A Place to Call Home

Our initial plan was to try and live off-base. Alec had done a lot of legwork touring our options and narrowing down the ones we liked best. But family emergencies have a way of reorganizing one's priorities.


We decided it would be less additional stress to just get moved in someplace ASAP, and turn-around for base housing is usually 48 hours or less. So, this morning I inspected our two "choices". They are basically identical 3 bedroom multiplexes in the same section; but one is on an end instead of sandwiched, and has all new wood flooring and carpeting. It is also at the back of the housing section and up on a hill. Tons of built in storage, including a porch and shed; each room is individually air conditioned. I accepted that one. 


So far we only have government furniture, and our express shipment which consists mostly of clothes, fragile items like musical instruments and the computer, and 2 of eacj kitchen item. I cannot tell you exactly how exciting it is to no longer eat off paper plates with plastic utensils. It is also really nice to have an actual kitchen again - I have to restrain myself, although having only one pot and one pan certainly helps! Also, we have a certain allowance for self-help items like caulking, and paint, as well as the rental of yard implements (although I went ahead and bought a mower). 


So before all our furniture gets here to take up space, I am going to paint the walls! We can use our allowance to get matching base paint when we vacate; and, because recycling is mandatory here (yay!) the hardware store has a locker for the exchange of leftover chemicals, which means if used judiciously we have free cleaning products and paint!! 


I hope to post pictures once it's all set up in a few more weeks; and once we have internet of course, so stay tuned! :)

Sharp Distance

Few things can make us feel farther from home than a family emergency. Getting news that a loved one is being hospitalized is always hard, but being unable to be there with the rest of the family is even more heartwrenching. Knowing that we can only wait for news from such a distance. ...

[EDIT] I am very saddened to report that Alec's father suddenly passed away last night (Memorial Day), Central Standard Time, of a suspected heart attack. Please keep him and the family in your hearts in this tragic time.

[EDIT 2] Alec was able to work with his sister and his command here to get a Red Cross message in and authorize emergency leave to go home for the memorial or whatever is being done. I put him on a plane this morning (Wednesday), and I will unfortunately be staying here to finish taking care of my check-in and set up our housing and goods shipments so hopefully he can come home to a real house instead of the BOQ.

Gozaimasu Okinawa; Ohaiyou Tokyo!

Good day Okinawa; Hello Tokyo!

After getting necessary things done like turning in paperwork and securing transportation, Alec quickly got lonely and bored since he doesn't really start doing legal work until Monday. So, in line with talking about doing so off and or for nearly a year, he joined the Foster Bulldogs football team, on the offensive line.

This occupies quite a bit of time since they practice from 1700 to 2000 an average of four nights a week. This week, though, that has actually been kind of inconvenient since he has had to be at the range all day, leaving the room around 0200 each morning. As such, and because I just got here, he wasn't planning to fly with rhe team up to mainland this weekend for their game at Yakota. However, they have apparently not been doing well and decided they may have need of him afterall.

So when I got a call from Wednesday night's practice asking me how would I like to go to Tokyo this weekend, ... well how could I say no?

As it turns out we didn't really see much of Tokyo, besides what we could see from inside Yokota Air Base, or out the windows of the team bus. Which was still pretty interesting:

 A Shinto shrine next to a bus stop. This is also pretty common on Okinawa.

 I have NO idea what this says except for "In  -->" ...

Typically colorful building; and there are vending machines EVERYWHERE. 

Sometimes at the end of alleys or the side of the road in the city.

 It's a reputation well-deserved.

 Distant mountains over the head of a teammate (sleeping before the game, of course!)

Our Final Destination!!

But the Navy Lodge we stayed in was very nice!!!

     

Except for the tiny bed :-p

They didn't win, but were only down 0-7 until the 4th quarter. Alec especially played a good game! We were all tired, sore or hoarse by the time we got back on the plane to head home to Okinawa.

     

At least we got to see Mt. Fuji!

In the Dog House

One of the first things we had to do once leaving the airport at almost 2200, besides hugging, was checking Ginger into the Karing Kennel for boarding, since (a) we cannot lawfully keep her with us in the barracks and (b) she and indeed all animals imported to Japan must undergo a quarantine period of up to 6 months. (More on that later).

