Pictures of the Bonfire

So here it is, not a large fire as you can only see the smoke, but a fire and a some Coasties having fun. What more could I ask for? A picture of the sun in the land of the midnight sun. Thanks you FS3 Scott for use of the Camera and the Pictures. To the readers have a great day.

Unit Picture, Bon Fire and ... The Dude

Spring is here, well sort of. Therefore we had the unit picture and the first bon fire of the season. It went well, actually very well. The fire was not huge, but it was a great time and many funny moments while the flames burned and after. The weather gods seem slightly confused though. Yesterday was Beautiful with light flurries like a blue bird day in California. A little more overcast, but very beautiful for Alaskan weather. The unit picture turned out well as you can see. We wore our trops uniform in the 35 degree weather just to prove how tough we are. It does look sharp, so it was well worth dealing with the cold.
As for the weather its considered warm. It is above freezing, overcast but with a good ceiling. Today the weather is a little worse. Still above zero with about twenty knot winds and a little snow falling. The Tundra is really softening up so we have to be very careful where we step or we may fall though. Supposedly that is how people get lost in the tundra. Along with the bon fire yesterday, we had a cookout with ping pong, washers, pool and a little catch with the football. The dogs loved it because they followed the food around all day. I enjoyed it because I got the day off from mess cooking. Did I mention that I have been mess cooking all week, it is long hours, but I find a way to make it fun. I dance a lot and sing random songs as the day goes by. Especially if it’t to 80’s music. All the classics like “Super Freak”, “Blinded Me with Science,” “The Regulators” and of course Prince, now know as tafkap, or “The Artist Formally known as prince.” Fs3 Scott and I have a good time. I have a good time with FS1 too, but she does not sing and create epic duets. His favorite is the Spice Girls, but I can forgive him for that. If you were here it would blow your mind. The great thing is that we can listen to anything we want in the galley and as long as the work gets done, we can have fun.
I am having a good time, working hard but still having a good time. A game of risk went down last night. The gods of luck were not on my side. Snake eyes is good if you are playing craps, but are the worst thing you can get in risk. It was not cool. I was the first one out after a very long string of horrible rolls. I went to bed because I had to be up the next morning to mess cooking. Went to the gym at six because I will not have time to do it after I get off tonight. I waited nearly a month for this to arrive and now that it has, I am a very happy man. “The Big Lebowski” came in and the Dude is graced our silver screen. We have not had midnight beach volleyball yet, but it will happen.
Life is good and I am doing well, Hope to see you all soon. My mid tour has been approved for the 06Jun09 through the 06July09 so if you want to see me make sure I on mid-tour. Have a wonderful day and I miss you all.

Club KPC Showdown and Phycal Fitness

What follows is a shocking and true account of Club KPC. Not for the light hearted or easily injured. A first experience for me in many cases, something memorable, a realization to the reality of Loran Station Port Clarence. As terrifying as it was exciting.
It all started with the decision to read a spiritual oriented book and see what was happening on the rec deck. So I ventured down the hallway my eyes scanning the pages as I scanned in front of me. It was a good chapter; I was not able to take my eyes off it. When I reached the rec deck, the loud music, collision of pool balls and people all around, I continued reading. Finally reaching the conclusion of the chapter is when the desire came to me.
In a loud clear voice, inside my head of course. “BEER” it said. I followed the desire to the fridge and opened a cold Corona. Man it felt good hitting my lips. So the night continued as can be expected until all sanity was lost. The mosh pit happened and changed everything. It was a great idea, if you don’t mind being thrown around a little. A guy my size even when in good shape cannot fight the forces of six foot something behemoths.
I got checked in the chest and fell down laughing as the wind was knocked out of me. It was okay, I got right back up and jumped back in only to be deflected off two more people into heater with the square of my back. I got right back up and jumped in once again pushing with all I could. I had a great time. It took determination and dedication to the cause of the mosh pit, but I survived until the end.
So like moths flying to the light, we all flooded the conex as the music picked up. All was going well except that someone kept pushing me back into my chair. So I did what any red blooded American would do when they are being prevented from having fun. I stood up for myself and tackled him. In that process, I proved myself.
It was a good night. I had a great time, I suppose that is what matters. How could I not when there is dancing, music, fun people and beer. Have a great day and I hope to hear from you soon.

