Eating out

This was quite an experience. First I had to get past the fact that I didn't see the kitchen, prepare the food, or understand a thing the guy was saying.

I went to a Korean resturant for dinner last night. This was fun. There was a group od 6 of us. The resturant was really neat looking. There were loveseats for chair to the table for some seats. Other had patio benches with little cushions on it that sat three people. In the center of the table, was a rectangle cut out and there the server put in a basket filled with hot coles. The menu was two pages. One page had about 5 different food choices on it. The other had a list of all the different drinks. (most of it was beer - go figure) Then we picked our the chicken and bef on the menu. The guy that brought use just kept nodding and agreeing with the guy. a few minutes later, the server brought out little bowls with oil, red stuff (it was very chewing and hard to swallow), cucumbers (with a sweet favor until you swallowed then it hit you - spicy) a basket of lettuce, a little bowl of a bland omlets rolled, kemchi, little seashells with some kind of ? muscle? in it, mustard sauce, and two kinds of rice (steamed and purple steamed)

A few minutes last he brought out the chicken and beef. It took a few minutes for the meats to be grilled. Then he put a little meat in everyone little bowl with the oil in it. I ate some purple rice and some meat. It was pretty good. Then I wrapped my rice in lettuce with meat, mustard and cucumbers. That was awesome. Then I took a sip of me tea. The tea was Jasmine tea. I had to get past the though of washing my hands from the jasmine smell. It was good too. The dinner experience was good. Sitting wiht new friends and eating food. It was a good way to spend a valentines night.

Semi Settled In

I haven't actually started working at the Health and Wellness Center (HAWC) yet. I know the base as for the front gat to my work. Late night I stopped by the store to pick up a few things. This morning I cleaned the kitchen, sink and refrigerator at work. I threw away all the food in the kitchen. Some of it was dated 2003 and 2004. I baked banana nut muffins and then had brunch with everyone from work. Oooo Happy Valentines Day. So we sat around and chatted a little bit about work (the good and bad) while eating muffins. One of the guys looked around and was amazed to find we had a washing machine/dryer in the kitchen. We all laughed at him ....umm, with him. He has only been here a few months. I can see how much the kitchen was used. After everyone left, I took a deep breathe and just looked around. I bought a few things for the kitchen to make it more like a home. A table cloth, placemats, towels and a few other little things. There wasn't any warmth to the kitchen before. Now we will have a place to hang out at work instead of at our desks all day long. I only made one rule aobut the kitchen table ..... it was a non-work conversation place. We could talk about anything we wanted except work. Everyone agreed it was a good idea. I think I will get more settled in when I finally get a room of my own instead of living down town. Then I will finally be settled in.

Girlie-girl

One of my changes that I wanted to make this year was to be more of a girlie-girl. This is a little hard for me, but I am trying. I have worn my hair down every day that I was not in uniform. My toes are still painted but need to be redone. I am getting my nails manicured today. (they are starting to break) I have worn make up everyday this week. I thought you were suppose to get fast the more practice you have. I still take too long. I have worn a piece of jewerly everyday this week. Today I decided to use my body lotions. I only decided this because I am tired of smelling like I am living out of my suitcase. So I smell like pineapples today.

Walking around all the shops this morning, I started looking at the clothes. Sadly, the people are short here and tend to cater to them more so. I am glad I bought all new clothes before I left. Now I did look at a new jacket/coat. It was black and very soft to the touch. Lined with black fur on the inside and it had a hood. It looked great on the rack. Only $75. But when I tried it on, I didn't like the way it fit. The owner brought the price down when I said no thanks. I thought about it. Then decided against it. I am trying. So I decided I am going to buy different makeup to see what I like. This is a little less expensive. LOL yeah right.

Adoption process.....

After walking around a little bit this morning, I stopped by the immigration office to ask about how the adoption process would work. Good news, the counselor said I would be about to adopt even if I am single. I would jsut need to find a child. Bad new, I would have to put in a petition for the child and it would take almost 2 years before the child would be allowed to come to the states. Fun news - I asked if there were any agencies to work through. He answer was .... if you can beleive this ... I am to find a family and get concent from the parent to adopt their child. THis when I asked how to do this. He simple said, there are many people in the local area. I can just start asking them. LOL OK so in my head, I am suppose to go up to a complete stranger and ask if I can adopt their child and if the parents agree, then I can just have them. Sounds a little odd to me. My next stop will be some agency on base to see if there is a way to adopt. LOL I am still beside myself. I could be wlaking down the street and say, hey mister, can I adopt your kid? Seems more than a little odd. I think there was something missing in the translation. Oh well.

Inprocessing..............

I understand the military's way-of-life. The idea is hurry up and wait. Hurry to get to the base and wait for the next move. Hurry up and get a room assignment and wait a month for a room. Hurry up and get inprocessed and wait because there is an exercise going on and all the important people are out for the week. I have been in the military long enough to know patience is a very important trait to have. I dont mind waiting. I know that eventually everything will fall in place and everything will work out. I guess it doesn't bother me as much since I am a planner. I always seem to have a back up for things. I have a book to read if I have to wait and it makes the time go by faster. This week, the base is in "exercise" mode. So everything is at a stand-still. So I am just walking around and getting used to my new surroundings. I have to listen very carefully to the local people talk. Most speak good english but have a heave accent. So if I am not paying attention I miss something. During the inprocessing briefing yesterday, I was told that the local eating establishments are not regulated by food codes or public health. Today, I walked around to the neighborhood to see what was there. There were little food stores everywhere. One lady was sitting on a little stool and cleaning vegetables in the front of the store by the door. HUMMMM yup, no gloves, dirty floors, and everything was in open air. My OCD went into overdrive. I am so glad I have a kitchen at work and a commissary on base. I am not saying I wont experience any of the food, but I think it will be a while before I do.

