Thursday Before Home!

.....O.K., O.K., when one is tired, lonely, whiny and feeling sorry for oneself, posting drivel on Live Journal is not necessarily the best course of action. :-) I've been properly and completely chastised in a loving way. Thankfully, I get to go home tomorrow morning on a 5:30 AM flight out of Jacksonville! I miss TBT a lot and can't wait to get home! :-)

.....The past two days have been feakin' busy. Both days have been twelve plus hours. Although I could only claim ten of those hours each day. I'm not complaining too terribly as if I were doing this at home I'd be getting paid for eight no matter how long my posterior was gracing the Shipyard waterfront. So I'm not complaining.

.....Actually, I can honestly say that it has been an enjoyable time. Believe it or not. We have a good Team of people here, and we've planned the heck out of this job. And its showing. We're on schedule and it looks like we might give money back to the customer. Many people are amazed at the prospect.

.....It's so cool to be three thousand miles from the Shipyard. No management watching your every step. No metric wonks tapping you on the shoulder and asking for reams of paper. Don't take me wrong, they still want to see hundreds of pages of graphs and charts, but if you are not THERE to ask in person, its much harder to track you down. :-)

.....So, as a Team on site we've bonded quite well. There are lots of challenges still. We still yell and scream and run around in circles trying to figure things out. But the difference is that here we can concentrate on one central goal. And everyone on the Team is dedicated towards making the Team successful. I know I'm gushing, but I gotta remember the good feelings for next week when the Big Boss exacts his revenge on my being gone from his direct touch for two weeks. :-)

.....We've got another installation in Kings Bay scheduled for next winter. I'm wondering if I could convince TBT to come with me for three months in Florida. Maybe if I push the proximity to Disney World I might have a chance? Hmmm.... :-)

.....The Telecom with the Big Boss yesterday proved to be interesting. The Project Manager and I spent a handful of hours pouring over charts and graphs and metrics, trying to anticipate every question he could possibly throw at us. By the time we called in I was nervously pacing the room. Then, it was like aliens had taken over his body and mind because it was NOT the Big Boss. He was professional and polite. About ten minutes into the conversation I was wondering who in the hell was on the phone. But the Project Manager was not phased. He explained to me that we're doing so well on cost and schedule that the Big Boss is probably getting positive e-mails and phone calls from his manager peers and NAVSEA. And is basically passing on the love without being overly appreciative. I'm not sure I buy into that completely. But I'll take the Big Boss in a good mood any day over his normal behavior. :-)

.....Picked up the National Geographic Feed on Live Journal recently. Fascinating stuff! A good discussion on the recent closing up of the Ozone Hole over Antarctica. It is amazing how fast the planet can heal itself when given half a chance. Then there was the DNA proof that Neanderthal and Homo Sapiens interbred at some point. Definitely another interesting article.

.....Ack! Facebook is at it again! My brother Sean has a profile on there now! Holy Cow! He is almost the last person on the planet I suspected would go in that direction. And how did I find out about this gem? My cousin Nina sent me a note in Facebook! Facebook may be annoyingly brief and hasty, but it is full of surprises. That's for sure! He doesn't have much set up on his wall yet. But I'll definitely drop him a note and encourage his use of Facebook. :-)

.....June Faire is definitely gearing up into full throttle. Lots of stuff happening and I'll have to hit the ground running when I get back. Talia could easily handle being the Chairperson by herself. But I said I would help and she need to be available to concentrate on the bigger issues instead of taking care of the hundreds of little details.

.....I'm really excited about going home and seeing TBT at the airport. It feels like Christment. I think I'll start packing now. :-) See you all soonest. :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.