7th letter
it's been awhile since i've written, not since july 5th. cuz the week following that letter it was so hot and stifling in the computer rooms that i just couldn't take it. now it was only in the low 80's, with of course humidity, but the hotel rooms heated up to way more than that. you could get no relief. the fans in our room were just blowing warm air so they didn't help at all, and you just felt so sticky that you felt you should be taking at least 4 showers a day. (because there's no a/c!!! even in the hotel rooms!!) blah. and then the week after that we moved, so i was no longer close to a computer room. and we didn't make trips down to the library, and i figured i'd just wait until we got our internet hooked up in our place. well it got hooked up tues. the 25th, and then it was down the day after that, and then blah blah blah, i've been busy. i'm still putting stuff away. i've never taken this much care in unpacking/organizing and it's taking me forever. i just figured here was the place that we'll live at the longest thus far and i want to put more time into it. and then since they'll pack us up when we leave here, when they unpack us elsewhere it will be so easy cuz everything will be where it's supposed to be cuz i'm an organizational FREAK. i swear i've become obsessive-compulsive about such things here. but besides all this -- it's so GREAT to be out of the hotel!!! 8 weeks about killed us. this place feels so big compared to it, that's for sure. it's so nice to have a washer and dryer readily available a few steps away - something we've been missing since december! it's so nice to not have to lug an all-too-heavy-cuz-i-waited-too-long laundry basket all the way down the hall and down a flight of stairs to get it done, so nice to have a dishwasher and to have enough dishes that you don't run out of them after every meal!, so nice to not have to try to lug all your groceries in one haul cuz it's way too long of a walk to make 2 trips - so nice to be on the bottom floor of this fourplex and a few steps away from our parking space! it's so nice to have all our things back (that we haven't had for 7 months!), to have way more comfy couches than those dang hotel ones or the cruddy wichita falls' apartment one - to have a computer with internet HALLELUJAH!!
7/30
sunday night. today was bryan's first day teaching his new class. his new calling as a valiant 9 teacher. 8 and 9 year olds. so i'm on my own for sunday school now. we just got back from eating dinner. it seems we've eaten dinner somewhere almost every sunday since we've been here. the last month or so it's been potlucks with mostly the same people, different couples hosting every time. they all have one kid. i just met another girl today who is also having a boy in october. but her due date is oct 31 so she's about 3 wks behind me. it's fun - we spend about 3 hrs every sunday with the group of them. two of them will be throwing a baby shower for me so that's really nice of them. the girl asked to do it for me before she even really knew my name. her name is melissa but she looks a lot like beth (michael johnson's wife). her husband also wants to be a pilot but is quite a bit behind bryan (who isn't? -- haha just kidding). he has 25 flight hours versus the 260 that bryan has - and they think THEY owe a lot of money!
bryan's job is freakin' awesome. one day he got tons of homework done, another he got tons of studying in doing practice tests on most of the sections for the officer test. another day he got home at 1:30, and that was the day he had physical training at 6am so he didn't even start work til 8 anyway. a few weeks ago they all went golfing one day. (speaking of, bryan said it was a decent course and it was only $10). on friday i was at the BX (base exchange) getting a few things cuz i took the car that day for an OB appt, and bryan was there with the guys he works with! -doing a little shopping after they had eaten at taco bell. nice. and then we talk to all these other people who work 12-hr days and others who have to frequently work 14-16 hrs, others who have to work graveyard shifts and their life consists of going to work and sleeping - out of the group we see on sundays bryan has got to by far have the easiest, or i guess i should say the best hrs, job. very relaxed! yeah they sit around and joke and throw footballs. we feel very blessed!! needless to say he likes work!
a few weeks ago they got another new guy fresh from tech school (nate -- single) that bryan knew from there. he has gotten a lot of his in-processing done way faster than bryan cuz bryan helped him and knew what he was doing! so they're both being trained right now by the same guy, even though bryan has been here way longer! so bryan did find out that he will be on days and the new guy will be the one who works swing shift. it would have been bryan otherwise, so bryan is relieved. he really wanted to work days.
