Please send a personal instructor.

I need a personal instructor. I need one to teach me how to use my MacBook…how come everytime I try to burn photos or a slide show it doesn’t work? I need one to come lift weights with me so I can stay in shape and kick the PFAs butt in the fall. I need one to teach me Spanish…walk and talk to me because I don’t have time to sit and learn. I need one to teach me the settings on my camera so I can take damn good photos in these amazing places to send home. I need a personal instructor to decode the SWMDO lectures…no I don’t remember what code dictates which regulation from manual of whatever.

I’m starting to collect quite a few books. I’m in the middle of reading two of them with two more on my bedside shelf to go. I had planned on finishing them before today and sending them out in our mail call…but as I haven’t even gotten halfway, they will have to wait.

There are so many new people on board, it is weird. Several of my peds docs from Balboa came on in Singapore so there are a few familiar faces…but most I’ve never met before. It’s frustrating being on almost 3 months before them because when they start complaining on day 3, you don’t feel much sympathy. For example, our new roommate introduced herself by first asking how often we field day (clean) our room and then mentioning she was hoping for a bottom bunk. Granted she is older than any of us (in her early 50’s), but she’ll only be here a month…the rest of us are living here the whole summer. Since the first day I’ve gotten to talk to her and she’s actually very nice…but terrible first impression. We had a lot of transition in Singapore. Luckily our department only lost 4 nurses (out of 12) and 2 corpsmen (out of 12)…that’s great compared to the adult wards which had about a 90% turnover rating. Also the new nurses we got are actually PEDS NURSES!! Yay!! I can’t even contain my excitement! Not that we wouldn’t have time to do a little bit of training…but it’s just nice to have peds billets filled by nurses who work peds. One of my CIVMAR (civilian mariners) friends also left us in Singapore. Sad, because we were starting to be good friends…and those are hard to come by on the ship.

Side note, I know I have to update about Cambodia and Singapore but an important fact first…Aaron got the nutella confiscated while trying to go through security in the airport. Sad day.