Keeps Gettin' Better

Day 2 of Belgium and I'm totally diggin' this place :)

I got up around 4:30a since I think my jetlag wanted to play some games with me... ended up going back to bed around 6:30 just to get up at 7, lol. Organized our luggage and put clothes away since we were anticipating on staying in the temporary apartment till April 1st or whenever our house will be available. A little later, I met up with Brooke (our upstairs neighbor) and we ventured around the neighborhood since it was still early enough not to endure too much heavy street traffic...the cars here drive insane! We stopped off at the bakery that's at the end of our block,then toodled over to "Leonida's" which is a chocolate shop.. oh my gosh, I was overwhelmed with all the chocolate! I ended up getting about €19 worth of chocolate for Eric and John since they're both major sweet addicts. After that, we checked out the rest of the area including the old church that's the center point of Peer. It's just amazing to look at and realize that people build that thing by hand without massive cranes or assistance of advanced technology.

Once we got back, Eric showed up for lunch... while he and I were talkin over lunch, he got news about our Housing Goods. Apparently it's all shown up aleady...AWESOME!!! We weren't expecting it till next month.. so shit..that's awesome!! The house wasn't going to be available till April 1st since our stuff wasnt expected till March 20th, so now that everythings already here.. hopefully we can move in sooner. When Eric and I were at our finance briefing with our Belgian translator, he kept telling us that it's going to be near impossible to find a house with a landlord that's willing to deal with 4 dogs. WELL, luckily for us, Ivo found the house for us 2 weeks before we got here.. so when we told the translator, it looked like the weight of the world was taken off his shoulders, lol. One less thing to worry about :)

After the briefing,we got back and decided to venture out yet again, but this time with Eric since he had to be at work earlier in the day. There's a bike shop right next to us and I'm totally inlove with a bike there.. yeah.. they're expensive, but the bike has a headlight / braking light system installed in it, light weight and has a storage area. Basically, the house we're moving into is far enough to where I can't really walk to the grocery store, I'd rather not waste the gas to drive there.. so I think a bike would be perfect. I actually picked up a bike saddle set today, so now I just gotta find a good deal on a bike :)

There's other stuff we did today, but honestly, I'm so bushed right now. It's currently 9:35p and te jetlag is totally kickin my ass!

Read More

Need. Sleep.

We're officially in Belgium and MAN... it feels good! Sure, we're suffering severe lack of sleep, jet lag and all around disorientation, but still.. IT'S BELGIUM! On Monday (the 23rd), we packed the truck hit the road by 12:45a to LAX thanks to my awesome Dad. He insisted on driving us down to the airport since he didn't want us having to stress out about a rental car. In turn, we got to spend some additional time together, talked about some stuff, and also got his ticket taken care of for when he comes and visits this summer! *woot* He'll be visiting from June 26th till August 4th...YAY!! :D

Got to LAX around 3:45a, unloaded and made our way to the check in counter. Good grief, we needed 4 of those airport roller carts ($5 a pop) because of the sheer amount of luggage we had in addition to the dogs and their carriers. We rolled in with 9 pieces of luggage, 3 carry on dog carriers, a large dog crate, and an additional carry on item for the each of us.Luckily for us since we were on Military orders, they waived the extra baggage / overweight fee's AND they gave us a discount on the dogs fee's. SO, instead of spending $1,400 like we were expecting, it only cost us $600!! YAY!! The only part that made my kidneys hurt was when I went to the Currency Exchange place... for $220 in American dollars, I got €150. Lame!!

The flight from LAX to Washington D.C. started off rathering entertaining since that particular plane was completely booked and people were trying to switch seats. Well, one of the airline Stewarts was already working on accomodating a family of three to sit together(imagine a really really flaming gay man). All the while, there's another Stewart who's French ALSO trying to accomidate people. Basically, Frenchy gave away the seats the gay man had already figured out and they started having a catty fight in the middle of the airplane, lol. It was pretty funny... I guess you just have to imagine a super fem gay man and a snooty french person bitching one another out. Once we got to Washington D.C., we unloaded and made our way over to our connecting terminal, chilled out and made sure Izzy, Cole and Macie were doing good. Ya see, we had to actually sedate them while we were at LAX so they didn't disturb the other passengers. While we were trying to get all checked in, Cole and Macie were screaming and freaking out.. no bueno! In the end, they had to pop some sleepy pills and they were out like a light. Poor things though, when we checked on them...they all looked SO stoned.

