Obviously, with it being Good Friday, it would be a little trite of me to write a post complaining about the trivial misgivings of my life in Enid. Truthfully, with change in the wind I've been feeling a little sad and even scared to be leaving, because the good here far outweighs the bad. Here are some good things I'll miss about Enid/Vance:
FRIENDS! We've both been beyond fortunate in the friends that we've found here. Whether its a good laugh, joking about Eniods, or an in depth discussion about Harry Potter, they've really what has made our experience in Enid a good one.
Barbeque- oh, sorry, did you think this was going all be thoughtful and meditative things? Because even if you did, you're in luck- we've started taking our BBQ very seriously! I'm definitely an amateur connoisseur, but boy to I like learning!
Our Church- We've been attending St. Gregory's Catholic Church, and though I can't say we've been especially involved, its such a sweet little community that I think has a really good focus and grasp on what it means to be a good, loving, and tolerant Christian person.
Pilot Training, At the beginning of pilot training there's a bunch of hoohah to students and wives about this being the most difficult year of their lives, and how you'll basically only see you husband for a few hours on Saturday if he isn't flying. For us at least, this has been total baloney! While it hasn't been all easy, and has at times been very stressful, I can't say that it has been overly trying. Lance deserves all the credit for this, he's great at getting what needs to be done completed in the flight room, and carves out room to hang out with me every day, and we usually have plenty of time for fun on the weekends.
There's a bunch of other little things that have been giving me little pangs of sadness when I realize we'll be leaving, like the nice guy at the deli counter at the commissary, the cool movie theater in Kingfisher, the hot dog store, and the man on Broadway that walks his 5 pugs everyday at 4. I'm starting to get really excited though, to get to discover the new quirks and gems in a few new places this year and next!
Today while shelving books at the library, a dirty looking man with a shirt with a picture of a squirrel saying 'I'm bringing sexy back' on it, rounded the corner, stared right at me and said "Oh. There you are." He then came right up to me and asked "Do you know where the books on demon possession are? Like, finding out if you are possessed by a demon?". I managed to calmly direct him to the non-fiction section. After looking around to see if I was on a hidden camera show, I remembered that NOPE I JUST LIVE IN ENID.
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A photo of aforementioned leaping |
I mentioned in my last post how Lance and I are starting to really process how close we are to finding out what adventure is in store for us next. Neither of us seem to be good at this waiting game (is anyone, really?)- but its safe to say that we're obviously projecting this anxiousness onto other aspects of our lives. For Lance, this has included fastidiously researching fireproof safes, lock boxes, and possible investment opportunities. For my part, I'd have to say the house has rarely been cleaner, and I spent most of yesterday compiling a-more-than-comprehensive tornado/emergency survival kit containing waterproofed papers with our respective medical histories and contact information for pretty much everyone we know. I also tested several parts of our house for their accessibility, comfort, and safety in case of emergency. The fact that we are crazy is not lost on us, but admittedly it feels nice to exact some sort of control on the parts of our lives that we can control!
Well, its been a hectic last week and a half! We ended up moving into another apartment in our same complex; Thursday and Friday were filled with what must be close to a million trips back and forth between our two places, and on Saturday morning we blessedly had the help of a few friends in moving some of our bigger items. Patricia was flying in on Saturday night, so it was a mad dash to get things looking halfway liveable (can't have her going home to tell my mom we live like hobos!).
Patricia's visit was a whirlwind, I wish we had more time to visit a few different places. We did make it to Oklahoma City to 'Stockyard City'- near the world's largest stockyards- why this is laudable is beyond me, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers. There were a few western themed shops there that were fun to poke around, and we had lunch/dinner at Cattlemen's Steakhouse. No, not the same Cattlemen's chain found in California! We all agreed our food was only mediocre, not worth the trip or the price, and the situation only deteriorated after we left the restaurant only to see a truck full of young cows being brought to the yards for slaughter. Apparently people enjoy the notion of eating super fresh beef, but honestly I think that the whole setup was sickening and was thereby reduced to tears!
