Leave is supposed to be relaxing - and it will be once I finish requesting child meals, making seat assignments, requesting bassinets for the long haul flights, and inputting frequent flier info for five people for every leg of the flight on four different airlines all of whom have their own system to input the info. I just lost two days worth of nap times and two evenings of TV time and I don't even know that I have bassinets. That will require 2 phone calls back to the US and one phone call to someone here who will more than likely say yes when what they really mean is a) I don't understand what you want or b) I can't give you what you want, but I want you to be happy.
<Somebody needs a vacation>
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Bednets
Please pardon my crankiness today - our house has been taken over by a virus for the last two weeks and the fifth and final member of the family finally caught it last night. Just want to share a quick thought. For anyone who thinks bednets are beautiful, exotic, or even romantic...
Imagine how much fun they are to clean after your child has vomited on them. That's all, folks! It's a long weekend here, and if today is any indication, it's going to be a very long weekend indeed.
Imagine how much fun they are to clean after your child has vomited on them. That's all, folks! It's a long weekend here, and if today is any indication, it's going to be a very long weekend indeed.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Discontented Ramblings
If that title doesn't draw you in, I'm not sure what will...
Things in Dhaka have been what I'll call "less than ideal" for a while now. The on-going blockade of the city and the accompanying hartals have necessitated what amounts to a lockdown inside the diplomatic enclave for quite some time. While I might not have gone to any stores or visited around the city were this not happening, the fact that I CAN'T do those things just makes me a bit stir crazy.
Even within the enclave, we are facing restrictions in which roads we can use at different times of the day due to the likelihood of protests involving cocktails (the equivalent of weak flash-bang grenades) and petrol bombs (similar to molotov cocktails). I'm not usually a social butterfly by any means, but, again, these restrictions just make me antsy.
Additionally, due to unrelated (mostly) issues, our commissary is slowly but surely running out of food. Were the local grocery store easy to get to, this wouldn't be a huge problem. However, it's on one of those roads that we can't be on most of the day. They have not had dry cat food since we got here, and I've been unsuccessful so far in cracking the code on how big of a bag I can buy that will actually get shipped here. So far, both bags I've attempted to order have been rejected and shipped back. Awesome.
Our car continues to give us issues. Sometimes I wish I'd studied auto mechanics before coming overseas - I definitely wouldn't lack for customers. So far, we've flushed the radiator, replaced the water and oil pumps, replaced the head gasket, replaced the brakes, flushed the radiator again (since they mixed antifreezes at some point creating a fine mess), and had some electrical work done since stepping on the brakes would make the headlights turn on. All of this from a car that was in "good mechanical condition" according to the previous owner.
In local news, an arrest warrant has been issued for the leader of the opposition party (BNP) and there's no real way to know what will happen if they actually take her into custody. Also, a few days ago, an American citizen was hacked to death with meat cleavers downtown. He was Bangladeshi-born and well-known as an atheist blogger which some apparently felt was justification for murdering him in front of his wife.
And now my lack of cat food seems a petty concern.
Things in Dhaka have been what I'll call "less than ideal" for a while now. The on-going blockade of the city and the accompanying hartals have necessitated what amounts to a lockdown inside the diplomatic enclave for quite some time. While I might not have gone to any stores or visited around the city were this not happening, the fact that I CAN'T do those things just makes me a bit stir crazy.
Even within the enclave, we are facing restrictions in which roads we can use at different times of the day due to the likelihood of protests involving cocktails (the equivalent of weak flash-bang grenades) and petrol bombs (similar to molotov cocktails). I'm not usually a social butterfly by any means, but, again, these restrictions just make me antsy.
Additionally, due to unrelated (mostly) issues, our commissary is slowly but surely running out of food. Were the local grocery store easy to get to, this wouldn't be a huge problem. However, it's on one of those roads that we can't be on most of the day. They have not had dry cat food since we got here, and I've been unsuccessful so far in cracking the code on how big of a bag I can buy that will actually get shipped here. So far, both bags I've attempted to order have been rejected and shipped back. Awesome.
