A New Direction: My Daily Life

I've decided to change the focus of my blog and, surprise, actually begin writing in it again. Knitting is no longer the focus of my world (though it is still a main player), and I have vowed, at the ripe age of, ahem, 40, that I need to get serious about writing. So my blog is going to be my daily (daily?) commitment to writing. It may not be the incredible, eloquent, super-fantastic writing that I hope to be doing someday, but it's a start.

And what will I be writing about? (you may ask) Well, how about everyday life. Isn't that riveting? As the saying goes, write what you know. So here goes.

For the past two years I have been working on the Naval base in Bremerton. When people ask me what I do, I usually give the short answer of "software support." But to actually explain what I do could take a few blog entries. The more interesting thing about my work, to me, is where I work. Driving onto the base every day is like entering a different culture. There are rules that you follow, and if you don't, you lose your privileges to be on base. Or maybe, if it's a really important rule and you break it, you get a bullet in the ass courtesy of a well-trained US Marine. (By the way, did you know that the Marine Corp is a branch within the US Navy? Yeah, don't tell any Marines that news. They get a little cranky about it.)

One of my first challenges to working on base was just driving in. There is no parking privileges on base for contractors (that's me!) except, and boy is this a lucky coincidence, you drive a motorcycle or scooter. As anyone who knows me knows, I have been a scooter commuter since 1999 (My Op/Ed in The Seattle Times). But riding on base is another privilege you must earn. Just like they teach dogs in obedience training, nothing in life is free! First I had to sign up for the military-run motorcycle safety class. No problem! Oh, except in order to register for the class you have to have your permit (or endorsement) and proof of insurance, neither of which I possessed. Off to the Department of Licensing I went, and after a week of studying the little booklet, I passed my permit test. Another $100 for a year's worth of insurance and I was ready to sign up for the "experienced rider" class.

Tomorrow...the motorcycle safety class at Keyport