Except for when they too run out of food. I distinctly remember salad bars of only carrots and olives accompanied with something passed off as pasta, for a week straight. It was awesome.
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Living on The Boat
- Thread starter picklesuit
- Start date
Except for when they too run out of food. I distinctly remember salad bars of only carrots and olives accompanied with something passed off as pasta, for a week straight. It was awesome.
Minnesota Tomcat
Turkeybeast
Tell me about it! 'Red Death' and 'S**t on a Shingle'! Oh and lets not forget about the Chicken a la King. When I was on the ship I didn't visit the head for five days--that until they served Chicken a La King. Then there was a long line to the bathroom! They must put laxative in that.
I am not living on the boat. The overwhelming response here is a sign I need to look elsewhere. Probably sublet/rent a room.
Now just trying to figure QOL issues for deployment.
Pickle
Be advised, apartment complexes in Norfolk are, for the most part, sketchy. If you're wanting to live close to base, then a condo set-up or house is usually the best option. It shouldn't be too hard to find an aviator willing to sublet a room around here.
Still Geobaching, so cheaper is better...
Good stuff; glad to hear it.
I wasn't a shooter, but on my disassociated tour I didn't have a whole lot of free time so don't sweat the QOL stuff too much. A memory foam mattress topper, pillow, nicer towels, good shower shoes, robe, and your own sheets will go a long way. I had a tv but I hardly ever watched it. I got a lot more mileage out of books (real and kindle), crosswords, and a small plastic model setup.
Good deployment prep is plenty of your preferred toiletries, snacks, etc. amazon boxes do a pretty good job of getting to the boat within a month.
Reach out to the wardroom on the boat, there might be other shooters or LDOs who can hook you up.
A week? Of the pasta "salad" bar? That's it? Try like a month when your logistical tail zigs and NAVCENT tells the carrier "zag; you're being extended. Go directly to the Red Sea and start turning circles until we tell you otherwise."
That said, either my boat was the Ritz of carriers, or I'm just that easy to please. I mean, I will admit to actually enjoying SOS for breakfast if it's available, so maybe it's me. But even when we were down to canned veggies, most of the food was still "meh" at worst and "OK" at best. I mean, nothing to write home about, but the way some of you guys are talking, you might as well have been on MREs for six months.
That said, the ice cream game during said Red Sea excursion was somewhat bothersome. Supply knew what people liked, and they knew that if they put out cookies and cream or vanilla, it'd be gone pronto. So they put out some weird mystery purple stuff constantly, so as to cut down on the ice cream consumption and save money. The only food-related things I can recall that annoyed me were that, and someone's decision to order a shit-ton of ketchup-flavored potato chips, which apparently are all the rage in the Middle East. Ugh.
Yeah...I always figured shipboard life will leave you better prepared than most for prison. Actually, some of those white collar minimum security setup might be better QOL than being haze grey and underway.
Pags has good gouge. I will add a laptop for movies; you can't fit enough on an iDevice to get you through deployment. Memory foam, high thread count sheets, and a good pillow are key. I actually stacked two memory foam mattress toppers on top of one another, and it worked like a charm. Also a blanket or comforter if you don't like the standard issue wool one. Some boat rooms can get chilly, which may or may not be a good thing while sleeping, depending on your metabolism.
Also clutch: duct tape and cardboard. Why, you ask? Well the rack frames and curtains suck for keeping out light. And when your roommates have to get up on a different schedule than you, the lights go on and there goes your sleep. Use the duct tape and cardboard to make your rack into a lightproof little fort. At least as best you can without killing the ventilation. Room layout might cause your mileage to vary some. Oh, and the rack curtains are of two different varieties. Good ones stop light. Shitty ones partially occlude it. Do your best to acquire the former.
Check out Zinio on NKO. You can create an account through the NKO E-library - journals & magazines tab and then login into the Zinio portal from home with out a cac card. Its a huge data base of free magazine subscriptions. Load up your Ipad/Ereader with those before you head out and you'll be set for a while.
A spanktuary, if you will
Just talk to the other dudes on the boat. They will tell you what to bring.
Some of my personal favorites:
X-Box
Flat screen TV
Robe
Shower shoes
Shower caddy to carry your crap in
A fan for white noise
Bluetooth speaker
Memory foam mattress topper
Your own sheets, pillow, and blanket (this is a must)
Underwear and T-shirts that you don't mind getting destroyed in the laundry
Costco sized snacks and candy
A case of whatever the "it" thing is among the E's. It was Monster on the Lincoln. It will get you favors and access that you need.
Unlocked gsm phone (buy SIM card in port)
A cordless phone if you have an extra laying around the house
Duct tape and cardboard
Home made blackout rack curtains
ipad
Portable hard drive. File sharing is rampant.
Some of my personal favorites:
X-Box
Flat screen TV
Robe
Shower shoes
Shower caddy to carry your crap in
A fan for white noise
Bluetooth speaker
Memory foam mattress topper
Your own sheets, pillow, and blanket (this is a must)
Underwear and T-shirts that you don't mind getting destroyed in the laundry
Costco sized snacks and candy
A case of whatever the "it" thing is among the E's. It was Monster on the Lincoln. It will get you favors and access that you need.
Unlocked gsm phone (buy SIM card in port)
A cordless phone if you have an extra laying around the house
Duct tape and cardboard
Home made blackout rack curtains
ipad
Portable hard drive. File sharing is rampant.