The Navy is in the middle of a huge uniform change. We are changing our everyday uniform as well as our working uniform. Since we are moving this is a great time to purge out our old uniforms. It is also the best time to spring clean. We got rid of 3 huge trash bags of old uniforms and clothes that no longer fit or that we no longer wear!
I am trying to get motivated to go into the computer room to scan in old documents and paperwork in order to get rid of "paper" prior to us leaving. I also want to com up with a way to better organize our electronic manuals for all of the crap that we own. Slowly, we are going to move through all of our rooms and get rid of stuff that we no longer need or use. Who knows what we are going to find.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Count Down
Where has the time gone? It seems like just last month we were moving from one house to the one we are currently in. I does not seem like we have been on Guam for 3 years. I have been walking around for the last few days thinking that I had 90 days left here. Really, it is only 79! That is only like 60 working days! Wow.....we have tons of stuff to do. Luckily for us, the military has check lists that we can use to keep us on a good time line.
We will be home soon!
We will be home soon!
Friday, February 05, 2010
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Tragedy
One month ago we lost a member of the family. It is something that I still have trouble with and was/is very painful for me. When we return home, we will be a family of 3. Bear is no longer with us. A time will come when I am ready to talk details, but that time is not now.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Cell Phone
Ronnie received orders and mine are on the way. I should have them soon after we get back from Palau. It looks like we will leave in early May!
Ronnie decided that 4 months out, he just could not wait another day to get cell phones (that we won't use for 4 months). So he ordered them and send them to his sister. The irony is how I found out.
2 weekends ago I hear him say some thing to Shelly while they were on the phone about him ordering phones before we left and having them sent to her house. Last week I asked him when he planned on doing this. (Mind you, I told him that I did not want to pick a cell phone company until we returned to the states and I was not sure who I was going with. He KNEW he was going with Verizon and nothing in this world would change that.) He told me that he already had.
(Delete the shit hitting the fan.)
After several choice words (see caption directly above) I called Verizon and asked about canceling/suspending the plans (Ronnie "had" already done this and told me we had no options). "Of course we can suspend the plans", the agent told me. Then he told me how to do it.
Today, the phones came in. We added all of our numbers to them and I promptly suspended them. Verizon considers Guam to be an international location even though it is a US territory. They want $0.60 per minute for phone calls, $0.50 per outgoing text and $0.05 for incoming text messages. CRAZY!
Anyway, we have them and we will call you all prior to leaving Guam/upon arrival to the states with our new numbers. I find it funny that Ronnie did this, but my phone is the primary on the account!!!! Karma....what a wonderful thing.
Ronnie decided that 4 months out, he just could not wait another day to get cell phones (that we won't use for 4 months). So he ordered them and send them to his sister. The irony is how I found out.
2 weekends ago I hear him say some thing to Shelly while they were on the phone about him ordering phones before we left and having them sent to her house. Last week I asked him when he planned on doing this. (Mind you, I told him that I did not want to pick a cell phone company until we returned to the states and I was not sure who I was going with. He KNEW he was going with Verizon and nothing in this world would change that.) He told me that he already had.
(Delete the shit hitting the fan.)
After several choice words (see caption directly above) I called Verizon and asked about canceling/suspending the plans (Ronnie "had" already done this and told me we had no options). "Of course we can suspend the plans", the agent told me. Then he told me how to do it.
Today, the phones came in. We added all of our numbers to them and I promptly suspended them. Verizon considers Guam to be an international location even though it is a US territory. They want $0.60 per minute for phone calls, $0.50 per outgoing text and $0.05 for incoming text messages. CRAZY!
Anyway, we have them and we will call you all prior to leaving Guam/upon arrival to the states with our new numbers. I find it funny that Ronnie did this, but my phone is the primary on the account!!!! Karma....what a wonderful thing.
Monday, February 01, 2010
Trip
Our last big adventure in Guam will start in about 4 hours. We are going to Palau! This is a dive trip. We will do two dives at Jellyfish Lake and 3 other dives depending on the conditions of the locations and what the dive shop already has planned. The last day is kayaking around the Rock Islands. We are so excited.
Our dive trip was either going to be the Great Beerier Reef or Palau. It did not take much to convince us that Palau is the better trip.
