Home sweet home...

So I've been thinking lately... we live on post, but most of my MilSpouse friends don't. Like I'd guess 90% don't. And that makes me curious.

We love living on post. Yes, Swiss's high rank allows for a larger house (though his BAH is also higher and could be used -perhaps- better off post), but we really like being close to everything here. Because we are so close to everything, it isn't an ordeal to run to the PX/Commissary/whatever and usually Swiss gets to come home for lunch. And the 'rush hours' (all 8 of them) on and off post here are RIDICULOUS so we figure it would be best to not have to mess with it. Plus we knew we wouldn't be here a whole year, so dealing with the housing office in regards to leases made a ton more sense than a landlord to us. Now, to be fair, I truly think that if we were staying in much longer or got Stop-Lossed we would still live on post. Swiss likes it and, oddly enough, so do I.

But. I know we aren't in the majority. Loads of folks live off post for a litany of reasons. Heck, most of the folks we know down here at Fort X live off post and, like I said before, most of my MilSpouse friends live off post too. So what gives?

I guess I am wondering why you choose to live off post... what is it that drives your decisions when you PCS somewhere new? Is it based on the deployment schedule, availability, location, intense desire to get away from the bugles and Humvees or do you love waking up to the sounds of Reveille and Apaches flying overhead? Does it very depending on the post you are at? Do you rent or buy if you live off post? I am super intrigued to hear your responses and reasoning!

So you tell me! You can choose multiple items in the poll... first choose where you live (one of the first 3 options) and then tell me why... either in the poll or the comments.

Home sweet home is... and why?
	On Post
	Off Post (own a home)
	Off Post (rental)
	Housing can be had for less than your BAH
	Need a break from all things Military
	Love the convenience of living near everything on Post
	Other, I'll tell you in the comments
pollcode.com free polls

Thanks for humoring me dear Readers! Hope your weeks are all off to a great start!

Musings on the future.

No, not the living on the moon, Jetson's-type "future". My future. Our future.

I can honestly say that my personal future has never been as up in the air, left to chance (sorta), undecided as it is now. I find this to be both highly disturbing and oddly liberating.

See, I've always been the girl with the plan. In grade school I knew I wanted to go to college. I wanted to be a scientist. In high school, I knew where I wanted to go to college and what I wanted to major in. In college, despite the normal hiccups, I chose my degree and got it (even with a change) in 4 years. I wanted to get a job as a scientist. And here I am, 20+ years later doing just what I set out to do when I was a kid. I knew what I wanted and I made it happen. I was the girl with a plan. Now, don't get me wrong... of course there were brief interludes of "What now?" and "Crap. This isn't going as planned." and "Well, I didn't see that coming!". But all in all, I am a planner at heart and I generally know (and have known) what is on the horizon in my life.

Not anymore! All I know, for now, is that in a few "short" months I will be down at Fort X, trying to be a quasi-southerner, not get shot for being a liberal in maybe the most conservative state in the union and being a housewife for about a year. All of which I am very, very excited for. But after that? After Swiss retires? ... ... crickets ... ... I have NO idea what I am going to do. None. Zip, zero, zilch. These few years being an Army wife/gf have certainly taught me about letting go (sorta) of planning, preparing and laying out life in specifics. They've sort of broken me of that trait. But also, I know a life post-Army is coming up soon. And for that? I'm gonna need to plan.

But plan what? A career? Pick a new one or stick with the old? Go back to school or just find any old job that fits? And of course all of that hinges (rightfully so) on where Swiss can get a job. And before you go telling me that my career and I should have just as much say in where we end up as his... trust me... we've talked about it and given the circumstances, his skills/job prospects, my degrees & job prospects... our plan of attack makes the most sense. And of course I will have a great deal of say in where we end up. This girl isn't meek or mild and has no trouble speaking her mind! But like I said, where do I (we) go from here?

I guess what I'm wondering is this: How do you go about choosing a new career path? How do you figure out what road to take when you've been on the same one for 6 years? How do you gather up the gumption to take risks when you are 30+ and have more than just yourself to worry about and consider? How do you make smart choices yet still follow your dreams (gaw, that sounded hokey!)? And how, in this horrible market/economy/blah, do you start over in a way that won't leave you financially unstable?

Serendipity or stupid coincidence?

So any of you who have been reading this blog for a while now know that I had no intentions of working after we PCS to Fort X (at least until Swiss retires, then back to work!). Most of this decision was based on the following facts: 1) My career isn't common, so jobs are hard to come by, 2) I'm an Army spouse who will only be in town for about a year, who would hire me? (and I'd hate to contribute to any negative MilSpouse connotations for employers), and 3) I'm not at all sure I want to continue with this job course when Swiss retires and we move someplace new and fabulous. So yeah, that was settled. No work for me, just walks with the dog, cooking great meals and loads of time to paint or practice my photography skillz.

Then I stumbled across something strange today: An opening at Fort X's Medical Center for exactly what I do. And the pay is gooood.

