Danna Fo Fanna

Blog
About

And so it goes…

April 21, 2008 at 1:16 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Life is crazy… I’m sure we can all agree on that one.

I think I’m really hard to understand. I say and do things all the time that make people question me. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, just it’s how I am. I’ve volunteered for this IA three times now and I guess the third time is a charm, because they finally said yes.

I get to go home on leave in 16 days now and I must say I am extremely excited. A lot is going to happen in the 4 weeks I am home and I hope it’s all for the best. I have a lot of things I must figure out before heading out to the sandbox… especially concerning THIS relationship.

When I come back to DG I’ll be here for another month and then back to Virginia and NJ for ECRC training and then over to Baghdad for 6 months. Back to DG until May and then to the Eisenhower. Hopefully those orders will be lost in translation and I can pick new ones. Hopefully.

Well unfortunately I don’t have anything profound or witty to say, just that I’m ready to see all my favorite people and make some memories…

After 2 rough weeks… EXCITEMENT!

April 9, 2008 at 3:27 pm | In Navy Life | 1 Comment
Tags: broadcasting, Diego Garcia, journalism, Navy, video

http://www.news.navy.mil/dnu.asp?id=10804

My story aired all over AFN worldwide and is posted on Navy.mil. I know that I’m a huge nerd but I’m sooo super duper extra extremely really with a cherry on top excited right now…

I even did the happy dance!

oh my Jack!

March 20, 2008 at 11:38 pm | In Uncategorized | 1 Comment

My thighs appear enormous right now.
But… my hair is really long and that is good.

So I’ve been drinking. Always a good time. Lifehouse is playing on Zune right now and it’s angering me slightly. But I’m not quite sure right now, however I do believe I should compose my thoughts and write something meaningful.

How many times must someone make the same mistake before they learn their lesson? I’m not only talking about myself, but most people that I know.

Nobody is perfect I guess… People will let you down. I’ve made some HUGE mistakes lately. Actually, in the last month I made what is probably the biggest mistake of my life. Sometimes I feel totally apalled by it, guilty, hurt and shocked that I would be capable of something so ridiculousy bad.

But other times I just want to laugh about. Like “Damn… did I REALLY do that? haha”

Thankfully… the person I wronged is a MUCH better person. He has forgiven me, and even though my serious mistake ended our amazing realtionship… there is still comfort in knowing that he forgave me. I know it will be a very long time before he forgets, and will probably seriously impact any future realtionships he may have, but to know that he forgives me, still loves me and wants to see me makes a huge difference and helps me to forgive myself.

I was married for 3 years. Of those 3 years, the first was wonderful. Then things began to happen. I gained A LOT of weight in that year, for no clear reason. I went to the gym, tried to eat healthy and still nothing worked. Then I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and it took a while for me to lose all of that weight. He was completely unattracted to me. He went outside of our marriage and everything just crumbled.

It took me a good year to heal, and now 2 years later I am in the best shape of my life. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. I rely upon myself. I am completely happy and independent. I have money saved, an incredible sense of self-worth, a sense of self-reliance, great friends and an amazing AMAZING job!

Is it okay to feel as if no one could ever think you are as great as you believe you are? Because that is how I feel. I love myself. I make myself happy. And that is extremely important to me. How can I ever make anyone else happy if I can’t make myself happy?

I know this entire outpourance of my thoughts and feelings is completely random… but it’s great to be young and beautiful!

I do what I do… for you.

March 18, 2008 at 9:33 pm | In Navy Life, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

I am one of those people who likes definitions. I like for life to be as simple as possible.

Since I was a child I wanted to be a journalist. I had this huge imagination that saw me traversing the world, deep in the jungles of South America, lost in war zones with bullets whizzing by, in the midst of political riots somewhere in Africa.

And now here I am. I had a conversation with a co-worker today who is an engineer. I asked him if when he considers his job and his career, does he think of himself as an engineer. He looked at me quizically, so I began to explain.

