Thursday 13: TV shows I watch

Last night, David successfully hooked up our AFN decoder, satellite, etc. I got hooked on AFN back in 2003 when I was a live-in nanny for a military family in Italy. (That's also where I got hooked on David!) AFN is the Armed Forces Network, and it gives us access to good ol' American tv when we're stationed overseas. There aren't a whole lot of choices as far as channels go, and two of the channels play the same shows on a different time shift (for those stationed in the "Atlantic", like me, and for those stationed in the Pacific, like I used to be). I actually think that there's another channel that plays the same shows on a third shift for those in the desert, but I've never had that channel (until now?) Some of the shows air on a big delay (like shows that take a "season break" might not start until after that long break), and some of the shows (like American Idol and SURVIVOR!!!!) air just one day late. On base, it's pretty much all set up and ready to go, but when you live off base, there's a little more work involved. We had to buy our own cable box (I think we rented it as part of our cable bill at Kadena?? Not sure.) and an antenna and a new cable to lead from the house to the antenna (??). Luckily, David knows way more than the average bear about all of this, so he was able to get it all set up and all I had to do was watch the television for the satellite signal and shout out the window like a crazy person "ZERO! 68! 71! ZERO! 86!" until it was all set. So, now I get to watch my AFN again! I love the "commercials"--they can't play actual advertising commercials so it's lots of PSAs about gambling, PCSing (military moves), historical info about people & places, etc. And, I'm excited to be able to watch some of my favorite shows again...we have British tv, and they play a LOT of American shows on some of the channels (Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, 90210, Glee, True Blood, Without a Trace, Two and a Half Men, etc.) and I've found a few British shows to love (Countdown!! My fave!) but I'm so excited to be reunited with AFN... here are 13 shows I'm  happy to have the chance to watch on AFN:

1. Jeopardy--based on my reaction when I realized I'd be able to watch Jeopardy again, one would think I had won the lottery!
2. Oprah
3. Amazing Race
4. American Idol (this is on British TV, and we'll probably continue watching it there since we can record it and watch it at our convenience)
5. Survivor
6. 60 Minutes (although I usually download this audio podcast and listen while I make dinner, do dishes, etc.)
7. Wheel of Fortune
8. Top Chef
9. 20/20
10. Good Morning America (which I will probably never watch, because it's on at 10pm & 4am!)
11. Design on a Dime
12. Misc. Food Network shows
13. The Suze Orman Show

Now, I definitely won't get to all of these... I've gotten used to my Sky+ box and being able to record, watch later & fast forward through commercials!

Eat-Pray-Love

David and I are a "military family". And that makes us a part of a much bigger family, "the Military family". Especially stationed overseas, members of that big family really count on each other. We can't always go home for Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, Easter, 4th of July and all of the other events one normally looks forward to spending with family. So it's lucky we have each other. Our Thanksgiving &Christmas dinners have different faces at them every year, some that we'll see for 2 more Christmases, some that we may never see again. When you're a part of this big family, there are times that you have to stand in and take the role of a real family member. I've gone to dance recitals and karate matches (? don't know what karate matches are called!). Things that people would normally invite grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles to. I've gone to the hospital and taken pictures of a one-day old baby to e-mail to her daddy as he tried to make it home from Afghanistan asap (he made it when she was 10 days old).  Recently I was asked to be on someone's "emergency care plan"--if both parents unexpectedly needed to deploy, I would need to care for their baby while they waited for their real family member to arrange to come get him. My military family have celebrated my birthday, organized my classroom library at the beginning of the school year, packed up my classroom when it was time for me to move, helped me look for a house, loaned me a car, surprised us at the airport to say good-bye when we left Okinawa. 

Right now, one of our military families here is going through some really hard times. Their daughter, who is maybe 2 or 3 years old (?) is battling lymphoblastic lymphoma. She was in the hospital for a long time in the fall and now she has taken another turn for the worse. The parents stay at (or near?) the hospital (off base, and probably about 30-50 minutes from their home) and a guy from the squadron who lives nearby delivers meals. So, we have volunteered to provide a meal for them every Tuesday. Which means that every Monday, I will make a larger meal (Rachael Ray recipes are great for larger meals!) and package up our leftovers so the J's can enjoy a homecooked meal. I'd be making dinner anyway, so why not make a little extra and share?
I won't lie... I have a decent heart, but it is by no means perfect. When David said "I was thinking I'd have Pete put us on the list to provide food every week, just to make it easier for him," the first thing going through my head was "$$$$$". Then I wanted to remind him that just two weeks ago, we had discussed NOT volunteering to provide food for every single function that we are asked to volunteer for anymore...maybe just every other one. I thought about pointing out that David has never even met this guy, and I've only met him once or twice. But then I snapped out of "crazy-stingy mode" and back into "decent human mode" and remembered that there is a little girl who has CANCER. A little girl who is old enough to know there is something wrong, but too young to understand explanations of what is happening or why. There is a couple who is away from their family and spending day in and day out in the hospital, praying for their daughter's survival. I think, "what if this were me? what if this were one of MY family members? what would I hope someone would do for MY family?" What can I do? I can't cure cancer. I can't assure them that everything will be fine. But I can make them dinner. When I remind myself to put it into perspective, I see that providing them with a meal once a week is not only an easy thing to do, but the right thing to do.  Another thing I can do to help... I can say a prayer for them and ask you to do the same!

Last night's dinner was Chicken Stew & Cornmeal Dumplings from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. If you have a list of meals that make a lot and are good for sharing (when people have new babies, illnesses, etc.) add that one to your list, and suggest some for mine!

Thursday Thirteen: To Work or Not to Work

Last week, I was really bored. I became fascinated with the idea of working once again. I thought, wouldn't life be grand if I had a job and if it was on the same base that D's job will be on and we could ride together and then maybe he wouldn't complain about spending an hour a day driving back and forth to work. Because I would be there, and who could possibly complain about spending an extra hour a day confined in a car with me??
So, on Thursday, I turned in an application packet at HRO. Let me tell you one of the biggest downfalls of being a military spouse stationed overseas. Job opportunities. Basically the only thing at HRO that I was remotely interested in (and only, as I announced at my job interview, as a last resort) was working in the youth programs... youth center or child development center. I opted for the CDC because the youth center hours are a little weird since youth are at school during the day. The CDC is like a day care--for the younger, non-school-age children. So I interviewed on Monday and they've been in touch with my references, who have filled me in on how those phone calls went. (Always list references who will serve as your spies. Always.) According to my references, I will most certainly be offered the job.
But now I'm not sure that I want it....which brings me to my list of Thirteen.

