unHeard Of

2009-09-18T00:26:00.001-04:00

holy cow. been like 32928739 years. things are great. im now at Great Lakes about to start work as an instructor at the OS 'A' school. me and Julie are dating and getting more and more serious, i just bought a king size bed and im living in Gurnee in a killer apartment.

oh, life is good.

2009-05-01T17:19:00.002-04:00

aah yes, last full month until our return to homeport!!

Gabon was nice. went out a couple times. got my drink on, thats all i needed to do. went to a reception too. that was okay; it was really hot out and although it was all indoors, there were no windows or doors on the hall. but it was still fun.

now we are on our way back to Cameroon to drop some people and supplies off, and bring on a couple more people for our ride back to Senegal; and that'll be the last of Africa!!!

just cant wait for June, and especially for when Julie comes to visit!! counting down the days...

2009-04-20T17:03:00.002-04:00

been some time since Nigeria. Cameroon was next, and it was all right. there was no huge safari like they promised though. the scenery was nice however.

so now its Gabon, and so far it looks like the better developed out of all the african countries we have been too. plus theres supposedly a lot to do out here. i got a week, so ill be checking it out!

2009-03-20T19:59:00.004-04:00

aah Nigeria. a place of fighting, hot humid weather, and next to none liberty. im moving here.

apparently a submarine and a brand spankin' new LPD collided earlier this morning in the Straits of Hormuz. some damage was done to both vessels; some fuel was lost, and some crew members were minorly hurt. investigations are ongoing. its starting to pop up in the media now. thankfully no one was killed.

OH! John and Christina had their twins. st patricks day. both are healthy. congrats to them all!

2009-03-04T17:30:00.004-05:00

ah. wow. been some time. and now its March!

deployment is still going on. left january 15th. stopped in Spain. first African port was Senegal. it was okay. if you're out in town, be prepared to be SWAMPED by people trying to sell you things; masks, drums, neckalsses, figureens....all kinds of african goodies. and they will follow you everywhere! and they pickpocket too.
there was a casino we went to one day, and a couple bars some other day. did some COMREL projects too. we are going back at the end of the deployment; its our first and last African stop!

so now we are in Ghana. and it is much more developed than the last place. not too many people trying to sell you things, or at least you tell them no and they kindly walk away. but the US doller is worth more here so most people have been buying their african suveniers here. i bought a drum and a couple things for Jules. this is out longest port time; 18 days total. also did a day of COMREL here too. went very well. things out in town have been decent too, the bars and resturants and such. only had one incident last night; some of our guys got into a scuffle with some locals. so now the whole ship and the entire APS program in general is under the spotlight. hopfully the Ghanaians will forgive us heh.

thats it thus far! just cant wait for June, thats my motivation. that and Jules' emails, pictures, and the fact that i could be in Illinois for three years at Great Lakes....which by the way, i have not gotten my orders yet. and im starting to get ticked off. my re-enlistment time table is shortening....otherwise, im just happy this is my LAST DEPLOYMENT.

2009-01-07T08:40:00.002-05:00

well happy new year!

as the operation comes to an end, i an satisified. visited people, hung out with friends and family, and had an overall great time.

i was especially glad Julie made it up for a week. we spent a lot of time together. we talked about the future of our situation and agreed on some things. which is nice to have things cleared up.

of course it snowed last night, so the trip back to VA should be interesting up north here.

all in all; mission accomplished!

2008-12-16T22:59:00.002-05:00

we picked new orders today!

i asked for something in Chicago, and they had some openings for the OS 'A' school thats now out there; instructor.

i told the detailer to put me down for that.

BUUUT i think there's a catch.....afterwards i was talking to my first class and he said that usually requires a three year re-enlistment.

crap! i was planning on just sperating from the Navy in october!

im going to email the detailer tomorrow and find the truth to this...

anyway, after the rest of the day thinking about it, it might not be so bad. i could get a bunch of college done, and the job status is EASY (the classes are all computer-self-paced based), and it would give me a chance to solidify my "residency" out there; find a house, get things job wise set up with the fire department, get some major studying time and possibly OJT in before those three years are up.....

so now, once again, im in a bind.

get out next october, probably join active reserves, and basically "wing it" out in the real world for a bit?
or re-enlist, have to go through another 3 years of navy bullshit, but possibly have a better chance in the real world?

the battle continues...

2008-12-13T14:47:00.001-05:00

ah, and one month till my birthday!

2008-12-13T14:40:00.002-05:00

two weeks till Operation: Broski Bash In Bad Ass Batavia!

2008-12-02T21:12:00.001-05:00

aaah 13 days of underway! our last drill was ran today, so no more ultra-s evaluating! we should know in a few days if we passed. im sure we did.

december already...and soon, new years.

2008-11-30T14:01:00.001-05:00

pretty good thanksgiving, got to see some cousins and aunts and uncles.

now im just waiting for our awesome two weeks of underway time!

then a week or so of in port time, then LEAVE!

cant wait.

2008-11-27T08:41:00.000-05:00

about to head up to Maryland for turkey; meet some relatives; play some games....good fun!

2008-11-19T20:50:00.002-05:00

well our little cruise has come and gone. we actually came back a few days early; because of weather. it was getting pretty harsh out there.
we ran our drills, and the ATG people came and evaluated. they said we are ready for the real deal. just minor discrepincies.

me and Julie kept in contact. and shes coming back to IL for new years. and so am i.

kyle came back a couple days ago i just got done talking with him. him and steve are going to Batavia for thanksgiving; i have duty the day before, but i might have to pull some schemes and show up too. still debating if i want to drive home or drive to Maryland to have dinner with Don and Donna and a bunch of cousins....

and today was Christmas in November for me! i bought a brand new PS3, the brand new Call of Duty 5, and a spectacular Westinghouse 32" LCD HDTV!!
im super-psyched to get it all working. doing some PS3 updates now.

all in all. November has been good.

