Special Guest


Today we had the assistant engineer who was held hostage on the Maersk Alabama speak to us this evening. He is a graduate of Kings Point and knows first hand what it was like to be captured by pirates. He showed us pictures and told us how he felt while onboard the ship. He also showed us pictures of the lifeboat which where the pirates were taken out by "3 shots." The engineer told us he was quite amused that the media said it was three shots when there were about 30 bullet holes in lifeboat.
It was pretty interesting and a situation that i hope i never have to be in. Did good on the tests that i took last week, so that made my day pretty good.

Hurricane... Think Again


It rained off and on all day but at least it was cool. Hurricane Danny didn't quite make it the storm everyone thought it would be, not even a thunderstorm resulted from, just strictly a steady rain.

I spent my day at the Vigilant Fire Company. we responded to several ambulance calls today, and i stepped it up a notch and was the EMT tech (person in charge) of every call we went on. I wasn't so confident about it if you would have asked me yesterday, but i'm finally getting it.

It's nice to be able to help people out, and boy did we get to today. We had some pretty serious calls and we were able to help the patients out.

Do you know what the best thing about today was... there was no school, and that is always the best!! =)
"IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BECOME WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN."
-George Eliot

Thank God It's Friday

NOT TOO MUCH LONGER!

I just wanted to let everyone know that i think the test that i was sooo worried about yesterday, actually went well. Although i do not yet know my grade, i feel that i had the confidence needed to get through it.

Its finally the end to a long week, although now everyone in the northeast gets to focus their attention on Hurricane Danny.... is it going to hit us or miss us!!

My family is currently on a cruise, hopefully they are enjoying the time out on the open seas!!

Hope everyone is doing good back home!

Thanks to everyone for keeping up to date on my blog and thanks for all of your supportive comments.

The Unknown

Right now i am studying for a world history test that will be taken tomorrow morning. I am freaking out because i have no clue what to study or how to study for the test. It's a humanities class, it shouldn't be that hard, right??
Well, wish me luck, because i am definitely going to need it. Lets really hope it doesn't end up like the picture above.

Ring Dance


Tomorrow, i have a test in management and then thursday i have a test in world history. It's kind of a big week for me, this are really the first test i have had in any class this trimester. So WISH me luck!!
I forgot to mention, last friday the Seniors (Class of 2010) had their ring dance. The ring dance is an annual event, this is when the seniors receive their class ring that was designed by members of the class. The date wears the ring attached to a ribon as a necklace. Then each senior's name is called and the Admiral (superintendent) dips the ring into a bowl containing waters from the Seven Seas. Its a lot of tradition. Above is pictures form the Class of 2009 ring dance.
Oh yeah, this year's ring dance cost approx. $90,000.

Today not much happenend... I can't beleive August is already coming close to an end, time flies when your having fun, if FUN is what you want to call it!!

Life Soundtrack


A friend gave me the idea of creating my own life's soundtrack before she went out to sea. It must include songs that describe a moment in your life or have a meaning in your life, you cannot just choose a song becuase you like how it goes, but because it describes you. I thought it was a cool idea, and sat on it for a while, thinking about what songs would describe me... and this is what i came up with.


If you want to listen to the songs, just go to youtube and search the song.


1. The Climb -Miley Cyrus The Climb

2. Something to Be Proud Of - Montgomery Gentry

3. If I Could Turn Back Time - Cher

4. The Time of My Life -David Cook

5. Learning To Fly - Tom Petty

6. Before It's Too Late - Goo Goo Dolls Transformers

7. Be Good To Yourself - Journey

8. Rocket Man - Elton John

9. Livin On A Prayer - Bon Jovi

10. Days Go By - Keith Urban Be Here

11. Danger Zone (From "Top Gun") - Kenny Loggins

12. When I Get Where I'm Going - Brad Paisley & Dolly Parton

13. Beautiful Day - U2

The Path Ahead

It is sunday and i just finished my EMT watch. We responded to a significant number of calls, i don't know what it was but it seemed to be a rather bad weekend for many people here on campus, they just kept getting hurt. But it was fun and i enjoyed responding to all of the different cases.

I like the picture above becuase i think it shows where each of us are in our lives. No matter if you are young or feel older, your just at the beginning of the road, there is a long ways to go, theres so many things to do and see along that path that seems so infinitely long when looking at the whole picture, but so short when you are traveling 60 mph down it.
So slow down and enjoy the stops along the way!!!
just my 2 cents

EMS


It's friday and i am stuck on campus this weekend due to EMT watch on campus. EMT watch is a four day watch and we take care of any medical calls that are needed. So far we have had two, so they are keeping us pretty busy. Thunderstorms rolled in today so it has been raining pretty hard for a few hours. TGIF



Today i took my first accounting quiz of the trimester and i am proud to say it went really well, now if only it can stay that way. Today we worked the davit, which is the machinery that holds, raises, and lowers the lifeboat on a ship. Its actually pretty fun. I tested out on it today and i am now a certified LIFEBOATMAN!! haha you never know when your going to need it.