1. - I am a teacher. I like many things about  being a teacher...poems & drawings delivered to my desk daily, going to meetings with other teachers, rearranging my classroom, seeing a child who came in to 1st grade knowing how to read  "that cat is fat" leave 1st grade reading like a maniac, kid handwriting (if kid handwriting and inventive spelling do not make your heart melt, then I'm pretty sure you're not human). But I won't lie. I also love three VIPs (very important perks) of being a teacher: Spring Break, Summer Break, Christmas Break. The CDC doesn't get those.

2. - That whole carpooling to work with my husband thing....yeah....that wouldn't work! Because the place has kooky hours. Not really kooky, I suppose...not like 3rd shift or anything...but hours that wouldn't really mesh well with the hours that D will be working. If there were an hour or two leeway either way, the one who had to wait could go to the gym etc. But 4 hours a day at the gym? Not for me. There are 3 shifts, something like 6-12, 9-4 and 12-6. David would be working probably 7-4, so you see how only one shift would work in my carpooling plan.

3. + If I could get in on that 9-4 shift and should the stars align just so so that it would be the one I always work, then carpooling would work AND I'd get a lot of knitting done in the car. Always important to consider how your job will positively effect your hobbies.

4. + Before my interview, I was sent to observe in one of the 3-5 year old rooms, where little Shannon came up to me and asked if I liked her hair bows. When I said yes, she hugged me, kissed my cheek and said, "I love you and you are my best friend." That was after 15 minutes of being in the room. Imagine all the love if I worked there every day!

5. - I know you're not supposed to ask in a job interview how much vacation time you would get, so I didn't. But one of the interviewers did bring it up...... he mentioned that other than a doctor's appointment or something, no leave is granted during your first 3 months. And after that, they send around a binder and you request your leave time in the order in which you were hired. So, I'd be last.

6. - More on the vacation time thing-- The way D and I look at it, we are here overseas, possibly only for 3 more years. There's a chance we could go somewhere else in Europe or the Pacific after this, but there's also a chance we could end up in Ohio or Florida or North Dakota or New Mexico. We just don't know. So there's sort of a sense of urgency in being here...this could be our last hurrah overseas. We never know. So we want to do and see the places that are tops on our list (perhaps next Thursday's Thirteen?) while we have the opportunity. It would be much easier to do that if we're only juggling around one person's leave schedule.

7. - I'm noticing that vacation time is really an issue for me! People might want to come and visit us while we're here, and say D is going to be at work during the week, I could entertain our visitors locally, trips to London, Cambridge, and other little day trips in the local area. On the weekend we could do a further out trip, like Oxford or the Cotswolds or Canterbury or something. But would I want to use all of my leave days to go to London & Cambridge? No.

8. - Last point (I think) about the time off... Sometimes at work, D will get a "goal day" or "family day" off. So, for instance, the day after Thanksgiving, Superbowl Monday, perhaps the Friday before Memorial Day. That gives us a nice long weekend during which we could do some traveling. But on goal days, the day care is still open. So if I still had to work, we'd be wasting a long weekend opportunity for a little road trip.

9. + Money, money, money. But also - because, really, it's not that much! It would be nice to contribute with a supplemental income...but if we could put a dollar amount on the missed travel opportunities, I seriously doubt that the amount I'd make at the day care (starting out for the first 2 months with a "guaranteed 0-20 hours a week") would come close.  Even so, we typically bank all that I make and since I've not been working, the savings account hasn't been as exciting to watch as it used to be!

10. - Because the scheduling isn't regular, there may be conflicts with my Girl Scout volunteering, and I like working with the Girl Scouts! I asked at my interview and they didn't seem at all supportive. I got the old, "if we worked around your schedule, then we'd have to work around everyone else's if they said they had something they wanted to do," speech. And then they asked, "how long are you committed to that?" Which kind of threw me...the military culture really promotes volunteerism...all I would need for Girl Scouts is one day a week that I'm either not put on the schedule or put on the earliest shift.

11. - It's not really what I want to do. We're fortunate to be in a position where I don't HAVE to take a last resort job. I know my husband has a stable job and his company isn't shutting down anytime soon. We live well within our means and have a responsible savings plan. So, if I want to hold out for a teaching job, even if I won't ever get one until we get back to the states, I have that luxury.

12. - It's not really what I want to do, and it wouldn't have an impact on my future. If I were offered a teaching job, I would snap it up in a heartbeat. Even if it was teaching 4th grade or 5th grade when what I really want to teach is 2nd, 1st or 3rd. But it would get me in the system and perhaps I could slide into another grade the next year. It would count toward my years of experience and bump me up on the pay scale and also count toward my years to retirement. (I'm pretty sure in Indiana, your eligibility for retirement is determined by the sum of your age and your years of teaching). The day care center wouldn't benefit me in any of those ways. 

13. + It's not permanent. I could take the job, see if the schedule works out for me, etc. and if it doesn't, I could leave the position. I don't LOVE quitting jobs, but I've done it before...and I have a feeling that a lot of people do quit this particular job. I've heard from a lot of people that they quit after a few months. Most recently, I spoke to a woman who shattered that record...she quit after one day!

So, that's 4 positive points and 9 negative points. I'm sure you can see where I'm leaning...
One other point to make, though, is that when I was in Okinawa, I thought I would NEVER get a job on base. Immediately after accepting a low-paying, long-commute, not-recognized-as-experience-for-pay-or-retirement-purposes job at a school off base, the phone calls started rolling in from the on-base schools. So maybe I need to accept this job so I'll get offered the one I really want?? My dad says "it's easier to get a job when you have a job."

On Top of the World!

