I miss the piazza
by Tony Peters on October 26, 2006
well after 22 hours in transit I have returned from Sardinia to the land of really bad Capoccino. I spent my birthday (Saturday) sitting in the Piazza in La Maddalena drinking Capoccino...there really isn't any comparision to the wonderful sense of relaxation that I felt there. Even the half day we spent taking the train all over Rome during our layover was sooo much more low key than a similar adventure in the US would be. Walking into a supermarket in Italy is grand adventure in eating cheese, olives, deli meats wine...the wine was amazing, $4 a bottle for wine that we can't get for $20 here in the states. Sadly I wasn't able to bring any back with me. To answer Jakie's question as for what I do and why I fly around the world at a moments notice. Well I guess the easiest decription is that I do repairs and quality assurance on submarine periscopes. When a deployed Submarine breaks down I fly out and repair and recertify so that they are ready for sea. Which means I need to keep a bag packed but I also get to see some cool places. When I was stationed in Pearl Harbor I traveled to places like Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Thailand and sadly GUAM. Now here on the atlantic side to the Navy I get to see places like Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Baharain, UAE, Diego Garcia, Scotland, England and Norway...hopefully I will see more of these places. Now before any of y'all think that I'm living too much of the good life on your dime, I will say that there are times that I have flown halfway around the world to work 20 hour days for a week to fix a problem and have barely gotten them fixxed before the boat pulls out. Sometimes the work is easy and you know what needs to be fixxed sometimes it takes every waking moment to repair the boat and put them back on mission. My reputation was made a few years ago when I made the right decision at a very unpopular time and was over rulled because I was too junior (and couldn't posible know what I was talking about)...unfortunatly for the Navy my opinion was correct and 6 weeks later it cost the Navy a million dollars instead of a week's delay. When I leave on one of these trips for all the fun I have to be right about whats wrong and how to make it right 100% of the time so that the Sub can go back to work. What scares me more than anything is being wrong so while I may talk up the fun stuff I do when I travel the reason that leave home is to insure that the boat I am going to can return to it's job in the shortest amount of time. That said if "Any" of you has the chance to visit Sardinia its beautiful, I highly recomend that you drink the house reds, they are cheap and amazing...and San Georgio's restaurant in Palau makes a killer scallop/mushroom fettaccini.
Two Replies to I miss the piazza
Tony Peters | October 27, 2006
I have the utmost respect for thse that put to sea aboard a submarine...I however would have to be tied up and knocked out before I ever went to sea on one...those things scare the crap out of me.
vagabond-punk
The musings of Tony Peters, a perpetual child, no matter where I am I will find a way to climb something or go skateboarding Read more »
starwars up close
OK I have what is called closed angles in my eye's which although I have no symptoms is considered a precursor to glaucoma...I've known this for a couple of years and since my maternal grandfather had glaucoma and my father has the same problem with his eyes I've really just been putting off having corrective surgery since I returned from Japan 2 years ago. What this means is that the eye's drains which are behind the iris are not as open as they should be which can lead to increased fluid pressure in the eye and posible damage to the optic nerve, or so they tell me. Go »the toils of being a home owner
just when you think that everything is groovy boom your furnace burps blowing all the seals and well $6000 later you can have heat again. Mind you it was 12degrees yesterday when this happened and at present I can't keep my house any hotter than 55degree's or the house fills with smoke...not to mention that the soonest I can get a new furnace installed is thursday. Go »Art........
OK so since the summer my creative obsession has been growing. It started in my drawing 2 class with a professor who would turn out to be the man who has completely changed how I both look at and create art, Ben Anderson is an interesting man The first serious piece of the semester was Morf, a Gargoyle I created using mostly found metal from a local bike shop (I have taken to visiting on a weekly basis to acquire additional materials....Morf was the first time I have had a piece of art that I am woking to create completely dominate my thoughts. Go »sticky nasty weekend
Ok this is new england it's not supposed to be this hot...I'm sure Amy actually feels at home but it's been too long since I lived in Guam this is hot. I had plans for this weekend but instead other than a dump run I tried to stay in and stay cool. Go »happy home maker
Ok before my furnace blew up I had been investing in food items for longterm storage and use. I got a deal on 1pound of vanila beans around new years as well as 2 gallons of peeled garlic last week. Anyway with water turned off in my house all day yesterday (furnace being replaced) I decided that it was a good time to do something about all the garlic and while I was at it make some xmas presents for next year (added bonus time spent in front of the stove means warmth). Go »
Lori Lancaster | October 27, 2006
[hidden by author request]