Deployments Suck ... Period. End of statement. They are the worst part of any military career. The worst part of the deployment is not what everyone thinks.
Yes, deployments separate our sailors from home, family, their favorite food, their dog, their life, their favorite truck, regular TV, and many many other things, but the separation is NOT the worst part. It is the togetherness.
Whenever underways, cruises, workups, or deployments are scheduled, I thank God out loud that it is NOT ME going on that.
Wives tend to moan and groan, "Oh feel sorry for me, he's gone" ... "He's gone, I am all alone, I have to do everything by myself" ... "He is so lucky, he is visiting foreign countries"
Uh, NO
The hardest part of the deployment is NOT sitting at home and waiting for him, it is not having to deal with the house, the dog and the kids by yourself, the hardest part of the deployment is what HE is going through.
If you work full time, you go to work, you work 8 hours a day, you come home. End of story. Unfortunately, on deployment you are trapped 24/7 with 300 plus assholes you can't stand.
Seriously? Me being at home is supposed to be WORSE than him trapped on the ship? No way.
There is NO WAY that I could handle being stuck at work 24/7 for a WEEK let alone 7 months straight. At the end of an 8 hour day, I HAVE to go home or I am going to seriously hurt myself or someone else.
When they are underway, and when they are in port, there is no such thing as an 8 hour day. They normally work 12-18 hour days. They get very few hours off in which they still have to deal with the people they work with, eat the crappy food on the ship, (if they are lucky enough to not be working during meal time), find time to go workout with the coworkers that annoy them, then go shower and sleep, still surrounded by people they work with.
When they finally pull in to some cool port and they get to take a tour and see someplace new, Guess What? You can't leave the ship by yourself, pick one of the assholes you work with that you are the least likely to choke the shit out of, and take him with you.
Sure, I would love to see all of these foreign countries and wonderful destinations, but there is no way in hell I am going on a field trip with my coworkers.
I complain he is gone, I hate having to deal with the house, the dog, the yard, and all the household stuff by myself, while he is gone, It Sucks.
But what he is going through Sucks 1,000 times more. So I just put on my happy face, watch the clock, and Thank GOD that at 5pm I get to go home and sleep in MY BED, and I do not have to spend 24/7 with coworkers.
I pray every night that he is OK, he gets enough to eat, he gets enough sleep and he gets a few hours off to relax or exercise.
I'm thankful for what I have. I am VERY thankful for him in my life. I love him more and more each day. I'm also very thankful he is a much stronger person than I am.
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Monday, July 16, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Preparing your Electronics for Upcoming Deployment
No one really likes to think about an upcoming deployment. When a deployment is looming on the schedule, it means lots of extra work for the crew. Getting a ship ready for a deployment is an enormous amount of work. Sometimes as the family who stays home, we tend to think that we have the worst end being at home, but the extended hours and extended work really do take a toll on our sailors.
While all of these wonderful things are going on 6-12 months prior to a deployment, we often forget little things that we can do ahead of time, and everything gets made "last minute".
I'm going to write a few tips about things dealing with your personal electronics that can be done ahead of time.
- Cell Service. Who doesn't have a cell phone today? Well most are not just a phone, but are also a smart phone. Typically, before when the sailor left he would just turn in his phone or suspend his line, now carriers are making things more reasonable.
- Contact the carrier and find out about international cards or international as needed service. It may or may not work with your budget.
- Some carriers will sell or allow cards to be purchased that will allow the phone to work internationally.
- Cell Phones aren't just phones! Since most phones are smart phones, you have the options to add contacts, calendars, music, photos, etc to the phone. Even if you have cut off service to the phone, it will still work as a MP3 player, calendar and some will get Wifi. Use the time before he leaves to beef up these features. Go through the contacts and make sure you not only have everyone's phone number, but address as well. Mom would love a post card or 2 while you are gone. Use the phone as your personal calendar and electronic contacts. Make sure important dates like birthdays and anniversaries are all in the calendar so there is no excuse to forget.
- Don't forget Wifi! Most newer phones have the ability to work on Wifi for places that a cell signal is not available. If your current phone doesn't have this, look for it if you upgrade. Wifi on the phone means that even with no service, the phone could be used for email if it is on Wifi. Install an app like SKYPE and you can make calls when on Wifi. Granted, not every one, or every job has access to Wifi, so some will not have a benefit from this at all.
-Make sure for any electronics that he will be take with him, you have the item registered with the manufacturer and you have the serial number recorded. Especially things like MP3 players, and tablets. Hopefully, nothing becomes lost or stolen while he is gone. But if you have recorded the serial numbers, it will make it easier to report. Take pictures of everything as well.
It is always easy to say, oh nothing will happen.
But trust me, electronics are lost and stolen everyday Be Prepared!
While all of these wonderful things are going on 6-12 months prior to a deployment, we often forget little things that we can do ahead of time, and everything gets made "last minute".
I'm going to write a few tips about things dealing with your personal electronics that can be done ahead of time.
- Cell Service. Who doesn't have a cell phone today? Well most are not just a phone, but are also a smart phone. Typically, before when the sailor left he would just turn in his phone or suspend his line, now carriers are making things more reasonable.
