Saturday, July 22, 2017

8 Days Left in Solitary Confinement July 21st

WARNING: My life was interesting this past week so there are a lot of words 😂 Enjoy!

I am still counting down the days left in what I like to call solitary confinement but my past weekend was not horrible. It was the most fun I have had since I’ve been in Rhode Island. This past weekend my aunt flew into town and she rescued me from staying in my room. Since she was visiting, she had a rental I was able to hopefully see what the area had to offer (there really isn’t anything here). Friday night we went downtown to one of the restaurants that one of the instructors recommended to my class. The place is called Benjamin’s and the seafood was up to my standards and a reasonable price.

I saw what downtown Newport had to offer and I would have been highly pissed if I paid for an Uber to take me here. Our Friday night wasn’t full of much but we were focused on the future adventures we could accomplish while she was in town. My aunt and I have never been to New York, so Saturday turned into a day trip to the Big Apple. I got to see a lot of the city and even saw the statue of liberty, I couldn’t get a good picture of it but it looks like Google images lol. The city did live up to how the movies portray it and I was able to see how Times Square looks at night. 

With it being a day trip we had to see what areas offered the most for us to walk around and see stuff. We ended up parking a few block off of Broadway but was able to see a lot. I love food so I try to save the pictures/videos of potential places I could visit if I ever went to a certain city. My list came in handy and one of the restaurants was within walking distance. 
 
The food spot we went to is called Mighty Quinn’s Barbecue and was worth every penny. I couldn’t finish all of my food but I was not going to throw it away so I ended up with a small tray of leftovers. We continued to roam the city and saw the Wall Street Bull/Fearless Girl Statue and the 9/11 Memorial.

As I stated New York was just a day trip so once we got enough of walking around we got back into the car and headed back to lovely Newport. Sunday was another adventure day. We ended up driving to Maine for their infamous lobster. It may seem like a lot of hopping around but I grew up on day trips so it was really nothing to me. Plus anything was better than being on base. This also gave me the opportunity of being in 6 states within 48 hours.

I knew nothing about Maine but my looked up a few food spots that we could possibly see. We ended up in Portland, Maine and tried two food places there. The first one was a food truck that was on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives so it had to be good. I had the lobster roll and it was AMAZING! The lobster was fresh and my roll was packed with lobster. I was more than satisfied with that experience.

We then proceeded to see what the area had to offer. We took a ferry ride to one of their islands and it was a different experience. I also never have been on a ferry before so the ride is different from being on a warship moving through the water.

Before we left the lovely state of Maine we stopped at another food spot. The place was called Duckfat and it was different.  It was a small spot but the reviews were good enough for us to try it. I have never had anything duck so the name caught me off guard. I did try their signature fries that are fried in duck fat but really didn’t taste a difference. I expected my fries to be all greasy since I have been told duck is a very greasy animal. They weren’t greasy at all and after our meal we set back on our voyage back home.










Back To The School Mentality😖

All fun and games came to end and I had to get ready for my exam happening bright and early Monday morning. I don’t like it here so I know failing and exam and being forced to stay after class form 6-8pm is a no go. I made sure I took all my notes early and did a quick guide from everything before my aunt and I hit the road to Maine. Since I didn’t drive I got my studying in while I was still having fun.

Took my exam and passed so all I have is 4 (2 quizzes and 2 exams) left before I can be done with this school and head home. We had a quiz and exam at the end of the week but so I knew my relaxation would end once the next topic started.

When I was done with class my aunt and I spent our last few hours together before she had to leave for her flight the next morning. We tried another food spot and it was also on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. After my “last real meal” we went grocery shopping so I could have my food for the week and my solitary confinement lifestyle would return.

The rest of my week went as usual with me zoned out and ready to be out of class. I passed both my quiz and exam and my brain can get a rest until next week where I really learn about what I am supposed to be doing as an Electrical Officer on my ship. Once again I am typing this in class since they snuck in a lecture on a Friday afternoon.

I wasn’t even going to bring in my laptop but I figured something would be a little off if I didn’t. Today’s schedule consisted of exam 3, CPR training for those who needed it, tour of Supply Corps School, review test results and the weekend begins. NOPE! Instead we started one of next weeks lesson.

As much as I would like to pay attention there are some major problems. The lesson is 51 slides and the instructor has only got through about 10 in the past 40 minutes. It is passed 2:30 pm and my attention span went out the window for the week. I knew when the guy’s intro went everywhere and took longer than 5 minutes that my day was not ending anytime soon.

The military is already death by PowerPoint already so you would think that people would know how to keep it short, sweet, and straight to the point. I think some people love to hear themselves talk. If I don’t need to know it I really don’t want to hear it, especially on a Friday past 3:30pm. I don’t even care for sea stories if they have absolutely nothing to benefit the lesson or give me a little chuckle. At least I’m keeping up with my post while this instructor goes off topic and keeps trying to show us stuff adding more time.

I guess either he really loves electrical fundamentals since he was an electrician while he was enlisted, doesn’t know that it is Friday afternoon after 3pm and nobody trying to be here late, doesn’t know that you need to get to the point of the PowerPoint slides, or just doesn’t care since he’s getting paid way more than us. Either way all the options are trash.

FYI the lesson ended at 4:05 pm and he started around 2:30…..We then had to wait to leave. I practically sprinted out of the building.


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