She was, naturally, initially unenthused to be "abandoned" right after we were all reunited. But it was a pretty nice dog hotel: a 4' x 4' indoor room with cushy blanket they change every few days, and a food and water dish; and an outdor concrete pen accessible by doggie door, about 4' x 9'.

       

It did take her a while to adjust to being ther, and around so many other dogs. We visited 3 out of 4 available times over the weekend. The second day it was drizzly/raining. In the morning we played with her indoors and when we came back that afternoon she was all wet on top - she had been standing outside waiting for us.

Thankfully when I went to take her to the vet yesterday (Tuesday), she exhibited all signs of being legitimately comfortable there, and the techs said she was making friends with her neighbors.

So, why did I have to take her to the vet? Two reasons: to register her with base, and more relevantly because Japan is a completely rabies-free country so they are I dare say paranoid about it spreading. This is why all imported animals get quarantined; they also require annual rabies vaccinations. Quarantine period is determined by the date from which a passing blood antibody test was performed.  So, since Ginger had a passing FAVN in mid-February she should only have 2 months' quarantine from this point (although we will get a call to find out for sure, at the latest she has a 30 day follow up next month).

If we live on base, quarantine will not be required/be really informal since all the other animals are also vaccinated; if off base she can stay with us and is merely restricted to not interact with other animals! We are applying at the end of the month so stay tuned!

Turning Japanese

Oh. My. Gosh. What a trip!

There was a minor hangup regarding Ginger's crate at our initial check-in, but when I explained the situaution someone was willing to work with me and finally OK'd it just in time for me to get some coffee before boarding. Then of course the plane sat around and was nearly an hour taking off; yet even at that it was several hours into the flight - well after lunch had been served and trash collected - that I was able to get confirmation that Ginger was on board.

Only then could I "rest easy" although as predicted I was unable to sleep on either flight. I did have nice company for 14 hours, though: a Korean War veteran and his Japanese wife who told me stories about their children and how flying used to be and what a blessing marriage is.

When we landed in Tokyo, and I got Ginger and alllllll my luggage on a cart, everybody at the airport was very friendly and helpful, pushing my heavy cart for me and explaining exactly where to go and what to do next. Unfortunately the customs process took a long time with a dog and we did not have time to go walk or eat or drink water before transferring to the next flight. And of course she "held it" like a champ.

It was so funny how they wrapped her up like a fish in a net! 

Even though I had been awake for 26 hours straight and I felt filthy, I have rarely been so completely happy as when I saw Alec outside the baggage claim. Alec gave me and Ginger a big ol' hug and we both drank a bunch of water!

Japan, even here on Okinawa, looks as neon and mountainous as you would expect. I will save my general reflections for another post.

Stay tuned!!

I did take pictures; but that was with the camera and right now I can only use internet from my phone. When we move out of the BOQ or if I use the wifi at the bowling alley I will upload them!

[EDIT] PICTURES!!!

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Today is the day! Ginger and I board a plane to Tokyo, then through customs and on to Okinawa :)

I'll be in touch when I can, again, and I promise to post more pictures soon. Wish us luck!

A Little Help From My Friends

I am stubbornly independent. And that's an understatement.

And while I know it's one of the things Alec loves about me, it's only good to a point. Only in the past couple of years have I really learned that it is OK to ask for help from people when I need it. Everyone from good friends to total strangers is usually willing to give assistance, if others would only request it.

Pan out to my current situation: I finally got tickets issued on a pet-friendly flight this Thursday. But last week I dropped the car off for processing and storage, and signed it over to the government. There's really no way to reverse that. So I caught a ridiculously expensive cab ride with myself, the Ginger, and 5 bags to a hotel nearer where I will now be flying out of; and I've been walking everywhere ever since.  Unfortunately, in order to get her on the plane she needs current paperwork from the vet stating that she is in good health and whatnot. The only appointment they could give me is the afternoon before we leave!  And without a car, it means two more super-expensive cab rides, plus a ride to the airport the next day.