I am back already. The Internet is so slow I was able to write another entry before the other one posted. We had a physical Fitness challenge today and I can say that I improved drastically from the last time we did this. I even took second place. The competition was not as fierce this time. No Reyes, No Em1 Smith or Chief Morgan. I did 76 push ups within one minute, 56 sit-ups in one minute, benched 205 pounds officially, but got 210 after the competition. I did 30 dips and 16 pull-ups. I improved on everything and was very happy with my performance. I had a good time too. I did much better than I expected to do. Seaman Miller took first, no big surprise there and Et3 Bailey took third. There is always room to improve though. I finally got my weight training spread sheet working the way I want so I have a really good snapshot of how I am doing. Once again I hope to see you all again soon. I should know soon when I will be going on mid-tour. Have a wonderful day.
I will post some pictures once I get some, I am still working on the camera ordeal.

Running in the Arctic

I went running today and it was fabulous. About twenty degrees, blue skies, very little wind and warmer than I intended to be. What more can I ask for. It would have been nice if Hobie was running with me, or Kensey, but regardless, it felt great. I have not felt my heart beat like that in a while. My cardio is not were I like it to be, but that’s because I cannot stand to run on a treadmill. Hopefully by the time I make it home, I will be able to keep up with Kensey.

So there I was and she did not go down like a greased refrigerator (inside joke). After work and the weather was beautiful as I described above. Not a cloud in the sky. Donned my sweat pants, long underwear, t-shirt and a hoodie. It took me a little while to find the Officer of the Day so I could check out for a run. Finally found him, had to pipe him. Sorry for the details, isolation is getting to me. Fast forward to what matters. I ran two to three miles because I could not really go too far due to snow blowers on the runway. But it was long enough to remind me how much I enjoy running. Unfortunately with the warmer temperatures the solid piece of ice we usually walk on will be getting soft soon. My runs will have to be limited to the paved area, but at least it is warm enough to run. I was not able to reach full pace because I would have gotten way to hot. I have never run in the cold weather. It was different. Anyways I look forward to running more and especially when I am home with the dog and Sister.

It was a great day and the weather is very interesting. The amount of daylight changes every day by about eight minutes and keeps you on your feet. It is really bright out because the ground is still covered with snow. Very beautiful, as long as you have some glasses to keep down the glare. Polarized lenses are great up here. Other than that, work was pretty typical. I did patch some asbestos walls today. They get painted tomorrow to seal them up. I was told that it is hard to sleep when it is always light outside, but I have been sleeping fine, knock on wood. It is very difficult to track the time though. 2200 looks like 1500. It can be midnight and I don’t even realize it because the sun just setting or just went down. I suppose it takes more discipline to go to sleep because you could be playing beach volleyball at midnight.

I cannot think of a better ending than midnight beach volleyball so have a wonderful day and hope to hear from you soon.

