(642) 2010 in review

To say this hasn't been a good year would be an understatement.

Deployment day

  It started out when Mike deployed...

Fuzz

And June 1, my cat went missing and she's still gone. I really miss her. I hope she's okay and one day I'll get to see her again.

Grandma Hazel

My grandma passed away a couple weeks later...

But at least in August, Mike and I got R&R, so that was good. :)

Mostly 2010 has just been waiting... waiting for phone calls, waiting for R&R, waiting for the year to be over with. Even though I've kept busy, I still feel like my life is on hold. Especially now that it's closer to him being back.

(640) I hate snow and if you love it I hate you too :P

I haven't really written lately because honestly I've been feeling lazy. I just don't feel like doing anything. Before work I have to shovel my way out of the driveway and after I have to shovel my way back in. We've had a lot of snow and it's so exhausting. I just don't have the energy to do much else. I figure on the days I shovel snow (which will be most days til the hubby gets back) I can slack off on working out because it feels like a workout being outside for over an hour shoveling snow. I have a lot of stuff I want to do before the hubby comes home (2-3 months) but I just have no motivation. I HATE SNOW!!! If you like snow I hate you. Well, not really, but most people who love the snow don't have to drive in it everyday AND shovel it everyday. So if you fit both criteria and still love the snow, then I'll give you a chance :p. Blahhh I'm just so physically exhausted from it. And yes I will continue to be bitter about this until the hubby comes back and he shovels the snow :p

(639) Deployment Calculator

I created a Deployment Calculator. I noticed from some groups that I'm a member of on FB that people were having trouble with the "Donut of Misery" excel download, so I created the Deployment Calculator on my website for people to use. So far I have 12 FB likes for it and a few positive comments. Made it worth it that some people are using it and they like it.

See: http://achristiansen.com/deployment/

(638) I am thankful for...

I got inspired to write this from this blog. It's so easy to take things for granted. As I wrote this over the course of November, it was nice to look back when I wasn't feeling too great and helped me feel better.

1. a steady guaranteed paycheck (Army)
2. a decent apartment to live in
3. being able to work part-time
4. my cats and the way they make me feel not alone
5. being able to pay off our credit cards this year
6. being able to pay off our car loan
7. having a car that runs well
8. always having food in the house 
9. my wii-fit for when I'm too lazy to drive to the gym
10. being able to graduate college (2 years ago)
11. the ability to actually find a job in my field here 
12. having clean water to drink
13. having clothes that are in decent shape 
14. my phone, it's basically my life line to my hubby 
15. being able to always come back to God even when I slip away
16. my husband 
17. my father who has always been there for me
18. being able to talk to my husband pretty much everyday
19. the ability to workout 
20. zumba
21. being able to see and hear normally (even if it means wearing glasses)
22. the time I had with my mom before she died and that she taught me how to bake
23. having free health care (through the Army)
24. being able to worship how I choose to without fear
25. the deployment being almost over (2-3 more months)
26. my sisters and their kids
27. having a geeky husband
28. being able to drive
29. emails and text messages from Mike
30. free medication (through the Army)

What are some things you are thankful for?

(637) The Car Is Paid Off!!!

Mike and I paid off our car loan (It's technically my loan, but whatever). It was supposed to be a 5-year car loan and we paid it off in 1.5. Feels great to have one less thing to pay.

(636) What was the happiest moment in your life?

First place: When I got married
Second place: When I graduated college

Ask me anything

(635) MilSpouse Friday Fill-in #22

1. If you had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island, but all your human needs – such as food and water – were taken care of, what two items would you want to have with you?
   
   I would probably want to bring a long book in case I was there a long time and a large notebook and pen to write with so I don't go completely insane.
   
2. If you were a salad, what kind of dressing would you have?
   
   Honestly I don't even know how to answer this question. What do different salad dressings mean?
   
3. If you had to live on a ranch, what kind of animals would you raise/own?
   
   Why would I have to live on a ranch? And I would have no idea how to even begin this.
   
4. If your life was was portrayed as a movie, who would you choose to play you and your significant other?
   
   No idea, I am not that familiar with celebrities.
   
5. What was the last thing you put a stamp on (envelope, duh, but what was in the envelope)?
   
   A letter to the hubby. That's pretty much the only thing I really mail.

