Well, we are in Colorado for the time being. We successfully sorted out our things into five sections: Unaccompanied baggage, Non-temp storage, household goods, donation, and trash.
OK, I say "successfully" tongue in cheek. I think there are things that got packed up that shouldn't have. Like an oil candle I had. But the packers packed it before I remembered it wasn't supposed to go. Just like our house cleaning contract. Luckily, the Housing office was relaxed about it, verified the amount agreed to with our cleaning person, and all was well. Isn't unpacking things and seeing how the shipment turned out part of the fun??
At least I didn't have to pack everything. While I appreciated having everything removed from shelves, wrapped up, put in boxes, loaded onto a truck and sealed into crates in ONE DAY (for household goods anyway), it was frustrating too because the ladies who were delegated to pack our things were terrible. They were slow, they were always on their phone, and the movers had to take frequent breaks because they were always waiting on them. They also delayed our ability to clear post on Wed. It was no big deal to clear on Thursday, as we were still a day ahead of time, but it meant getting into Colorado at 1 am instead of a nice 7 pm.
Yes, we decided driving would be better. We could take more things without paying huge penalties for overweight and excessive baggage on a one way ticket...with extra charges for a cat. The military will reimburse us for travel charges for getting to our next duty station, but not to get to our leave destination, which is what CO would be. And, we can take all of these things without extra charges (aside from the cat) on our flight to Frankfurt as airlines allow more weight and bags for military personnel and dependents flying on orders.
The plus side is, we discovered Otis is actually a really good traveler! He mainly slept in his crate, even though the door was open and chilled. He got out to look around when we stopped for gas and even peed in his litter box when we were on the on ramp to I-80! (Something I imagined took some balance and coordination as the on ramp curved ever so slightly and we were accelerating.) The only part Otis *really* DID NOT like was the storm. Just past North Platte, NE until Ogallala, NE we hit a mother of a storm. Luckily, there was no tornado activity. We had been tracking it on the radio as well. We happened to drive west into it as it was moving east on a stretch of I-80 that is down to 2 lanes in opposite directions. They estimated it dropped 4" of rain an HOUR. With hail. We were going 25 mph. It was the longest 11 miles on I-80 EVER.
And Otis was also letting us know he was displeased with the situation. He yoooowwwwwled and yowled and yowled and yowled. It was loud. At first, we didn't even hear him. Poor widdle kitten, it hurt his widdle ears! After that he was OK. Just restless for the last hour of the trip. He was ready to be out of the car. As were we.
It didn't help that we were pulled over outside of Sterling, CO. Luckily, we weren't going too far over the speed limit, and the officer was sympathetic that we were now "homeless" en route to our next duty station.
If all that wasn't enough excitement, we found out the week of our shipments, the week of our move, right after a Hail and Farewell ceremony, that we didn't have a forwarding address in Germany because our sponsor had heard we were being diverted.
wwwhhhHHAAAAAA?
After several days of phone calls and emails to G1 (a military equivalent to HR), the outgoing LTC, as well as several numbers overseas to the unit - who is currently on block leave and have very few people available, and even fewer with any helpful insight - we discovered that USAREUR (don't ask me what it stands for exactly) is pulling John to work at G4 headquarters. In Heidelberg.
Heidelberg is on the west side of Germany, closer to France.
Upon hearing this news, EVERYONE exclaimed how lucky we are because Heidelberg is GORGEOUS and WONDERFUL!
Here is what it comes down to:
Pros:
Closer to Western European countries for ease of travel
ability to explore more of Germany
I am back on concurrent travel and will fly with John instead of waiting for him to get there and find a house.
I can do the in-processing thing with him as I have never done it before
More housing availability, choices and sizes
No gray area for Otis's paperwork.
Pretty sure John was selected for this job because he's a rockstar.
Cons:
This is not a KD job. He needs a KD job to proceed in his career path.
He needs to politically maneuver his way to only be there for a year and then maybe go to Vilseck (or other KD job) without ruffling feathers or being the complainer guy who doesn't really want to be doing his job.
