Where's Jody?

Where, oh where, do I begin?  It's been over a month since I've managed a connection that would allow me to post!

I spent the holidays in Jebel Ali, UAE, which is the port city for Dubai.  It was a good port visit.  I spent one day diving on the east coast of UAE near the city of Fujairah.  The visibility wasn't magnificent, but the variety of fish was!  I also did a tour of Dubai on Christmas before returning to the ship for an Italian family dinner.  I also had a little holiday party in my room, opening presents while listening to Christmas music.  The next day I had duty, but it wasn't too bad since it gave me a good chance to call the family and enjoy the many, many videos Frank sent from home. 

I'm back out "on the job" now, but lately we've been focused on planning our move.  I might not even finish the deployment before having to head to a school to prepare for my next job.  We're still working out the details, but it's safe to say that in about 3 months we'll be making our way across the country to settle into our new, totally awesome marine in Friendship, MD.  I say totally awesome just based on Frank's account and the website, but Herrington Harbour seems to have all that I could possibly dream of.  Regardless of amenities, we'll all be there together and that's the greatest part.

Not much "ship news" to share.  There are some very monotonous stretches here.  But every day is a day closer to home.  :-)