Our dive trip was either going to be the Great Beerier Reef or Palau. It did not take much to convince us that Palau is the better trip.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Happy Holidays
Well tons of staff happened over the last two months. Ronnie was selected for orders. We went to China. I started an intensive recreational dive program. I reenlisted in a very special way. Our lives were planned for us from January 2011 to August 2012 and we don't like it.
It took us a while to get Ronnie his orders. His detailer wanted us to request to be located together. The problem with that is that I was going to school. So Ronnie needed orders to San Diego and we need to request to get stationed together when I am about to graduate school. This will get me assigned to where ever he is.
This kinda creates a problem that I will get into later.
China was a nice trip and a good getaway for us. We needed it. The one thing that bit us in the ass was Jack Frost. After being in 85 degree weather year round for 2.5 years we have grown quite accustomed to it as anyone would. In China, it was in the low 40's. Talk about shock. I had a beanie and gloves packed up with my winter clothes from Everett but Ronnie had none (that we could find). We ended up buying him a beanie!
This past summer Ronnie decided he was going to take some really advanced dive classes. Neither one of us really know what we want to do when we retire in 10 years. This class is the beginning of the professional side of diving that leads to becoming an instructor. I gave him shit about it because it is expensive and we are planning on buying a house and new furniture (that we now know may go unused....more about this in another entry) when we get back to the states. I am now in that class. Like Ronnie I have a desire to go ahead and go instructor because right now we have the time and it is a bit cheaper here in Guam. It is still too expensive to go instructor....like in the thousands each.
With my funny looking mask and refound love for being under water, I reenlisted.....underwater! I do have pics but they have not been down loaded yet. Where I work, you have to do this in uniform. I decided to do this in my whites and this was the last time I will wear them. For a very few select people in this world......screw you....this time they were blue....blue and green as a matter of fact.
It took us a while to get Ronnie his orders. His detailer wanted us to request to be located together. The problem with that is that I was going to school. So Ronnie needed orders to San Diego and we need to request to get stationed together when I am about to graduate school. This will get me assigned to where ever he is.
This kinda creates a problem that I will get into later.
China was a nice trip and a good getaway for us. We needed it. The one thing that bit us in the ass was Jack Frost. After being in 85 degree weather year round for 2.5 years we have grown quite accustomed to it as anyone would. In China, it was in the low 40's. Talk about shock. I had a beanie and gloves packed up with my winter clothes from Everett but Ronnie had none (that we could find). We ended up buying him a beanie!
This past summer Ronnie decided he was going to take some really advanced dive classes. Neither one of us really know what we want to do when we retire in 10 years. This class is the beginning of the professional side of diving that leads to becoming an instructor. I gave him shit about it because it is expensive and we are planning on buying a house and new furniture (that we now know may go unused....more about this in another entry) when we get back to the states. I am now in that class. Like Ronnie I have a desire to go ahead and go instructor because right now we have the time and it is a bit cheaper here in Guam. It is still too expensive to go instructor....like in the thousands each.
With my funny looking mask and refound love for being under water, I reenlisted.....underwater! I do have pics but they have not been down loaded yet. Where I work, you have to do this in uniform. I decided to do this in my whites and this was the last time I will wear them. For a very few select people in this world......screw you....this time they were blue....blue and green as a matter of fact.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Lovin' It
I went diving again this past weekend. I am very glad that I started again. I am also kicking my self in the ass for not doing for the first 2 years we were here on the island. We had a good time.
The first dive was cool. The reef was very active. We planned on taking a lot of pictures so we did not move very fast or very far. While we did spend a bit of time on each place we stopped, we missed the coolest part of the dive....an area of reef with several sea anemeonies. Oh well. I know better for next time. One thing that was not soo cool was my bad judgement. As I attempted to move a starfish, I hit my hand on something and it stung. Well, it still hurts. I hope it clears up in the next few days!
After we were all in the boat, we noticed that we had a group of dolphins haning out. We sat around and watched them for a little bit and then drove to the next dive site.
This place was also cool. We saw several crown of thorn starfish and ended the dive with an eel.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Labor Day
This past weekend, I planned on diving. Diving, diving, diving. The only problem is that we have had a storm off of the coast. We had storm advisories for the weekend. Friday it was scheduled to go until Monday morning. Sunday we checked the water conditions and they were a little rough but not too bad at one spot. We tried it. When we got out ou could not see any thing. We swam back in.