Our car continues to give us issues. Sometimes I wish I'd studied auto mechanics before coming overseas - I definitely wouldn't lack for customers. So far, we've flushed the radiator, replaced the water and oil pumps, replaced the head gasket, replaced the brakes, flushed the radiator again (since they mixed antifreezes at some point creating a fine mess), and had some electrical work done since stepping on the brakes would make the headlights turn on. All of this from a car that was in "good mechanical condition" according to the previous owner.
In local news, an arrest warrant has been issued for the leader of the opposition party (BNP) and there's no real way to know what will happen if they actually take her into custody. Also, a few days ago, an American citizen was hacked to death with meat cleavers downtown. He was Bangladeshi-born and well-known as an atheist blogger which some apparently felt was justification for murdering him in front of his wife.
And now my lack of cat food seems a petty concern.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Faster and Furious-er
That's right - it's time for Dhaka: The Sequel...
To spare all of you, I will sum up. On December 19th of last year, we found out - to our happiness - that we would be expanding our family by one in August. On December 20th of last year, the assignments were released and we got another surprise. We were heading back to Dhaka! In August! Naturally, we had a bit of a conflict, but with some creative rearrangement and a short delay, everything fell into place. The kids and I packed out the house while Josh finished up some training out of state. After that, we all loaded up into the van and drove to Virginia where we would stay until after Mr. T was born. He surprised us by arriving 2 weeks early, but it was all for the best as it gave us more time to work through all the paperwork requirements of getting a newborn ready to go overseas.
The kids started school and shortly after, Josh left us to start work. Many phone calls and e-mails later, we managed to get passports and tickets for all of us. Josh was even able to fly home and help us get back. The flights were fairly uneventful - 5 people, 10 suitcases, 5 carry-on bags, and 2 cat carriers - and relatively short. Total travel time once we were en-route was only about 20 hours. By a stroke of luck, we were temporarily placed in the same house we lived in the last time we were here. This made the transition fairly easy for the whole family.
B got a week off to adjust and get his sleep back on schedule and then he headed to school where he has been enjoying meeting lots of new friends - and some old ones as well. K has been home helping out with Mr. T and being a pretty good "big sister".
There have been a few changes for the better while we were gone. First, traffic has improved at least in the local area. I haven't ventured down near my tailor's shop yet, but I can get to things in the neighborhood faster than I used to be able to. Second, the commissary has made a lot of improvements and we now have more of a variety of foods available. Also in the food department, there is a new-ish grocery store that carries bread, fresh produce, meat, and luxury items (at a cost of course). The Lindt dark chocolate and hazelnut bar I was looking at yesterday was just over $10. So.... I didn't buy that, but I definitely thought about it.
Many things have remain unchanged, and that's mostly a good thing. There is real goodness in Dhaka. Life here, however hectic work might be, is still slow and family-intensive. The office is all of a half mile away, and while the tether of the Blackberry follows us everywhere, it has a vibrate mode so at least we don't have to listen to it. There's plenty of time for relaxation, games, puzzles, movies, and more. I have realized that in the busy-ness that pervades US life, I have sadly neglected to pass on my love of board games and card games to my children. It's now a work in progress.
My bread baking is going well again, and I find that I really missed it when we were stateside. How often did I really have a three hour block to mix the dough, wait for it to rise, and bake it? Probably never. Here, I can bake any day I want. There is such freedom that comes when we eliminate so much of the unnecessary "stuff". Freedom to really spend time with your family and do the things you truly enjoy. And laundry. Don't forget to do the laundry :)
To spare all of you, I will sum up. On December 19th of last year, we found out - to our happiness - that we would be expanding our family by one in August. On December 20th of last year, the assignments were released and we got another surprise. We were heading back to Dhaka! In August! Naturally, we had a bit of a conflict, but with some creative rearrangement and a short delay, everything fell into place. The kids and I packed out the house while Josh finished up some training out of state. After that, we all loaded up into the van and drove to Virginia where we would stay until after Mr. T was born. He surprised us by arriving 2 weeks early, but it was all for the best as it gave us more time to work through all the paperwork requirements of getting a newborn ready to go overseas.
