Living la dolce vita

I have not written very frequently this month, and not for lack of desire, nor for lack of news. I’ve simply been swamped by my own life, drowning in the mire, and I’m finally emerging.

You may realize that I started my new job at the beginning of January. I’m a member service representative at a credit union. This essentially means that I am a teller, but I am able (well, I will be able) to do much more than basic account transactions. Without boring anyone with details, I’ll simply say that I am indescribably happy at my new job. I’m excited at the prospect of constantly learning more, and at having chances to re-invent and re-educate myself in new employment positions. Not a day has gone by that I have not been thankful for this new development in my life.

So, obviously the “mire” part has nothing to do with my own work. It all comes back to my husband’s job, or really to the Army’s occasional, multitudinous stupidity. Again, without flapping my tongue regarding details, it comes down to this simple fact: I was essentially without a spouse for the vast majority of this month. I know that tons of spouses deal with this for much longer; I’m sure they complain too. It really sucks. On top of taking care of everything, I still had to do things to take care of my husband because he wasn’t able to do any of them himself. With a sudden full-time work load, it was all a bit overwhelming. I’m glad it is over.

We’ve been living here for almost one year. In fact, I’ve been writing fairly faithfully in this blog for over a year now. I was so nervous last January. We had so much to do and so little time, and on top of everything I didn’t want to deal with the reality of saying “goodbye” to every single person I loved, except for the one I’d agreed to follow anywhere when I married him. I’m happy to realize that one year later, we’re doing better than ever. Yes, we miss our loved ones in the states all the time. The beauty of military life is that everyone is in the same boat, and if you are lucky, you can find true friendships that feel like a surrogate family. I believe we have found a second family here. Our ties don’t go back as far, but we all understand one another. Last night we had dinner at a favorite restaurant with some of our favorite people. It wasn’t a big occasion and I believe that every single person at the table had a cold, and yet as I sat there I couldn’t stop smiling. I feel the happiest and most comfortable I’ve felt in such a long time. So even when circumstances take the wind out of me… life is still unbelievably good.

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.

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!

Goings-On

Josh has been working a lot lately. His training days are longer than ever. It's getting to the point that I feel I hardly see him! Thank goodness the mids-shift is almost over; only a few weeks more!

We're most likely buying a new car. Ack! It's a 2009 Ford Focus, dark metallic gray, with lots of great features.

It's a four-door car; we're trying to prepare for down-the-road things, if you know what I mean. I'm both excited and nervous. This is the first new vehicle I've ever purchased; in fact, it's only the second vehicle I'll have owned. It's also the biggest thing we've ever purchased together!

Our two-year anniversary is just a few days away. I don't know if we'll do anything on the day; Josh works of course. We are making plans for a trip to Dublin in mid-September to celebrate.

I've been trying to navigate the rough waters of employment, through the Air Force. They are so disorganized, and this is the most work I've ever done to get a job. The dumbest thing is that it's not even a great job; it's just part-time work at a coffee shop so I'm not home alone all the time. I basically have to fill out the application for a security clearance (listing the exact locations I've lived in for the last seven years; every school I've attended; every job I've had including periods of unemployment; people's middle names, etc)just to work in a coffee shop!! And I have to get a physical, but the office in charge didn't have a doctor and wasn't expecting one until September, so they had me calling all of these other places. When I tried to explain that Occupational Health didn't have a physician, I kept getting the run-around; no, call this person or that person. It took a week of phone calls to finally discover that Occupational Health had 1) given me the wrong appointment date for paperwork (I have no way to get there b/c Josh works) and 2) actually was in charge of getting my physical set up after we completed the paperwork. I can't wait to just have the job and be done with all of this!

Let's see, what else? I got a hair cut, Josh has me completely addicted to Scrubs, and Maggie is cute as always. This was probably a pretty boring blog to read; I apologize! Take care!

Unpacking

I just want to point out that unpacking boxes is really lame. This is especially true when your movers pack food that they are not supposed to send overseas, and then you have to sort through the items that are still safe to eat and find a way to discard the rest, all the while feeling really guilty because you could probably feed a village with the expired Bisquick you're finding.

Overall, our belongings are in pretty good shape. There are a few things that have been damaged- our mattress, for example- but at least the dishes and glasses made it safely. Sadly, the items that were broken were mostly things that had some kind of intrinsic value. The beautiful photograph my sister framed for us for our wedding is bent, the glass shattered and all over other items. The hand-carved wooden manatee we got on our honeymoon in Belize is missing appendages. I don't know if they'll give us the "replacement value" of these items, which really bums me out. I don't care very much about generic stuff, but I do like to collect things that remind me of places I've been, and when those things are ruined it makes me sad.

In the time I've taken to type this entry (and I am fast), the sky has gone from blue and sunny, to cloudy. It's snowing and windy. The weather here is even more fickle than Maryland!

We have finished painting one room! Now we need to paint our bedroom. The paint was expensive, but we're hoping it will be worth it to feel comfortable in our home for a few years. (Just gone to blizzard-like conditions!) Personally, I'm getting a bit tired of feeling like "home" is just a transient location. I know that is part of life as a young adult, especially in the military, but it's nice to try to fool yourself into a sense of permanence.

Also, we realized that I may be able to sing in the Wooster Chorus Alumni concert this June. An extra week in the U.S. would allow me to travel to Ohio before Margaret's wedding. As I don't have a job yet, it seems reasonable to plan for these things that are important to me. Concert in Wooster, wedding in Chicago, and family week at the New Jersey shore. Then, bringing Maggie with me back to Germany. All good things. Josh will have to practice cooking a bit more before I go. :o)

Tell us how YOU are doing! We really love to hear from people!

