Goods & Others

During debriefs of flights in Naval Aviation, we often refer to the "Goods", "Bads", and "Others", or for those of us who prefer to take a more positive approach, we will simply address the "Goods" and "Others". Often the debrief points are minor in nature. A certain approach might have been flown with more precision. A crewman made a good call by reminding the pilot to complete a checklist after an interruption. But a lot of little stuff often adds up to a pattern of performance. Or a standard of quality. As I reflect back on the last couple days, they've been full of little stuff. My dad once had a T-shirt with the quote "Don't sweat the small stuff... It's all small stuff". I'm sure you've heard the phrase before. I may not sweat the small stuff, but the small stuff is the stuff of life. It all fits together as the fabric of the bigger things. Another popular quote is that if you take care of the small things, the big things will take care of the themselves. There's a lot of wisdom in that concept, I think. Doesn't mean you ignore the big stuff, but in general, the aggregate of details will establish a foundation for the monumental issues of life.

Well... that little intro got a lot more cerebral than originally intended. All I wanted to do was briefly summarize the last couple days, in bullet format no less! It must be late. Yup. It's 2:20 am. My writing brain has awakened. That's how I survived high school, college, and TPS. Anyway, here goes...

Goods

• I got two great workouts in. Yesterday, 45 minutes on the bike with some good hi-resistance intervals, then 15 minutes on the erg. Today, 30 minutes on the treadmill with some hi-pace intervals, then another 15 min on the erg. I like finishing on the erg with a smooth, relaxing row, watching the water fly by below my left side. The erg sits right at the edge of the sponson gym (the "Lido deck"), and only a thin two-wire safety line separates me from open space. A strong breeze blows at my back as the ship drives forward, just as it would if I were actually sculling. Great way to wrap up a workout. Heat index today was about 105F!
• The wardroom has once again stocked the Crystal Light "Sunrise" Classic Orange "On the Go" drink mix packets. That stuff is good! Almost like Sunny Delight, I can throw one in my 750ml Camelbak Sippy Cup and it's awesome! Yes, I have a sippy cup. What of it? The wardroom also started carrying "Lipton Green Tea to Go" in Mandarin & Mango. More good stuff. I probably go through about 5 drink packets a day, and drink about 6 liters of water, flavored or plain. Obviously, I prefer it flavored! And that doesn't include what I drink with meals (alot of Diet Pepsi).
• We had a RAS today, and I received a package, from Chris. It was a cool looking electronic trivia game that I haven't had time to even turn on yet. Looking forward to checking it out. Thanks, Chris!
• I changed my sheets today. I'd be embarrassed to say how often that happens. Let's just say I don't meet Janell's standard of changing sheets once a week at home. Regardless, I'm looking forward to crawling into a clean rack tonight.

Others

• When I set my alarm last night, for that brief moment when it mattered most, I forgot that it was Saturday night. Being that it was 3am when I was setting my alarm, I set it for about 10am, knowing that I had an event to be at come 11am. Well, church started at 10am. I missed it again today.
• Due to the RAS this morning, brunch was cancelled! Bummer! Lunch was pretty disappointing, too.
• I haven't flown in three days for various reasons. I'm on alert tonight, and finally flying again tomorrow. I actually haven't minded the time off. It was almost like a weekend. OK, not at all, but I keep telling myself that.

OK. It's almost quarter to three. I'm tired. I really didn't intend to be up this late. This was supposed to be a quick little blog entry. I didn't have anything to write about an hour ago, honest! I told Janell I was heading to bed about 2 hours ago! Like I said, it's the little stuff that comes together that makes life what it is. Don't sweat the little stuff, but don't let it slip by unnoticed, either. 'Night.

p.s., Auntie Mel wrote a great recap on the ladies' trip to Hershey. Thanks for the fun pictures, Mel! I just received an update from Janell that she has left the country. They just left Niagra, bound for the Detroit area tonight, via Canada, eh. OK, now I'm going to bed.