It looks like the hot days are over and a tropical storm is on the way... yep that's right - a Tropical Storm. Looks like we are in for a lot of rain over the next few days. Last night a thunderstorm blew through, and i have to say it was the most intense storm i have seen here in NY. The lightning put on a good show and the wind was blowing about 80 knots.

My hardest classes are over for the week, thursday and fridays are pretty much down days for me, not a whole lot of classes those days. Makes for quite a nice long weekend. This weekend i will not be able to leave because i have to stand an EMT watch from thursday to sunday here on campus. Not looking forward to that. That's it for today, hope each of you are having an extraordinary day!!!!


Persevere


From time to time you need a little refresher about the final goal - GRADUATION!! I'm starting to lose a little of that focus. i have been here for 5 trimesters in a row, which includes summer school. School is completely wearing me down, especially with some of the teachers i have to deal with on a daily basis.
I figured looking at what the reward is would motivate me a little.
Today was pretty boring, it was 96 degrees up here... pretty hot for NY.

Church in NYC

Today is considered my day off. I went to church in Manhatten, Morning Star New York, it is a church I have been going to for a while with some friends. It is a great church with tremendous people. It is such a great place to spend my sundays and is a nice break from the academy.



This is the Queens Boro Bridge, it's one of the many that NYC has... this is the bridge that we cross every sunday to get into the city when we go to church. It's definitely an awesome view, you can literally see the hundreds of tall buildings that make up the City.

Just thought i would share what today was like.

Command Inspection


Me and a couple of friends walked down to the end of the pier today and took these two photos. The Kings Pointer just returned from a trip to Jacksonville, where it was in the shipyard for a couple of months. The first picture is a boat that the Coast Guard gifted to us.... some pretty cool toys that we get to play with.
We had Command Inspection this morning, which is one of the two big inspections of the year, where they inspect our rooms and make sure we are cleaning our rooms. Not very fun but i did good... it's actually a hot day up here in NY, reminds me of Texas a little bit!!
Thanks for the comments

Reach For The Sky

I created a collage of some of the challenges that i think i face at this academy. I feel that i have learned not only a tremendous amount of knowledge but also many life lessons. Throughout my tenure here at the academy i have been pushed to the limit but i have also been gifted many opportunities that not many get in there lifetime. So here's to the academy and what i feel i have accomplished so far. Thanks to everyone who has helped me get to this point!!!

~here's to another year~

So i missed another Oshkosh Airventure which plays host to 10,000 airplanes and many plane lovers around the world. It is the world's busiest airport for the one week that the airshow goes on. Although i missed it, i was there in heart!! haha thanks to Jim Huff was able to keep me updated and get me a t-shirt and souvineer.

Update

HOPE EVERYONE LIKES THE UPDATE!


And the rain just keeps on coming and coming and coming. Thought this was a pretty cool picture taken down on our waterfront.

I got to visit Ellis Island when i went to the Statue of Liberty... pretty interesting to think how many of our ancestors might have gone through the very island. Not much to do, but a very historical place.


A view of the academy from above. Not much going on here, spent part of the day at Vigilant F.D. yesterday. We have had a couple of nice days of weather, which boost our attitudes up here. Just can't wait to get out of here and out to sea.

Me in front of New York Harbor with the Verizano Bridge in the background. Beyond the bridge is the Atlantic Ocean

I'm Back

I'm back, i know guys, it has been a long time since i have written on this blog. I made this blog more to keep everyone updated while at sea, but will try to update it more while here at the academy.

Since i last posted, the new class of 2013 has arrived, i have become a 3rd classmen, and have no more math classes to deal with!! haha

I also got an opportunity to go up inside the Statue of Liberty, which was just opened to the public two months ago. We were lucky enough to get free tickets and monument access, thanks to Barbara the Park Ranger and her appreciation to the military members!! THANK YOU BARBARA!! The picture above is from inside the base of the monument with the original flame the Lady Liberty once held.


This week i joined the Vigilant Volunteer Fire Department to provide EMS services to the greater Great Neck area. I am very excited to put my newly learned skills to use and think doing this will give me some great experiences. I was sworn in on Monday night at the monthly meeting. I was very exciting for me!! I have posted some pictures of the equipment and fire house.

Now that i am no longer a plebe, i am in charge of two plebes. It feels good to know i have a direct impact on someone's life which falls under considerable amount of responsibility.

That's it for now, i have made it my mission to make a post once a day. If not in words i will at least have a picture.