Sorry this wasn't that interesting lol. :p

(634) Day 19: A talent of yours

Web development... I am not so good with coming up with a design, but I can take a design and make it into code. I can code web applications. My skills include database, client-side programming, server-side programming, and usability. I love psychology so my human interaction courses were a good combination of the two. Whenever I code something I try to focus on the user's experience and try to make it a good experience. I love the feeling of struggling with a programming problem and then solving it. (This usually just happens after a night of rest).

On a less serious note, a talent of mine includes being able to say the alphabet backwards really fast. Although this talent has no practical use, just something I learned when I was bored one summer.

(633) Day 18: Whatever tickles your fancy

This has been on my mind forever, well maybe not forever, but ever since I got married, and especially since I moved on post.... the decision to have kids.

My nephew Michael and Me (he was a newborn and I was about 12)

Everywhere you look there's kids here. Everything it seems is centered around kids. Makes me jealous and I feel like I'm missing out. The only way you can go to some of these events without feeling awkward is to have kids.

Before Mike left we weren't trying but we weren't not trying. We were just doing each other and if it happened it happened. Well it didn't happen and he deployed. No big deal and right now I'm glad that it didn't happen because it's my first deployment and I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with this. And it would really suck to be alone and pregnant.

We've been talking about whether or not to try when he gets back. A part of me wants to wait until our debt is paid off. I feel like that's the smartest decision because it will be a lot harder to do with kids. I would probably have to quit my job and that will hinder our ability to pay off the debt A LOT. Every cent I make goes towards our debt (which is totally fine with me because it's my debt). And once he's back, he'll be making less money.

Mike wants to just see what happens. He pretty much feels that if we wait until our debts are paid off, then we'll find another reason to wait and then it'll never happen. I get his point... I also want to go back to school and get my master's degree. I don't know how having kids will impact that... Maybe we could make an agreement... the moment our debts are paid off, then I'll go off birth control.

Another thing, I don't know if I'm ready to stop being selfish. What I mean is that when you have kids, everything becomes about them. I'm not sure if I'm ready to make my life about someone else.

Also, we've only been married a little over a year, most of it he's been deployed for. I would like a lot more time of just figuring us out without the stress of a child. And right now I just want him all to myself.

Even my reasons for having a child are kind of selfish. I want a child so I have a constant companion especially when Mike has to be gone. I want to not feel left out here. At the same time, I don't want to be raising a child alone in the Army environment. I don't want my child to have to deal with his/her father not being around. I want a little Mike/Allison combination running around, a part of Mike that's here even when he's not.

The more I think about it and write it all out, I think the decision is clearer. Part of me just wants to leave it up to fate (don't worry, I won't be like the lady on a million kids and counting). I'm still very conflicted. I still have about 3-4 months before I have to make a decision. I'm only 24 so I have time. I don't want to wait too long because I'd like to have enough energy to actually play with my kids and all that stuff.

What do you think we should do?

(632) Day 17: An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)

I enjoy making art, but I don't really have much of a talent for it, but here's something I worked really hard on for school.

Relief that I made in high school for art class

(631) We got to webcam today!

We usually don't webcam all that often because he used to have to wait til midnight (Afghan time) for him to connect to the internet, but his internet hasn't been working, so I suggested we try him going to the MWR center. If he had to wait a while we would just talk on the phone, but he didn't have to wait at all. He was really tired and stressed, but it was nice to see him. Afterwards he texted me and said "I love you. We gotta do this more often..." to which I replied "I love you too, its good seeing you every once in a while" and he said "Agreed. It makes me even happier that I married you."

Love ya baby :) <3

(630) MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #21

1. Were you named after anyone?
   
   I think I may have been named after a character in a tv show, but it was probably just an idea for a name rather than specifically being named after that person.
   
   
2. What color, if any, are your toenails usually painted?
   
   If I paint my nails (finger or toe) , they are black or clear. I really only paint my finger nails so I don't bite them.
   
   
3. How do you flush a public toilet? Hands? Feet? Something else?
   
   Usually with my feet. I generally avoid touching any public surface with my bare hands, so many germs.
   
   
4. When you were a little kid, which TV character did you have a crush on?
   
   Hmm, let's see... Zack from "Saved by the Bell", Simon from "7th Heaven", that's all I can remember
   
   
5. Let’s say you had to lose one of your five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell). Which one would you choose? Why?
   
