We said goodbye to Rose Atoll today. We will be back here in two years. The day was busy as usual with computer issues again on the forefront. Quoting the Grateful Dead “what a long strange trip it’s been” and it is not even half over. E-mail still not operational and the tech that is working on it probably wish for the days when he and I worked together during a winter in port in San Diego. I wanted to borrow his custom Vette back then to complete the final leg of the middle age crisis triad. How much those days seem to be so much easier after you move up the ladder.
While on the weather decks I was watching the waves change color as it was smashing into the coral reefs that make the atoll that surrounds the island. It was pretty to see it change into different shades of blue. We spent all day here and towards the evening we revved up our generators and headed west. After dinner I went up the weather deck and saw Rose Atoll as a tiny uninhabited speck fade into the horizon. What a lonely desolate place for a human!
I was talking to “L” tonight and I could tell by her voice that the separation is taking a toll on her. Unlike the Navy, there are no family advocacies or ombudsman in NOAA. Since majority of NOAA activities are shore-based it is an easily overlooked asset. Last week she was in a jovial mood as her cousin and my son visited to spend the weekend with her. She has one more week of school before finals so she spends her time studying. The finals will be on a computer so she is a bit nervous about it. “L” has become proficient in using a computer since she arrived in America. Unfortunately, the computer we normally used blew out a power supply so one of the items we need to get after I return is a new desktop. I wonder if a Mac is on the horizon.
My son will be moving in with us in June and we are hoping that her son will join us later in the year. That should make the separation less stressful. It would be nice for the four of us to be a family again like we were in Samoa. Occasion like that seem to take forever to happen but after it does other issues crop up. When “L” was still in Samoa we could not wait to be together while waiting for her visa. Even during times of separation, we knew that I would be coming home to her while she would be waiting for me. Well, easier said than done and we are now married, living under the same roof full time but still separated by my profession. One of the dilemma is it is difficult to find a shore based job that pays the same amount I make with overtime included. If I ever go to an interview, the topic of salary came up and I mentioned I wanted to make the same amount as I am now, they would show me the door.
Both of my boys are interested in ship engineering. It is a good career and the maritime industry is one of the industries in this bad economy that is looking for people. Reading the last few paragraphs probably tells you why. Licensed ship engineers make good salary and are in demand in both private and public sectors. They are the backbone of the ship. I am sure the deckies and other disagree but I stand by my assertion. As for my field, it has been stagnant for some time. The demand for ETs is just not there unlike thirty years ago. Even the IT field is liquid and competitive. In addition, my age works against me when it comes to a new job. Legal terminology for being too old is “over experienced.”
After I buy back my military time to include it in retirement, I can retire in eight years. I feel I reached my zenith but not overconfident, certainly not a know it all and thankfully lack the cockiness and arrogance that sometimes replaces self-confidence or conceal the lack of it. I am confident in what I do, do not panic and remain focus on my objective. I have not seen it all but most of it and despite my 33 years professionally in the business, listen to the up and coming youngsters, they could show you something and prevent you from becoming a petrified fossil and most of all keep an open mind. Sometimes results of my work are not pretty but I am an ET not a beautician and there is a reason for its ugliness.
It’s time to hit the rack to meet tomorrow, and hopefully in Pago Pago tomorrow night, if not then on Sunday. I will still be working but maybe spread the chores out so as not to kill myself doing it.
I bid you goodnight from the South Pacific and Manuia-po from the waters of American Samoa.
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