And they're off...

Boom! Zip! Pow! They come in and just like 'that' they're gone again. It was great to be able to talk to him for a couple weeks and see him a couple times even if only for a few hours each. But, alas, back to sea they go. They left sometime this morning.

They'll be gone for a few weeks. Ya'll know the rules, I can't be specific.

But, even though this one is longer than before I have goals this time, so it will help to pass the time. As he mentioned in the post before this one, we will be getting an apartment soon. HUGELY excited about that! Phase one is to research and see what is in our price range and in the area I want to be in. Phase two, when it gets closer, is to go tour a handful of them and narrow it down to the top 3 or so. Then, when he gets back, we will go and make the final decision together. I'm basically trying to do most of the research while he's gone to we can most efficiently pick one when he gets back since he won't have a lot of time to go hunting around with me.

The last thing we heard about leave is that they will have a leave period around Christmas. Nothing official for Thanksgiving that I know of. Christmas isn't even ''official", but that's the most recent dates given for a leave period. I believe he's trying to get the full time off available so he can actually spend time with ya'll and settle into the apartment with me.

My second goal while he is gone is to get started on looking good in the new Salsa ConCoco costume. It's.. well... fringe and sparkles. So... no more junk food, and lots more sit ups. I'm not trying to get skinnier, necessarily. I'm just trying to more tone, which does also mean leaner. I've been working on it for about a week now. I have a picture of the costume taped up all over the place as incentive. So far it's working. I've got about 12 weeks to get there.

Back to the apartment... we have decided that this year for Christmas, we just want apartment stuff. We have nothing. We need dishes and silverware, and a coffee pot and a blender, towels, and pot holders, and all that stuff. Everything. We will basically be moving in with a bed and some of my stuff. I plan on getting a little TV right away so I can entertain myself with basic cable and exercise videos. Eventually we'll get a couch. We'll probably have to save up for one big purchase at a time. It'll be an adventure. I'm hardly ever home anyway. Just need food, shelter, a shower, and a bed. The rest, well... we'll get there.

I'm no robot!

So, life has been fun, sitting on the boat while they move missiles around. I realized its kinda ridiculous that i got out at 5pm and felt like i was leaving work before lunch. Been doing a lot of painting and maintenance on the boat... still working on qualifications - little slower in port.

Went to a "gun-shoot" since it had been more than a year since i had handled one i was not allowed to arm out for security. Scored a 225! Not sure what the max is, but I now get to put a little S on top of my small-arms ribbon because that score earns the title "Sharp-shooter". If I had 2 more points (the difference of a bullet hitting the torso vs. the leg) I would have and E for "Expert". ONE SHOT! Just ONE and i would be expert good lord.

Freakin Robo-radioman had a little android moment and shot a 230 having never touched a real weapon before. I KNEW HE WAS A ROBOT!!! "Targeting systems engaged. Commence fire of 2 rounds in 4 seconds". Freakin' robots....

Not a lot been happening really... Oh i just payed off a bill that I shouldnt owe money on because someone else messed it up. I wont have time to actually take care of it though so meh - off with its head. When you cancel a subscription to Verizon (even within the grace period) double check that it got canceled - Lesson Learned.

Super excited to get an apartment with Ducky this year. Not sure when yet, but the more i think about it the more excited i get to have a place with her. Even though i still wont be there very often.... LAN PARTIES!!! WHOOOOOOOOO!!!! thats a side thought that i just realized!

Think i ruined my clutch, I over-revved the engine when headed up a hill from a dead stop. I tend to over rev a little when Im wearing my work boots. Poor car! Which is almost payed off! WHOOT!

Spend a lot of time thinkin' about my Ducky! Miss her so, hardly get to see her at the moment, i have been able to come down but only for a few hours - that's an expensive trip for not much time.

Anyhoozle! Miss you guys! Mom, Dad and Ducky - I got you all Henry M Jackson - Patrol 75 coins. Celebrating the ship's 75th patrol as the name implies.

