Enjoying my time with my family

Sorry that it has been a while. I have been enjoying my time with my family over the holidays. I was fortunate that my whole family was able to be at the airport to greet me when I got off the plane. It sure was great to hug my wife and kids again.

I had a wonderful Christmas and hope that you did too. My parents came up for a couple of days to share Christmas with us. We played lots of games and had a ton of laughs. Just what the holidays are about. I have been fortunate also that the four of us have been able to spend time together. I have also been able to spend time with each one individualy too, which is nice.

Sadly, I put on a few pounds between my 10 days at sea with no way to exercise and the great Christmas baking that was here when I got here. This week, Cynthia and I are doing a version of a 5 day cleanse and have eliminated all of the bad stuff. I am determined to arrive back in Victoria lighter than when I left. Cynthia and I did manage to get out for a nice long walk the other day, but that has been it so far as it has been snowing and extremely windy. The temperature today with the wind chill is supposed to drop to -30. Our treadmill is not working right, so I will be looking at that today so that we can get back to running.

Cynthia had a list of stuff for me to do while I was at home, so, although I have got some of the small stuff off the list, I am going to tackle a chunk of it today since it is such an "indoor" day.

One of the things that I enjoy about this time of year is the World Junior Hockey Championship. I have enjoyed watching Canada win every game so far, but am really excited to watch them against the USA this Thursday night. Go Team Canada!!

Enjoy your day and Happy New Year to you and your family.

On my way home...YAYY!!!

I am packing and ready to come home. My flight leaves at 7:00pm Victoria time and I arrive in Saint John at 10:54am the next morning. I can't wait to see my wonderful family again. I have really missed them. I return to Victoria on Jan 10 and my first course starts on Feb 1. I am currently slated to continue working at NTS until then, but things sometimes change, so I will wait and see.

I hope that everyone is having a great final weekend before Christmas.

Steve

Wednesday

We got underway at midnight for the last night of the trip. At around 5:30 am, the sea started to get quite rough. There were items and people flying around all over the place. Felt like a great roller coaster ride for me. It felt like a long night, but we were back in Esquimalt by 8:30 am and back in my room by 9:30. It sure felt good to have a nice, long, hot shower. I am off tomorrow, but not sure what is on my agenda yet. Overall, this trip was a fantastic opportunity for me to experience and learn more than I could have imagined. I can’t wait to do it again. 4 more sleeps and I will be with my family again. I am getting very excited for that.

Tuesday

Back up and underway by midnight. Very different when it is pitch black out. We have a full cloud cover with rain, so no moonlight to help the students. At this point, my sleeping pattern is all messed up. It reminds me of jet lag. I figure it will take about 2 days to get back on track; then I fly home and will be adjusting to the time zone difference there too. I think that I will be quite out of it for sleeping patterns for the next week. The winds picked up and the seas became rough. Steering the helm became extremely difficult. As soon as we were anchored at 6:00 AM, I went straight to bed, but had to get up again at 7:30AM for my first duty watch, went back to bed, got up for supper, went back to bed, got up for 9:00 PM for my second duty watch.

Monday

Today starts the beginning of the night navigation. We sailed around for a little while and anchored at 11:30am. The plan is to stay anchored throughout the day and start sailing again at 11:30PM tonight. We are scheduled for 2 ½ hours duty watches each day to keep an eye on the anchor. Had a nap after lunch so that I would not be too tired as we have to be up all night long. Got up for supper, played some Euchre and went back to bed just after 8PM. Did not really fall asleep at all. It snowed all afternoon and evening. It was a wet snow, not much accumulation.

Sunday

A fairly easy day today. Mainly taking the helm on and off; plus one “man-overboard” drill. The students practiced bringing the ship into the Jetty and then going back out into the harbor and trying again. Did see a family of seals swimming with the boat for a little while. The snow came down this afternoon and reduced our visibility quite a bit. After supper, a bunch of us went into town for some beers. The town was practically closed up as everyone was having their Staff Christmas parties. We were directed by some locals to the Best Western as the place to go. We went there, tried some different local beers and went back to the ship.

