First Snow

I always love the first satisfying snowfall of the season. It happened today, or perhaps last night is more accurate. I've been up all night, still suffering from jet lag and trying to find a way to get back on a proper schedule for this time zone. My goal today is to stay awake all day (I've been awake for about 16 hours so far) so that I can pass out soundly tonight. Wish me luck!

Now, some may know that I have been on the go recently. I spent two wonderful weeks visiting family and friends in the states. If I missed you this trip, I'm sorry. I was thankful for the time I had and the people I saw, but there are always more places and faces I long for when the journey is through. Many thanks to Margaret, who selflessly traveled to the middle-of-nowhere in central Pennsylvania to spend time with me. We did visit Baltimore's inner harbor, and the historic areas of Philadelphia, so hopefully the time in the country was not too prolonged or boring! I love going to Carlisle for the beauty, but I will admit that I become incredibly tired of the slow pace before long. I guess I'm just a city person at heart- for this portion of my life, at least.

I do submit my apologies for the tardiness of the Ireland posts. The photos are all available on our picasa page, but I have yet to focus my thoughts and type them out into coherent sentences. Currently I look at photos and experience a series of excited thoughts, like "ooh!" and "beautiful!" and "let's go back!" These do not a travel blog make.

A few more pieces of news... I was told that the right-hand pain waking me up and causing me to be a walking zombie for the past weeks is actually carpal tunnel syndrome. People say I'm too young for it, or how did I get it; I don't disagree and I don't have a clear answer. I'll just say that if you look at my life activities- working in offices and coffee shops, playing the piano, writing, using the computer- it is not extraordinary that I have this problem. Thankfully, with the support of a restrictive brace while I sleep or do repetitive activities, my symptoms are nearly gone.

Josh took an important new class last month and was named the honor grad for the session, which will mean a temporary duty trip to California if the funding is approved. I'm so proud of him and excited; he'll make it to California before I do, and that is a feat considering my ravenous desire for travel.

I'm looking for master's program both online and with satellite military campuses. I hope to go back to school next year. I have also come up with an idea for a book, and while I need to do a good amount of research (hopefully no-one else has already written what I am considering), I am excited by the prospect of a long-term project.

Lastly, and most exciting is the news that we will be adding a new member to our family this weekend. We are adopting a second beagle, a 20-month-old girl named Trixie. We may try to modify her name. She is beautiful and sweet and Maggie plays with her so eagerly. We are thrilled to finally have found a pet who will be a good fit with our family, and I can barely wait for her to arrive. Of course, I will post photos as soon as we get her settled.

Until then, ciao!

Yes, we did!

"...the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope."

-President Elect Barack Obama

This is an historic day for our nation, and we are proud to be a part of it. May we never forget the determination, self-sacrifice, and hard work that led us to this moment. May we press ahead with the same commitment to our nation!

A Memory

I was living as a student in Vienna a few years back, and there are lots of Turkish immigrants there. I love the Viennese, but I must say that their attitude toward immigrants is often not very friendly- I'm reminded of the very aggressive attitudes we see in the states, toward whatever group is believed to be threatening jobs or security or whatever we value.

Anyway, I remember being told that in Europe, people don't get involved in charity or volunteerism nearly as much as they do in the states. I was taught that the reason for this was the socialization of medical care, etc.; people believe that the government is going to take care of citizens. Fair enough. But I noticed that every single day, I passed the same very old, very frail Turkish woman, sitting with her legs stretched out. She looked as though she would not be able to walk, perhaps not even stand. She always wore all black, even a black shawl over her head.

As winter approached, I noticed that she was shivering. I couldn't believe that this woman would CHOOSE to live a life where she sat all day and night on a sidewalk, freezing, with one hand extended, if she had any other options. So finally, feeling guilty that I hadn't taken more notice of this "fixture" of my daily walk, I bought some rolls at the grocery and put them on her lap. I will never forget that moment, because it felt frozen to me. Everyone on the street who was in the immediate area, looked at me. The woman stopped shaking when she felt the bag in her hands. I walked away quickly because I could tell that I had done something that was NOT the cultural norm. I didn't want to draw more attention to myself. I hated feeling embarrassed for something that I knew, in my heart, was the decent thing to do.