2008-11-04T02:47:00.002-05:00

an absolute blast. it was so very nice to finally meet Julie, and we had...a blast. it was also very nice to see Liz again. and we had...a blast. AND steve came up for the weekend; and it was great seeing him again. so basically, everyone i was with had a blast. success!

but now its three weeks of underway time....

2008-10-31T13:51:00.002-04:00

well last night me, julie, liz, and dave went to the city. it was a blast! we walked around the streets for a bit, rode the farris wheel at navy pier, and went through a haunted house; The FEAR. it was pretty fun! today we are going to melrose park to see Dream Reaper's haunted house; voted one of the top haunted houses in Illinois for 8 years! so it should be good.

H A P P Y

H A L L O W E E N ! !

2008-10-28T16:29:00.003-04:00

Operation: Orange Blast is off to a start. i had duty yesterday, so i stood an afternoon watch, and took off right after! about 5pm i hit the road; got in at 8am this morning. it was a stressfull drive....raining/snowing in the mountains, raining in VA, raining in KY, and finally dry roads in IN and IL, but of course that ment all the construction traffic. i was so exhausted. me and mother went out for a quick breakfast, came back i went directly to bed where i slept till about 2. im all set for the rest of the day now!

2008-10-24T23:32:00.002-04:00

David graduated army boot camp today!
he will stay in OK until December for his job training; something to do with heavy artillery.

congrats to him.

2008-10-23T22:10:00.002-04:00

well. only 4 more days until Operation: Orange Blast.

and now there are two more ops in progress.
Operation: Pilgram Pad Party (over thanksgiving, kyle might be able to come home!)
and
Operation: Broski Bash in Badass Batavia (over christmas or new years break; which ever one i can attend! again, Kyle will be home.)

right now: "Beer and a World Series Game".

2008-10-20T17:57:00.002-04:00

well this weekend was a spur of the moment. thursday at 8pm Steve and i were chatting, and we came to an agreement that i should come up to Fort Drum. so i did.

and 10 hours later i was there. it was pretty cool. not too much to do up there really, since its in the middle of farm land and forest, but it was cool to see his base. and we stopped in a neighboring town; Watertown, where the gilbert's grew up. pretty neat. we drank one night with some of his fellow soilders, and played some PS3 and watched some movies. it was freezing the whole time up there, but all in all my three days was well spent in New York!

2008-10-16T18:18:00.002-04:00

looks like Steve will be trying to come down novemeber 1st to the 4th!

Operation: Orange Blast is still a go, so that would be even better!

tomorrow is the command wide Busch Gardens trip. which i will be attending. its going to be a blast!

2008-10-14T01:03:00.002-04:00

back in VA!

Operation: Plastered in PA was a success!! definitely drank, and definitely had a great time.

DEFINITELY going back for a visit soon!

2008-10-07T18:40:00.003-04:00

oh wow.
so last night i was cutting out the letters for the OP: plastered in PA shirt, and because of a dumb mistake the scissors slipped and sliced a big chunk of my left hand's middle finger right off!!

man did it hurt. i grasped the finger and just clutched it for a couple minutes wincing in pain.
finally i got up and went to the bathroom to clean the wound and whatnot. it just kept bleeding; actually it completely stopped about mid afternoon today!!
i thought at first i might need a couple stitches, it looked deep and that fact that it wouldnt stop bleeding! but the doc just wrapped some gauze around it, and it was fine. i cleaned it after work today with some rubbing alchol...of course that stung like hell. but all is good now.
ill have a nice missing chunk of skin for awhile!

and all for some fun in PA this weekend....

2008-10-06T19:37:00.004-04:00

well, this coming weekend looks to be a 3-dayer! sooo that means
Operation: Plastered In PA!!
called up Mark P, and let him know i might be up for a visit! just got to be 100% sure things are as they say they are...though even if its a 2-dayer im still going; duty free weekend!

anyway, thats the plan.
AND i might scam the navy and use my 72 hour lib card in conjunction with my leave.
OR
theres a ship-wide fun event at Busche Gardens next, next friday, so maybe i could us it for a sunday-monday-tuesday deal.

either way, its a few free days at home!!

2008-09-30T14:27:00.002-04:00

oh my gosh.
so today was my dental appointment. and i thought all it was going to be was a check-up.

but i get to the room, and they bust out all these crazy tools and a shot of novicane!

oh no. it was no check up. it was surgery!!!

anyway, they end up pulling my bottom wisdom teeth. i was in so much pain. but i took the meds they prescribed, so now im in pain AND loopy ha.

i was caught off gaurd today, but now i dont have to deal with it later in life.

2008-09-28T18:21:00.000-04:00

and now, one month left until Operation: Orange Blast!!

2008-09-25T16:03:00.000-04:00

okay, so NOW its raining. and the wind is howling.
...ahh storms in southern VA.

2008-09-24T21:28:00.002-04:00

well theres apparently a nor'eastern brewing now! its been real windy the past couple days, and theres supposed to be gusts of 60 mph for a couple more days. no rain thus far, just wind.
crazy weather these days.

2008-09-22T13:50:00.003-04:00

ahhh the first day of
AUTUMN

2008-09-19T18:34:00.000-04:00

Operation: Orange Blast?

the verdict: APPROVED.

its on.

2008-09-18T21:50:00.002-04:00

got The MOB's website all fixed up. its not as sweet at 69 Customs' site, but its much better. just wish we had played more to put on the site! oh well. a work in progress.

anyway, hopefully tomorrow i find out if my leave days are a go. im about 89% sure itll go through, and then Operation: Orange Blast is official!! cant wait either way!

