back to normal

Welcome again to another installment of Scott's adventures in the 757. I will start with the best part of the week. One of the folks in my community group has a daughter who plays bball for Winston-Salem St. and they played at Norfolk State on Monday. The girls' game was fun, but the men's game afterward was amazing. I thought about leaving before the guys game started, but then I noticed something. Both of these schools are historically black, which changes the entertainment value of the game. Cheerleaders don't cheer like at games I am used to, they do awesome dances instead. To start a dance, one girl starts dancing by herself and then the whole crew joins in. Unfortunately words can't describe the dancing style, but let's just say there was alot of hip movement. I wish I could dance half as good as they did. When I see you, I'll demonstrate the dancing. You'll laugh.

Then come the timeouts. The captain of the squad from the home school dances/skips/shakes towards halfcourt, challenging the other cheer squad. Then the captains whole crew joins in behind her, in perfect choreography. They do a dance, then the other team does a dance. I wasn't sure who wins, so I decided that everybody was a winner. So essentially during timeouts, there is a huge danceoff. Out of the 9 white people in attendence, I was definately the most excited. Heck, I was probably more excited then most people there. I was more excited for timeouts than I was for the actual game. Simply amazing. Now I will have to go to the band battles that schools like NSU host.

In other news, since I haven't had a haircut since September, I decided a mullet was in order. I figured since I have nobody to impress, why not? Don't worry it's only for a short time. My good looks and I will soon be reaquainted.

On the work front, I worked it out so I can work normal hours (6am-2pm) this week. What a blessing that has been. One purpose the mullet has served is one of rebellion at work. Let me explain. When you work night shift, you are supposed to receive 10% more pay. I never saw a cent and when I asked about it, I was told I would not be receiving that pay. Mess with me, and you'll get the mullet. See below.

It is definately better than last year's due to the fact that it was done in a properly lit area by someone with skills and clippers. I apologize for this post being late. I hope you are well. I'm waking up at 5 am. Time for sleep.

President's day is sweet

I hope your President's Day weekend is going well, I'm real glad uncle sam decided to let me not work tomorrow night. I only have 4 more days (hopefully) of night shift this week. Work has been more tolerable this past week as my roomate has joined my shift as well as there is more going on for me to watch. If you haven't figured it out, I do alot of standing around watching how things work so after training I don't screw up. I guess it's working because I got to witness my first "spill" this week. That means that possibly contaminated water leaked from somewhere. Good job guys.

Also this week, I received the nickname "pimpin" from one of the 3 normal members of the boat. Maybe I'm alone, but that might be the highlight of my career. If you read last week's post (below) I mentioned a few interesting people I work with. The supervisor who sweats alot has now been given the nickname "Sweats". I hope he quits smoking soon or he is in for some trouble. Fortunately, I haven't seen knife guy so maybe he got the help he needed. I still get to contend with "boat smell", which consists of BO and food that has been left out too long. This boat experience is far from the SNL digital short from last week.

I'm excited about this coming weekend, as I will be attending Trinity's (my church) Inquirer's weekend. This is a required step for membership at Trinity, which is definately something I'm pursuing. When looking for a church when I moved down here, I was looking for a church that not only clearly conveys who Jesus is and what he has done for a broken man like me, but also had a focus for local as well as international missions. After participating in service to Norfolk's homeless as well as tutoring a 5th grader who doesn't have the same oppurtunities I did, Trinity is definately focused on helping the people of Norfolk escape poverty. As for internationaly missions, I am considering a Peru trip for medical/educational missions.

I can't resist, I must tell one story from tutoring. I hung out with this guy named Shaun while he did his social studies homework. Specifically, he was studying notable black men and women for Black History Month. Needless to say I am no expert on black history, which I learned quickly when I didn't know who some of the people Shaun was studying were. Humble pie slice #1. As part of his homework, he had to fill out index cards with information on different people. He wrote "Deshaunte" at the top of one of his cards. I asked him who Deshaunte was and he looked at me like I was insane and said that was his name. Apparently Shaun is a nickname. Outsmarted by a 5th grader. Humber pie slice #2.

It has been an eventful week. If you would like to learn more about my church, click here. I hope you are doing well and I look forward to talking with you soon.