   I would probably choose taste... it seems like it's the less needed sense. Smell is necessary for detecting odors that could be harmful. Sight and hearing are just useful for perceiving your environment. It would just suck to not to be able to feel Mike touching me or not being able to feel myself pet the kitties.

(628) Who has it the hardest?

Today Mike and I "fought" over who had it hardest with this deployment. I told him I thought he had it the hardest because I still have all the comforts of home and the only thing that's different for me is him being gone. He said I had it hardest because this is my first time dealing with this, I'm new at the army wife crap, relatively new to the area and getting my life settled.

Anyway the point is that this was a great conversation. We were both able to see how the situation has affected the other person and it was great hearing that he understood what I've been going through. To him, deployments aren't a big deal, he said that if he weren't with me, he would volunteer to stay longer. With me in the picture, he just wants to be home. That's really his only issue with being deployed. He's done it before and it doesn't really bother him (minus being apart).

We each have our own challenges with the deployment and I think it's important that we (Mike and I) both recognize the challenges each other faces.

There's no doubt that I am still figuring this out. I suck at it sometimes. Other times I handle it just fine. Sometimes I'm understanding when he can't talk for a long time (because it's late/he had a long day/etc). Other times I tend to start fights just so we talk longer. There are times when I look back and think that I should have handled the situation better, but I try not to be too hard on myself. I'm still learning how to do this. I can't expect myself to be good at this right away.

My biggest "problem" right now is that I feel like I'm stuck in a rut. Every week seems (and is pretty much) the same. I like routines but it's just getting me that I do the exactly same thing every week.

What are some things I can do to break up this routine a bit?

(627) Day 16: A song that makes you cry (or nearly)

A song that makes me cry is Amazing Grace. It was played at my mom's and grandma's funeral and it reminds me of that every time I hear it. I cannot sing it without tearing up.

Left: grandma, Right: mom

(626) Debt sucks

Today I realized how much I really missed being in school. I miss doing homework. I miss having a goal to accomplish. I just miss it. I'm waiting to go back to get my masters until I finish paying off my student loans for the current degree. I should wait until I can use the hubby's GI bill but I don't know if I want to, but I probably will so that we're not in more debt.

I hate being in debt, I really hate it, even though it's just student loans (and about 1700 left on car loan), I still hate it so much. What we're going to do for the next year or so (however long it will take), is focus on paying off all of the debt, aggressively, very aggressively, the goal is to have it all paid off by next year. We'll know more specifically when it'll be paid off when one of the loan companies gets back to us about how they calculate interest. That and when Mike comes back things will change financially... he'll make less money (because he wont be deployed anymore) and I'll possibly work full time, but we wont know all this until it actually happens.

Things we need to know before we can figure out when debt will be paid off:

• How interest is calculated on the Perkins loan
• How much Mike will make when he gets off deployment
• Whether or not I'll be working part-time or full-time after deployment

What we do is take everything I make and put it towards our debt and take whatever Mike makes and put it towards the normal bills and whatever is left after putting some in savings we put towards the debt. 

(625) Day 15: A fanfic

I have no idea what this even means so I'm skipping this day.

(624) Day 14: A non-fictional book

One that I am in the middle of reading is "Hello, Android" to learn how to program for the Android phones. It's been pretty good so far and if you're looking for a book to get started I recommend it. I learn better from a book but if you don't, they have plenty of resources online. I have a few more chapters left and then I'm on to the second book I bought. Maybe I can even finish them before Mike comes home (doubt it, I'm a procrastinator especially with things that don't actually have a due date).

(622) MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #20

1. A different twist on last week’s question. This week, the first question is: what’s the nicest thing a MILSPOUSE has ever done for you? (brought to you from navy_smurfette)
   
   The nicest thing was when a lady in my unit called me the day my husband deployed and got me out of the house. It helped me feel a bit better the rest of the day.
   
   Edit: Actually the nicest thing this lady did was when I found out at work that my grandma was doing really bad and I needed to head to Buffalo asap, I called her and asked if she could meet me at my house so I could give her my key to take care of my cats because I didn't know when I was coming  back. She dropped whatever she was doing and met me at my house. I tried to give her money but she refused. It was really nice of her to do this and I appreciate it so much.
   
   
2. How often do you drive faster than the speed limit?
   
   I will only drive about 5mph over the limit. The thought of being pulled over causes me more anxiety than it's worth to get there faster.
   
