Growing as a Leader

I'm sitting in front of the computer now, trying to remember some of the things that have gone through my mind today. Many things have passed through that torturous path, although I'm not sure they all escaped unscathed. There were a few that did, but between the time that I thought of them and now, they seem to have escaped the labyrinth somehow. Not entirely a bad thing, it just means I have to ponder more.

The things that do stick with me are about being a leader when I get to the USS NICHOLAS. Up to this point, my job has not been truly that of a leader. Instead it has been more of an administrator. I have had no mentoring from those above me. My previous department heads, who should have mentored me, did not. I would've been better off in some STD filled brothel in Thailand--at least I would've gotten something from that. Not that that is entirely true--I did learn what NOT to do to be a good leader. Actually, I learned what not to do, PERIOD. I've encountered some terribly awful leaders in my time, and I'm trying to to grow and learn from all of my experiences. It would just be nice to finally encounter a good leader to learn something from it.

Right now, I feel as though I'm in a conundrum with my career. I want to move on and do bigger and better things, and I know this is a stepping stone in the process of getting there. It's just that I feel there is so much that could be done in the war that we are currently in, this war on terrorism. And I feel that the Navy has absolutely no mission insofaras this war is concerned. But I'm not comfortable with that. I want to go do something that is meaningful, something that is great for the United States, for us, and for our way of life. Right now, I feel that the Navy has nothing to do--we have no dog in this fight. Instead, we make up these things, such as the FRP, to make it look like we really have a job. I'm sure the Admirals are happy about the tsunamis because they actually gave us something REAL to do. My true feeling is that if Admiral Boordah were still the CNO, or at least were still alive long enough to have finished his tour as CNO, we would not be here today. I feel that a revolt of the admirals is what pushed us to where we are now. They couldn't stand the fact that some of their power was going to be eroded by empowering the sailors to do their jobs. So Boordah had to die. I don't believe he committed suicide, I'll never believe that as long as I live. Someone wanted him gone, and they go rid of him. Coincidentally, the Navy became much more decentralized and power was restored to the ranks of the admirals. Every aspect of Navy life is now micromanaged, and it makes me wonder exactly why. The only thing I can think of is that Boordah was stopped from doing what he wanted to do--give the average sailor enough empowerment to make decisions and make things happens. Had that happened, nothing in this world could've stopped the US Navy save God himself. Instead, we are now living under the micromanagement of our admirals. I don't think it's a coincidence, but who am I?

Anyway, who am I to be thinking these things? I guess I need to just sign of for now before someone from the secret service or NCIS stars knocking on my door ;)

I'm Back....and There's Snow!

Well, after a long absence from typing in here, I've returned to add more comments. I'm sure everyone was waiting with baited breath for me to post again. Not too much to talk about, though, even though I'm sure there are a lot of things I should say. I find myself at a loss for words of late. I think it has a lot to do with just having too much stuff going on. That's okay, though, that's what the government pays me for (I think).

Anyway, after all of the time I spent in RI--in New England--I saw two dustings of snow. I was somewhat disappointed, after all, it's supposed to snow in New England. Well, I get back to Virginia for Christmas and it snowed here....twice! The first time was a dusting that didn't stick around too long. The second time, the day after Christmas, I got 10 inches of snow at my house. It was really, really cool since I like snow. The only problem is, why did it have to happen in VA instead of in RI where it's supposed to snow? Beats me, that's a problem for the weather guessers to figure out, not me.

I am posting some pictures for everyone to see, hopefully you'll like them as much as I did. This first one is of the Christmas Tree in my front yard (my first year here I bought a live tree and after Christmas planted it in my front yard; it has now become tradition that that tree is the Christmas tree for the house) at night during the first dusting of snow.

I think that's a pretty cool picture....just me, though. This next pcture is of the tree during the next snow. I took it during the daytime with the snow still falling. At this time, we only had 6 inches of snow, and it kept coming down all day.

This final picture I took that same morning, with the moon in the background above the house across the street. I thought it turned out pretty good, but you can be the judge of that ;)

I guess that's about all I have to post today. Hopefully you enjoy the pictures and everything. I've really enjoyed the snow, although it has made it something of a mess around here. So much of a mess that I lost power for 2 days and nights. Fortunately I have a gas fireplace so I was able to keep warm, but some people around here probably weren't that lucky. But, to add insult to injury, my furnace also broke. It actually broke on Christmas Eve. The Hot Surface Ignitor, as they call it, went out. I ended up ordering another one, but didn't get it until yesterday. Like I said, fortunately I have a gas fireplace so I stayed warm.

Anyway, I hope this post finds everyone in good spirits. Hopefully you've enjoyed the snow, if you got it, and if you didn't, I'm sorry because I sure have enjoyed it. It gives me flashbacks to when I was a kid. Everytime it snowed my Grandmother would stand at the window with a cup of coffee in her hand and watch it snow. It had such a profound effect on me that I catch myself doing the same thing now that I'm all grown up. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just hard to reconcile staring out the window when I feel like there's something I should be doing. Always something to do in life, isn't there?

Take care, hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and hopefully you all will have a very wonderful New Year!