Re: A Bad ER Day?

[BUM]

My best day at work was a sick day. My worst day at ER was a sick day.

BUM 8)

[Nords]

Any other opinions on the best day working compared to worst day ER'd??

My best workday? Well, going home after the aloha BBQ on that final workday was pretty sweet.

But it could have been just about any day of those first 10 commissioned years. I particularly enjoyed our shooting a TOMAHAWK missile through a target and leaving one of those Wile E. Coyote silhouettes at the impact zone. I also had a chance to direct the shooting of six exercise torpedoes during a weapons test, which put me about a decade ahead of the curve in command qualification. (Up to that point, some guys had been waiting for five years to shoot just one torpedo outside of the simulators. We did those six between lunch & dinner.) What made the day even sweeter was my department's gratitude for not having to offload those the hard way after we returned to port.

In the "non-destructive" category, it would be bringing order out of chaos (instead of creating it). I took over a Weapons job that had been empty for two months under a CO with a reputation for driving my predecessor into coughing up blood. (Well, he helped.) I survived & learned quite a bit, we nailed an inspection, many of our guys got promoted, and several of them earned commissioned from the ranks. 12 years later I still get letters & phone calls reliving those days.

The worst day ER'd-- last September I finished an exhausting Friday-night tae kwon do sparring session and realized that my right knee was swelling up. I still can't remember how I did it, but 30 minutes later I knew it was sprained-- for the umpteenth time-- and I spent the entire weekend grounded under ibuprofen & icebags.

The physical pain was minor compared to the knowledge that it was self-inflicted boomeritis.

Six months and some physical therapy it's all better. And I've learned a lot of TKD physics in the meantime.

My second-worst ER day was bringing a longboard to 15-foot surf at Haleiwa Ali'i Beach Park. Actually the surfing part was great, it was the wipeout part that hurt. I re-learned a lot about lung capacity, coral heads, and "swimming toward the light"... at least now I'm not tempted to enter those tow-in prize-money contests.

The "best day at work" introspection really puts one's ER whining into perspective, no?

[BUM]

Six months and some physical therapy it's all better. And I've learned a lot of TKD physics in the meantime.

Nords,

Way to go grasshopper. Keep learning. I like to think I've never hung up the belt (2ndbb) for good but after a couple broken bones and subsequent annoying arthritis in the boardbusting hands sometimes I wish I'd picked another MA... but only sometimes.

Bow, begin!

BUM ;)

[BUM]

Your worst days sound alot more physically painful. Some 'Great Santini' moments??

I was tempted to ski during our latest trip to a Ski resort in Vermont, but the first day was on the weekend - too crowded. Next too snowy and windy. Next too cold, still snowing. Etc - Etc - Etc... Had about 3 foot of snow during our week and our oldest had the best skiing of his life. I put another log on the fire and got another beverage... Glad I retired early - before I got too old to do all the fun stuff.. ;)

GD-ER

Thats LOL funny! Keep 'em coming! and Happy Spring!

BUM ;D

[Nords]

Glad I retired early - before I got too old to do all the fun stuff.. ;)

Is that meant to be taken in the context of your new avatar?

[BUM]

Thanks GD-ER,

I enjoyed the SNotch pix. They pleasantly stimulated a few near dead brain cells. I went to college in Winooski some 30 years ago. I still can hear that bone piercing crunch of frozen snow with each footfall and again and again and again...

BUM

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Yes, the sound of scraping ice from the windshield with a credit card because your scraper broke. Just finishing shovelling out the driveway only to have the snowplow deposit a 5' high wall of ice at the end...

A good (and oft copied/emailed over the years) tale...from Wissstahh Massachusetts...
http://www.worcestermass.com/snowdiary.shtml

[BUM]

Ole man winter is giving us one more blow tonight. Expect 6+ inches of new snow in the Hudson Valley by morning. Gimmie a frickin break. I cant bother to take a picture but thanks for yours.

BUM :P

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Hit about 74 here with some sun today, which is nice because its been crappy the last 4-5 days...60's and raining. 8)

[MRGALT2U]

Pretty here this afternoon (Sunny, high of +45). But, when I got up this morning it was snowing! Anyway, we are
over the hump now, and next year we will not be here
for this crap.

I watched 'Fargo' the other night. It's interesting that
the movie depicts that part of the country exactly as I remember it from my many visits. I do not understand why people live there, but I am quite sure that many
would say the same about where I live.

JG

[Jarhead*]

Hit about 74 here with some sun today, which is nice because its been crappy the last 4-5 days...60's and raining. *8)

True, but homes are expensive, and we've got a Governor with a funny accent

[MRGALT2U]

Homes are cheap here. Alas, our governor is a witless
embarrassment.

