Oh the places you'll go!

Order picking season is not quite upon us, but I've put in a lot of thought as to where I'd like to live for the next two to three years. If (and its a big IF) any of these bases are open to me, here is what I've been dreaming on. In decsending order of "oh my gawd, that'd be super":

NAPLES, ITALY

Why Naples? Beyond the obvious reasons, my great-grandfather is rumored to have expatriated from here. I like the sense of history. It’s also a well established Naval base, and after the harrowing time I've had here with this new command... I'll take a "old" over "new (with kinks)" any day! Also, I've already been to Italy and know I love it!!!!

YOKOSUKA, JAPAN

Reasons: To hang out with fine, upstanding Sailors. Like these guys!

Why couldn't I have been around for THIS Navy?

(Oh right... I wouldn't have been allowed in!)

Japan is probably the most exciting option, even though I have it ranked lower than Italy. I’ve never been there and it seems so exotic! Europe (and specifically Italy) was exhilarating but didn’t seem particularly “foreign”. Japan? I have no preconceptions.  

PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII

Reasons: Close to Neal, I can take a few college classes in preparation for PA school, it's Hawaii...

I've already been here, so I know I'll like it!



SAN DIEGO

Reasons:

The same as Italy. I like the sense of familial history. My mom grew up there, and it was the final duty station of my Grandfather, Chief Ganze (USN). I think the symmetry of a Granddaughter separated by 60 years and a generation from her Grandfather, but in the same Navy and duty station as he, is romantic.

Also, it is another well established base. Very Navy friendly, as you can see here!

BREMERTON, WASHINGTON

Reasons: It seems “outdoorsy”. The base is right on Puget Sound. I saw an episode of No Reservations and frankly, the idea of all the fresh caught salmon I can eat is appealing! Being in the US, I can still work on those college classes and am not TOO far away from family and Neal.

Killer Whales in Puget Sound

Pike's Place Fish Market

THE PHILIPPINES

Reasons: I read a book called Cryptonomicon and it painted an exciting picture. The Island itself seems interesting and I like the fact travel to South Asia is easy. Other than the fact I like Lumpia… it just seems like an adventure. In some ways even more so than Japan! People go to Japan on vacation all the time… “I’ll be wintering in Luzon” rings strange. I see it as an opportunity to live in a place others would normally never even consider.



So while all this seems exciting, I have to keep in mind I could very well wind up in Lemoore, California (yuk), Pensacola, Florida (double yuk), or Norfolk, Virginia (just kill me now!). All I can do is be top of my class (so far so good) and make prayers the Order Gods are generous.

I DONE GRAD-EE-ATED!

Well, we're done with the didactic part of class, now on to clinicals. We'll see how all this plays out I guess!

I missed out on some amazing orders... to come here?

After working my butt off in Naval Hospital Corps School (Corps School), I was told repeatedly by my instructors “go to a “C” school, it’ll give you an amazing education and invaluable training for here and back in the civilian world”. “C” school is more advanced training in a specific area. So that’s how I wound up forgoing amazing orders like Greece, Italy, Spain, Japan and Australia for … San Antonio, Texas!!! I’m here for Surgical Technologist School (Surg Tech) for the next 6 months. The school itself is great! Learning lots, highly motivated instructors and staff and all that jazz but the downside is that the environment is sub-par. Allow me to ‘splain:

I have never lived in the Midwest. I’m a California girl. I like my summers balmy and my winters mild. I like mountains and trees and flowers and geographically diverse fauna! I’m not adjusting well to the flat, ominous, eternal Texas scrub. The grass is brown. The dirt is brown. There are no trees. There are no mountains. Scratch that, there are a few trees but they are also brown. Sometimes, the sky is brown. The weather is capricious. Sometimes, I’ll wake up at 5am for PT and it will be 80 degrees! Other times, I will walk out the door at 7:30am for class and it’s a surprising 28. But these two temperatures look the same from inside! The 80 degree weather will look cold because it’s overcast, and the 28 degrees will look nice because it’s clear and sunny! This is further complicated by the fact that the military, in it’s infinite wisdom and attention to detail, decided to cut corners and cost when constructing our barracks. Namely, the windows in our rooms do not open. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when your bathroom, fridge and microwave are all in the same room as you, all those smells mingle. It would be a blessing for just a little fresh air! But for efficiencies’ sake, if I could open the window I could accurately gauge how to dress for PT and for school. “Gosh, it sure does look bright and sunny out there! Let me OPEN MY WINDOW and see what it’s like. Oh my goodness! It must be 10 degrees out there! I’m grabbing my coat!” or “Hmm, looks col- NOPE! Feels like 85. Good thing my window opens!”. I get teased all the time from my friends who did not pick a “C” school. These are the folks from my class who actually WENT to the places I turned down. They always tag me in their photos of exotic locals to rub it in. A friend in Naples is particularly mean spirited as he has traveled all around Italy thus far and makes a point of keeping me abreast of how amazing the terrain is, how spectacular the weather is and how fantastic the Roman ruins are. Another friend in Japan taunts me with facebook posts like “cANt WaiT 2ClimB MoUnt FUJI!!!!!”. Le Sigh. They always remember us and often drop lines to say “Hi” and “How’s Texas?”. How’s Texas? I don’t know. My window doesn’t open!

