Constitutional!

Today was a great day for Sail Crew. It was truly one of the most beautiful days I have ever spent in San Diego.

We spent the morning checking the lines, fixing minor problems, making sure the pinrails were accurate on the Surprise. I am making cheat sheets for everybody, so I had to have an accurate pinrail diagram. A few of us worked on that while the topmen unfurled the sails, but we got no further than that because the Director of the Museum came down to chat with our captain. They chatted, and chatted, and chatted some more. But eventually Mr. Ashley let us get to it. Before we resumed our work, the Captain gave us the news that the Museum had made a deal with the US Navy. A select group of crewmen from the USS Constitution, one of this country's original Navy fighting ships from Boston, are going to come aboard the Surprise for the November sail. And we are going to TRAIN them!!

Apparently many years ago the Surprise, formerly the Rose, was one of the primary sailing school vessels on the East Coast, and specialized in training the folks taking care of the Constitution. So, this is sort of a reunion for them. And a boon for us, because it will give us a bit of excitement, and fill out our crew a bit.

The best part of it is this: For as long as anyone can remember, there has been this little old man sitting at the Museum admissions booth dockside, greeting people as they come in. He is 92 years old, and is the last surviving crew member of the last active crew aboard the USS Constitution, before she was pulled from active duty. He sailed on her as a teenaged seaman in 1933. And now a bunch of crew from his old ship are going to sail onboard the Surprise, and he is going to be our Helmsman! He's going to be steering the ship!

We were so excited about this. Its awesome.


The USS Constitution, nicknamed "Old Ironsides" because shot fired from British ships were seen to bounce off her hull during the War of 1812. She has a long and storied career in the US Navy, being one of the original frigates ordered built by George Washington. She even had copper fastenings wrought by Paul Revere! She spent time in the Mediterranean, which was documented in one of Forester's fictional Hornblower books.

Check out the Navy's site for her, and if you are ever in Boston, she is a must see! Her part in the founding of our great country is just as important as the document she was named after! http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/

Strange New Land

Before I go to bed this night, I just want to make a note of a nice difference between living down here, and living in Newport. People here that I've met at work, both at Starbucks and teachers I've worked with recognize and show interest in the fact that I devote so much of my time to the Maritime Museum. They actually know what it is, and a few recognized my ship! I even met a 7th grader who said she'd been on one of the overnight programs on the Star of India!

In Newport, people would just nod and smile, and move on. But here, even in North County, what I do is well known! Awesome!

Cheers!

Go Figure

I moved into a great apartment last weekend....an apartment that unfortunately happens to be in a black hole of cell phone signal. The bathroom tends to be the best place to have a conversation with someone.

So, I went onto T-Mobile's website to see what the deal was. Here's what I found.


That "X" in the middle is my apartment complex. Go figure. *sigh*

"...you go to pieces so fast, people get hit by the shrapnel!"

Today marks the second day in a row that I have spent time around elementary school kids.

Thursday I was with a Special Ed class all day, which was interesting. There were about 8 or so kids, half who were incapacitated in some form or another, and the other half who were down syndrome kids. All in all, I found the kids to be cool, though one or two of the DS kids were extremely stubborn, which made for an interesting recess. To be honest, it was their teacher that I had issues with. She was nice, to be sure, but one of the most frenetic and disorganized individuals I've ever worked with. Her aides (one of which I was replacing for the day) were very capable, and seemed to be able to do everything calmly and efficiently. The teacher, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. It was a mildly frustrating day because of that.

Today I was an aide for the P.E. Dept. at San Marcos Elementary. I just got home, and let me tell you, I'm rather sore. We played soccer all day. I wish I knew more about soccer, but it didn't seem to matter. 3 periods in a row of little kids, split into several teams, and running around small areas of grass, colliding with each other, desperately trying to kick the ball generally in the right direction. And in the middle of each field, there were inevitably a small knot of kids who (regardless of which team they were on) would just stand there and cringe when the ball came in their direction. Then there were the kids who completely went to pieces when the ball smacked into them from two feet and the foot of those particularly passionate soccer maniacs. There were no major disasters, though quite a few kids trying to play up a tumble into the grass, or pretending to have a broken leg to get a penalty. I guess a few of them were watching Portugal play in the World Cup last year.

So far subbing has been interesting. Next week I am in the same class all week, a Learning Handicap class at the elementary level again. I have no idea what to expect.

Cheers!

Movin' Out

Today is the last day for me in Corona Del Mar. I got up and started taking off the sheets and breaking down the bed. Most of my stuff is packed, and the majority of it is already waiting for me in my new apartment.