The kids started school and shortly after, Josh left us to start work. Many phone calls and e-mails later, we managed to get passports and tickets for all of us. Josh was even able to fly home and help us get back. The flights were fairly uneventful - 5 people, 10 suitcases, 5 carry-on bags, and 2 cat carriers - and relatively short. Total travel time once we were en-route was only about 20 hours. By a stroke of luck, we were temporarily placed in the same house we lived in the last time we were here. This made the transition fairly easy for the whole family.
B got a week off to adjust and get his sleep back on schedule and then he headed to school where he has been enjoying meeting lots of new friends - and some old ones as well. K has been home helping out with Mr. T and being a pretty good "big sister".
There have been a few changes for the better while we were gone. First, traffic has improved at least in the local area. I haven't ventured down near my tailor's shop yet, but I can get to things in the neighborhood faster than I used to be able to. Second, the commissary has made a lot of improvements and we now have more of a variety of foods available. Also in the food department, there is a new-ish grocery store that carries bread, fresh produce, meat, and luxury items (at a cost of course). The Lindt dark chocolate and hazelnut bar I was looking at yesterday was just over $10. So.... I didn't buy that, but I definitely thought about it.
Many things have remain unchanged, and that's mostly a good thing. There is real goodness in Dhaka. Life here, however hectic work might be, is still slow and family-intensive. The office is all of a half mile away, and while the tether of the Blackberry follows us everywhere, it has a vibrate mode so at least we don't have to listen to it. There's plenty of time for relaxation, games, puzzles, movies, and more. I have realized that in the busy-ness that pervades US life, I have sadly neglected to pass on my love of board games and card games to my children. It's now a work in progress.
My bread baking is going well again, and I find that I really missed it when we were stateside. How often did I really have a three hour block to mix the dough, wait for it to rise, and bake it? Probably never. Here, I can bake any day I want. There is such freedom that comes when we eliminate so much of the unnecessary "stuff". Freedom to really spend time with your family and do the things you truly enjoy. And laundry. Don't forget to do the laundry :)
Monday, March 24, 2014
We interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast...
If you caught my post on Facebook a while back, you'll know we are returning to Dhaka. Depending on the day, little people in our house are either really looking forward to this move, or really NOT looking forward to the move. It's difficult to sort out the basis for these feelings, but they're generally related to things like friends, family, and school. In my mind, these are all valid reasons to feel ambivalent or even upset about moving. But that doesn't stop the wheel from turning.
On that note, we got our RFO while I was off gallivanting with the kids on Spring Break. We've had a few unexpected changes to our timeline. We originally planned for Josh to finish up the summer cycle at Florida State, then do some additional Army training, and finally take some leave before we all headed back overseas. Our landlord is only letting us stay through the end of July (graduation is the first week of August), so we already knew we'd be packing out while Josh was still in school. As it happens however, he needs to finish up early because he needs to get overseas faster. And so he will be away training while the kids and I supervise the packing. This could go really well, or not.
The second piece of this ever-changing puzzle is that we will not be able to accompany him when he flies. We're all a little bit sad about this (mostly me, because I'll be traveling with the kids). But because we always like to have a bit of drama in our lives, we have some news. While we left Dhaka last summer as a family of four, we will be returning as a family of five! What aspect of international move planning doesn't become even more fun when you incorporate a newborn??
From packing up and shipping baby clothes in July for a baby who won't even be born for another month, to figuring out how to purchase plane tickets and apply for a passport for an as yet unnamed child, or trying to figure out how to pack a suitcase that has space for maternity, nursing, and normal clothes, our lives have taken on a new level of complexity. And we couldn't be happier.