So, as you may know, maybe because I said so once or twice, or maybe just because you are very intuitive, this year while I've been in England, my husband has been in Greenland. He's in the U.S. Air Force and has been for 10 years and a few months... and he's been lots of places. I've been lots of places, too, but he's been to more places and different places and even got paid to go there. I've never been to South America or the Middle East, but, thanks to the AF, D has. I think this is really unfair, so when he went to Greenland, I was pretty bummed that he was going to another place that I'd never go to. Seriously...if he went to, say, Poland or Florida or something for work, it wouldn't be too upsetting, because I could go there sometime in the future. But Greenland... who in the world goes to Greenland?
Well, *I* did!

We had been talking for quite some time about spending Christmas together at Thule (the base in Greenland)
(If you want to learn more about Thule, see maps, read about the mission, etc. check here.). Because you never know what the weather (and the plane!!) will have in store, D was concerned about having me attempt to fly in on the 24th... if the plane broke, I'd be stuck at the airport in Baltimore all alone for Christmas! So, he got a special approval for me to come on the 17th and stay for 2 weeks! (And it was a good thing, too...because the plane was not able to fly on the 24th and didn't arrive until the 26th!)

What was Greenland like?
Well, I was waaaaay up at the top, just 8 or 900 miles from the North Pole!
(see where all the yellow lines join together?)

It was dark. It was cold. There was snow.

(this is driving me crazy now because my text is centered instead of on the left!)

24 hours of darkness..... it never got light. It was dark at 4 in the afternoon. And noon. And 9 in the morning. On my first full day there, I woke up at a normal time and David was at work. He came to pick me up for lunch at 11, and when I walked outside it was just kind of weird! Because it looked like 11pm, but I was heading out to eat lunch! It was crazy! The moon was out all the time. And we all had reflectors on our coats.

When it's 24 hours of darkness, reflectivity is very important!

David had to work most of the time I was there, so I spent my days reading, watching Oprah 3 times a day (twice on AFN and again on actual ABC!), watching Christmas movies, playing with my pink DS, and eating Christmas cookies! My mom sent some and I had sent some too.

He picked me up for lunch at the chow hall every day and I loved it! It costs $3.30 per meal but you get to eat as much as you want. My favorites were Tuesdays and Wednesdays... Taco-building and stir-fry-to order, respectively. So good. The only downfall to taco & stir-fry day was that I didn't usually have enough room for soup or salad bar!  We walked around the BX (which took about 3 minutes since it's so tiny!) after lunch most days too. I guess that is the routine.

Most nights, we ate at the chow hall for dinner too, but a couple of times a week, we went to the TOW club. That's short for "Top of the World"! Because, well, that's practically where we were. I had a Ruben, a "Security Forces Burger" (pepperoni, pizza sauce, and mozzarella cheese) and a BLT. One night we shared a Polar Bear Pizza with D's buddy (it wasn't really made of polar bears...it had pepperoni, sausage, ham and bacon, I think), and we went for wings twice. Wednesday night is wings night. I guess we ate at the club more often than I thought! We also ordered food from the club one night because that's D's Sunday night football routine. We had pizza from the club on the first Friday I was there, because each Friday there is free pizza at game night. Video games mostly, but one Friday we played board games, too!

When D wasn't at work, we spent our time shaking presents, going to the community center for game night or to play Scrabble or watch movies (the theater AND the popcorn are free! We saw The Time Traveler's Wife and The Goods). We also went to the gym. D lifted, I ran on the treadmill and we also played Becsketball (shooting baskets with my own very special scoring system...1 point for hitting the backboard but missing a basket, 2 points for hitting the rim and bouncing off without making a basket, 4 points for making a basket, and 10 points for making a "nothing but net" basket.) and we set up the tennis net and played a little indoor tennis. Neither of us has played in over a year, and usually D is waaaaaaay better than me, but apparently, my rust shakes off more quickly than his does. Or maybe it was all the practice I had been doing playing Top Spin 3 on my pink DS! ;)  One day we went bowling and I can't believe I won the first game! Actually, I'll have to check with David to make sure I'm remembering correctly...it's so unfathomable that I think I might be making it up. On the nights we went to the club, we usually played pool or darts. Once, I won at 301! I was amazed! I also won at pool, but that's because David cheated for me and moved balls around. The juke box at the club is free! So is playing pool & darts. And so is the cab ride to the club (or to anywhere on base!) One night at the club, I played the slot machine "Enchanted Forest" or something. I picked that one because it had unicorns on it and I love unicorns! Unicorns must love me too, because I won $3.28! Actually, I had put in a dollar to play, so I guess I only won $2.28. And when I went to cash out, I only got 3 dollars because the club doesn't pay out coins. I made history as the lowest cash out ever at the Top of the World Club at Thule Air Base. I wonder if they are going to make a plaque for the wall or something. The guy said that the lowest he had ever seen before that was $40. I blew that record out of the water! David always goes and sings karaoke on Thursdays, but he didn't sing on the first day I was there, so I only got to see him on one karaoke night (because we were stormed in the other Thursday I was there), but that was fun. More on that later. One day we went to the little museum on the base too. It was interesting, lots of old equipment, pictures, etc. And we also went to the Telepost Danish/Greenlandic(?) post office and gift shop. So, basically, I did EVERYTHING there is to do there.  

The first Sunday I was there, we went into storm condition Charlie right after brunch. When we were in Bravo, D said that we'd better get to the chow hall and hope we could get through our meal before they "called Charlie". Charlie means you're stuck in your residence until the commander decides it's safe enough to start driving around again. (Weekend brunch, by the way, was fab...omelets, eggs & pancakes to order as well as assorted meats and fresh fruit). Anyway, even when we weren't in Charlie, we spent some time in the room (because as you read about in the paragraph above, there wasn't too terribly much else to do) and we played games (Phase 10, Scattergories, Risk, Jenga), watched movies, played Rock Band, read, and played Jeopardy. I'm still the Champ. On Sunday, David was really hoping NOT to go into Charlie, because he likes going to the other building to watch football.

One day, we drove off of the main base toward another part of base that's up on the mountain. Apparently that's where the stuff that the base is there to support is. That's when I really got a sense of just how dark it is there! Because we were away from the lit-up buildings and then D turned off the headlights so I could see! He was trying to help me make out the outlines of things along the way, but it was really hard...mountains, islands, and the Greenlandic Ice Cap. We also saw the AF tug boat (that I could see) but even right by the boat, it was really hard to see the water. I didn't like being by the boat, because 1. I think it's old and kind of creepy looking, 2. I was scared that we might get eaten by a polar bear or a giant pack of Archies (Arctic foxes) and 3. I thought, "If there were a Lifetime Movie set at Thule, this is exactly where the husband  would take the wife to murder her." Oh, and 4. I was freezing!