A young lady I previously did not get along with, but with whom I recently had lunch and made amends, offered of her own decision to pick us up on Thursday and take us to the airport. It's a 2.5 hour round trip for her. All I had to do is get her coffee and gas money :)

Another woman, the wife of one of Alec's contemporaries whom I have literally met twice in the past month, agreed to make two round trips to get me and Ginger to the vet, and bring us back in the evening. I felt terrible asking, initially, for what seems like a huge burden. I do really hate to impose, and if I still had the car it would be nothing, but at 27 years old I have *finally* learned that it is OK.  Her response really warmed my heart, and gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.

"I have certainly had a similar realization in the last two years, particularly with the children and Andrew absent at different times - I think asking for help actually is a sign of maturity and humility, and also, really, people are blessed by helping others! So many friends - people I knew well, and people I didn't - helped me over the last year, in so many ways. I'm delighted, now that we're settled in, to do the same."

Awwww :) I am so glad to have such a strong, kind, built-in community!

It's here! It's here!

My passport is finally here!  The congressman's office made all the difference, I believe, and I am optimistic that even though I still need to take Ginger by the vet's office, and store the vehicle, and call all the airlines to be sure the flights have room for a dog, and make sure nothing else goes wrong, I should be able to leave by Thursday


EDIT:   You know how I said "nothing else goes wrong"? I should have known better.

I was able to get tickets booked for Thursday. Unfortunately, a lot of things have gone wrong in the interim. I dropped the Corolla off for storage, but I couldn't rent a car. I couldn't get Ginger to the vet in time to get her health certificate signed off on by close of business today. And it turns out they booked the wrong flight anyway, I wouldn't have been able to take her.

So, I am carless in Baltimore for the time being. Going to call SATO again tomorrow and ensure that they can get me on the direct (dog-friendly!) flight out of Dulles next Thursday, and try to travel as little as possible in the meantime. We are probably not going to get reimbursed for my month in a hotel, and we're not even sure if we're getting BAH between when Alec left and when I get there.

But in any case, nothing's to be done about it now except try to move forward! (After a short intermission for crying).

This is easily the worst experience I've ever had (not)-traveling. Love, support, prayers, hugs, all appreciated.

Ghosts in the Machine

(This post was originally called "Rage Against the Machine" because I was just so ANGRY at first that this was happening to me, but I've calmed down a little so the title's changed.)

You know how when you have a problem with bureaucracy, sometimes people say "Call your congressman!"? Well I did! Or more accurately, I wrote several of them.

It's a long story with a lot of facts, so I composed some notes; then I drafted letters and sent them by email or fax as appropriate.

 

When I called to follow up, the short summary of what their offices could tell me is:

Galveston county: We got your fax but you aren't a constituent of our district. Sorry, call the other guy. We faxed your letter to his office.
Ron Paul's office (the other guy): Uhm we didn't get that fax. But you should probably talk to your local representative in Virginia. It's best to just have one office on it anyway.
Local representative's office: Check. Got your fax, we can definitely help you. Let us get on it and see what we can do.

Now it's still a waiting game, but at least I have one more set of muscular arms (metaphorically speaking) on my side. And, since the magic of the Bureaucracy Machine shuts down on weekends, I have two worry-free days ahead of me. ... Yay?

Earthly Comforts

I know it may sound silly but, I miss our stuff.

Obviously I miss Alec, too. But I got really attached to all the stuff we had decorated our first place with. I miss our used couch; our scratched up Ikea table and chairs; our sagging spring mattress with no headboard. I miss our slightly mis-matched dishes, and our helluva bargain computer. And not just because I'm in an empty apartment right now.

I was probably too young to feel the same way the first time my parents moved as a child. But I remember a similar feeling of attachment to some of the homes I shared with my Dad over the years. I'll probably feel the same way when we leave Okinawa, as by then it will be the single place we've shared the longest. But for now, I'm left missing not only my husband but the trappings of my life with him.

As I haul armload after armload of things down to the dumpster, or Goodwill, or friends and neighbors, I am saying goodbye to the few things that were left in this place of the life we had here together for a year.

There is, thankfully, a not inconsiderable amount of peace in knowing that soon we will be together again very soon, starting a new life -- or more correctly, continuing and growing in the one we have -- in a new place that will become "ours" for a while.