Congratulations!

Well, I've just got to say that Meegan called and told me she got accepted into the University of Washington! I'm so happy for her. At least something good is going on around me! Everyone knew it was coming, and I'm glad that they finally notified her. Awesome!

Frustration

You ever had that mid-chest, sinking feeling before? It spreads upwards into your jaws? Of course, everyone has at some point. I felt it again today. I hate that feeling. It has a helplessness to it, that taste in the back of your throat...I feel like a got stabbed in the back.

I finally was able to schedule a time to take my truck in for repairs. I thought everything was good to go because the insurance company that represented the other driver had verbally claimed responsibility. They had sent out a claims adjuster who took a look at my truck, & who said she would send the information to me by e-mail. She explained that all I would have to do would be to print this out, take it to any car repair shop that I wanted, and that the paperwork would take care of the bill. I even asked her, what if there was a discrepancy between their quote and how much the shop said it would take, and she said that they would work it out with the shop. Well, I finally was able to take my truck in to have it repaired. When they called to tell me it was ready, I went down there excited to have my transportation back. The guy starts looking at the paperwork, though, and he says that it states I am to pay the charges. I was flabbergasted. He called the insurance company to verify, and they indicated that liability is still pending. Bullshit! Any reputable company would have 1) resolved this by now, and 2) claimed responsibility based on the overwhelming evidence that it was their customer's fault! I got on the phone and demanded answers from the insurance company. I couldn't get any straight answers, so I asked to speak to a supervisor. My request was met with, "That's not going to help you any." WTF?!

I was so upset. I was crying because I had gotten myself so worked up. I called mother, & she helped calm me down. Mothers are good at that. But I only slept for 4 hours last night, which is far too little for me. I laid there awake, mulling things over, getting mad all over again for about an hour. Finally I realized that was doing no good, so I got up and read a book. I kept re-reading paragraphs because I'd find my mind wandering back to the situation, imagining what I would say once I got those people on the phone again. It's so frustrating.

The whole situation is fishy. I don't know...they may yet claim responsibility, but it doesn't seem likely with their current reluctance. I never knew insurance comanies could be this way. I'd always had such great service from Progressive (awesome company), and even Geico seemed reliable when I was with them.

I feel physically stressed by this situation. I just can't believe that they're doing this. Needless to say, it may come down to me paying for the damages caused by someone else. It sucks. I'm waiting on a phone call from the insurance company to see what's going to happen -- maybe get some solid answers. I'm going to try and do other things in the meantime to keep my mind off of it.

More Fun Stuff

The last time I left off on my adventures was back in September. On the 23rd of that month, LeAnne & I signed up for and completed a 50 mile bike ride through Whidbey Island, called the Tour de Whidbey. It was great that it wasn't a race, and there were break stations where people were set up with water, fruit, and a smile nearly every 15 miles. I had never ridden that far before on a bicycle, so it was definitely a challenge. We were nearly the only goobers out there with mountain bikes with slicks, but we managed to make it by that afternoon. I didn't really have any problems until the last 3 or 4 miles, when I just wanted it to be over. For the most part, though, we had a great time. The weather held up for us, too.

The next weekend I got together with LeAnne again, and we took off for Whistler in British Columbia to do some downhill mountain biking. We left as soon as I got off of work on Friday, and pulled into Whistler around 10 p.m. We decided to have a makeshift campsite in the back of her Suburu, which afforded plenty of room and best of all was free. Early the next morning, we got up and hit the slopes, sans snow. With an all-day ticket, you can take the gondolas up the mountain and ride down all day long. We both crashed a couple of times, but we got back up and kept going. The bruises stayed with us for weeks; I had a deep gash in my shin from hitting a hill too fast and flipping off of my bike. Next time I'll be wearing shin guards. Once again, we were the least equipped fools up there, but I've got to say we probably had the most fun. Everyone up there had these sick downhill bikes with mad travel, and here we came up with our regular mtn bikes. The guy I took my bike to for repairs after going to Whistler said my back shock pin looked as if it was going to fall out because it had seen so much wear up there! That made me proud. I rode hard and enjoyed every minute. Here's a picture of some of the trails from the gondola. Check out the crazy jump in the background, too:
We were beat by the end of the day, so we decided to get a room to relax, rather than try to camp out again. The next morning, we headed back towards Vancouver along the Sea-to-Sky Highway, which is renowned for its beautiful vistas and lookout points. I was amazed, because it was completely dark when we had driven up on Friday night. We stopped at a few places, one being Shannon Falls, which is BC's 3rd tallest waterfall. The flow was pretty sparse, but there was enough water to wash my hair:

