What a day for a daydream...

I think I'm going to stop apologizing for not updating frequently. At this point, I'm hoping all four of you who read this will accept the fact that I am a terrible pen pal. Even a one-sided pen pal. So, big updates. I went shopping this weekend. FANTASTIC. Won't go into detail because I will go into raptures. Found out some absolutely wonderful news, Jacob and Katherine are engaged. Finally. Can't wait for the party. In other news, today was a big day on the Yukon Jack. Woke up this morning around 0745, was out on deck at 0810, and I've been going all day until 1930 or so when the second mate let me off watch. We re-fueled three ships and VERTREPed one. Yay us! I helped with the first UNREP today. About 3/4 of the way through that, we got word that our last, biggest, and most important customer (as the ships we service are called), the USS Stennis, an aircraft carrier (insert excited jumping around here), was having steering problems and wouldn't be able to maintain a course and speed alongside us for re-fueling. Luckily, the happened to have some helos on board that could pick up their pallets from our deck. Phew. Thus, everyone was sent into a tizzy preparing for an unexpected VERTREP. VERTREP, for those lucky souls who don't fluently speak acronym, stands for Vertical Replenishment and consists of a helo (or two alternating helos) hovering over our deck while nets filled with various supplies are hooked to the bottom so they can fly it back to their ship. So I spent most of my day today "netting cargo," wrapping sturdy cargo nets around pallets of food, mail, and an obscene amount of Full Throttle so that it could be hooked up to the helos. Once all the cargo was ready, we took rotating lunch breaks and returned to the deck to man the hose team on the flight deck. The VERTREP went well, though I spent most of it wondering if Dad knew anyone on the Stennis or either of the pilots. I also took some pictures, but not as many as I'd have liked since my camera's battery died after about ten minutes. Once we finished the VERTREP, at around 1445, I ran upstairs, showered, threw on khakis, grabbed sea project stuff and made my way up to watch. (I'm currently on the 1600-2000 watch, which means I have to be there at 1545) While on watch, I learned two very important lessons I'd like to share. First, never flirt in front of your father. I thought this one was kind of a no-brainer, but apparently not, as the second mate shared some horror stories of bringing a strapping young third mate (now his son in law) home for dinner with his family. He said that the last time he'd seen the kind of stuff she was doing was when he'd met her mother. So apparently, it's uncomfortable for a father to watch his daughter flirt. Who knew?! Dad, I promise to never flirt with a guy in front of you. Second big lesson, brothers are idiots, you must take care of them. As soon as he said this, I felt like everything I had ever believed was finally proven. The second mate told me that he thought every boy should have a sister to look out for them when they try and date. You see Chris and Scott? I'm just looking out for you. And I should approve every girl you date from now on. See that it's done. It's been a day. Thus, I bid you adieu. Night!

Alyssa