Second week at Sea - Saturday

We left Esquimalt harbor at 1000 hrs this morning. It was a fairly easy morning. I spent from 10:30 – noon on the helm, driving most of the time at full speed ahead, always fun. The weather is very cloudy, but not too cold. We are supposed to see some showers later and maybe even a flurry or two. We docked in Friday Harbour on San Juan Island, which is part of the United States. We were greeted by a gentleman who said “Welcome to America” It just sounded weird since the island looked the same as all the others we had been sailing around. I was duty from 11:30 pm – 4:00 am, so I had to stay on board the ship. I went to bed very early (around 6pm) to get some sleep before my duty watch.

Saturday - Day 6 at Sea

We left Esquimalt harbor at 1000 hrs this morning. It was a fairly easy morning. I spent from 10:30 – noon on the helm, driving most of the time at full speed ahead. The weather is very cloudy, but not too cold. We have been very fortunate with calm seas everyday so far. Not much else went on today. We docked at around 4pm. When Jeff and I got out of the Zodiac on the jetty to prepare to tie up the ship, there was a gentleman there who greeted us with "Welcome to America". It just sounded funny to us since it did not feel like we went south at all. I am on duty on the ship from midnight til 4am and was able to find a wireless connection, so I could update today in real time, so to speak.

I hope that everyone has a great day today.

Friday - Day 5 at Sea

Same morning routine as yesterday. We were out for only about an hour and we had to go into another Place called Tseum where we picked up 3 gentlemen who were guests of the Captain. The students continued doing navigation exercises until lunch. Shortly after lunch, we docked back in Esquimalt harbor. Jeff and I went on ahead in the Zodiac and proceeded by truck to pick up some more stores for next week; mainly milk and bread. Once the boat was secured, we were able to leave and go back to Venture (where we live) and spend the night back in our regular rooms until tomorrow morning, when we leave again. The plan for the next couple of days is sleeping in the daytime and sailing at night. This is for the students to learn how to navigate in the dark. Should be interesting. Stay tuned.

Thursday - Day 4 at Sea

Wakey, Wakey came at 0700 hrs this morning. We helped slip the boat and then jumped in the Zodiac and joined the ship once it was clear of Chemainum harbor. I took the helm again, and this time it included a man overboard drill. The driving is much trickier, but I was told afterward that I did pretty good, so that made me feel nice. We headed for Patricia Bay, where we launched the Zodiac again and took the British officer with us as he was leaving the ship. By this time, Jeff and I have completely lost count of how many times we have been out in the Zodiac and are becoming really good at launching it and bringing it back on board. We made our way to Bedwell Harbor on South Pender Island. It is a beautiful, peaceful spot. Before we docked, we also practiced dropping the anchor. I was in charge of raising it back up at the end of the exercise.Another first for me. Supper tonight was incredible. The cook made potato pancakes, peas, cauliflower, gravy and bbq steaks. The boat has an actual bbq on board (the kind that uses charcoal briquettes). The steaks were done perfect. The cook made every plate as a presentation. It was hard to believe that he could put together such a meal on board a vessel like this.

Bedwell Harbour. You can tell that it is not a cheap place to stay.

One of the Navigation students using the equipment to help him get his bearings.