This was quite an exciting week. Let's start with the super bowl. Although my Eagles didn't make it, the game itself was awesome. That catch was certainly one for the ages. I enjoyed the game at my friend Kevin's condo, where his roomate has a 60" HD tv. Wow. I like to call that TV "Therapy for men." Lots of friends from church were there and much food to be shared.

As for the commercials, they were funny like usual, but a few got me really excited. First, the Audi commercial with everyone's favorite action star, Jason Statham. Second, the fact that there is a new GI Joe, Transformers, and Fast and the Furious IV coming out this year was enough to shoot me out of my seat in pure excitement. You must forgive me for my excessive use of the word "excited", but if you know me at all, I am not proficient at communicating myself using the English language.

Many media items have also made this week particularly fun. There was Bruce Springsteen's slide across the stage during halftime where his crotch ran into the camera. As if that wasn't enough to make me laugh, there was Christian Bale's freakout. To top it all off, Katie Couric made the brave decision to interview Lil' Wayne. Much laughter was shared by me. Also, you should watch the trailer for the movie Chocolate, where an autistic child sees her parents murdered and realizes her ability to be really sweet at martial arts. If all of this hasn't gotten you laughing yet, there is the video of a child who is loopy after a dentist appt.

If you are still reading this, you probably want to know how my life is going. I have told you about work, and that I live in Portsmouth, so let me fill in some more details. I was playing in an ice hockey league, but we didn't make the playoffs so I will have to wait until March to begin the next season. I play with a bunch of fogies whose favorite pastimes include playing hockey and then talking about their wives in the locker room after the game over a case of beer. A classy group of gentlemen indeed. I'm not very good, but I have a blast playing and it is good to meet people I normally would never see.

Earlier, I mentioned church friends. I am currently attending Trinity Presbyterian Church in Norfolk. I church shopped for a few months before settling at Trinity back in the fall. I think choosing a church is very important for a recent graduate who is looking to pursue the Lord. Trinity does a great job of not only presenting the gospel each week in a clear manner, but also has solid community groups and helps people in Norfolk who are either struggling financially or don't have the same oppurtunities so many of us take for granted daily. Trinity also supports missionaries in the US and abroad, reflecting Acts 1:8.

There are several things I have learned this week while on my new boat. First is boat smell. This should have dawned on me 2 months ago, but the combined BO of 50 men contained in a small volume is aweful. I have now placed clothes aside just for work and wash them weekly. Second, there are some crazy,freaky people on subs. One guy who my coworker Mitch and I have nicknamed, "Knife" likes to play with his knife. This includes while walking on stairs. That's not safe. He also threatens people with his knife. A very creepy man. Then there is "PMF", or Portly Mustache Face, a large man with a larger stache. He is always telling me I'm in the way and I need to move. There is also "excited about strippers guy", my supervisor who sweats and curses alot, and chuckles. Chuckles laughs all the time. If you need to feel better about your coworkers, call me and I'll tell you a story or two.

I'm sorry this was long. I hope you are content in life but not complacent.

Rockin the night shift

As promised, I am updating here once a week. As mentioned previously, I was placed on a new boat, the USS Norfolk, for the next few weeks. If you have never seen a submarine before, a good link can be found here: http://navysite.de/ssn/ssn714.htm OR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv40R_l3yew. I have been working at night this past week, so I'm adjusting to sleeping during the day. By the way, I would suggest avoiding nightshift work whenever possible.

On the plus side, mom came and visited me this weekend. I took her around to the great restaurants in Norfolk. I think women like to shop, so we went shopping together. We went to many home furnishing stores, which confuse me. I think the only stores where I belong are grocery and sports stores. Although confusing, I had a blast with mom at said stores and it was great to have her in the 757 for the weekend.

I hope you have seen the movie "Hot Rod". If you haven't, rent it. It's hilarious. If you like the 80s, Andy Samburg, Mopeds and laughing, you will like it. I am listening to "Never" by Dean Pritchford and Michael Gore, it's a song in that movie.

I hope this blog entry finds you doing well and enjoying the beautiful day outside. It is time for me to go run outside, which I'm sure will be another adventure here in the 757. I apologize for the cheesiness there. Enjoy the super bowl. Football rules.