So what is a gal to do? I mean, this feels like a bit of a coup, I have 5+ years of experience (which legally speaking is a big deal for my career) and spousal preference, it is a job I should easily (knock on wood) land. It is an employer that certainly understands the Army lifestyle and won't hold it against me if I have to leave in a year. And it is super close to home. I'd be able to come home every day for lunch with Swiss. I'd be able to contribute a sizable sum of money to our savings. Gaw, just a year of working and saving it all would be at least a 20% deposit on a sweet ass house with land. Or three new cars. Or two new cars and a fat trip to Europe. Do you see where I am going here?

I hadn't planned on working. But this feels like a giant sign from the Big Man upstairs saying, not so gently, "TAKE THIS JOB!" Am I going to miss all the planned free time? Absolutely. But will that extra sum of money in the bank make life post-Army all that much easier? Definitely. So I guess that's the verdict then. ...off to spend some quality time with the applications portion of USA Jobs!

UPDATE: Application successfully sent. And the USA Jobs/Army resume builder wasn't too cumbersome to use (thank you copy & paste!). I also felt like, for the first time, being a military spouse might actually get me something good other than a discount at a hotel. ha! Wish me luck folks! :)

Random question.

Okay- here is my random pre-weekend question for you:

What is the best advice you've ever gotten from a movie?

Me?
Lester Bangs, Almost Famous. "The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."

A fantabulous movie (highly recommended) and a very true quote. I figure that in any situation, if you can't be your naturally uncool self, it ain't worth a thing. So thanks Lester Bangs (played by the ever amazing Philip Seymour Hoffman) for the poetic words and great advice.


Your turn! Oh, and have a wonderful weekend!


(And if you can't tell, I'm making my way out of Suckyville... which suddenly reminds me of Stuckeyville from maybe one of the best TV series ever. Gaw, I loved that show. The end.)

A random question.

Now that all my venting for the week is done (hopefully), I have a question for you, dear readers. This is what I want to know: What are the things you adored in your youth (think Middle School/High School or even younger) that you still really, truly love?

I mean, let’s be honest, this is likely a short list for all of us… but I wonder what the common themes amongst us are? Age? Music? Genres? Movies? TV? Pure cheese factor? I'm so intrigued!

Okay, here’s my list:
Elementary School – Wild America with Marty Stouffer (okay, PBS & nature shows in general), cooking shows, all things arty... drawing, painting, doodling, any of it, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Oldies, the Sound of Music and U2.

Middle School – Counting Crows. That’s it. Nothing else. Those were some rough years. (And "Omaha" is still my favoritest EVER.)

High School – Giant tote bags (anyone else remember those ESPRIT bags?), softball (though I was playing loooong before HS) and marching bands. (NERD ALERT!!!)

I find it hilarious that in all my formative years of music listening, I only picked two truly great bands and one movie that I still love to this day. Man, I had some CRAPPY taste as a kid. Of course, I found loads of cool stuff in college, but hey, who didn't, so that doesn't count, even though it would make me look waaaay cooler than this list does. Clearly my early years were my best… I PEAKED TOO EARLY!!! It’s all been relatively downhill since then... Sigh.

So pony up and spill the beans because it is your turn… I can’t wait to read your responses! Oh, and happy Almost Friday!

Purple hearts.

Thanks to Lopsided Mom, I just read this article about PTSD and Purple Hearts. Sehr interessant indeed. (that's German by the way.)

I am curious to know what people think about this. I think it is a great idea, but I realize that it is a complex and complicated issue. See, Swiss has a Purple Heart. He got shot during a rather intense gunfight in a mosque. The bullet is still in his leg... they never removed it for fear of causing more damage. And Swiss has told me tales of folks who have 'faked' PTSD. (Or at least his estimation of 'faked')

Generally these stories involve folks who never experienced combat, never were in the thick of it, never were faced with the especially grim and at times horrifying aspects of war. On one case, he cited someone who simply heard a wounded soldier screaming in pain, then claimed PTSD. Here's where it gets tricky... from a guy like Swiss's perspective (ie: foot patrols every day, seeing friends die or get wounded, being faced with killing people, being physically wounded yourself, etc.) I can see how that would be deemed 'faking'. I get it, 110%.

But the scientist in me knows that not everyone is the same. Not everyone has the mental fortitude and ability for compartmentalization that a guy like my husband has (not to imply that anyone with mental/psychological issues is not mentally strong- I fully understand that it is so much more than that). I realize that, for some people, all it takes to forever alter how you see things, how you cope with things, is the blood-curdling scream of a fellow soldier. For some, perhaps, the events that 'trip the trigger' are less than those that other soldiers have experienced or seen and not had any issues. But does that then make it any less real? Does it make it any less valid? Does it make the wound any less painful?

And how, truly, can one know if it is real? Does it take a massive event, a visibly obvious reaction to a stimulus? Does it take the dissolution of marriages and estrangement of family and friends? Where do you draw that line?

I do know that the Army is taking steps to better understand this, to better understand and better identify potential issues when soldiers come home. Swiss had to undergo a series of brain function tests before this deployment, so that they would have a base-line understanding of his brain (can I get a copy?) should he have psychological issues when he comes home -God forbid. I applaud this action, I applaud the proactive tests which give validity and serious weight to the issue of PTSD.

But I ask you, what do you think of the idea of a Black Heart?