Folger's in Your Cup

So the last few days onboard the fine naval vessel, the USS Mobile Bay, have been pretty fun. I have been busy with work as usual, but on Easter Sunday we had what we call a steel beach picnic. It’s more of just a barbeque on the helo deck, but we do get to sit outside in shorts and t-shirts and get some sun (the chairs Marty and I got were once again “money!”). The day is somewhat of a day off from work. People on watch still have to stand watch and if you have important work that needs to be done you do it, so not everyone gets all of the day off, but it is nice to get a chance to relax. Some of the crew brought out a karaoke game they had for Playstation, and it got hooked up to speakers and that made for some interesting fun (as Asian as I am, I didn’t participate… I know, I know). A couple pictures from the day:

I ended up sitting outside for too long and got really burned. My legs are bright red, and so is my face, but it makes my mustache look better. I think the ladies really like the mustache… not so much.

On to the questions!

What would define a good day out on sea?

Considering that I do not get sea sick, a good day at sea is one with good visibility and some sunlight. The weather is important, but it’s not that important to me. The things that make a good day for me are, how much work I have, how much I get done, how much sleep I get, and if I get some time for myself to read or beat Marty in some NCAA 2008 or not.

Do dolphins or some form of sea life ever swim with the ship?

We actually have dolphins or whales swim near the ship fairly often. Our Sonar dome is fairly constantly putting out Sonar pings. The marine mammals are attracted to the frequencies of the sounds put out. I actually do not like seeing any dolphins or whales. The hippies believe that our Sonar is killing marine mammals and as part of research for the government, whenever someone sees any marine mammal life, I end up having to write a message and send it off the ship, equals more work.

Do you get to stop off in HI or is it a straight shot from SD to Singapore?

This question actually leads me into what I got to do yesterday. We do not get to stop off in Hawaii on our transit to Singapore, but we did get within cell phone range of the islands. Someone with an international calling plan and some extra minutes let me use their cell phone to give my momma a call. It was not for too long as I didn’t want to use up too many of his minutes or money, but it was very nice to get to talk to the momma.

Things are well onboard the Mobile Bay. I get more and more excited for Singapore. It is going to be nice to have some time to just sit and drink a beer, or two (… or eight… Joel). I will continue to write as I can. Twenty seven weeks to go!