One extra move instead of moving there, then moving back.
Being last minute and changing ALL plans already made in preparation for moving to Vilseck.
Aside from that...it should be fun!
Remember my post when I first announced that we are "(for now) moving to Vilseck!" and I explained that the "for now" part is because the Army likes to change it's mind?
See, I wasn't lying.
As always, I'm along for the ride.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Anxiety
I always have a low level of anxiety when I run out of something in the fridge or pantry. I run to the list to make sure it gets picked up on the next trip to the commissary of grocery store. If it's a popular item, I make sure it's on the list the minute it reaches the magical level of what I deem to be "low".
This really does not explain the amount of times I have run out or not had a particular item mid-recipe.
But it may explain the anxiety.
So these days, I'm consistently torn between relief of using up an item, and not having enough of it.
We're trying to clean out the fridge and freezer, see. We will be in this house just a little over a week more, moving to a hotel next Monday, I believe.
(We still need to find a hotel that accepts pets. Not that they aren't out there. We just haven't looked. Yet.)
A lot of what we don't use will get trashed. Or donated to neighbors. Or donated to a food bank. Or (in the case of liquor) brought to my folks house.
My computer will start it's journey overseas on Thursday, so I may be a bit MIA thereafter. More than usual.
This really does not explain the amount of times I have run out or not had a particular item mid-recipe.
But it may explain the anxiety.
So these days, I'm consistently torn between relief of using up an item, and not having enough of it.
We're trying to clean out the fridge and freezer, see. We will be in this house just a little over a week more, moving to a hotel next Monday, I believe.
(We still need to find a hotel that accepts pets. Not that they aren't out there. We just haven't looked. Yet.)
A lot of what we don't use will get trashed. Or donated to neighbors. Or donated to a food bank. Or (in the case of liquor) brought to my folks house.
My computer will start it's journey overseas on Thursday, so I may be a bit MIA thereafter. More than usual.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Connections
I wouldn't say I had a "typical" army spouse experience thus far. I don't feel like I have anyway, but I'm not sure there is a definition of a "typical" army spouse experience.
My experience, so far, entails
-marrying later in life, far after college, or even high school
-not living near an army post until I lived ON an army post
-living on an army post that is about 1000 sq. miles on an island in the Mississippi River. It's a bit small compared to most other posts, and the civilian employees FAR outweigh the active duty service members.
-of the active duty population, there is a high proportion of senior ranking officials.
I know a lot of spouses who have known their military husbands (usually officers) since college and were married shortly after, and sometimes before, they were commissioned. They have been a part of their husbands' career from Day 1. (I don't mean to leave out Army husbands and focus on Army wives, I just haven't met any recently with wives who are still active duty.)
I met John when we were both well into our careers. (something I have had to put on hold, myself) I never lived in the same town as he did. We opted to commute back and forth from Denver to Colorado Springs when he was stationed there. I visited, we socialized, but a lot of the time was reserved for spending time together. I was never a part of his company's FRG when he was in command. His 1SG's wife handled that. Apparently it was a high drama filled FRG. But drama runs high during deployments anyway.
I was in a different state when he was the CG's Aide de Camp. It was apparently better that I wasn't around because, with his schedule, neither was he.
So I'm new to Army life in general. And now I live on post. Oh, and by the way, I learned a little too late that you stop and stand and face the flag during retreat. Do you know why I never knew? With the civilian population so large here, almost NO ONE does this. People don't even pull over on the road. I had no clue until I was with John and he got out of the car and stood at attention to face the flag.
So my point, (I'm getting to it, I promise), is that it's harder than I thought it would be to make connections. Don't get me wrong, I have loved being with my husband and getting acquainted with the idea that it's normal to see each other every day. But I have few friends. I have gotten involved with the FRG and the Welcome Club. (formally the Women's Club. However a new lady general is coming to town and her husband is one of the aforementioned Army husbands and gets very involved in the spouses groups.) I have friends I go to lunch with. I have neighbors that I wave and chat with. I have neighbors that I run in the door when I see them coming, too. But I don't really have anyone in a similar stage in life, in a similar stage of an army career, that I can relate to.
