Christopher's return

Most of you probably already know, but Chris made it back to the UK last Sunday. It was a nice homecoming for all the guys in his squadron. One of the guys in the squadron came to Alconbury to pick me up and take me to Lakenheath for Chris's return. They have been very good about looking out for me while Chris was gone, and making sure my PCS went well. The other wives in the squadron had prepared snacks and stuff for everyone, and they decorated the squadron bar too.

When the jets were about 10 minutes away, we all boarded the bus that took us down to the flight line where we could watch the jets fly over before landing. Unfortunately, buildings blocked the view of the landing, but within a few minutes, they had taxied to their areas right in front of us. Once the engines were turned off, and the canopies were opened, we were able to make our way to the jets to greet our men. Even though Chris's jet was the second one to get to the parking area, he was the last one out of the jet. I waited patiently (hey, what's a few more minutes, when I hadn't seen him for 6 months). I think he did it just to torture me.

In the excitement of the day, I forgot to take my camera. Luckily, some of the other wives were kind enough to take some pictures of us, and I will post those as soon as they are emailed to me.

Since then, we have been busy playing house. It's a very different world with me living here and working than it was when I was just visiting. We've been busy in the evenings grocery shopping, house hunting, and cooking. And we really haven't had time for much else. Since I have to be at work really early, I have to get up early... which means going to bed early (around 9pm). Of course, even though I go to bed early, I still hate waking up in the mornings... poor Chris, he has to deal with me bitching and moaning, and not getting up (I like to hit snooze for about 20 minutes before actually getting up... I don't think he likes that).

So yeah, we're learning to live together, and really just getting reaquainted all together. We looked at a few houses yesterday. One house we both loved, but I am terrified of parking on the tiny, narrow street. So we're going to look at one more house tomorrow, and if it's not absolutely amazing, we'll go with the scary-parking house, and I'll just have to get over my fear. We're hoping to take possession before I leave to come back to the States for the wedding. That way, when my household goods come in, everything can go right into the new place.

Work is going well. Today we had an all day indoc. into the Tri-Base area (which includes RAFs Molesworth, Alconbury, and Upwood). We learned what services are located at each base, and all sorts of things pertaining to post-PCS processes. It was very good, and helped answer a lot of questions I had. I think the program would have been more helpful if it had been given within a few days of my arrival, instead of 2 weeks. But good, nonetheless.

I think that's all for now. I don't know when I'll have time to blog again... we're very busy, but I'll do my best to post at least a little something once a week.

Love and miss you all!

Adjusting to the new life...

'Ello All (said in my best British accent)!

So far so good. I'm adjusting well to my new environment. Living on the base has been convenient, but I'm looking forward to having my own place. I'm also looking forward to the arrival of my car (slated for mid-october). The shuttle between the base where I'm living and the base where I work is fine for now, but I'm ready to get out and do some exploring.

One of my coworkers has been extra nice and drove me to Cambridge earlier in the week. I was able to gather the HUGE pile of Chris's mail, and make sure the place was still in order. Since I had cleaned his flat when I was here in June, I didn't expect it to have changed any. Well... I guess I forgot a bag of carrots in the fridge when I left. Let me just say EWWWW!!! They were smelly, and squishy, and I couldn't get them out of the house fast enough. LOL. Hopefully the smell will be gone by the weekend.

While I was at Chris's, I also "borrowed" some of his sweaters, and his coat. Because it is WINTER here! Well, the two previous days were winter (highs in the low 50s), but then today it was nice (for the most part). I've learned that Molesworth (where I work) is at least 5 degrees cooler than Alconbury (where I live) and that at some point during the day it is going to rain. Molesworth is also very windy because it is on a hill, and the security team made them cut all the trees down around the base (I guess because they couldn't see around/over them), so there's no natural wind break. My job requires me to walk around to the many buildings on base a lot, so I get to experience all of the different weather during the day. Good thing the base isn't very big (for you Agency folks, it would fit inside the Big 4 and it's parking areas - well, the part of the base I'm concerned with anyway).

Speaking of my job, I think it's going to be GREAT! Part of it is similar to what I was doing in the States, except it's not just the Electrical portion I would be concerned with. I would also have the responsiblities of a project manager (and not just an engineer). The group engineer is PCSing to Germany next week, so that position will be advertised soon, and both of my bosses have strongly encouraged me to apply for it. Since I'll be working as an engineer, I might as well have that title while here. And I found out today that I am getting my own office. How cool is that? No more cube life (well, at least not while I'm here). The other part of my job is maintanence management. I'm also in charge of making sure any maintanence issues have been resoved by the contractor on the base. It sounds like it is going to be a lot of responsibility, but I'm ready for it.

Chris returns on Sunday!!! Hopefully the weather will be nice. I'm sure it would be a huge shock to his system returning from the heat to find it winter here. And if it is cold, I'll be wearing his coat, so he'll be out of luck. LOL.

Hopefully I'll have pictures to post next time. No cameras are allowed on the base where I work, and really, there's nothing here where I live worth taking a picture of. There is a jet at the front gate... maybe I'll get out there and take a picture or something. I'll find something to photograph (even if it's just of the large mosquito-looking bugs that find their way into my room at night).

oh, and feel free to leave comments... send your love... 'cause even though I'm having a great time here, I still miss everyone in the states.