Not every adventure is a good one

I must apologize to all you out there. Once a week is my goal for posting frequency, and it has been over 2 weeks. My bad. As expected, Jake's wedding was off the chain. I could talk about how good the food was at both the rehearsal (steak) and wedding (seafood pasta, etc.), but the people present were great. I saw lots of folks I hadn't seen in quite awhile and it was good to see Jake and Amanda tie the knot. I feel honored because I was a groomsman and the wedding party was fun.

I guess I haven't talked much about work lately so I should update you on how that is. I am finishing Phase 2 of my training which means on November 9 I start "school" in Newport News at Northrup Grumman shipyard. I basically keep learning the same information about how the reactor works over and over again, only this time it is taught by the experts. That is the technical side of how work is going. This past week was Drug Free work week, which I am so glad is over and I can go back to drugs at work. Also, there was a mass email about how medical marijuana is legal or not. For about 2 hours, many people hit "reply to all" and there was a great argument going on. Quite hilarious. I was also told at work this week by an older guy that since I'm 24 I should be "making babies." I guess I'll start working on that. What an awkward thing to be told by a person you don't really know at all.

After Jake's wedding, I realized I didn't have to look good for anybody for a little while, so I grew a mustache. I can see you judging me through this computer screen. So I'll calm your fears. Yes, I admit it does look terrible. Really terrible. It is not a permanant fixture upon my face. I can only look in the mirror so many times before I throw up.

I got the flu this week. The flu sucks. Hooray for green phlegm.

Watch this, it's funny:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZsBL4d1Eus&feature=player_embedded

Nuptuals

Oh hello there. This week has been the week of the wedding. 3 weddings in 7 days. Last Saturday, I drove to the beautiful Shenendoah Valley to watch a buddy of mine from college, Toby, get married. The setting was a vineyard on top of a hill which overlooks the transition in Virginia from Piedmont to mountains. You can see in the picture the rolling hills followed by the steep mountains in the background. I got to see some guys from school that I hadn't seen since graduation and some not in 3+ years. It was gorgeous.

I had to be back in Norfolk Sunday morning for church, which meant a 3 hour drive at 6 am. If you ever have the chance to do that, just pass on it. After church I went to Busch Gardens for the Howl-o-Scream festivities. There were several haunted/scary/spooky type of buildings where you walk through them and people try to scare you. It was quite fun getting scared and laughing when other people got scared. The 2 best things at Busch Gardens were the real-life Joe Dirt, complete with ridiculous mullet and goatee, and the only woman I've ever seen with the mullet.

Last night, I watched Jim and Pam from The Office get married. Watching a wedding from the comfort of my couch is the way to go.

This weekend, my friends Jake and Amanda get married. I'm super excited. I have the honor of being a groomsman which means I get first crack at the reception buffet table. Sweet. I honed my dancing skills this week by helping out at homework club both Monday and Tuesday. I taught the kids how to do the Sprinkler, the Lawnmower, and the Shopping Cart. In return, I learned the Jerk. It is essentially like skipping, except you skip backwards and don't actually go anywhere. It requires rhythm, of which I have little. Hopefully I can overcome my bland ways this weekend and tear up some dance floor.

Amazing

So here I sit, outside on a beautiful Saturday, draining the coolant out of my car and replacing it with fresh coolant. I'm listening to Pandora radio. Good times. Speaking of good times, I went to Blacksburg last weekend to celebrate mom's birth, my birth, and how awesome Hokie football is. Both of my sisters were there, along with my awesome nephew and niece. If you were one of the people there last weekend, know that you made my weekend great. Thanks so much. Whether it was talking with my family, enjoying mom or Bron's home cookin, playing catch with my nephew Connor, tailgating with friends, or watching VT squeak by Nebraska with Josh, I had a blast. It is such a blessing to have so many friends and family who love me so well.

