Hurricane Interruption
My regularly schedule entries during my off time won’t be happening this weekend due to Hurricane Irene. My command allowed me to come home the same time as the rest of my section yesterday due to the approaching hurricane, so that I could make sure everything at home was safe.
Rainy Day Thoughts
Well, we finally made it to another weekend. Even though my last weekend off was only 2 weeks ago, it feels much longer. That is mainly because days as the newest watch standing non-rate at my station are very long ones. Long as in, your only time off is the six hours you get to sleep. Give that as my typical workday, I’ve been very happy with the amount I’ve been able to write in the past couple weeks. Heaven knows there was plenty to write about.
Life After Basic
Well, it has been a little over a week since I graduated from Coast Guard Basic Training as part of Xray-184. While a post or series of posts describing that experience is on the way, it’s not quite ready yet. The week after basic was very busy and eventful. Despite getting plenty of sleep for the last couple nights, the events of this week have still managed to leave me completely exhausted.
Day 7: Clouds
We’ve made it through the first week! Only 51 more to go! Well, today was Chloe’s birthday party. Lots of adorable young children present. I’ve learned that I can become tired just from watching toddlers play. I was dozing off in the car when we went home. Now that Chloe is 2, she’s developing a definite personality that was lacking when she was an infant. She’s gotten very camera shy, so I don’t have any pictures of her to share.
What we learned from Chloe’s party is that petting zoos may be a bit much for a 2 year old to take in. She loved the ducks, bunnies, and guinea pigs, was interested in the chickens, but was a bit intimidated by the goats and baby cow, all of which were bigger than her. All the kids had a great time, and I got to see part of the World Cup Uruguay-Germany game. I don’t know if I’ll get to watch the final (not having television in the house and all), but I’m rooting for the Dutch.
The forecast for the day had called for nothing but rain, which was worrying since Chloe’s backyard (with pool) and a petting zoo were the main plains for the party. Thankfully the rain cleared up in the early afternoon and everything went as scheduled. Next year Eric and I are getting her Here Come the A, B, Cs to go with her 1, 2, 3s. The sky was once again beautiful as we headed home, and as none of my pictures of the party came out that well, I decided a sky shot would world for you all today.
Day 5: Storms
Ah, the beginning of relief from the oppressive heat. A couple passing storms dropped a little bit of rain over us. The first just made everything hot AND humid – humidity had been low during the 100 degree temperatures – but the second actually cooled things off. Today brought a trip to Barnes and Noble to buy a present for Eric’s cousin’s daughter, who turns 2 sometime this week. Little Chloe is adorable and completely spoiled, so we figured it best not to try and compete with those so intent on spoiling her. We settled on introducing her to good music and educational programming with the They Might Be Giants album Here Come the 1, 2, 3s.
We happend to be out at Barnes and Noble when Passing Storm #2 came by. A casual glance out the front window revealed sheets of rain and shoppers running for dry ground. Just as quickly as it had started it stopped, and when we finished shopping and browsing, we found a cooler afternoon waiting for us.