the baby really likes my upper ribs on my right. no not my left, never my left, my right. he loves to get his feet in there. not so comfortable. sometimes you can see my stomach rolling. 30 weeks on wednesday!
oh, and last saturday we painted the baby room with big 10-inch vertical stripes that go down far enough to be level with the bottom of the window sill (dad remember that was your suggestion - to do vertical stripes instead of horizontal?) they are green but not exactly the green we were going for but it's ok. we had to mix acryllic paint that we got at our craft store with the free white paint that they have at self help. yeah we don't exactly have a home depot here where you can get the exact color you want. a little frustrating. now we're working on getting some trim so we can put up a chair rail where the paint ends. bryan is gonna get checked out at the wood shop i guess. so we thought we were unique doing the vertical stripes but today in tara and eric's house i saw they have vertical stripes from floor to ceiling in their baby's room, but their white stripes are bigger than their colored stripes, and then they have a smaller, second colored striped in the middle of the white. it's cool. but this was our first time around painting anything and i know what i want to do next time with the kids' room in our next place. i figured we'd be in the states and i'll have more access to more supplies!
a few weeks ago we also found out they are no longer paying for being proficient in the russian language. as of june 1st they did that. they said it's an abundant language - that they're paying too many people for it. weird. another guy we know said they also took his pay away for knowing german. same reason. bogus.
i will take pictures of our place once it's being done settled into so you guys can see it. we are gonna order some pictures off of ebay to put above our bed so it's not such a huge empty space since we don't have a headboard for our huge massive king bed (we are lovin' having it back!!). finally got to enjoy the present bryan gave me for christmas - a down/feather bed that you put on top of your mattress - it's nice!! although with that and with a larger than normal mattress cuz it's pillowtop, the sheet corners don't stay under.
we have 5 fans that are usually always all running, plus there's ceiling fans in both bedrooms and the dining room. but it feels much better in this place than the hotel - doesn't retain the heat like the room did. it's nice to have the new carpet and newly-painted walls. and i like things well lit so we have 5 lamps in our previously unlit living room. bryan thinks i went overboard there, (especially since one of them is a really big one with 5 heads on it!) but it's so nice. i hate feeling like the room is dark.
we bought a highchair from our neighbor for $15 - it's a nice one. and tara (the girl's house we ate at today) is going to give us her stroller/carrier combo - her girl is 12 mos now and they got a running stroller instead. i don't know what it looks like but i know it has the base for your car which we wanted. besides, it's free!
a few weekends ago we went to a festival at lake towada - a huge lake about 2 hrs away (a BEAUTIFUL but extremely small, winding roaded drive) - where they shot fireworks from the middle of the lake. it was cool, but not digital, so there were delays in between. but they had some where they threw the fireworks into the water from the back of a speeding boat and it exploded out of the water so that was really cool - something we haven't seen before. we brought the couple we met on the plane with us, and followed bryan's supervisor and the other guy he works with (who is now his trainer). when we got there we got joined by another couple - a guy who was in bryan's class from tech school - melson (that's right griffin). bryan got some nasty thing on a stick that looked like a fried piece of dough shaped like a small flattened ball, that he seemed to think tasted ok. then we made the rounds looking for soft-serve chocolate ice cream for moi - but since no one spoke english to be able to ask them if they had "chocolate," it wasn't until the 3rd place and the 3rd cone that we got it...and then it wasn't that great. the one i had in the mall here was great! better than the states. so we'll have to go back there (but it's 15 min away). sometimes you just want soft-serve, sheesh.
so the japanese movers had all our stuff unpacked in just over 2 hrs. well - not quite all unpacked - i didn't have them unpack our boxes cuz i had nowhere for them to put it - for the same reason why it's taking me so long to get it all done - cuz all our stuff got so dirty while being in storage, that i had to wash it all first. what a pain. most our stuff got here in good shape. our computer desk wasn't so lucky though. the right side has quite a crack in it. we kinda put it back straight and since our computer is on the left side there's not a lot of weight on it, so it will work. but it won't survive another move. plus our coffee table got a good-sized, wide, deep scratch on the top of it, and our end table got a long scratch in it as well. we picked up some wood-colored crayon things from a japanese store off base (homac) to make them not as noticeable. but we will see what we can get from a claim. but all our living room furniture fits better in this place than any other apartment we've had before. i really like this place. (just dumb that they put the heaters on the floor on your wall so it limits furniture placing in all the rooms). guess you all will just have to come visit to see it!
