Sorry for being absent for so long. With MARS III starting, there has been practically no time whatsoever to update my blog. I am taking a short study break right now, so here is the update with a couple of pics.
The trip to Alaska was amazing. I can say for sure that I do not get sea sick. On the Monday that we left, we hit some rough water and a huge amount of the ships crew were sick, including the Captain. Guys who have been sailing for years and have not been sick in years were throwing up. I was simply laughing at it and loving it like some giant roller coaster ride. Alaska was simply wet and windy. The rain fell horizontally all weekend, but we still managed to get out a little bit (had to try the local beers). I was one of 8 our of 34 selected to have a special dinner with the Captain on the second Monday. It was a privilege and very enjoyable time.
Easter weekend, I flew home for a very short visit. We did not tell the kids that I was coming, so when I came in the door and they saw me, the looks on their faces was priceless; then they both started to cry. It was very touching.
MARS III is off to a good start. I have already written the first exam in Relative Velocity and scored 89.2% (yay for me). Our next exam in this Thursday on Rules of the Road (sometimes called Collision Regulations). This one will be the toughest as it involves a lot of memorization as you must be able to write many of the rules verbatim. Thank heavens there are a couple of guys who I meet with every night on the 6th floor common room to study together. It has been a huge help. Below are also some pictures of the paper carnage from studying for the Rel Vel exam. I had put in roughly 40 extra hours of study time for that exam and will easily match that for the Rules exam. Effort equals success. I simply ask myself "how badly do you want this and what are you willing to do to get it?" and the answer is easy "anything and everything necessary". I don't mind, even though my brain hurts a lot every day, the reward at the end will be more than worth the effort. How many people can say that they drive a warship for a living? Personally, I think that it sounds pretty cool.
Anyway, here are some pics of the Alaska trip and our early study sessions.
I will do my best to not let the cobwebs land on this blog again.