Your Not Going to Believe it, Temps Above Freezing

Your not going to believe me when I tell you this, but it was 41 degrees today, above zero. The sun rises about 0800 and sets around 2300. It has a tendency to mess with you mind when you look out the window at 2200 and it is still bright. I went hiking just now at about 2100 and it was sunny and nice outside. Masters and I went out to the T-Building and looked for Muskox Bob. He has left the area and gone onto to another white cold landscape that we call Alaska. Saw the beach and came back to he station. Played with Haley, took some video footage of the tower and surrounding area. It was nice to get out and see life in the Tundra for the first time in a while. This time we saw two birds. Made it back safe and sound and hope to do it again soon.
Brendan, Do you remember that hat you had at Christmas with the flaps on the side? I am sure someone does, because I do. It took me a while but I finally got you beat with the best hat ever. Yeah its real beaver. Very warm and comfortable. Attached is a picture, I apologize for the poor quality, my camera is broken.
As for work this week I do have some pictures, from other cameras that I will post soon. We dug petty officer berthing out with about twenty feet of snow going down at a forty five degree angle to the ground. I climbed to the top using nothing but a shovel and a magivered ice grabber thingy. dug out about six feet and then took a break. We then proceeded to dig a tunnel through that would barely not fit my body which I should get a picture of soon. I will post it when I receive it. Unforntunately we had to make the exit large enough for people to get out of in an emergency, so it all came down. We get to have a little fun at work as long as we get the job done. Had some fun in the galley with the "Dancing with the Chef" created by FS3 Scott and camera man Masters. I was the sidekick, due to the fact that I am not a skilled cook or have a video camera. It was a good meal all because of my sidekick skills. I think that Masters and Scott would agree.
Overall it is going pretty good. I am missing the real world, but I think I can make it until my mid-tour. The weather is stange up here, but I hear that it is beautiful at Tahoe and the Bay Area. I hope that everyone is haveing a good day and hope to speak to you soon.

Same Old Thing, Sometimes Unforgetable

So here I am again to tell you about the experience. The camera is still broken, so no new pictures. I just had my marks done, I did all right. The topic for this week is the small things that we sometimes forget to appreciate.
Like your supervisor going down the hallway in front of you closing all the doors and looking back at you every time. "Sorry, are you coming this way?" he says as the doors closes on your face. I could not help but laugh. When you are walking to clear a door through a blizzard that should be in a movie and you fall down a slope not even knowing it was there. All your shipmates can do is point and laugh, thanks guys Those priceless moments that you would never expect or imagine. That is what I have appreciated this week. So I extend a personal thanks to all that gave me those moments. Masters, and the poker game too.
I am glad to hear that the family is back home and safe. I have to admit that I was a little worried, the ocean can be a unforgiving place. Not that I lacked confidence in their sailing ability, but when the ones I care most about are doing something potentially hazardous, I cannot help but worry a little. Weird, now I really feel like an adult.
In the abyss of isolation I have time to think of what I have done, what I am doing and what I want to do. I want to do medical so I am on the Health Services A-School List. I want to do well so I am working really hard. I am very grateful that I patched up my relationship with Kensey, there were some tough years there. All things considered, I am proud of who I am. No major regrets in life. It has been a good life.
Now to that blizzard; allow me to set the scene. It was after liberty on a typical day in Port Clarence and I decided to go outside to mediate in this storm. I was not worried about the cold because I have all the proper gear and the beauty of it was just irresistible. The wind at approximately 35 knots, just enough to lean into it and not fall over when it gusted. The sky had cleared above so the sun was shining through a billion tiny specs of snow blowing by. It was absolutely gorgeous. I was thinking that I was lucky to have seen it even if it was crappy weather to many people. I went out there in my coveralls, and jacket. Hood up with full facial concealment. I am wearing all black so I looked cool, not that anyone was there to see it. I leaned back into the wind and watched as the snow blew by me and sun shined down. I could not see very far around me, but the light reflected off the flying snow to make a very nice effect. It was like the world was focused around me, but blurry everywhere else. Haley had come out with me and lasted about three minutes. Then she went back inside and just stared at me like I was a crazy person. I just sat down, listened to the wind and relaxed for a while, I'm not sure how long. It was very nice. When I was standing, if I did not plant my feet, I would be pushed along the ground. I would go out again today on this clear day, but I am EOW and have to stay in the station. There is a really nice slide outside too. Maybe tomorrow, I shall see.
I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, This is a covert message for Jay Watt, my dad. It is April fools day so be on guard. Phone calls about people getting arrested, the car not starting could all be a joke. So with that said, Have a wonderful day and I hope to hear from you soon.