One the move.......

I have been in Korea for two days now. I met a few people on the plane on the way over. Melissa, JoAnne and Bridget were on there way to Korea for a "mission" with their church. My neighbor, Pang, was on his way back to Vietnam to get his family to bring back to the states. He had lost his glasses before we got on the flight and got them back when the plane landed. He was really nice. He had to get up a lot. I never complained once. If it wasn't for him, I would have been stiff. There were a several military on the Flight. It was very easy to spot them. For me, the flight was good. I had soda explode on me, watched a few movies, (pang watched my movies even tho he couldnt see) and ate a little on the plane. Mental note for next time. I had the very last seat on the plane. It was next to the rest room and the noly open space on the plane. So since I could not sleep, it seemed everyone wanted to talk to me. So i met a lot of people that way. I think the thing I like the most .... everyone was friendly.

Now on to Korea. My sponor was waiting for me when I got off the bus from the airport. He didn't talk much but the flight commander did. She gave us a lot of information at 9pm. My head started to buzz and had to have people repeat a lot of things. I got business cards with nubmers on it and then was hussled off to a taxi. There were no rooms on base and the dorm rooms were full. So down town I went. My flight commader said I should show up to work on Monday at 715 am and one of the civilians would in-process me. Then my sponor and commander were gone. The driver was really nice. When we got to the hotel. He took all the bags out, then walked around the counter and became out hotel receptionist. Gave me a room key and took the bags upstairs. Well, thats different. An all-in-one nonstop service. He every taught me to say thank you in korean. The next morning he showed us (Darlene and me) how to get to the base. 2 minutes later we were there. It was cold and I am glad I bought a jacket. I met a guy name Jason on the plane. He just happened to leave when we did and became out personal tour guide for the day. The was really nice of him since it was his second time here. I learned were work was and the main places on base. Everything is in walking distance. I think I am going to like it here.

I few hours later I am back in the hotel again. After a little shoping and some food in my stomache, it was time for bed. Not bad for my first day. I think work is going to be fun. Darlene and I are getting along very well. We will be working in the Health and Wellness center. The first month, we will just learn everything. I think we will compliment each toher very well here. I think this well be a great assignment.

TIME FOR CHANGE

In the last week, I have thought about all the things I would like to see changes in.

First change .... I did something totally out of charactor for me. I went shopping.

First, bought a new suitcase. I told myself I was not going to put any of my old clothes in it. (only exceptions were my uniforms) If I want to start at a new place, well, I thought I should start with new clothes too. I really don't mind it as long as it is for someone else. That is so much easier. For me, well, I think I need a personal shopper sometimes. In the last few days, I bought 4 pairs of jeans, at least 20 shirts, two sweaters, a down coat, flipflops (with monica) and 3 or 4 interchangeable work-out outfits. So where did I fall short? Shoes. Not a big deal if you are short or average in size like the rest of San Antonio. Not me. I am 5'11" and my shoe is a 10 1/2 to an 11. So cute shoes are not always available. Me, I am happy in my boots (combat boots) or running sneakers. Well now here is the problem. All these new clothes and a pair of flipflops. I think should I mention I will be moving to Korea in a few days. I'm told it is pretty cold there at the moment. The good thing is, when I get to Korea, I can have shoes made for me.

I am almost done packing. All my new clothes fit (plus my uniforms) and four pairs of shoes. Now just the little things like bathrooms things, eletronics and some books. Things to keep me entertained until the rest of things arrive. (about 3 weeks)

Second change for me is my over-all appearance. A few months ago, I failed my PT Test. In order to pass it, I had to lose some weight (mostly inches) to pass the test. Sadly I was at a 41 inch waiste. I had to lose 7 inches if I wanted to even think of passing. Nicole as my biggest motivator. Everyone didn't think I could do it. So 3 months last, I lost 6 inches, did my push-ups and sit-ups and a 1 1/2 run. I went from a score of 50% to an 80% I also lost 15 pounds. Luckily, I have not gain any back. So with that big change, I wanted to make a few more changes. I started with my toes. I used to get my toes done all the time. But I stopped taking care of me and focused on everyone else. So now it is about me for a while. Toes first. They make me happy to see them painted. Little designs and fun colors (with the exception of pink) make me smile. It is like a little fun surprise. Take my socks off and surprise, they just brighten up my toes. I know, I sound silly. Then I had to buy new clothes. Nothing fit. All too baggy. Last today I am going to get my hair cut. Donna (my sister) suggests i get it layers and framed to my face. The last time I really got my hair cut was 6 years ago. I cut 38 inches off and donated it to Locks of Love. OK 38 inches as a little drastic and I cried for about 2 weeks. Right now, it is about 24 inches and falls in the middle of my back. A trim. Maybe a 1/2 and inch or so. yeah that sounds good.

Third change..... to be more girly. I have started to wear jewerly and body sprays. I little lipstick and the eye lash stuff. Donna put blush on me the other day for pictures and I looked completely different. I have been wearing my hair down, instead of a bun. Sometimes I will even put lotion on. My goal is to do at least two girly things a day. If you can picture Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality, thats me. A plain jane and happy who I am . I dont think I need a team to fix me up, but I can make little changes and keep adding. Dont take me the wrong way, I like who I am. In pictures, I never seems to change. I like the same way I did 5 and 10 years ago. So I think change is good. For me, it is going to be like a bandage. I can't do it gradually, I just need to ripe it off and then move on.