Not-feratu

Another friend would be Rice, a guy I met at church.

We both have an odd, understated sense of humor*. We had lunch together, and I introduced him to my friend "Julia-she's-engaged**" and K-13 (this is the handling of any name that would be difficult to pronounce - K13's name is 14 letters long and the first one is K. Actually, in a quirk of the rule, hers is pretty easy to pronounce, but just about impossible to read.)

So, I got to see Van Helsing this week. I now wish to be Ana for Halloween (that'll have to wait until I can have long hair again), and I've had a couple of really impressive dreams about vampires chasing me through fantastic, mazelike cathedrals. Julia and I were having a chat about how creepy it can be standing night watches.

Note about the USS Franklin: used to be a hotel. It's divided into two buildings - the students in one are entirely male, and half the population of the other is female. It's a rather old hotel, and a little unnerving late at night. We've had talk of remaking The Shining on the fourth floor. During the day, it's actually pretty decent. At night, when you're the only one walking the floor...you sort of feel your nerves creep up your spine, and you expect deadly clowns to leap out of unlocked supply closets at you. The very next door you try could be your last...

So, Rice and I are sitting next to each other, and I pointed out that Julia is easily startled - a runaway hedgehog would frighten her. She just laughs, and agrees, "Yeah..."

But the seed is planted! And on a napkin, we created the legendary Hogferatu. Drinks the blood of slugs (this being the case, we have no idea what good the wings are, but they look very impressive.) Curls up in a spiny ball to sleep away the long daylight hours. Hides in closets and under birdbaths in rainy gardens. 30-inch wingspan.

I blame Rice. He blames me. Julia is convinced we're both insane. We are enormously entertained.



*To those of you who snerk at this, I remind you that it is not my only sense of humor. I have dry, goofy, whimsical, mischievous, and British. Also, nerd, band-geek, biologist, and historian, but unless you're in the right circle, those are best not mentioned.

**No one's quite sure why, but we all introduce Julia this way. Possibly to explain the slightly moonstruck expression that will show up on her face from time to time, or the business where she can't stop texting for more than eight minutes. Said engagement became reality while she was in Boot Camp (don't ask), so she tends to glow a lot.

Happy Birthday to Me!

So, it's my birthday.

It's also a day where I'm standing watch at 0400. This means that I have to get up at 0300.

Turns out that the other girl standing the parallel watch with me is also having her birthday. Turns out she's also a Christian. Turns out she's actually dedicated her life to missions. Had what a friend of mine would declare a freakin' sweet conversation.

There are four other girls that I run around with now and again, and they're making plans for us to go to Parcheesi's tonight - it's one of the on-base establishments, but it's waaaaaaaaay over on the corspmen's side of the base, so we might do the half-hour walk, or we might catch the bus.

EDIT: We did Pizza Hut instead. But Megan refused to let me pay for my food, and one of the guys got my ice cream for me. Had a fun time.

I was planning to go back to my room and watch Serenity, since I haven't seen it but enjoyed the series. (I love love love "Firefly", but the same-name business is sheerly coincidental. Ross learned that my name was Firefly and that I'd never seen the show, and made it one of his many spring projects to make sure that I watched the whole thing.) Maybe save that for another night.

EDIT: Since I'd been up since 0300, unlike the rest of the crew, I actually kind of canceled on going out with everybody, and just headed back to hang out with Julia back on the Franklin. And instead of Serenity, we watched Dr. Horrible, because she hadn't seen it, and it's still Joss Whedon. (If you haven't seen it and you can appreciate a thoroughly ridiculous musical, I highly recommend it. I want to reproduce this with some friends. And, of course, I want to cast myself as Penny - not sure how well that'll go over.)

Kind of thinking I should go to bed early tonight, so, I wish everyone pleasant dreams, and I will see you Friday. It feels very weird to be 23 - in my mind, I think I was always kind of hoping to skate over this age. It's just the number - my brain loves fours, and twos are fine, but anything ending in three just doesn't feel right.

EDIT: Misadventures aboard the Franklin led to being up until 2330. Rargh.

Got Another One

I seem to attract Eagle Scouts.

Not the usual "boy, pretty girl" attraction - no, this just seems to be more like a magnet passing over a pile of Katamari-style junk, and pulling out the metal filings from among the detritus.

My best friend, favorite tenor sax, sister's boyfriend, female best friend's husband...the list goes on. Of course, there is also the possibility that they're simply everywhere. Ross assures me that this is because if you're male and Mormon, you're going to be an Eagle Scout, and Mormons are everywhere. I question not his logic, but his information.

