Sunday, July 13, 2008

STCW '95 Graduation

Hey there, faithful readers...

Sorry for the delay in updating... As a result, I have LOTS to report. I am now a graduate of the STCW course. I am ready to tackle almost any disaster that may occur at sea - man overboard, fire, flooding, lacerations, burns, and heart attacks - I just hope I can remember it all when the time comes. The course was informative, and as scary as the scenarios are, I am not as afraid of them if they SHOULD occur. I hope I NEVER have to abandon ship in the middle of the ocean, but if I do, I know what to do.

Thursday, we went to fire school where we put out fires, breathed through SCBA, wore insulated fire-protective gear, practiced using fire extinguishers, and even sat in the "burn box" with a fire over 250 degrees! It was an exhausting day, and I felt like I spent it in a sauna, but I learned a lot and was faced with some of the more terrifying aspects of a fire - what to do if I'm stuck in a room filled with smoke, how to do search and rescue, etc.

Friday night, after we all "graduated" - which was nothing more than running by IYT to pick up our diplomas - we hung out at Waxy's. True to my word, I only bought one beer and I drank water for the rest of the evening. It was cool hanging out with everyone, and as the night wore on, more people started joining our group. As a result, I've met LOTS more people.

Last night, we had a party over at the Main house (two doors down). Everyone got out their iPods and we shuffled through them until we found OLD songs to rock out to. We danced and sang along in the kitchen while the smoking section clouded it up outside. I drank water, but it was fun to watch everyone act like idiots...

Today, I think we are going to the beach maybe? I'm about to head over to Dunkin Doughnuts for some exotic coffee and a chat with Molly. I was kinna depressed last night about some things, and Molly was SUCH a sweetie about it all... so encouraging and positive. She promised a coffee talk, and she offered again this morning, so I'm taking her up on the offer. I may be cooking my famous Chicken Tikka Masala tonight. Only about half of the group likes spicy food, so it may be a small turnout. Oh well... more for me, right?

I'm gonna head out now... If you love me, leave a comment.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Laina.
I am enjoying all your blogs. Keep them coming. Hannah leigh and Caleb were down yesterday to hook up my cable. She's just back from UGA and so far loves it We miss you, but are really jealous of what you are doing. I wish I ws 50 years younger.
I love you, Grandma C.

Michael Bennett a.k.a Big Unit said...

Bonehead:

You know I love your sorry ass. If you need to chat, call me collect or on my cell. I taught with a woman last year who has taught all over the world. She got me thinking about teaching abroad and now Charlotte is kinda on board with the idea. Anyhow, none of this matters except this. If you want to teach overseas and the life of a "yachtie" doesn't work out, I can put you in touch with this woman. She is a dear friend and will most surely send your ass to some godforsaken mud hut to play your guitar to shoeless children who will twirl their fingers in your long hair and call you teacher. Go do the boat thing-it sounds fun but remember Dr. Zheng's class and the 5:00 Drinking Meetings on the upper deck.

Good times. good stuff (levyism)

Michael