Wednesday - Day 3 at Sea

Today started at 0600 hrs. Jeff and I got the Zodiac ready and took it from the jetty where the Moose was docked over to another jetty and waited for the Moose to arrive. When we arrived at the other jetty, we were about 20 ft below the actual jetty and the ladder was very barnacle encrusted so we had to be very careful going up the long ladder. Once the Moose arrived, we assisted with tying her up and then went on board. We then refueled the Moose. I was given the position of Event Recorder and had to record all of the times of all the events that occurred during the refueling. This included such things as when the initial briefing was, what time the hoses were hooked up and refueling actually started, etc. Once the refueling was finished, we went back onto the jetty to help slip the boat; then jumped back into the Zodiac and came alongside the Moose to get back on board. After the Zodiac was secured on the quarterdeck of the boat, Jeff and I sat down for breakfast of pancakes and bacon (this was at 0900 hrs). We got about half way through eating when a man overboard drill was called; so we got dressed up again, launched the Zodiac and out we went to recover the floating flag (the “man-overboard”).Once this was done and the Zodiac was again secured back on the boat, we were able to go back and finish breakfast. Jeff and I laughed about it, because it was more accurate to a real situation as they can occur at any time. We sort of had that feeling that we had done so much in the first 3 ½ hours of the day before some people even get up for the day. The Moose then navigated through an extremely narrow passage, which from a distance did not look wide enough for the boat to even fit through. We did, but it was tight. I was able to watch this passage from the front of the boat. It was very cool as we entered the passage, the sun was still rising at the other end.Jeff and I have been taking turns on the helm for 1 hour shifts. When the boat is going through very tough areas, the chief engineer is the one who takes the helm as he is much more experienced that Jeff or I (the first time for either of us was on Monday, so it makes sense to us).Supper tonight was pork sovlaki, rice and carrots. The cook made a tzaziki sauce where he used blueberry yogurt.

There are two senior officers on board the boat for this trip; one from the Canadian Navy and one from the Royal Navy. Turns out that they both know my dad. Small world indeed.Obviously, even after all this time, I can run, but I can’t hide.

Chemainus is a very, very small town. The local fish and chip shop was advertising that they also serve Chinese food. We got a bit of a chuckle out of that. Jeff and I went out for a beer. There were only 2 bars. The first one was a sports bar that closes at 8PM every night (including Friday and Saturday). The second one was a bit nicer, so we went there and bumped into some of the senior officers who are doing the assessing for this trip. It was good company and very informative.

Our cook at work in the tiny galley.

The small bunks that we sleep in. Good thing I can sleep almost anywhere.

Tuesday - Day 2 at Sea

It was a very cold morning. Turns out that something is broken on the boat and there was not heat on the bridge (bbrrr). Other than that, my duty watch was uneventful. We left Ganges at 0800 and worked out way up to Nanaimo. I spent a couple of hours (broken up) on the helm and was even given the ‘Com’. That is where you are in control of telling the person on the helm where to steer and how fast to go. We had the “man-overboard” floating flag in the water, would drive away from it and then direct the ship to turn around 180 degrees and stop the boat with the flag alongside the boat on the starboard (right) side. It was a blast! When he reached Nanaimo, Jeff and I had to jump in the Zodiac again and zip on ahead to the jetty and wait for the boat so that we could help tie them up. We did not get secured until a little later and had supper around 6:30PM. Tomorrow we start again early at 0700 hrs to go over to the refueling station to take on more fuel and then on to doing more sailing around. We will be staying at Chemainus, which is south of Nanaimo. We will be spending most of the day sailing around the islands. I am starting to understand some of what is being said on the bridge when the Navigation Officer is speaking, but the rest is still Klingon, I think. Although the temperature has been cold, the sun has been out and the sky has been clear. Supper tonight was pork chops and mashed potatoes with mixed veg and mushroom gravy. Another great day to be in the Navy!

A very, very narrow passage that we passed through with a beautiful view out the other end.

Lovin' the Navy life.

The helm.

Monday - Day 1 at Sea

We started the day at 0730 by picking up all the food for the trip and loading it onto the boat. The scheduled departure time was set for 1000 hrs. The other deck hand (Jeff Sheerer) and myself made sure the zodiac boat (small motor boat with inflatable sides) was ready to go and that the outboard motor was in working order. We left Esquimalt harbor at 1000 hrs as scheduled. Shortly after leaving we performed a “man overboard” drill in which we launched the zodiac into the water and used it to retrieve the floating flag which represented the “man overboard”. I then was given the opportunity to take the helm. The helm involves the steering and speed of the boat. I do not make the decisions as to direction or speed, but am told by the OOW (Officer of the Watch). When you are doing this, you do not even see where the boat is headed as there is a large console in front of you. You are given a bearing (ie 260 degrees) and you use the wheel to maintain that bearing as best you can within 10 degrees either way. One of the best parts was when I received the order to take the boat to 19 knots, which is full speed ahead. The actual speed of the boat was greater than that. I just grabbed the controls and pushed them all the way forward. It was as if the OOW had said “Punch it Chewie!” I did this twice today. The second time was easier. One of the hard parts is the voice procedures that you have to use, called Conning Orders. The OOW will say something like “Starboard 15” and I repeat it back to him while I turn the wheel to the right until the needle on the instrument is pointing at 15 at which time I have to say “15 of Starboard wheel on, Sir”. There are other orders when changing speed as well. By the end of the week, I think I will be pretty good at it.

