Last evening in San Diego

I lived here 3 years and it barely ever rained, and now that I come back for one week we get a near-monsoon for one full day!

YEAAAAY, going to Manhattan!

Leaving early tomorrow morning for Fort Riley, near Manhattan, KS on a military flight. I will now completely miss out on the Army-Navy football game (and I was supposed to go to the game!)

San Diego sunset

Shamu

Seated halfway down the splash zone, one Shamu wasn't enough to get us wet. But 3 Shamus were quite capable, not once but twice, and the water was a very refreshing 52F (11C).

a day at Seaworld

With nothing to do for a whole afternoon, what else to do but go to Seaworld, especially as admission is free for military people.

best fastfood

double-double with strawberry shake, animal style optional!

a cheaper alternative...

non-male attire

Gaslamp Quarter

in San Diego

I left Annapolis this morning, was driven to the nearest metro station, rode the metro for close to 1 hour, then took a shuttle to Dulles airport. A five hour flight later I am back in San Diego, where my submarine career began, and ended. Other than my name being misspelled (2 Ts), apparently not a big security issue as I made it through, the trip went smoothly. And it is nice to be back in San Diego, the last of civilization I will see for the next 12 months or so (Kansas isn't very developed, and besides, I'll be on an Army base!).
My orders have me reporting at 0730 Monday morning but I checked in today and learned I have to be some place at 0500 for uniform fitting, along with 270 other fools. Fortunately that'll be more like 0800 since I am coming over from the east coast. I will nevertheless go out in town tonight for some dinner (might as well eat well while I still can), and will definitely make it over to Old Town for Mexican and mango margheritas once or twice. And let's not forget about In 'N Out and Fatburger!

just about ready

So I had my head checked, my buddy Arnold Chiari doesn't appear to be the culprit of my occasional headaches, and had multiple crowns installed in my mouth (next time I will not try and be tough and will accept to have my mouth numbed when asked), I now have my orders in hand and will be departing on Sunday for San Diego, my first stop on my excursion half-way around the world. I am not sure why I must go west to then go east but hey, it's the Navy, it doesn't have to make sense!
I also came to the realization that I did not know where I would be lodging while in San Diego, but I managed to make a reservation at the bachelor officer quarters on the naval base.
My first meal in San Diego might very well be In'N Out Burger!

a preview of what's to come...

46

What is the life expectancy in Afghanistan?

Living Conditions

There supposedly is a coffee shop, but is it Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts?

Herat

It appears I will be spending most of my time while in Afghanistan in Herat. It is located in the western part of the country, not too far from Iran and Turkmenistan.

what a submariner should look like...

Notice the presence of a submarine, the wear of the "poopy" suit, and the ocean!
Stay tuned for the transformation...

the schedule

11/19/2007: Report to NAF Washington, DC for in-processing
11/26/2007: Report to NMPS San Diego, CA for admin issues and gear issue
12/02/2007: Report to Fort Riley, KS for training with the US Army (a submariner with the Army, should be interesting)
12/22/2007: Return to NAF Washington, DC for the holidays
01/02/2008: Return to Fort Riley, KS for more training
02/28/2008: Report to Norfolk, VA for travel to
Kuwait with follow-on travel to Afghanistan

the start of the blog

The idea of starting a blog to record the events that will transpire in the coming 365 or so days was brought up on several occasions. So here is the beginning, and first entry, with hopefully more to follow. I think it'll be more pictures with a few words, but with internet connectivity being fairly slow it might be more words with a few pictures. I will of course have my beloved camera and my trusted powerbook with me, we'll just have to wait and see how it'll all turn out...