But in this community, it's been tough. I have heard it referred to as "inbred." People are born here, they go to school here, they get a job with John Deere or the Arsenal (generation after generation works here), and they die here. Everyone knows everyone else. The people that change are the active duty military.
The FRG is tiny. People are reluctant to get involved. Most people are older. (The Command Surgeon's wife runs it. It's commanded by a CPT but the wife of a COL is running our FRG.) I also hear rumors of spouse and family services here being a shadow of what you will find at other posts. The civilians are very much comfortable with their own processes and aren't used to dealing with active duty issues.
I have made very good connections with some generals' wives. But they don't socialize regularly unless it's with each other. Or within the realms of the social groups. I don't blame them. It seems to follow a "that's the way that it is" notion. It wouldn't really matter if they did anyway...I wouldn't be able to relate to them in the way that I'm seeking.
So. Back in March, a new CPT showed up to take command of the company on post. The company our FRG is attached to. He and his wife are younger, have no kids, and are just funny and cool people. (Others we have met in this criteria have a touch of whackadoo in them.) We hung out with them a few times in social situations and had a blast.
And now we're moving.
And there's also the small annoying fact that when it's not a social situation, the good CPT will address me as "Ma'am". Always in front of John, who outranks him. For one event we had, we were joking around in the preparation process, and then John arrived and then he started calling me "Ma'am."
"Hey, do you have the tape?"
"Right here, Ma'am."
It's a sign of respect, I know. It's more of a sign of respect for John's rank, I know.
But it still drives me up a wall. Luckily I can still easily chat with his wife without risking being called "Ma'am." hehehehe
It will be interesting to get into a military community at the Battalion level again. For me, anyway. I need to experience being on a more active duty centered post. Meet more spouses. Make some new friends. Connect.
Germany holds lots of adventures for us.
My experience, so far, entails
-marrying later in life, far after college, or even high school
-not living near an army post until I lived ON an army post
-living on an army post that is about 1000 sq. miles on an island in the Mississippi River. It's a bit small compared to most other posts, and the civilian employees FAR outweigh the active duty service members.
-of the active duty population, there is a high proportion of senior ranking officials.
I know a lot of spouses who have known their military husbands (usually officers) since college and were married shortly after, and sometimes before, they were commissioned. They have been a part of their husbands' career from Day 1. (I don't mean to leave out Army husbands and focus on Army wives, I just haven't met any recently with wives who are still active duty.)
I met John when we were both well into our careers. (something I have had to put on hold, myself) I never lived in the same town as he did. We opted to commute back and forth from Denver to Colorado Springs when he was stationed there. I visited, we socialized, but a lot of the time was reserved for spending time together. I was never a part of his company's FRG when he was in command. His 1SG's wife handled that. Apparently it was a high drama filled FRG. But drama runs high during deployments anyway.
I was in a different state when he was the CG's Aide de Camp. It was apparently better that I wasn't around because, with his schedule, neither was he.
So I'm new to Army life in general. And now I live on post. Oh, and by the way, I learned a little too late that you stop and stand and face the flag during retreat. Do you know why I never knew? With the civilian population so large here, almost NO ONE does this. People don't even pull over on the road. I had no clue until I was with John and he got out of the car and stood at attention to face the flag.
So my point, (I'm getting to it, I promise), is that it's harder than I thought it would be to make connections. Don't get me wrong, I have loved being with my husband and getting acquainted with the idea that it's normal to see each other every day. But I have few friends. I have gotten involved with the FRG and the Welcome Club. (formally the Women's Club. However a new lady general is coming to town and her husband is one of the aforementioned Army husbands and gets very involved in the spouses groups.) I have friends I go to lunch with. I have neighbors that I wave and chat with. I have neighbors that I run in the door when I see them coming, too. But I don't really have anyone in a similar stage in life, in a similar stage of an army career, that I can relate to.