On that note, we got our RFO while I was off gallivanting with the kids on Spring Break. We've had a few unexpected changes to our timeline. We originally planned for Josh to finish up the summer cycle at Florida State, then do some additional Army training, and finally take some leave before we all headed back overseas. Our landlord is only letting us stay through the end of July (graduation is the first week of August), so we already knew we'd be packing out while Josh was still in school. As it happens however, he needs to finish up early because he needs to get overseas faster. And so he will be away training while the kids and I supervise the packing. This could go really well, or not.
The second piece of this ever-changing puzzle is that we will not be able to accompany him when he flies. We're all a little bit sad about this (mostly me, because I'll be traveling with the kids). But because we always like to have a bit of drama in our lives, we have some news. While we left Dhaka last summer as a family of four, we will be returning as a family of five! What aspect of international move planning doesn't become even more fun when you incorporate a newborn??
From packing up and shipping baby clothes in July for a baby who won't even be born for another month, to figuring out how to purchase plane tickets and apply for a passport for an as yet unnamed child, or trying to figure out how to pack a suitcase that has space for maternity, nursing, and normal clothes, our lives have taken on a new level of complexity. And we couldn't be happier.
Monday, August 26, 2013
News from Florida
I bet you thought I was gone. Like really and truly gone. Maybe "hoped" is a better word. No such luck.
As I sit here in my house full of furniture from storage and unpack boxes of UAB items, I have plenty of time to reflect on just how little thought I gave to the whole "storage" thing. As much as I agonized over what to send or not send in our HHG, UAB, and consumables, I gave virtually no thought to the items I put in storage other than to acknowledge that they were things I would not want to have while we were overseas. You see, the beauty of most embassies is that they are very used to people showing up with nothing but the clothes on their back (and those they managed to cram into a suitcase). Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find... We walked into a fully furnished apartment where someone had even already done all of our grocery shopping for us to get us ready for the first few days. We had pots, pans, dishes, glassware, a television, an iron... I could go on, but you get the point. Essentially we had everything we required.
Leaving Dhaka, we gave great thought to the items we put in our UAB (after contacting Student Detachment to have to them authorize a UAB shipment for us since it was not included in our original orders). We put in a set of sheets for each bed, towels for each person, a small television, the all-in-one printer, kitchen knives, extra clothes, the DVD player - everything we thought we'd need "right away". We flew from Dhaka on the 22nd of June (I think?? - it's been too long...) and signed the lease on our new place in Florida on 1 July with high hopes that our UAB would arrive within the first 2 weeks of July. Here it is, the end of August, and our UAB just showed up. In theory, it came by air, so the delay was not in the actual transport phase. But when we got an e-mail 3 weeks after our departure from an embassy employee asking for Josh's rank (which was clearly indicated in the signature block of the e-mail he had sent them only a few days before) before he could submit the paperwork for our shipment, I had a bit better of an indication of the sort of timeline to expect. Submitting the paperwork is of course only the first step. Then the funding has to be approved. Then the shipment has to clear customs. Perhaps most importantly, the hartals have to stop long enough for airline employees to actually be at work loading planes. <sigh>
So as much as I had good intentions when I packed my UAB, really I needed to put more thought into what we left in storage. Really, my storage should have included:
- at least one small-ish TV (TV, phone, and internet generally require that you actually have a television and phone ready to be plugged in before they will schedule you for installation; as much as we wanted internet, we had no phone and no TV)
- at least one set of sheets/pillow/blanket/mattress pad/waterproof cover for each bed
- bath and hand towels
- kitchen towels and at least one hot pad
- ideally, I'd love to have dishes and a set of silverware in my storage, but I think that might just be too much extra "stuff" for me to hang on to
- a phone (see note above on TV)
- basic kitchen implements
Since Josh and I were both in the Army, and weren't always stationed in the same place, we already have most kitchen items in multiple. For example, I have not one, not two, but three colanders. Ask me where they are. Just ask me. That's right. All 3 went to Dhaka. One fortunately made it in to the UAB shipment, so I have it now, but I really just wasn't thinking. For all of the "extra" mixing bowls I have, you'd think I might have left at least one or two in storage...
