This has been such a busy few days and its only going to get busier! But you have to love this time of the year: Christmas music blaring everywhere, people acting more courteous, holiday decorations are out, and no matter how cold you are soup will warm you up! Just like that old Campbell's Soup commercial where the snowman eats a bowl of chicken noodle and melts back into a kid. Today I had the chance to hang out with some old friends and get to better know some new ones. We all chatted over bowls of yummy, warm soup. I just wish my house was bigger so I could invite more people over! Few things beat soup and good conversation :) For those of you that don't know, my Hubs is a nuke. They are a special breed of sailor. While I think my Hubs is completely normal most find that nukes are kind of weird. Then again, I am a HUGE nerd myself! I was on the flag team in high school and college. I did really well in school, even graduated with honors. I wear glasses. I like books. I never understood why wearing name brand clothing was such a big deal. I play video games online. Yup, I am a recovering WoW (World of Warcraft) addict. My Hubs and I have played for going on 6 years now. Well, not so much anymore since the Navy and Little Miss came along. I had to stop playing once I got preggo because the graphics made me sick and the Navy kind of put an end to my Hubs playing! But I do have a level 80 alliance human warlock for those of you interested. Yes, I am HUGE nerd. So I can understand where people assume that nukes are weird. However, what I don't understand is the animosity towards nukes. A lot of it comes from other milispouses! Why the hate? One reason I have been given is because of money and rank. *While I realize that is not the only reason, this is the one I will address.* Do they know why the nukes make more money and rank faster? What they don't realize is how well the civilian side pays nukes so the Navy has to be competitive somehow in order to retain the nukes beyond their initial 6 year contract. That is right, my Hubs signed a 6 (not 4) year contract with the Navy. All nukes do. So while most start out with only 4 years, nukes contracts start out at 6 years. Why? Because school alone can take up to 3 years depending on how quickly the classes fill up. It took my Hubs 18 months to go through all 3 schools but he was lucky because his classes filled up right away. Their school is tough. *I'm not saying that any other school in the Navy isn't hard* They work long hours and there is no such thing as weekends off. So my Hubs did this for 18 months. Now he's on a ship. He still works long hours. *I'm not saying that other sailors don't work as hard or as long* I'm not complaining, I'm just pointing out the facts. Because not only was school preparing him for the fleet, it was preparing me as well. Nukes are quite a risky investment for the Navy I think. If it takes up to 3 years of training, then they only have 3 years to use them in the fleet unless they reenlist. Like I said earlier, nukes make quite a bit more money civilian side. Just google salaries for Reactor Operators with experience. Yup, their time in the service gives them another advantage: experience. Something most college grads with a degree in nuclear engineering don't have. So before you go judging a sailor by his job, know the facts first. Do I think its fair that sailor's pay grades are different based on their job, not based on the amount of actual work they do? That is not for me to say. If it were up to me, we'd all be gazillionaires so money wouldn't be an issue. People would work because they were doing something that made them happy. What I don't think is fair is when people give nukes a bad rap because of rank/monetary reasons. Now if you don't like nukes because they are weird...well yah not much I can say to change your mind on that one. They may be strange, but some of them are great people!
Sorry to "rant" so long about this. Just something I feel kind of passionate about. I was teased in Jr. High and High School (refer to above paragraph NERD). Some of it was because of the lack of money my family had. I didn't grow up poor, but there definitely were some kids I went to school with that were better off when it came to the financial situation. I hate to see people judged by the amount of money on their paycheck, whether it be a large or small amount. You shouldn't judge people at all, that power belongs to someone higher up.
I am so ready for the Hubs to be home, Little Miss is cutting molars and I need some relief. I have a busy few days ahead, pot lucks and cookies!
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