Home for Lunch

Today ended up being a long lunch for us from our SWOS class. We got out of class a little early, and don't have to be back until 1330. We are supposed to get our intro to Brightwork at that time....thank you Dr. Flanders, I know what that program is. We've been looking at leadership stuff for the past couple of days; go figure, we're in IOLC--Intermediate Officers Leadership Course. So, we are learning the leadership stuff. I'm a little annoyed with it right now, though, because it seems we are focusing mostly on business leadership. It's like we're discounting hundreds of years of naval experience. It's like we would rather listen to someone giving leadership advice who managed a company (then took his $100M payout and left), instead of those Naval leaders of the past who have experienced Naval leadership firsthand. What do we do, though? We're recapitalizing and changing the way we do everything to align to business practices and are forgetting one fundamental rule--businesses don't fight the nations wars, we do. What works for them in business will get us all killed in the end. That, my friends, is the difference between leadership and business management. Now we just have to get the Navy to realize that.

Not too much else is going on around here. I haven't posted in here as much as I would have like to, I've been, instead, writing in my personal journal. My thoughts have been too personal to publish into a public forum. Those are reserved for my private journal. Which is probably a good thing--we're some kid to surf into those private thoughts, their poor little fragile brains would be permanently warped. I wouldn't want to be accused of doing that to a defenseless child. Besides, some of my personal thoughts no one wants to read (even me, sometimes).

Nevertheless, things around here are going okay. I'm getting settled in, and am beginning to get my Newport legs. I'm still quiet in class, but that has nothing to do with being settled--I'm always quiet in class. These types of classes especially. I'm not too fond of touchy feely business leadership stuff. Give me good old fashioned Navy leadership! My Mom always said if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything, so I've decided that I'll keep my mouth shut. I will speak occasionally when I feel it is necessary or I have some point I want to make, but other than that, if I don't have anything constructive to add to a conversation, then I'm just not going to say anything.

Eric may be coming down this weekend, but I'm not for sure if he is or not. He said it depends on the weather. I'm going to go down to the boat today to pull off the information he is looking for and to start mapping out deck fittings that need some serious attention. That way I'll know how much 3M 101 to get to start working. Greg says 5 tubes, but I'm thinking it is going to be more than that. We'll see once I get up to my elbows in this stuff. Maybe that will be some redemption (inside joke, only two people I know will understand it).

I'm thinking that I'm going to get started going back to church again. I don't know why, other than that it is some solace in this crazy mixed up world--and a crazy mixed up world it is. Perhaps it will be just the thing I need to destress and start getting my head fully into the game again.

Well, I don't really have much more to say right now....non nobis, Domine, non nobis sed nomini tua da gloriam.