i have felt several earthquakes since the last time i've written. it's cool. 2 of them were while i was working at the tanning salon and it shook the table i was sitting at. bryan was there at the time so he got to enjoy it as well. i ended up working 35.5 hours there - but that's only $177.50 with the cruddy pay. oh well.
bryan is excited to finally have his own glove and cleats to play softball with. about a month ago they had a weekend tournament and played 3 games on friday and at least 10 i think on saturday. they ended up taking 2nd place once the last game ended at about midnight. bryan says he loves the game, but not THAT much.
i had more to say but can't remember it now, but i figured this is long enough already, so, another time. oh yeah, bryan has the day off again tomorrow!
love you all,
bryan, julie, and rib-kicker brock taylor blumenkrantz
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Wednesday, July 5, 2006
7/5/06 - 6th Letter
6th letter
I skipped writing last week. I’m sure you were all just devastated.
I wish I could say we were moving in, in 2 days, but I can’t. our move-in date was pushed back to tues., july 18th, because they want to replace the carpet. Sheesh they must be busy if it takes THAT long. We figured it was worth waiting for, for new carpet. And I know it’s been repainted too, so that’ll be nice. But DANG, 55 days / 8 WEEKS, is a LONG time to live in a hotel room. I’m getting pretty sick of it. I could be painting walls and doing all sorts of stuff if we were in our dang place. I really needed the maternity clothes that are coming too. My belly is popping out and I don’t really have any pants to wear. But by the time we can finally get our stuff I won’t need them because it will probably finally be hot. Ploka. (for those of you who don’t know, that’s Russian for bad). But it’s pretty cramped living space right now and I can’t wait to get out of here! Just today we were approved to extend our stay in the hotel room from the 7th to the 18th. Always at the last minute.
I got another ultrasound done last Friday. Yes, apparently it’s different in the states cuz they told me I only got 1, and I got that done at my first appt at 10 wks. I was just over 25 wks when the ultrasound was done but the baby is currently measuring more like a 27-week-er. The radiology tech said based on that my due date would be oct. 5 (currently it’s oct. 12), plus or minus 13 days. The baby was 2 lbs. 2 ounces, +/- 5 ounces. The tech said it was clear as day that it’s a boy. So it’s been confirmed. Last Wednesday they did a 3-hr orientation with about 10 other pregnant girls and the OB nurse. That was kinda cool. This Friday is my actual first OB appt here. Finally. I should be 26 wks today. Brock has been busy playing in my belly. We think we’ve decided on a middle name, too. Brock Taylor. Bryan suggested it.
We finally got to see X-Men 3 last weekend – it was awesome. Superman comes here on base in about 2-3 wks.
For the 4th of july people got off work Monday and Tuesday. They have a lot of days off here it seems. We went to the major mall about 15 min from the base and I was finally able to get some decent soft-serve ice cream I was so excited. And, JACQUIE, I checked out the movies at their theater there, and “Deathnote” isn’t playing. We also went to a store called “Homac” off base, and I guess it’s like a smaller home depot – with a lot less stuff. We went to a place called Cheese Roll last Friday and the food was so-so, but their cheese rolls awesome. It’s like a fried spring roll, but sweeter, with just cheese inside. I got yakisoba and it was those sweet noodles – gross. Before that we had tried to find a thai restaurant that was on the map, but instead walked into some place that looked like a menu of expensive seafood. When bryan told them we wanted to be seated they informed us only reservations – good thing – I didn’t want to eat there after seeing the pictures and prices on the menu.
