Happy Memorial Day...

Today is Memorial day... for some that means a day off work, a family BBQ, or the start of Summer. To me, it's much more than that. This is the first Memorial day I have had to work. My job doesn't shut down because it's a holiday. But it's more than that too. It goes back to my Grandfather's who were in WW2, and my Grandmother who was a S.P.A.R. (if you don't know what it is, go look it up and then finish reading) she helped develop what I am allowed to be in the military. My father, who was a Marine in Vietnam and my brother who is serving with me now. I am very proud of my family history with this country and what they have done. But the person I am most proud of is the love of my live who is putting his life on the line right now in Iraq. I know I talked a little bit about it in the last post, but I'm going to talk about it all I want :) but I am posting a couple pics that he has sent me from Iraq today... so remember the past and don't forget the present... I love you all... and thank you to Dean and all the people you're over there with... ok so 20 minutes later... I'm not sure where they hid the download picture link so I'll get back to that one...

Recap...

Hi... I'm sitting here, in the middle of big blue, waiting to go to next watch. Been an interesting and none the less busy patrol. Thus the reason for no posts since I was on leave in Feb. Been to 3 new countries I've never been to and done several things I've never done before. That's pretty much why I chose this job. (And a few others, but we'll save that for another time) It's definitely has been the better of the three that I've been on. For starters, I have not gotten sea sick (knock on wood and thank you to doc and his little pink pills :) I've gotten to go to San Juan, Rio de Janiro, and Grenada. Played war games with different Navy's and swam on the equator. It's been fun, but don't get me wrong, totally ready to go home for a while. I'll post some pics when internet is a tad faster. Had some rough days as well, port and starboard watches for 3 days get to you. I'm mostly excited about this summer because Dean is coming home for leave!!! I am extatic, can't even begin with that one. It will have been 8 months since we've seen each other, then we will have another 8 months to go. I am very proud of him though, I can't tell him enough. I have so much respect for him for being over there, fighting for me and our families. That's about it for me, just been working like a dog, having a little bit of fun too... Anyways, I'll get those pics up this week... ciao for now!

Aquarium Adventures...

So last month while in Cali, took Connor to the Long Beach Aquarium. It was pretty awesome, especially with my new awesome Canon Digi Elph.... anyways, take a gander...

Long lost loves...

I realize it has been an extremely long time since I have shown any trace of life on this page, but I have not forgotten. I am sitting here now, watching the Chargers beat the Colts :) going through my photos on my computer and vowing to start anew with my blogging life. The photos I am posting today are from the gun range a couple weeks ago (eek) I liked shooting the Sig 40, better than the 9mm and dad's 45...

the worst poster...

yes, it has been an extrememly long time since the last post, i understand. i am working on my juggling life act. the past month i got to go back to northern cali, had a blast, went to flordia and busch gardens in williamsburg. oh and i did work a little in between, but don't worry not too much. hehe...



a couple shots from napa...

still smiling after a 400+ mile motorcycle ride...

@ busch gardens...

flordia...

the olden days...

went to Colonial Williamsburg yesterday...

neat tips...

while getting my toesies done yesterday i was reading one of the many girlie magazines. i flipped to the article that discussed skin tips. one of the problem they addressed was redness in the face. a couple hints to tone it down (besides the obvious staying out of the sun and sunscreen) eliminate spicy foods, hot caffinated drinks and alcohol. also, those face washes with the little "beads" in them, are bad. they tear up sensitive skin, they should only be used once or twice a week if used at all. i thought that was interesting and would share....

disgusting habits...

being from cali, smoking laws are so strict that makes it almost impossible to smoke etc. so i haven't really had to be around smokers and all that jazz. i don't remember the last time i was aksed "smoking or non smoking?" at a restraunt. moving cross country, it's totally different. it's acceptable to smoke while eating and many other places. also being in the military i see a lot of people who smoke, i'm almost the outcast. but in all that, i think i have found the worst of them all. dipping (or chewing/spitting or whatever it may be called) it is the MOST discusting thing i have seen. and i had to work with this person for the whole 3 hours he knawing on this nasty piece of tabacco. to top it all of, he was spitting into an old gatorade bottle, which was see through so i could see his spit. he was carrying it around like a baby does his bottle. and listening to him spit and then when he missed and there was gunk on his face! eewwwwwww it was so gross i wanted to vomit...i actually almost did. that's my discovery for the day!

