Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Hello from San Angelo, Texas!
It's Saturday. Over breakfast this morning Erica and I were making a list of things to do (before our 2:30 appointment with the TV for USC vs. Notre Dame) and I realized we haven't posted a new blog in weeks. So, sure enough I logged on and checked... nothing since September 20th! That seems like a lifetime ago. So, I'll do my best to cover everything that has happened since then.
September 25th-27th I left Maxwell AFB, in Montgomery, AL and headed for texas. I stopped in San Antonio for 2 days where my buddy Steve offered a home cooked meal and a bed. It was fantastic. Steve was headed to Colorado to start Initial Flight Screening for his course as a USAF aircraft navigator but we were able to catch up a little bit before he left and I headed for the rest of my drive (Texas is huge) to San Angelo, TX.
September 28th - October 2nd: I arrived at Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, TX. I got myself a hotel room on base and reported in on Monday morning to a Captain who supervises all the trainees as they arrive. He handed me a packet of papers and administrative stuff to take care of. He asked me my name, date of birth, etc., and sent me off. I asked him for leave (ok, more like told him I would be taking leave to get married at the end of the week). I ran around base all week going to finance, personnel, housing, communications, the base library etc. By Wednesday I had leave authorization and on Friday I was mostly done running around base. I was completely in-processed and caught a flight from San Angelo-Dallas-Ontario, CA.
October 3rd -4th: Anyone reading this should know what was happening on October 3rd and 4th! On the 3rd we had a rehearsal at 11:00 and a nice lunch immediately afterward. Afterward I went and picked up my tux and before I knew it, it was bachelor party time. I rolled on over to Marc's house (Erica's brother) and he had a fantastic spread of scotch, beer and cigars along with some tasty snacks and pizza. We played some poker and smoked some cigars. It was a good night, surreal, but good. Meanwhile, Erica was across the street at her aunt angie's house watching "my big fat greek wedding" and I can only imagine the crying occurring attempting to watch that movie on the eve of your wedding. On the 4th, I woke up and made myself some breakfast, everything still feeling a bit surreal. I ran up to the grocery store and the ATM trying to find something to do to keep busy. I went and picked up Erica's luggage for her and packed her car up to drive off later that night. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the Mission Inn. Once there, I talked to our wonderful friends who were helping set up the ceremony and reception room with decorations. They had overcome some minor confusion from the hotel, but were busy at work. Then I bided my time in the "groom room" until it was photo time. After some photos it was nearly "that time". I talked to Marc a little bit and said hello to guests who were arriving before re-confirming that our rings were all set and in-place. (Thanks Joseph!) Then I headed, with Marc and Uncle Geoff, back to our hiding spot and waited for my cue. Erica's day was much different than mine and she'll have to tell you about it herself. I can't attempt to describe the rest of the wonderful day in words here. From where I stood, all I can say is the ceremony was beautiful. Thank you so much Uncle Geoff. The reception was wonderful and we hope everyone enjoyed themselves.
October 5th - 7th: We spent a few beautiful days in Laguna at the Surf and Sand resort, courtesy of Rod and Tina (thank you so much). It was fantastic, and our whole experience there was just extraordinarily relaxing. We enjoyed the beach and the town. On the 6th we met with some of our family and enjoyed opening wedding gifts with everyone. On the 7th, we flew back "home" to Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, TX. We found our way to our temporary lodging (until we moved in to our apartment on the 10th) and collapsed.
October 8-9th: We got re-oriented to San Angelo and looked around for furniture, bought a mattress and did a variety of other little things on our to-do list. We stopped by our apartment complex and made sure we were all set to move in on the 10th. Afterwards, we drove by Lake Nasworthy and stopped so Erica could take pictures of three deer grazing on somebody's lawn. They were a little spooked by us! There are a lot of deer around here.
October 10th - 12th: We moved in and immedately set about getting all the things we needed. Trips to Target, Albertson's, and Big Lots were frequent. We got the necessities: soap, toilet paper, paper towels, bread, water, shower curtain etc... On the evening of the 10th, my dad arrived with a U-haul and Erica's car which he had driven/towed all the way from California for us. (Thanks Dad!) He even helped us pick up our mattress (since we had a u-haul). Then we had dinner and unloaded the truck full of all of Erica's things. On the 11th we had a nice breakfast and ate on the floor using a few boxes as a table. We ran around picking up furniture. A couch came first and then a beautiful dining room set that was a surprise house-warming gift from my parents. We also got a coffee table and TV stand from Target. Those couple days are a blur, really. It was nice to have Dad there to help us put things together and get organized. We got a lot done. On the 12th, TMO delivered all of the things they had been storing for me since August 4th and we re-started the whole unpacking process. Then I drove Dad to the Midland airport and he flew home.
Oct 13-16th: While I wait for my training class to start (don't know when yet) I'm on "casual status". This means I call in every morning and let them know I'm still alive and they let me know if they come up with some job they need me to do. A lot of people get casual jobs helping someone on the base do something. It's really just busy work, though you can learn something from some of the jobs. It's not like we have much to do otherwise. Except for me... We seemed to unpack for days on end. Finally, there were still boxes but nothing more that was worth unpacking until we had somewhere else to put it. (bookshelf, dresser drawers etc.) So, I kept calling in every morning and letting them know I was still here. Erica and I would organize the apartment and do admin/paperwork stuff all day. Finally, on Thursday, after being on casual status for a nice break, they called me and told me to report for a job in the security office on Friday morning. I went in and found out they didn't actually need me there, so they sent me somewhere else anyway. So, now I have a job about 8-4ish every weekday until my class starts, which is good.
Hopefully, that brings everyone up to speed about where we are. Today we're cleaning the apartment and preparing for a good USC game. Erica and I will keep updating our blog weekly now that we're in a more regular schedule. Until then, fight on!
