Welcome to BDOC! Mar 13-19

Well another week, a new school. This is school #6 in the 2 months that I have actually been working. As any class that I have been to you end up doing paperwork when you first arrive. Since this is the BDOC for all SWOs on the eastern part of the world you'll have people from Spain, Jacksonville, Virginia, and others like me who for certain reasons couldn't go to the one in California. We spent a good hour working on paperwork so that it can get into the system correctly. After that we had the welcome aboard from the Admiral and the instructors.

Once that spill of hellos was over we were broken off into our separate wardrooms (classrooms). There were assigned seats so you went to the desk that had your name and ship's information. This school is about 9 weeks long and consists of 6 exams. 5 of these 6 exams only require you to make a 75% to pass but the real challenge is the Rules of the Road exam which requires you to make a 90% to pass. Guess which group got the Rules of the Road exam first? My class 😭 all my happiness was snatched when I saw all that information scribbled on the boards. I can't complain much because regardless of how I feel I can either pass on the first try or spend 2 extra hours after class "studying" until I pass my retake and the next exam. We get out around 5pm so I knew what I had to do to be successful.

Rules of the Road is just what it says but it is for navigating in both US and international waters. Some rules are common sense but others are confusing. There is an acronym for quite a few of the rules. On top of knowing the rules you have to know the lights, day shapes for all ships, and sound signals. It sounds easy until you actually try to apply what you have learned in scenarios. There is a 1200 question Coast Guard test bank that my exam could come from. The exam is only 50 questions but you just don't want to study 100 questions and call it quits. My week was dedicated to rewriting my notes, learning acronyms, and trying to knockout 200+ questions before bed.

With trying to process Rules of the Road we were learning other things in class this week. We even got some simulator time which I didn't like so much. I'm on a newer class of ship so they don't have our program so I was learning how to control a destroyer. The commands were probably the hardest thing I had to process. I never noticed how much you have to understand to successfully drive a warship. It's more military references than I can process i.e starboard= right, port= left, engines flank, standard rudder etc.  Maybe the simulator program will grow on me but after my first few encounters it rubbed me the wrong way lol.

On top of school I was trying to still maintain my workout schedule. That was harder than I even expected. While being in school 7:30am to 4pm or later with minimal breaks (10 minutes max) you end up being soooooo drained and ready to crash once your day is over. I no longer judge Kay from when she would come home and pass out after class lol. I managed to workout twice this week but I was more focused on that exam so I'll make up my missed gym days next week when I am stress free.

Time for a Little Fun

Being that this is my first weekend here and I really haven't seen the girls so I took some time from studying and just enjoyed good company. It has been 6 months since I've seen them so I'm pretty excited and I can ask them any questions on how they did with this crazy exam. Plus one of our friends flew into town for the weekend. During the weekend festivities I actually met one kid who is in BDOC with me but just in the other wardroom. And I ended up meeting a decent amount of Naval Academy grads who happened to be in a certain fraternity. They aren't as weird as the previous ones I have came across so they are cool in my book. But along with the fun I still had to buckle down and study for this exam. By my habits I feel pretty good and know I just need to relax and not change my answers when I am in doubt.

Can't Get Too Comfortable Mar 6-12

Just when I am getting the hang of things, my life changes again. This week is my free week but there was nothing relaxing about it. Along with having minimal responsibilities I had to prepare and pack up most of my life and move across the country for the next two months. So while I am "free" I was trying to make sure everything goes smoothly. Had to make sure my hotel, flight, rental, and travel advance were in order so I wouldn't have a confused face when I landed in Virginia.

On top of going to Virginia for school, all my clothes are more for the warm weather. I chose to get stationed in California over Virginia for a reason lol. I hate the cold weather. Besides the cold weather, I get to reunite with some of the girls from the crew! I haven't seen them in 6 months so I know that'll be exciting. We have real jobs now so if we aren't stationed in the same area the most we get to see of each other is from FaceTime or the House Party app.

My packing style was very strategic for this transition. I stuffed my seabag and suitcase to its capacity. My shoes were even filled with miscellaneous items that I know I will use during my two months. I honestly didn't want to buy the same items over if I already had it. On top of my two full bags I also packed my duffle bag into my suitcase because I know I will bring some things back that I didn't come with. I am basically doing another cross country move.

