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Here We Go Again...
Jan. 7th, 2006 11:18 amSaturday. Day 4 of the deployment.
So far things have been quiet- we've left San Diego behind us, and are steadily steaming westward. We made our first time zone change last night, the first of what I'm sure will be many more. All attention is now focused on our Crossing the Line ceremony coming up soon- this time we'll be crossing the equator at the International Date Line, making all of us "Golden Shellbacks"- much more rare. This time, however, I'll be one of the ones administering the ceremony instead of one of the ones having to suffer through it. Gerin, I'll let you know how it goes- with a new chain of command, I think we'll be able to get away with a bit more in terms of following the...usual traditions. Should be lots of fun- I'll try to get some pictures.
I'm still having a hard time fully believing that this will be my last time going underway on the Reagan. I volunteered to man the rails Wednesday morning when we pulled out, and watching from the flight deck as we said goodbye to San Diego brought on mixed emotions; the weather was clear, but cold, and the view was amazing- downtown, Hillcrest, even some parts of Mission Valley as we passed, Point Loma, and some of the closer points of OB. The America was there to see us off, just as she led the procession of our escort when we pulled into San Diego Harbor the first time, and several other boats and yachts were there to see us off. I'm kind of excited to finally be going overseas, even if it is for only a couple of months, but I already miss Amy something terrible, and I know it's only going to get worse as the weeks roll on. Still, I know she's waiting for me, as I am for her, and I know she'll be here for me when I get back to California in March.
Speaking of Amy...we got to spend New Years together, which was really nice. We had a few people over to the house, then walked over to Plum Crazy for a little while, since there wasn't anything really going on. Amy and I left the roommates and other and headed back to the house before midnight- we had our first kiss of the new year, and promptly fell asleep before 2 in the morning. All in all, we had a very nice last weekend together- we spent as much time together as possible, just hanging out and being the young couple in love that we are. I had duty on the day before we pulled out, so our last day together was Monday, which I had off from work. I stayed at her place that night, and she drove me in to work the following morning, since I don't want to leave my car on base for 2 months. After I unloaded my stuff from the car, she got out and we embraced one last time as she gave me the very definition of the "going off to war" kiss. She took my car back to her place- she'll drop it off at my place later and keep it warm for me over the next couple of months- and I also gave her my house key so she can drop off any big mail I might get, or crash at my place if she's out with Megan and Jen and doesn't want to drive all the way back to the Vally. All I know is, I'm really hating that I'm missing both her birthday AND Valentine's Day, but I plan on more than making it up to her when I get back. :)
But that's enough for now. Work still has to get done, and it's going to be a busy rest of the day- after all, Sunday means pretty much nothing gets done, so I've got to go get ahead while I can.
So far things have been quiet- we've left San Diego behind us, and are steadily steaming westward. We made our first time zone change last night, the first of what I'm sure will be many more. All attention is now focused on our Crossing the Line ceremony coming up soon- this time we'll be crossing the equator at the International Date Line, making all of us "Golden Shellbacks"- much more rare. This time, however, I'll be one of the ones administering the ceremony instead of one of the ones having to suffer through it. Gerin, I'll let you know how it goes- with a new chain of command, I think we'll be able to get away with a bit more in terms of following the...usual traditions. Should be lots of fun- I'll try to get some pictures.
I'm still having a hard time fully believing that this will be my last time going underway on the Reagan. I volunteered to man the rails Wednesday morning when we pulled out, and watching from the flight deck as we said goodbye to San Diego brought on mixed emotions; the weather was clear, but cold, and the view was amazing- downtown, Hillcrest, even some parts of Mission Valley as we passed, Point Loma, and some of the closer points of OB. The America was there to see us off, just as she led the procession of our escort when we pulled into San Diego Harbor the first time, and several other boats and yachts were there to see us off. I'm kind of excited to finally be going overseas, even if it is for only a couple of months, but I already miss Amy something terrible, and I know it's only going to get worse as the weeks roll on. Still, I know she's waiting for me, as I am for her, and I know she'll be here for me when I get back to California in March.
Speaking of Amy...we got to spend New Years together, which was really nice. We had a few people over to the house, then walked over to Plum Crazy for a little while, since there wasn't anything really going on. Amy and I left the roommates and other and headed back to the house before midnight- we had our first kiss of the new year, and promptly fell asleep before 2 in the morning. All in all, we had a very nice last weekend together- we spent as much time together as possible, just hanging out and being the young couple in love that we are. I had duty on the day before we pulled out, so our last day together was Monday, which I had off from work. I stayed at her place that night, and she drove me in to work the following morning, since I don't want to leave my car on base for 2 months. After I unloaded my stuff from the car, she got out and we embraced one last time as she gave me the very definition of the "going off to war" kiss. She took my car back to her place- she'll drop it off at my place later and keep it warm for me over the next couple of months- and I also gave her my house key so she can drop off any big mail I might get, or crash at my place if she's out with Megan and Jen and doesn't want to drive all the way back to the Vally. All I know is, I'm really hating that I'm missing both her birthday AND Valentine's Day, but I plan on more than making it up to her when I get back. :)
But that's enough for now. Work still has to get done, and it's going to be a busy rest of the day- after all, Sunday means pretty much nothing gets done, so I've got to go get ahead while I can.