After Patricia's departure, the remainder of the week found Lance preparing for his nav-checkride, what is generally acknowledged to be the beginning of the end of pilot training, and me trying to sort out the house. I suppose going through this mini-move is good preparation for the imminent moves these next few months are set to bring. Lance passed his nav-check, and it seems to have served as the greenlight for us to really start processing that we're nearing the end of the program and to begin entertaining the potential possibilities for what can happen next (always accompanied by a hasty knock-on-wood- gotta love superstitious pilots...er, pilots-to-be--KNOCK ON WOOD!)
Despite the business of the last month, I've still struggled with not having a solid job. Occasional substitute gigs and volunteering at the library have kept me decently occupied when not moving or entertaining, but I'm looking forward to a fresh start somewhere new. On the flip side, I've also come to see that some of my attitudes towards my situation have been a little selfish. Lance successfully finishing pilot training is the big goal in both of our lives for the time being, and I'm thankful that I get to be around enough to support him through it.
I'm gonna catch this blog up real quick, because things are about to get a little crazy up in our house, and I wouldn't want to go on without detailing the awesome visit I had with my best friend, Sarah! Unbeknownst to me, she and Lance planned for her to surprise me here in Oklahoma. When Lance came home with a bouquet of flowers, my suspicions were piqued, but nothing could have prepared me to then find Sarah standing in the doorway! Clearly, the two of them are permanently made "Best Husband" and "Best Friend", respectively.
Between going to different high schools, Sarah's studying abroad in Italy, and then on to different colleges- its been a very long time since we've had a good chunk of time to catch up properly and just hang out since for years its been last minute coffees, BART trips, lunches, and oddly timed phone calls. However, I'd be lying if I didn't say I had a mini-panic attack at finding out I needed to entertain my worldly friend in the middle of nowhere for 8 days!
We more than made do though; remember that art museum that was tragically closed when Lance and I wanted to visit? Sarah and I finally visited (and Lance escaped what were surely torturous hours of cultural musings). We went to Oklahoma city and maybe/probably saw Toby Keith, we did art projects, went antiquing, and learned about the Chisholm Trail at a curiously detailed museum in Kingfisher.
Lance took us out to the airstrip to look at the planes, it was the first time I got to see his new aircraft, the T-1. It was not as big as I thought it was, I couldn't imagine having to sit in it for 4 hours at a time! Sarah's visit was well timed because, in addition to still being very busy with flights in general, Lance also went on another cross-country overnight flight.
I really can't get over how lucky I am for all of the great people in my life that care about me so much- as good a person as I try to be, nothing I can do can compare to the awesomeness of them!
...and now for something completely different...
As grateful as I am for my friends and family- one thing that I am NOT grateful for is the leaky mess of our apartment (ok, fine, I'm thankful to have a roof over my head- I would just rather it not torrentially leak through our kitchen lights, electrical outlets and cabinets). This is not the first mention of its yuckiness in this blog, but it will be the last- we are moving.
On base housing requires a 6 month retainer, and since we don't want to risk indicating that we want to FAIP and then being stuck here for the long haul, we are remaining off base and in the same complex. Wary as I am of the management and maintenance, the apartment we are moving to was our friend's old one, and doesn't have a history of problems like ours. Its risky, but at least we avoid moving and storage fees that would have come with moving somewhere further and inevitably smaller.
In all fairness, I'm really only writing this because I'm housebound waiting to get the keys and the greenlight so I can start moving. Hopefully the bulk of little things can be moved today and tomorrow, because my sister Patricia is coming to visit on Saturday! Lance's class is having a fundraiser tomorrow, and he is preparing to have his 'nav-check' next week. Supposedly things get a lot better and its into the home-stretch after that.
Not sure why its taken me until Friday night to post about last weekend, seeing as I meant to do this on Monday. It was a busier week though, I volunteered at the library a few days and got called in to substitute teach at the high school today (it was blissfully uneventful!).