We pulled into Vancouver around 2 p.m., and headed for an all-you-can-eat sushi joint. Unfortunately, we had just missed the all-you-can-eat part, so we ordered some general dishes, which still ended up being pretty cheap. After this, we headed over to Granville Island, a small area connected to Vancouver with an indoor market, arts, crafts, pottery studios, art schools, and the like.
After we had made the rounds through the market, we came outside to hear a Peruvian flutist who was perfoming. It was pretty funny because LeAnne had purchased the same guy's CD the last time she had heard him, a few years before. It had been relegated to her 'bad' CD pile, and of course, I poked fun at her for having it. As we watched, an Oriental lady began dancing around on the square, doing all kinds of eye-closed moved, swaying this way and that. It was a mixture of ballet and spinning. She was really getting into it, so we wondered if she was part of the act. Come to find out, she was just there watching the performance with her husband, and I guess she just got moved.

Opt-Out of Prescreen Offers

Over the past 3 weeks, I have received 4 separate offers for the same credit card saying I've been pre-approved. This is ridiculous. I have subsequently sent in a request for a permanent opt-out for offers like this. You can find the website here, which is provided free of charge under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

You're Toxic

I've been reading about the dangers of polycarbonate/Lexan bottles recently. The problem lies with HDPE bottles that leach out the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) into your liquids. Some studies have indicated that brand new bottles leach out the substance, and as the bottle degrades over time, the chemical begins leaching out at a faster rate, especially when detergent is used to clean them or if they are heated as with a hot liquid. Bisphenol A has been linked to cell mutations in humans which are of the type that lead to birth defects, miscarriages, and several types of cancer. I had no idea there could be any health hazards associated with drinking out of these bottles, and I have used them without thinking for years. The scientists that conducted the research and who linked this type of plastic to BPA did not specifically test Nalgene bottles, and it should be noted that the maker of Nalgene bottles maintains that there is no inherent danger in using their polycarbonate bottles. However, considering these bottles are made from the same plastic that was tested, I would find it hard to believe that these bottles would be found to not leach the chemical. Regardless, I am limiting my use of Nalgene and other HDPE bottles to just the ones I have recently bought. When a few months have passed, I will throw these out, too. I was told that a good measure as to when to throw out one of these bottles is when you see the writing begin to wear off the outside. No word on where that indicator comes from, so I am assuming this comes from this being a general indicator that the bottle is getting old. If you are looking to avoid these bottles, too, look for #7 on the bottom or somewhere where it says polycarbonate.

So what are the options for drinking bottles? There are aluminum bottles, glass, stainless steel, and other types of plastics. The Sierra Club recommends using HDPE #4 plastic bottles instead, which are not linked to the leaching of bisphenol A. The old-style Nalgene bottles that are cloudy or milky looking are made from this type of plastic. They also say LDPE #2 and #5 PP are safe for reuse. On a side note, it is also not recommended to reuse regular plastic bottles, like those you purchase for everyday use such as Evian due to the problems with them harboring bacteria, despite attempts to clean them. As far as aluminum bottles go, I'm not sure. I'm still trying to find research on this subject, but with no luck. Aluminum has been linked to all sorts of problems in humans including Alzheimers. I realize that most aluminum bottles are lined with epoxies, but personally I will probably avoid these as well. That leaves glass and stainless steel. Glass is not practical for outside of the home for obvious reasons. I have found a couple of stainless steel bottles that you can purchase online here:

Colored Stainless Bottles
Klean Kanteen
Nissan Stainless

What's the point?