I'm sad to go, because this studio is so cute. And I've lived here for almost 3 years by myself. So, I'm rather attached to it. And I'm attached to CDM. I'd always wanted to live here, and didn't ever think there was a chance in hell that I'd be able to afford it. I was wrong about the first part of that. Now that I'm leaving, I'm going to miss it terribly. I'm going to miss waking up in the morning and hearing the sound of sea lions calling to each other in the distance. I'm going to miss the pitch black neighborhood at night, so dark that you can practically see every star in the sky on a clear night. *sigh*

This will be my last post for a few days, because I don't have internet at my new place till Tuesday. When I post again, I'll put up pics of my new place.

Cheers!

Last Night

Saying goodbye sucks. Tonight I said goodbye to my store. My last close. My last night working with Melissa.

It couldn't have been a better night. There weren't very many customers, we got all the cleaning done early, and I got to work with two of my favorite people. I brought in my iPod and speakers, and we played great music all night, and just had a great time. A couple of my coworkers even came in to say goodbye! Oh man. A good night.

I'm going to miss them all. I just hope and pray that my new store is a good one, and the people there are nice. I really really hope it is a good store. *sigh*

I had a moment earlier this evening along the lines of "oh shit, what the F*** am I doing??? I'm leaving one of the few places I desperately wanted to live, I'm leaving my family, I'm moving to a completely unknown city, and I don't know anyone there!" Which isn't entirely true, since my godfather lives there, and a couple of my mates from the Museum live around there, but still. I hope this works out. I hope this isn't the biggest mistake of my life.

Paul, you asshole, why couldn't you have kept the rent at $990 instead of raising it to almost $1200 a month???? Its a STUDIO!!! *sigh*

Affogato??

So a man walked into Starbucks today and walked up to the counter to order. He asked the New Guy for a drink made Affogato style, which I had earlier learned was a drink normally made with whipped cream on top, but instead was drizzled with chocolate sauce and a shot poured on top.

I was changing the trash when he asked for this drink, and I stood up and said "Affogato? Wow! Affogato how to make that!" (pronounced Ah fohgat-how to make that!) He looked at me and started to explain what it was, and then stopped. He started laughing, and my assistant manager walked up and the joke was repeated to him and chaos ensued. I swear Mark didn't stop laughing for ten minutes.

Of course everyone blamed me for cracking a really bad joke, but you have to understand. I'm not one of those people who can come up with great lines or jokes on the fly. I have had my moments, but they are few and far between. I rather thought that today's joke was a good one! Especially as I came up with it in about .5 seconds! Mark started making all sorts of awful puns, but I thought mine had been the best.

*sigh* everyone's a critic. ;)

After So Many Months...

Today started as most other early Sunday mornings do for me on Maintenance Day. I got up very early, clambered into my car, made my stop at Starbucks for coffee and breakfast, and got on the road. After an uneventful drive punctuated only by a spectacular sunrise, I arrived early in San Diego.

There were only a few people on deck this early, but all of them were focused on Peter, one of the miracle workers in the Museum's staff. He was telling this tale of researching, making phone calls, and a meeting that took place at noon sometime last week. His telling finished with his dancing a jig on deck, with all of us open-mouthed at the news his story brought us. The H.M.S Surprise, the ship we've all worked almost a year to get by Coast Guard red tape to sail, is finally going to be allowed to leave dockside and set sail.

We've been waiting so long to hear this news that we almost gave up hope it would ever happen. Our Captain was soon on board, and though he didn't say anything to anybody, he was absolute beaming. I've never seen him that happy.

When crew muster finally began, and announcements were made about various things, the news was released to the entire Museum crew. I've never heard so many "three cheers for...!!" Captain Chris and Peter were seriously the happiest men on board. And better yet, by the time the muster had come to order a little while before, the lists were posted up with the names of those who'd passed the annual exam and what ship they were posted to.

When muster broke up and we scattered to our respective vessels, there were 49 Surprises and one Captain at the break in the quarterdeck of the Surprise ready to sail. All we have left to do to satisfy the Coast Guard that we are ready is to be able to launch a little inflatable power boat over the side for rescue ops in 5 minutes or less. With some practice to work out the kinks, we did it in 3 minutes 56 seconds. "Hip Hip! Hooray!"

So, the week after next training begins in earnest. Three months, every Sunday at 7:30, I will be on board the Surprise, standing at the mizzen, ready to handle braces, clews, buntlines, and halyards.

On November 10th and 11th, WE ARE GOING SAILING!!