2008-09-17T02:49:00.004-04:00

updated the 69 Customs website and forum. actually got a new site for the forum through Proboards....Hyperboards was always acting up. so i did that, and totally redid the actual site.....kept most of the same material as the one i built from html scrap, but it looks and functions a whole lot better now.

http://69customs.tripod.com/

http://69customs.proboards100.com/

next website: me and steve's paintball team site; The MOB

2008-09-14T23:46:00.002-04:00

wow. went to Lees for a game day blast. drank. laughed. watched and picked on the losing teams fans haha.

good times. im not much of a sports fan, but ill come and support the teams.

so on my way back to the apartment, i notice a cop quickly pull into the turn lane just before my road. and gosh dang hes RIGHT behind me!! well he follows me for a half mile or so, then abruptly pulls a U-turn at the last light and speeds away. holy cow did i just get bit by the luck bug!! im sure im WAAAY over the limit ha. that wouldnt have been good.

some advice: do NOT drink, drive, and text at the same time. its suspicious i guess.

oops...

2008-09-11T18:46:00.000-04:00

broke again. hard.

what else is new.

now im pissed off.

2008-09-07T20:39:00.001-04:00

so much for death and destruction. it rained hard, and the winds were strong, but by evening time on saturday, things calmed down. and today it was hot and sunny like nothing ever happened!

way to go, Navy.

2008-09-06T10:18:00.002-04:00

and thus it has begun....

Tropical Storm Hanna has been approaching, and early this morning she struck.
although in the first stages of wrath, it was quite windy and a massive downpour ensued. a few accidents on the roads came soon after, and reports of downed power lines and tree limbs were coming in. Hanna kept everyone on their feet by showing some sun for a few minutes, then dumping rain and wind on everyone, then letting up a little, and back to destruction. right now she has been quiet for about an hour, but like they say, its just the "calm before the storm"....

2008-09-04T19:10:00.002-04:00

well we are at hurricane alert 2. guess hurricane Hanna is expected to hit the base hard, so we had to get the ship underway and move up the bay to the naval shipyard. guess its going to protect us from the storm.
anyway, i had duty and the morning watch before this whole mess, and then work, and then the sea and anchor detail for 4 hours...so i am extra tired.

nap time!

2008-09-02T19:33:00.002-04:00

Operation: Long Haul was a success!

got a bunch of stuff, including a bed!!

i took a new route, the one the family took to bring dave and steven down for the tiger cruise. i think ill take it from now on, less roads to travel, and its a fun ride!

Lee got his huge 65 inch tv, and we left him store it at our place unitl he moves into his new place this weekend. its insanly heavy and...huge!! but itll make for an awesome game-day!!

pizza is on the way....

2008-08-30T19:22:00.002-04:00

Operation: Long Haul is going very well!

got into town about 3 am friday morning; the entire drive up, except for a little bit in Ohio, was RAINY! and that sucks since my tires are as bald as drag racing slicks.
anyway, last night was Jenn's birthday, so i met up with her, Danielle and Kim and some other friends at a bar in Naperville. it was a fun night! we did some bar hoping till about 2am. good to see them all again.

today me and dad went to a furniture place and bought a dresser for me. mother has a bunch of other stuff she got a little while ago, so im bringing it all back.

later tonight? who knows!

2008-08-25T18:20:00.003-04:00

yes im bored. but this video of an old rock band is the shit!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4ouPGGLI6Q

watch it. the singer goes freakin' crazy! heck the whole band is insane!!

2008-08-23T23:14:00.002-04:00

FINALLY sold my tonneau top today!!

got a call. the guy came over, checked it out, liked it, and bought it!
100 bucks i was asking, and he payed in full; in cash.
Very Nice!

i helped him tighten down the mounting brackets, and we got the top secured over the bed of his truck. he said he would mount the hydrolics later. and that was that! im a hundred bucks richer, someone is much happier, and the world keeps spinning.

now im celebrating with Jack and Pep!!

2008-08-23T18:13:00.003-04:00

we went to the beach today! it was fun. the waves were pretty damn big!! course there was a storm front out over the bay, so im sure that was why.

Jeff's parents are coming up today for a little visit.

Operation: Long Haul is still a go, but with a few minor changes. i was going to rent a trailer and bring back the couch and matress and other stuff, but the cost of a trailer was way to expensive. and a truck was even more outrageous!
SO, i looked online and there were a couple people selling trailers for cheap. i contacted them, and hopefully i can take a look and purchase if its worth it. then i can bring all the big stuff down. if its no good, then just a few things will be coming back with me. so, going back to Illinois: yes. loads of furniture coming back: maybe. going to be fun: definetly!

2008-08-21T08:45:00.002-04:00

boy oh boy. a bunch of us played a game of Waterfall last night with Joose.

that was interesting! i never even heard of the stuff, but its really not too bad!

so Operation: Long Haul looks to be in effect. i think we have that friday off, and in that case i and paying someone to take my duty day that thursday, so i can hit the road right after work.
looking forward to it!

2008-08-14T17:16:00.002-04:00

been a week in our apartment, and so far so good!!

got a few more furniture things. and a TV. some cookware and silverware too.

chatting with the parents now, and they might be able to hook me up with a couch and dresser and other things! mother said she would check out some garage sales.
we have a three day weekend over Labor Day, so i think im going to head up to Batavia with a UHAUL trailer and bring some stuff back.

score 1!

2008-08-09T19:21:00.002-04:00

GREAT game last night!
our first Cerimonial Beer Pong Game.

fun for all. though my team lost; 0 and 6.
that sucked.

oh and we went to 4 different stores at 10pm to find ping pong balls; with no luck!! no one had any!!! we ended up buying these cheap pro-golf-wiffle-balls. although i found the PERFECT beer pong table at WalMart. heavy plastic top, locking fold-out legs, like 7 feet long....sweet. i bought Sharpies and the plan is to have all my friends sign and decorate the table; mainly when they're drunk. what a kick ass idea!

more games to come.

were all going to lee's tonight for some UFC fight.

