Thursday, September 2, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Military Life: Part 1 Here today, gone tomorrow
I haven't been so good at blogging, even though there's been a lot I could write about. I blame it on busy work schedules and being lazy! lol. So I've decided to start something new... blogger: military series. I'll try to make one post about military life every once in a while in addition to my other posts.
This week's theme is "Here today, gone tomorrow." I never really realized how difficult military life was and the sacrifices our brave men and women have to make until I joined. It's not so bad for me right now b/c I'm not settled down yet and I don't have any kids but leaving my life and my family behind and going to a whole new area where I knew nobody was not easy. One lesson I've learned pretty quickly is not to get too attached to anyone because being in the military, one of you could be moving away at the drop of a hat. I made some awesome friends at Officer Development School and grew pretty attached within 5 weeks but after graduation, we all went our separate ways. We keep in contact every now and then but it's not the same. I've also started making new friends here too and really enjoy working with a lot of my "shipmates". Unfortunately, 3 have deployed and I already know within the next 6 months, we'll have mostly new faces around. It's hard not getting attached and constantly having to change and adapt, which brings me to my next point....
I wouldn't usually write about this but what the heck. My next point is finding love... ok maybe not that deep but at least dating and having a stable relationship. How is that possible in the military with the potential of deployment/PCS looming over your head? It's not easy! Ok ok, you're probably wondering why I bring this up and I guess I ought to confess... I've finally met someone cool! We've been dating for just a little while but we have a lot in common, one of which may not be a good thing... we're both in the military. I'm a Naval Officer, he's a Marine officer. Yeah, I know what you may be thinking and I never thought I'd go for a Marine either but he's different from all your other Jarheads. We get along well and always have a good time together. Unfortunately, he's deploying next month =( Just my luck, when I finally meet someone cool that I can actually date (b/c as officers, we're not allowed to date enlisted members). Bah-hum-bug!
This week's theme is "Here today, gone tomorrow." I never really realized how difficult military life was and the sacrifices our brave men and women have to make until I joined. It's not so bad for me right now b/c I'm not settled down yet and I don't have any kids but leaving my life and my family behind and going to a whole new area where I knew nobody was not easy. One lesson I've learned pretty quickly is not to get too attached to anyone because being in the military, one of you could be moving away at the drop of a hat. I made some awesome friends at Officer Development School and grew pretty attached within 5 weeks but after graduation, we all went our separate ways. We keep in contact every now and then but it's not the same. I've also started making new friends here too and really enjoy working with a lot of my "shipmates". Unfortunately, 3 have deployed and I already know within the next 6 months, we'll have mostly new faces around. It's hard not getting attached and constantly having to change and adapt, which brings me to my next point....
I wouldn't usually write about this but what the heck. My next point is finding love... ok maybe not that deep but at least dating and having a stable relationship. How is that possible in the military with the potential of deployment/PCS looming over your head? It's not easy! Ok ok, you're probably wondering why I bring this up and I guess I ought to confess... I've finally met someone cool! We've been dating for just a little while but we have a lot in common, one of which may not be a good thing... we're both in the military. I'm a Naval Officer, he's a Marine officer. Yeah, I know what you may be thinking and I never thought I'd go for a Marine either but he's different from all your other Jarheads. We get along well and always have a good time together. Unfortunately, he's deploying next month =( Just my luck, when I finally meet someone cool that I can actually date (b/c as officers, we're not allowed to date enlisted members). Bah-hum-bug!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
=)
Been a while since I wrote, and a lot has been going on lately. I'm not gonna lie, when I first moved here, I was extremely terrified and it was lonely for a very long time. I got used to being by myself a lot of the time, cooking for myself, eating by myself, going out to eat alone, going to the movies alone, going shopping alone. But like anything, things have changed with time and I am totally in love with life right now. =P
This past weekend, I got to go to an awesome party with some friends. It was so refreshing to meet other people, especially men! I've been surrounded by too many hormonal women at work with all these mommy's and babies. The party was hosted by one of the doctors at work who lives in a mansion with a bunch of other Navy and Marine officers. It was an awesome time ;-)
The next day, I went to the beach to go boogie boarding. It was such a beautiful day and the sun was out and shining. My co-worker and I were talking about no matter how stressful work gets, how could it get any better, living in a place where people come to vacation?