On my last day at Thule, after breakfast, the full moon was bright and the skies were clear since a storm had blown through, so I could finally see Mount Dundas which was huge (but I never even saw it there until that day!), and the water and island in the bay.

I liked being there and having nothing to do but spend time together! I'm so glad that I got the chance to go there......there aren't many people who will, not that many spouses even visit, and they certainly don't get to spend as much time as I did there. The whole time I was there, I kept having moments where I just felt in awe, that a place like that exists in the world, that I was there, etc. And I'm glad that I got to see where David has spent his year. He had told me about it, of course, but I don't think words or pictures are enough to describe the experience to anyone. And now, the final countdown begins...D will be coming home "next month"! It's so fun to say that!

Shopping List-part 3

Shoes!
My mom said to limit the number of shoes I pack in my suitcase since they take up more room....and I limited it quite by accident:

They're all in there somewhere. Or maybe in one of the many many other boxes that look just like these.
I do have 3 pairs of running shoes... the ones that are old and I just walk around in them (will wear those on the plane), my newest ones that I currently wear, and a pair that's not new anymore but not new yet either which I decided to bring in case it is still snowy and my shoes get wet. I also have a pair of flip flops, but something tells me I won't be using those very much.

I couldn't resist buying myself a little welcome home present...some cute blue shoes!

Black, White & Blue - by BeccaAgain on Polyvore.com

Black & Blue - by BeccaAgain on Polyvore.com

Our house echoes!

It was crazy to watch my whole house get packed up yesterday. It took me 3.5 years to make all that mess, and they had it all packed up in just a few hours! People had told me that they would pack "everything"...there's even a comic strip that shows a girl pouring herself a cup of coffee on moving day, greeting the movers, and coming back for a refill only to find the coffee pot wrapped in paper and ready to go. It's true! I went to blow my nose today and realized that I since I hadn't put the kleenex outside, it was gone!


Here are a few reasons why I think I would be a good mover:
1. I am small and it is easy for me to weave my way through a room full of boxes and packing materials.
2. I have legible handwriting for labeling boxes.
3. I can stand on our kitchen counter and have just enough clearance to not touch the ceiling. I wouldn't have to stoop to remove dishes, etc. from the cabinets.

Here are a few reasons why I think I would NOT make a good mover:
1. I don't think my visual-spatial awareness is good enough. These guys are off the charts!
2. I'm just not that great at moving heavy and awkward items. I would've gone for reinforcements when it came time to get the 61" tv off its stand, but the guy working in the living room didn't need to!
3. I'm not good at finishing one thing before moving on to the next. I would have half packed a box and gotten sidetracked by something that looked more fun to pack.
4. I like taking breaks.
5. I would probably have made loud comments like "Gross!" when finding all the dust when taking knick knacks off shelves and moving furniture.
6. When packing up the board games, I probably would've asked if anyone wanted to play a quick game of Yahtzee.

Lesson Learned

Even though I like our "transient" lifestyle, every now and then I think of how nice it would be to buy a house and live there for more than 4 years. I think how it would be to have the same neighbors for more than 4 years, and how nice it would be if they didn't live right above me or if their front door wasn't 5 feet away from my front door. Wouldn't it be kind of fun to buy furniture or choose a new wall color? To know all the people in the neighborhood and start traditions with them and have our (non-existent) children grow up with theirs and be carpooling pals and have those same (non-existent) children move away and bring their children to our house to sleep in their old bedrooms and marvel over the growth-chart marks in the pantry? (Too many ABC Family movies, I know). And of course, wouldn't it be nice to live somewhere and not have to go through the hassle of moving?

Moving from here has definitely an experience (and we haven't really even started yet!)... we still aren't sure WHEN we'll be leaving, but it could be in 11 days. Or, I suppose it could be in 4 days, because we haven't actually heard whether our request for the 11-days-away departure has been approved. I'm hoping for 11. David, it seems, is bracing himself for 4. Last night he cleaned out the fridge (which, I swear, I had *just* done before Thanksgiving!). Today he cleaned the oven. Next up: the freezer. It makes me sick to think of how much money we're throwing away. Here's the thing about moving across an ocean rather than across a county: there's a lot that you can't take with you! I sold half-burned Yankee Candles at the flea market because you can't move with candles that have already been lit. I considered not showering for 2 weeks, because what's the point of buying a whole new shower gel? No liquids allowed in the move. Spices might confuse the drug dogs, so those have got to go too (that's why I have 3 of each spice, because doubles have been "willed" down to us by friends that have moved). Obviously the fridge/freezer things shouldn't be packed up and put into temporary storage. But cabinet things aren't really supposed to go either (maybe because of agricultural reasons...bugs in rice, flour, etc. Gross!) and it's really difficult to plan a meal that David will eat just out of the items that remain in our cabinets: mandarin oranges, rice a roni, potato pancake mix, a large can of whole tomatoes, 4 varieties of hot chocolate mixes, Craisins, a can of beets, Ritz crackers, graham cracker crumbs, maple syrup and peanut butter--2 jars. Any recipe ideas? Please keep in mind that David has put a moratorium on dirtying more than 3 dishes (including those we'll eat off of) for any meal.

I suppose that the good thing about being required to move is that we'll have a good chance at a fresh start at our next place. At our next place, I hope to NOT find a package of ground beef in the back of the freezer and wonder if I might have bought it in one of my very first trips to the commissary 3 and a half years ago. Today I needed to unplug something from the surge protector our computer is on so I could plug in the external hard drive & back up some files...that was a disaster, so I know that at my next place, I should get those little cord label things so I know if I am unplugging the computer, printer, or cable box without following a bunch of cord trails! And I hope to do my hand wash/no dryer laundry more often so that I'm not stuck in a time crunch wondering if my clothes would be dry enough to pack by the time the movers get here!