Sunday night I checked the forcast and the warning had been extended to Tuedsay night. I was very bumbed. I ended up driving around the south side of the island and took pictures of the waves:
Sunday night I checked the forcast and the warning had been extended to Tuedsay night. I was very bumbed. I ended up driving around the south side of the island and took pictures of the waves:
Trip
Ronnie arrived safely at his destination. He is board out of his mind. So am I. I terribly miss him. I am not sure what we are going to do when one of us deploys for an extended period of time.
The two days prior to him leaving were busy. I took my advance dive class. I did 5 dives in 2 days. Ronnie did 3 of them with me. We were expecting him to be my buddy. (When you dive, you must have a buddy. Ronnie was also going through a program where he had to complete a certain number of dives and assist in teaching.) Due to my ear problems we were expecting him to be assigned to me. I ended up getting assigned someone else. At first, I was kinda upset but she understood my problems. Her son has ear problems when diving also so she knew what I was going through. She ended up being a great instructor. I really enjoyed diving with her. She noticed things that I would have never noticed like this awesome star fish. I can not find a picture of it, but it was cool. If you picture a regular star fish and imagine it puffed up like the difference between a Cheeto and a Cheese Puff. You could not really tell the difference between the arms but if you flipped it over you could see the individual arms. It was COOL.
Ronnie still does not have orders. He is going to make a phone call in the morning and try to find out what is going on. This is so frustrating! I hope he can get this fixed soon.
The two days prior to him leaving were busy. I took my advance dive class. I did 5 dives in 2 days. Ronnie did 3 of them with me. We were expecting him to be my buddy. (When you dive, you must have a buddy. Ronnie was also going through a program where he had to complete a certain number of dives and assist in teaching.) Due to my ear problems we were expecting him to be assigned to me. I ended up getting assigned someone else. At first, I was kinda upset but she understood my problems. Her son has ear problems when diving also so she knew what I was going through. She ended up being a great instructor. I really enjoyed diving with her. She noticed things that I would have never noticed like this awesome star fish. I can not find a picture of it, but it was cool. If you picture a regular star fish and imagine it puffed up like the difference between a Cheeto and a Cheese Puff. You could not really tell the difference between the arms but if you flipped it over you could see the individual arms. It was COOL.
Ronnie still does not have orders. He is going to make a phone call in the morning and try to find out what is going on. This is so frustrating! I hope he can get this fixed soon.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
I Can Do It!
I did two dives today. I have not tried it in 7 years since my trip to the Kerama Islands when I was in Okinawa. Next weekend I am taking a class that requires me to do 3 dives in one day and 2 the next. I have been worried that my ears would not allow me but I was fine today.
I also got us a dive camera. We are still working on learning how to use it!
I also got us a dive camera. We are still working on learning how to use it!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Rain
We have not been doing much lately. It has been raining much more that I remember from the last 2 years. Two weeks ago the main road on the island was completely flooded at 530 in the morning. It was horrible. I passed 3 stalled cars and 2 wrecks on my way to work. 10 minutes later the number of stalled cars had tripled!
School is going well. Ronnie is not going this semester but my Oceanography class is kinda interesting. I am looking forward to the Anatomy and Physiology class I will take next semester in preparation for my year long school.
We are having trouble getting Ronnie orders. He applied for orders and was told that he was "a perfect fit" but the orders could not be granted because we had not submitted our spousal collocation. We have attempted to submit our paperwork, but I have been told that it will not be approved because I am going to school. He needs to have orders cut and I will request to be assigned where ever he is once my school is over. Once again we have 2 people telling us 2 different things. (DEEP BREATH to prevent me from screeming......EXHALE.) So, here we go on this wild ride! I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.....again.
School is going well. Ronnie is not going this semester but my Oceanography class is kinda interesting. I am looking forward to the Anatomy and Physiology class I will take next semester in preparation for my year long school.
We are having trouble getting Ronnie orders. He applied for orders and was told that he was "a perfect fit" but the orders could not be granted because we had not submitted our spousal collocation. We have attempted to submit our paperwork, but I have been told that it will not be approved because I am going to school. He needs to have orders cut and I will request to be assigned where ever he is once my school is over. Once again we have 2 people telling us 2 different things. (DEEP BREATH to prevent me from screeming......EXHALE.) So, here we go on this wild ride! I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.....again.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Training
I found out this morning that I have been accepted to IDC school. This is a military school where I will learn how to manage basic medical conditions and run programs. We will leave Guam in May?!??? I won't get my official orders to transfer until February but my class starts in June.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Later
One thing that is difficult about the military is that you move every 2-3 years....and so does everyone else. In the last year, we have said, "See ya later" to several families and it does not gett any easier. The only good thing about this is the more people we see off, the closer we are to returning to the states!