   
3. Did you have a nickname in school? If so, what was it?
   
   Not really, I had individual people call me nicknames but nothing that ever stuck. Here are some nicknames I've had-ish:
   - Mouse - My sister because I liked cheese and I was small
   - Killer - My 7th grade math teacher because I was really quiet
   - Chickie - My friend Jill, and I don't remember why
   - Babygirl - My now ex- boyfriend
   - Alli - Stuck when my former roommate Andrew started calling me that
   - Data Nazi - Given to me by a former coworker, either Josh or Rich, can't remember who, because I'm always so strict about database design
   - Bones - by my former coworkers named after tv character
   
   
4. If your life was a book, what would the title be and how would it end?
   
   I have no idea and isn't that kind of creepy... how would I know how my life will end? I mean eventually I'll die but I have no idea what the future actually holds.
   
   
5. Look back (in your planner if you have one) to September 14th… what did you do that day?
   
   It looks like the only thing I did that day was go to an FRG meeting.

(621) Gift from Mike

I got a package today from my hubby. It was from Newegg and I had no idea what it was until I opened it up. It is a digital picture frame and I've already loaded it with a bunch of pictures of (mostly) him and me. I've been wanting one of these for a while, but it's one of those things I wouldn't have bought for myself so I'm really happy he bought me one. I think it's sweet for him to send me things and who doesn't love getting things in the mail.

(620) Day 13: A fictional book

One book that really sticks out in my mind is To Kill A Mockingbird. It's one of the few books I read in high school that I actually liked and remember. I would like to read it again as an adult because I think I would appreciate it more, especially since I don't have to worry about turning in homework regarding it. You can get it from MilitaryOneSource. I just ordered mine (it's free).

(619) Day 12: Whatever tickles your fancy

On the day I don't really have all that much to say I have this subject lol. It's beginning to feel like every week is exactly the same as the previous week... maybe because it is... I like routines. I don't like doing things out of my routine unless it's planned in advance. Then I have time to mentally prepare about it... like driving to the event, what it will entail, and driving home. Driving still makes me nervous so I like to know the route ahead of time, even if it is as simple as driving to the company headquarters or whatever. I'm not very spontaneous at all and I really like it that way. I don't like not having time to prepare for something even if it's just mentally. I think I need to start doing something non-routine each week, something that differs from week to week just so I don't get in a rut.

This Saturday I'm going to an FRG cookie thingy where we're each going to bring in a couple dozen cookies to ship to the single soldiers. I made the dough for about 6 dozen (it's not that much) and I'm going to send about 2 dozen to the hubby and give 2 dozen to the single soldiers and bring the rest to work. I told them to expect it and they are excited lol. I brought them left over cupcakes this Monday. I'm sure they'll like me more around holiday season because I'll probably be baking more than I do (more than zero lol). The FRG has a bunch of events planned but typically they're geared towards kids (which I don't have and would feel awkward going without them) or they're during my work hours. I am going to try to go to the ones that I can... on the same note though I don't want to do too much and risk burning out. My tolerance level for anything is pretty low with Mike being gone.

(618) Yummy food

I love icecream... chocolate icecream, but I'm trying to eat just a little better. I feel like it's important not to totally deprive yourself of things because you'll just end up binging on them. So I found these fudge bars.

They taste really good and they really are giant. Usually diet food (especially the sweets) tastes like crap, but I really love these and they don't make me feel guilty. I don't follow the WW diet or anything, I just really enjoy them.

If you love icecream but are trying to watch what you eat, these might be worth trying.

(617) Day 11: A photo of you taken recently

This is the most recent one I took via webcam: 2010-09-03

(616) Halloween

I originally had nothing planned for halloween but a few days ago my friend asked me if I wanted to come over for a gathering and then to go trick-or-treating. Let me back up...

This friend and I hung out a few times before I stayed at my dad's for a few months because my grandma died. When I came back, I saw her at a support group, zumba and an frg meeting and for some reason it was really awkward (for me anyway). I didn't really know what to talk about and after my grandma dying and my cat going missing, I realized I kind of shut myself out of the world and my social skills suffered. After the FRG meeting I just figured our friendship was over. Nothing actually happened minus the fact that I am so bad at social situations and couldn't even talk to her. Nothing to do with her at all, she's a really nice person, I just suck at these things.

