A New Name

You may have noticed that I've changed the title from 'Confessions' to 'Adventures of an Army Wife'. I thought this was more fitting as it really is a blog about my upcoming adventures, rather than confessing my secrets.

I'm currently laying in bed at the hotel, still, watching UFC. Obviously blogging is more appealing to me than watching that. I like it if I'm out drinking at a bar, but seeing two dudes beat each other up just isn't my cup of tea.

We still don't have our passports. Roderick received a call today from a colleague, the guy that is going over there with us, and I guess another colleague, the lady that's joining us, already has hers. She somehow found out that the colleague is getting his on the 23rd, and Rod and I will receive ours on the 30th. Not entirely sure how she got this information or if it's true or not, but I really hope they come in before then. Living in a hotel has gotten real old, real fast. All I do is watch tv (The First 48, Wildest Police Videos and Storage Wars have been popular around here), go out to eat or order in, and take naps. Without a vehicle, we're pretty limited to what we can do. Fortunately though, there's a Tim Horton's right next door, as well as The Keg. However, we obviously can't eat there everyday because it's so pricey, but oh so delicious and the closest thing to a home cooked meal. Within a 10 minute walk there's also a shawarma shop, Harvey's, Subway, a Firkin and a Moxie's, and there's always pizza delivery. But I'd pretty much do anything right now to have my own kitchen and a healthy meal.

I just really want to get the heck out of here. And it baffles my mind that the 4 of us that are going to Pakistan all handed in our passport and visa papers at the same time, so why didn't we all get them when Wendy did? So unfair. I've been waiting for this adventure to start since March and I am more than ready to get over there!

Do me a favour? Pray for us that we'll get our passports soon! Or if that's not your style, cross your fingers or something. Some people might think that going to Pakistan is dangerous, but lock me in a hotel for 3 weeks and we'll see what happens.

We at the hotel, motel, holiday inn.

Actually, we are staying at the Days Inn because it was the cheaper option. Haha. Granted, the military pays for it but we've got to fork the cash over up front so anything to save a couple bucks. Which is why I hope we aren't stuck here for too long, that could get expensive. Not to mention we have a rental car and we've got to eat out everyday since the hotel doesn't have a kitchen. These things are covered as well, but who knows when we'll get reimbursed? (Bonus: We get $70/person per day for food. Who eats $70 worth of food everyday? Though I'm not complaining, that's just cash in the bank.) But what I wouldn't do for a home cooked meal right about now.

So we have been at the hotel since Monday, which is when the move started. And it's gone fairly smoothly, aside from a few hiccups. The shippers packed up some books that I didn't plan on taking with me, but that's not a huge deal. And they forgot to pack my 5lb weights and I didn't realize until after they were gone, and I accidentally had them pack my jean jacket which I meant to take with me in my suitcase. I guess I wasn't thinking there. Oh well, things could've gone a lot worse.

Tomorrow the movers are coming back to pick up all the stuff that is going into storage, the stuff that is coming with us overseas is (hopefully) packed into a sea can and on it's way to the Middle East, the car is in storage, and now we just have to wait for our passports. That is the most annoying part. I have been waiting to leave since March! And the military is always like this, rush rush rush, wait. I am just getting so anxious to get over there and settle in, I have no idea what to expect and the anticipation is killing me.

On the bright side - my sister and brother in law are coming to visit us one last time this Friday, so I guess it's sort of a good thing that our passports haven't come in yet.

So Long, Oshawa

Roderick and I have just returned from our week long trip to our hometown of Oshawa. It's really weird to think that I won't be there again for another two years, possibly longer (or shorter, in case something goes terribly wrong - but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that doesn't happen).

Aside from a few hiccups, it was a pretty good trip home. I think that I managed to see everyone I wanted to see, however a few weren't able to make it out due to not being in the country, which sucks, but that's life.

My Aunt Jane had a going away party for Rod and I on Saturday, and there was quite the turnout of people, and I had a really nice time. And it was the perfect opportunity for us to announce our engagement! That's right, we got engaged in Boston and it took everything I had to keep it to myself for a week because I was waiting for this party. Unfortunately, I am not a public speaker and after thanking everyone for coming and telling them how much I'm going to miss them, I ended up in tears so Rod had to announce it for us. I'll dedicate another post to our engagement and the proposal.

So anyway, it felt good to finally tell everyone and my parents, friends and family are all very happy for us!

Yesterday we left Oshawa, and it was a sad day. I tried not to cry when I was saying goodbye to everyone, so I saved the tears for after they left. *sigh* Rod thinks I'm crazy for being upset and crying about all of this, but I can't help it. Sure, this new adventure is exciting and it'll be a great experience for us, but it's still sad leaving your family and friends, regardless.

And I'd just like to take the time to thank Alex for having us over on Friday night for a going away party and to those who came, and to my Aunt Jane for hosting another party at her place and to everyone who came to that as well.

I'll miss you all! xo