In the Navy my job is classified as a mass communications specialist. Radio, television, print, photography, design… we do it all. But because I am in the Navy, and the United States government is my employer am I really a journalist? When people ask what I do I tell them I am a sailor in the Navy. Then they follow with the question “Oh, well what do you do in the Navy?” and I tell them radio and TV broadcasting.

My co-worker tells me that I am most definitely a journalist, but at the same time, so much more.

I had an arguement this weekend with an Airman who told me that my job isn’t important. He even had the nerve to ask me, “What do you do to save the day?”

Are you kidding me? That is like saying that a culinary specialist’s job isn’t important because he isn’t out shooting terrorists or tossing grenades. But he’s feeding the guys that are, isn’t he?

Everyone does their part.

I also recently read a book about famous war correspondants in WWII and the Vietnam era. The whole book just cast a very dim and shady light on media within the military. No other country’s military that I am aware of has enlisted journalists. I have a friend who is a British Royal Marine who doesn’t understand the concept either.

I can’t quite explain it. What I do know is that sailors on Diego Garcia are doing great things everyday and they deserve for thier families, friends and shipmates back home to know that. They deserve to wake up every morning to a radio station playing all thier favorite songs just as they would if they were in the states. They deserve to have people showing interest in what they are doing on a day to day basis and sharing that with the rest of the world.

Maybe my job is quite as nessecary as that of a culinary specialist or an Army infantryman… but it is important to me. I like telling the Navy story and maybe it’s corny, but as long as I do this job in the Navy, I will take pride in it. I will NOT let anyone cause me to question my worth.

so… here goes

March 17, 2008 at 5:58 pm | In Navy Life | Leave a Comment
Tags: Diego Garcia, life, Navy

Life in the Navy is both more and less than I expected.More because… well… I’m living on a tiny tropical island that I’d never even heard of before I got assigned here! Diego Garcia has been great for me. I’m learning so much about myself, my job, and a different culture. However, It is necessary for to remind myself from time to time this isn’t the real Navy. Everything on my island is so simple and relaxed. Right up my alley… but probably not the best for my first duty station. However, as far as my job goes, it’s fantastic! I found myself buried in confusion and frustration when I first got here. I felt like I learned nothing in my school pertaining to what I’m actually doing on a day to day basis. The on the job training has been much better than anything that I could ever learn in a classroom, and all the people I work with are so full of knowledge and so helpful. The biggest job in our shop is the morning radio show on Power 99. Next week I start training to take it over, and come April 7th I’m flying solo. It’s quite a compliment that I (the most junior person at my command) would be chosen to do the job. I’m excited, but nervous. Radio is something I have always been interested now, and soon I’ll be the top dog!Now for the lesser side…

I think I expected my petty officers to be much more helpful than they actually are. In some ways I feel as if they are just my peers, and in a way, I suppose that they are. There are lots of them though that only care to look out for themselves and only do what is beneficial to themselves. If you don’t have a good attitude at work, how can you expect those beneath you to stay motivated all of the time?

All of the chiefs I have met have been amazing, and mine is extremely helpful. In this way… I feel blessed.

Life is well in Danna land lately, and for that I am abundantly thankful!

« Previous Page

♥Diego Garcia!

More Photos
♥As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.
♥There's a big fucking world out there. It's messy, and it's chaotic, and it's never, it's never ever the thing you'd expect. It's ok to be scared but you cannot allow your fears to turn you into an asshole, not when it comes to the people that really love you, the people that need you.
♥Adversity is like a strong wind. I don't mean just that it holds us back from places we might otherwise go. It also tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that afterwards we see ourselves as we really are, and not merely as we might like to be. - from Memoirs of a Geisha
♥Nothing of value comes without a little struggle. Some of the most beautiful flowers only grow after a forest fire. Literally out of the ashes, they blanket the ground with color. - from Joan of Arcadia
♥A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election. -Bill Vaughan
♥Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them. - Ralph Waldo Emerson