Care packages!!!

Today we pulled into Puerto Prinsesa, Philippines and recieved mail....a month's-worth of mail. Packages, postcards, snail mail, anything and everything. If you want to see some sailors as happy as a child on Christmas morning then all you need to do is witness a mass of packages being distributed throughout the ship. Everyone's sharing a portion of various baked goods, packaged meat (SlimJims, Jerky), and other assorted goodies. One of the more common and prized bounties are homemade cookies/brownies. I was lucky enough to have received some rather well-travelled cookies (Chocolate Chip and Peanutbutter Kisses! SQUEE!) from my wife. I was able to trade a few of them, not unlike prison currency.

My mother in-law even had an awesome idea to put wooden block puzzles, yo-yos, crazy putty, and cup & ball game in her package. I'll enjoy those when I'm slowing going insane on the console.

Ramen is always a welcomed sight. I can never have too much of it, especially since my watch hours easily dictate when I sleep and what meals I miss. It's always handy to have a bowl of ramen ready to head up when the mess lines are long since closed.

Also, part of my Amazon.com order arrived that included a couple of my favorite books to read while underway. 1984 by George Orwell and A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I would always rather carry a paper (read: Analog. For those technophiles in the crowd) copy of the books than digital. Owen Meany gives a person hope and reminds me that regardless how little of a role one plays in their life, your actions oculd mean the world to another. Funny enough, I first heard of the book through a song called "Goodbye Sky Harbor" by Jimmy Eat World. I suggest you check both out.

Long day for me, watch started at midnight and ended at 0700. I've been awake since because of one thing or another, and it's not 1800 (6:00pm). Lunch was a processed Chicken patty's excuse for Parmesian Chicken. The patties are a go-to these days for being eatible. Then I missed dinner altogether. Oh well....RAMEN!

Think I'm going to take a nap. I miss my girls badly. To quote the Cure (cliche?), "I've been looking so long at these pictures of you, that I almost believe that they're real." Goodnight everyone.