In all honesty, the flight from Washington D.C. to Brussels was painful. Literally. I have a problem with sitting still for a long time, not to mention, I have really bad back problems... so a bunch of pain and pressure start to build up and it becomes quite bothersome, ESPECIALLY in tight little seating area's. Between playing Mario Kart DS and rockin' out to my Zune...mildly sleeping and drooling.. the 7 hour flight kinda flew *har har*. We got off the plane and made a bee-line for the passport area, then the luggage area. To my shock & awe, they had already started loading the carosel with bags! DUDE! I've never had an airport be that fast with luggage! All bags were accounted for as well as Cali *whew*. Our Sponsor was already waitin for us as well as 2 of his buddies to help since they were already aware of our rather large following of luggage. Once all the bags were loaded, we were off to our base...the GPS in the car was acting wonky, so we got the scenic tour on the way since it kept giving wrong / last minute directions, lol.

We finally arrive in Peer, get dropped off at our temporary apartment which looks like IKEA ran rampant in here (in a good way). There's a really cool sliding glass door...and yes, I know it's weird to say it's a "cool" door. BUT, you flip a latch on it and it pops off, forward and slides.. i guess it's hard to explain, but it's super cool and we want one for a house, lmao. No carpet (thank god), washer and dryer, furnished and just all around...totally my style :) We'll be here till April 1st, then we'll be moving into a house that Ivo (pronounced E-vo, our mediator) was able to find for us. Seeing how we have 4 dogs, it's rather hard to find a landlord who's willing to allow that many animals in their house, despite not having carpet in the place. Ivo actually popped over this afternoon and we walked over to the house he had found for us (it's maybe half a mile from where we're currently at). While we walked, he showed us different parts of down town, restraunts, businesses...totally cool! Once we got to the house, it's a bit in the country, there's a field next to it with horses (they're huge & pretty!), checked out the house and totally love it...aside from the hideous curtains. Luckily, we can replace those...but for everything else, it's perfect and I totally love it. The owner / landlord is really nice and is actually Mr. Handyman, so if there's anything we need fixed / replaced, he'll do it. He's actually the one that build that house AND the apartment complex we're currently in. How cool is that?

Our Sponsor picked us back up, took up to a near by Army Base (Shinnen) so we could pick up some groceries and dog food since we're carless. Showed us around the base, met a handful of people that we'll get to know pretty well, found the gym *yay!*. Oh, and Eric has to go to work tomorrow *boo* After we were done looking at the house & figuring out what's gonna go where, Ivo wanted us to go out for a drink...so we ended up at this awesome cafe bar. I'm a huge coffee junky, but I can honestly say that was the BEST cappichino I've ever had. Straight up espresso shot, lil' bit of creamer, alotta whip cream and a small wedge of almond cake (it was possibly the size of a post it note). DELICIOUS! Yum yum..Afterwards, we were on our way back to our apartment and we ran into another AF couple that happens to be living in the apartment right above us, chit chatted a lil' bit then went on our seperate ways. Later on, Eric and I ended up venturing on our own to check out the shops, found a cell phone company that we're gonna check out this weekend so we can get some cells, an amazing chocolate place, there's even a cool retro bike store right next to our apartment that I wanna check out. Their bikes look like the old school schwin's, has a front basket as well as two saddle baskets..AND..when you're peddling, it has a light on the front that works when you're riding your bike at night. I'm totally wanting to get one because our apartment and even our *potential* house is within a reasonable distance. Not to mention, it's good exercise and I don't wanna waste the gas in my truck for little errands, ya know? Anyway, in the midst of us looking around, Eric saw a Turkish restraunt that sells." Kabobs". Ever since we've known one another, he's always talked the Turkish Kabob's he had while he was stationed in Turkey...so, when he saw this place, he HAD to have some. Once we got in the place, the other AF couple happened to be there and we all ate together...super nice couple! Definetely hangin' out some more :)

And yes...this has all happened since we landed @ 7am THIS morning! There's pictures, but I can't upload them to this computer since it's the computer that comes with the apartment. Once I get a converter for my laptop, then I can upload everything :)

Here's a funny side note: I'm so used to Vandenberg cause it has missle launches, but you never heard any jets there. Very rarely do you ever hear 'em & when you do, it's usually for a special event. Here at Kleine Brogel, they're flying ALL the time and I LOOOOOVE it!! It's 9:30pm and they're STILL flying! LOOOVE IT !!!