I was looking at my last post & realized I never finished what I wanted to say about ole Rita. I got off talking about what's-her-butt instead.

Free Dog

So I watched 'Dog: The Family Speaks' tonight on A&E. I understand that Duane 'Dog' Chapman captured Andrew Luster in another country; however, I feel the U.S. should not extradite him. Here's a guy who has done a lot of good: for his community, for his family, and for himself. Yeah sure, there's a bit of white-trash element to Dog & Beth and the gang (ok, we can go with plural here on the elements)--it's part of why I watch his show. They're definitely not the most refined folks, but they really try to make a difference. If you're not familiar with his show, when he arrests people he tries to talk to the folks to get them to change their ways. He's not just out there bringing people in for the money; he cares about their well-being and where they're headed in their lives. Why this judge signed off on the warrant is beyond me. It's not just about following the letter of the law, because here in America, we allow bounty hunting. Mexico doesn't, and here is where the issue arises. According to this program, in Mexico this is considered a misdemeanor. If everything else is political, then why not make this a political issue too? What I mean by that is, if someone had murdered another in Mexico then yes, I believe they should be extradited. But this guy, no (and his brother and son who also face charges). He commited a misdemeanor, and it was to bring a criminal to justice. Not just any criminal -- this was Andrew Luster, who was charged with 86 counts of rape. Eighty-six!! Violent acts, too.

So here's another part of why I'm upset with this situation. Dog was originally arrested and held in a Mexican jail for a few days immediately following his capture of Andrew Luster. He made bail, and was subsequently told that charges would not be pursued if he just quietly left. So why now? Why 3 years later?

I think this whole situation is another example of what's wrong in America.


And I want to discuss Rita Cosby for a moment. Seriously. She's no ordinary talking head, this woman. She's a talking head with a voice that sounds like she gargled with brake fluid. After smoking 3 packs of cigarettes. I mean, how did she get to be in this industry? I understand that she's a decent reporter, albeit one who sometime still acts as if she works for what they call the 'Ministry of Propaganda,' (aka Fox News). I definitely like her better than, say, Ann Coulter. She seems to have a more caring personality. I think I found Ann Coulter's heart in my icebox the other day.



Brilliant! It's the Christian way.

Dale's Cone of Experience

One of the newsletters that I subscribe to is the Internet Tourbus, and in one of the latest editions, they talk about 'Dale's Cone of Experience.' This is the term for the generally accepted idea that people most of the time remember:

10% of what they read
20% of what they hear
30% of what they see
50% of what they hear and see
70% of what they say or write
90% of what they as they do a thing

Here's a picture of what this looks like.

This information is usually considered common knowledge. Most people have seen it forwarded in an email or something similar. I believed it to be true after hearing people say you only remember 10% of what you read...Although I have always found that I remember things I read on an inverse scale, where the percentage I remember is inversely proportional to how much I need to remember. If it's some interesting biography or true story, I could probably tell you all about it. However, if it's, say, a reading from a textbook for some class, just forget it!

So, basically, according to the folks over at Work-Learning Research, this information is bogus. They did extensive research, and even contacted the supposed original researchers who formulated these statements from data. One of the researchers denied these statements to be a part of the research.

The Internet Tourbus folks have stated it best:

"Will Thalheimer at Work-Learning Research delved into
Dale's Cone and discovered that:

1. While Edgar Dale indeed did indeed create a model of the
concreteness of various audio-visual material back in 1946,
the model contained no numbers and no research was conducted
to create the model. Dale's Cone was just a hunch, albeit an
educated hunch, one that Dale warned shouldn't be taken too
literally.