Well a few days ago I decided to try and maybe start back our friendship for lack of a better phrase. I sent her a message on facebook asking if she wanted to get together. This way, if she didn't she could just ignore the message and there really wouldn't be any awkwardness (as would a face to face conversation entail). Well she responded and asked me to give her a call when I had a chance and she invited me over Sunday evening.

We had fun, she had a few other people over and that was a bit intimidating but then her and her friend (and the kids) went trick-or-treating. It was FREEZING. Afterwards we hung out with her other friend and brother and the kids. It was a little easier on me with the smaller group. Anyway two things came out of this:
1. I am pretty sure I caught a cold
2. I am glad my lack of social skills didn't completely ruin a friendship

And if you know me in person, please don't ever be offended if I don't talk that much. I am really bad at social situations, I never know what to really say. I'm trying to get better by exposing myself to more and more social events. I always feel so awkward and I'm never quite sure what I am supposed to be doing at a given moment.

So glad October is over, 1 month closer to see my <3

(615) Day 10: A photo of you taken over ten years ago

One of the last pictures of me and my mother

(614) Day 9: A photo you took

(613) Day 8: A photo that makes you angry/sad

This makes me sad because this was the day that he deployed. I think he looks cute in this picture though. <3

(612) Day 7: A photo that makes you happy

I love this photo of us, just the way we're looking at each other. This was taken about a few months after we started dating (the second time). I just love this boy so much. <3

(611) <3

My husband did something really sweet. He drank 3 mountain dews before he called me today. Just so he could stay awake to have a long conversation. He also pointed out how I did better when I got angry and was able to calm down (not angry at him just of stuff here). We ended up talking for 3 hours!! Usually when we talk that long it's because we were fighting... not today, we had a good conversation. It was sooo nice. After we hung up (which consisted of about 5 minutes of I love yous :) ) he sent me a text:

Mike: Miss you already
Me: Aww baby I miss you too love you
Mike: Bye, I love you (he does this on purpose, he knows I wont hang up/stop talking if he says I love you last instead of bye)
Me: Wrong way buddy :p you're adorable
Mike:  Just trying to please my girl
Me: Aww baby you are turning me into a big puddle of allison (puddle of allison/mike is one of our "things")
Mike: Well, i'll just have to give you structure. *structure*
Me: Didn't work that just made me more melty
Mike: Well then I guess we'll just leave you like that
Me: Aww okay <3
Mike: I'm at the tent now... Good night baby. I love you so much. <3
Me: I love you too sleep well my sexy handsome soldier boy
Mike: Sleep even better, my hot sexy web programmer girl (It's cute that when he gets tired, he forgets the time difference lol)

I feel so high on love right now I'm going to burst.

(610) MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #19

1. What's the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?
   
   On our wedding day we went to Olive Garden (my fav restaurant) and a person paid for our meal as well as the manager giving us a free meal because we come there a lot and Mike was in uniform, so basically we got 2 free meals (the one we were eating that day and a gift card for another time).
   
2. If you are having a hard time going to sleep, what do you do to help yourself?
   
   Take medication (melatonin) and/or read a book.
   
3. Name something that makes you wish you were a kid again.
   
   The holidays were a lot more fun when I was a kid. Mike and I haven't really had a chance to develop are own family traditions because last year we visited his parents for Christmas and this year he is deployed. I just hope we can develop something that is ours at some point.
   
4. What is something you never believed until you experienced it?
   
   I never believed I would be in such a loving healthy relationship. Before Mike, my relationships were so unhealthy and I felt like crap most of the time. Although we're not perfect in any way, he never purposely treats me like crap like my ex's did.
   
5. What can't you say "no" to?
   
   I don't think there is anything really. I'm pretty strong willed so if I don't want to do something, I don't. 

(609) Disconnected

Today my husband and I tried to talk. It didn't work out very well. Neither one of us had a lot to say and we were both exhausted. We also didn't want to hang up but we figured if we weren't really talking there wasn't much point in staying on the phone. I hate feeling so mentally disconnected from him. Lately it's been feeling like we don't get eachother. He seemed really sad on the phone and kept apologizing for yesterday. I told him he didn't have to keep apologizing for it that it was over with. He just felt bad because when we argue I distance myself a little and he wanted to fix it today, but I told him it would just take some time. It was cute because he said to come back. Made me melt a little. Yeah, I'm ready for this frickin deployment to be over, it's getting so old.