And on Monday I finally got to take my surfboard out for the first time! The sun was setting and it was getting dark, but we decided to hop in anyways. The scenery totally takes my breath away...
Now I'm preparing for what's gonna be an awesome week with some of my guhs coming to visit! Will continue post later...
This past weekend, I got to go to an awesome party with some friends. It was so refreshing to meet other people, especially men! I've been surrounded by too many hormonal women at work with all these mommy's and babies. The party was hosted by one of the doctors at work who lives in a mansion with a bunch of other Navy and Marine officers. It was an awesome time ;-)
The next day, I went to the beach to go boogie boarding. It was such a beautiful day and the sun was out and shining. My co-worker and I were talking about no matter how stressful work gets, how could it get any better, living in a place where people come to vacation?
And on Monday I finally got to take my surfboard out for the first time! The sun was setting and it was getting dark, but we decided to hop in anyways. The scenery totally takes my breath away...
Now I'm preparing for what's gonna be an awesome week with some of my guhs coming to visit! Will continue post later...
Monday, July 5, 2010
Happy 4th!
I haven't been so good with blogging lately. It's been soo busy and hectic. I had some family in town last week and between work, taking them around, and trying to switch between night and day schedules, I was exhausted. It was so much fun though. I wish I could have gotten more days off! Pics are uploaded on my facebook.
But in other news, Happy 4th of July everyone! I wish I could have been home to go to OC and watch the fireworks with my family like every year and also to be home for Amy's bridal shower but I had some fun here in SD too.
My cousin came down and spent the weekend with me. We got to go to the San Diego County Fair which was pretty huge. All the fatty, artery clogging food you could ask for!
Fried Butter Anyone?
Speaking of Butter...
And of course, you can't go to the fair without getting funnel cake...
Even the goats got 4th of July spirit!
We thought about staying at the fair for the fireworks, but after being conned out of all our money on games we couldn't win, we decided to leave and go see fireworks somewhere else. This year, I got to see fireworks on a military base. There's a private beach here on base and they were having their own beach bash and fireworks display. It was really crowded when we got there but they had a live band going and everything. It was definitely a different experience this year, one that had much more meaning than any of the years prior. It made me think of what July 4th really is about, celebrating America's Freedom! Prior to the show, they had a video displaying pictures thanking our troops and the general even came out and made a mini speech before giving away a free car to a lucky service member (no, it wasn't me =(
The fireworks display was choreographed to all patriotic songs and all the marines and sailors were singing along. Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" even made an appearance. And after the fireworks were over (and even before they started) the crowd broke out into chants of "U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A" This is how we should celebrate our 4th of July! Proud to be an American and proud to be free! Happy 4th folks!
Fireworks to "God Bless the USA"
Can't figure out how to turn the video right side up yet, but it's almost 4am and I should prob hit the sack now.
But in other news, Happy 4th of July everyone! I wish I could have been home to go to OC and watch the fireworks with my family like every year and also to be home for Amy's bridal shower but I had some fun here in SD too.
My cousin came down and spent the weekend with me. We got to go to the San Diego County Fair which was pretty huge. All the fatty, artery clogging food you could ask for!
Fried Butter Anyone?
Speaking of Butter...
And of course, you can't go to the fair without getting funnel cake...
Even the goats got 4th of July spirit!
We thought about staying at the fair for the fireworks, but after being conned out of all our money on games we couldn't win, we decided to leave and go see fireworks somewhere else. This year, I got to see fireworks on a military base. There's a private beach here on base and they were having their own beach bash and fireworks display. It was really crowded when we got there but they had a live band going and everything. It was definitely a different experience this year, one that had much more meaning than any of the years prior. It made me think of what July 4th really is about, celebrating America's Freedom! Prior to the show, they had a video displaying pictures thanking our troops and the general even came out and made a mini speech before giving away a free car to a lucky service member (no, it wasn't me =(
The fireworks display was choreographed to all patriotic songs and all the marines and sailors were singing along. Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" even made an appearance. And after the fireworks were over (and even before they started) the crowd broke out into chants of "U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A" This is how we should celebrate our 4th of July! Proud to be an American and proud to be free! Happy 4th folks!