So my warning to everyone who is getting ready to head overseas is this: Think about the return trip as well and try to plan for only having your "storage" items for two months or longer after your return. Think about what you will want/need and what you're willing to buy in duplicate.
Note to self - read this post again before you pack up a year from now...
Anyone else excited that open assignments will be posted in less than a month??
As I sit here in my house full of furniture from storage and unpack boxes of UAB items, I have plenty of time to reflect on just how little thought I gave to the whole "storage" thing. As much as I agonized over what to send or not send in our HHG, UAB, and consumables, I gave virtually no thought to the items I put in storage other than to acknowledge that they were things I would not want to have while we were overseas. You see, the beauty of most embassies is that they are very used to people showing up with nothing but the clothes on their back (and those they managed to cram into a suitcase). Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find... We walked into a fully furnished apartment where someone had even already done all of our grocery shopping for us to get us ready for the first few days. We had pots, pans, dishes, glassware, a television, an iron... I could go on, but you get the point. Essentially we had everything we required.
Leaving Dhaka, we gave great thought to the items we put in our UAB (after contacting Student Detachment to have to them authorize a UAB shipment for us since it was not included in our original orders). We put in a set of sheets for each bed, towels for each person, a small television, the all-in-one printer, kitchen knives, extra clothes, the DVD player - everything we thought we'd need "right away". We flew from Dhaka on the 22nd of June (I think?? - it's been too long...) and signed the lease on our new place in Florida on 1 July with high hopes that our UAB would arrive within the first 2 weeks of July. Here it is, the end of August, and our UAB just showed up. In theory, it came by air, so the delay was not in the actual transport phase. But when we got an e-mail 3 weeks after our departure from an embassy employee asking for Josh's rank (which was clearly indicated in the signature block of the e-mail he had sent them only a few days before) before he could submit the paperwork for our shipment, I had a bit better of an indication of the sort of timeline to expect. Submitting the paperwork is of course only the first step. Then the funding has to be approved. Then the shipment has to clear customs. Perhaps most importantly, the hartals have to stop long enough for airline employees to actually be at work loading planes. <sigh>
So as much as I had good intentions when I packed my UAB, really I needed to put more thought into what we left in storage. Really, my storage should have included:
- at least one small-ish TV (TV, phone, and internet generally require that you actually have a television and phone ready to be plugged in before they will schedule you for installation; as much as we wanted internet, we had no phone and no TV)
- at least one set of sheets/pillow/blanket/mattress pad/waterproof cover for each bed
- bath and hand towels
- kitchen towels and at least one hot pad
- ideally, I'd love to have dishes and a set of silverware in my storage, but I think that might just be too much extra "stuff" for me to hang on to
- a phone (see note above on TV)
- basic kitchen implements
Since Josh and I were both in the Army, and weren't always stationed in the same place, we already have most kitchen items in multiple. For example, I have not one, not two, but three colanders. Ask me where they are. Just ask me. That's right. All 3 went to Dhaka. One fortunately made it in to the UAB shipment, so I have it now, but I really just wasn't thinking. For all of the "extra" mixing bowls I have, you'd think I might have left at least one or two in storage...
So my warning to everyone who is getting ready to head overseas is this: Think about the return trip as well and try to plan for only having your "storage" items for two months or longer after your return. Think about what you will want/need and what you're willing to buy in duplicate.
Note to self - read this post again before you pack up a year from now...
Anyone else excited that open assignments will be posted in less than a month??
Monday, June 3, 2013
We're Coming Home!
Sometime.
Yes, you all knew it would happen. Eventually they have to let us come home. And now for the million dollar question: WHEN?