Welcome to my Pity Party

I love Charlie Brown/Snoopy & the Peanuts gang. Lately I find myself picturing this green wall-hanging in the basement of my grandma's house. It has a very frustrated Lucy screaming, "I'm frustrated, inhibited and nobody understands me!" I think that wall-hanging might be the thing that motivated me to learn to read big words. I remember trying to read it and trying to understand what it meant...and now I know.
We are going through a lot of red tape issues (and have been for months) as we attempt to move. I think I've done a good job being positive and hopeful. Even my psychiatrist (who is actually not my psychiatrist, he's one of my running partners who happens to be a psychiatrist) thinks I'm handling the situation unbelievably well. But, as our departure draws nearer and the issues just keep on coming, I have decided that it might be healthy to take a few minutes to vent.
First let me say that up until a few months ago, I was a big fan of the Air Force. When David was in Korea and feeling lousy about the AF, I talked it up and said it would be better when he was somewhere else, and when we were together. When I invited my young neighbors over for dinner and he said that he would probably just do his 4 years and get out, I encouraged him to stay in for all the good opportunities and job security and what-not. When David was deployed for 4 months, I went to a deployed spouse all-services dinner and knew that because I'm an AF spouse, the deployment would probably be easier on me than a lot of the other gals at my table. I would smile gently at my Marine Corps Wife friends when they complained and be glad to be Air Force. When my MC friend said her nephew was going to join the military and called to ask her what branch she'd suggest I said, "I hope you told him Air Force!" I even got a Proud Wife of an Airman coffee mug for Christmas...and didn't think it was a gag gift.
Second, let me say that I really try to make sure that I don't get all "I am Military Wife. Hear me be selfless and self-sufficient and strong" (although I don't completely disagree with the statement). I also don't want to come across as "I'm a Military Wife. You should feel sorry for me because I move a lot and live far away from my family and spend months at a time alone and every time I make a best friend she moves away and we get phone calls in the middle of the night calling my military man into work or to deal with some issue caused by someone he supervises" (but if you want to feel sorry for me every now and then, you're more than welcome).
And third, I think I must mention that David would probably be uncomfortable with the idea of me blogging about my current issues with the AF. So I won't mention any names or offices or specifics about anything which might make this kind of confusing for all of us.
And now...let me begin my vent.
When David volunteered to go on an unaccompanied assignment, we BOTH volunteered for it. We both decided that the benefits such an assignment could offer would make the sacrifice almost worthwhile. One of the supposed benefits was the chance to have a follow-on assignment, to know about it ahead of time, and to have it be one of our top choices of location. This benefit is fairly well-known, as every time I said "He's doing a remote", the first response was "Oooo, what's your follow-on?" But it turns out, this benefit is a real can of worms. We were originally supposed to leave TOMORROW. (Actually, we were originally supposed to leave last June, but that's beside the point.) Now we are supposed to leave TWO WEEKS from now. I have no idea what I'm doing, where I'm going, or if I'm even really leaving. The package that we submitted for approval over two months ago (which must be approved before we can get orders, which is the magical thing we need to start the process of leaving) has been sent to the wrong person, sent from the wrong person, unopened for long periods of time, lost, deleted. This is a whole new level of ridiculousness, and believe me, I'm familiar with ridiculous. Did you know that my own SSN isn't even on my ID card? David's is. It makes my place clear every time I look at it... I am Property of Property of the U.S. Military. But seriously, Air Force... I am a person!!! I am a human being and I don't think it's completely out of line for a human being who has willingly relinquished control of many of the most important aspects of her life to want you to make a decision in a timely manner, inform me of the decision, and stick with it.
Thank you. Vent over.
It probably would've gone on much longer, but my sensible and positive Marine Wife friend called and managed to bring me down a few notches.

In the 36 days since I've blogged...

I have:
-passed out Halloween candy
-sat through 16 parent-teacher conferences
-made 10 dozen chocolate chip pumpkin muffins
-read the first 3 books in the Twilight saga
-started 3 knitting projects and finished 0
-decided to teach myself to crochet a blanket, but stopped at a dishcloth
-planned, cooked and eaten a Thanksgiving dinner
-received a "Port Call" date for when we're leaving
-passed my first housing inspection
-done 2 loads of laundry *blush*
-turned in my letter of resignation at work
-packed my classroom into 14 Rubbermaid bins
-bought some Christmas presents
-opened one Christmas present
-put out a few Christmas decorations
-remembered to take my vitamins 3 times
-written 5 days worth of sub plans
-made 5 cards and 0 scrapbook pages
-attempted to blog ate least 3 times to no avail
-been waiting (and still am) for the USAF to tell me what my future holds
-been to the BX way more than the commissary
-watched an embarrassing number of movies on Lifetime and ABC Family
-procrastinated packing, sorting, purging, cleaning... I guess that's what my month+ off work is for!

Only the Pros

So last week, our plans changed. Not something trivial like dinner plans, but major life plans. Okay, okay, really only a year of the plans got changed, but it's kind of hard to stomach when you're not even the person in charge of making the changes. And when the entity making the changes can't seem to give you all of the information, but they're changing your whole life anyway.
In short (because I'm getting kind of tired of talking about it), instead of going home for a year like I thought I would while David is gone, I basically have no choice (no good one anyway) but to go directly to our next base in England and wait. So, I gave myself a day to cry and stress out about it (okay, 3 days) but now it's time to move on. There's no sense complaining about it, because it can't be changed. [Although I will still allow myself a normal healthy amount of stress for the details once I get there] My initial instinct was to make a pros/cons list, but that's only useful when YOU are the one making your own decisions.
So, now I'm making an Only Pro list:
1. I get the day off school today because I have to go to the dentist and make sure my teeth are well enough to be shipped to England.
2. Remember how sometimes Blogger (and a few other sites too) thinks I can read Japanese just because my computer is in Japan? Well, guess what... even if it thinks I'm English because my computer is in England...all the words will still be in English!
3. I won't be "allowed" to work until David gets there. Darn. ;)
4. I can wear sweaters there, and not just indoors with the a/c blasting.
5. After living somewhere where a plane ticket home costs $1,500+, the ticket from England will seem cheap. (for example, I just looked up last-minute tickets on expedia-- from here to Chicago leaving in 3 days would cost $2,700, but from England to Chicago is less than $700...that's definitely a pro!)
6. After living somewhere where a plane ride home involves 2 or 3 planes and 11+ hours on one plane, an 8.5 hour plane ride will seem short.
7. Since the travel is so short & cheap, I'll be able to go home more often in 1 year than I have in the past 3.5.
8. People will probably feel sorry for me and visit me.
9. I already know how to drive on the left side of the road.
10. I already have experience riding the "tube".
11. The signs will be in English.
12. I like fish & chips.
13. There are these great things there called trains and cheap flights and you can use them to get to lots of other European countries!
14. I will live in the same place as Harry Potter.
15. That island is a whole lot bigger than this one!
16. I already know a few people there: someone who taught at our school and moved there last year, someone who David was in Saudi with, and a few Ravelry buddies!
17. They have "English Breakfast". I love breakfast.
18. The places around where I will live are really cute! Just my style. I think I'll get there just a little bit too late to rent an old chapel that's been converted to a house! It's so darn cute...but it goes up for "let" a month before we'll get there.
19. People speak English there! And they do it with these fabulous accents!
20. And how about the obvious... it's England, for Pete's sake! There's castles and scones and a hot Prince! (William, not Charles)

