Mother's Day

Well I did make it back to Oshawa with my in-laws, and spent a week and a half there. It was good to see family and friends again, and I was even able to spend Mother's Day with my mum. However, it didn't go as planned due to some family drama. There's always something, right?

As much as I love seeing everyone, I hate Oshawa. I can honestly say that I would never go back to that city if it weren't for my loved ones. It just bores me to tears. And while I don't lead an exceptionally exciting life here in Ottawa, there's always something to do, somewhere to go, something new to see.

Cougar is meowing at my bedroom door, wanting to come in. But he's such a cuddle bug and is so distracting when I have something to do.

Roderick is currently in the States for training and I miss him terribly. He won't be back until the 26th of May and it will have been a whole 3 weeks apart. He wants to plan a trip to Boston before we move, and I hope it happens! I've always wanted to visit before and he was really young the one time that he went. It would be a fun little roadtrip so I am going to keep my fingers crossed.

Still not sure when our last trip to Oshawa will be, but I will keep you all posted.

Just another update

I cannot believe that it's May, where did the time go? Now I just need these next two months to go by in a hurry so that I can just get to Pakistan already!

And now that I am unemployed, I'm afraid the days might just drag by. But hopefully I can keep myself busy. My in-laws are coming to visit this weekend, and I am hoping to head back to Oshawa with them on Sunday, provided my father-in-law can fix my car. There's something going on with the brakes we think, and right now it won't move. So if he can fix it on Saturday, then I can follow them back on Sunday, and hang out in Oshawa for a week or so. But then I'd be left having to drive the 4 hours back to Ottawa all by myself, which I've never done before. And I've only driven on a highway twice. This could get interesting.

I should probably get back to cleaning, but I'm feeling a wee bit lazy at the moment and I'm just waiting for Dr. Phil to come on.

Roderick's new birth certificate came in the mail the other day, so we were finally able to hand in our visa and passport applications. Hopefully there aren't anymore issues with that because it's been stressing me out. And what's up with the shitty new birth certificates? The darn thing was paper thin. At least before they were a bit thicker.

Oh, and we were finally told how much weight we're allowed to ship to Pakistan. At first we were told 500 lbs, then 850 lbs, and now, for sure, 7,850 lbs. Thank the Gods! I'm not really sure how much that is but hopefully we don't go over it. At least now we'll be able to bring everything we want and need - such as golf clubs, bicycles, linens, pots and pans, guitars, drum set, computers, clothes, books, etc. The house over there is furnished, which is helpful, and we are putting most of our belongings in storage here in Canada. I'd like to bring some artwork and other little things to make it feel like home, like my keepsake boxes and scrapbooks, but I'd hate for something to happen and lose them forever. So it's best that they stay here. I'll pack some photos, at least those are replaceable as most of them are online, and bring some candles and other little knick knacks that aren't as sentimental to me.

Now I just have the task of creating that darn excel spreadsheet of literally everything we own, including serial numbers for the big items! Bloody hell.

Animaniacs!

When we first found out that we were going to Pakistan, we weren't sure what we were going to do about the animals. Do we take them with us? Do we leave them behind? What kinds of food do they have there? Could we buy a two year supply here and ship it over there? Are there dog parks? Who would take care of them when we went on vacation? All these questions were going through our minds, and we were so confused. One day they were coming with us, the next day they were staying behind.

But it's finally settled, I think. Roderick's parents will take care of them for the two years (or longer) that we're gone for. I really don't want to leave them behind but their quality of living won't be the same there as it is here in Canada. I want to bring them, because they really are my babies, but it just wouldn't be fair to them. Not to mention -- the big reason we aren't bringing them, the 3 months of quarantine they would require! I have an 80lb German Shepherd and there's no way I could put her in a tiny kennel, all alone, for 3 months. She'd never be the same again!

I'm really going to miss my furbabies while we're gone but I just need to keep reminding myself - It's all for the best!

 Mya, our Sable German Shepherd. She's 2 and is such a good girl!

 My baby Fawkes, Rod gave him to me for my 24th birthday! He's named after Dumbledore's phoenix in the Harry Potter series. Yup, cause I'm a nerd like that.

 Fawkes and Cougar, the newest addition to our family. He's a Tonkinese and is such a cuddle bug.

Becoming a Diplomat

What a long week this has been! We've spent every day from 7:30am until 4pm (sometimes longer) at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, sitting in on various lectures and seminars to learn more about this new posting. Most of it has been quite informative, like learning about spousal employment and what we can do to help us get jobs while we're overseas, while others have just been downright boring. However, quite necessary. Today the lecture was held in a different building, across the river in Quebec. It was probably my favourite day thus far, as being in a new atmosphere helped to break the week up a little bit. Our "teacher" was great to listen to and had lots of advice to give, as she'd lived in several different countries over in Asia and around the world. We also had a chance to speak to a Pakistani man and he gave us a little more insight as to what it's like over there. Tomorrow is the last day and while this whole week has given me a lot of information and was very helpful, I can't wait for it to be over. The days are long, sitting in an auditorium and listening to people speak for hours, and I just want to be able to relax, clean the house, and sleep in!

I've had a chance to get to know a few of the other military spouses who are accompanying their husbands on various missions across the world, and it's good to get their perspective as most have been overseas before. And while I have spent 16 months living in the Netherlands and went there on my own, the Netherlands is a lot different from Pakistan and other such countries. So all in all, a very productive week.

But like I said, I just want to be able to sleep in and not have to wake up at 5:45 in the morning. And to spend some quality time with my animals! Poor babies, they've been so neglected this week.