2008-08-08T13:30:00.002-04:00

well this is new.

apparently i cant make huge lump sum purchases. my account locks up.

this happened to me at Target. and i had to put the cart full of stuff back on the shelves!

i was PISSED.

but i took care of it just now. im back in the game!

2008-08-07T21:34:00.002-04:00

SUUUUCCESSSSSS!!

We finally got all moved into our NEW APARTMENT!!!!

actually we got to move in a day early (yesterday) but today we got the cable/Internet set up, and i got a new desktop computer, so im good to go!

so the place is really nice, fairly spacious, clean; the complex was remodeled about a month ago.

now we run up the paperwork for BAH, and start collecting furniture! checking out CraigsList for stuff.

im a happy dude now!!

2008-08-04T01:18:00.002-04:00

three days until Apartment Move-In 2008!!

anyway, the contractors across from the base FINALLY demolished the big old gutted out building near the base premises. of course, i got it all on video!!
its up on the net.

tonight me and a bunch of the guys ran all around town looking for boxes for Lee and Christina to use when they move. it was funny; we were driving behind dark alleyways in the ghettos, almost getting busted by store security, and finally hit the jackpot of boxes (thanks PetSmart!). on the way back we drove past about four cops. and with my ninja-like driving we avoided suspicion.
it was the ultimate heist.

2008-08-01T16:25:00.003-04:00

Jeff and I got most of our services all set up.
electric gets turned on the 6th.
water, sewer and garbage, and gas are getting taken care of by the staff on the 6th.
the cable guy comes out the afternoon of the 7th.

we called the post office, but the phone was either busy, or kept ringing. no one ever answered!
guess we'll try again tomorrow...

now we just need to run up our chit for BAH. we have to have the lease, some financial counseling sheet, and two bills in order to get the money. we have everything but the two bills. actually we need one more bill. we were trying to figure out how we could get that. might have to make a stop at the apartment place and get a "dummy" bill so we can get paid be fore we move in; that way no out-of-pocket money is used! a scam, yes. but the money is there, so why not use it to the fullest!!

2008-07-30T03:03:00.003-04:00

so yesterday evening im at the computer, surfing the net.
then the announcement comes over the loudspeaker there's a fire on the pier!

well i jump up and run outside, look down on the pier, and sure enough, there are FLAMES coming from some of the massive wires on the shore power connection box!!

its pretty cool. after a minute or so, here comes the fire party from the ship, all dressed out in their flash gear, with about three of them running down the pier with bottles of CO2 over their shoulders. of course all the officers on the ship come running out there too, as does the XO, who was apparently working out; he was in PT attire!

anyway, a couple guys try and secure the power with no luck, so they douse the flames with the extinguisher. after three or four blasts its out. moments later, two firetrucks, the battalion chief, three cop cars, an ambulance, a van with the COG, two jeeps with the base CDO's, and the duty base electrician all show up. there were emergency vehicle lights, sirens, and speeding cars everywhere it seemed! the whole base practically saw it!

so they all do their parts, get the wires removed, and about an hour later, everything is back to normal.

but boy was it quite a scene! ive never seem anything like that!! thankfully everyone knew what to do and did it quickly. im sure all the other ships were thinking; "what the hell happened to the Nash that they need the entire freakin' rescue force??"

it was cool; got some pictures while i was watching.

...all is calm on the eastern front now.

2008-07-28T22:30:00.003-04:00

did it!

went to UHAUL, and got a 5,000 lbs capacity trailer hitch installed on the truck!! complete with wire hookups!!!!

now im ready for hauling anything around!!! like my '71 Duster!!!! when i actually get it....

2008-07-25T20:04:00.003-04:00

its been done!

Jeff, Tim, and I have applied and 90% secured an apartment!

its a new (about 10 years old) 3 bed / 2 bathroom apartment, not too far from the base and other necessities (mall, beach, major stores, liquor...).
not a bad price either. its in a very nice, quiet neighborhood too.

tomorrow im picking up a mock-up lease to send to ADMIN on base so we all can get our BAH started up, and we officially sign the lease August 6th, with a move-in date of the 7th!!

2008-07-24T00:58:00.002-04:00

nice night!

went to the Gilbert residence. Warren, Liz and I went to Oberweiss for some ice cream. very good by the way.
went back to their place, talked and joked. it was nice to see Liz again after almost a year!

later i met up with Marissa and we talked and joked and reminisced on old times. walked the River Walk before she had to leave.

all and all: a very nice night!

2008-07-23T14:20:00.003-04:00

Operation: Victory! is almost at an end.

just some last minute visits and family time, then tomorrow morning im on the road.

back to the ship, back to the Navy, and back to long work days.
ALTHOUGH, Jeff, Tim and I are looking at apartments out in town, and so far we have found a few we like. got to just call them up, set up a visit, and hopefully within a week we'll have our own pad for awesome house parties!

anyhow, hung out with Mark on Saturday, went to the Macias house for Juve's graduation. got to see Stephanie and Becca.
Monday me and Mark went to a car show, got to see Amanda and Mel and their dad's old and new Challenger. nice rides! it was hot as all hell so we didnt hang around long, and went back to my house and installed David's new front and rear speakers in his car. that was fun, been awhile since my last install!
other than those events, ive been chillin' at home.

its been a great leave thus far!

2008-07-18T13:46:00.003-04:00

yesterday:

attended the funeral. it was incredibly hot outside..

then i worked on the brakes on the bike. got them to function, i think...

after, visited the Gilbert's.

next, me and dave were bored, so i drove out to Garfield Road. it was creepy. then toured the west side country side.

today? DARK KNIGHT!!!

2008-07-17T00:32:00.002-04:00

the wake was today. got everyone up there. met some relatives and friends of Rose. Uncle Don flew in too.

they had good orange juice there....

the funeral mass is tomorrow at 9:30am, and the burial at 12:15.

hung out with Molly today. just stayed at her place and ate lunch and chatted. it was nice to see her again before she headed back to the city.