Read More

Good Grief

I'll just use bullets for recent events since I'm lazy:



- It's ridiculously windy right now, so we'll most likely lose power throughout the entire base for the whole day.

- I forgot yesterday was Valentines day till about 2pm. No biggy, lol

- John's No Fee Passport still hasn't arrived and we have a 4 day window for it to grace us with it's prescene. If it doesn't show up by Friday, then Eric will be going to Belgium without us & we'll have to meet up with him.

- It currently feels like a hurricane is coming.. on the central coast of California. *woot*

- The weather has been sitting at a steady 40* most of this week.. I guess I can be happy about that since it's prepping us for Belgium.

- A week from tomorrow, we'll be out of Vandenberg an onto Belgium *WOOT*

- My back pains are returning with a vengence.. not very convienent for me since I still have alot of shit to do.

- Johns mother finally decided to sign over her rights so I can legally adopt him.

- I now have to get legal papers sent to Johns mom for her to sign her rights over, overnight them, have her sign it, overnight it back. There's only a 4 day window for this. No pressure. None.

- I bought Eric a spiffy passport cover since apparently he "needed" one. I think he just likes the novelty of it since it has UGA (University of Georgia) colors on it. I'll consider that as my Valentines present for him, lol. Here is is: http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/peekaboo/fallbritesbl.jpg

Read More

Damn you BrownShoe!!

Is it sad that I had to look at my older pictures to remind myself what our furniture looked like? LOL. How pathetic.. I miss my desk, all my pots and pans... ESPECIALLY my bed! AGH! The second we get TLF, I'm breaking up with our air mattress.. it just isn't cuttin' it anymore. It's great for guests and what not, but for 2 grown adults and 3 weenie dogs.. I think not. Luckily, we'll be moving into TLF on the 17th so I can finish up working on the house without the weenies destroying everything as I clean!

It's flippin' cold today, but then again, it'll be even colder in Belgium. At this present time, it's 50* outside, on and off rain.. all the while, it's been averaging 30ish degree's in Belgium.WHEEE!! I scampered across the driveway barefoot to get the mail, so I guess I BETTER remember to wear my boots when we board the plane.. cause when we arrive in Brussels, it'll be 8am in the morning.. my senses tells me it's not gonna be any warmer that early in the morning, lol.

Amazon released to the press today about it's new Kindle 2. I'm EXTREMELY excited about this, one because I have stocks in it, but two, because it's freaking awesome. I already have us on the waiting list for one, so hopefully one will be on it's way to us (well, my dad's address) by March 2nd. It sucks that they can't send it straight to us, but since our new address is a PO box, they won't send something of that value unless it's an actual residential address. Blah! I actually have the Sony E-Reader, which I thoroughly enjoy, but I figured this would be pretty cool to get for Eric since he's a bigger reader than I. From what I've read, the new Kindle can actually read the text to you (if you choose to do so), has a longer battery life AND is wi-fi capible. Hopefully it'll work for us overseas.. after reading several article discussion how and where it works, it appears as if we'll be able to download content since our billing address is based in the US despite us being overseas. Either way, I'll bring it with me when I come back to the US in June .. I'll load up on even more books! woo!



