We don't stop working.

Happy Holidays everyone!

The little things

I came home from work yesterday to find these cards on my barracks door.  They were made by children in schools across the country, and placed on every door in every barracks on base.

I just took a walk and read some of the cards.  In the wake of Newtown, reading the innocent encouragement from those children was pretty tough.

What a great story this would've made.

We're currently stationed on board USS Nimitz, on Naval Station Everett.

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The ship's worst job?

My dad in high school.  Yep, it's completely unrelated to this post.

I recently spent a few hours with a Sailor who has a job that no one wants.  Listen and see how he makes it through the day.


DIRTY JOB  (The top one, it says MMFN Thompson.)

I can't draw stick figures

  The creative gene is strong in these young MCs.  MC3 Lewis recently won a ship-wide contest to redesign the Nimitz chief coin.  This is given to Sailors as congratulations on special occasions.

 I don't have a photo, but MC2 Wolfe took first place in a competition to remake our battle flag.  It's his work that flies on the ship's island.  Also, MC3 Milner won a Navy-wide contest to design the new MC coin!

 MC3 Bartlett printed a surveillance photo of Pearl Harbor, then added the planes.  It then became a 3D work of art that shows the point of view of the Japanese pilots.  I can't even fathom how people do stuff like this.

MC3 Mayes enlarged a photo of these Sailors working on the flight deck.  There's a quote on it:

You cannot depend on your eyes 

if your imagination is out of focus. -Mark Twain

The goggles hanging on the corner make it feel like a museum piece.  No one told any of these MCs to do the work.  They operate with the same love for creation that I do.

Home Improvement

Several times a month, we're required to perform maintenance on battle lanterns, doors, office equipment, etc.  Today the maintenance is lubrication and chalk testing of this door to check for air tightness.

I do not enjoy maintenance.