I just finished up a 4-week hitch yesterday, hopped off the boat, grabbed a burrito and headed to my favorite coffee house in West Seattle for some studying. Last May, I bombed the lab part of GMDSS and needed to retake it, (see May 2014) and there just happened to be one offered in between two work trips, so I signed up.
So, it hasn't even been 24hrs since we docked, and I'm headed back to class for more punishment. It's Saturday and we have a 6-hr class today that goes over the lab equipment and basic introduction, all of which I'm fairly comfortable with, but will obviously need some time to re-familiarize myself with. The class ends on Thursday (hopefully for good this time) and then I crew up on Friday morning for a month long hitch to Hawaii. Every time I mention to someone that I'm going to Hawaii on a work trip, they say "ooh, nice!". Not so much. It's a 2 week crossing of the Pacific, 24-36 hours in port and then a 2-week crossing home. It's boring, the seas can get ugly and we don't really have enough time in port to do much, BUT, it's work and I'll take it. I need the sea time under my belt and the income is nice too.
Bummed about being gone so long from the family, but this SHOULD be the last long one and then I can settle into a regular work schedule that allows a bit more home time. When I get home from Hawaii, I will have been gone 9 weeks and before that, it was a quick 10 day visit after my month long class. Essentially, Since the start of September, I've been home for 10 days. All I can do at this point is focus on that homecoming date and spending time with my wife and kids for Christmas.
I don't have class tomorrow, so I'm going to probably do absolutely nothing. I haven't had a day off in over a month, so I may just stare out the window and drool.
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