Sunday we went and ate dinner at josh & tiffany’s house in north area. They are the ones that just had a baby girl – she’s almost 4 wks now I guess (Arlie). He has been in the navy for 7 yrs – joined right out of high school. We like them and hope to hang out w/them more. The ward (or I guess I should say branch) campout Monday night got cancelled because of the rain, but they still held a patriotic FHE (family home evening)/fireside at the church house. What was kinda funny is one of the speakers was Shelagh, a bishopric member’s wife, who is from ENGLAND. she’s cool, we actually went to her house last Monday for dinner and FHE.
So there’s this single guy, Jerome, in our branch. Last Sunday he asked bryan about us coming to dinner and bryan accepted. Then Jerome leaned over and proceeded to ask the guy next to him (bro. stamm) if me and bryan could go to bro. stamm’s house for dinner!! Bryan had never talked to this guy Stamm before and as Priesthood was ending just barely had enough time to ask the guy where he lived, who just rattled off the house # and that was it. When bryan tells me this on our way home I was horrified! We couldn’t figure out if Jerome had been invited to their house for dinner, and then he just took it upon himself to invite us as well, or what. We just felt dumb, and decided not to show up, figuring the stamms had no idea anyway. Well the next day when we were at shelagh’s house for dinner, another guy, mike, who was there, said he had gone to dinner at the stamm’s the previous night and they had been waiting for us! But that Jerome had done the same thing to mike as he did to us – but another shock was that he picked mike up and then dropped him off at the stamm’s cuz he was eating at someone else’s house!! Ahh sheesh. Well we talked to the stamms and apologized and all is well. Apparently Jerome does that to them all the time. --Jerome: you are crazy! lol
I signed up for this New Parent Support thing and I guess they give you a bunch of stuff and have “baby” classes on all sorts of things. It’s cool, they have a lot of programs here.
Also, apparently I was given wrong information from Finance and the money they give us for food per diem is half of what we were expecting. Crappy, because we were excited about that. Oh well, it’s still a lot, just not as much as we were originally told it was gonna be.
I also felt another earthquake, last Saturday morning I think it was, at 2:25am. Bryan was asleep and the slight rocking/squeaking of the bed didn’t wake him. It was cool.
So I just got back from work. That’s right, work. At a tanning salon off base. A girl I know from going to the boys’ softball games, the wife of a guy bryan works with (the ones that just had a little boy), called me Sunday cuz the tanning salon she goes to needed a person to fill in for a week. I’ll work about 30 hrs between today and next Wednesday, and I don’t have to work Sunday. But most of the customers speak Japanese, so it’s quite awkward! The owner, kumi, usually has another American work there but she’s on leave/vacation and they weren’t sure when she’d be back so that’s where I come in. but she (the American) called while I was working tonight and she’s flying in tomorrow night I think she said, so that might be it for me. I don’t really mind if it is though, cuz the pay is only $5/hour!! Blah.
So it’s hard to find a parking spot when you go off base, yet if you’re parked in a non-parking area, it’s a $500 ticket! So you have to look for a big “P,” since the rest of the signs are in freakin’ Japanese. AND, bryan said he heard a guy in his squadron was caught speeding off base and they gave him an $800 ticket! – OUCH
Last week I went to a commissioning briefing for bryan, where they discussed all the different programs they have in place to become an officer. Without going on and on about it all, he said they’re barely taking anyone into OTS (officer training school – which is the way bryan needs to go), except pilots and navigators – so it looks like we’ll be ok there. He said last year they had such a need for them that they held 3 boards for selection. He said they always need more pilots and navigators. So that’s encouraging. But it doesn’t mean it’s easy. They don’t even really want to start helping you put your packet together until you’ve take the officer test (AFOQT) because if you can’t do well on that… well, then there’s not much they can do for you. And apparently it’s a killer test, w/16 timed sections.
Bryan’s summer semester for his online UVSC classes ends aug. 11. soon he’ll probably get his CDC’s (upgrade training – 5 different major tests), and he’ll have to get those done quicker than the month/each time-period they give you. Then he’ll start studying for the AFOQT while finishing his last semester of school online. Plus I’ve been trying to get a hold of the foreign language proficiency lady (for the last MONTH!!) so bryan can take the Russian test and get paid more every month. I’m pretty irritated with her. Ridiculous that I can’t ever seem to get a hold of her, no matter if I email, leave messages, or call at all different times of the day. At the officer briefing they said she had been gone but that now she was back, yet still I can’t get a hold of her and it’s making me pretty mad. We’re talking MONEY here!! Amongst bryan’s busy schedule this year, he’s got to get into volunteering – not just to be any volunteer, but to lead the volunteers. Besides having to excel at work. All the things that need to be done so he can hit his ultimate goal of being an officer so that he can fly. He’s a hard worker!
