Death, Blood, and Carnage

What an interesting week at Command Fleet Activites Sasebo (CFAS). The medical department was very busy. I'm not sure what I'm at liberty to share so I'll try to keep to it vague, but I want to keep these two stories interesting. Pictured above is the largest ship at the base, the USS Essex.

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Back to my poker game. I started with $40 in chips, and I was at one time ahead by like $75-80. I should have done the cowardly thing and cashed out, but I stayed in, and a couple bad moves a couple hours later, and I was taken for all that I had. Rebuying to me is the dumbest thing ever because if you don't have it then you don't have it. Plus there was one friend who had $180 invested in the game and another with $110 by the time I left. The reason I didn't cash out when I was "supposed" to is because that is the cowards way out. Also, we play for the entertainment of the night, but what I should have done was play for the money. Lessons learned I suppose.

Besides that it was a rather boring week. I spent everyday in the pharmacy which just tickles me. After spending an entire month out of the pharmacy in the EMT class I have little room wiggling out to do this or that.

This past week I really sandbagged PT, and I've been trying to figure out why. The conclusion I came up with was I am afraid of failure of my sets. Something inside me thought that it would be better for me to just stay in bed instead of getting out there and getting some. That is detramental to my psychie since the whole idea of special warfare intial training is overcoming that mental weakness. I talked it over with Dr. Margraf and he had a different theory. He thinks I don't know why I want to PT sometimes, and to not have that set goal in mind it is hard to be motivated. He has a point, when I'm not out there with someone to train with I wonder why I'm out there. Yes, it's to one day do something high speed low drag, but I just train at a more optimum level when I'm grinding it out with someone.

Saturday was out first soccer game. We only had two practices. Our first cancellation was because of the Commanding Officer's visit to the clinic, and the second reason was because of "inclement" weather. Apparentally many parents don't want to see their child practice in the rain. To some degree I understand where they are coming from, but on the other hand it was only rain. Then again it was really coming down, and not just a drizzle. Back to our game. We won 3-0. Unfortunately we don't technically keep score, and for that matter have league standings. I was given lots of praise despite to my observation of lack in self-confidence. It gives me wind to put in my sails though to really look forward to this coming week in practice.

Darryl and I went out to eat at this little Japanese resteraunt sailors like to call "meat on a stick" because of how the food is served. Wasn't too bad, but more expenisive than I would have predicted. I should really get on that, exploring different more community resteraunts.

My command is jagging me around with moving off base. Initially I told them in my career development board that each paycheck is tight because of the things I paying back for. They are not forgetting this, and I have to do ANOTHER finacially councelling session to make sure I'm good to go. It is just frustrating that they are hanging this carrot in front of me. Each paycheck is tight because I pay more than just the minimum payments on things. I won't go into details here, but again, don't be worried nor concerned with my financial stabilities. I am doing just fine, but I'll hope to have better news on moving off base in my next post.

We had a 96 hour (4 day) liberty this weekend. The rest of the base had only a 72 hour liberty because Monday is Labor Day, and the base recongizes that holiday. We had an extra day off on Friday because we, the clinic staff, finished all of our online training in good timing. Get this though, if you have duty during this weekend, it is by order of the OIC that we be given another 96 because we HAVE to have a 96 hour liberty because we "earned" it. Your truly has duty tomorrow so I will be having another 4 day weekend someday in the future yet to be determined, but it's still comforting knowing I have it. Then again they'll probably jag me around for this too.

Some good news from the week. One, Rich told me that I should save up my leave time because I was just selected as his best man. Not sure when that'll happen, but it's comforting knowing what he told me. I told a friend who knows how much I write, and she joked that I probably already had a rough draft of the best man speech already knocked out. I was not expecting to be put in this position for him, so sadly not yet. In other good news, my friend of years, friend through tears Carlee is now engaged! She skyped me about an hour after it happened, and she could hardly breath she was still so excited. Stories like those that motivate me. On the other hand though it is in a way depressing. Friends all around me are now starting to get engaged, married, have families, and here I am in Japan. Meh.

Alrighty, I've been putting off my college homework for too long this weekend, and I will end my night with that. Some things never change I guess. Morale is high and things are looking good.