Nathan News

Well, not really "news" in the exciting sense, but I thought I'd let you all know what I know about my young coastie.

First and foremost, Nathan is moving off-base to house-sit for a shipmate. The shipmate has been in the CG for about 20 years and had to go back east for 12 weeks for training. The shipmate's girlfriend, also in the CG, on a cutter, is going out to sea April 1. So they've asked Nathan to house-sit for them and take care of their dogs.

This will be a nice change of scenery for Nathan and will give him an idea of what it's like in "real life." Except that he won't have utility bills, home maintenance, and other things that would make it really real. They have a large-screen t.v., all the video games a 19-year-old could want, two dogs, and a Nissan Pathfinder that they told Nathan he was welcome to drive.

The down side? Well, the house is an hour away from Seattle. So now Nathan has to get up at 4:30 in order to be at the Senior Chief's house by 5:30. The Senior Chief drives a vanpool from Monroe into Seattle. This is obviously much more complicated than Nathan's current living situation, where he can virtually roll out of bed and walk to work in 10 minutes if he had to.

Nathan is going to ask this couple if he can rent a room from them when they no longer need his house-sitting services. If they say yes, Nathan can give up his room on base and start collecting Basic Allowance for Housing, which would allow him to seriously increase his savings every month.

Nathan is on the waiting list for Boatswain's Mate "A" school in Yorktown Virginia. According to the Coast Guard,

The most versatile member of the Coast Guard's operational team is the Boatswain's Mate (BM). Boatswain's Mate, are masters of seamanship. BMs are capable of performing almost any task in connection with deck maintenance, small boat operations, navigation, and supervising all personnel assigned to a ship's deck force. BM's have a general knowledge of ropes and cables, including different uses, stresses, strains, and proper stowing. BMs operate hoists, cranes, and winches to load cargo or set gangplanks, stand watch for security, navigation or communications.

He'll go for the 12-week course either in June or August. He's hoping for June, but realistically it'll be August given his spot on the waiting list. After "A" school, he'll get stationed somewhere permanently...meaning "4 years." That will allow him to settle in a little, maybe buy a car with all of his savings, and maybe even get a girlfriend. Who knows?

Nathan was a great asset at Disneyland. When the Littles were tired and all needed to be carried, Nathan and Don were the only ones who were able to carry Patience (nearly 50 pounds) any distance at all. When Jordyn was tired and fussy, she only wanted Daddy. So that left Nathan lugging Patience. And he did it cheerfully. Thank you, Nathan.

That's a wrap!