2008-07-16T12:35:00.002-04:00

sad news:
one of my Aunt's, Aunt Rose passed away the other day.

she was very sick and was in a coma for 9 days, hadnt eaten during that time either.

so the wake is today at 3pm. im driving Grandma and Grandpa up to the chapel where its held; dropping them off, then swinging down to O'Hare to pick up my Uncle Don. then heading back up to the place, and afterwards taking everyone back to the house. mother and the rest of the siblings will join us all up there, and dad after work.

right now im getting ready for lunch with Molly!

2008-07-15T14:28:00.002-04:00

Operation: Victory! has been a success thus far!!

met up with the family at Daufuski Island, SC for the family reunion. it was pretty good. got to see most the relatives. fun times! very nice place. got a sweet sunburn!

drove home yesterday with dad (he had to be at work this morning). what a long 14 hours! no downpours of rain this time. plenty of construction traffic in IL though. not surprised.

this morn: i cleaned the truck and ran some engine cleaner through the system. hopefully ill get batter gas mileage now.

Molly stopped by on her way out. said we should get together tonight if im not busy. shes in town for today to babysit.

anyway, i got new brakes for the bike. going to install them now!

2008-07-09T08:02:00.002-04:00

this is it!

in a couple hours, Dave and Steven will be joining me on the "Navy Experience" of their lifetime!

2008-07-08T15:43:00.001-04:00

last few days before home!!

tomarrow we pick up the "tigers".
should be fun the ship has a lot planned!

2008-06-27T07:42:00.002-04:00

13 days remain.
Operation: Victory! is still a go!!

finally got my rank up! E-5 all the way. more money...always good.

last port now: Rota, Spain. hot as hell here.

2008-06-17T06:53:00.003-04:00

last minute port call! our captain thought we needed some time off, so he pushed and shoved and begged to the higher ups for a port.

he got it!

Haifa, Israel. looks nice. got a tour in a couple days; Jerusalum.

also got my ESWS pin the other day!! now im OS2(SW) !!
pretty sweet.

less and less time until Operation: Victory!

2008-06-03T11:47:00.003-04:00

well, back in Souda Bay for the third time!

a lot has happened since the last time i wrote.
we hit Rhodes, Greece for a few days. that was pretty neat. took an all day tour of the upper island; great shots!
we then transited the Suez Canal and made our way to the Gulf of Oman to do some counter-drug ops. we were there for not even two days when Hezbollah started fighting in Lebanon again. so we got called up for standby relief efforts. we had to go back through the Canal (which takes almost 17 hours) and made our way to Beruit. we sat outside Leb for three weeks. nothing happened. it was quite boring. so then we got tasked to head down to the Suez entrance and wait for some cargo ship suspected of trafficing peoples. we found it, and our VBSS team was all ready to board her and search it out, but we got the "stand down" from the higher ups and called it all off. go figure. what little action we could have seen was crushed.
anyway so we are now back in Souda Bay for another port visit. the crew jokingly says this is our new home port we've been here so many times.

basically this deployment is the most unplanned thing so far. no one knows what we will be tasked to do the next day. everytime im on watch i pray for the "return home making best speed" message to show up. the only great thing is im banking a load of money!

Operation: Victory! will start upon arrival. theres a family reunion in SC, so ill head down there, meet up with the fam, hang out, and drive back with them. itll be awesome. finally a summer at home!

2008-04-13T12:27:00.001-04:00

last full day in Souda Bay. (no rythmn intended!)

just checking last minute stuff; bank. websites. other usless things online.

more fun underway days to come!

2008-04-09T09:47:00.002-04:00

Souda Bay once more!

we got our new captain last Wednesday. give him a couple more weeks and and we shall see what hes like. but he seems pretty cool so far.

2008-03-14T09:13:00.000-04:00

good old Eastern Med Sea.

and where?

the coast of Lebanon. again. to show our "naval superiority".

yes. we will be here for some time.

2008-03-05T19:34:00.000-05:00

last day in Rota, Spain!

it was not a bad visit. went out to town with some of the fellows and got wasted. it was awesome!

spent the rest of the in-port days on the ship mainly; this will be my 5th time here. its nothing new.

had shore patrol duty todday. which was boring. i think i saw 5 or so Nashville's out in town. not much action.

now its off too....well that IS the question. theres all kinds of rumors floating around. and no one knows what to believe. so ive decided not to investigate; ill find out whenever i find out. this is my THIRD deployment; my second 6 monther. ive come to realize you cant expect to stick to the plan for the entire duration. something always comes up, and we're here to help where ever we're needed.

thats that.

2008-02-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

well here i am.
where might you ask?
still in Norfolk!!

apparently something in the engineering plant is all screwed up, so our boilers cant function correctly. and thats bad.

so now its DAY 2 of Cruise 2008 Boiler Mayhem! and the catch is everyone has to stay onboard. so its like we are at sea, when in reality we are still freakin tired up to the pier! and no one can escape.

they ordered some new parts for whatever needs fixing, so we shall see if the problem will prevail or be dominated.

the battle is ON!!

2008-02-17T18:55:00.001-05:00

well three more days until i deploy!!

got a few things to get before we leave. but otherwsie im set to go!

rumors have it we may be back in July. but thats not confirmed.

tomarrow is a day off. so thats nice!

