All Settled In

Hey everybody!

It's been roughly a year since my last post, but I'm happy to report that I'm back at NASSCO and in San Diego yet again.  While the work last year was fantastic and the city itself amazing, I just couldn't bring myself to give up the "Stay Classy" name for this year's blog.  And so here I am, hanging out in a t-shirt while people back home drive around in vehicles like this:

I saw one of these at the gas station before I left.

I've managed to survive in the unrelentingly perfect weather for four whole days now, barely scraping by with free WiFi and cable in the apartment NASSCO gave me.  Down the street are my fellow victims Dave Smith and Zach Gilfus, who are sheltering my classmate Connor Bennett in their garage.  I haven't seen him since our first day here, but I've been told that this arrangement is completely his idea and in no way illegitimate whatsoever.

I've also been told the decor was his choice.

 

 

Housing has yet again been provided in the Mission Valley area, although this time our neighborhood is over an hour's walk to work rather than 15 minutes. Luckily enough, a trolley stop is near our neighborhood and another one acceptably close to work.  The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System has also been kind enough to provide a rich library of in-ride entertainment for commuters.  While on Monday we were treated to a classical rendition of "Video Game Sound Effects Played Through My Cell Phone" by Highschooler With Traffic Cones Shoved Through His Earlobes, my personal favorite remains the TED Talk on "The Drawbacks and Advantages of Different Colors of Kool-Aid" given by Presumably Drunk Old Man In The Corner. 

Coolness Level: Incalculable

Work itself began this past Monday, with Dave, Zach, myself, and the two freshmen Kyle O'Sullivan and Andrew Arnold all receiving some introductory training and medical examinations.  Subject matter varied from the obvious to the somewhat obtuse, with topics including but not limited to proper workplace safety, firewatch procedures, and "Do Not Ever Ever Ever Go To Tijuana, Seriously, Like Ever, If You Know What's Good For You."

NASSCO and I define "firewatch" differently.

 Much to our chagrin, our marathon of 80's training videos eventually came to an end.  We wished our freshmen good luck in their shipyard adventures, and promptly set out for Mission Valley to begin our adventures in the office.  We made sure to tell Kyle and Andrew all about the Do's and Dont's of shipyard life before they began their real work, and assured them they would have a great time.

"And then I told them, 'Firewatch is exciting, you should volunteer!'"

Our reception into the office went a little rougher than planned, because the security guard at the front desk had no idea who we were.  After attempting to explain to him that we were interns, our new friend decided to verify our story by calling a manager.  While the phone was ringing, I breathed a sigh of relief that we would get this awkward situation behind us soon enough.

"New guys? We're not expecting any." was our savior's response. 

Our first day could have gone a little smoother.

We eventually got the situation figured out, though, when a random guy from IT came to retrieve us.  With only about twenty minutes left in the day, we had just enough time to meet our new bosses and awkwardly sit at our desks for a few minutes before heading home.  Today began a new day of excitement and adventure, in which I was given my first glimpse at the work I'd be doing for the next two months.  It was today that I learned I would be working on the Tote LNG-powered containership.  This is exciting because it's the first time this has been done in the United States.  This is not exciting because I just finished designing a containership for Professor Gallagher and die on the inside every time I see a container.

Just...smile for now. You can cry in the bathroom later.

That's all the work news for now, so with that I think I'll call it a day.  I'd promise to update regularly, but I know myself a little too well for that.