After returning from Blacksburg to the working world, I didn't have any great expectations for the week. Work, gym, homework club, wing night, the usual. Or so I thought. I usually hang out with my friend Jake on Thursdays and one of us cooks dinner. When I got to his house, I was informed Jake hadn't cooked dinner and we were going to Plaza Azteca, a great Mexican restaurant. When we got there, about 20 of my friends from down here were all gathered at a big long table. Surprise! What an amazing meal. I was so humbled. It got me thinking about how unworthy I am of such community and friendship. When I read in the bible about God having a banquet for me in heaven, I think about Plaza Azteca. So basically heaven is going to be a big feast with nachos, sombreros on my head, a pint of Dos Equis and tons of joy.

Adventures in and out of the 757

I have forgotten something important. I had a great adventure a few weeks ago. I went to a bachelor party for my buddy, Jake. All the groomsmen went to Fayetteville, WV to do some whitewater rafting. Talk about a fun time. We were going to run the Gauley River, but it was too low so we ran the lower New River twice instead. I didn't get dumped out of the raft, felt like I knew what I was doing and had a blast. We stayed in a one-room cabin, told old college stories, ate meat, enjoyed a good beer and caught up on each other's lives. I continually forget how gorgeous the mountains are when I live down here in Tidewater. There were beautiful trees, views that extend for miles, and the smell of the forest. It even rained during our last run, right at the point where everybody gets out of the raft and floats down the river. The rain on my face was refreshing. I couldn't hear anything except for the rain coming down. So rarely in city life am I alone with my thoughts and can only hear one sound. Unfortunately we don't have pictures yet, but this one will have to do.

Another adventure, this time in the 757, happened yesterday. My church helps out one of the local neighborhoods by tutoring some kids during the week. This year I am fortunate enough to be in charge of the Tuesday homework club. We had about 10 kids yesterday, most in elementary school who I got to help with their homework. I developed a respect for elementary teachers who have to balance the needs of many kids simultaneously. I don't multitask well, so it was a good lesson for me. After I was finished, I was leaving when one of the workers at the rec center called out to me,

Mary: "Mr. Scott!"

Scott: "Yes ma'am?"

Mary: "You want to buy some oil?"

Scott (confused, thinking about motor oil): "What kind of oil?"

Mary: "Essence"

Scott (still confused): "Like to make me smell good?"
Mary: "Yeah, your girlfriend will like you more if you buy essence. I have two scents: Usher, and Obama. Let me give you a sample."
Scott (yet even more confused): "Ok" (Obama Essence applied to my left hand) "Does Obama wear this?"

Mary: "Yeah"

Scott: "Will this make me president?"

Mary: "Yeah"

Hindsight being 20/20, my hands still (after a shower and around 30 handwashings) smell like Obama and none of those things I was promised came true. Duped again. I can't wait until next Tuesday for something else ridiculous to happen.

VPP

You may be asking yourself, "What is VPP?" That stands for Voluntary Protection Program, a joint effort between the DoD and OSHA to improve workplace safety. The way that is played out at my work is through a packet. I have a packet where I have to get signitures in order to be VPP certified. Sounds good right? Not really. I rarely rant about stuff, but here I go.

Now you may be thinking I hate safety. False. I think that safety is paramount in the workplace and not only are injuries bad for the individual, but the cost of lost time and medical expenses hurt the company. Now, things that are dumb about VPP:

1) It is called Voluntary Protection Program, but it isn't voluntary. It is mandatory that everyone participate.

2) Those that give signitures get credit for having employees VPP certified. This prevents accountability of those higher-ups. Yay corruption!

3) Are there really office related safety hazards? Carpal Tunnel? Really? Tripping on a rug?

4) I get $200 for completing this program. That should be great right? In a time where the economy is slumping, is a bonus for a worthless program a good use of taxpayer money? I think not.