duty day #1

ok, so yesterday was my first duty day on a cutter. pretty cool, no biggie, except i was in the engine room for most of it. my job isn't located in the engine room...but i still have to learn everything down there. i specifically picked a rate that had nothing to do with any of that stuff...oh well too bad. it was actually pretty cool learning some of the stuff though. knowing how the boat works and all that fun stuff. and today i spent 3 hours trying to figure out the different circuits in radio :) spent 17 weeks in school and still have a few months ahead of me full, no crammed packed of stuff to get qualified in...yeah CG. i still love it though and wouldn't go back... :)

p.s. i got my first piece of mail at my new address today yeah :)

underway in a day

so today was my first full day on the cutter :) and we ran all these drills. it was actually a lot of fun. i had to put on a gumby suit, shoot at people (kinda/sorta) and learn flight ops. way fun, i can't way to really get underway!

i'm here...

on the road...

first night...

on the road again, day 2...

view out the sunroof in Flagstaff, AZ...

wrong turn maybe?

took me a minute to figure this contraption out...

p.s. i ran over a deer today, it scared me. i thought i left all the wild animals at the CG zoo. my car is ok! and christi, i know there isn't an AZ state sign. i didn't realize that when we crossed over the river that was the state line, there was no sign :(

in cassandra's world...

ok, so i know it's been a while but the wonderful internet on base has been off and on, more off than on... so here is a caloboration of what i've been up to lately... oh and i graduate on friday!!! yeah!!!!
china town...
wine tasting up in napa, amazing...
napa...
the cellar...
wine!
me and jennifer...
star barrel!!!
last night at fin bar :(
james, me, jason and jamie at fin bar...
in town, there is an old theatre called the phoenix that has punk shows of local bands. so jason and i decided to go one night, and it happened to be punk slam wrestling and rock...hehe. it was awesome. we sat on top of one of the skateboard ramps and slid down, i felt like a kid but it was fun. the lighting was aweful inside for photos but i tried...
me and jason...
punk rock girl...
some of the wrestlers...

two weeks left...

only two weeks left of school, it's going by so quickly and i'm stoked to get to my new unit. on flip side i'm going to really miss everyone here. we're finishing up nav this week, much more fun than SAR. and as one of my favorite instructors says: "ain't no party like a mo board party, cause a mo board party don't stop" hehe...

my roomies of 203...

plotting paul...

my classmates...

that's me with a cool sound powered phone, piloting :)

our chart table after a run...

my first video yeah!

coast guard

I figured out this you tube thing!! yeah!!! this is the coast guard in a nutshell... p.s. see if you can see my cutter...

recent random pics...

disneyland!!!

the current status of my desk, actually, i think it's aquired more stuff in the past 10 minutes ???

san francisco...

after SAR, i can't look at these ships the same...

comments...

ok so as much as i love comments, some are getting a little hostile. i get the point, i'm trying to figure out you tube, i'm unable to post videos :( so be patient, i'll post pictures this evening. p.s. if you leave a comment, let me know who you are thanks!! oh and i was joking about the hostile part, kinda ;)

therapy...

lately things have been pretty stressful and drama filled, but tonight all that went away. well, for about an hour and half. tonight, for the first time in about a year, i got to put on my tap shoes and dance. it was the most awesome thing. for 90 minutes i was free!!! i still love the coast guard and everything else but oh my goodness, nothing beats a good tap class. cheryl, i know you know the feeling...but it was just amazing, i'm glad i have that something that can just take me away from the world like that. so, thank you mom for taking me to class a billion times and to everyone who came to see my performances . all the support will save me lots of $$$ in future therapists...hehe

boats!

