Finally getting settled in

Thurs Jan 19 - So I finally had my first real "work" and introduction to ITT Gear-n-Go day today. I chased down the people I was gonna work with for the day for like 3 hours and finally around noon things acutally started to get put in place. My stand-in boss, Kim, didnt come into work today. I worked with Rosario and Meaghan for the day learning how to wax, fix, replace binds, boots, and all that stuff that is associated with snowboard rentals and maintanence. After I learned how to wax my first board, Rosario slightly introduced me to the paintball gun rentals. He showed me how to fill the CO2 tanks and how to sort and clean paintballs. Never get a bag of paintballs with a busted one in it. You have to dump the entire bag (500 bags) and clean off every ball. Yes, I did that slave work for like an hour and only got through one bag. I did a lot of watching and standing around b/c they were both really busy with trying to get everything ready for the hectic weekend snowboarding trip that I'm going on. I hung out a lot with Meaghan so that was cool and we started to get to know each other. Around 4:30pm, Mack, the Fleet Rec guy who helped bring us onto the USS Porter came into the shop and asked if I would like to hang out with him down at Augusta Bay b/c the USNS Laramie was leaving in the morning and he wanted to give them a big going away party. Its about an hour away so we just grabbed some sleeping bags to be able to spend the night at the little trailor that the base owns for entertaining crew that dont want to leave the Bay and go into town. Little did I know, but that was a BIG going away party. I went back to my room, packed some pajamas and a toothbrush and we were on our way to host a big party. We did a BBQ and liquor run and were on our way. I also got to experience the #8 Deadliest Road in the World, Autostrata SS114. This highway is nothing like you could ever imagine and Mack and I were in a big van going like 70-80 kmh the whole time with people driving all over the road and passing each other. I thought I was gonna have like 6 heart attacks during the hour drive. It was hilarious now when I look back at it. He told me in this country you just have to drive offensively and leave all rules behind you and drive like them. The party was awesome, the ship is a supply ship so it was 95% civilians and only had like 40 people on it. I hung out, got on the internet, met some cool people, and went to bed pretty late eventhough we had to be back at base around 8:30am. The night was fun though in general.

Fri Jan 20 - We got back to NAS I a little late, but I went home and took a shower before I went to work. I figured nothing was gonna be going on early anyways. I had to go to the Admin building and fill out some more paper work and talk to another boss guy about my room getting switched to something with a full kitchen in it. After that, we went and ate lunch and I was finally on my way to ITT Gear-N-Go where Ill be working for a few months. They had already finished with the snowboards and people were starting to pick them up for the weekend. I started cleaning paintballs and unpacking the new boots we got in this week. I sat with Meaghan all day and she's really cool. Shes alone for a few months while her husband is away and we were talking about hor bored and lonely we are. To keep a long story short, we decided we're going to hang out tomorrow night in downtown Catania and then take a big trip around Sicily on Sunday. Tentivaly, we're gonna go to Enna and Piazza Armerina to visit some castles, Roman temples, some shops and markets, and anything else we find to do along the way. It should be really cool. Oh yeah, this afternoon when I got there they asked me if I would go on a different trip tomorrow instead of the ski trip because they have no one to go on this other trip. I said hell yeah cuz I figure I can go to Etna a bunch of times, but this trip isnt offered again. It's rafting and hydro speeding in the Alcantara Gorge with a Sicilian lunch. I get to go on the trip totally free and do nothing but participate and just be the ITT representative. Its guided and driven by a contracted company. It's a $64 trip that lasts about 7 hours. It should be cool, I'm really excited. The water is so cold and crazy that they provide a 5mm neoprene suit, helmet, neoprene shoes, and a life jacket. Everyone says its gonna be super cold and thats why I got nominated to take the trip. Hey, I'm game. I got to hang out at the front counter today and kinda see how to interact with the customers, make reservations, and some other stuff. Kim asked me about Dublin so I'm starting to get a little more confident about the chances of going. Gosh that'd be freakin awesome. I just got off work at 6:00pm and i'm in the library right now and its about to close for the night. Their showing Rent at 8:00 in the movie theaters, so once I get home and talk to Jeff, Im gonna go see it. Movies here are only $3. I'm gonna see Cheaper By The Dozen 2 and some other movies next week. Not much else going on tonight, just chillin and catchin up on sleep from last night. Hope all is well with everything and Ill tell ya about my water adventure trip tomorrow.