But in this community, it's been tough. I have heard it referred to as "inbred." People are born here, they go to school here, they get a job with John Deere or the Arsenal (generation after generation works here), and they die here. Everyone knows everyone else. The people that change are the active duty military.
The FRG is tiny. People are reluctant to get involved. Most people are older. (The Command Surgeon's wife runs it. It's commanded by a CPT but the wife of a COL is running our FRG.) I also hear rumors of spouse and family services here being a shadow of what you will find at other posts. The civilians are very much comfortable with their own processes and aren't used to dealing with active duty issues.
I have made very good connections with some generals' wives. But they don't socialize regularly unless it's with each other. Or within the realms of the social groups. I don't blame them. It seems to follow a "that's the way that it is" notion. It wouldn't really matter if they did anyway...I wouldn't be able to relate to them in the way that I'm seeking.
So. Back in March, a new CPT showed up to take command of the company on post. The company our FRG is attached to. He and his wife are younger, have no kids, and are just funny and cool people. (Others we have met in this criteria have a touch of whackadoo in them.) We hung out with them a few times in social situations and had a blast.
And now we're moving.
And there's also the small annoying fact that when it's not a social situation, the good CPT will address me as "Ma'am". Always in front of John, who outranks him. For one event we had, we were joking around in the preparation process, and then John arrived and then he started calling me "Ma'am."
"Hey, do you have the tape?"
"Right here, Ma'am."
It's a sign of respect, I know. It's more of a sign of respect for John's rank, I know.
But it still drives me up a wall. Luckily I can still easily chat with his wife without risking being called "Ma'am." hehehehe
It will be interesting to get into a military community at the Battalion level again. For me, anyway. I need to experience being on a more active duty centered post. Meet more spouses. Make some new friends. Connect.
Germany holds lots of adventures for us.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Camera Practice
So, we have a new camera. I have actually been reading up on different camera settings, and how to manipulate the camera to do what you would like. For the most part, I think I achieved my main goals using low ISO once I figured out how to take the camera off of it's "automatic" setting.
And this is what I came up with.
Tulips outside the house.
Daffodils. Focus on the front bloom.
Focus on the back bloom
The Confederate Cemetery. This place is kind of cool. It's also kind of creepy that it's across the street from our house. Apparently the original cemetery for the Confederate POWs of the Civil War was in such a state of disrepair, the Daughters of the American Confederacy raised money and created a new, honorable place for these soldiers.
The tops of the headstones are pointed. The tops of other veteran headstones are rounded. According the legend, the Confederate stones are pointed because they didn't want Yankees sitting on their heads.
I'm not sure why this stone is "fresher" than the rest. But it stands out.
I thought this looked cool. It would have been cooler if the wind was cooperating enough to position the flag more visibly...but alas, it was not to be.
People still come to pay tribute.
John is very into ancestral history and he is kept busy tracking down his ancestors in various parts of the Midwest. He also found an online board where you can request that people find your ancestor's headstones and take a picture so you know where they were buried. He has since received TONS of requests for the Confederate Cemetery. He is not finding them all, but simply taking pictures of ALL the headstones.
As for my skills, I still have a long ways to go. Mostly on the technical side I think, but also in composition. I've never been "a natural" with good compositions, but sometimes I get lucky.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
A lack of oxygen
...makes me snort.
Apparently.
And only when laughing.
So, John and I decided to head to Lowes today to get some plants for our very sad front-of-house area. Even though we are moving from the premises in 9 weeks. It seems like the thing to do on such a nice day.
Whilst shopping for flowers, this exchange happened:
J: I hope they have good flowers in Germany.
Me: I'm sure they have flowers in Germany.
J: I hope they have *GOOD* flowers in Germany. They're probably aggressive German flowers that overtake other flowers. Like the French lilacs. Whose blooms are white.
And then I laugh so hard I snort. Five times.
In other news, I'm working on other posts. But not hard enough. I've been a bad bad blogger. More later!