Health, news, and pins.

Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm on another health binge, and this time, Becky's coming with me. We both joined this cool website called Sparkpeople.com. They enable you to track the calories you are consuming, the calories you are burning, and they let you make goals to those ends. You can also find people with similar goals and plans, and commune with them in the ways of healthiness, as well as hear a helpful and encouraging word or two from those that were once in the same place. I find it very helpful. You should check it out if you are wanting to lose some weight.

In other news, I have one more day of in-processing, and then I'm done with it. I'll be back to my regular job after that. I did learn some cool stuff while I was in-processing, like a little bit of German. Living here is definitely a bit of a change, I'll say that much. I'm walking a lot more than I used to. Of course, we don't have a car yet, but I don't think that'll change too much once we do. It's real nice overall, and Becky and I have met a lot of new people that I hope we'll stay friends with for a long time to come.

We actually celebrated Becky's birthday last night with most of those people. We all went to Chili's for dinner, and then bowling afterwards. We all bowled for about 4 hours! It was crazy. I actually tried out a new style of bowling (where you spin the ball), and it actually seemed to work pretty well for me. When I didn't gutter ball, that is. I think it'll do me good once I practice with it for a bit, though.

Well, that's all for now, I think. Watch for new pictures on our Picasa site.

Heidelberg

What a fun and exhausting 24 hours we have had!

We decided, along with the Heards, that is was high time we got some train action and got out of "little America". Last night, we stayed at their place so we could make an early departure. We planned to go to Stuttgart for the day.

Plans often change, yes? :o) Our departure was a bit later than idealized, but no harm in that. We prepped warm clothes, guidebooks, and snacks for the journey. We thought it silly (and perhaps unwise) to leave the car at the train station all day, so instead we walked from base (which is on a small mountain) to the station. The excellent German train system allows for weekend passes for small groups, and up to five people may travel an unlimited amount for three days, for only 26 euro. If you are unfamiliar with train travel, that is a smashing deal.

On the way to Kaiserslautern- the first, very short leg of our journey- we got some annoying news from Josh and Matt's company, and feared that they may be called back to work within hours. Time to revise the plan! As it turned out, our train cards were really only for the Rheinland-Pfalz area (which is where we live) and Stuttgart is well within Baden-Wurtemburg, our neighbor to the southeast. Easily solved! We decided to continue only to Heidelberg. (For those of you who know your German geography- we luckily didn't have any problems at that distance with our territory-specific weekend pass.)


We arrived in Heidelberg mid-morning and began our walk toward the castle. Our guidebook suggested a walking path through the pedestrian area in the old city, and by following it we were able to see some beautiful historic landmarks. Notable was the Jesuit church, whose facade was an impressive presence. They just remodeled their organ and are having its first concert tomorrow. Along the main pedestrian strip, we found lots of delicious-looking baked goods, traditional German restaurants, as well as some interesting shops. Katie was excited about finding a Starbucks- her first in nearly a year- so of course we made a little stop. It was nice to rest the feet and it also made me happy to notice differences and similarities between a European Starbucks and my former place of employment.

Luckily for us, Katie was also excited to see a great little shop called "Lush," which I soon learned makes all-natural and organic bath and body products. It is similar in intention to a Body Shop, but feels much more home-grown and artsy. It was fun for all of us (except maybe Matt was a bit bored) to look at the bath bombs, the butter soaps and jelly soaps, and to smell all of the concoctions. In the end, we each opted for a sale grab-bag of items, and discovering what we'd purchased gave us something to look forward to for the train ride home.

The Alte Brucke (old bridge) crosses the Rhine, and of course we took in the scenery of lovely Heidelberg from its span. Next, we tackled the biggest challenge of all- climbing the ridiculous hill leading to the castle. It was quite a difficult climb, especially considering the cold and our numbing limbs, but it was well worth it in the end. The view is completely astounding. The castle itself is an interesting mix of period archetecture, and I was confused by what seemed to be neoclassical add-ons. The Heards have loaned us a book on the Heidelberg castle, so I can figure out why the architecture was so very diverse and learn move of its history. Interestingly, Josh and I kept stumbling upon sort of Freemason symbolism- a sort of game we play, try to spot the symbols. We ate some schnitzel at a cafe behind the castle and then wandered for a bit in the gardens. Soon after, we realized that the sun was going down and we still had quite a walk to complete.

By the time we reached Landstuhl again, we had walked an estimated 5-6 miles! No wonder we are all aching so badly! But we enjoyed a great day of exploring, allowing ourselves to get lost just the right amount so as to allow for discovery and fun. We have some wonderful photos, but as of now I have no way to transfer my pictures to my laptop. We'll let you all know when we've got that figured out.

And now it's late and my body is tired, but my mind is reeling with all of the excitement of travel. It was especially meaningful because I know it was Josh's first real trip in Europe. I couldn't help but feel so lucky all day, because unlike the last time that I lived in Europe, I don't have the sense of urgency. I feel like we can enjoy these countries, enjoy this rich history and beauty, and it's not going to be taken from us any time soon.

We can't wait for you to come and share these experiences with us!

OH, IN OTHER QUICK NEWS- we found an apartment that we LOVE and we will be moving in next Thursday. Excellent!