Where is their red, white and blue??

So, I think I've mentioned before that being on base here in Okinawa is basically just like being in the states. You've got your BK & your gas by the gallon instead of the liter (litre?) and other comforts of home. The only real "you're not in Kansas (or other state) anymore" instances are:
1. driving on the "wrong" side of the road
2. being carded on the way into the commissary
3. calling the grocery store the commissary
4. standing for the National Anthem before the previews come on at the movie theater
and 5. stopping the car or standing still at 1700 while the Star Spangled Banner plays over the loud speaker.

Today I need to gripe about #5. Not the fact that the custom exists, but that so many people choose to ignore it. I will admit that I have done some extra shopping in the BX if it's nearing 5 to avoid standing outside with my bags. I will also admit that it's quite common for me to find something to busy myself with in my classroom until 5:05 rather than walking out at 4:59. I can even count on one hand the number of times that I've literally run into the house so I can be in before the anthems (Japanese and USA) begin to play. But that's usually only if I really have to go to the bathroom. So I'm not saying I'm perfectly patriotic. BUT I do think I'm patriotic enough to complain about some people who blatantly ignore the SSB at 5:00.
If it's close to 5:00 and you're in your car, windows up and radio on, you don't really hear the anthem come on. But, if it's close to 5:00, you're in your car, windows up, radio on, and you see two people standing "at attention", that's a pretty good clue that it's time for retreat. So, I pull to the side and put my blinkers on. Okay...now, if it's close to 5:00, you're in your car, windows up, radio on, you see two people standing at attention and the car in front of you has pulled to the side and put the blinkers on...do you see where this is going? How was it not clear to the THREE cars that went around me that it was, in fact, time to pause for the playing of the national anthem??
A few months ago, David had a 6:00 softball game, and because David is David, we arrived an hour early. We were walking toward the field, and standing outside at the softball field, it is very easy to hear the speakers. So we stopped and stood for the 2 minutes it takes to get through both anthems. Then David went and spoke to the "coach" that had been leading a group of about 15 kids in stretches...during the national anthem.
I don't know what's with some people around here. I would've expected this particular demographic to be more respectful of military custom and America in general. I always tell my students that saying the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning is our way of saying "thank you" to the moms, dads, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, etc. that are missing their families and maybe in danger right now. The boy who raises his hand and says, "They are fighting for us so we can believe in the things we want to believe in. Some of them might get hurt or die, so we should stand still and think of them every morning," I bet his parents stand still for 2 minutes at 5:00.

Time-Out

It's almost time for my 2nd Okinawa Marathon! The marathon almost got taken away from us since we're all on "time-out" for the time being. Perhaps you've seen it on CNN... due to some eh...really bad decision-making by a small number of people here, we've been placed on lock-down and aren't allowed to go anywhere off-base except if you need to drive to work, home from work, or to the hospital. But, they decided to make a special exception for people who are running or volunteering for the marathon. Thank goodness! You may not think someone would be all mad about being told NOT to go out and run 26.2 miles (actually, I think the Okinawa marathon course is a little long...26.44 miles), but I would've been. I love to sleep, yet for the past 18 Saturdays (more actually, because my running group meets in the "off-season" as well) I've been out of bed by 5:30 to go out and run in the dark. Usually, the runs are long enough that you don't even remember it being dark by the time the sun is beating down on you at the end of the run. I've spent many a Saturday afternoon packed in ice from the knee down, done lots of extra loads of laundry (but not so much since the increase in my running socks and clothes at Christmas!), and have been trying to stay hydrated so much that several times I have had to break my usually strict policy about not using the restrooms at school. (Ever since I went to the bathroom once when I taught 3rd grade at Edison Elementary School and saw a pile of poo with one neat little square of toilet paper resting atop it in the corner of a bathroom stall, I've raced home--or, in extreme cases, to the closest home of a friend of family member-- to pee at the end of the day. I believe that's why my car is typically parked terribly crooked... it's absolutely imperative that I get in the house right away and can't be bothered to take an extra minute to think about parking!)
Anyway, after making such lifestyle changes and commitments for such a long time, one actually starts to lose sanity enough to WANT to run 26.2 miles on a Sunday morning. And afternoon. It takes that long.
So, it's almost here, and in less than 48 hours, it will be all over. I'm now as physically prepared as I will be before the marathon. I'm going to go out for a leisurely 2 mile run on Saturday morning, since I no longer know how to sleep in on Saturdays. Then it will be all mental preparations until 9 am on Sunday. I've made a mental list of 10 reasons why I believe I will be more successful than last year. I've developed a new mantra, "Run smart, feel good". I've thought, compared, and calculated what I believe are "smart" and "maybe even doable" mile times. I've spent some time narrowing down the selection of the perfect sticker to conceal the pace-per-mile view on my Garmin (I want to see the total time and total mileage, but the pace-per-mile became quite distracting...and a bit disheartening from time to time... last year). I'm debating between "Keep it up" and "Way to Go". This is one of those times I'm glad I'm a teacher... I have loads of stickers at my disposal and it didn't take long to find one that will fit my needs. I've got a signed "permission slip" to be off base that I'll have to tuck into my pocket. I've chosen my outfit and recruited some fans. Some of the gals from my bunco group might go out and cheer, and a few other teachers will be out. David will be at about the 18th mile and the end. He's not allowed to go anywhere else. I've also *almost* solidified my list of dedicatees for the last 6 miles. I'm not ready to officially release the list yet, but I will say that Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield from Prison Break) did not make the cut. Although he was very very close to being on that list. I ended up choosing someone else because I thought that daydreaming of Wentworth Miller while running might just make me lose focus and slow down. Or choke on my own drool.

