered to eat it... seconds off the grill! And CS2 allowed me to make my own eggs as well. I think I will especially enjoy breakfast around here.

After breakfast there was a muster on the mess decks with the entire food service division, cooks and FSAs. I didn't have to change into anything for the ceremony because I was selected to help get lunch ready while it was going on. I was told I wasn't allowed to go topside until after our out-going CO had left the ship (everyone topside was in service or full dress whites, and I was in my working uniform).

Lunch was fantastic though... fried shrimp and cocktail sauce, and lots of deliciously ripe, cut-up strawberries. Enjoyed it heartily! There were plates of fruit and pastries left out in the wardroom, so GM3 and I had to clean everything up before we were done. They let me go at 1300 because it was inexplicably my "half-day". Okay, then. See you later.

Moving Off Ship, First Watch and The End of the Beginning

Goodness, this is the ninth workday since I've last posted (as I check my little day log).

Friday, July 27th was a big day... and also a short one... I finished the test for "Between the Life-Lines" around noon, and we were let go after that. After a month of living on the ship (since 28 June) I was able to move in to my permanent housing! That was a great feeling! And also much of the reason I am behind on here: been very busy getting set up at home.

Monday, the 30th, we had our first uniform inspection, and I had remembered, and worn my new boots for the first time. I was given special liberty to come in late Thursday because my boots looked the best. :) Sure glad I learned how to shine them between boot camp and now. :) It was also my first time going to command PT... Ensign Leonard and I ran for 10 min. on the treadmill and did an upper body workout together while everyone else from the department ran outside in the heat (they're nuts!). The rest of the day was filled with trying to track stuff down, more training and yet another NKO course.

The 31st, I conquered a fear. The duty section (E-5 and below) was called away in the afternoon to carry small, but super-heavy boxes below decks. I had to go down a couple different ladders to drop it off... and when I came across the first one I thought, "Oh, no way." Ladderwells are roughly 12 feet deep, and very steep. With a 40-50 lb box in your hands, you can't hold on to the rails when you go down. Usually I grab on with both hands when I go up or down... I'm terrified of falling... and my knees are kinda weak. But I had to do it anyway. So I slowly moved down and learned after the 2nd or 3rd time that if you keep the center of weight back (with the box resting on the hips) that it's rather easy to do. Yay.

I also took the MOOW (messenger) written exam in CSMC (combat central) and passed easily. And I also did some training on another PQS while I was there. During training that evening, we had a drill in a super-secret space that hardly anyone ever goes in... so that was interesting. To relax, I read a comic book I bought at Fort Story a week or so ago... a collection of all of Pvt. Murphy's Law... sort of a modern-day Willie and Joe strip that used to run in Army Times. It was pretty darn funny. And another neat thing about the day... while I talked with Mike and Meggan on the phone from the fantail, I saw lots of sea creatures swimming in the water... crabs, jellyfish, and lots of fishes, the latter jumping out of the water every so often. :)

August 1st was odd. I watched the forecastle all morning while they tested missile launchers (for safety). I even saw the CO and XO making rounds and remembered to pop up and salute when they came by. More training in Sonar after lunch... and even helped out with firing the torpedo tube! :)

Coming in late on Thursday the 2nd was amazing! I was so tired from my duty day (I didn't sleep enough the day before it). Worked mostly on the next required NKO course. This one was super hard though. I didn't finish it until the 6th! Printed out the cert for it and found it awarded 16 hours of class time for it! Yikes! So long! It was about the U.S. Military Code of Conduct.

I never learn... didn't sleep enough before my last duty day on Monday, the 6th. And again, I had trouble remembering to go to duty section turnover... thank goodness for the announcements! The watchbill coordinator asked me about my MOOW progress, and when he found out the PQS was routed for approval, he told me to take the 5-hr afternoon one that my friend was just mentioning she was on. :) I was also on the ship's lighting detail for the first time, although I had done it before while doing PQS stuff.

After regular sweepers we were called out again to help carry drinks aboard and forward. The dozen or so of us made a chain-gang and passed the cases from one person to the next. Had to go to early chow to eat before watch... then changed into my whites and took over for the first time. And of course that day they were late with the 12 o'clock reports, so my first two minutes on watch and suddenly I'm reporting to the CO's stateroom and delivering a prescribed, formal speech to him... with Senior Chief looking on. Goodness. But, whew, I remembered what to say and got it out fast (and got out of there fast!).

The OOD had me refill the water cooler for our drinking water (it was pretty hot outside in the bright sunshine). I even was able to call "attention on deck" when the CO came by the quarterdeck... but the most fun was the big thunderstorm that hit us around 1515... first a strong, cold breeze, then a little rain, then a sheet of pounding rain, and we all huddled under the quarterdeck canopy. At one point, the canopy blew a few feet to the stern... lol. The lighting and crashes of thunder was within a mile of us. I got pretty wet before I was relieved a little early.

That evening I was blinking out as I sat on the mess decks after dinner... and later on at our training. Chief yelled at me to stand up... I felt bad about that... I've never been one of "those" people before. Sort of put me in the mood to be grumpy about our casualty training. Again it was over before I had all my gear on. Can't wait until I know what I'm doing during these things! I enjoyed Lighting Detail though... beautiful sunset over the bay from us. I went to bed after finally finishing the really long NKO.

Yesterday the 7th was sort of a rushed morning. Lighting Detail happened just after I got ready to go, then I had to scarf breakfast before quarters (I was in charge of getting the muster report done for Sonar). Sweepers was short because it started raining heavily after we began to wipe the water from yesterday overboard. This made us have quarters inside the skin of the ship for the first time since I've been here. Later that morning I was called topside with a few others to sweep water over the side. When we got there it started to rain again, but the Chief on watch didn't care. He asked us if we were afraid of melting before sending us up top to get the big puddles swept along. What fun! And that was after I was starting to dry off from carrying the Berthing 2 trash down the pier. :) Oh, I also received my first pieces of mail on the ship today... CD from eBay, and a bill from the government. :)

Today is my last day with the division for the next four months... sort of an end of the beginning. Everyone is assigned work with the cooks for 4 months early on... and tomorrow is my first day of that. We'll see how that is.