went to san francisco last weekend with mom and connor...

my new home...

literally, this will be my new home soon...

here's to you...

photos of me :) by an amazing photographer, Jim McGill. (how's that credit jim?) hehe. honestly though, he's awesome, check him out at photo444.com and his blog (the link is on my page)...oh and this was me before sar, before i pulled my hair out :p just kidding (kinda)

...just keep swimming...

ok so i'm tired of getting picked on about not updating this thing...sorry! over the past few weeks experienced a few fun things. turning 21, ok so that's about it. school started back up and things have gone bazurk! the past few weeks have been spent starring at radio logs and waiting in agony to find out where i'm going to spend the next three years of my life. and i still don't know... but apparently my wonderful sister :) has esp or something its cool. i have discovered a few things recently: beer and goldfish are a good combination, don't ask for a sapporo at an irish pub and roller skating is still so much fun. oh! and you know your a military dork when you're excited because you got new big, black steel composite toed boots...yup that's me! :p

in the underground...

today i had to crawl under the barracks building to change light bulbs, i wasn't the only one thankfully. it was a wee bit creepy under there. but i took some photos just incase anyone was wondering what it looked like...hehe. oddly enough, i kinda had fun. i hope you all enjoy my photos of pipes, mud and my muddy boots... p.s. 5 days...

broilers & wallyball

so the task of the day was cleaning out the broiler rooms, which were cleaned yesterday. but that's all they could come up with so that's what we did, sort of. my theory is that cleaning a broiler room is as effective and important as cleaning a garage, you just don't! anyways it was also moral day. wallyball was the sport i chose. i have never heard of it until today. volleyball in a racquetball court. i'm thankful my head is still attached to my body, i thought i was going to loose it there a few times. because the ball can bounce off the walls and ceiling, and we were playing with a really big bouncy ball. i did have fun though so all's well. 7 days!!!! and counting...

9 days!!!

since we are on christmas break from school, we get work days. woo hoo! ok so i'm not that excited, i would probably rather be running sar cases. but my job for the day was painting. haha (yes that's funny to me and some people know why) anyways i was excited soley because i got to wear coveralls for the first time. :) yes that's how exciting my day was. ok so its a beautiful day and i'm going running...ciao! p.s. 9 days till my birthday!

finally

some friends of mine went snowboarding and sent me this...can we say brrr?
cruising around
at karens christmas party, they thought they could sneak a pic...but i saw them...
10 more days...

tick tock

waiting for laundry, and it's cold outside. it should be illegal to be that cold, that's how cold it is.

look at me...

look at me...in trops. i make this look good, haha, well i did pass inspection so it must be true :) i'm getting used to wearing them, but i still prefer odu's any day!

hmmm...

just playing around with the web cam, and effects of iphoto

old town

last weekend mom and chase came up and we went to sacramento. we had a good time, chase liked all of the candy stores. what little kid wouldn't? i'm really excited to go back and check out some of the museums up there. so here's a few pictures.

hut, hut, huh?

so, after class we played flag football. ha. football is the sport i know the least about. i went to one football game in my life. (go frogs!) and i went to socialize. so i stood, in the muddy grass. i finally figured out that when the person holding the ball says hike, you run, like mad! that's about it. we won though! woo hoo. they did tell me to go "blitz the quarterback" ??? i'm seriously hoping it's vollyball next week, i can quasi play that sport, no contact :) i'm enjoying classes, doing well and that's about it for now. ciao!

fake candlesticks & sushi...

so i went to sushi tonight (sorry no pictures, forgot the cam.) and my friend made me eat quail egg and caviar. don't ever, ever do that. it was the most awful food experience ever! but the other stuff was awesome as usual. anyways, in the hallway towards the restroom, on the wall, there were some sconces with lit candles. well, i discovered, by bumping into them, they were fake! powered by batteries. that makes me sad. i see the purpose and i'm grateful because it could have been disaster, but what is this world coming to if we have to make fake candles? ok i'm done with my hippie moment...