Add another store to my naughty list

And it's one of my favorite stores, too. I have bought SO MANY clothes from New York & Company and now I'm going to have to add them to my naughty list. So frustrating!
NY & Co. was having a great sale on their website and I picked out some good deals on good work clothes-- a few pairs of dress pants, a pair of jeans, a cute argyle sweater, and a few button-down shirts. Of course it took me forever to decide, narrow down (I think my original selections totaled about $400+ and I needed to get it down to $100-)and finally place the order. I checked first to be sure that Armed Forces addresses were a shipping option and they were. At least it said they were...
Almost done placing the order and a little error message comes up. Turns out, my address can't be "verified". Um? Why not? My address has recently been found "verifiable" by 30-something Christmas cards, birthday cards, packages from various stores and people I know. I'm pretty darn sure it's a real address, seen as how I go there everyday and pick up something or other.
So, I called customer service and worked extra hard at being pleasant with the girl on the phone. It's not her fault. It's not her fault. It's not her fault. Just have to remember that sometimes when I'm feeling snippy with customer service. The girl was very pleasant and said she would give my order to her supervisor so it could be placed manually. She also had me give an e-mail address and said I'd get e-mail confirmation and communication once it had shipped.
When 8 days went by without a confirmation e-mail, I called back. Turns out, my order is nowhere to be found. But I can place it again if I want to. Turns out, all but 2 of the items I want are no longer available in my size. But I really liked that argyle sweater so I decided to just go for it.
Then I check my e-mail today and Rochelle has e-mailed me to tell me that "some" APO addresses just don't work with their system and mine happens to be one of them. Wha??
Of course, being the wise problem-solver that she is, she suggested that I have it delivered to another address. You know, one of those other homes that I own and stop by each day to check the mail?
Well, ever since the incident with Phil C. (and his sidekick Paul, of course)I've been dying to respond to that suggestion and prove that as wise and problem-solving as those customer service reps are, I am--in fact--wiser and problem-solvinger. When Rochelle asked me for another address, I suggested that she input the address of customer service or the corporate office and have whoever receives it there take it on over to the post office and mail it out. I don't think that's too unreasonable, as the flaw is obviously with NY & Co.'s system and not MY problem. And before you start typing your response, Paul-who-secretly-works-for-The-Container-Store-yet-pretends-to-just-happen-upon-my-blog, remember what happened to you last time you tried to stick up for the bad guy.

The Cruelty of Military Housing

Have I mentioned before that we only have one bathroom? One. Uno. Just one single, solitary bathroom. For 2 people. I don't think I've ever lived somewhere with just one bathroom, always 2 or 3. I'd even prefer summer camp, or campground style...if I had to walk outside to get to the bathroom, it would be better than having only one. On Saturdays we have to plan very carefully, because David is leaving the house for golfing right around the time that I need to leave the house for running group. He takes much longer than me in the bathroom, if you know what I mean, plus he has to shower I guess because you should be clean for golf, while it would be silly to shower right before running.
This morning, I got up early, fully intending to go for a run. But, David got up first, and claimed the bathroom. (I do NOT share bathroom time with anyone. I don't want to go in and pee while someone is brushing their teeth or even in the shower. I did my time in the dorms, that was enough bathroom-sharing for me!) So I had to wait...and wait...and wait. I got dressed in my running clothes, and waited some more. After all that waiting, I decided to check ScrapVillage. By the time David came out of the bathroom, I no longer had time to go for the 6 mile run I had planned. Besides, by that time I was involved in posting on ScrapVillage! So I decided to check my e-mail. And write this blog entry. And now I have no time to go for that run, even a less-than-six mile run, and I woke up at 5:08 for nothing. At least my running clothes are still clean...

**I know it may sound as though I'm irritated with David for taking so much time in the bathroom, but I'm not. I understand that he has to brush his teeth, shave, shower, and um...read the paper...before work. I am irritated with the housing office for thinking it's okay to assign people (even people with a child--that's 3 people!) to live in a place with just one bathroom!

The best thing about August

is that my neighbors are MOVING! Hip hip, Hooray! No more loud, drunk people laughing outside my window when I am trying to get some sleep before a 15, 18, 20 or 26.2 mile run. No more of the strongest-ever fabric softener wafting out of their house and into our entryway. And, best of all, no more garbage left outside!!!! Yesterday at 10:00 am, a friend of mine rang the doorbell. It's bad enough that in our entryway there are 4 tires (belong to our upstairs neighbor), a motorcycle (belonging to our OTHER upstairs neighbor), but to top it off, our directly across the way neighbor has, ONCE AGAIN, left two bags of trash outside. And because the motorcycle is in the space where the trash bags used to sit for 4 days at a time, they decided that instead of walking the 15 feet to the trash cans, it would be way more convenient to just leave them against the wall to MY house, about 2 feet from my door. Lovely lovely neighbors. While I was outside talking to my friend, the guy walked past and went to his house. Shortly thereafter, once I was back inside, he walked past the garbage AGAIN and chose to leave it there. Surely, he and his wife have now walked past that garbage at least ten times. Yet, it still sits in front of my door. Well, actually, not anymore... I moved it. I moved it and put it right in front of THEIR door. Because no-more Miss Nice Guy, that's why. And guess what... I was upstairs talking to my friendly neighbor and he came & left for lunch break and I bet you know what I'm going to say next... he DID NOT take out the garbage! Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!!

