To all followers of the swashbuckler…First, my humblest of apologies. It seems that this Blog thing is harder to keep up with than I had anticipated. But alas, I’m back to update my readers on my latest adventures while traveling the world, saving damsels in distress, and rescuing society from the clutches of dastardly villains. Ok, maybe it hasn’t been that exciting but a lot has happened since my first and only update. I started my new job as a government contractor in February and it has been everything that I had hoped for. My first assignment had me in Horry (pronounced ‘orry) County SC where I was the lead controller for a full-scale mock terrorist exercise at a mall requiring response from a multitude of local and state emergency management agencies. It was pretty exciting stuff in that it was my job to make sure the exercise followed the prescribed list of events and that interjections were made on time.
Shortly after that, I was on my first road trip to Cape Canaveral FL where I taught a course for Florida State University on Port Security to Security Officers, their Supervisors, and first responders. This was just a trial run before our actual evaluation that I’ll talk about later in the Blog.
As soon as that course ended, I was off to the beautiful Caribbean for 3 weeks. I know it’s hard to believe, but this really is my job and they are paying me to do this stuff. After a multitude of flight problems (due to snow in Atlanta), I arrived in Trinidad & Tobago a little after midnight and caught a cab to our hotel. I met with my team the next morning to prepare for the course we were teaching. The course was on Maritime Interdiction to Terrorism and was being funded by the State Department’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program. It was taught to the T&T’s Coast Guard and Customs Officers. The instruction went very well and the students really enjoyed the lessons. And I must admit that no one in the world can party like a Trini. They call it ‘limin’ (pronounced lime-in). And it seems that their culture revolves around the next party. As I was told, “If it a hurricane’s a comin’, we drink rum. If someone gets promoted, we drink rum. If someone dies, we drink rum”. I even saw people pulled over the side of the road and begin ‘limin’ because of traffic. I guess that’s why it’s the birthplace of Carnival. We were able to make it out to the beach one weekend which was a lot of fun. I had my first “Shark and Bake” which is a real shark sandwich. If anybody has seen Andrew Zimmerman’s show on the Travel Channel, he lists this sandwich as one of hit top 10 foods of all time! It was very tasty to say the least. Below are a few pictures from the trip (with the last being a picture with the US Ambassador to Trinidad & Tobago).
Unfortunately, my Caribbean excursion had to come to an end and I was back in the US. Being sick of living out of a suitcase, I decided to get a place in Charleston. So I rented a 3 bedroom townhouse in North Charleston where the back deck literally sits on a lake (See the picture below taken off my back porch just prior to a storm). Luckily I had the help of really good friends (Robin and Bob) and the move went very smoothly.
After being back in the office for a couple of weeks, I again left for Cape Canaveral FL for another 2 weeks of teaching the FSU Port Security course. This time, I taught it to a larger audience, including evaluators from the Department of Homeland Security. After those 2 weeks, we were back in Charleston for the last 2 weeks of this course where the audience changed to Law Enforcement Officers, their supervisors, and port employees. Everything went very well and with any luck, these lessons will get the DHS, USCG and MARAD seals and then we can teach it across the country.
So that brings us to the present. This weekend, I’m heading down to Orlando to see Matt, Liz and Nicholas and then the following weekend I’m off to San Antonio for 5 days. My family is having what is called a decade party. My grandmother turns 80, my aunt 40 and I will be 30 this year so we’re having a little reunion to celebrate. And then it’s off on my world tour. I’m leaving somewhere around the 12th of July for Nairobi, Kenya where I’ll be helping teach a course to their government on how to train trainers. Yes, I’m training trainers on how to train trainers. It’s a bunch of adult learning stuff. I’ll be there for two weeks, and then I’m off to Mombassa, Kenya for the same course. I’m hoping to take a weekend and get out to one of the National Parks for a mini-safari. I’ll be sure to post pictures if I get the chance. From there, I fly directly to Sri Lanka for a 3 week course on maritime law enforcement. Both countries are listed on the State Department’s travel warnings list. It should be very interesting to say the least. Then at the end of August, on my way back, I’m meeting my parents in Germany for a week vacation at the base of the Alps in Garmisch Germany. That’s why I’m calling this trip the 2008 World Tour. I’m very, very excited. I’ll do what I can to take as many pictures as possible and share my adventures.
I hope everyone is doing well and again, I apologize for not keeping this updated. I’ll try to do better.
From the well-worn boot laces of a swashbuckler ~ All my best!