P.S. We're going to publish a video of our apartment soon! It will be up as soon as we can figure out how to get it on the page!
September 25th-27th I left Maxwell AFB, in Montgomery, AL and headed for texas. I stopped in San Antonio for 2 days where my buddy Steve offered a home cooked meal and a bed. It was fantastic. Steve was headed to Colorado to start Initial Flight Screening for his course as a USAF aircraft navigator but we were able to catch up a little bit before he left and I headed for the rest of my drive (Texas is huge) to San Angelo, TX.
September 28th - October 2nd: I arrived at Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, TX. I got myself a hotel room on base and reported in on Monday morning to a Captain who supervises all the trainees as they arrive. He handed me a packet of papers and administrative stuff to take care of. He asked me my name, date of birth, etc., and sent me off. I asked him for leave (ok, more like told him I would be taking leave to get married at the end of the week). I ran around base all week going to finance, personnel, housing, communications, the base library etc. By Wednesday I had leave authorization and on Friday I was mostly done running around base. I was completely in-processed and caught a flight from San Angelo-Dallas-Ontario, CA.
October 3rd -4th: Anyone reading this should know what was happening on October 3rd and 4th! On the 3rd we had a rehearsal at 11:00 and a nice lunch immediately afterward. Afterward I went and picked up my tux and before I knew it, it was bachelor party time. I rolled on over to Marc's house (Erica's brother) and he had a fantastic spread of scotch, beer and cigars along with some tasty snacks and pizza. We played some poker and smoked some cigars. It was a good night, surreal, but good. Meanwhile, Erica was across the street at her aunt angie's house watching "my big fat greek wedding" and I can only imagine the crying occurring attempting to watch that movie on the eve of your wedding. On the 4th, I woke up and made myself some breakfast, everything still feeling a bit surreal. I ran up to the grocery store and the ATM trying to find something to do to keep busy. I went and picked up Erica's luggage for her and packed her car up to drive off later that night. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the Mission Inn. Once there, I talked to our wonderful friends who were helping set up the ceremony and reception room with decorations. They had overcome some minor confusion from the hotel, but were busy at work. Then I bided my time in the "groom room" until it was photo time. After some photos it was nearly "that time". I talked to Marc a little bit and said hello to guests who were arriving before re-confirming that our rings were all set and in-place. (Thanks Joseph!) Then I headed, with Marc and Uncle Geoff, back to our hiding spot and waited for my cue. Erica's day was much different than mine and she'll have to tell you about it herself. I can't attempt to describe the rest of the wonderful day in words here. From where I stood, all I can say is the ceremony was beautiful. Thank you so much Uncle Geoff. The reception was wonderful and we hope everyone enjoyed themselves.
October 5th - 7th: We spent a few beautiful days in Laguna at the Surf and Sand resort, courtesy of Rod and Tina (thank you so much). It was fantastic, and our whole experience there was just extraordinarily relaxing. We enjoyed the beach and the town. On the 6th we met with some of our family and enjoyed opening wedding gifts with everyone. On the 7th, we flew back "home" to Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, TX. We found our way to our temporary lodging (until we moved in to our apartment on the 10th) and collapsed.
October 8-9th: We got re-oriented to San Angelo and looked around for furniture, bought a mattress and did a variety of other little things on our to-do list. We stopped by our apartment complex and made sure we were all set to move in on the 10th. Afterwards, we drove by Lake Nasworthy and stopped so Erica could take pictures of three deer grazing on somebody's lawn. They were a little spooked by us! There are a lot of deer around here.
October 10th - 12th: We moved in and immedately set about getting all the things we needed. Trips to Target, Albertson's, and Big Lots were frequent. We got the necessities: soap, toilet paper, paper towels, bread, water, shower curtain etc... On the evening of the 10th, my dad arrived with a U-haul and Erica's car which he had driven/towed all the way from California for us. (Thanks Dad!) He even helped us pick up our mattress (since we had a u-haul). Then we had dinner and unloaded the truck full of all of Erica's things. On the 11th we had a nice breakfast and ate on the floor using a few boxes as a table. We ran around picking up furniture. A couch came first and then a beautiful dining room set that was a surprise house-warming gift from my parents. We also got a coffee table and TV stand from Target. Those couple days are a blur, really. It was nice to have Dad there to help us put things together and get organized. We got a lot done. On the 12th, TMO delivered all of the things they had been storing for me since August 4th and we re-started the whole unpacking process. Then I drove Dad to the Midland airport and he flew home.
Oct 13-16th: While I wait for my training class to start (don't know when yet) I'm on "casual status". This means I call in every morning and let them know I'm still alive and they let me know if they come up with some job they need me to do. A lot of people get casual jobs helping someone on the base do something. It's really just busy work, though you can learn something from some of the jobs. It's not like we have much to do otherwise. Except for me... We seemed to unpack for days on end. Finally, there were still boxes but nothing more that was worth unpacking until we had somewhere else to put it. (bookshelf, dresser drawers etc.) So, I kept calling in every morning and letting them know I was still here. Erica and I would organize the apartment and do admin/paperwork stuff all day. Finally, on Thursday, after being on casual status for a nice break, they called me and told me to report for a job in the security office on Friday morning. I went in and found out they didn't actually need me there, so they sent me somewhere else anyway. So, now I have a job about 8-4ish every weekday until my class starts, which is good.
Hopefully, that brings everyone up to speed about where we are. Today we're cleaning the apartment and preparing for a good USC game. Erica and I will keep updating our blog weekly now that we're in a more regular schedule. Until then, fight on!
P.S. We're going to publish a video of our apartment soon! It will be up as soon as we can figure out how to get it on the page!
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