Lance had a three day weekend last week, and we kicked it off by kicking our 2 weeks of healthy eating to the curb, but the first taste of Pond Creek Barbeque's smoked baby back ribs made any feelings of regret melt away like meat from the bone. Their potato salad wasn't as awesome as I remembered, but all in all it was worth the 35 minute trek to the shack in the middle of nowhere.
Sunday was spent at the gym, then Church, then a whole lot of nothing, then some planning for our Monday trip to Tulsa. By planning, I mean looking at the website for the Philbrook Art Museum in Tulsa to make sure they weren't closed on Martin Luther King Junior Day- and they weren't!
....they are, however, closed on all Mondays- a fact we only came to realize as we saw it posted on their front gates. That was my big plan for the day, and although its no de Young- I was really looking forward to it! The trip wasn't a total waste, as we went to Kilkenny's Irish Pub. I was a little skeptical when Lance insisted on eating there; there are a lot of reasons to be proud I'm Irish, but the food isn't high on the list! I got a cottage pie which was great- but would probably have been better if it wasn't a freak temperature day of 72 degrees. Lance got a burger that was cooked in red wine, it was very tasty and I think I'll try and make something similar.
We ended up coming back earlier than planned, I imagine we'll try to venture into Tulsa again- this time with better planning! Coming back early had one benefit though-if you've been wondering about our latest apartment woes, you're in luck, because per usual this place never fails to be falling apart somewhere. This time it was our upstairs neighbor's washing machine that led to a waterfall from our kitchen light fixture- and I mean a ton of water! Its all cleaned up now, and there isn't any permanent damage- but its just the most recent in a long string of maintenance issues we've had here. I called the housing office on base to see what they would do, and both they and Lance called with strong words for our landlord. We've been promised that things will change, and I really hope they do- since we only have a few more months here it doesn't seem worth moving, but I get scared that we won't be so lucky next time and something will get damaged (other than the time plaster fell and hit me in the head in the middle of the night, of course).
With a new year, I think its a good idea to get back into keeping this blog- especially since this will be such a crazy one! 2012 is a gypsy year for us, with Lance graduating UPT in April, we'll soon find out where he does his follow on training, and eventually where we'll be for 3 (ish) years afterward. I'm hoping to get a lot of traveling in, and maybe even take our postponed honeymoon??
The last few months of 2011 were busy, exciting, sad, and trying. The job I gushed about in my last post turned out to be a bust and not at all what I was told to expect, while I liked being busy and making money, it just wasn't worth the ethical and emotional toll. While moving on was upsetting, I know now that it is definitely for the best! PLUS that meant Lance and I could spend a lot more time in California for the holidays!
We got to do so much fun stuff while home, but the best part was just hanging out with family and friends. We went to St. Helena for a day with my family, where we window-shopped and wine-tasted (Lance has been bitten by the bug!), got to spend a whole day with Aaron, Rachel, and our adorable nieces in their new home, and had a laughter filled afternoon in Davis with Lance's parents- along with a lot of needed 'chilling out' with everyone.
Christmas day was spent in a perpetual food coma (Just kidding- the whole break was spent in a food coma...) at our house and the Nealon's, and we brought in the new year with fireworks by the river with Sarah and her sister. I loved being able to host Sara and I's annual Christmas party with our friends from high school again this year too!
Coming home to Enid was tough, being home with Lance makes me realize all over again how much I love our family (well, and frankly how weird they are!), but I'm excited about the promise of this year. Already I'm lining up some new volunteer jobs and craft projects, setting up dates with friends, and planning a few weekend trips- and Lance and I both have been hitting the gym a lot to get rid of holiday poundage! I'll try to post more so these blogs aren't all just general summaries of a few months at a time!
(PS- this post was sans photos, but, as usual, check the photostream at the right to see what we've been up to most recently!)