I'm sad to say that I stopped walking that way after my experience that night. Maybe I was afraid of the glares I'd received, or afraid that I'd discover that she had been a sham. I want to believe that what I did made some difference to her, if only for a night. And I wish that we could have an attitude of compassion and love, no matter what country we are in, no matter where the person we're giving to is from, and no matter what we expect of someone higher up than us. There will always be people who fall through society's cracks, and if you and I can't do something for them, WHO WILL??

So Much to Blog

The holiday is over, and now I must organize my many thoughts into intelligible blog entries! In the coming days, look for a full review of our very first experiences in Ireland. For the time being, a very hearty endorsement of the beautiful island, welcoming people, and delicious food, must suffice.

In shorter news, we finally have our brand-new car. Our very first new car! In case you missed the earlier notes, it is a 2009 Ford Focus, and it's completely fabulous. It handles smoothly, is spacious, includes some sweet technologies, and the best feature- it is shiny and new. Now we can each get to our respective work places without the constant hassle, and without begging people for rides all the time. Josh can finally pull his weight in the carpool again. Thanks to those who put up with our vehicular shortcomings in the past few months!

Much more to come, as I have so many thoughts to blog, but so little energy with which to type. Working opening shift at the coffee shop will do that to a person.

For all the saints, who from their labors rest...

I've had lots of music in my head lately, and most of it from my time as a singer in an Episcopal church. My all-time favorite hymn might always be "Earth and All Stars," chiefly because I cannot sing the entire song with a straight face. That's worth something. (If you follow the above link, do yourself a favor and read verse five.)

More directly, the title of this post refers to this Labor Day holiday, and its own juxtaposition of labor and rest. When I was young, I really thought that Labor Day was either a celebration of any women who happened to have babies on September first. Later, perhaps the people who had to work despite the national holiday got some kind of special reward. Maybe a cake, a bouncy ball, or a small pony. Whatever. This is all coming from the girl who created a cost-benefit analysis presentation to convince her parents to get a dog, but who truly believed that lyme disease was contracted from those little green bugs that look like the end of a grass blade.

I didn't spend too much brainpower thinking about the meaning of Labor Day, and that has been true for much of my life. In all fairness, I didn't get to celebrate Labor Day once I started working, or during college. In fact, this is probably the first year that I've been both employed, and had a day off for the holiday; actually just a coincidence, since Josh happened to be scheduled off today. Sadly, due to the current state of affairs in my kidneys (did I write about going to the ER? I went to the emergency room, and I have the nervous eye twitch and four bottles of medicine to prove it!), I'm missing a Labor Day barbecue right now. So much for celebrating a day of rest.

This is totally round-about, but what I mean to write is that far too many workers in the United States are under-appreciated. I am not just whining and citing myself as example. Any person who toils for hours upon hours at a store like Wal-Mart or the local grocery will understand. Talk about thankless jobs! Far too many people are taken advantage of, and it's most apparent on the national holiday celebrating labor. If your job turns a profit for someone above, and if another could easily step in and complete your tasks, you don't get a paid day off. Sometimes you can't even get a non-paid day off.

Today we were able to shop at the commissary, complete transactions at our bank, and eat chicken sandwiches at the food court. I was in shock that these places were all open. When the Germans have a holiday, you had better believe that planning ahead is essential. You may not find anyone willing to sell you another package of sausages for your grill, and if you do you will probably drive far and pay dearly. And although that can be a pain (especially if you are a student or a shift worker's wife... both said with personal experience), I think it's wonderful. Why shouldn't the guy who stocks the shelves at Globus have a day off? Why shouldn't the woman at the bank counter be rewarded for her constant customer service with one day off? Why shouldn't waitresses be granted this day to relax? Why can't I be expected to not spend my money excessively for one day?

I'm sure that economic theorists have tons of replies to this question, but what I'm really getting at is what I believe are twisted, corrupted priorities in American culture. The dollar above the individual. Productivity, revenue, trumps all. Germans- really, most Europeans- could teach us some important lessons in regards to taking care of our labor force.

I don't know what we average citizens can do. Petitions, public interest campaigns... they all seem over-used and too easily ignored. But I'm going to be thinking about it. After all, I've written a cost-benefit analysis before. I'm not afraid to do it again.