We were going to dock at Ganges on Saltspring Island, but needed people on the jetty to assist with tying up the boat. So Jeff and I got in the zodiac and went on ahead of the boat to be the “berthing party”. Once the boat was tied up and secured, we had supper. We have our own cook (non-military) on board for this trip. He had lasagna (pre-made) and home made bread and carrot cake for dessert. He is going to be making a lot of the meals from scratch and is supposed to be an excellent cook; so I am looking forward to those meals.

There are 4 of us to a room. Myself, Jeff, the cook and a Leading Seaman who is an engineer. There are only 2 lockers and 2 drawers under the beds; so there is very, very little room to put your stuff, but we are managing. Everyone seems to be pretty cool so far and I think that this week will be a great experience.

I am on duty tonight (actually tomorrow morning from 0400 to 0800 hrs). I spend 4 hours on the bridge manning it and making sure that nothing happens that shouldn’t. I am going to be going to bed very early to get some sleep as it looks like another long day tomorrow. Overall, it was a Great Navy Day!

The amazing view in the morning we left.

Docked at Ganges

The wake behind the boat when going at full speed ahead.

It is confirmed

I will be going out to sea, starting this Monday, Dec 7 until Dec 16. It is to be a "deck hand" for a Fleet Navigation Officer's course. This will be really cool for many reasons. One being that they will be doing most of their stuff at full speed (around 25 knots) or close to 30 mph which may not sound like much, but when it is 210 tonnes, that is pretty fast. Another cool reason is that we will be going right out to sea and down into the States, probably somewhere in Washington.

Below are some pictures of what they look like. Not quite a Frigate warship, but lots of fun, nonetheless.

Monday, the start of a new week

Today was great. No rain and periods of nice sunshine. We have not seen that for a while, so it was nice. Work wise, nothing new to report. Today was extremely slow with a lot of standing/sitting around doing nothing. Hope to find out tomorrow whether or not I will be gone to sea for 10 days. If so, I hope to learn how to take the helm (the speed and steering of the ship). Now that would be cool.

Although I didn't run or get to play squash today, I did go for a long power walk along the water front of Victoria Harbour. It is very beautiful.

My room mate is out right now, so the place is nice and quiet. I did get my laundry done this evening. I do enjoy folding warm clothes fresh out of the dryer.

Since Big Bang Theory is a repeat tonight, I am going to do some studying and get to bed early.

Cheers to all and I hope that you have a great week.

All Dressed up and nowhere to go....

Happy Friday

Happy Friday everyone.

Been a bit of a slow week until Friday afternoon. I was informed around noon that I was picked to go to sea from Dec 7-16 as a Deck Hand (basically, doing the small tasks like driving the ship, cleaning and handling the lines (ropes) when we dock at different areas. I think that is going to be really cool. Then around 2:30 this afternoon, I found out that my name was also brought forward to be a member of the conducting staff for the Naval Officer Assessment Board From Dec 7-11. This is the week long visit that I came out for at the end of September. That would be quite the honour to be part of as well. I will find out next week which it is. Cool, huh? I think so.

Tonight at the gunroom (Officer's bar), there is a chili cook-off and pub food night. That will be great too. Chili and chicken wings and a beer...life is good for Steve today. Some guys are going to watch some movies tonight after that. Not sure what movies, but it will be fun regardless.

I am duty again tomorrow, but no big deal for me as there is nothing going on this weekend anyway.

I hope that everyone enjoys their weekend, wet or dry (depending on the weather where you are).