2008-02-13T20:22:00.003-05:00

Operation: Final Farewell was not much of a huge success.

sure i had fun, and spent some quality time with the family. but that time felt way too short. also my laptop finally crapped out on me. total lose; all my music, pictures, videos, programs....all gone. forever. i was (and still am) royally PISSED.

anyway finally hung with Joe and Steph on Saturday. went to Meijer, caused mayhem as usual. played some Guitar Hero too.
also Saturday me and MB went to a couple bars. i pretty much got hammered! it was awesome. i felt a little woozy the next morning, but got over it.

it snowed hard friday, so me and Steven and Dave were outside building a snow fort. it looks pretty good! we never really finished it though; got too cold. sunday it snowed a little too so we were back out there in the snow. it was bitter cold later that evening. i thought my flight would be canceled! but it was only delayed 30 minutes. something like -10!

so now we leave for deployment the 20th. it might be cut down to a 4 monther, but thats just a rumor for now. we should know whats up by friday.

i got all my deployment shopping done. spent like 500 bucks total! but i needed all that stuff. got my tax return the 8th, so that covered all the expenses. just got to call the car insurance and get a deployment suspension on it. then its long-term parking for the truck, and im 100% ready to make some big bucks!!

its pouring rain right now. and that sucks.

2008-02-07T14:09:00.000-05:00

day three.

went to a bar with Catherine last night. met up with Mitch and Joe. hung out there, drank, went back to her place when everyone else left; good times!

2008-02-06T18:02:00.000-05:00

ive missed the snow for far too long!

something about a "winter snow warning" for my county.

perfect.

2008-02-06T12:55:00.000-05:00

well i made it. just as we landed i huge overcast came rolling in, and i heard as i was walking out the airport that a bunch of flights got delayed or cancelled. haha. just in time.

got home, after liann got off work we did shots of Mountain Dew to celebrate her getting her license. we killed a 2 liter in 30 minutes! crazy. almost sickening. then we watched Robin Hood Men In Tights.
first day home catagorized as: SUCCESS!!

2008-02-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

Operation: Final Farewell has been delayed.

the flight was suppossed to take off at 1:51pm. i got to the airport at noon. it wasnt till 10pm when they finally cancelled it. delay after delay.....10 hours at the freakin airport!!
the reason??

FOG. it was natures wrath of FOG at O'Hare that caused all this.
im still pissed.

so they put me down for the same flight, only for today. we'll try it again!!!

2008-02-04T11:40:00.000-05:00

today is the day. in about an hour i head on over to the airport, and my trip begins.

Operation: Final Farewell is kicking off...

2008-02-03T19:37:00.000-05:00

Operation: Final Farewell starts tommarrow! we have an awards ceramony in the morning, but im hoping to be off of work by noon. then its Batavia here i come!

2008-01-31T15:22:00.000-05:00

it seems i am the new supply petty officer for our division.

that means im in charge of organizing and obtaining any items we may need for work purposes. its a big responsibility, and i guess i have proven i can handle it.

so i made a list of things we need before we deploy. the grand total to the list was something like 1600 smackers! but we need these things. tomarrow i have to route the list up through all the high ranks. hoepfully it gets approved, even if it is a little pricey...

2008-01-30T16:15:00.000-05:00

cool news yesterday. Liann got her license! good for her. now she can drive me everywhere when i want to use the car when im home for leave next week haha.

2008-01-27T22:18:00.000-05:00

wow. so me and Tim went and saw Rambo today.

amazing!! so much blood and guts. it was bad ass.

anyway only a week until Operation: Final Farewell is in play.

oh yeah, i just got done filling my taxes. im getting like a grand back. whoop-dee-do. BS.

also, the parents havent recieved my atm card yet, so it looks like i wont have money access until i am home. which sucks. i need gas.

2008-01-25T15:49:00.000-05:00

back in the US of A.

it was a busy underway period. i was the Watch Supervisor under instruction, which is way better than rotating with the rest of the watch personnel. gets boring however...

2008-01-19T23:02:00.001-05:00

well i never found my bank card. i did call the bank up and reported it lost, so they canceled the card and will send me a new one. should take 5-7 days they say.
bummer.
so now i have no easy access to money. or cash at least. i can still use checks. and change!

anyway it actually SNOWED today!! its been so long since ive seen snow in Virginia, but its been coming down! most of it melted when it touched ground, but now its started to collect. pretty cool!
tomarrow is duty for Tim. ill be here filling in. for $100 its worth it.

2008-01-19T16:32:00.000-05:00

bad news.

i lost my debit card last night. the only time i used it was at the movie theater. i think it might have dropped out of my hoodie pocket when i took it off. i went to the theater in person and made a "lost and foud" entry. im going to contact the bank here in a minute and let them know its lost.

this freakin sucks.

2008-01-18T18:32:00.000-05:00

another long weekend. monday is a day off. although we all have to be on the ship by 6pm. tuesday we get underway for the week. itll be early tuesday when we leave.
im also taking Tim's duty on sunday. he wanted to head home to Jersey, and he asked if i could stand his watch and stuff. i said yes; i wont be doing much of anything anyway. plus hes giving me $100, which is way more than the $50 or $60 people usually give. not bad!

been a slow day today. we got off work at 11, but i was tired so i slept till 4. my sleeping pattern is all screwed up. for the past week ive been up till 3 or 4am, and i just nap in the afternoon. so now im never tired early in the morning,but for the rest of the work day im falling out! i should probably fix that. plus i still have the remnants of my cold from two weeks ago; stuffed nose, headaches...im sure the lack of sleep isnt helping. or all the caffeine i drink. or the junk food i buy....

2008-01-16T18:48:00.001-05:00

updates are good.

we are underway Tuesday. till that Friday. training, training and more fun training.

leave is still a go until otherwise stated. so my ticket is still good!

the Marine unit we were supposed to take with us on deployment has been reassigned to Afghanistan, so we are no longer taking them with us. whether we will have a new unit or not is uncertain. it changes the mission a bit.

more to follow..

2008-01-13T14:18:00.000-05:00

HAPPY 22ND BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

2008-01-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

nothing new today. a little tired from this morning, had the 4-8am watch.

finally got around to taking pictures of the BMX and me. they turned out all right. it was really sunny so they are bright. ill be taking more (and better) ones in the near future! hopefully some action ones too.

still getting ready for an early deployment. no word yet but better safe then sorry.

we had some bad news the other day too. it seems on of the guys on our ship committed suicide a couple days ago. not sure how or why. he was found by a friend in his apartment around 2am. i didnt really know him, but its still sad.