(608) Day 6: Whatever tickles your fancy

I feel like I need to scream or cry. I've just been so stressed the past two weeks and the sources of my stress are finally gone. Just when I think everything is okay again, Mike and I got in another fight. He just doesn't understand sometimes that I don't know what it's like to be IN the army. Things mean different things in the army than they do in the civilian world, especially when it comes to work. I'm trying to understand how things work, but sometimes he just loses patience with me when I misunderstand something because it's different in my world. Blahhhhhh....

Examples:

in the civilian world, if i say i make up my own work schedule, it means I come in when I feel like it and work the 8 hrs... to him he still has to let his boss know if he's gunna be coming in late the night before and that it's not ok to come in whenever... so they mean two different things and he didnt understand this
if his boss said " you should do this" it means "you MUST do this"


I'm still learning and once he explains this crap I get it, but you can't expect me to know something if I've never been through it or anything. Gimme a freakin break and have some patience while I learn this crap.

I am ready for this frickin deployment to be frickin over already.

Please don't judge me harshly. I know I'm not the best wife in the world, but I'm trying and I will continue to try forever.

(607) Day 5: Your favorite quote

My favorite quote is really nerdy. I heard it from my very first programming professor at RIT.


Time flies like an arrow; Fruit flies like a banana. 

(606) MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #18

Can I say that I really hate the term MilSpouse... it sounds a lot like MILF which is really disrespectful and I think that every time I see the term MilSpouse.

Also this is a day late because once again my google reader has reached over 800 items because I haven't had a lot of time to do nothing. I'll be fixing this as soon as the presentation is over for work.

1. Are you a night owl or an early bird?
   
   By nature I am a night owl. I don't get tired until around 2am without taking something. Unfortunately, the rest of the world operates on an 8-5 schedule which forces me to be an early bird.
   
   
2. What makes you jealous?
   
   
   Usually anything that involves something/someone getting any attention from Mike (not just females). I just want him all to myself. I know this is unrealistic and not healthy and I try to control it but sometimes it comes out.
   
   
   Also, I am jealous of all the people here that have kids. It feels like I'm the only one here that doesn't have kids (I know a couple other people that don't, but still). I want a child so bad. Mike and I just got married last year and he's been deployed, so it'll be at least a whole year before I have a kid and about 4-5 before we can get pregnant. So for right now I'm trying to enjoy life without a child because I know once I do, it'll be all about the kid.
3. Have you started Christmas/holiday shopping yet? When will you finish? (There’s only 63 days left!)
   
   Nope and I don't plan on getting anyone anything except my husband. I'm not participating in any gift exchange between family members. I don't have kids. And I'll buy my hubby's care package stuff as it gets closer. I'm not really a big fan of the whole commercialization of Christmas. I am a believer in the saying "Christmas is not your birthday"
   
4. What would you have a personal chef make you tonight?
   
   I have very simple food preferences, so probably spaghetti or something like that. I know, not very good use of a personal chef, but since I don't have one that's not an issue.
   
5. Where was your first kiss?
   
   The first boy that kissed me was Willy and that was at my sister Christina's house. I yelled at him because I hadn't given him permission to kiss me. The first boy I kissed was Bob. I think I was at my sister's house when we kissed. The first boy I kissed that actually deserved it was my hubby Mike. Our first kiss was at my dorm room at school.

(605) And it continues...

Yesterday (our trash pickup day) as I was leaving for work around 730, I was 99% sure I saw my address sticker labels on a trash can (they are just number/letter stickers that spell have the address, ex 123A). When I get to work I call housing to cancel the order for the replacement garbage bin. They say they can't cancel it but will pick it up and reimburse me if it turns out to be mine.

I get home from work (1230) and confirm that it is mine. I took 2 photos of it in their driveway full of garbage just in case I needed proof at some point (this was my husband's idea). He also told me I should just dump it out on their lawn, and yes they deserve that, but I'm not going to do something like that. I'd rather handle it the civil way. Since I have confirmed that it is mine, I call the MP's back and they sent 2 investigators out. They see for themselves that she has it. They have a conversation with her and found HER actual trash bin. They told her to leave it out after they picked up the trash. This was probably around 1500 or so.

Around 1700, I went to leave for AWANA. I noticed housing had brought me a new trash can (expected) and I noticed mine was still not there or in her driveway. I tried not to let myself get too angry at this point because I wanted to be positive for the kids at AWANA and just kinda be in the right mindset.