Roderick still has two more weeks of training, it'll be a bit more indepth and relating to his job that he'll be doing over there. Then he's off to the States for, yet again, more training! And we still haven't handed in our passport or visa forms because we've run into some issues - they didn't like my photos because there was a teeny tiny bit of a flash, not even in my eyes, just the corner of the glasses, and then his birth certificate was a bit torn around the edges. We sent off for a new one and it should be here any day now. Once those are handed in, and come back okay, I can relax a little bit. Right now I'm so scared that something is going to go wrong and we won't be able to go! And we've already spent thousands of dollars preparing for this. Suits for him, proper outfits for me (to attend these suit & tie meetings all week), passport photos (can you believe Walmart charges $14.95 for two freakin' photos? and they required a lot. $186 later...), immunizations for me, doctors, dentists, optometrists, and then things like shampoo that we'll want to take with us. Thank gosh Walmart is good for something and had a sale on Herbal Essences at $2 a bottle.

And then of course I still have the task of getting my security clearance and they need to know all my employers from the past 10 years! Do you think I could remember? It took some effort and I had to contact some old colleagues of mine, but I got them all. Now I just need to remember the names of my supervisors! *sigh*

Oh, and in regards to my last post, unless a temporary job falls into my lap, I won't be looking for work. Too much to do, too little time.

Appointments done, commence job hunting.

After weeks of running around to various appointments and having to take time off of work, it's all over! Well, the appointments that is. And what a pain in the butt they were! Due to the fact that I don't have a family doctor, it was difficult to get the forms signed, and without those signatures, I wouldn't be going anywhere. It was a bit of a nightmare but finally they're all signed off and handed in to the appropriate people. What a relief!

We still have the visa applications to fill out, and some courses to go on, but it's all done for the most part. And then comes the waiting game.

I've just gotten word that our termination letters came in at work, and since we were all just temporary workers for the charter season at the airport, our last day is April 30. That's such a shame because I really enjoyed working there, and I wonder if there's much point in finding another job for just 3 months, when I'll need time off to visit family, get the house organized, etc. The one good thing about this process is that the military pays someone to come in and pack everything for us. I've just got to organize it into two sections, what's going with us, and what's going in storage. And I've also got to create an Excel spreadsheet of all our belongings, and what they're worth, in case things go missing. But I think I could at least find a job for May and June, and then quit early July to focus on getting the house packed up and seeing family. Wish me luck!

Immunizations

For as long as I can remember, I've hated needles. Perhaps hate isn't even the right word, more like petrified. I cry, I shake, I squirm, and at one point in my life it took 4 nurses to hold me down so that they could take blood from my arm. I hate blood and I can hardly even straighten out my arms because I hate seeing all the veins there. Ugh, the whole thing just grosses me out. I remember one time when I was really young, my baby sister was jumping from couch to couch and fell, landing on an iced mug that my mother used to keep in the freezer so that her Pepsi was always nice and cold. Blood started gushing from her eye (it wasn't exactly her eye, but right beside it, thankfully. But what did I know? I was only about 6 at the time) and I screamed bloody murder. It's likely that I scared her more than the fall and cut itself. And away she went, to the hospital, as I sobbed until her return. So the whole thought of blood freaks me out, even when it isn't mine, and it certainly wasn't the first, or last, time that I cried over someone else's wounds.

Anyway, there is a point to this. I promise.

I had to get not one, not two, but FIVE needles yesterday! Some were just regular vaccines that were out of date while others were for certain countries that we plan to visit while living in the Middle-East. I would have bet a million dollars that there would be tears, hand holding and a whole lot of freaking out. But for some strange reason, I took it like a champ! And it's a good thing too that no bets were made, because I would be in a whole lot of debt if that were the case. Perhaps it's just that I'm growing up or that I knew that the needles were for a good cause. Whatever the case may be, I'm glad that my 25 year old self didn't make a huge scene in the nurses office, causing an embarrassment.

The Beginning

The one reason for creating this blog was to chronicle our adventures in the event that we were to be posted elsewhere, either somewhere outside of Canada, or just to a different province even. Just so I had a way of keeping touch with my family and they could follow our adventures. For those who don't know, my boyfriend is a military police officer in the Canadian Forces. After doing a 3 month tour in Afghanistan last year, he applied to be stationed at an embassy and finally, several months later, he got the call. Generally speaking, they only give embassy jobs to those who have been overseas on a tour, something like a prerequisite.

It was Tuesday, March 20, as we sat in the McDonald's parking lot, just having a bite to eat after leaving the dentists office. I had two wisdom teeth that needed to be removed, but that wouldn't be happening until the following afternoon. So as we sat in the car, enjoying the beautiful weather we'd been having, which was quite uncommon for Ottawa, Canada, he received the phone call that would alter the rest of our lives.

"Two years in Pakistan, accompanied, are you interested?" said the man on the phone. "Yes, take it," I whispered, although I wanted to scream and jump for joy! It wasn't a surprise, he'd been asked about it a couple of weeks earlier so we had already discussed it. Turns out that the guy who was meant to be going, turned it down, and so Roderick was next in line.

While I had always wanted to get a posting to an embassy in a different country, I certainly never expected it to be Pakistan. I had high hopes for some place in Europe like France or Germany, or even the Netherlands, where I lived from September 2008 to January 2010. But, beggers can't be choosers and this will certainly be quite the experience.

Everything is still a bit up in the air and I don't really have too many details on the matter, I just know we're leaving at the end of July and we've got a couple of appointments in two days time to go and speak with a social worker (to make sure that I won't go crazy in Pakistan or something to that nature) and get some vaccinations. I hate needles so this is sure to be one unpleasant experience.

And since we aren't leaving for several more months, I may not have much to report in between now and then. But I will be posting whenever something relevant to this comes up, so stay tuned. ;)