Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Thank you's and good job!

I wonder how many people these days say thank you? Saying thank you is something I always say, I guess it was part of my upbringing. My Me maw would get so haughty with me as a kid if I didn't say "Yes Mam, no mam, thank you, your welcome" She was a very, very old fashioned Southern woman.

There isn't a day that goes by that I haven't said thank you to someone. To me, it's an important part of who I am as a person. It's polite and it even catches people of guard sometimes because they don't hear it that ofter.

Whenever I work with people I always make sure to say thank you, and if it's someone who is learning something new, I make a point to tell them good job.

Giving someone a boost like "Good job" may be the only positive thing that they hear all day. After all the world is a rather negative place these days.

Good job means a lot to me. It's a pat on the back sort of thing, I some what believe my piers when the tell me that, half the time I think their being sarcastic, because that's what they do best. Criticize my short comings and be as negative as they possibly can be.

I don't know if people in the Navy hear that enough..."Good job" I was working with this new Airmen today, who really didn't know how to fuel an aircraft. So, I had to be stern (if that's a good description) and be serious with the guy. I began by asking him questions about the evolution we were doing, to get the wheels in his head turning. It did, I got him to realize what we needed to get out hob done, WITHOUT doing something stupid, like fueling with out power applied.

When we got done with fueling, I told him "Good job" he said thank you and we started walking back to the shack. As we walked I reminded him of what he needed the next time he did a fueling, and told him that I knew that the next time he had to fuel he could do it with no problem.

I like being able to do something like that. Give someone a boost. They may walk away thinking that they did a bad job and may loose some confidence but if you tell them they did good and help them along, it can only bring some good ju ju your way.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Water, water, everywhere.....

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a little on the green side. If you know what I mean! I'm all in for recycling, conservation of our materials, and alternate means to help us survive without using up all our precious resources.

Water is a precious commodity that we take for advantage, and over use without even giving it a second thought.

Have you ever turned on the water while you were brushing your teeth and left it running?

How about while you were washing the car? Maybe you didn't have a spray nozzle and decided to just wing it, but didn't want to take the time to turn off the water?

As someone that has served on board an Aircraft Carrier, I know about water conservation, and how important it is. After all, who wants to get down from the flight deck at the end of the day after being up there in the 100 plus degree heat, and not be able to take a shower.

The other day I was out on the wash rack waiting for the line rats to get done with the wash job so that I could go and do my post wash lube job. As I stood there I noticed that no one was using the water, but the water was running....into the drain....it wasn't being used, it was being wasted.

I mean, come on, the least they could have done was to turn the water off, there wasn't a purpose to having it continue running.

You would think that the Navy, being all sea power and everything, would teach us more about conservation acts, and provide us with the material to do so, but NOPE, they don't.

On a ship water is precious, but it seems like the moment you're on land, all that goes out the window. The next time you brush your teeth turn the water off until your done, save a little water for the rest of us, you never know when it will be all gone.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Enough is enough, already! Gee whiz man!

Sometimes I don't get people, and why they do what they do. It makes me want to sit down and examine there inner mind workings. Pick their brain as it were.

It's a given that I'm a very nice person...why? Probably because I like being nice, and being a bit cheerful never hurt anyone. Besides you never know when a person is having a bad day and the little bit of kindness they get is from you. It could be the brightest point in their day, maybe even change it for the better.

The biggest thing with me is why are people or a person in general mean on purpose? What is it about deliberately hurting someone that gets them off? Do they have that low of self esteem that they have to go and attack someone else, just for sheer hell of it?

My other question is, why are people deliberately mean to me? On at least a daily bases, it gets thrown in my face by one of my co-workers that I don't know how to do my job. It may start off nice, as a general discussion for instance, I'll say something and then the will turn around and say :"At least I know how to do my job"

That makes me so mad that they say that, I can't even defend myself, the moment I even try, i have insults thrown at me. I hate being talked down to, and when I try and learn something that I don't know how to do, they usually give me a hard time and then they try and take over what I'm doing...I really hate that.

Today, we were filling out a Green MAF for a calender inspection that was done. Our primary maintenance data system has been down for the past couple of days and just came back up today. The only catch was, calender inspections were not operational yet. When we went to maintenance to sign off what we call a 14-day inspection, I wasn't sure where the MAF (maintenance action form) was in the ADB(aircraft discrepancy book) so I was taking my time while Dem sum was looking in the other book.

He finally tells me, after I had flipped to the last MAF in the active section and just about to flip to the special section, to look under specials. Sorry, but I'm not that failure with the ADB. So I find the MAF and I start asking questions..."Am I supposed to just sign this?" I'm not sure of what I was doing, if it had been on the computer I wouldn't need to ask, but it's on paper and it's not a normal thing so I asked.

