Blur...

So this is my first real post within this blog (I guess I'll update my other one...). The last couple months have been a blur. I cannot believe it's already late November, with Thanksgiving around the corner. It's basically been a busy couple months since I graduated from Surface Warfare Officer Introduction Course (a.k.a. Baby SWOS). So much has happened, but here are a couple large events that I've been a part of since my last post.

INSURV Inspection:
Basically, I report back to my ship, and the second day, I'm leading the INSURV inspections checks for my division. I'm so freaking thankful for the support that I got from my senior enlisted, or I would have fallen flat on my face. It's completely humbling, being thrown into your job, and not knowing what exactly is going on. Our ship passed, albeit with some degraded checks. Some of the demonstrations didn't work, but overall, as my captain said, we were "too good to fail."

SMC:
So, I'm assigned the food service officer and work in Supply Department, on board my ship. A very humbling job indeed, and soon after the INSURV inspection, I get landed with SMC (Supply Management Certification). My ship hadn't passed a certification on the first try since 2001. It seemed as if the workload didn't stop from INSURV. I still had to come in on the weekends, and I lost my whole labor day weekend to inspection preps. To top it all off, the refrigiration system onboard the ship decides to fail, and I end-up loosing everything in my freezer, about 27K worth of food. It showed me how much control I DON'T have over my own work, and that I have to "improvise, adapt and overcome" at times. In the end of the day though, due to some amazing people who work for me, my division, and better yet, the whole supply department passed for the first time in 10 years, and we passed well enough to qualify for the Blue "E" award, which means that we were exceptional.

Underways:
Three "port" calls. First, we went to San Francisco for Fleet Week. Met up with a close friend, caught-up and got to see a little bit of OKC. Next, Seal Beach...there's nothing to do in Seal Beach. Finally, there was Santa Barbara. The weather was horrible, liberty boats were horrendous, and there was the stress of setting up a VIP reception (the first time I've done anything like this). Yes...that was crazy. Thankfully, again, I had great back-up from my enlisted, and overall, the visit was a lot more fun than I expected. I got to hang out with my future liberty buddy, grab a hotel on shore, got some shark, and yes, went to the military ball that was hosted by the Santa Barbara Navy League. That was a lot of fun, and I met someone who I should've gotten the last name of...she was so cool. Sad...well, she had a boyfriend anyway, so it didn't matter.

...now, I'm back!