Fireworks to "God Bless the USA"
Can't figure out how to turn the video right side up yet, but it's almost 4am and I should prob hit the sack now.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Latest Happenings
Time for an update on the latest happenings around here!
Working Nights
They put me on nights after I got back from Maryland. It hasn't been as terrible as I thought it would be but it's still brutal... especially around that 4am, 5am mark. It's not as busy at night and I'm usually not rounding on my patients as much, mainly because I don't want to disturb them while they're trying to get some sleep. I like the people I work with on nights... well most of them at least, they're pretty laid back. It's tough keeping the night schedule routine though, and it's been keeping me from watching the world cup! =( The other day, I came home from work and got in bed by 8am. I set an alarm to get up to watch the USA vs. England game (which was airing at 11:30am PT) but I ended up setting my alarm for 11:30pm. So I slept from 8am all the way til 5:40pm!!! I couldn't believe I had slept that long. Of course when I got up, I had 20min to get ready to go back to work.
Visitors
My friend's brother and his friend were taking a road trip along the CA coast and was planning on spending a couple days in the SD/Oceanside area. I don't know my friend's brother too well but I've met him a couple times and he's a pretty chill and funny guy. They were supposed to spend a couple nights in the area at a friends place but that didn't work out too well. Apparently, this guy already had 2 other people staying in his crowded apartment and his place was pretty trashed and smelled of urine. So I offered my living room and they ended up staying two nights. I took them on a quick drive thru of base, went to the pier and had burgers right on the pier over the water. The next day, we met up with his dad and went to this park with tide pools, and an awesome view of SD. Oh and I finally tried a California Burrito! I don't know about other people, but I still prefer Chipotle! It was a fun time.
At the bottom when the tide is low, there are small pockets/pools where animals sometimes get stranded. The tide was high that day so we didn't get to play in the tide pools.
View of SD (Picture does it no justice and it was gloomy that day- see below)
Visiting the seals in La Jolla
June Gloom
As you can see from the pics above, June Gloom is upon us. This is when the clouds come in from the shore and it's overcast and cloudy most of the day. Sometimes it'll break and we'll get the sun back in the afternoons. I don't mind so much though since the gloominess helps me sleep when I get off work at 7am in the morning!
M-9
I was sad that we never got to play with, erhh I mean learn about weapons and guns during ODS. We got to do other training like fire fighting, mending a sinking ship, etc, but no guns. I finally got a chance to learn about the M-9 Pistol before I left for Maryland. Guns can be pretty scary especially if you've never handled one before. I was fortunate enough to have my cousin (ex Army) take me shooting once back in Maryland. I remember being totally freaked out and scared (mainly because I didn't know anything about guns and never handled one before). Anyways, our training was two days. The first day, we had to sit thru class time for most of the morning. In the afternoon, we got to actually handle (an unloaded) weapon. We took it apart, put it back together, then went out back and practiced our stance and drawing our weapon from the holster. Drawing your weapon from the dang holster is the hardest part, not aiming and firing! Next day, we got to go out to the range (somewhere on base in the middle of some dessert mountains/open fields aka middle of nowhere) and fire the weapon. Afterward, we came back, took the weapon apart, cleaned them, and put them back together. I finally felt like a real (and badass) military member. hahahaha. I want to go out to the shooting range and practice some more so I can earn my expert/sharp shooter. Now that I've learn about the weapon, I'm not as scared about it. Thinking about getting one... maybe? haha
Earthquakes
Since I've moved here, there have been a few small earthquakes. The first one I noticed was when I was at work. You could feel the place rumble and shake but it wasn't too big (one of my coworkers who was up walking around didn't notice). The other night though, we had a 5.7 mag quake centered southeast of me. It was kinda freaky and scary! I was sitting in my living room watching TV and then all of a sudden, the place starts rumbling and swaying. I hope this doesn't mean we are in for a big one like some of the news stations are saying.