Well I think this thing is plenty long so I’m done for today/this week.
Love you all, hope all is well.
Julie and Bryan
I skipped writing last week. I’m sure you were all just devastated.
I wish I could say we were moving in, in 2 days, but I can’t. our move-in date was pushed back to tues., july 18th, because they want to replace the carpet. Sheesh they must be busy if it takes THAT long. We figured it was worth waiting for, for new carpet. And I know it’s been repainted too, so that’ll be nice. But DANG, 55 days / 8 WEEKS, is a LONG time to live in a hotel room. I’m getting pretty sick of it. I could be painting walls and doing all sorts of stuff if we were in our dang place. I really needed the maternity clothes that are coming too. My belly is popping out and I don’t really have any pants to wear. But by the time we can finally get our stuff I won’t need them because it will probably finally be hot. Ploka. (for those of you who don’t know, that’s Russian for bad). But it’s pretty cramped living space right now and I can’t wait to get out of here! Just today we were approved to extend our stay in the hotel room from the 7th to the 18th. Always at the last minute.
I got another ultrasound done last Friday. Yes, apparently it’s different in the states cuz they told me I only got 1, and I got that done at my first appt at 10 wks. I was just over 25 wks when the ultrasound was done but the baby is currently measuring more like a 27-week-er. The radiology tech said based on that my due date would be oct. 5 (currently it’s oct. 12), plus or minus 13 days. The baby was 2 lbs. 2 ounces, +/- 5 ounces. The tech said it was clear as day that it’s a boy. So it’s been confirmed. Last Wednesday they did a 3-hr orientation with about 10 other pregnant girls and the OB nurse. That was kinda cool. This Friday is my actual first OB appt here. Finally. I should be 26 wks today. Brock has been busy playing in my belly. We think we’ve decided on a middle name, too. Brock Taylor. Bryan suggested it.
We finally got to see X-Men 3 last weekend – it was awesome. Superman comes here on base in about 2-3 wks.
For the 4th of july people got off work Monday and Tuesday. They have a lot of days off here it seems. We went to the major mall about 15 min from the base and I was finally able to get some decent soft-serve ice cream I was so excited. And, JACQUIE, I checked out the movies at their theater there, and “Deathnote” isn’t playing. We also went to a store called “Homac” off base, and I guess it’s like a smaller home depot – with a lot less stuff. We went to a place called Cheese Roll last Friday and the food was so-so, but their cheese rolls awesome. It’s like a fried spring roll, but sweeter, with just cheese inside. I got yakisoba and it was those sweet noodles – gross. Before that we had tried to find a thai restaurant that was on the map, but instead walked into some place that looked like a menu of expensive seafood. When bryan told them we wanted to be seated they informed us only reservations – good thing – I didn’t want to eat there after seeing the pictures and prices on the menu.
Sunday we went and ate dinner at josh & tiffany’s house in north area. They are the ones that just had a baby girl – she’s almost 4 wks now I guess (Arlie). He has been in the navy for 7 yrs – joined right out of high school. We like them and hope to hang out w/them more. The ward (or I guess I should say branch) campout Monday night got cancelled because of the rain, but they still held a patriotic FHE (family home evening)/fireside at the church house. What was kinda funny is one of the speakers was Shelagh, a bishopric member’s wife, who is from ENGLAND. she’s cool, we actually went to her house last Monday for dinner and FHE.