- Contact the carrier and find out about international cards or international as needed service. It may or may not work with your budget.
- Some carriers will sell or allow cards to be purchased that will allow the phone to work internationally.
- Cell Phones aren't just phones! Since most phones are smart phones, you have the options to add contacts, calendars, music, photos, etc to the phone. Even if you have cut off service to the phone, it will still work as a MP3 player, calendar and some will get Wifi. Use the time before he leaves to beef up these features. Go through the contacts and make sure you not only have everyone's phone number, but address as well. Mom would love a post card or 2 while you are gone. Use the phone as your personal calendar and electronic contacts. Make sure important dates like birthdays and anniversaries are all in the calendar so there is no excuse to forget.
- Don't forget Wifi! Most newer phones have the ability to work on Wifi for places that a cell signal is not available. If your current phone doesn't have this, look for it if you upgrade. Wifi on the phone means that even with no service, the phone could be used for email if it is on Wifi. Install an app like SKYPE and you can make calls when on Wifi. Granted, not every one, or every job has access to Wifi, so some will not have a benefit from this at all.
-Make sure for any electronics that he will be take with him, you have the item registered with the manufacturer and you have the serial number recorded. Especially things like MP3 players, and tablets. Hopefully, nothing becomes lost or stolen while he is gone. But if you have recorded the serial numbers, it will make it easier to report. Take pictures of everything as well.
It is always easy to say, oh nothing will happen.
But trust me, electronics are lost and stolen everyday Be Prepared!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Hokey Pokey
I realize that the Navy life involves the Sea. But I don't like it when it involves unnecessary torture.
Right now, his ship is out on a Fleet Week Tour. Everyone who has ever been associated with Navy life knows what that means.
So he is out now, scheduled to be gone for a several weeks. Well after stop #1 was complete, his ship has to come by VA to get to their next stop. They have plenty of time, so the ship puts out a vote to see if they pull in for the night, or not.
We all know they are not really going to pull in. The fuel costs are astronomical for a pull in and pull out. Why waste that money when the ship needs other things.
I got that part, but why get everyone's hopes up that they may get to go home and sleep in their bed for one night?
To me that is just mean.
Due to my health issues, I have a lot going on right now, and it is just not a good time for him to be away from me. So the fact that the Navy was teasing his whole ship that they may get to go home for a day was just MEAN!
Right now, his ship is out on a Fleet Week Tour. Everyone who has ever been associated with Navy life knows what that means.
So he is out now, scheduled to be gone for a several weeks. Well after stop #1 was complete, his ship has to come by VA to get to their next stop. They have plenty of time, so the ship puts out a vote to see if they pull in for the night, or not.
We all know they are not really going to pull in. The fuel costs are astronomical for a pull in and pull out. Why waste that money when the ship needs other things.
I got that part, but why get everyone's hopes up that they may get to go home and sleep in their bed for one night?
To me that is just mean.
Due to my health issues, I have a lot going on right now, and it is just not a good time for him to be away from me. So the fact that the Navy was teasing his whole ship that they may get to go home for a day was just MEAN!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Blogging ....
Bloggers can pretty much link their blog to just about any account they have now. They can link it to Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Orkut, etc.
The problem is that when bloggers link their blogs to some other account, the perceived notion is that the blogger is receiving viewer counts or comment counts from the other source, however it is not.
When I post blogger or tumblr and it shows up on my Facebook, that does not count as a view. When someone reads what I have posted, and then comments via Facebook or Twitter, that does not count as a reader, a comment or a view.
Blogging is counted by followers, kind of like Facebook is counted by friends, and Twitter is counted by followers.
So if you are reading someone's blog, and you never follow it, and all of your comments are posted in Twitter or Facebook, you aren't really accomplishing anything.
Right now, my blog only has 7 followers, although I have 700 page views, I only have 7 accounts that are publicly following my blog. So basically in the eyes of blogger, my blog doesn't exist.
My point is, if you are reading any blogs, whether they are on blogger, word press, tumblr or something else, make sure that you publicly follow the blog, and make sure any comments you have are posted on the blog for other blog readers.
My only goal is to get my blog out of the category that blogger has me in:
Insignificant
The problem is that when bloggers link their blogs to some other account, the perceived notion is that the blogger is receiving viewer counts or comment counts from the other source, however it is not.
When I post blogger or tumblr and it shows up on my Facebook, that does not count as a view. When someone reads what I have posted, and then comments via Facebook or Twitter, that does not count as a reader, a comment or a view.
Blogging is counted by followers, kind of like Facebook is counted by friends, and Twitter is counted by followers.
So if you are reading someone's blog, and you never follow it, and all of your comments are posted in Twitter or Facebook, you aren't really accomplishing anything.
Right now, my blog only has 7 followers, although I have 700 page views, I only have 7 accounts that are publicly following my blog. So basically in the eyes of blogger, my blog doesn't exist.
My point is, if you are reading any blogs, whether they are on blogger, word press, tumblr or something else, make sure that you publicly follow the blog, and make sure any comments you have are posted on the blog for other blog readers.
My only goal is to get my blog out of the category that blogger has me in:
Insignificant
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