~~~~
Things can get pretty lonely out here but it's a great place to be. I love the area and the scenery and weather is awesome. Being independent isn't easy but I'm learning a lot. And I'm also really enjoying the military. Granted there are a lot of pains and things (usually) don't go your way but I'm really proud to serve among my fellow sailors and marines. I never thought I'd feel this way, but I hope they deploy me in the next couple years. I'm ready to see the world!
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to having more visitors later this week!
Working Nights
They put me on nights after I got back from Maryland. It hasn't been as terrible as I thought it would be but it's still brutal... especially around that 4am, 5am mark. It's not as busy at night and I'm usually not rounding on my patients as much, mainly because I don't want to disturb them while they're trying to get some sleep. I like the people I work with on nights... well most of them at least, they're pretty laid back. It's tough keeping the night schedule routine though, and it's been keeping me from watching the world cup! =( The other day, I came home from work and got in bed by 8am. I set an alarm to get up to watch the USA vs. England game (which was airing at 11:30am PT) but I ended up setting my alarm for 11:30pm. So I slept from 8am all the way til 5:40pm!!! I couldn't believe I had slept that long. Of course when I got up, I had 20min to get ready to go back to work.
Visitors
My friend's brother and his friend were taking a road trip along the CA coast and was planning on spending a couple days in the SD/Oceanside area. I don't know my friend's brother too well but I've met him a couple times and he's a pretty chill and funny guy. They were supposed to spend a couple nights in the area at a friends place but that didn't work out too well. Apparently, this guy already had 2 other people staying in his crowded apartment and his place was pretty trashed and smelled of urine. So I offered my living room and they ended up staying two nights. I took them on a quick drive thru of base, went to the pier and had burgers right on the pier over the water. The next day, we met up with his dad and went to this park with tide pools, and an awesome view of SD. Oh and I finally tried a California Burrito! I don't know about other people, but I still prefer Chipotle! It was a fun time.
At the bottom when the tide is low, there are small pockets/pools where animals sometimes get stranded. The tide was high that day so we didn't get to play in the tide pools.
View of SD (Picture does it no justice and it was gloomy that day- see below)
Visiting the seals in La Jolla
June Gloom
As you can see from the pics above, June Gloom is upon us. This is when the clouds come in from the shore and it's overcast and cloudy most of the day. Sometimes it'll break and we'll get the sun back in the afternoons. I don't mind so much though since the gloominess helps me sleep when I get off work at 7am in the morning!
M-9
I was sad that we never got to play with, erhh I mean learn about weapons and guns during ODS. We got to do other training like fire fighting, mending a sinking ship, etc, but no guns. I finally got a chance to learn about the M-9 Pistol before I left for Maryland. Guns can be pretty scary especially if you've never handled one before. I was fortunate enough to have my cousin (ex Army) take me shooting once back in Maryland. I remember being totally freaked out and scared (mainly because I didn't know anything about guns and never handled one before). Anyways, our training was two days. The first day, we had to sit thru class time for most of the morning. In the afternoon, we got to actually handle (an unloaded) weapon. We took it apart, put it back together, then went out back and practiced our stance and drawing our weapon from the holster. Drawing your weapon from the dang holster is the hardest part, not aiming and firing! Next day, we got to go out to the range (somewhere on base in the middle of some dessert mountains/open fields aka middle of nowhere) and fire the weapon. Afterward, we came back, took the weapon apart, cleaned them, and put them back together. I finally felt like a real (and badass) military member. hahahaha. I want to go out to the shooting range and practice some more so I can earn my expert/sharp shooter. Now that I've learn about the weapon, I'm not as scared about it. Thinking about getting one... maybe? haha
Earthquakes
Since I've moved here, there have been a few small earthquakes. The first one I noticed was when I was at work. You could feel the place rumble and shake but it wasn't too big (one of my coworkers who was up walking around didn't notice). The other night though, we had a 5.7 mag quake centered southeast of me. It was kinda freaky and scary! I was sitting in my living room watching TV and then all of a sudden, the place starts rumbling and swaying. I hope this doesn't mean we are in for a big one like some of the news stations are saying.