So there’s this single guy, Jerome, in our branch. Last Sunday he asked bryan about us coming to dinner and bryan accepted. Then Jerome leaned over and proceeded to ask the guy next to him (bro. stamm) if me and bryan could go to bro. stamm’s house for dinner!! Bryan had never talked to this guy Stamm before and as Priesthood was ending just barely had enough time to ask the guy where he lived, who just rattled off the house # and that was it. When bryan tells me this on our way home I was horrified! We couldn’t figure out if Jerome had been invited to their house for dinner, and then he just took it upon himself to invite us as well, or what. We just felt dumb, and decided not to show up, figuring the stamms had no idea anyway. Well the next day when we were at shelagh’s house for dinner, another guy, mike, who was there, said he had gone to dinner at the stamm’s the previous night and they had been waiting for us! But that Jerome had done the same thing to mike as he did to us – but another shock was that he picked mike up and then dropped him off at the stamm’s cuz he was eating at someone else’s house!! Ahh sheesh. Well we talked to the stamms and apologized and all is well. Apparently Jerome does that to them all the time. --Jerome: you are crazy! lol
I signed up for this New Parent Support thing and I guess they give you a bunch of stuff and have “baby” classes on all sorts of things. It’s cool, they have a lot of programs here.
Also, apparently I was given wrong information from Finance and the money they give us for food per diem is half of what we were expecting. Crappy, because we were excited about that. Oh well, it’s still a lot, just not as much as we were originally told it was gonna be.
I also felt another earthquake, last Saturday morning I think it was, at 2:25am. Bryan was asleep and the slight rocking/squeaking of the bed didn’t wake him. It was cool.
So I just got back from work. That’s right, work. At a tanning salon off base. A girl I know from going to the boys’ softball games, the wife of a guy bryan works with (the ones that just had a little boy), called me Sunday cuz the tanning salon she goes to needed a person to fill in for a week. I’ll work about 30 hrs between today and next Wednesday, and I don’t have to work Sunday. But most of the customers speak Japanese, so it’s quite awkward! The owner, kumi, usually has another American work there but she’s on leave/vacation and they weren’t sure when she’d be back so that’s where I come in. but she (the American) called while I was working tonight and she’s flying in tomorrow night I think she said, so that might be it for me. I don’t really mind if it is though, cuz the pay is only $5/hour!! Blah.
So it’s hard to find a parking spot when you go off base, yet if you’re parked in a non-parking area, it’s a $500 ticket! So you have to look for a big “P,” since the rest of the signs are in freakin’ Japanese. AND, bryan said he heard a guy in his squadron was caught speeding off base and they gave him an $800 ticket! – OUCH
Last week I went to a commissioning briefing for bryan, where they discussed all the different programs they have in place to become an officer. Without going on and on about it all, he said they’re barely taking anyone into OTS (officer training school – which is the way bryan needs to go), except pilots and navigators – so it looks like we’ll be ok there. He said last year they had such a need for them that they held 3 boards for selection. He said they always need more pilots and navigators. So that’s encouraging. But it doesn’t mean it’s easy. They don’t even really want to start helping you put your packet together until you’ve take the officer test (AFOQT) because if you can’t do well on that… well, then there’s not much they can do for you. And apparently it’s a killer test, w/16 timed sections.
Bryan’s summer semester for his online UVSC classes ends aug. 11. soon he’ll probably get his CDC’s (upgrade training – 5 different major tests), and he’ll have to get those done quicker than the month/each time-period they give you. Then he’ll start studying for the AFOQT while finishing his last semester of school online. Plus I’ve been trying to get a hold of the foreign language proficiency lady (for the last MONTH!!) so bryan can take the Russian test and get paid more every month. I’m pretty irritated with her. Ridiculous that I can’t ever seem to get a hold of her, no matter if I email, leave messages, or call at all different times of the day. At the officer briefing they said she had been gone but that now she was back, yet still I can’t get a hold of her and it’s making me pretty mad. We’re talking MONEY here!! Amongst bryan’s busy schedule this year, he’s got to get into volunteering – not just to be any volunteer, but to lead the volunteers. Besides having to excel at work. All the things that need to be done so he can hit his ultimate goal of being an officer so that he can fly. He’s a hard worker!
Well I think this thing is plenty long so I’m done for today/this week.
Love you all, hope all is well.
Julie and Bryan
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