His response: "You're not the only one doing a special" he flipped the MAF over and showed me the back..."You gotta but your name down tool box, time you started" well I knew all that but then he said "You can't just put yourself down for time, I just put you on this MAF for two hours...just go, just leave I'll do it..."

I hadn't written anything yet, didn't even try was looking over what other people had written before me. Didn't say I was going to put time on or anything, I didn't even get the chance to try. To me that was a slap in the face. This guy is so impatient and has no leadership qualities what so ever that he can't even take the time and show me how to do something I'm not sure how to do.

Yes, I understand he thinks he better than me because he was there before me and been in our shop longer. My friend Yena said that if someone told him he would get a NAM for training someone, then he'd probably do it then. However, I devote my off time to working on my program. Making sure that it's good, I have a lot of pride in what I do. But, I'm always willing to help people. I help people in my shop as well as out. I try to be a good leader, and have the patience to teach something new to someone.

It's frustrating to do that sometimes, but if you don't take the time to stop and teach someone how are they going to learn? And eventually when you move on up in the rankings, if you haven't taught them well, how are they going to be able to step in and take charge?

Enough, is enough...Ms. Nice girl is leaving the building with a vengeance and slamming doors as she goes. My ass as been bitten one to many times, and I'm tired of it. Thankfully, one of my friends (who is higher ranking than the both of us) offered to help me out. I vented to him and said that it was ok for right now, I'm not sure what the next step needs to be, because I'm sick and tired of being talked down to, and being spoken to like I'm and idiot. He told me that when I want him to talk to Dem sum, just holler and he will do it. Evidently, I'm not the only one in my shop that goes to him with issues. Since my LPO and Chief aren't that approachable, and are unsympathetic, and unhelpful, D-Red is the one we all go to. He's the first higher raking or first PO1 (Petty Officer First Class) that I could sit down and tell him strait up what I was thinking, and how I was feeling.

THAT'S HOW A PO1 is supposed to be. There supposed to help out their junior sailors with anything that comes their way. Or at least that's the way it used to be...maybe the new Navy isn't getting better than the old Navy...maybe the new Navy needs to take a page out of an older play book as far as higher ranking people go, and learn again how to take care of their people. After all, that's how the Chief Petty Officer got it's start.

The most skilled petty officer was called "Chief" he was the one that the junior enlisted looked up to, that's why he was called Chief. Where has that gone? Why is it that people just don't care anymore? I still do, I care a lot about my job and performance. I always strive to do my best, Why can't others see that?

Monday, August 10, 2009

Mike

A few days ago my mom posted something about Mike. It was the story of who she thought for the longest time was Mike, but as it turned out was just one of my Chiefs that I was friends with.

That happened on my first cruise, and sometimes it feels like it happened yesterday.

We had a lot of fun together then, and still did until recently. But that's another story for another day.

It made me a little sad to read that, but it was still funny at the same time. It's one of those bitter sweet memories that people like to talk about.

I don't think I even knew at that point how much I loved him. It's surprising to know that my mom knew before me that I was in love with him. And I do love him still very very much so.

There has been so much that has happened between then and now. Good and bad. The one thing that hasn't changed is how much I love him. I know my Mom, and other people may not understand, but I can't explain it. The best way I can though is to say "You're not Me" and the fact is that you don't feel what I feel or hear or say what I say.

I know it's tough, I can't make it easy for anyone not even myself to understand. I'm stubborn and head strong to the very end.

The night that I know I fell in love with him was our first "date" if you want to call it that. We were in Dubai and that morning I had literally ran into him in the p-way outside my birthing. We went to the Sandbox and wound up staying out there the entire day. Playing pool, walking around and talking, and enjoying each others company.

I don't think I had ever talked to someone for that long that I hadn't really known before. But it was one of the best nights of my life. There was just something about him that made me so comfortable and so attracted to him.

After the sun went down that night, it started to get a little cold, and I asked him to walk back with me to grab my coat, naturally he agreed, he's southern and he's a gentlemen, what else would he say. As we walked back to the ship, he put his arm around me, and told me he wanted to kiss me. Oh man, did I want him to do that. But were in the Navy and there's no PDA!!

We spent the next few hours drinking, laughing, and having so much fun. I sat there next to him and knew that I never wanted to be with anyone else.

But due to circumstances beyond my control, it took 5 years for us to finally be with each other again, be in love with each other, give in to every emotion we held back from each other, and share the love we had for each other. But not everything ends with a happy ending....in the blink of an eye, without warning he was gone from me...gone from us....

Maybe my happy ending is still to come, maybe someday I will heal....but I will always have Dubai and the Sandbox.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Cianas Birthday Present

For my B-F-F Chianas birthday I knew I wanted to get her something really special and very unique to her personality.


