Of duty stations, pets, and life.

I told you I was bad at this blogging thing....So much for that.

I guess I may as well catch up on what's happened since the last post. Ax got assigned Kings Bay! We moved after he was done with A school, and it took us three days to drive down here. Aside from the EPIC AMOUNT OF RAIN, it wasn't a bad drive. Oh, and the parking ticket in Nashville because SOMEONE didn't listen to me when I said he parked in the wrong space. /facepalm

It took us a week to find a house and move in, but the hotel we stayed at for that week was super nice. We have a 3-bed, 2-bath ranch-style house. Neither of us like the ranch design, but it's surprisingly cozy and functional for us right now. Gorgeous hardwood floors...which quite frankly was why I wanted this house in the first place. Ha. Shortly after arriving here, we adopted a dog from the local shelter. His name is Simon, and he's a boxer/pit mix. Or at least, I think he's part pit. No one really knows. His birthday is coming up in March, and he'll be a year old. How crazy of a life he must have led for that first year--being born and abandoned, wandering around as a stray, staying in a shelter, and now hogging up my couch and farting like an old man. (Seriously, I have never heard a dog audibly fart until we got him. WTF?) Simon is an absolute joy, though. He's so loving and goofy--part of the boxer in him. He LOVES car rides and meeting new people and dogs. Tennis balls are like the greatest thing in the world to him--after his kibbles. haha.

I haven't found a job unfortunately, so money is tight. But we're managing for now. So far so good, I guess. It helps that stuff is much cheaper in GA than in WI. Gas is about the same, though, which I find a bit odd. Meh. I don't drive as often as I used to--maybe two or three times a week instead of 5 days a week. That isn't to say I haven't been looking for a job--I've signed up with every damned temp and personnel agency I can find, there really just isn't much for me here right now. It can change, though.

So instead I've spent my time reading, playing with Simon, taking care of the house, and tinkering with the sewing machine Ax bought me for christmas. I'm also taking free classes on coursera! A cryptology class, a world history class, and a personal finance class. Speaking of, I have three more sections of cryptology to get through today after I do dishes and walk the dog. Next post I'll put up a picture of Simon. He's my sweet boy. <3

of Ax and dogs.

I wish it would hurry up and be September already. I really miss Ax.

We decided not to have a visit in August. Rather, Ax decided we shouldn't. I mentioned something about the car making it all the way to CT and was more or less told to not go. Not that he doesn't want to see me, but we should save money for the move.

While I understand where he's coming from (and actually am a tiny bit relieved I don't have to drive 18 hours by myself), I wish he had just said that outright instead of going through the whole picking-out-dates thing with me and then telling me a few weeks later he changed his mind.

It's the first time since we got married that I was actually pissed at him. I was really mad because I already asked for the days off at work, and that would screw up Lisa's schedule. Kind of the "you only thought about yourself" thing, I guess. I'm over it though.

Instead, I'll be flying out there for his A-school graduation at the end of September. I'm hoping that by working all these extra hours I can save up enough for a flight and a car for two days--i'd fly in wednesday, his graduation is thursday, and we'd fly back to WI on friday. Then two whirlwind weeks of family and friends before it's off to the duty station.


When we find out where we're moving...I'm gonna start looking at animal rescues/shelters for a dog. On Sunday, I volunteered at a greyhound kennel after they got a haul of 24 retired dogs. Walks, ear cleaning, nail trims, tick checks, deworming, flea/tick defense, basic vet check, another walk, new collars, food, ID cards on the crates, and finally some quiet for them to relax and get some sleep.

It was busy. I loved every second of it. The dog I had for the day was named Hee Bee Gee Bee. she was such a sweetie. :)

While all the dust, dander, and dirt kicked up my allergies, I wouldn't have traded it for the world. I missed being around dogs! I got so many doggie kisses from all the hounds, too. so cute. :)

Kings Bay, Bangor, San Diego...

Two weeks and counting...

Until we find out where the first duty station is. Ax is extraordinarily nervous; I think it's because once we're there, it's the REAL DEAL and not just "pretend" anymore. No more school, now he actually has to apply all that knowledge he's learned over the course of nine months. I'm anxious because I want to start looking for jobs (there's no way we can afford all the bills on an  E-3 salary). And I want to start looking for a doggie to adopt. Ever since we put Sarah down in March, my life has had a gigantic hole in it. :(

My Treeing Walker Coonhound, Sarah. <3

To try and fill in that hole temporarily, I'm headed to the local Greyhound rescue on Sunday to welcome in a new herd of hounds. I would LOVE to adopt a Grey when we move, but all sorts of doggies need forever homes...so whoever attaches themselves to my leg will come home. 