With all good things coming to an end my friend Preonna took me out on my last day. I met her my freshman year summer during our Midshipman cruise and we have been buddies ever sense. We went to Mission Beach and saw the sunset and later we met up with her other friend and went to this seafood spot. If you didn't notice already I love food and seafood is my favorite so I was pretty happy about this place.

Welcome to Virginia

On this lovely Saturday morning I am making this wonderful trip. I'm dressed to be disrespected by the cold weather that I tried so much to avoid. My flights were not bad, plus I utilize the free movies that American Airlines offers during their flights (if it's free, it's for me). During my first flight I was able to see two beauties. One was taking off, about 30 minutes into the flight all these beautiful green hills/mountains. Whenever I get back to Cali I will make sure that I can see them in person. Pretty sure its right between Cali and Arizona so I'm not traveling out the way too much. And right before we landed I was able to see snow! I have never seen snow besides in pictures so I was a super nerd and took a ton of pics.

My second flight was more of my napping flight and before I knew it I was in cold Virginia. I picked up my rental from the airport and made my way to the hotel. I won't lie the rental I have is pretty cute. It's the hamster car aka Kia Soul lol, it is really spacious and drives smooth. I made it to my hotel and called the girls to see what everyone was doing. I was supposed to go hang with them but my body had other plans so I went to sleep.

Now Sunday was the day of missions. I first looked at the base map to see where I had to go to check in, my classroom building, and where the gyms were, and had to buy food so I wouldn't eat out everyday. After my task I just relaxed in my room and mentally prepared myself for one of the most important schools for Surface Warfare Officers. I saw my friends go through the class right before me but I wasn't sure how things would go. Especially since one of the hardest exams requires you to make a 90 or above to even pass. I prayed that would not be my first class lol I was not mentally prepared for that stress.

The Final Stretch Feb 27-Mar 5

This is my last week of my super complex school. It's hard enough that I cannot take my notes home but we had a test everyday except Thursday of this week. I've never been so nervous on hoping I understood the material well enough to pass an exam that would be after 3-4 lectures. I barely grasped material that I learned the same day while I was in most of my classes while in college but you learn how to manage lol. On top of keeping my head above water for this school I am trying to complete errands early for my voyage at the end of the next week. It is kinda complicated to try and do things correctly since I am new but I am trying my best so that this transit back to the East coast for a few months is smooth.

You can only stress yourself out so much lol. Since the base that I am taking classes at is close to where I am staying, I go and workout at the gym when I am done with class or a few hours later when I finish doing what I need to do for that day. It is actually nice since it isn't full nor crowded when I go. One lovely evening after my workout it was almost sunset. I kept hearing about this place called Sunset Cliffs and how beautiful it is so I made the drive to witness it myself. It wasn't too far from the base so I was not pushing for time. The scenery was beautiful and it is a very cute site for couples or even if you want to run on the side of a cliff while the sun is setting. I called my parents on FaceTime and took pics and sent it to my friends, nothing wrong with sharing the moment or views.

With the beautiful view I also got to go downtown and watch the Mardi Gras parade and walk around. I don't think I will get the full effect until I actually go to New Orleans and experience it first hand though. As the week was winding down it was also time for me to test out of my school. The final was not brutal and I got my certification! Along with that accomplishment my girls who are also officers in the Navy graduated from their school. I'm proud of them and that means that when I leave for the same school next week I can take Kay and their notes and just tweak mine up while I'm in class😆. I already know my next two months will be filled with some stressful classes but I'll survive. They have mentally prepared me through their complaints and stress via group text and FaceTime lol.

Last Full Weekend on the West Coast

Ahhh yes this will be my last full weekend in California until I come back from my school in May. Its bittersweet but the real issue is I have to pack my life up once again and live out of my suitcase for 2 months. Luckily I called the people of my school and confirmed everything that I needed to bring while I am there. When I wasn't packing I took some time to visit the Cabrillo National Monument. My sponsor told me that it was a really nice place to visit and I had time to go out and see it. It is a nice place and had a lot of history facts behind the area. I really took time to look at their tide pool that rises and falls daily. The tides were low during the time I went but I read that it slowly begins to rise as the day gets later and the areas you could easily walk through would be filled with water by sunset.