Apparently.
And only when laughing.
So, John and I decided to head to Lowes today to get some plants for our very sad front-of-house area. Even though we are moving from the premises in 9 weeks. It seems like the thing to do on such a nice day.
Whilst shopping for flowers, this exchange happened:
J: I hope they have good flowers in Germany.
Me: I'm sure they have flowers in Germany.
J: I hope they have *GOOD* flowers in Germany. They're probably aggressive German flowers that overtake other flowers. Like the French lilacs. Whose blooms are white.
And then I laugh so hard I snort. Five times.
In other news, I'm working on other posts. But not hard enough. I've been a bad bad blogger. More later!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Digesting the News
From Royal Wedding Detox....to THIS?
Osama bin Laden has been killed and the US has his body.
Let me reiterate...OSAMA BIN LADEN HAS BEEN KILLED!!!
This is...this is huge.
I was tuned into CNN, MSNBC and Fox News (for once, they all agreed!) mostly because John hates hearing reporters say the same things over and over again whilst burning time waiting for the President to make his statement. So we channel surfed.
At first, disbelief. Then amazement! Then joy for justice! Now...I'm a little torn.
The reactions from people on facebook and twitter (love social networks) are mixed and so am I. People are celebrating a death. How does that seem right? And yet, it can be argued that it was the death of someone murderous and evil. Someone who organized attacks on our country and other western countries and killed thousands of people. Not just thousands of Americans. Thousands of Afghans and Pakistanis.
It's hard to be diplomatic with an organization so convinced they are "right" that they strap bombs to their own people in order to try to blow *you* up.
And there is the kicker. The US is responsible for the death of the "ring leader" of the organization so to speak. We could hope that now Al-Qaida will just crumble from within. That will most likely not happen. And now I realize that we need to be extra alert for repercussions.
(anyone remember that SNL Weekend Update with Tina Fey when quoting the statement that we need to be on high alert after 9/11 and her replying "Bitch, I can't be any more alert!" Hilarious. I love Tina Fey.)
Yet...I can't help but feel some sort of satisfaction. I can almost feel the sense of relief from the people who were directly affected by 9/11. A sense of closure. Of..."finally."
I am aware that if were not for those attacks, that my husband would not have had to serve 3 tours in the Middle East over the past 8 years, risking his life and being responsible for hundreds of others in his command. I would not have had to endure 15 of the longest months of my life worrying about the possibility of his injury, capture, or being killed. I am aware that our deployed soldiers are probably in greater danger at this moment.
To conclude this muddled post, I'm not quite sure what I feel. Overall, I think an important step has been achieved.
What I'm most certain of is this: war sucks. Conflict will continue.
And I'm equally certain that I am grateful to our Armed Forces. For our protection. For their sacrifice. For volunteering for the hardest job there is. And I'm proud of my husband for his contributions, however indirect they may be.
EDIT: (the following morning.) I finally figured out how to express my thoughts. I am overjoyed that he was captured. I am satisfied (but otherwise ambivalent) that he was killed. I'm uncomfortable with people dancing in the streets in celebration much as extremists danced in the street after 9/11.
Osama bin Laden has been killed and the US has his body.
Let me reiterate...OSAMA BIN LADEN HAS BEEN KILLED!!!
This is...this is huge.
I was tuned into CNN, MSNBC and Fox News (for once, they all agreed!) mostly because John hates hearing reporters say the same things over and over again whilst burning time waiting for the President to make his statement. So we channel surfed.
At first, disbelief. Then amazement! Then joy for justice! Now...I'm a little torn.
The reactions from people on facebook and twitter (love social networks) are mixed and so am I. People are celebrating a death. How does that seem right? And yet, it can be argued that it was the death of someone murderous and evil. Someone who organized attacks on our country and other western countries and killed thousands of people. Not just thousands of Americans. Thousands of Afghans and Pakistanis.
It's hard to be diplomatic with an organization so convinced they are "right" that they strap bombs to their own people in order to try to blow *you* up.