---

I'm part of the Groton FB page, where a bunch of wives/moms talk about their Sailors and yadda yadda...one of the Sailors is being separated from the Navy for a failure to adapt. He had ALMOST made it through schooling too. He hates being away from his family so much that it's affected his ability to do his job. Where he is originally from is really struggling economically right now so he likely won't have a job when he gets back home. It's disappointing, to be honest. Ax called him a "shitbag", which I have noticed is a common term for people who are not good at their jobs, but I think that's a bit harsh. I imagine the Navy (as well as other branches of military) realize that there are going to be people who will just not fit in after trying and pushing through most of their training. People who are on a boat against their will (more or less) are dangerous and he's honestly better off elsewhere. I was hoping they'd transfer him to surface ships, but I guess they decided to cut ties with him entirely. 

On a sadder note, this thread on Reddit (yeah, I reddit) made me cry. A poster submits a photo of his brother who was killed two years ago today by an IED. Someone from the brother's outpost in Afghanistan posted more photos of them during their tour, with stories/background for each one. It was really really touching. I don't normally cry at ANYTHING, much less a story on the internet (as cold-hearted as this will seem, servicepeople die all the time over there)...but something got to me in this one.

And now, I return to my NCIS mini-marathon. Mmmm Gibbs. ahahahah.

Musings on the future career of a Navy Wife

Some of the blogs I follow also guest post on SpouseBuzz, so now I'm email subscribed to that too. How I'll ever keep up with all this reading I'll never know--actually, I do. The four hours of work three days a week in which I do nothing but answer the phone once in a while. Getting paid to read blogs is no different than getting paid to read a book. Or color, because I did that for a while too. Seriously, my job is boring--but I am extremely grateful to have one.

This article/blurb kind of struck a nerve with me. Not because it was poorly written or because it attacked anybody. But because I don't have a job that is an interest or passion of mine. I mean, I CAN have a job like that one day, but therein lies the rub.

( I honestly have no idea what is meant by "there's the rub", but I read it in a book and it sounded cool. Feel free to correct my usage!)

I have a degree in Criminal Justice from what is probably one of the worst universities in the union. The graduation rate for Parkside was something like 35%--because people either used it as a launchpad for the university they really wanted to go to, or because they failed out and never came back. My opinions on the closing of the university is an entire post in and of itself, however, suffice it to say that this piss-poor graduation rate doesn't help its case any.

I have several interests and or passions:

- paralegal (interest)
- dogs (interest AND passion)
- books (interest AND passion)
- helping veterans (interest, maybe passion?)

So far the only interest or passion my current job comes close to is the helping of veterans. The floor I work on houses the CVSO and an "assistant" (although the "assistant" has been here longer than the CVSO!). Greeting vets, telling them about my husband, asking about their service (which branch, any particular wars, etc), and getting them bus tickets to the VA center in Milwaukee is extremely rewarding. If Ax wasn't in the military maybe I'd not be so interested in helping veterans. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy helping others and solving problems, but without being placed in this particular situation with Ax, maybe it wouldn't mean as much to help them. Especially the homeless ones, which honestly breaks my heart every damn time.

With my CJ education (which is mostly a laughable joke at best) and strong clerical skills, paralegal would be an excellent choice of career for the rest of my working life. Problem is, I'd have to go back to school to be certified. I am so burnt out from school, papers, exams, lessons, etc. that the thought almost makes me sick.
I considered grad school for library science, but my grades are so godawful that I doubt anyone would accept me into a Master's program. I suppose for now, volunteering in a library would have to do. Forking over more money for a Master's doesn't exactly leave a good taste in my mouth either, haha.

That leaves dogs. I've watched the animal cops shows on Animal Planet, and while I would LOVE to do that...my cat allergies are too bad to go into hoarder situations. With the reactions my body has to cats, there is no possible way for me to just "work around it". If I worked in a shelter, I'd probably come home with a dog every week and then Ax would have no place to sleep when he'd have shore duty or leave. LOL

So I guess my choices for a career are paralegal or figure out how to get into the VA industry to help vets with paperwork, applications, and whatnots. Paralegal sounds like more money in the bank, but a job with the VA means helping more people. I decided that I'm getting paralegal certification no matter what I end up doing, because I can't go the rest of my life without learning. I'm just too burned out right now to get back into it. Maybe this time next year I can start some classes or something--I'll need stuff to keep me busy when Ax is playing in the ocean in his tin can. :P


Until something else comes along, I'll just keep pokin' around at work helping whoever I can, and when the local Greyhound rescue gets a haul of retired racers, I'll head down to the kennel and welcome some adorable gentle giants to a new home. Hopefully I can help find them some forever homes too. :)