2. The percentages -- 'people generally remember 10% of what they
read' and so on -- were most likely added to Dale's Cone by an
employee of the Mobil Oil company in the late 1960s. These
percentages have since been discredited."

The full report on this is here.

Busy Weeks & Busier Weekends

Everything's been so eventful since I got back from Hawaii. I was sent to Transition Assistance class the week after we returned, which teaches you how to adjust back to civilian life and gives you information on your benefits. There's a lot that goes into separating: lots of paperwork; talking with different agencies, such as the VA; making appointments; and especially working with the time constraints of getting out. I've got a lot to do to prepare myself to go back to school. It's exciting, of course, but there's a little trepidation about being let go from the Navy. It's been a part of my life now for nearly 5 years, and it's going to be a huge transition back to being a civilian. I'm trying to make it go as smoothly as possible.

Labor day weekend I traveled over to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to visit with Meegan. I thought I was going to pull my hair out going over the pass at Stevens. The traffic was backed up for miles; a sea of brake lights as the sun was going down. I had left Oak Harbor pretty late and had stopped by REI in Seattle where I stayed for way too long looking around. This put me going over the pass as the sun dropped behind the mountains. There were lots of campers and trailers with jetskis and 4-wheelers. I kept thinking there was an accident up ahead, but turns out, it was just the flow of the traffic as the lanes cut from three to two. I didn't get to Meg's until 1 a.m.


Meg & I at the Steam Plant Grill in Spokane. Great joint.

We had an awesome time during the weekend, which made the trip over well worth it. Michaela has some jetskis that we took out, and once I got over my fear, it was full throttle. We also did some hiking, lots of good eating, and more visiting with her family. I miss hanging out with her...Still can't believe she's through with the Navy!!

The traffic going back was just as bad, putting me behind 2 hours getting back. I dropped the pedal through Spokane & a cop dropped in on me. $153 ticket. Yikes.
(I don't know what the deal is with traveling lately, but my gut is telling me to keep it close to home for awhile, or at least don't take my truck!)



This past weekend was a blast, too. Dan planned a backpacking trip to the Olympic Mountains beginning on Friday afternoon, returning Sunday. LeAnne came up and waited while Dan, Matt, and I waited to get off work. Friday's are usually short, but we got stuck that day, so we left late. We didn't hit the trailhead until 10 p.m. that night. The idea was to hike to Deer Lake, camp out and head on up above the treeline for the next night. This first leg of the trip was supposed to be an easy 4 miles, with a mild (but definitely significant) elevation gain. For those who haven't visited the Olympics, let me relate to you that it's like being inside of a wet noodle. Everything's wet, and it's usually raining or at least drizzling. Par for the course, as we began our ascent, the rain began falling. Harder...and harder. At one point, I asked everyone to stop so that I could pull my poncho out of my pack. It was at the bottom, and somewhere in the process, I lost my tent footprint and some clothing. The hike for me was strenuous and definitely not very much fun. I was glad to finally get to the campsite. I don't think I was alone on this one, either. We were so wet and generally uncomfortable, that we came to the decision that it would be perilous to take our trip higher where the winds blow in, so we came back down after playing some frisbee.

This group photo was taken up at the campsite, which was supposed to be just our first stop. Really nice up there...I definitely want to go back soon.

Here I'm dangling my feet off the bridge over the waterfall.

So here's the funny part I almost forgot to mention...When we were coming over on the ferry, LeAnne and I managed to make one ferry, while the guys got cutoff & had to wait for the next one. We all decided that LeAnne & I would get the food for the trip so that it would save time once the boys made it over. Well, I guess we went a little overboard on the food, b/c we had so much it was ridiculous. I can't even begin to say how much we bought, but it was a little over $80 worth of groceries...for one night, a day, and Sunday morning. We thought that the guys would want to pig out, but evidently not. We almost bought even more food, which would have been downright disastrous. So, yeah, after we came back down, we all spread the food out on the back of Dan's truck & had a small feast. Thanks to LeAnne, we had some fresh smoked salmon that she had caught while working in Alaska this summer. Yum.


