I Guess We'd Call This Chapter 2

Well, hello!

Here we are, fast forwarding almost one whole year since my last post. One whole year without a post, you ask? If you are reading this, you most likely know that the past year has been CRAZY: busy, fun, stressful, exhausting, all of the above!

It is now mid-August of 2008 & I am blogging from my BOQ up here in Dam Neck, Virginia where I am attending a 2 week school on ammo supply admin. Ammo, you ask? What does the Electrical Officer need with ammo? As of early May, I took over as the Ordnance Officer onboard, overseeing all aspect of ordnance and weaponry onboard. With that job also came the Force Protection Officer where I oversee the training of the crew on all things related to Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection.

Rewinding over this past year, a LOT has happened. Shortly after deployment, Dan proposed & we were engaged on November 18, 2007. Any minute amount of time not spent working has been dedicated to planning our September 12, 2009 wedding in Charlottesville, to coincide nicely with my rotation from SBR. I have also been working on my new job & my qualifications. Last month I moved from my apartment with the fabulous Katie & Sav across town to live with my friend Emily (not because of anything against them, but due to our overlapping/complicated deployment schedules, etc etc). Emily is the AUXO on a cruise here in Mayport; we met as 1/c midshipmen on a summer cruise and she recently returned from a 6-month Gulf deployment. I am having a great time living with Em!

While the ship deploys this fall, I will stay behind to attend SWOS (Surface Warfare Officer School) at the Naval War College in Newport, RI. I am really looking forward to being up there in October; apparently the weather is great!

From there, I am planning to meet the ship out on deployment where we will be conducting counter nacro-terrorism operations in the east Pacific. We will return in the Spring of 2009 when I will be able to finish wedding planning, pick orders for my next tour (YES!) and (finally) get married!

As you can tell, it has been QUITE the roller coaster ride this past year; I will be bringing the blog back for our next deployment & start by updating over the next few weeks before we leave. My email address on the ship remains the same!