The symbol on the coin for some reason reminds me of Battle Star Galactica... which is funny cause its hull number was BSG-75 *geek*

Thats all I got for now. I think... Love you all! Miss ya! Ducky and I get an apartment soon - party on! BOOYAH!

Hey! Look at that!

Yessery! This is the 100th post of A Monkey in the Navy. In honor of this momentous occasion I was thinking about a top 100 things list. But, I don't think I could list 100 things about anything and I don't think you all would want to read 100 things about anything, so lets go with a couple of Top 10 lists.

First:
The Top 10 Things I have learned from/about the Navy
10. It's not quite as exciting as it looks in the posters.
9. Plans will always change. Nothing is for sure until he's already there.
8. Don't set your heart on anything. But, try not to get jaded.
7. Chiefs are not scary. The ones that I have met are actually very nice.
6. Plans will change again. But it's not always a bad thing. Though, it's usually not a good thing.
5. Boys are cute in sailor outfits no matter how old they get.
4. It will always take longer and more steps to get something done than you think it should. Be patient.
3. Stay occupied. Hobbies are my best friend.
2. The first information you get about anything from your Sailor is probably not complete or not completely accurate. Wait before you get excited or freak out.
1. Be Patient
1.b. Semper Gumby (Always be flexible)
1.c. Oh, that was more than 10. Well, plans change.

Top 10 things I love about being a Navy Wife
10. He looks adorable in his uniform.
9. Military Discounts
8. His job is pretty darned cool. (Even if it's not as quite as exciting as it looks in the poster)
7. A great excuse to have a blog and make funny graphics.
6. New friends.
5. Stories to tell the kids one day.
4. The Navy has already taught him how to do the dishes.
3. VA benefits for future school and house
2. The time away makes me appreciate him even more when he's home. (Ok, I don't love that he has to be away so much, but I'm tryin' to be positive here.)
1. Pride... in what he is doing and who he is becoming. I love him and am so very proud of him.

I hope you all have enjoyed or at least been informed by our little project. It's good therapy for me and helps keep us all in the know on this grand adventure.

Now it's your turn. I have google analytics. I know you guys are out there, reading this. But, sadly, we get very few comments. :( Talk to us people! Even if you just wanna say hi! Tell us what you think. What do you like? What do you not like? What do you want to see more of? Or, less of. Let us know you're out there! Also, click the little boxes at the bottom of the posts. It's like a tally of reader reactions. Thank you to everyone who does comment and check the little boxes. We love and appreciate you. It makes us feel loved, too! (Just one note. Please don't put anyone's names in the comments. Use only First Initials or nicknames. If you do I will have to delete it. I will try and contact you so you can re post but I hate to be bad guy.)

So, there you go. 100 posts of Navy Adventurisms. Hope you are enjoying, and hope to hear from you more! Let's continue this adventure together!

Where do they go?

I get a lot of people asking me when I tell them he's underway, "But, where specifically is he? Where do they go?" No body seems to be satisfied with "The Ocean". So, I have drawn a very detailed diagram of exactly where they go when they are out to sea. Please see below. (Click to enlarge. Don't forget to use the back button to return to the blog)

So let's break this down...

I was pondering the other day exactly how much more of this we've got left. Basically figuring out how much suckier it could get before it get's better. And actually. I think it's not going to get too much worse. I mean expect the suck level to rise a bit more, but if we take a look at it and break it down, it's really not so bad.

- As of the end of this November, he will have been in for two years, already.
- Then, May will be the half way point. That's right. HALF WAY is just around the corner. So really, it's all downhill from there right?
- Then the following November he will be done with 3 years. That's 60% done!
- The November after that will mark having only ONE YEAR LEFT. So, then every single day after that brings it so much closer. And there will be so many plans to make and things to do, it will probably just fly by.

So, there you go. Break it down into easy to swallow bits, thus minimizing suckage. Now it doesn't seem so bad. Right?