That afternoon, LeAnne and I decided to stay outside of Port Angeles in the Heart o' the Hills campground. We still got to camp out but with the benefit of a fire. We checked out Port Townsend that afternoon, and then we just hung out at the campsite. The next morning we took off up the mountain to check out Hurricane Ridge. By the time we got up to the top, the sun had come out, making it a gorgeous day. You could see for miles up there. It was really a great day.

This is a picture of the road from the top of Hurricane Ridge.


Goin' up the trail...

Fender Bender

I just got into an accident today here in town. I was pulling into an alleyway behind some businesses to go to the cleaners when this woman backed into my truck. The first business in the strip is a pawn shop owned by this guy named Butch. This woman that backed into me was his girlfriend. He's this old wannabe old-time gangster, with the combover hair, pot-belly, dark hair springing out from his shirt, the gold chains, and the mildly tinted glasses. You know, the kind of guy you expect to say, "Yo, Vinnie!" His girfriend was some Philipino woman who, by the way she dressed, looked like she got picked up by him while she was street walking, and I guess b/c she gives it up to him, he keeps her clothed and fed. Of course I'm being harsh here, but I'm still pissed. I was pretty upset about the whole deal b/c she kept trying to say it was my fault. When she was backing up, I was laying on the horn, I was stopped, and I was trying to throw it into reverse to get away from her but she kept on coming. She comes out of the car saying I was going to fast. Funny thing was, I was completely stopped, and about to try and back up. Butch comes out and starts yelling at her that she should have turned the radio down. After awhile, though, he changed his tune, and by the time the cop got there, he was trying to tell the Sgt. where the accident had occured, and he hadn't even been there when it happened. He came out of the store when he heard her hit my truck. They couldn't get away from the facts of what happened (it was totally obvious that it was her fault), despite what they kept saying. The cops came and we gave them our sides. He had to pull us to opposite sides of the street, b/c she kept smarting off. What a bitch! Anyway, so the Sgt. makes out the report and comes back saying that it was her fault and he was citing her a ticket for improper backing up! haha I felt vindicated b/c she was running around trying to be all ethnic by acting the part of an angry Philipino. So the Sgt. tells me I should go ahead and leave, and as I'm backing out, Butch says, "Don't ever come back here again." Now he really just made himself look more like an ass. Who does he think he is? He owns a pawn shop. I guess he thinks he's a part of the Oak Harbor Mafia. hahaha The Sgt. basically told him to shutup, and that if I wanted to visit any of the shops there, I had every right to come back. So then Butch just starts to argue with the cop. I couldn't believe it. Now, even though it's her fault, it still doesn't bode well for my insurance. What can you do, though. At least I know I wasn't doing anything wrong. And I refrained from blessing her out, even though I seriously wanted to give her a piece of my mind.

Argh!!

Shutterfly Pictures Posted

I found that shutterfly seems to have a better system for me to post my pictures (although it still takes close to an eternity to get them uploaded out here). So as of right now, I've posted all of my pics from Okinawa up at http://www.nsmith.shutterfly.com.

All of my other pictures from this trip are still up over at Kodak, and you can find the link in this previous post.

4th of July on the USNS Loyal

We didn't do much for the 4th. There was a cookout up top, which I sat out b/c I was asleep. I did make it out to the supposed 'fireworks' later that evening. I sorta got worked up about them, b/c that's one of my favorite parts of the 4th of July. It wasn't 'til later that I found out they were going to be firing off expired flares. Not exactly a Disney extravaganza, but I guess it had to do. I went up and they let us shoot some off if we wanted. I hope I never have to release one to save a life - mine went out more horizontal than vertical. I don't think too many people would see them that way.