AAARRR Matey!

Spent a fun day out at sea today. The waves were quite large and the boat rocked an awful lot. I was OK with it, but 2 others were sea sick and 1 was a little green. Me, being the roller coaster loving guy that I am, was saying "bring it on!"

The rain is still pouring down as it has for 2 1/2 weeks now and you can tell that people are starting to wear down without having been able to soak in any sunlight for a while. As I always say, "better wet than white". I don't have to shovel rain.

Don't know yet if I will be going back out to sea again tomorrow or not, so will find out in the morning.

Went to the gunroom last night for movie night. Watched Star Trek. I had already seen it, but thought it was a great movie and wanted to see it again. While I was there, one guy was begging people to take his duty this Saturday as his girlfriend get's into town (not sure from where) and Saturday is her birthday and he wanted to take her out. I said "sure, I'll do it for you". Most people hate duty on the weekend, because you can't leave Venture; but I don't mind and you don't have to do rounds at 0200hrs. I am not currently booked for any duty in December, but I know that whenever my next one is, he will do it, so I probably won't have to do duty again for a couple of months.

Just going to take it easy tonight and go to be early. It is amazing how tired you get when you get all that fresh air out at sea for a whole day.

G'nite to all.

Livin' the dream

Today was a fairly standard day for me while I wait for my course. We actually had part of the morning off, so I was able to come back to my room and chat with both my wonderful wife and my dad. Enjoyed chatting with you both. The afternoon included taking a little bit of inventory helping out the engineers (called Stokers in the Navy).

Tomorrow we go out to sea again for most of the day while some of the divers do some stuff (not really sure what). Should be another great day to be in the Navy.

I am so incredibly proud of my wife and the fantastic marks she is getting on her courses. Way to go Cynthia. You are awesome!

My Habs are not doing too well this year. Hopefully I can watch them defeat the Blue Jackets tonight. Sure glad I am not a Maple Leafs fan, that would be so hard this year. Sorry Susan, but you know it is true.

Cynthia is mailing me the cord for the digital camera, so I guarantee some pics for everyone once that arrives.

Enjoy your day and evening everyone.

Monday

Even for Victoria, you can tell that winter is on the way. The damp cold tends to go straight to the bones. Today was a good day, just helped 3 of the ships get underway as they go for 2 weeks up the Georgia straight. Working on this years Christmas newsletter and card list.

Had a wonderful time last night at my brother's In-Laws for supper, celebrating my niece's birthday.

I have submitted my leave pass and just need to wait to get it back signed and I can book my flight home. I am looking at flying out of here on Dec 19 and returning Jan 9 or 10.

Hope that you all have a great day.

AAHHH, the weekend.

Gotta love the weekend. Duty on Friday went without any incidents. I was 3rd Officer of the Day, so there was very little for me to do besides assist with the raising of the Canadian flag in the morning (Colours) and lowering in the evening (Sunset).

Yesterday was a laid back day. Went for a run, worked on the family Christmas newsletter, studied the Collision Regulations, watched hockey, went to the gunroom for a short time and went to bed by 9:30. Slept until 7:30. 10 hours sleep! Guess I was more tired than I thought.

Today I am off to play squash at 9:30, then over to my brother's In-Laws for supper. It is my niece's birthday on Monday and this is her birthday supper (Swedish meatballs and lemon meringue pie). Yummy.

The rain continues today. We saw about 2 hours of sun on Friday afternoon and that has been all for the past 2 1/2 weeks. At least I don't have to shovel rain.

I am so happy to have internet connection again. With the 4 hour time zone difference, I usually get to wake up in the morning to an email from Cynthia. It is such a wonderful thing that it is the first thing I think of when I wake up and can't wait to boot up the laptop to read it. Also saves on the long distance calling card. :)

I hope everyone has a good day today.

I am now online!

Sorry for such a delay in updates, but that will now change as I have my own laptop and internet access.

Not really too much to update on, but here is a few things.