I think I'm done with my rant now. Have a sweet day.

man

I am currently vacuuming in steel toe boots, with my shirt off, to a Pandora compilation of Van Halen, Scorpions, and Motley Crue. If that isn't an adventure, I don't know what is. Time to go mow grass with the same mindset. And I get to change a buddy's brakes later. Sunday of manliness.

Metro fun

I had something really awesome to blog about today, but I forgot what it was. Here is a video of men being men on a DC subway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XAw9W6vpFM

I'm a country boy

Through my adventures in the 757, I have noticed a few things that don't make sense to me. Things that have shown me that I am a country boy at heart. To be fair, most of these items are characteristic of cities in general, not just Hampton Roads. Here we go:

1) The country music stations (yes, I like country music) here have traffic reports. That may sound normal to you. Let's think about that. Part of every hour of country music is filled with a traffic report. That baffles my mind.

2) This one is kind of like the first. I am lucky enough to go the opposite way of traffic for my commute, but occasionally I have to go somewhere and in doing so must sit in traffic. Sitting in traffic is the one thing I have observed that drives me insane. I am a pretty easy going guy, but traffic makes me bonkers.

3) Road quality is poor. There are ridiculously large bumps and potholes everywhere despite the lack of a freeze/thaw effect here. I have always wanted to watch the guys who pave the roads when they finish a job and see if they say, "I'm really proud of the work I did today. My project looks good." I'm not sure they can honestly say that.

4) Pollution. It smells bad. I'm pretty sure my alveoli don't like it either. I greatly miss good ol' mountain air. If you don't know what alveoli are, consult http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alveoli.

5) My garden is weak. I have 6 tomato plants, some basil and a pepper plant. I would grow a whole acre garden if I could.

6) There are so many people here I can't possibly meet them all. Everywhere I go there seems to be an inundative amount of people.

Now that that is off my chest, I went to a place I like to call "Satan's buttcrack" this past weekend. That's right. Washington DC. I went to hang out with a bunch of men from college. We went to 2 Nationals games, watched Forrest Gump, ate and caught up with each other. We even rode the metro together at 1 am. Side note about the metro: sometimes there are guys with machine guns guarding it. (Don't ask them questions. They look scary.) At any rate, a bunch of early 20s men riding a subway late at night means one thing: mischief. Mischief includes wrestling, knocking each other off of the hold-on-so-you-don't-fall bars, and swinging competitions. This was all to the delight of the other passengers. I'm glad I found something I like about DC.

Walking into work this morning, I noticed that Uncle Sugar gave me a few extra bones in my check. Instead of ignoring this and being content, my inquisitive mind had to ask questions. Apparently if the shipyard meets certain goals (I have no idea what these goals are) everybody gets a reward. So since I did nothing to deserve this, I will just say thank you and consider myself blessed.

I had an idea a few weeks ago. As I observe many of my college friends getting engaged, I consider the idea of engagement, particularly with regard to engagement rings. I do this in no way because of me getting engaged, but because I don't understand the basis for the practice and, again, my inquisitive mind must understand. Where did my research start? Wikipedia, of course. One ridiculous convention is that 2 months wages should be set aside for a ring's purchase. Who came up with that idea? Answer: De Beers, the ring people. They decided how much you should spend on their stuff. Lame. Other than this fact, Wiki doesn't provide many details about the history of rings other than it is "tradition."

Now a ring doesn't actually do anything. You wear it and I guess it looks pretty. Whatever. I propose that men instead propose through the purchase of a vehicle. Although more expensive, a vehicle actually has a purpose and looks alot sweeter. Nothing says "I'm taken" than a minivan/sportscar/suv. I could list a bunch of cool cars here but I would leave that choice up to the woman. Maybe she doesn't want a corvette or a GT-R or Ferrari. Food for thought.

I would laugh about the guy in the adjacent cube who uses his speakerphone non-stop, but he is not here today. I will have to find a way to entertain myself. I guess I'll read. By the way...18 days left until the start of VT football. I'm real excited.