Highlights: check-out of squadron, next orders, afternoon with Becc, Uncle T not feeling well, new roommate, last night in San Diego
I finished checking-out of HMMT-164 today. Everyone is busy with 20 different schedules humming along quietly behind the scenes, so it’s near impossible to find all the people you’d like to say goodbye to before running out the door… but it’s worth a try. I brought Uncle T up to the squadron. For all of his 3 years in the Air Force, that experience generates far more nostalgic conversation out of him than his 40 years working as a staff artist at the Christian Science Monitor (newspaper). Funny (= so I knew he would appreciate visiting Camp Pendleton for his first time and seeing the inside of a squadron (not that it’s particularly fancy). He enjoyed it.
As we drove home, I called my boss in DC to get any official word on my next destination after finishing my time in Indonesia. Indeed the results are in. My next set of orders will be to a fleet squadron in Okinawa, Japan! It’s exciting and a touch of a letdown at the same time. The letdown part could be compared to getting a date with the runner-up instead of Miss America,,, so there’s really not much room to complain.
The big plus is that I’m going back to a fleet squadron to fly again. that’s what’s important really. Getting orders to a squadron in Miramar or Camp Pendleton (San Diego) would have been nice- since I have a house here that I just put some effort into, and I was hoping to live in it… but, can a guy really complain about dating the runner-up? I’ll stop wasting oxygen now.
I’ve never been to Okinawa, but I’ve heard from a lot of friends who loved it. I’m positive plenty of opportunities to visit mainland Japan, Korea, and hopefully China will present themselves. Who knows- maybe I’ll get to China during the 2008 Olympics. And of course, it would be great to get back to Indonesia and visit friends.
Uncle T & I tried picking up washer-dryer without success. It’s still on the delivery truck. One loose-end I’m afraid I won’t be able to tie up before I leave. Well, at least I got the delivery company to put us back on their schedule for tomorrow, and Emily can get home to receive the delivery & install.
We took Becca to lunch & shopping at the Miramar exchange. Small favors for good friends. (= She almost talked me out of my pool project; arguing that it would be much better if I could be here personally to monitor progress, and make sure the contractors aren’t jerking me around (a skill many contractors seem to have an unofficial masters degree in…). were it not for my stubborn streak, and my enthusiasm for making the house as good as I can, despite the recent awareness that I won’t be coming back to live here this summer,,, I would have picked up on her advice. She’s a tough debater.
In the meantime, Uncle T wasn’t feeling too well, so he went upstairs to try & sleep it off.
Around 5pm, a prospective new roommate – Catherine – came by. It’s great to get responses so quickly from people looking to rent a room. Fresh from experiencing internet scam season though, I’m amazed how many responses to my Craigslist & Roomates.com ad became instantly recognizeable as obvious scams:
1) I’m a veterinarian working in Nigeria. My dad just died, and I’m moving back to the states.
2) I’m a diplomat with a West African embassy, and I’m moving to San Diego.
3) I’m a doctor / PhD student / NGO volunteer / relief worker… from either West Africa or the UK.
An unbelievable number of them threw in a recently deceased family member for good measure. And they’re all ready to move-in without coming by to see the house first. I got at least 15 responses like that. Pisses me off.
For a second, Catherine started to sound like a scam herself: recently returned from living in Japan, works as a software engineer… and just as I was about to roll my eyes & exercise the delete button, her e-mail continued… “am interested in coming by & seeing your place next week sometime”
Oh! Allright then. At least it won’t be a face to face scam. (=
She came by this evening, got to meet Violet (just missed Emily), and we gave her the grand tour. The master bedroom is the one I was advertising originally, but as of this afternoon, “my” room just became available too. She seems nice, which is a much more important quality to me now, after our experience with Ben. And it’s Violet & Emily she would be living with, so their opinion & compatability are what really matter.
We’ll find out tomorrow if she decides to become our 3rd roommate. (=
Catherine had just left, I finished my last few e-mails and was just thinking about packing,,, when Uncle T’s condition started feeling worse. Time for plan C… a trip to the hospital to see what’s going on. “Resting” wasn’t making the stomach pain or vomiting get any better.
We got to Sharp’s emergency room around 8:30pm. By 5am we learned the problem: gall stones. An ugly thing to experience right before a planned cross-country drive (3,000 miles). But on the plus side,,, he’s at my home. There’s no rush to leave. He can stay as long as he wants, take his time recovering in 80 degree San Diego, instead of rushing back to the cold & snow of Boston…
I, on the other hand, didn’t have that luxury, as I had a plane to catch in LA in a matter of 7 hours, and I hadn’t packed yet. (= niiiiice!
I had everything I needed stuffed into 2 suitcases & a bag within 20 minutes. Grabbing a quick ride to the train station with Emily, I jumped on the Amtrak (Surfliner) to Los Angeles, took the shuttle to LAX airport, checked-in, and was sitting on the plane… like clockwork. It was a good thing I planned to be 2 hours early- because even the train had a ½ hour “traffic” situation,, and I showed up with only 50 minutes to spare.