I went out on an Orca class ship yesterday for the day. The purpose was 2 officers were being evaluated as OIC (Officer in Charge) which is like being the Captain of the ship. We didn't go too far, just from Esquimalt harbour around to Victoria harbour and back. During the trip, we did man overboard drills, fire drills and acted as deck hands. The weather was quite windy, so the boat got rocked around a bit (loved it!). I really enjoyed the day and look forward to doing more of it. I was even showed how to drive the ship. I didn't actually do it this time, but will get my chance soon.

I have been able to get back into the squash courts a couple of times and plan on making it a much more regular thing as I really enjoy played it.

Our weather here has been rainy for the past two weeks and tonight we are experiencing a bad wind storm, but it still beats shoveling snow.

I will also be doing my first duty at Venture this Friday. From what I have seen so far it mainly includes Colours and Sunset (that is the raising of the Canadian flag in the morning and lowering it in the evening). The other main part of my duty involved security checks of the surrounding buildings. I will have to do a round of checks at 0200 hours, so I guess my sleep will be quite interrupted. I am not allowed to sleep in my regular room that night. I have to sleep in one of the pre-assigned duty cabins, so I will be without internet that night, but will be back on Saturday.

I am getting to know more people here and make some friends which has been a real bonus and enjoyable as they even invite me out for drinks and stuff.

At this point I am still unable to load any pictures. Sorry. I will ensure that when I am home for Christmas that I bring back the cable for my camera so that I can do that.

Although I miss my family; I have been very fortunate to be able to talk to them almost every day. Love you guys!!

I hope that everyone has themselves a great day full of positiveness and things that make them smile.

Update Number 3

Not much new to report. I am still working at NTS daily. The work is mainly little things like "move those filing cabinets" or "go to the ORCA ships and make sure they are clean inside and have enough linen". Yesterday, even though we just sat on one of the ships and played cards and watched a movie (Taking of Pelham 123); it was still on board ship, so that was cool with me. The base gym has squash courts, so next week, one of the other guys that I work with and I are going to re-aquaint ourselves with the game. I played many, many years ago and loved it; so I am really looking forward to it again. It is a great workout too.

It has been raining for the past 3 days and according to the Weather Network, it is going to continue until at least Wednesday. The good news is...it is not snow and I don't have to shovel rain. Better wet than white.

I have been studying the "Collision Rules" that I will need to be able to recite "Verbatim" when I do my MARS III training. Even though that will be more than 6 months away, there is a lot to memorize and I am very grateful that I will have the preparation time to get a head start on it as that is one of the main items that people fail when they do the training.

I have been able to talk to my family everyday so far and am grateful for that. As much as I am loving being in Victoria, I sure do miss them and look forward to seeing them again.

I hope that everyone has a great day and takes time to be grateful for what they have and on Wednesday, takes time to remember those who fought so that we can enjoy the things that we take for granted on a daily basis.

Happy thoughts to all.

Update Number 2

OK, so I have been given access by one of the guys living in the same building as me. Here is update number 2.

I have been assigned to a group called NTS (Naval Tender Section). They are made up primarily of guys like me awaiting training. We take care of the Orca class ships. They are a small ship used mainly for training the MARS officers as well as by some of the Naval Reserves. There are 8 ships in total. Two of them have been fitted with guns on the front for patrolling during the Olympics.
We don't really do much during the day as it is slow. We clean them inside and make sure they are properly stocked with what they need from plates and utensils to charts and flags. That usually takes about 20 minutes and then we sit around the rest of the day. I am not going to complain about that. I am still getting paid and it beats being trapped on the phone in a call center; so all is good.

Speaking of the Olympics; the torch went through Esquimalt yesterday and we were encouraged to go watch and show our support. The CDS (Chief of Defence Staff - highest General in the military) was the torch runner for here. I wound up right in front of the podium where he was speaking before the flame arrived. He was a very friendly guy and walked among the crowd and let us touch the unlit torch. I thought that was something that I certainly would never have an opportunity to do again. There are some pictures, but they are not available at this time.

The weather has been rainy more often than not, but that is much better than snow. I still love being in Victoria.

I do really miss my family, but have been able to talk to them almost every day and that really helps.

