back after a break

Oh hello there. I haven't talked to you for a few weeks. My deepest apologies.

Bad news for blogging. My computer crashed last week so I am constrained to blogging while at work. Don't worry, Uncle Sugar said it was ok. (That's what gov't employees call Uncle Sam because he pays the bills.) Speaking of bad news, my hockey team still sucks at hockey. If we finish poorly enough, we get sent down to the "C" league. That's hockey talk for "back to the minors." A nice large slice of humble pie. At least hockey is fun to play and keeps me from getting fat.

Enough bad news. Let's move on to how I'm really doing. Last Friday, I had the priveledge of leading my first brief. Let me explain. Whenever a big procedure is done at work, the sailors must be briefed to ensure that they know what they are doing. This brief is performed by the engineer I'm in training to be, so as part of my training, I lead the brief. I used to be unintimidated by public speaking, but now I'm in the real world I do fear looking like a complete idiot in front of people. The brief went well and I supervised the work all day. It feels good to be productive.

Another bonus of life right now is I get to visit my cousins, uncle, and aunt in Indianapolis this weekend. And, since it is Memorial Day weekend, Indy 500!!! It is that time of year when I yell myself hoarse and get super pumped by a bunch of loud cars drivin in circles. Also, I just learned my roomate from VT, Justin, is coming to visit on Friday. That's reason enough to celebrate.

I tutored a bunch of kids again yesterday. It was crazy fun. I tutored 5 girls. Academically I felt confident tutoring them, but socially I felt like an idiot. Somehow, the girls got angry at each other halfway through and their drama turned into yelling. I didn't know what to say or do. Fortunately, one of the workers came in and handled the situation. The girls and I learned about zooanimals and their habitats, long division, reading, spelling, hammer pants, and tadpoles. It was epic. I was going to get a haircut afterward but got sidetracked by some of the children in daycare. They taught me how to do this dance called, "The Stanky Leg". Basically you stand on one foot and rotate your free leg. I also attempted to teach a young man how to play rock, paper, scissors. I also learned that if you are a large adult, don't sit in little kid's chairs. It don't fit right.

Enjoy your memorial day weekend!