JG

[whitestick]

To the topic at hand:
Suffered another bad er type of day today - Went to play round of Golf - Got a few drops of rain, then sunshine and light breeze, then gale force winds, then a spectacular lightning show, then thunder, then ping pong size hail, then gully washer rain, then clear skies, and more sun, although a bit chilly. And I didn't embarass myself on the golf range - not a great score, but first time in 3 years of play, and I even got a couple of pars.
Still waiting for actual ER, but if this is an example, I can't wait.

[Dawg54]

Just back from the Masters. What a beautiful place. Had a cold one with Darren Clarke and some of his golfing buddies. Just getting out of town was sooooooo nice. I can't wait for retirement. 20 months and counting!

[JWV]

I can't wait for retirement. 20 months and counting!

You, DOG, you! You're not that bounty hunter guy on cable TV are you?

Judyt

[Dawg54]

You, DOG, you! *You're not that bounty hunter guy on cable TV are you?

Judyt

Nah, I don't have any tattoo's.

[ShokWaveRider]

[quote]

View of Magen's Bay USVI at sunset from our balcony --
where I contemplated; why I'm so glad life isn't fair! --
while I sipped some verrry cold ones.

GD-ER

Do you live permenantly on St. Thomas? Or do you have a place on the mainland also? I spent some time there this winter along with the BVIs and other Caribbean islands.

I was concerned as to whether there was a lot of crime there and on St. Croix. St. Croix real estate is quite reasonably priced.

And the weather is great in the winter.

SWR

[Zipper]

I was born in St. Thomas.........................Ontario!

[ShokWaveRider]

SWR-
I've looked at every picture at your website and have to admit I am extremely envious of your 'yachting' through the Carribean...

We spent 7 nights at Bluebeard's Castle Hilltop Villas, 14 nights at Magens Bay Villas at Magens Point, and 2 nights at the Green Iguana<next to Blackbeards Castle>. I wish I lived full time in St. Thomas<or better yet St. John or BVI>, but there's family, etc... We truly enjoyed our 24 days in USVI and I'd like to do a couple <2-3-4>months next winter. The live aboard idea is very intriguing to me, but DW turns green thinking about it. We did a couple day trips on boats <snorkle, siteseeing, etc> and enjoyed ourselves. BUT just can't get her interested in full timing. Will you be going back next winter? Live aboard?

I had considered spending some time on St. Croix, but I heard the same warnings on crime, etc... Sooo, we skipped it and spent our time mostly on St. Thomas, with day trips to St. John and BVI...

BTW: If you ever need a boat babysitter, let me know.

GD-ER

According to Statistics, St. Thomas has the most crime in the USVIs, not St. Croix... yes I was surprised also.

The reason I am asking all these questions, is because we are now looking for a place to settledown, and Buy/rent. However, the prices of homes after our 2 years of travelling seem so high, even though we sold our SoCAL home in 2003 for a great profit at the time. Unless we buy new in Florida or some place that is still reasonable from a real estate perspective.

We cannot deal with the nasty weather up north after 2 winter seasons in the Caribbean. Canada is great for the summers, but not the winters. At the moment we are canadian residents for health care reasons, but do not own property there. We cannot really afford to but 2 homes and stay retired. Unless we go cheap charlie into a small condo/apartment type home in both places, but at only 51, I do not feel ready for that yet. We have to visit Canada every so often to maintain our health care status. We buy travel insurance for up to 6 months when we leave. We are going to Florida next month to look around for a while. Some friends say Tampa, Sarasota & St Augustine are quite nice areas to check out, so we will. But it is so difficult to make a decision.

We are not tied down by family as we have no kids, as we were DINKS for over 15 years (Hence the ability to ER at 48 and 45 resp). The only direct family we have is in Canada, just siblings and their offspring. We have tons of FF miles from our working days so we can fly most places cheap, and domestically that totals about 24 trips for the 2 of us before we exhaust them, providing Delta does not go under in the meantime.

I spend my life looking at realtor.com and checking out local newspapers via newspapers online. It used to be fun but now it is getting tedious.

P.S. The boat belonged to a friend of ours, and now he has sold it. So until he get's another, we are landlubbers. We are not about to buy a boat and cruise, as we are spoilt, and a good 40 foot + Cat is as much as a big house! We would never go back to a Monohull after a CAT. Besides living in such confined quarters does get on top of you after a while, great for a few months, but that is it. And by the way there is no better way to see the Caribbean Islands in their natural beauty. We are glad we did it.

SWR

Yup, St. Thomas is a Crime Haven! - They have tried to cover it up, because they don't want to damage the tourist trade. But a lot of tourists get mugged, robbed, beaten and killed here.

I try to avoid to real 'tourist traps' and go to less traveled areas of the Carribeaan.

That said, if someone offered me a free trip to St. Thomas in the middle of winter, I'd be gone in a heartbeat