Becky's Very Interesting Afternoon

I worked a typical shift today- early-morning to mid-day. Because we were reasonably busy, I felt completely drained after work. I decided to have lunch at Chili's, since I get a discount there (at least we have some employee perks). After a very filling salad, I tackled my twice-daily nemesis- driving the manual home. Ugh. I keep telling myself that I'm getting better, but after I've parked and I really consider the truth, I wonder if I'll EVER be able to drive this car the right way! On the way home today, for example, I stalled several times and almost hit two cars. In my defense, neither driver used a turn signal and therefore I found it hard to adjust my own maneuvers. Anyway, I feel really embarrassed every time I peel out. People keep telling me that it's normal, but I'm pretty used to picking new things up quickly. I'm going to mark the sixth month in my calendar; Kara told me to give it six months, to be fair to myself. At that point, I'll take a good look at my driving. Maybe I won't really have to; maybe then I'll already be good. I hope so!

When I finally got home, I made it to the third floor landing and the fire alarm started going off. Well, I know this is bad but I wasn't about to leave without my dog when I was nine steps away from my door and there was no smoke. (Don't worry, I felt my own door for heat, just in case.) So I grabbed the dog and her leash and hightailed it out of my building. No one seemed to be very interested in the fact that the alarms were going off, but all I was thinking of was making sure everything was okay, no one was hurt or in trouble. So I called Germany's version of 911- that's 112, in case you need to know- for the first time. What a surprise, the operator spoke almost no English. So I was able to convey the fact that a fire alarm was going off on a military base, and they transferred my call. Strangest emergency call in my life. The American dispatcher could see that the alarm was going in our building, so they sent a truck. During this time on the phone, I was walking Maggie around in the grass. Well, I came back to the front of my building, just in time I see two housing workers telling another girl that it was safe to enter, they were just testing the alarms. OH! MAYBE SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE POSTED THAT! So I could hear the fire truck's sirens blaring the entire way here. I was so embarrassed! I called emergency for an alarm test! Here is a photo of the scene from my apartment...

At least someone called! I mean, if it hadn't been a test after all and I'd just assumed, awful things could have happened! I felt silly and the Germans were all laughing at me, which was not unlike the time in Vienna that my roommate and I called the gas company to "fix the gas"... which was simply shut off at the valve. One firefighter told me "now you must pay big moneys! HAHA!" But when he saw the alarm on my face, he told me he was kidding. Whew!

Sometimes, when I have chaotic days, I look at nice photos and I feel better. Here's a new one. Take care!

Obviously I've been busy, or I would have updated this blog a week ago! After six long, painfully-unemployed months, I'm finally a member of the workforce once again. I'm making "individually handcrafted" drinks at the new coffee shop at the Enlisted Club. So far, so good! Mostly I'm thankful to be out of my apartment sometimes, to have a way to meet people and earn some extra money. Coffee is not my career choice, but it's kind of nice to know that I've developed a skill that can be a side job at any time in my life. Thanks to 7th Street Starbucks for my education. :o)

Along those lines, it looks like we'll be keeping Josh's Honda. It's going to be too much hassle for both of us to work with only one car. If his schedule were more average we could probably figure something out. As it stands, we need the car at conflicting times. The vicious cycle begins- you want a job, so you need a car, and then you need your job to keep the car. I hate cars so much. In the end, I hate being unemployed more, so we'll own two cars.

Like so many others, we've been enjoying various Olympic competitions. We have yet to catch the gymnastics! Mostly, we've watched water sports- swimming, diving, water polo, and lots of rowing. I caught some of the equestrian events; Germany took a gold medal in one division. We also saw that GREAT basketball game between the US and Spain! I've never been very interested in sports, so watching Kobe for the first time was really eye-opening for me. He is an incredible athlete! So fast! So good a slam dunking! Did I mention, fast?! I actually enjoyed that game, especially the first half, when the score was very close.

Speaking of the Olympics, my little brother (Tim) looks like Phelps!

Phelps

My brother.

Well, I swear he looks more like Phelps than this picture makes it seem. They have very different noses, but Tim tends to let his hair get all messy, and he looks older now (the photo of him is from last December).

Maggie is finally getting to run free over here, thanks to a few friends with backyards. She's also getting to be more socialized with other dogs. It's so great to see her running around at full speed (and gosh, is she fast!), chasing sticks and digging holes and being a hound. She's also much more vocal about things now; she's been barking on and off the entire time I've been typing. She doesn't get the "mom's working" concept. It's all about her, all the time. :o)
Here, she's getting some help before a walk. We've also discovered that she HATES to be wet, and I don't just mean after a bath. She and I have been stuck in a few rain showers during walks, and I've never seen her so angry with me! Being wet is obviously not cool.

I can't think of anything else to write, so I'll stop. If Josh has something to share, he'll do it soon. Take care!