I am thinking that I might be able to give more frequent updates now that I have someone here in the building willing to let me use his laptop in his room.

Until next time.....

Have a happy day everyone!

:)

Update number 1

Well, I have found some internet access on a sparadic basis. It is actually in my brother's office (thanks Pete).

I arrived safe and sound in Victoria and was picked up by Chris and Mia (thanks guys). Wednesday started with filling in lot's of paperwork (which I fully expected when I got here). I was issues one uniform. It is the work uniform that you wear when on board ship. My dress uniforms will be measured next Tuesday and will only take a couple of weeks.

Today is continuation of "in-routine". It is going well.

I will update more when I have the time

Cheers everyone.

All packed and ready to go

OK. So I am all packed and ready to go. I will be arriving in Victoria around 11:30 AM tomorrow. I then catch a shuttle or cab to Esquimalt to check into my new room. I report in the next morning at 8:00. After that, I really have no idea what I will be doing. I also don't know when I will have computer access again to update everyone here on what is going on with me. Please be patient and check back regularly. Until then, I wish everyone happy thoughts and good days.

Ready, Aye, Ready!

Steve

Good times

As the countdown continues; I have been busy running around and getting chores done. So far, so good. My mom and dad were also here for a couple of days. They arrived on Friday and left this morning. It was a good visit and I am glad to see them before I head out west.

Saturday night, we went down to a local pub and had some drinks with friends to say goodbye. Thanks to Bob & Terry, Lynn & Junior, and Mike & Chrissy. I had a great time and am glad that you came.

Since tomorrow is my last day, I feel like I need to get packing or else I might feel panicked. This is not normal for me. I usually just pack the night before and don't worry about it. However, this time, it is not just for a week or so. It is for 2 months (as I will be back for Christmas).

I have really enjoyed spending the time this past week with all of my family and will miss them. I am very grateful for today's technology as it will make communication with them easier.

Have a wonderful day.

It's now official

I am now officially an Officer in the Canadian Forces (again). The ceremony was a small one as there was only two of us being sworn in. The other guy was also in Victoria with me for the Naval Officer Assessment Board a couple of weeks ago. My flight out to Victoria is booked for this Tuesday morning at 0535 hrs.

I want to ensure that I get all the projects off my list for around the house done before leaving. I am trying to focus on those and not 'what I need to pack' or 'when do I get the suitcases out' type of thing that seems to be taking up more of my brain space than it should until at least Sunday or Monday.

Today is also Jena's 17th birthday****shudder****

Hard to believe that my little girl is now 17 and will be graduating this year from High School. Her choice for supper this year is dinner out at Montana's. I hope she enjoys it.

The excitement keeps building

So I believe that today is a good day to start my blog. Last night, I handed in my badge and headset and walked very happily out of the only job that I have ever had that made me feel sick to be there.

Now the new adventures begin....

This Wednesday (Oct 14), I will be sworn in to the Canadian Forces and on Tuesday (Oct 20), I will be flying out to Victoria, BC to begin my new life in the Navy. I will never look on any my past with regrets, because I believe that they all happened for a reason and that I was destined to learn from them. I could never list all of the things that I have learned, but I honestly do feel that I will be a better Officer, leader and overall human being based on these life`s learnings.

I do not have any details yet as to what I will be doing in Victoria while I wait for my course to start in February; but it really does not matter to me. I will do it with a smile on my face because I will be where I belong.

I have some jobs to do around the house before I leave, and want to spend as much time with my family as possible before I leave. My mind is constantly racing with thoughts of what I need to pack (it sure is different when you pack for a couple of months rather than just 2 weeks); questions about "should I bring this?" or "will I need that?" I really am acting like a little kid at Christmas time.

I know that I will miss my family and that they will miss me; but it is for a good thing and everyone understands that. It would not be nearly as easy if it was not for the amazing support that Cynthia has shown me during this and continues to show me. She is my rock.

I will try to post at least every couple of days; but do not know what type of computer access I will have for the first while in Victoria.

Until then; Happy Thanksgiving everyone.