This quote by Erma Bombeck sums up how I feel about the 4th:
You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.

Rusted Boat

I mentioned this beached boat in my previous post, but for some reason, I couldn't get the pic to post with that one, so here it is.

Last Month's Activities

Right before we left our op-area, we got to witness a small-boat exchange. One of our sister ships, The Effective, needed a part that we had, so we lowered one of our lifeboats over & sent some folks over to hand over the item. The funny part was what else went over...We had 4 guys onboard as part of a security detachment, supposedly to provide 'protection' if ever we were threatened by the Chinese. They only had a couple of machine guns, so I'm not thinking they could have done much more to stay someone who wanted to board than we could with our firehoses, but no matter. Anyway, these guys had been out here just as long as us and were looking forward to pulling into port, where they'd be getting off to fly back home. Once the big-whigs found out we'd be transferring a part over (coupled with the fact Effective was minus a secdet), the secdet was told they'd be going over as well to ride out the next month or so that Effective would be on-station! Talk about getting screwed!! These guys were so pissed. So now what's even funnier is it's typhoon season, and instead of pulling into port where the guys can get off, the Eff is running from the storms. It would be more sad than funny if the guys hadn't been such jerks.




We FINALLY got to pull into port back on the 25th of June in White Beach, Okinawa. Wow, what a welcomed break that was. We all had a great time just relaxing and getting to put our sea-spent legs on some terra firma. I have been there once before when I was on the R/V Cory Chouest about 2 years ago. I had forgotten how beautiful the area is on base and all around. This time, I dragged some of the guys with me out into town. We didn't see much, other than the Starbucks and a small mall b/c after trying to walk around for about 10 minutes, we gave up and headed back to base. It was just way too hot to be away from the water for any length of time. We did all go eat at Chili's on Kadena Air Force Base, which only sharpened my acute sense of how horrible the food is out on the boat. For the most part, we laid out by the pool, walked along the beach, and explored around the base which was relatively small. I saw the biggest bats I've ever seen with probably close to a 2 foot wingspan, no exaggeration. I was told this was a species of fruit bat (scroll down to the Ryukyu Flying Fox), although I think they were more prone to blood-sucking than fruit eating.




Here's some of the guys I deployed with (I'm the only junior female on this trip - only other military female is the Master Chief). I don't know what the guy on the left is doing; trying to be a thug, I think. And there's a guy hiding in the back, but he's in the next picture pulling a dual-scooter feat.



There were also tons of hermit crabs, which suprisingly freaked me out. I screamed like a little girl when one tried to hitch a ride in my pack after I laid it down on the beach. I grew up always going to the beach and being around the water, but I never did have an affinity for the creatures the ocean harbors. Sorta like I never liked to touch bottom. I tried to be brave on occasion, if I was trying to impress my Dad or something, but still today I don't want to go swimming where I can't see the bottom. Something might get me! Anyway, there were so many of these little guys that we picked up a few of them and lined them up for a race. Needless to say, they didn't comply with the race rules.


We also found a canon, or what appeared to be one, on the beach near the main pier. There's also a wrecked or beached hull of a boat that's quite intriguing. The boat appears to be something from WWII era, which would fit considering this was a strategic area during the war. I'd love to know the story behind both.

Speaking of Okinawa, nearly a third of the island's population was lost in the war.

The highest point of the base provided a lookout over a cliff, with a large 'Ro-Ro' floating in the distance. These are 'Roll-On, Roll-Off's,' named for their function in delivering armored vehicles for the Marines. They have such a big draft that they can't dock pierside b/c the water is too shallow.

I'm currently posting pics to shutterfly. I'll put the link up when it's all finished.

If You Are What You Eat...