Around 1930, I get home from AWANA and nothing had changed. I had the trash bin from housing (didn't expect this to change, unless someone stole that one, which they didn't) and not the one that is MINE. I WAS PISSED. I wanted to go to her house and yell at her and crap but I didn't. I did the responsible thing and called the MPs again. 2 officers came out and basically said there was nothing they could do tonight because it wasn't their case. I was like WTF! The officer said she couldn't just go over there and accuse her of having it. I said "Can't you just go over there and ASK if she has it?" But no, they couldn't. I have to call the investigator back tomorrow (which is today).

I was being livid at this point. I was frustrated. I did something I shouldn't have. I texted my husband. This doesn't seem bad until you know that he's deployed and was sleeping. Well he hadn't been sleeping because he had been having trouble falling asleep, but as far as I knew, he was sleeping. Yep, I am a bad wife, and I should've been smacked for this one. Yeah, I feel horrible for texting him at a time when he's typically asleep. He tried to calm me down...

Eventually, I just started doing other things and then went to bed. Which brings me to Today...

This morning around 800, housing called me (I had called back yesterday afternoon and left a message). She offered to give me a gift card for going through all this crap. I was told to file a police report by them and then I wouldn't have to pay... well the person that told me that was wrong. That's what they used to do. She actually seemed to care that I went through all that crap, when really I didn't have to. I mean I'd be out the money but I wouldn't have bothered with the mp's or anything like that. So that made me feel a little better... not much though because I still went through this BS and I was still missing my trash bin and still out $85.

I called the investigator when I got home from work (around 1230) but he was at lunch so I left a message. He had called when I was on the phone with Mike so I called him back after that. I explained that the lady didn't leave the trash bin out like she was told to. He said to call housing because it was a housing issue. Typically, I would just be "ok....", but I stood up for myself and said...

I did call housing and I really don't think I should have to pay the 85 bucks to have it replaced, since you guys came out, saw that she had it (filled with garbage), told me to wait til they picked up the garbage to get it (which is understandable), and then when I went out to get it, it was gone.

The investigator asked me who I talked to in housing and I gave him her name and he called her ... and they said they were going to take care of it and he explained the situation (that he saw it at her house and told her to leave it out and she didn't), so apparently I will get my money back. I guess housing is going to come out and try to find it. I did not see it outside and I'm obviously not going to go in people's garages or anything to try to find it.

I just really hope this is resolved soon because I will go insane if it's not.


For the first time, I actually feel like these people are helpful and care about all this crap I went through... hopefully it works out..., it's just a really frickin stupid situation and that's what's so damn frustrating about it.

(604) Day 4: Your favorite book

I typically do not read a lot of fiction books. Mostly if I buy a book, it's a technical resource. So right now, no favorite book, but when I was younger my favorite series was Animorphs. I was obsessed.
 

(603) Day 3: Your favorite television program

Lost (which is over now) and Army Wives

I don't have cable, I watch all my tv on my computer now. 

(602) Congratulations!

Congratulations to my friend Heather. She gave birth to her first child, Benjamin, a couple days ago. I haven't met him yet, but they have posted photos and videos on fb. I've known Heather since 4th grade. I'm so happy for her. :)

(601) The Trash Bin Incident

A few weeks ago, I noticed my garbage bin was missing. I called this the "trash bin incident". These suckers are $80 a pop and I was told to file a police report. So I did... they asked all sorts of random questions that had nothing to do with the incident. The MPs told me they would call me when they had the report finished. I filed the report on October 4. They said it would take about a week. Well... I received no call, so Saturday I went down but they said I could only get reports during the week. I went back today (two weeks later) and got my report. It's 8 10 pages long... all for a trash bin. I'm going to scan the report so that I have a copy and go to housing probably tomorrow. This whole thing raises a question... WHO IS LOW ENOUGH TO STEAL A TRASH BIN????? Really, of all things you could steal... how low do you have to be? I really hope I don't have to pay the $80 to get a new one because then this whole police business is for nothing.

(600) Day 2: Your favorite movie

I honestly don't like watching movies that much. It's too much of a time investment. I'd rather watch tv shows, which I don't pay much attention to either, I just use it as background noise.

Movies I like tend to be psychology or technology related. I'm a sucker for movies about f***ed up people :p

But here are some of my favorite movies...

Fight Club	Girl Interrupted	The Butterfly Effect
The Notebook	Office Space	Thirteen
AI: Artificial Intelligence