I've developed quite a few qualifications recently, and that's becoming a problem. For instance, right now I'm the only one in the squadron qualified to give a certain type of safety lecture. Today is a training day, and the powers that be decided that all hands would get that lecture, along with a lot of other stuff. So I'll be spending all day in the hanger deck, giving classes.

Which would be fun, I like teaching. But I have to do this all day long. Normally I work noon to midnight, but today my first class runs at eight and my last at midnight. Investment tip for everyone: buy stock in caffeine producers!

The other problem is that I, too, need all those trainings done and documented. So I either need to get make-up sessions, or have my training jacket pencilwhipped.

Posted by: Boviate at 04:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Yesterday evening most of the squadron trooped down to medical for immunizations. The medical staff didn't want our huge line blocking all their doors, so they had us wrap back and forth in a single hallway, Disneyland-style. Just without the scenery. There were probably a hundred enlisted and ten officers, all clutching our medical records.

Standing around like that makes for easy conversations, and there was nothing else to do, so conversation blossomed. Someone asked me what I thought of some new Loch Ness Monster video, and I told them "Whiskey plus tourists equals imaginary monster." Then Cpl Os started bragging about how I was the shop genious, and out of nowhere a gauntlet appeared and hit the ground. "Genious, huh? List the noble gasses!" The officers started popping off questions at me. How many elements in the periodic table, and who invented that table, anyway. What's absolute zero on the Rankin Scale. Who was the first Marine Corps aviator. What's a black hole. Why do black holes shrink over time. Where was the first controlled fission reaction in the US. What's the closest star.

Meanwhile, Os and the other enlisted are hooting and hollering and keeping score, which I think was annoying the officers. Final score ended up something like Enlisted 25, Officers 4, which is pretty one-sided. Especially since the "Enlisted" team consisted of, well, me.

The officers were trying to locate Capt B_, who I'm told is also a trivia nut. Without him, they were overmatched, and finally retreated in defeat. After the immunizations, I headed back up to the shop, and discovered that my gunny had been watching the whole thing from the back and was totally amused. He thought that little scene was incredibly funny, and was gleefully telling everyone that walked into the shop about it. My ego is normally nice and large; right now it's about to pop like a balloon.

Posted by: Boviate at 04:40 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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