"It was pretty wild seeing him instantly grown since the last time I saw him he was in first grade," said Wooten. Cheatham didn't know that his "big brother" had joined the Navy, and Wooten never imagined that after fifteen years he'd see Cheatham for the first time again here, aboard Indy. "I remember when we were younger he'd put on this Halloween mask and scare me, but unless he puts on a yellow shirt (his boss) there's no chance of that now," they both laughed at that. After Cheatham's mother got a hold of Wooten's mother, Wooten's mother emailed him and told him "Matt is also on board Indy." Wooten, who works in the Ship's Educational Services, put Cheatham's name on a "recall" list and surprised him when he showed up..

DT2 Sivapong Bassett from Long Beach, CA was deemed the cake cutter and the party began.

CWO2 Tye Clasablanca (below) from Queens, NY was looking to buy something for his daughter's upcoming birthday.

Heading back to the aft gym, I thought about working off a few cake and ice-cream calories, but then decided to just grab some shots and type the calories away, I mean, that does work doesn't it? PHAN Jerad Rudd (below) from Miami, FL didn't think so. He said he works out five days a week to stay in shape. His motto is "Back & Bi's and Chest & Tri's" which he mixes up into each workout. "What I like most about being aboard Indy is also what makes it so hard," he said. "I like the fast pace, I'm always busy, and it's never boring. But, it's tough not having much free time too."

Well, I don't know how many calories I just burnt putting this together, maybe someone should do a study on office calisthenics so we know we're sitting easy. Until then...

Now today I ran into brothers separated at a very young age and then through viewers on our homepage, they've been reunited!!! Well, ok, they're not really brothers, but they grew up next door to each other for a few years before one moved away and they said they felt like "long lost brothers." PN3 (SW) Christopher Wooten (left) and Airman Apprentice Mathew Cheatham, both from Brentwood, MO, were neighbors many years back and recently, Cheatham's mother saw Wooten in one of the pages on Indy's web site. She got a hold of Wooten's mother to let her know that her son was aboard Indy too.

The Dental Department gave me a little surprise today when they called me down for cake, and not another cleaning. Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Dental rating in the Navy, and throughout the Navy's Dental Community, people are gathering to celebrate. This is how the forward-deployed forces of Independence are celebrating; a little break, a little cake and ice cream, and a few photos.

Enjoying two or three slices of cake each and a couple scoops of ice cream, I was wondering if these guys were going to brush following their little party.

It also felt a little festive on the Forward messdecks tonight. A few venders contracted through NEX are aboard Indy selling rugs, jewelry, perfume, stuffed camels and lotsa' other stuff. Sailors were hovering over the goods looking to get a good buy on a gift or two to send home.

Dishing up scoops of your choice between Cookies 'n Cream or Vanilla for dessert on the Forward Mess decks was Airman AcVictor Mack (below) from Oakland, CA. "Definitely Cookies 'n Cream," he said was moving quicker than the Vanilla.

AOAN Joel Oden (below, lifting) from Monroe, LA and AO3 Andrew White from Alpena, MI couldn't have agreed more. They both work with ordnance for VFA 192 and said working out is part of operational readiness. "We load up the F/A-18 with weapons and they're not light." they said.