2008-01-10T16:10:00.000-05:00

heres the low down:

we are still on standby. from here until we are scheduled to deploy.
our two week underway was changed to a one week underway, but now it might be reverted back to a two week. we will find out tomarrow.
leave is now up in the air, but i will keep my tickets until otherwise confirmed if the leave is cancelled or moved.

some cool news:

i was put in charge today, and it looks like i will be supervising everyone from this day forth. or at least helping with the supervision. im more like a trainee right now. i was hand selected by a group of my high ranking officials. this makes me feel good. and i am happy today.

otherwise i wish it was summer because i am in the mood for BMX-ing. its cold out. it kindda sucks.

2008-01-08T15:21:00.000-05:00

news news news.

got the word about our deployment. some things might change.
with this whole thing with Iran harassing our naval ships up there, higher ups are disussing optoins.

cant talk about it here, but lets say i am preparing for deployment much earlier than i intended. good thing i bought insurence for my plane ticket too. just in case things go through and these rumors going around are for real.

2008-01-07T16:55:00.000-05:00

boom.

just bought my plane ticket for Operation: Final Farewell! 1:51pm on the 4th. to return at 11pm on the 10th. 268 moosalla all together.

not bad!!

2008-01-07T15:02:00.000-05:00

monday.

had some problems with the cell phone this morning.
screen went wacko on me. freezing, blinking, making weird color-shapes and stuff.

so i took it in to a Sprint shop. they took it to the back, installed a new screen, and it worked like a charm!

not that i care much, im leaving Sprint after im back from the deployment. none of my friends have the walkie talkie feature, which was mainly why i bought it. im going Verison probably. they have cooler phones and better plans anyway!!

still havent heard from Kyle in almost a month. though im not worried a whole lot; it was like that with Steve, and with me, but theres always that little voice in the back of my head that worries. i hope he's doing all right out there...

we put our leave chits in for Operation: Final Farewell. i took the second period; February 4-11. im flying in this time. its only 7 days total, and theres no point in wasting three days total driving. in a minute here ima look for tickets.

like right now!

2008-01-02T10:13:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2008!!

anyway, this year was better than last. this time i wasnt on duty and on watch during the ball drop.
my and Mark went to a bar. we were driving around forever before that looking for a place that was 18 and up. hes only 20. we finally just walked into this bar at about 11pm. the bouncer didn't say anything! we ordered a couple beers and played Foosball with some drunks ha. it was fun. had a shot of champagne at midnight; it was on the house. fun times.

then i had duty new years day. that was boring.

now im battling a hellacious cold. im stuffed up, achy, and my eyebrows hurt.
and to make things better its 32 degrees outside, and supposed to snow a little sometime today.

good timing.

2007-12-28T11:51:00.000-05:00

and thus Operation: Arctic Illinois is at and end. good times. visited family and friends, got gifts and shared the fun.

visited with John and Chia. we went to his house; visited, then to her house; visited, then to Meijer; screwed around. later we met up with Catherine at a bar and hung out. i finally left town around 1am.
all was good; the drive back was hell though. i hit this nasty snow storm in Indiana, and i kept through it until half-way through Ohio! real bad. but i made it to Mark's around 4pm. relaxed for a couple hours, then headed back towards the ship. left at 7pm and got to the ship at 2am today.
long drive.

so now im tired as hell. and its off to bed.

2007-12-26T19:02:00.000-05:00

long day yesterday. visited relatives, had a good time.

today i hung out with Seve and Laura. later ima visit the Gilberts, John and Christina and i are gunna go to Cat's afterwards. hang out with them for a bit, and hit the road around midnight.

should be at Mark's around 11am.

man i really dont want to leave. ive been having such a good time!!

2007-12-25T11:32:00.001-05:00

oh, and

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2007-12-25T11:30:00.000-05:00

well. yesterday was spent with family. got presents too. most of mine were money. $150 or so total! score.

going to my Aunt and Uncles house for Christmas today. fun fun!

2007-12-24T09:43:00.000-05:00

so yesterday John came in. bout 1140pm. we ate at IHOP and hung out at Cat's, were around 3 they left, and i stayed.

other than that, i bout new wiper blades. and a pair of winter gloves/work gloves. and ate at SnS again.

theres some drama going on with the group. people not liking other people because of past experiences with them, all of which is somehow preventing everyone from hanging out together while everyone is in town.
goooo figure.

Grandma and Gramps are coming to the house for a visit and help with the polish side of the cooking. fun times.

2007-12-22T12:29:00.001-05:00

yesterday Steve and i dressed out and visited Mr. Rowe. it has been a long time since i saw him last. it was really awesome. he has these spiral binders he calls "The Book". if you did something bad, you would have to sign it and write what you did. he keeps them all, so Steve and i went through the 96/97 one. our names are in there quite a bit!! and most the time whose ever name is there first is followed by the other. we were such trouble makers.

so we talked and reminisced of the good old days. before we left he got our mailing address. said he and his class would send some things. it was a good time.

afterwards we both went to Fridays for lunch, then to LWS and visited my mom at the schools library. we were going to make a surprise visit to Steven's class, but they look busy at the time.

later that evening me and Steven went sledding and snowboarding at the Knights of Columbus hall. there was still snow on the hill there. even if it was wet and melting. we had fun. on our way back i took the truck with Steven in the back for a little off road experience. he liked it.

lets see....later that night Steve and Laura came over. we were all bored so we went to 7-11, then to Meijer, then to Laura's. i was tired around midnight, so i came home, went to bed, and got up about an hour ago!

today: nothing planned so far. Liann is having her birthday party today, and ALL her friends are coming over, so im going to have to find someplace else to be...

2007-12-21T03:53:00.000-05:00

another day, another day.