And there is the kicker. The US is responsible for the death of the "ring leader" of the organization so to speak. We could hope that now Al-Qaida will just crumble from within. That will most likely not happen. And now I realize that we need to be extra alert for repercussions.
(anyone remember that SNL Weekend Update with Tina Fey when quoting the statement that we need to be on high alert after 9/11 and her replying "Bitch, I can't be any more alert!" Hilarious. I love Tina Fey.)
Yet...I can't help but feel some sort of satisfaction. I can almost feel the sense of relief from the people who were directly affected by 9/11. A sense of closure. Of..."finally."
I am aware that if were not for those attacks, that my husband would not have had to serve 3 tours in the Middle East over the past 8 years, risking his life and being responsible for hundreds of others in his command. I would not have had to endure 15 of the longest months of my life worrying about the possibility of his injury, capture, or being killed. I am aware that our deployed soldiers are probably in greater danger at this moment.
To conclude this muddled post, I'm not quite sure what I feel. Overall, I think an important step has been achieved.
What I'm most certain of is this: war sucks. Conflict will continue.
And I'm equally certain that I am grateful to our Armed Forces. For our protection. For their sacrifice. For volunteering for the hardest job there is. And I'm proud of my husband for his contributions, however indirect they may be.
EDIT: (the following morning.) I finally figured out how to express my thoughts. I am overjoyed that he was captured. I am satisfied (but otherwise ambivalent) that he was killed. I'm uncomfortable with people dancing in the streets in celebration much as extremists danced in the street after 9/11.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Royal Wedding Detox
I swear, I watched so much coverage of the Royal Wedding on Friday, with a brief interruption for a dentist appointment, that I dreamed of the Royals on Friday night. In my dream, they were very down to earth and good friends of mine. William especially.
Of course, right?
The rest of the weekend has been spent in detox from the event. I am slightly tired of hearing about the event, but still read and watch what I see on TV and online...as if paying more attention will let the couple know of my very real wishes of happiness for them.
But I digress.
In all this coverage, I noticed a few parallels between the nuptials of the new Duke and Duchess and John and I's wedding.
Wills will not wear a wedding band. While, John has a wedding band and it was a part of our ceremony, he rarely wears it. He forgot it completely on our trip to Houston last weekend. (more on that later.) It doesn't bother me as I thought it would. It does look nice when he wears it though.
A Rolls Royce Phantom IV from the 1950s was used for the arrivals. (Of Prince Charles and Camilla, I think.) John and I's getaway car was a Rolls Phantom IV. It looked very similar, except ours was white. (and gorgeous! I highly recommend going that direction instead of a classic stretch limo. It had so much character!)
OK. That's really it.
I did also really enjoy watching the carriage ride from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace as my friend Craig had given me a walking tour of the area in 2005. So I kept saying "I've been there. I've been there too!"
I can't wait to go back!
Of course, right?
The rest of the weekend has been spent in detox from the event. I am slightly tired of hearing about the event, but still read and watch what I see on TV and online...as if paying more attention will let the couple know of my very real wishes of happiness for them.
But I digress.
In all this coverage, I noticed a few parallels between the nuptials of the new Duke and Duchess and John and I's wedding.
Wills will not wear a wedding band. While, John has a wedding band and it was a part of our ceremony, he rarely wears it. He forgot it completely on our trip to Houston last weekend. (more on that later.) It doesn't bother me as I thought it would. It does look nice when he wears it though.
A Rolls Royce Phantom IV from the 1950s was used for the arrivals. (Of Prince Charles and Camilla, I think.) John and I's getaway car was a Rolls Phantom IV. It looked very similar, except ours was white. (and gorgeous! I highly recommend going that direction instead of a classic stretch limo. It had so much character!)
OK. That's really it.
I did also really enjoy watching the carriage ride from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace as my friend Craig had given me a walking tour of the area in 2005. So I kept saying "I've been there. I've been there too!"
I can't wait to go back!
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