Attempt at blogging #1

Hi friends, welcome to my attempt to communicate effectively what's going on in my life. I decided that since all my friends in ministry send out update emails, that it would be totally appropriate for me to also tell of what I'm doing here in Portsmouth, VA. I have had friends tell me in the past that my life would make a hilarious sitcom, so I hope that you will find this blog entertaining.

Now a disclaimer: I will not use this blog as an excuse to not communicate with friends/family/etc. on a regular basis. I value my relationship with you and I hope this site will add joy to that relationship.

I will attempt to update here about once a week. If you know me at all you know how much I hate to read and write, so this blog is purely for your enjoyment. That being said, I would welcome any suggestions or comments about this blog.

I guess it would be best to begin by attempting to summarize where I am today. I graduated VT this past spring and I moved in July to Norfolk, VA where I took a job working at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in nearby Portsmouth, VA as a Nuclear Engineer. I spent the first 4 months of work in a classroom learning about how the shipyard works. That means that I was taught how to slow down to government speed. That means not doing much work. During that time, I had to choose which engineering department I wanted to work in. All of the departments were essentially desk jobs which sounded really lame. So I decided to work in the Test Engineering Division. Joining this division means a 2 year training program where I observe all nuclear related tests and maintenance that are performed while a submarine is in the shipyard. The end of this training culminates with a big test that says I know how to supervise reactor work and keep stuff from breaking.

At the beginning of November, I was placed on the USS Alaska. This past week I was transferred to the USS Norfolk where I am working the night shift for the next 2 weeks. That is the reason I am blogging at noon on a Monday.

It is good to get work information out of the way, now I can tell you about life outside of work. But I will save that for the next blog entry. That's right, I'm leaving you with a cliffhanger.