Anyway, I seem to have picked up another one. Started with a day when he took my watch long enough for me to tuck into some toast. Another day, we were standing one of those watches that doesn't really require anything more than a living body, and spent most of it arguing over a Sudoku. (He wanted to do it in pen. This is fine if you're brilliant, but I'm not brilliant - I'm just OCD and hate having scribbles all over my Sudoku.) We randomly ran into each other a couple of times at chow, chatted about our individual camp experiences. I have gotten crap from my friends because they come into the galley and see me eating with a guy they don't know.

Interestingly, he also seems to be carrying the notion that I'm 19. (I say "also" because my roommates voiced this opinion when I mentioned that tomorrow will be my birthday.) I don't know how I keep giving this impression - everyone in Sheridan thought the same thing.

People at Camp, on the other hand, think I'm twenty-five. Muahaha.

But! I have a friend! And, more importantly, I have a friend who's more than six feet tall, so I have a useful friend! This week, we've been painting, and it's splendid to have someone to spackle and sand the places I can't reach, so that I don't have to go find the stupid ladder. (I say stupid not because the ladder is stupid, but because the business of having one ladder in the entire ship is stupid.) This is also highly useful in crowds of people - my Dad serves the same purpose.

Admittedly, I have a friend who gives me crap over just about anything, but he's helpful when it's needed, so, this is good!

Okay, good news, I do have a new mailing address.

Bad news, you'll have to get it from my sisters. I don't have it here at the library, and I've yet to completely memorize it.

Worse news, if you sent me anything between the 20th of March and now, it is probably never going to be seen again. I have no idea where it went, because messing with mail is a federal crime, but there does seem to be some sort of gaping abyss in the mail room.

So, before you send, facebook somebody in my family - they've got it.

Ross, that goes double for you, because otherwise you're going to forget.

Yes, you will. Quit arguing. I'm right.

Good Morning, Base

The base is not unlike a college campus, save that, instead of interesting and baffling art sculptures everywhere, we have the big guns and large engine parts. Arranged like artistic sculptures.

You have buildings designated to specific fields of study, a gym or four (one of them has a climbing wall - I must find some time to check this out), couple different places to eat, and various barracks (we refer to them as ships).

My first one was a rather creepy place with a reputation to uphold. Very strict rules - essentially, you could have fun anywhere but on the ship. My current ship was a hotel back in the 70s or so. My door has a little sign announcing that checkout is at 1200, and they hope I enjoyed my stay. :)

For obvious reasons, I can't give you pictures of any of the cool stuff. But, we are on Lake Michigan, and from my room I can see the sunrise through the trees, and just a glimpse of the water. Life could be a lot worse.

Beautiful Easter morning.

Recalled to Life

So, I've made it through Basic Training and into the US Navy.

At the moment, I'm "on hold" - something of a transition period wherein a student is at his or her A School, but his or her classes haven't yet started. We speculate that this is designed as a recovery period after Boot Camp, so that by the time you leap into the information-intensive world that your classes will comprise, your brain has realized that its new world is slightly less threatening than the previous one, and will willingly accept information.

Interesting note about Boot Camp - a week ago, when I graduated, I would have listed Basic Training as one of the top five toughest things I've done in this life. Possibly top two. Now, looking back, I can recall the tear gas, getting IT'd, being cussed out for eighteen hours a day, constantly living with the apprehension that if you screw this up badly enough they'll boot you out, being woken up at three a.m. to iron underwear every other night (you think I'm exaggerating), the isolation, feeling as though you're losing your identity...but it doesn't actually seem that bad. I wouldn't want to go through it again (especially the tear gas, yuck), but if I had to, I could.

The human spirit is remarkably resilient, I've observed. You can put people through absolute crud, and once they're out, they immediately begin recovering. I was initially concerned that Basic would turn me into a militant mouse, and it did - for about three weeks. Sometime in the middle of week four, something reminded me of Camp, and I was myself again.

Turner was one of the girls who most encouraged me in Boot Camp. I loved working out with her, because she'd always push me, but we had a lot of fun with it. But, she explained once that, in Boot Camp, "They're in the business of making diamonds. They put all of us through the most intense pressure that we've ever known, and they're watching to see who will crack, who can make it through okay, and who's really going to shine."

Recalled To Life

Made it.

At least, to graduation. My dad and sisters came down, bringing good bread and chocolate (needless to say, there is no good bread to be had anywhere on base...and my sister works at a delightful chocolate shop downtown), and my Army buddy Rogue pulled a lot of strings and managed to make it off base for the weekend. I now owe him the next 20 favors. Considering that the two of us see each other only when he's on leave (and now, when I'M on leave), this might not be paid back in full until after my first enlistment.

If I do something like introduce him to the woman he will marry, that counts for about ten favors, though.

I just got a text from Rogue, actually. He just got a text from his brother, who's a Lt. Commander in the Navy, directed to me. "Congrats. My advice, don't piss off the admiral."