Wednesday night i hung out with Steve and Laura and Jon. we ate at SnS, and went to Laura's and played Guitar Hero. David joined us as well. he finally got his license!
so then i left and took Liann shopping. interesting. i swear im not related to her...

anyway later that night i hung out with Catherine and Christina. i ended up sleeping over at Cat's place. and the rest of yesterday was spent in Chicago with Cari, whom i haven't seen since senior year in high school. it was a ton of fun! we ate at a really good family-owned restaurant, then walked around on Navy Pier and saw "I Am Legend" at the IMAX theater. veeery good movie. then we met up with Joe Tiberi and Jessie at Cari's house and watched Dick Tracy. got home...bout an hour ago!

today, after my hour or so nap im driving Li and Dave to school, and me and Steve are going to visit Mr. Rowe in our dress uniforms. he was our 5th grade teacher, and the BEST teacher we ever had. itll be awesome.

after all that its family time. maybe ill see Joe before that though....today is is only time off during the daylight hours...

John comes in on Sunday.

hard to believe Christmas is in 4 days!

2007-12-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

Operation: Arctic Illinois has kicked off!

turns out there was some confusion with the leave days, and it actually DID start the 17th.
me and Mark left around 11am, and got to his place in Scranton, PA around 8pm. the weather was fair; very, very windy.
so i spent the night at his place. more like partied the night at his place! his whole family was there, and a bunch of Mark's friends stopped by; we all drank the whole night. bout 1am i went to bed. it was a blast, they are quite the family! fun to be around.

so i got up, had a big breakfast, and hit the road again. weather was very nice too, the roads were dry pretty much the entire way to IL. and not much construction traffic around Chicago either. i was happy!

today me and the parents are going to stop by the bank for some business. then probably go out o lunch. ill call Steve up, maybe we will go snowboarding; theres a lot of snow on the ground, but the weather report is saying its supposed to warm up by Saturday, and even rain. boo.

hope is snows some more instead!

2007-12-16T00:24:00.000-05:00

THIS JUST IN:

me and Tim are driving West heading towards base. we get on the interchange between two major highways. im driving along; first i should say its 11pm, raining hard, and theres a lot of cars on the road.
anyway im cruising along, Tim is asleep in the passenger seat, and right in front of me, not more than 300-400 yards, i see headlights streak across the lanes. immediately i think, oh crap, theres been an accident. sure enough i pull over to the far right lane, (which happens to be an exit lane) and in the knick of time see a Toyota Corolla smack its driver trunk side panel into the barrier. i shake Tim and yell "Tim, Tim! theres been an accident get out!!" i stop abruptly, jam it into park and throw my hazard lights on.

the whole front end of the car is ripped off and laying in the lane we're in. i can see the smashed up radiator. the front bumper is laying on the passenger side of the car. headlight glass and fiberglass are all over the lane we are in, and pieces are in the lane next to us. thankfully nothing big was in the traffic lane. i can see the rear panel that hit the wall all smashed and the trunk door is jarred open. the driver door wasnt jammed however.

i get out of my truck, run over to the car, (which has started smoking from the engine at this point) and theres a woman, maybe 50-60 years of age, in shock in the driver seat.
i say "Ma'am are you okay? are you hurt?" shes in shock so she doesn't say anything. i look into the car, the airbag is covering her lap so i cant see if shes pinned, but at least she is alive and breathing.
so i said "ma'am im calling 911 just stay there"
i tell Tim to go over and watch her. i call 911, give them all the info i need. meanwhile Tim is talking to her making sure she doesn't go into cardiac arrest or anything. while on the phone, another car pulls over, and thank god, because one of the occupants was an EMS guy. he gets on his radio and calls for help too, and gave a more detailed description of the injuries.
so after i hang up with 911, i start directing traffic to move over to the left lanes. i throw a cone out behind my truck to signify "caution". still, cars come speeding feet from our cars and us, as if they never see the accident. freakin' bastards. pay attention people!!

by this time, in the far left lane another accident occurs, a mustang sideswiped the barrier. i thought about running over there to help, though it wasnt as bad as the one in front of me, but there was too many cars flying down the other lanes. i just stood there on the other side and watched as a few of those cars came within inches of hitting that mustang.
instead i grab a road flair out of the truck and tried to light it to aid with directing traffic, but its old and didnt want to light. by the 90th time of striking it trying to get it to light, EMS arrive.
i toss it into the tree line. piece of crap.

anyway the police got my witness report and other important contact and personal info. he said thank you very much for stopping and helping. "not too many people would do what you two did. especially at this hour in this weather condition. nice work." and he let us go.

its been awhile since ive witnessed an accident....and a first for aiding someone in an accident. i hope i never have to do that again; and though i responded with extreme quickness, i was scared as hell the whole time. when i first pulled up just after she hit the wall, and my headlights were shinning into the car, and she was just sitting there, not moving, looking all wide eyed, i thought for certain she was dead. that airbag saved her life. and me pulling over and Tim and I responding as quick as we did saved her too, i believe.

so far my weekend has been quite interesting!

2007-12-15T18:57:00.000-05:00

well the year's last underway was the busiest.

we ran drills, scenarios, and GQ's almost everyday! there was not one moment our ESG wasnt being "attacked" by hudongs, enemy aircraft, or fast approach boats.
but it was all very good training.

and we were ONE POINT away from getting Battle E. that would have been another ribbon to the bunch! oh well. we still passed as #1 in our group. thats how the Nash does it!!

so leave doesnt start until the 18th now. some mix-up with emails. which sucks, cause thats a day less i have to spend at home. i am spending the night at Mark's place in PA; im driving him home and picking him up on the way back. figured i head up that way anyway, ill help a shipmate out. shit i get a free nights rest....and alcohol, and chicks, and drunkenness ha.

Operation: Drunken Wonderland is now Operation: Arctic Illinois. guess its been freezing cold up there, and theres snow, and ice, and sleet....ha the usual!
i love it!