Turns out no one really knows. While Josh was on his latest and last jaunt to India, we received our RFO sending us back stateside for graduate school. As exciting as it was to receive that little piece of paper (okay, fine, e-mail), now we start the next waiting game for orders. A "normal" Army company contains anywhere from 40-200 Soldiers depending on the location and mission. When a "normal" Soldier gets an RFO, it gets sent to the Personnel Services Battalion on post that processes it and turns it in to orders once the Soldier takes care of getting their company commander to sign and approve their leave form. This process naturally becomes a bit more complicated when you're assigned to a detachment that is in charge of every student in the Army who is assigned anywhere in the world. So the Student Detachment, as it's called, oversees somewhere over 2,000 Soldiers at any given time. And all of those Soldiers are somewhere in the process of arriving at a new duty station (which requires large amounts of paperwork for inprocessing), hanging out to attend school, and leaving (which also requires some paperwork). This detachment does not work the same days we do (standard M-F work week), nor are they even remotely in the same time zone. So anything we send out on the last day of our work week (Thursday) has no chance of even being seen until Monday night our time. Then, if we need any sort of action taken, assuming the stars are alligned, everyone is at work, doing their job that day, we might get an e-mail indicating they are processing the action. That, unfortunately rarely happens. Is it frustrating? Sure. But who doesn't expect a long wait when they call customer service of a big corporation - this is busy season for Army moving after all.
In the case of our orders, we actually heard back the day after we sent in the required paperwork that they had received the packet. It was the cause of a small party in our house. Receiving the packet is only half the battle though as there are any number of formatting issues that could cause them to kick back the packet and we would start all over. To date, that has not happened. And so we are still scheduled to have our move-out survey next week and have all of our Dhaka possessions picked up 4 days later. Of course, if the orders don't come, we can't do that.
We're not buying plane tickets yet, so I guess that tells you how we're feeling right about now ;)
Yes, you all knew it would happen. Eventually they have to let us come home. And now for the million dollar question: WHEN?
Turns out no one really knows. While Josh was on his latest and last jaunt to India, we received our RFO sending us back stateside for graduate school. As exciting as it was to receive that little piece of paper (okay, fine, e-mail), now we start the next waiting game for orders. A "normal" Army company contains anywhere from 40-200 Soldiers depending on the location and mission. When a "normal" Soldier gets an RFO, it gets sent to the Personnel Services Battalion on post that processes it and turns it in to orders once the Soldier takes care of getting their company commander to sign and approve their leave form. This process naturally becomes a bit more complicated when you're assigned to a detachment that is in charge of every student in the Army who is assigned anywhere in the world. So the Student Detachment, as it's called, oversees somewhere over 2,000 Soldiers at any given time. And all of those Soldiers are somewhere in the process of arriving at a new duty station (which requires large amounts of paperwork for inprocessing), hanging out to attend school, and leaving (which also requires some paperwork). This detachment does not work the same days we do (standard M-F work week), nor are they even remotely in the same time zone. So anything we send out on the last day of our work week (Thursday) has no chance of even being seen until Monday night our time. Then, if we need any sort of action taken, assuming the stars are alligned, everyone is at work, doing their job that day, we might get an e-mail indicating they are processing the action. That, unfortunately rarely happens. Is it frustrating? Sure. But who doesn't expect a long wait when they call customer service of a big corporation - this is busy season for Army moving after all.
In the case of our orders, we actually heard back the day after we sent in the required paperwork that they had received the packet. It was the cause of a small party in our house. Receiving the packet is only half the battle though as there are any number of formatting issues that could cause them to kick back the packet and we would start all over. To date, that has not happened. And so we are still scheduled to have our move-out survey next week and have all of our Dhaka possessions picked up 4 days later. Of course, if the orders don't come, we can't do that.
We're not buying plane tickets yet, so I guess that tells you how we're feeling right about now ;)
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