Since I will be heading back to the East coast I also did a little shopping. Only thing I really needed was a few pair of comfortable shoes and that was probably the hardest thing I have done. I have small feet but any shoe I really wanted the smallest size they would have would be 3 sizes too big. I think I walked in every shoe store in this one mall and was not too successful on finding shoes. It was not too big of a problem because there are tons of malls that I still can visit next week and I would be able to find a shoe that I like. My weekend overall was pretty mellow since I just wanted to try and prepare for this trip but I am excited to be heading back to the East coast even though I will not be in Florida. Only thing I think I am not looking forward to is the time difference from being 3 hours behind to going 3 hours ahead and possible cold weather that Virginia is experiencing😪.

With all positives this week there were some negatives. I have been trying for weeks to "catch up" all of my post and this was the perfect week to do it but we experienced technical difficulties the caused the cable and internet to go out😓. But luckily there was a Starbucks up the street that offers free wifi. A little wifi won't stop my blog lol. Safe to say I am FINALLY caught up after a month of posting!!! Now I should have weekly updates as I intended instead of these awkward gaps.

How Am I Supposed To Process This Feb 20-26

As the title says this new school was something completely different from what I am used to. To start off my orders said show up to this location at 6:30am. Well, the system on the class told others to show up between 7-7:30am but the instructor got the class around 8am and told everyone that class doesn't start until 8:30 on a regular unless he tells us something different. I was too tired before class even started. We filled out paperwork and got these cool access badges to access the building. With cool badges you couldn't have your phone anywhere except in the lobby on the first floor since it is a secure building. On the first day we took a pretest and I kid you not the only thing I knew on that pretest was my first name. At that moment I knew that I had to make sure I took some excellent notes if the pretest looked the way it did.

This class was more than what I was expecting but I learned more of the "secret" things of the Navy. Everyone isn't granted the opportunity to go to this course, I was actually waitlisted for 2 months until 2 weeks before the course started because someone dropped. With learning all this super important stuff, we had another test this week. Like anyone who takes some good notes, you'll go home and study all of your material so that you are prepared for your exam. Well, all of this information is "secret" those notebooks that they gave use had to be locked up everyday after class because that material cannot leave the building. Never in my life did I wish I had photographic memory when I was trying to remember all of my notes that night. I showed up early the next morning and studied and the instructor gave us a small review before the exam. Safe to safe I passed! Those who didn't pass had to stay for an hour after class ended and study more.

With surviving one school i had to come back to reality when I noticed that my flight was booked incorrectly for my next school that I had to fly to in 2 weeks. I had to make that dreadful drive 30+ minutes to my main base so that they could fix the error. I could have waited but I rather handle things early instead of doing it the week I leave. I also had to contact my detailer with a request to made some modifications to my orders.

Almost Went To Mexico

My "almost" trip to Mexico was something that was not on my weekend agenda. The reason for it is because the outlet mall is literally the last USA exit before you end up driving to the Mexican border. But once you actually arrive to the outlet mall there is a wall that lines the border between Mexico and southern California. If you wanted to be risky you could touch the gate but I highly doubt the border patrol would even let you get that close. Besides me almost driving into Mexico I explored what the outlet mall had to offer and it was nice but you actually might have better luck at the malls. Before my journey of getting back to the house I took out my time to go and try the infamous California burrito. It lives up to the hype for taste but I thought it was some super extravagant burrito. It's more of a burrito a tourist should try to say they did versus just wanting a specific burrito.

Another Free Week Feb 13-19

As the title says it is another free week for me but I'm not slacking off this time. I actually had a lot to accomplish this week since for the next two weeks I would be going to school on a different base and there was a high possibility that I was not going to make that 30+ minute drive from one base to another when I was done with class. Like all great plans that you make everything might not go your way. I didn't know that I would be getting a 4 day weekend so my "week of jobs" got shortened. Luckily I was able to get majority of my many deeds accomplished before I went to my next school.