The Naval Medical Education Training Command (METC) is brand new. BRAND. NEW. I am part of the first batch of students to get pushed through here, as such the invariable kinks and bugs have yet to be worked out of the system. The barracks (where we live, nice actually, like dorms) are new and the plumbing has yet to be sorted out. I have not had hot water for two weeks. On Friday and Saturday of this week, we had NO WATER at all. We are at the Flagship Naval Medical Training Facility. No expense of tax dollars was spared. And when I want to flush my toilet, I have to fill it with water I trundled over in my own jug from the schoolhouse. When I was living in Africa doing volunteer work, I lived with a host family. There was no running water in my village. Everyone took “bucket baths”. The concept is simple: Take water. Put in bucket. Go outside. Use cup to pour water over your head from bucket. When I turned on my water on Friday after a sweaty PT session and all that came out was a steady dribble, all I could think was
“I wish I had a bucket”.

Just some pictures of how this place makes me feel. At least most of 170A is in it together!



Corps School

Naval Hospital Corps School is where I went to be basically trained as a Corpsman. It consists of a 4 month didactic (book learnin’) portion, and two weeks of clinical. We learned basic Anatomy and Physiology, Nursing Care, Tactical Triage and Combat Care, Pharmacology and basic EMT training. A Corpsman is like a mini-Doctor, hence, the appellation “DOC”. We can give you an IV, insert a catheter, stitch you up, we run sick-call, deliver babies and give basic medical assistance to military personnel. A few lucky ones get to go with the Marines and get crazy good experience.
I loved my time at NAVHOSPCORPSCHOOL. It was challenging, exciting and I learned more than I ever thought I could. I met some amazing people both students and instructors. Here are some pictures.

In case you thought the Navy was all work and no play...

...this proves otherwise!

My whole class. 170-A. Our beloved instructor is the diminutive Phillipino man in the center.

Some Graduation fun! We now all have a caduceus on our sleeve.

This is when I first arrived at Corps School. Note the amazing Navy haircut I'm sporting!

This is an example of "Mando Fun". I'm in my dress whites, in the second row from the bottom.

Yes, I joined the Navy

I got back from Africa and wanted to get into the healthcare field. The plan was to get a part time job, enroll in a City College, and apply to Nursing School. Unfortunately the recession was at its high point (low point?) and I couldn’t even find a job, let alone a part time one! I didn’t want to take out more loans for school, and I didn’t relish the idea of sticking around Sacramento. I was drifting off to sleep one night and thinking: “I wish there was a way to get practical experience in the healthcare field. I wish someone would pay for it. I wish they would pay for school, too. But I still want to travel… OH MY GOD I CAN JOIN THE NAVY!” That’s really what happened. I swear! My Navy friends always laugh when I tell them this because we’ve all come to the invariable conclusion that the Navy is the worst thing to wish on anyone! Just kidding! Well, it’s complicated. I am getting all those things out of it, it’s just that we have to be in the military and sometimes it’s harder than we thought it would be. But sometimes it’s fun. And it’s ALWAYS an experience! Keep you posted!

Hawaii 2010!!!

A huge bowl of Saimin noodles. And look at my pretty dress! I love trawling through Crossroads Trading Company for crap I don't need; so this whole trip was a great excuse to wear all the crap I buy there.

The view from our hotel in Waikiki! This is Queen's Beach, it's always sunny and I had no qualms about spending 6 consecutive hours in the sand getting my tan.

The balcony from our hotel room in Waikiki. Also, another great example of dress-prettiness.

This is in North Hilo on the Big Island. Soooo beautiful. Moving here is my new long-term goal.

All the above are from North Hilo. This here is a Banana tree. Those purple things are baby bananas!

All the above are from the Jungle outside of Hilo, on the Big Island. Love, Love, Love.

Local flora. "Bird of Paradise", just hanging out.

More local flora. A "Hibiscus" flower. They live here!

Baby pineapple! In a pineapple patch right outside the door of my friends house! These are "White Pineapples"... they are small, have white flesh and make regular pineapples taste like poison!

This is the kind of Hawaii I like! Ponies in green rolling hills!

Oh did I mention I stayed on a farm out in Hawaii? Here are some sheeps!

Hawaiian farm chickens! Eggs taste better on the Big Island.

Hawaiian Pony with a "Roodle" (1/2 Rottweiler, 1/2 Giant Poodle). Loooove Roodles!!!

This is the biggest flower I've ever seen in my whole frakking life! I had to take a picture of it! Someone was randomly taking a machete to the brush around his barn and found it just growing!

*Le Sigh*

Hapuna Beach, Kona, Big Island... my future home.