Uncle T was curled up in bed recovering when I last saw him.
I finished checking-out of HMMT-164 today. Everyone is busy with 20 different schedules humming along quietly behind the scenes, so it’s near impossible to find all the people you’d like to say goodbye to before running out the door… but it’s worth a try. I brought Uncle T up to the squadron. For all of his 3 years in the Air Force, that experience generates far more nostalgic conversation out of him than his 40 years working as a staff artist at the Christian Science Monitor (newspaper). Funny (= so I knew he would appreciate visiting Camp Pendleton for his first time and seeing the inside of a squadron (not that it’s particularly fancy). He enjoyed it.
As we drove home, I called my boss in DC to get any official word on my next destination after finishing my time in Indonesia. Indeed the results are in. My next set of orders will be to a fleet squadron in Okinawa, Japan! It’s exciting and a touch of a letdown at the same time. The letdown part could be compared to getting a date with the runner-up instead of Miss America,,, so there’s really not much room to complain.
The big plus is that I’m going back to a fleet squadron to fly again. that’s what’s important really. Getting orders to a squadron in Miramar or Camp Pendleton (San Diego) would have been nice- since I have a house here that I just put some effort into, and I was hoping to live in it… but, can a guy really complain about dating the runner-up? I’ll stop wasting oxygen now.
I’ve never been to Okinawa, but I’ve heard from a lot of friends who loved it. I’m positive plenty of opportunities to visit mainland Japan, Korea, and hopefully China will present themselves. Who knows- maybe I’ll get to China during the 2008 Olympics. And of course, it would be great to get back to Indonesia and visit friends.
Uncle T & I tried picking up washer-dryer without success. It’s still on the delivery truck. One loose-end I’m afraid I won’t be able to tie up before I leave. Well, at least I got the delivery company to put us back on their schedule for tomorrow, and Emily can get home to receive the delivery & install.
We took Becca to lunch & shopping at the Miramar exchange. Small favors for good friends. (= She almost talked me out of my pool project; arguing that it would be much better if I could be here personally to monitor progress, and make sure the contractors aren’t jerking me around (a skill many contractors seem to have an unofficial masters degree in…). were it not for my stubborn streak, and my enthusiasm for making the house as good as I can, despite the recent awareness that I won’t be coming back to live here this summer,,, I would have picked up on her advice. She’s a tough debater.
In the meantime, Uncle T wasn’t feeling too well, so he went upstairs to try & sleep it off.
Around 5pm, a prospective new roommate – Catherine – came by. It’s great to get responses so quickly from people looking to rent a room. Fresh from experiencing internet scam season though, I’m amazed how many responses to my Craigslist & Roomates.com ad became instantly recognizeable as obvious scams:
1) I’m a veterinarian working in Nigeria. My dad just died, and I’m moving back to the states.
2) I’m a diplomat with a West African embassy, and I’m moving to San Diego.
3) I’m a doctor / PhD student / NGO volunteer / relief worker… from either West Africa or the UK.
An unbelievable number of them threw in a recently deceased family member for good measure. And they’re all ready to move-in without coming by to see the house first. I got at least 15 responses like that. Pisses me off.
For a second, Catherine started to sound like a scam herself: recently returned from living in Japan, works as a software engineer… and just as I was about to roll my eyes & exercise the delete button, her e-mail continued… “am interested in coming by & seeing your place next week sometime”
Oh! Allright then. At least it won’t be a face to face scam. (=
She came by this evening, got to meet Violet (just missed Emily), and we gave her the grand tour. The master bedroom is the one I was advertising originally, but as of this afternoon, “my” room just became available too. She seems nice, which is a much more important quality to me now, after our experience with Ben. And it’s Violet & Emily she would be living with, so their opinion & compatability are what really matter.
We’ll find out tomorrow if she decides to become our 3rd roommate. (=
Catherine had just left, I finished my last few e-mails and was just thinking about packing,,, when Uncle T’s condition started feeling worse. Time for plan C… a trip to the hospital to see what’s going on. “Resting” wasn’t making the stomach pain or vomiting get any better.
We got to Sharp’s emergency room around 8:30pm. By 5am we learned the problem: gall stones. An ugly thing to experience right before a planned cross-country drive (3,000 miles). But on the plus side,,, he’s at my home. There’s no rush to leave. He can stay as long as he wants, take his time recovering in 80 degree San Diego, instead of rushing back to the cold & snow of Boston…
I, on the other hand, didn’t have that luxury, as I had a plane to catch in LA in a matter of 7 hours, and I hadn’t packed yet. (= niiiiice!
I had everything I needed stuffed into 2 suitcases & a bag within 20 minutes. Grabbing a quick ride to the train station with Emily, I jumped on the Amtrak (Surfliner) to Los Angeles, took the shuttle to LAX airport, checked-in, and was sitting on the plane… like clockwork. It was a good thing I planned to be 2 hours early- because even the train had a ½ hour “traffic” situation,, and I showed up with only 50 minutes to spare.
Uncle T was curled up in bed recovering when I last saw him.
posted by jonathan adventures at 7:30 PM
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