Here's the stats on it:

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines

Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback

Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required

Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images

Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging

More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books

Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns

Read-to-Me: With the new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you

Large Selection: Over 230,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available

Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise






Aside from the Kindle.....nothing really exciting is going on ...lol. I'm kinda grasping at straws as to what I should blog about. The movers came today for our NTS (Non Temp Storage) stuff, so that's all taken care of. Next up on the list is our Unaccompanied Baggage...and that's coming up this Thursday. This house is getting REALLY empty and not very hospitible. Wah :(

Read More

Slackinggggg

Man oh Man..I guess it's time that I finally update! Geezo

This past week has been so busy between cleaning parts of the house, figuring out what we're taking as Unaccompanied Baggage, Bulk Trash and Non Temp Storage. The storage stuff isn't all that hard since there's some electronics that we're not wanting to take overseas. As for the Unaccompanied Baggage, we're allowed up to 1,000 lbs of stuff between Eric, John and myself. I think the majority of that is gonna be books and clothes since all of our kitchen stuff was taken last month, lol. Oh well....

We're a tid bit over 2 weeks away from leaving California....time is dragging so slowly!! AGH! I'm ready to get the hell out of Vandenbeg. I love California and all seeing how I was born and raised in this state, but this area is draining the happiness out of me. I love my friends here dearly, but the management and the way the guys are treated are a constant disappointment.

On the 3rd, Eric and I had to drive down to Compton to deliver my Xterra to the exporters. I HATE Los Angeles.. HATE it. I have major anxiety problems with high traffic areas, people tail gting me at 90+ miles an hour.. oh it's just horrile. Normally, I'd drive down to about the Ventura / Oxnard area, then Eric would take over. I couldn't do that this time around since he was following me in a rental car. Once we were gonna drop my truck off, we'd head home in the rental. Once we hit the 405, my official panic attack kicked in *sigh* I barely remember how I got fromthe 405 to the parking lot of the export place, but needless to say, I freaked out pretty bad. Let's just say, I was literally in tears. I know I sound like a total baby, but I don't think I can relay exactly how much huge traffic areas AND semi-trucks freak me out. Once we got near the export place, I swear, it's like a nightmare coming to life. Semi-trucks everywhere! FREAKED ME OUT. Once we finally made it to the export place, it totally slipped my mind that I had to hav the truck detailed since they don't want foreign soil on it once it's shipped. Attempting to find a carwash in Compton was INTERESTING. You hear people joke about how ghetto that place is.. well.. I think it's accurate. I've never seen so many barred up windows, pit bulls, thug-tastic lookin' fellows in my life. When we finally got the car cleaned and back to the export place.. I pretty much got treated like dog shit. It was awesome.. I drive all that way and they don't wanna talk to me. They talk to Eric though ...yet it was my truck. He didn't know some info on the truck so they'd barely grunt a question to me (keep in mind, I was secluded in a sitting area since I wasnt allowed in the cubical area). So, they clerk would waddle to me, grunt, then waddle all the way back to where Eric was. I think that's the most I've ever been upset... seriously. It sounds so stupid, but for me to drive that whole way, deal with the traffic, then get told that I'm now allowed to basically talk to anyone regarding MY vehicle.. kinda pissed me off. Not kinda. It REALLY pissed me off. Then when it came time to take off the plates, anything that's removeable off of the truck.. I was told, yet again, I'm not allowed to do anything...yet Eric can. Eric even had a look on his face like "What the hell"? I basically didn't get to say bye to my truck. Yeah, I'll get it back in about a month and a half, but that's my truck. Needless to say, Tuesday blew major ass. Major. I dont think I've cried that much in a long time... blah.

Amongst everything else, we're still waiting for Johns "No Fee" passport to show up. His mother was awesome enough to take her sweet ass time to get us the paperwork...which has been going on non stop since SEPTEMBER 2008. Nothing like cuttin' it close, eh? So, now we're down to the wire, the passport still isn't here, but should be anyday. If it's not here by the time we need to leave, Eric's "Report by Date" gets moved. If that's the case, I'm gonna be pissed. Just yet another thing to tack on the list of things I dislike about this woman. Funny thing is, John got a card from her in the mail yesterday.. I guess it was a Valentines Day card or something. Anyway, he opened it up, barely read it and tossed it in the garbage. When I asked him,"What'd it say?" he said "Stuff like she's proud of me or whatever. She doesn't know anything about me, so what can she be proud of?". Even though he's 12, he's a smart booger. I think he's past the point of caring anymore when it comes to his "mother". Oh well.

Read More