Then I guess I'd be a strawberry Nutri-grain bar. I definitely would say my middle is just about as mushy. I don't think I've ever eaten as many in my life as I have out here. The quality of the food is sub-par, so I kind of rely on pre-packaged foods. I'll give you a better idea of how it is in the galley. First of all, our chief steward must have gone to culinary school at the Easy-Bake Oven school for retards. Every pastry is about the size of a thimble, which is great for say your waistline, but not very appetizing. And it's not like we're out on a DDG, okay, so why do all the baked goods come out looking like he juggled them before they were through?! To top it off, let me see a show of hands of how many people out there in the FREAKING WORLD who eat raisins in their cupcakes, cakes, pies, etc?? NOONE, that's right. Yet, this guy manages to inject those suckers into every bite. It's not like you can pick them out, either. Who ever heard of strawberry cake -- with raisins!? Well, he did by God. He learned that in the online correspondence course. So today, I did what we've come to know out here as 'being brave.' Yup, I saw the 'appetizing' cupcakes sitting there, and said, "Why not." Yes, folks, I threw caution to the wind, and grabbed not just one, but two. Two! Yes, two bites of cupcakes, they would be. Of course, coming from the Easy-Bake oven, it must have taken him forever, so I guess that's why he slaps the icing on unevenly at the end. He's tired of waiting for the whole process. It takes awhile when you have to wait for a heating lamp to cook your food. Anyway, I peeled away the cupcake-holder-thingie, and didn't spy any brownness, so I thought it was safe. WRONG! After spitting out the 4 raisins I managed to bite into in one little nibble, I sat there and broke apart the cupcake just to see how many were hidden. I stopped counting at 15. Ridiculous.

This guy is the same person who writes out our menus everyday. They are typed up and then posted 'round the ship. Let me give you a 'taste' of his literary talents (which match his culinary skills)...
hmm...tonight I see we are having: CAJUN STYLE JUMELYA
the other day we had: ENCHANADAS (Mexican style, of course)
Oh wow! I'm looking a few days ahead and it looks like we're actually going to have HAMBURGERS (as opposed to what we usually have: HAMBUERS)
Here's another: BEEF RAVOLI
(It's an Italian dish I've never tried before! Sounds scrumptious!)
He likes to describe things as being 'SAVOY.' Makes ME want to try it...
Just a sampling there. It's usually worse.

So even though I've been working out like crazy, lost nearly 10 pounds, and have put on quite a bit of muscle, I still feel unhealthy b/c of my eating habits. It's hard to eat good when there's nothing appetizing. I'm ready for some real food. You know, like microwave dinners.

We're almost to Hawaii now -- just have a few more days 'til we pull into port. I'm probably going to get a rental car to get around Oahu while we're there. The main thing I want to see is the Arizona memorial, but other things such as seeing the 'North Shore' sound fun too. We'll have about 4 days in port before we'll push back out to participate in RIMPAC, which is already underway.

In regards to RIMPAC, there was quite a stir raised by environmentalists this year because of the medium-frequency sonar the Navy wanted to use. The concern that this damages marine mammals was brought up in the form of a suit against the Navy to halt the sonar. As the case progressed, there was a temporary injunction against the sonar's use until the case was settled. The latest word is there was a compromise in which the Navy can use the sonar responsibily (e.g., with restrictions based upon large marine mammal's prescence in the area). Okay, not to be a bummer here, but does anyone think the Navy is really going to put a whale's well-being over what they call 'operational readiness?' Get out of here. It's lip-service, in my opinion. All the participants in the exercise have been instructed to halt use of the active sonar immediately if there is an indication a whale has entered within certain parameters. Oh, and how is the Navy supposed to provide extra measures to watch out for the whales? By putting watch-standers out on the decks of the ships to be a look-out for them, that's how! Oh, ok. That's really gonna work. Besides, that sonar is so powerful, and hence destructive, that there's no way they can halt it in time to keep a whale from being harmed. Despite the fact that we don't even know the complete repercussions of this sonar, anyway.
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