Joined: 22 Jun 2007Posts: 1050Location: wherever the dance party is
Just got an email from Matthew for the greater group. He's stuck on a boat that's a-rockin (for all the non-fun reasons) and has NO BIKE. Here it is and my goodness, send the man an email!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Subj: HALP STUCK IN HAITI (or, "who turned off the awesome around here?")
Laura,
Please pass this on to everyone else home in Seattle.
Bottom Line Up Front: ON A SHIP! WITH 6.0 MAGNITUDE AFTERSHOCKS! ON HALLUCINOGENIC MALARIA MEDICINE! NO BICYCLES! SAD BOOSH!
First, as I guessed, there’s little connectivity out here. I have reliable email at colem [at] lhd5.navy.mil (short term) and matthew.r.cole [at] navy.mil (long term), but the internet is extremely sluggish (we have embarked media who get about 95% of our non-operational use bandwidth), and the satellite phones here are crowded out by the Haitians with overseas relatives.
We’ve been getting some pretty impressive aftershocks since I got off the coast. We had a 6.1 and a 5.5 magnitude event, both of which happened during the early morning. When the first happened, I thought we had run aground or hit something underwater because the whole ship shook violently. My roommate fell out of his rack! But at this point, we’ve had enough follow-on events that it’s become commonplace. Every once in a while we have a small rumble, but it’s not all that impressive anymore. Maybe some dishes rattle in the wardroom or the television flickers, but that’s about it.
Been busy-busy since we got here. I had a working sequencing document to shift some of our ship power to provide limited power back onto the grid for hospitals and government centers (Joby would be proud!) but their grid is so badly damaged from neglect (the earthquake hardly affected the power plant, but 5/6 generators are not suitable for receiving loads or generating) so the Haitians are still basically powerless in the capital besides portable generators (sad boosh!)
I’ve been going ashore here and there in everything from helicopters to hovercraft, which is a new experience for me as a submariner, but they need engineers ashore pretty bad, and it helps that I speak French too. But going ashore means wearing some nasty insect repellants and taking this totally awesome malaria prophylactic called mefloquine. When I first started taking it, I was even hallucinating a little during the day, but I was lucky because I had a few friends looking out for me and keeping me engaged so I didn’t get dangerous side effects that some people get. All I have going right now is that I talk in my sleep and have some really vivid dreams… we’re talking Professor Dave Brownie –quality dreams.
Bad news is that it sounds like we’re going to be here long enough that I’ll miss both FHR and the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show in Richmond. I was actually kind of hoping have dinner when you came to Richmond for your sister’s wedding, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to miss that opportunity too. This run seems like it’s the run that will not end because our return is linked to meeting Haiti’s needs, but they weren’t at that level before the quake. Maybe I’ll make it back to Seattle in the spring before our workups for next winter start up in full swing. It’d be nice to catch a Sounders’ game this spring. We’ll see what happens; it seems like there is so much of my schedule that is out of my hands now. The funny thing is that the biggest thing I’m going to miss is my own birthday – apparently the other junior officers here had planned a surprise birthday party for me and now we’re all going to miss it. Ha!
Hope your plans to do that trail from Pittsburgh to DC are coming along. You’re going to love that ride, it’s all the fun of a .83 bike camping trip, extended five days with a lot of fun stuff to do in between.
Yours,
Matthew
henry
Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 1:18 pm
somewhat piggishJoined: 05 Aug 2005Posts: 5415Location: on porch with shotgun
Joined: 15 Aug 2006Posts: 2666Location: No Fun Town, USA
Considering Matthew's former female-conversation-terror, I believe this marks considerable progress.
Signed, Sigmund J. Freud
P.S. I believe the fact that his roommate has a rack is ...interesting.
_________________ I have always thought in the back of my mind: Cheese and Onions
Chip McShoulder
Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 2:16 pm
dog licking ice cream coneJoined: 11 Aug 2008Posts: 3022Location: Rainbow Road
gsbarnes wrote:
Considering Matthew's former female-conversation-terror, I believe this marks considerable progress.
Signed, Sigmund J. Freud
P.S. I believe the fact that his roommate has a rack is ...interesting.
I believe the fact that you read all those words is ...interesting. I mean, I think Matthew's a stand-up guy, and I am not trying to belittle his situation, but can I get a summary in the form of a YouTube video or some sort of image macro, please?
All times are GMT - 8 Hours
The time now is Sat Aug 12, 2023 10:19 am
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Joined: 22 Jun 2007
Posts: 1050
Location: wherever the dance party is
Joined: 15 Aug 2006
Posts: 2666
Location: No Fun Town, USA
dog licking ice cream cone
Joined: 11 Aug 2008
Posts: 3022
Location: Rainbow Road
will kill you in your sleep
Joined: 27 Jul 2005
Posts: 868
Location: Landlandia
Joined: 24 Jul 2005
Posts: 6037
Location: Ether
Grumpy Greeb
Joined: 20 Aug 2005
Posts: 5329
Location: flavor country
Joined: 31 Jul 2007
Posts: 3092
Location: Pos, aya, por la Corona-Alta-Madera y que no.
