Oh my! I'm going to Panama!

QMSA Deppe, checking in. Okay. I've been neglectful. I was originally thinking this would be sort of a personal journal thing, but now I realize it's a better way to keep in touch with the world, rather than a place to archive everything I've thought at one point or another. Those confusing garbage entries at the beginning, we'll just forget about those. It's my blog, I can edit what I want.

Briefly, here's the update. I finished Quartermaster "A" School, ended up assigned to the USS Ford, FFG-54, homeported in Everett, WA.

I've spent the past few weeks here waiting to fly out to the ship. The Transient Personnel Detachment isn't too bad. I ended up in a nice barracks, with a sort of suite style arrangement.

Of course, paying the Sailors who are waiting for their ships and not having them do anything just won't do, so they give us work assignments! My favorite so far was working in the base recycling plant, sorting cans and bottles and nasty such. One of the "differently abled" guys threw a can over my head into the can crusher (a gnarly piece of machinery). It happened to be full of chewing tobacco waste. I still haven't gotten the stains out of my utility jacket. That stuff is nasty.

Anyway, life in Everett is nice. I think after my active duty is done, I might stay in Washington State and go to college up here. I need to look in,to changing my residency for cheaper tuition. This assumes I don't try out the Seaman to Admiral 21 program.

I've been listening to The Decemberists lately. Check them out if you haven't. I dig the gratuitous use of vocabulary.

I don't have a proper camera or digital camera, so all the photos you are now enjoying come from my janky Samsung A900 cell phone camera from Sprint! (with bonus finger occlusion!)

Life Marches On!

I survived boot camp. I'm now SA Deppe, John H. writing to you, the fair reader from the MWR Library at Naval Training Support Center, Great Lakes.

The SA stands for Seaman Apprentice. I'm starting to get settled here in NSTC for A-School, but I'm sad they won't let me out past midnight on my 21st birthday. February 19th is a weekend, and I'm not even authorized to drink alcoholic beverages. Booooo.

Anyway, I've lots of things to do. Hopefully I can get all the journal entries I've been making to a computer, and the ones I mailed to Jeff back, and get them all transcribed for your reading pleasure.

Okay, it might not be too pleasurable. A fuckin' recruit (pronounced ree-cruet) isn't exactly in a writing state of mind usually.

Later, llamas.

Shipping Out

Soon I'll be gone. I've had a lot of fun this weekend. I...

Bought nice clothes, ate at Mcdonald's (twice!), Perkins (twice!), Devotay, Pita Pit; went to a gay bar (twice!), chainsmoked, danced, was horribly embarrassed, caused horrible embarassment, cried like a bitch, did paperwork, threw money at people, tucked money in occupied garments, had a long walk, and more! Saying goodbye is hard.

Soon I'll go to dinner with as much of the Ames crew as can be rounded up. Then it's off to Des Moines to stay in some hotel and then in the morning it's off to the races.

Thanks for coming out.

This blog should be taken over by Jeff Sorensen while I'm in recruit training. I'll try to update via postcard/letter. We'll see what I can hack out, or he can come up with. Hopefully it'll be worthwhile.

Over and out.

This Just In...

Hello faithful reader!

Just got back from a weekend in Iowa City.

More later, it's the eleventh hour.

It's Cold and the World is Ending

Ship-off day, December 13th, gets closer every day. It's cold. I hope I don't freeze to death in boot camp.

I just saw Aeon Flux. It was nice to see the story without it being all cut up. It was a lot better than I expected. Don't get me wrong, not a national treasure, but not a total waste of time.

I've been reading The Bluejacket's Manual, it's a book I'll be issued. A sort of sailor's handbook. I find it odd, but they capitalize the word "Sailor" in it, like so. It doesn't exactly strike me as a proper noun.

So, anyway. I intend to maintain this blog with transcribed postcards from boot camp. I realize postings have been spotty so far, but Hello Sailor! related occurences have been minimal. If you want to volunteer to help me out here, or just want me to write you a post card, leave a comment.

Physical Training: Still lazy
World of Warcraft: Level 47

Many Hands Make Light Work

So I got a call today from Mr. Recruiter. He tells me I need to sign a form saying I know my ship date has changed, and that the office and the rest of the DEP (Delayed Enlistment Programs) guys are going to volunteer with tornado cleanup in Stratford. So I run about, grab some boots, my old army coat, and the warmest clothes I can get, and off to the recruiting station. I sign the form, and off to Stratford.

We get there, and the place has been entirely cleaned up! There's a couple houses with big chunks out of them, but the parts of town we drove around had been pretty well patched up, with plywood over broken windows and the like. Seeing empty house foundations was a bit sobering. So with nothing to do in Stratford, we called another town that'd been hit hard, Woodward. Woodward had called off working on account of the snow, so we didn't have anywhere to volunteer.

So the recruiter bought us lunch at the Hunan Palace, and here I am at home, posting this.

Physical Training: Lazy
World of Warcraft: Level 34

This is the Captain, We're Going to be Delayed

Ship-off day has been delayed because my Social Security card hasn't come in the mail yet. The new date is December 13th. I suppose this means I'll be around for Thanksgiving. I'm simultaneously disappointed and relieved. Disappointed because I wanted to be gone, and relieved because this gives me more time to go straighten out the mess I've left at the university.

In other news, my Night Elf Druid on Tichondrius has reached level 32. I'm making productive use of this extra time. Expect me to start keeping a physical training log in this space.

First Post!

So here's my very own weblog. I'm joining the Navy. Just as soon as I get all my paperwork figured out.

Holy shit.

Later, suckers.