~~~~
Things can get pretty lonely out here but it's a great place to be. I love the area and the scenery and weather is awesome. Being independent isn't easy but I'm learning a lot. And I'm also really enjoying the military. Granted there are a lot of pains and things (usually) don't go your way but I'm really proud to serve among my fellow sailors and marines. I never thought I'd feel this way, but I hope they deploy me in the next couple years. I'm ready to see the world!
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to having more visitors later this week!
Pleasant Surprises
This post is a shout out to Amy to say thanks for the pleasant surprise in the mail! It's a little late but better late than never? haha. Anyways I came home from work the other day and found a package waiting for me at the door. I had no idea what it was or who it was from. This is what I found inside:
This totally made my day!! Thank you Amy for remembering me all the way over here! Holy crap, I'm a quarter century now! In a whole new age bracket =(
This totally made my day!! Thank you Amy for remembering me all the way over here! Holy crap, I'm a quarter century now! In a whole new age bracket =(
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Operation Fool Mommy= Success
This past week was awesome. Work Monday, off Tuesday, learn about the M-9 Pistol Wednesday, shoot and play with the M-9 Thursday (I felt like a real military person playing with guns, shooting them, then taking them apart, cleaning them and putting them back together), fly home Thursday night, rehearsal dinner for friend's wedding Friday, Wedding Saturday, and Surprise Bday for Mom (and my 25th birthday) Sunday. What a busy and awesome week! I'm so happy I got to go home, even though it was way too short and I didn't get to spend enough time with my family. The best part though had to be how happy and surprised my mom was.
My mom turned the big 5-0 this year on May 27th. I wasn't home then but I knew I wanted to do something big for her. She has to be the best mom in the whole world. Talented in every single aspect (I can't really think of anything she can't do or learn to do... except maybe fixing cars lol). She's helped me with soo many things, and not only me, but she's a crusader in nature so she helps everyone around her too (whether they ask for it or not). We were throwing her a surprise party the weekend I was coming home for my friend's wedding at Hunan. Usually you can't get anything past my mom or fool her. A lot of the times, she knows what you're gonna do before you do it. Also, since my dad can't keep a secret for the life of him, this party was going to be surprise for him too. My parents thought they were coming to the restaurant for my cousin's graduation party and when we yelled "SURPRISE" my mom was totally confused. She saw the priest from our church and all of our family and was like, "What's going on?" When she finally caught wind of what was going on, she was totally shocked and speechless. Operation Fool Mommy was a success!!! I'm so happy I could finally do something nice for my mom since she's done so much for me. It was really nice being home even though it was only for a short period of time.
My mom turned the big 5-0 this year on May 27th. I wasn't home then but I knew I wanted to do something big for her. She has to be the best mom in the whole world. Talented in every single aspect (I can't really think of anything she can't do or learn to do... except maybe fixing cars lol). She's helped me with soo many things, and not only me, but she's a crusader in nature so she helps everyone around her too (whether they ask for it or not). We were throwing her a surprise party the weekend I was coming home for my friend's wedding at Hunan. Usually you can't get anything past my mom or fool her. A lot of the times, she knows what you're gonna do before you do it. Also, since my dad can't keep a secret for the life of him, this party was going to be surprise for him too. My parents thought they were coming to the restaurant for my cousin's graduation party and when we yelled "SURPRISE" my mom was totally confused. She saw the priest from our church and all of our family and was like, "What's going on?" When she finally caught wind of what was going on, she was totally shocked and speechless. Operation Fool Mommy was a success!!! I'm so happy I could finally do something nice for my mom since she's done so much for me. It was really nice being home even though it was only for a short period of time.
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