Here I am in San Diego, and its bringing back lots of great memories! I was first stationed here on a destroyer tender coming out of boot camp and fireman school. I had a surrogate mother whom Ive searched the world over for...she took over where my own mother left off teaching me things my mother probably never would have. She was a life insurance agent with access to the military bases here and I would sometimes go around with her during the day. At night we turned into pool hustlers going around to some of the coolest bars and clubs around. Ive been back to where she used to live and the neighborhood has completely changed! Soon after arriving at my new ship I had a fainting incident that required them to take me off the boat and transfer me to work for the comptroller of the base so I could get tested to make sure I was fit for duty. I lost touch with my friend after that, but found a new friend in the charismatic civilian I worked for. I went to her place for thanksgiving and was welcomed into her family even though I was the only white girl there. I tried chitlins for the first time...dont think I want to do that again;-) In the office is where I developed my interest in computers, as I was working on the LAN systems and teaching new software to the accountants. Dont think Ive ever lost my curiosity, as I later went on the school for that once I was out of the military. It wasnt a hard decision for me, as I had become an independent thinker and I knew I could go farther in the world without the bureaucracy I experienced on the ships. I can remember one instance where I was going around to different offices and shops trying to figure out what it was I wanted to pursue in the technical feilds, only to be told to go on break when nobody would show me the ropes of what goes on. Even though I aced the dlab(defense language aptitude battery), I decided that going to school on my own in the civilian sector was the answer. In my last duty station on the base as a parking attendant, I found that a lot of the military's smartest(the nuclear engineers) were faking illness and injury in order to get out because of the harsh conditions they had to endure. My life has taken a completely different path now, and looking back I wouldnt change a thing!