Well, for starters she likes Skulls. She had a really cute skull sticker on the back of her car, I think it has a bow on it, can't remember. One day Zelda and I are perusing the selves of Home Depot...we like to go in there and drool and dream....n e ways back to my story.


So there I was in the middle of the LA.....oh wait wrong story, that belongs in a sea story, which I'm sure I will eventually post about, just not not. Ok, now back to my original story.


Zelda and I were walking around looking at flowers and appliances, and we passed by where they make keys and they have a bunch of different looking lanyards. I looked to see if they had a UGA one, naturally they didn't, but they had a really cute one that had skulls on it, and it was pink.


Normally, I wouldn't get her something pink, but it was cute so I got it. She loved it! I told her that it was only part one of her b-day gift. I had gotten the notion one weekend when my Bragger mom and I went to Jo Anne's Fabrics looking for something or another for her corceting project.

I saw all these really neat and colorful fabrics and I loved them all, it made me want to create something and use all the fabrics in all different colors that I saw. Then I came across some skull fabric and it was the same kind that one of my Chiefs had as a skull cap that our departed CO had hand made for him.


It was then that I decided that I could make something useful for Chiana and make it really personal and special. So today after I left my wonderful duty morning of being a janitor slash Gardener (we had to pull weeds in front of the door to the squadron) I went to Jo Anne's and picked up some fabric and when I got home I went to work on it.

Naturally it never starts off as planned and I really didn't think that it would take me all day, but always remember, measure twice, cut once. My handles wound up being too short, so I had to cut and re-do. But during my process I had to switch sewing machines twice, and broke thread and got my fabric stuck due to my thread getting stuck many, many times. Oh and not to mention I broke almost all my needles.

I say almost all my needles because as I was putting everything up I found the other needle that had fallen out of the package. I was a little perturbed because I was on the last part of sewing the bag and then my needle broke. But woo hoo! I had found one, so I talked nice to my machine all the way through out the completion of the bag, and it turned out rather nice.

Oh and did I mention, I've never made anything like that before, and I didn't even have a patter. Just looked at a bag I had and sketched out what I wanted to do and away I went.





I started my project and 1030 this morning, I finished it at 1930 this evening, didn't even feel like it was that long. But I finished and here is the finished project.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Only people from Georgia.....

Yesterday, I was sent out on an early morning food run to of all places in the world to be at 9 in morning Tropical Smoothie.

As I was standing there waiting for my smoothies to be finished, another customer walked in. As I was about to find out she too was from Georgia.

She approached me and asked if that was my car out there with the Georgia tag. I said I was and we started making pleasant conversation.

Then she asked where Barrow County was. She thought it was near Atlanta or Athens. I told her that it was about 45 minutes North East of Atlanta. Between Athens and Atlanta. We both agreed that we miss is and it's such a great place to live. I told the lady that I liked it around fall when all the leaves began to change.

Then the Lady asked me if Staham, or Statham as she said it, was in Barrow County. I replied that it was and that I grew up there. She then said that she has family there and asked if I knew them.

Being polite I said I may who knows maybe I would maybe I wouldn't. So she gives me the name of her family, and asked if I knew them, I said I didn't think so and she begins to tell me that her cousins daughter just recently started attending Berry College.

I got my smoothies, said good-bye and started back for work. As I got back in my car I came to this conclusion....Only people in Georgia would ask if you knew someone from Georgia.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Kindness

The other day someone payed me the kind of complement I had never received before. They said they wanted to be like me, because I am always so nice to people, and I always smile.

I don't know why anyone would want to be me, but I appreciate it none the less. I am or I think I try to be a kind person. I like to be nice to people, it's my nature I guess. When I was growing up people were not very nice to me. They picked on me and called me names, I never understood why.

I'm one of those people that try their best to do what they can for my friends or for anyone that deserves it, and even those that don't.

When my friend told me this I was a little blown away, she said she wanted to be nicer to people because she feels she's a bitch most of the time. Which, in all honesty she is but she can be nice too, when she tried. She didn't think I got mad and blew up at people. My Chief that had been sitting in there listing started laughing and told her that I have in fact blown up on people, and she's seen it, it just takes a while to do it.

I have a really big heart, and I'm sensitive to the extreme. Which is a quality I'm not that fond of. Emotions are not my best friend, their my worst enemy, I think it has a lot to do with anxiety. I want to do what I can for people because I want to and I know that most will not go that extra mile for anyone no matter what.

Morale of the story or rambling is be nice to be nice, not to get anything out of it but to give a little part of you to someone else, and maybe you will be that one person that shows them that kindness in that day, or week. They may take the kindness that you have shown and put it to good use, or even start a chain and pass it one.