Dear Phil C.,

Ok... this morning, I was absolutely giddy. And all it took was ordering 24 plastic shoe boxes in which to store my 35+ pairs of shoes. The leather shoes here get moldy---ew. And all shoes no matter what are totally dusty. This place is dustier than a desert, I tell you! Plus, with the invasion of my little roach friends, I've become a bit neurotic about my shoes (amongst other things). So I was just thrilled. All day I was imagining myself in less than 2 weeks, stacking up my beautiful shoe boxes. Everytime someone said, "How are you?" I said, "I'm getting plastic shoe boxes!"

Then, I checked my e-mail. And Phil C. from Customer Care says I can't have my plastic boxes. What??? He says The Container Store won't ship to APO. Grr...show some patriotism, Phil.

If Phil knew me, he'd know better than to mess with me on a Friday. All the week's worth of stress is all piled up and just ready to be ranted and raved right out And what better way to channel my stress than in an e-mail to the mean man who's going to try to deny me my plastic boxes?

So, if you want a laugh, if you want to raise your fist in the air and encourage people to fight for those who fight for you, if you are having one of those days and you need to know that someone out there is a little bit more maniacal than you are, if you've ever had a run-in with some customer care person who seemed like he really didn't care at all... read on.
Ahem...


Dear Phil C.,
Due to the fact that I reside in Japan, there is no alternate address to which I would like the items shipped. What is the reason that you do not ship to APO? The same shipping rates apply as they would to ship stateside. The only difference is that one would need to fill out a customs slip including the addresses being sent to/from and a brief description of contents: "plastic boxes" would suffice.

It is highly disappointing that your company does not ship to APO/FPO. Overseas troops and their families are not afforded many of the "luxuries" that the general population takes for granted. We cannot run out to Target or Wal-Mart...and certainly not to The Container Store... to pick up plastic boxes in which to store the shoes that are gathering mold and dust due to the climate here. Our Base Exchange is very limited in selection and is frequented by over ten-thousand troops and their families, so you can imagine that, during the blue moon when there is something that one would want, it goes out of stock rather quickly. It's our only option for American merchandise!
I apologize for being so harsh and negative, it's just that it's rather tiresome to think that not only can I not see my family for years at a time, not only can I not see my deployed husband for over a third of the year, but also I can't even have some plastic shoe boxes. I wouldn't think that that would be too much to ask for.

So many wonderful companies make our overseas duty stations feel a little more like home... why can't The Container Store be one of them? If you could only see our housing, Phil, you'd recognize the need for lots and lots of organization aids! I realize that, short of taking my package to the post office and mailing it yourself, there may be nothing you can do to drastically change The Container Store's policy on patriotic shipping. However, I do encourage you to forward this e-mail on to someone who can. The members of my social circles are downright frustrated with the number of online retailers that are unwilling to fill out a slip of paper for us (heck, we'd even fill them out and mail them to you if it meant getting merchandise that we want!) and believe me, when there is a store that IS willing to go that extra inch for us, word gets around.

Please consider changing your shipping policy, or at least bending it for me (wink, wink). As you may have gathered, I really want those plastic shoe boxes.

Cordially,

Rebecca S

Waaaah.

Day 2 of being a single wife is almost over.
Lots of people say it's like being a single mom when a spouse is deployed. Which I know would have to be rough. But it sure would be nice to have some company!
I haven't turned on the tv/iPod yet so all I hear is the sound of clicking keys.
Last night, I ate some Nilla Wafers for dinner and fell asleep on the couch before 8:30. Before that, though, I positively freaked out when I saw a (thank you thank you thank you) dead bug larger than a double-a battery on the floor and realized that if I really planned to stand on the couch whimpering until David came to dispose of the bug, I'd be there an awfully long time. So I did my first life as a single wife thing and vacuumed it up all by myself. And I only screamed a little. But I probably would've been living in my car for the next few months if that bug had been alive.

The Good Morning Game

Whenever I run I always greet other runners/cyclists that are on my path. For the longest time, I found that runners are just way more friendly than cyclists (sorry, cyclists!) because they would usually greet me right back.
Until I came here...
Now it's become a game of sorts: How Many People Can I Get to Say Good Morning. I don't know if Air Force people are totally unfit or incredibly unfriendly (I find myself hoping it's the latter---after all, they're supposed to pass routine fitness tests) but they either don't have the breath or don't have the courtesy to say Good Morning back to me. As I came down the hill back toward my house, I passed 9 runners fairly close to each other, and only ONE returned my good morning. I started to think of running in the states and how many runners would at least say good morning, and maybe even start more of a conversation. (Maybe that's just Midwestern runners, I hear we're very friendly people in those parts!)
But I passed one more runner and decided to give it one more shot. He DID reply after I said good morning, and he said something I'd probably only hear while running on a military base: "Good morning, ma'am"

If you go to the commissary in the pouring rain,

You will find a close parking space. You'll be soaked by the time you get to the door, but you will not battle any crowds. You won't even have to wait in line. (But the person in front of you will have credit card problems and you will have to wait for him to try 3 different cards while pondering aloud why his card won't work)

You will also have ingredients to make a new dinner: Kahlua Jerk Chicken & Hawaiian Sweet Potatoes. That's what I'm going to go do now.

I am Excellent!

David is the guy who gives the PT (physical fitness) tests for his squadron. The other day he was telling me about this girl who had never passed one, so I asked him if it was really hard or what. Well, he offered to test me so I could see.
This morning, I had my waist measured and scored all possible points for that portion of the test.
Then, I did 41 pushups in 1 minute to score all possible points for that portion of the test. Can you believe that 41 pushups only gets you TEN points? *huff*
I did not score perfectly for sit-ups. My stomach was making really funny noises and I just had to laugh. So I only got 44 sit-ups instead of 47. Lost 2.25 points.
The run portion is worth 50 points. I had to run a mile and a half. I'm so disappointed---David had bet with the guys at work that I would beat their fastest runner's time and I missed it by about 20 seconds. But I've been sick all week and my chest was so heavy. Anyway, I ran 11:36 for a mile and a half. I lost 2.5 points on that too for not running 12 seconds faster.
BUT, I scored over a 96, which is "Excellent" according to the standards set by the US Air Force! It's also a higher score than David and everybody at his office. And, I'm *almost* the highest scoring woman David's ever tested. One girl that he tested got a 100 because she was exempt from all portions of the test but the waist measurement.
So... I'll try again another day and shoot for a perfect score! Until then, I'm happy enough being Excellent!