Can I get on Blogger please?

Wow! Never did I think I wouldn't be able to make a blog post when I decided to put my thoughts on this thing.

I spent the past 2 weeks moving all my "stuff" over to the USS George Washington from USS Kitty Hawk. We arrived San Diego on the 7th (8th? 9th?) for the big move. It's not news that USS Kitty Hawk came back to the States to de-commission after 47 years of honorable service. She was homeported in Yokosuka, Japan for 10 years as the Navy's only forward deployed aircraft carrier and is being replaced by USS George Washington. That means I had to move my stuff.

You would think being a Sailor, and leaving family and friends all the time, that I would have this down to a science by now. All the movies and stories show/tell the story of a Sailor walking aboard his ship for deployment with a seabag on his shoulder, all his worldly possessions in that bag, everything he will need while he's gone. Such is not the case.

All said and done I made 4 trips between the two ships, carrying my uniforms, my "going out in town" clothes, my DVDs, my movies, my XBOX, my books, my mountain bike, my guitar, and all the other stupid crap I won't need for the next couple of weeks while we transit back to Japan.

My Dad, long ago, called me a "gimmick-man." What he meant was I like my "stuff." I have so much crap, even after 2 Navy moves and the tons of "things" that I've tossed in the trash, things I thought I should keep around because "I might use it someday." And even after moving to Japan and living in my small home I have still accrued more junk that I will throw away in preparation for the move back to the States next year.

But to the point of the post...

It took several days to get ourselves set up with computer access and e-mail but those techs worked their asses off and to make the transition as seamless as possible. It took us all of 4 days to get transferred over and get our operation up and running. What a surprise for me to know I now had a regular computer all to myself, not sharing with 8 other guys. Unlimited internet access at my fingertips! Anytime of day or night! My first thought was "I have to make a Blog post about this!"

What do you mean Blogger is blocked out? Are you kidding me?

That's right. Blogger was blocked aboard my new ship! I immediately e-mailed our IT guys and asked about it. They replied they will look into it. And now I have Blogger access once again! I don't know what they did but I'm not going to ask about it again. I have access, I got what I wanted, I ain't gonna mess it up!

I guess I should've made a post before leaving the Kitty...