Warly this week I submitted my package for school. Hopefully we will know in 2-4 weeks if I was accepted. I have no clue when we will be leaving Guam (should be April or May). It will take another 8-12 weeks or so to before we get to pick our date to move back.
We have also started looking for a house in Californina. Not a pretty situation but it is what we will have to deal with.
Warly this week I submitted my package for school. Hopefully we will know in 2-4 weeks if I was accepted. I have no clue when we will be leaving Guam (should be April or May). It will take another 8-12 weeks or so to before we get to pick our date to move back.
We have also started looking for a house in Californina. Not a pretty situation but it is what we will have to deal with.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Now We Know
Our court date was not too bad. We have to pay for damaged carpet, door draft guards (that were not even damaged), and a handle for the sliding glass door. I am a little upset about not getting everything back by default of the home owner not following the lease, but we are getting something back.
If I ever rent again, I have learned my lesson. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. No matter what it is.
If I ever rent again, I have learned my lesson. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. No matter what it is.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Who Knows
We were contacted a few days after we moved out of our house by the realator that our land lord used to pick up the recommendations from the final inspection. Our security deposit was over 3K and the final inspection exceded that.
To back track a bit, we had always had issues with the home owner. Phone calls not returned. Repairs not completed. We would have to call several times to get things done. It was just not a good situation all the way around. When I told him that we would be moving out, I told him that I wanted a preliminary walk through to get an estimate for the return of the security deposit. He told me that he would do a walk through, but not to expect a return on the security deposit because he wanted to repaint the interior of the home. I told him that I was not going to pay for things that we did not damage and it was not my responsibility to pay for the inside of the house to be repainted. Ronnie asked 2 times for a preliminary walk through and the home owner never showed!
After picking up the final inspection paper work, I sought legal advice. I was told that my best bet was to send a certified letter requesting the return of my deposit due to non compliance with the lease. I sent the letter and waited. Once the letter was returned uncollected after 2 notifications, I returned to legal advice.
Now, we are going to small claims court. What a pain in the astrick. I have had to take 3 days off of work to take care of this crap andnot I have to take more time off. We do have a court date, but that may change. I am just so frustrated with this situation. It would be different if we trashed the place, but we took very good care of it. Compaired to the tenants that Shelly had, we were like angels. We just hope that we do not have to reschedule the court date and we can get this over with.
To back track a bit, we had always had issues with the home owner. Phone calls not returned. Repairs not completed. We would have to call several times to get things done. It was just not a good situation all the way around. When I told him that we would be moving out, I told him that I wanted a preliminary walk through to get an estimate for the return of the security deposit. He told me that he would do a walk through, but not to expect a return on the security deposit because he wanted to repaint the interior of the home. I told him that I was not going to pay for things that we did not damage and it was not my responsibility to pay for the inside of the house to be repainted. Ronnie asked 2 times for a preliminary walk through and the home owner never showed!
After picking up the final inspection paper work, I sought legal advice. I was told that my best bet was to send a certified letter requesting the return of my deposit due to non compliance with the lease. I sent the letter and waited. Once the letter was returned uncollected after 2 notifications, I returned to legal advice.
Now, we are going to small claims court. What a pain in the astrick. I have had to take 3 days off of work to take care of this crap andnot I have to take more time off. We do have a court date, but that may change. I am just so frustrated with this situation. It would be different if we trashed the place, but we took very good care of it. Compaired to the tenants that Shelly had, we were like angels. We just hope that we do not have to reschedule the court date and we can get this over with.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Legs
Bear seems to be doing better. Only 2 days after we started him on his meds, he started chasing Ares around the back yard again. He has completed his supplements that are designed to lubricate his joint. He is now taking daily pain meds. Fortunately for us, he likes them and we are not wrapping them in cheese or some other yummy food.
Court
So, I wrote a rather long story about having to go to court and then decided not to post it because it was legal. We went to court for the first time last week and we have to return in 2 weeks. Hope things work out in our favor. This entire situation just makes me nausiated. I can't wait until it is over.
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