If you still don't believe me, I put together a nice infographic to illustrate my point. ;)
(Click image to enlarge, make sure you use the back button to get back to the blog after viewing)

Belated Monkey Mail

Yes he is already "home", but the Sailor Mail system sends with a bit of latency, so I just received this Monkey Mail this morning.

"HOOYAH! Why am I so happy? I lost my qual card today. I left it in Nav-Center (My division's space), Went to go eat and when I came back, it was gone. So this means that most likely - unless my card somehow managed to fall in the outboards - someone from my own division took it. The two on-coming watch-standers in Nav-Center happen to be the two that I don’t get along with very well. They swear they never saw it... but i doubt it. The scary thing is that quals have to be counted in the morning. So if I didn’t find my qual card and before then - I would go delinquent, and I don’t want that, I have been a hot-runner ever since I got here and I’m almost done.... I intend to maintain my position. So since I figured I’m not getting it back I went and had Doc make me a new one, we get along alright so he got it to me rather quickly. I then went and get a re-sign on every signature that I gained this week PLUS a block signature over the power plant! TAKE THAT LARCENOUS SWINE!!!! Attempt to kick me off the hot-runner's list has been thwarted - I shall prevail!

There are a couple people who are consistantly giving me a hard time. It was bothering me at first and now I am channeling it into my qualifications - and it's working very well.

Chipping away at it, I will need to work hard but I have no doubt that I will be finished before we turn the boat over. Probably a while before that. Thing is we will be in port soon and I will want to go home instead of working on quals after hours. At this point I'm so close though that they will probably schedule my board and force me to finish it quickly.

...

I had to call away my first fire today for a drill. I have never had to no-poop use a 4MC and call away a casualty. This time it was a drill, but it got my heart going pretty well, just since it was my first time... kinda sad in some ways - such a nub. Not for long!"

And they're back...

The good news is the boys are back. The bad news is that B has duty tonight and work tomorrow. And duty Sunday. Soooo, the most likely schedule is that he'll come Friday evening, and leave Satruday evening.

Not particularly happy about that but it's better than nothing I suppose.

Monkey Mail! - Kickin' butt and takin naps.

He's working his little monkey tail off. So proud of how hard he's working. I can't wait for him to come home and get a break and SLEEP! Poor guy!

"I had to sleep a bunch last night, i think i sent you an email but im honestly not sure... i cant remember. Things kinda run together a little bit. Studying as much as i can which is why my emails are kinda short, i just wanna get my fish and be done with it, the pace will slow down so much after that. Getting close, and thats what im at the computer for right now. I had to organize and update some books today, it was tedious and boring and reminded me of how much i hate clerical work. stupid boring stuff. Which is unfortunately what lies in the road on the way to Quartermaster so im having a bit of a change in heart over that - not enough to say one way or the other though. Still just gonna push to whatever.

Having fun competing with some people in my division, making them angry by not becoming openly angry. I enjoy it, their contempt fuels me to push harder. I could be watching a movie right now, being a hot-runner but im gonna study instead. I laugh cause people are like "Well im 100% ahead" and i will ask them how many points that is... and its funny because by their standards, i am 300% ahead. Booyah! take that. I am literally 6 months ahead of my intended time. I think im gonna do alright. Although i accidentally unplugged my buddy's air in a drill last night, first time doing that. It happens every now and then though."

The age old question.

How many sailors does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Well, we now know the answer! Find out below, in the latest piece of Monkey mail!

"So! I have a question for you! How many submariners does it take to change a light bulb? The answer is 6!

-One to actually replace the light bulb
-One to hold the electrical saftey rope
-One to read the instruction
-One to hold the tolls
-One to man the phones to the circuit breaker operator
-One to actually stare at the breaker waiting for an emergency

Im getting really close on my quals now - getting more and more scary, feeling more comfortable about some things and less about others. Much less angry than i was a few days ago. Been working at it pretty hard, slowed down a little for some sleep.

Ima grab a little sleep before we run drills. I won a rack pass in the raffle today, which means i can use it to sleep through a field day if i want to.

Only 8 signatures away from final walk throughs."