With it being a free week also when the day was over Charles, Kay, and I did some friend bonding. One night since no one felt like cooking we ended up going to this place called Chicken Charlie's because I saw a video on Facebook about this "Buffalo Chicken Chimichanga" it looked so delicious I saved the video for a later day and today was that day. Now their menu has all types of fair food that people love but I came there for the chimichanga. This was probably the unhealthiest thing to eat with all of its ingredients but it was worth it. I'm young and don't see a point in depriving myself from unique foods.

On top of the food all of us went to see the 50 Shades movie. It was better than the first book but any good movie will leave you on a cliffhanger. I'll just have to read the books to see how this weird love story will play out.

4 Day Weekend, What to Do?

Like I said earlier I was granted another 4 day weekend. Being that I haven't paid attention to my calendar to know of the next major holiday I was not prepared to do anything besides my tour with the Nurse who was from FAMU that Saturday. So that Friday I did my hair and just debated on what to do. Charles left and Kay had got plans to go out of town with some people from her school so I really didn't have anyone to hang with but that's never been an issue for me. I told Kay if all else fails I'll just throw a party since I know she wouldn't be back for a few days lol. But instead I just went out and explored the lovely city. Along with exploring I went and tried another restaurant that I seen on social media. The place is called Square Bar Cafe and I saw that they made these cute drinks that I just wanted to try. I ended up buying a drink and trying their rainbow bagel. Now that I have tried a rainbow bagel I don't have to go to New York to try it. The bagel itself was colorful but bland since it is just a plain bagel with colors. What made the bagel amazing was the creative cream cheeses this place makes. I had the birthday cake flavor and it was heavenly. In no time I ended up eating my whole bagel before I knew it. As for the drink, it was fruity but it had this chamoy pepper sprinkled throughout the drink giving it a sweet but semi spicy taste. I also tried this seafood place that was said to "resemble" Louisiana style seafood. If you've never been to Louisiana it might be great but nothing tops Cajuns in New Orleans. It was edible but not what I thought it would be. With my lovely weekend winding down I just took time to make a list of food places to try while I live here in California. I'm willing to try anything once even if it different.

My Longest Week Yet Feb 6-12

When I say my longest week yet, I'm really referring to how long my class lasted. I got spoiled with getting out of class and having my day to myself by noon but this week that was actually a lunch break. Regardless of how long the days were for this class I got a lot of valuable information that will not only help me but also my sailors if they have questions. The briefs ranged from who your family could contact if they had questions, speaking to news reporters, and even ways one could get a higher education while still in the service. Not sure how other commands work but majority of the people who gave the brief were very accessible and were in the same building for the most part. This school lasted 3 days but a lot was covered.

Along with this school being long and my week being semi short I reached my 2 month mark of being a commissioned officer! Its nothing significant though since I really haven't been doing much nor have I got any sea time. On the brighter side another FAMU Alumni is coming to Cali! He has already been in the Navy for 2 years and is a great leader to go to for questions since he does have his SWO pin.

Two Admirals in Under a month 

Yea seems like I'm on a roll of meeting people in high places. Well, it was a Friday night and there was another officer event like the mentoring event and I was invited to attend. It wasn't like I was losing anything by going because the event was from 6-8pm, not long at all. Crazy thing is I was the only Ensign there so everyone outranked me. There was nothing wrong with that because I got some great advice and information from everyone. And of course I met another Admiral. I got a chance to speak with him and he said what I really like hearing, "Keep up that attitude and you'll go far". I've heard it numerous times but it just gets better when you hear it from an Admiral. And another plus was that this was my first time meeting/seeing a black Admiral besides Admiral Howard in articles.

Charles is Here!

I'm not sure who was more excited to arrive in town Charles or Kay and I. Before he even arrived in town he was already telling us all of the plans and places we will be going in the future. I haven't been here long and didn't have an ounce of "things to do" mentally planned before I even arrived to Cali, then again I was fresh from graduating too. Within an hour of him landing we were back out and hitting bars downtown. Had to let him have a blast on his first night in town and he loved it. On top of a successful first night, the next day he got the keys to his place and his complex was like its own secluded city. If he doesn't love living there I'm sure Kay and I will love visiting lol.