Not too rattled!
August 13-14, 2005 – Saturday and Sunday
Well, um, I’m sure I did stuff this weekend, but I can’t exactly say what it was. Saturday morning I got up and went to the food court for breakfast and internet access. By the time I finished, it was time for lunch, so I grabbed a sandwich and headed back to the lodge to check on Josh. He was headed out to the pool, so I decided to go look at cars with the high school meeter-greeter and one of his new teachers. We went to an off-base car lot where the owner spoke English. Unfortunately, he only had about 10 cars and most of them were bigger than I want. He said that he could get a car from the auction, but that if he bought it and I don’t like it, I am stuck. That doesn’t sound like a good idea, so I guess I have to stick with the on-base car lot. I am thinking of looking for a Miata, but I also like the Toyota Rav 4. The used cars here are almost all older than 1995 because the Japanese have to pay huge taxes when their cars get to be 10 years old. We don’t have to pay the same amount because we are part of the military, so everyone buys the used cars. The mileage is usually pretty low (most have about 50,000 miles) and they are in good condition. The lot on the base seems to have a pretty good turn-over, so I’ll probably keep watching there. When we got back on base, we stopped by a furniture auction at the elementary school. Since I can’t get into the house for a while it didn’t make sense to buy anything so we left. I went back to the lodge and to read for a while and watch television. The TV on base is very annoying! There are about 10 channels and most of them are news. The other ones randomly show shows from ABC, NBC, and CBS. I’ve fallen asleep watching the Today show almost every night. I walked over to the NEX (Navy Exchange) furniture store to look at their selection. They have pretty good prices, so that will be an option when the time comes. I saw a pretty rug that I think would match my couch. I also went across to the regular NEX and bought a pre-paid cell phone. That way I can connect with Josh without walking back to the Lodge every time.
On Sunday morning Josh and I went to the Seaside for breakfast, but they had nasty food (not the regular buffet). I decided to go to the Fleet Gym for food and computer but Josh was supposed to go play paintball. The people he was going with ended up not going so we decided to meet back in the room to catch-up on schoolwork. When I arrived, the lobby was full of new teachers who had just gotten back from driving practice. Ooops! I’d missed my one chance to drive before taking my driving test on Monday morning. Oh well…Josh and I started the first English assignment and got pretty far before Josh refused to read one of the pages. Dunno what his deal was, but he opted to stop working and forfeit his food money for the day. I went over to the school to get work on the computer and try to decipher which medical plan is the best option. After a few hours, Josh called and asked if he could come do math with me. He met me at the school and we did four math lessons (we have to average two lessons a day in Math and English in order to not work on the weekends and still finish in 90 days) since he hadn’t done the Math on Friday and this was the one Saturday we had to do school. I’d like to know how his brain works and why it makes sense to him to do four lessons at once rather than two at a time. Whatever…we got caught up. By then it was too late to eat anywhere except the bowling alley. We grabbed some food and then came back to finish up the English assignment and Josh read the offending page. When English was finished he decided to go to sleep rather than do five multiple choice Civics questions in order to get back his food money, CD player, wallet, and computer privileges. Strange boy!
August 15, 2005 – Monday
Today was a big day! Debra, Evelyn and I were scheduled to take our driving tests at 09:00 and Mike was planning to pick us up in the lobby of the lodge at 08:00. By 08:35 we were starting to get nervous, so we decided to start walking (the driving instructor said that if we were late for our appointment, they would go on without us and we wouldn’t be able to schedule another test until the next week). On the way, Mike showed up and apologized for being late because he was watching golf. It’s a good thing he showed up because we would never have found the office in time. When we got there, the people ahead of us said that they were running behind. Finally we got called into the desks in the back office one at a time to enter our information. I went in last, but got called to go for the test first…with two other people! Evelyn and Debra were still getting checked in.
When we got to the car, the Japanese instructor held out the keys and we all took a step backwards, none of us wanting to go first. Stephanie, a new high school teacher gave in and said she would go first. We all hopped in and the instructor told her to go. He held up a blank clipboard, about three inches in front of his face, the entire time she drove. Her turn lasted a long time. Suddenly the instructor said, “Stop!” We couldn’t figure out what the problem was. We sat for a minute until he said, “Switch now. Fast.” So I hopped out and switched places with Stephanie. The guy kept the clipboard in front of his face and told me to go. Driving on the other side of the road messes with my brain! When I got to the end of the road, there was a bus stopped and waiting for me to turn left and get out of his way. I was really glad he was there so I didn’t accidentally turn into the wrong lane, but the instructor freaked out. “Don’t hit the bus!” I didn’t see the need for concern since I was stopped at a stop sign. As I turned the corner, carefully avoiding the bus, he pointed to the curb and said, “Don’t hit the curb.” To which I couldn’t help replying, “Picky, picky!” The guy actually smiled! I had to make two more left turns, and on the last one, it happened. I turned on my blinker and, to my great surprise, the windshield wipers went on! Ooops! That seemed to be the biggest mishap, so I passed. Now all I need is a car! We went back to the office and got our little plastic cards (no picture), but they have given me a middle name. I am now Jennell NMN Lambert. I think they just wanted me to have an acronym of my very own! I am thinking of getting monogrammed towels – JNMNL. :) Evelyn and Debra also passed and neither of them could figure out the reason the tester held the board in front of his face. I think I’m going to ask him if I see him around the base.
After we all had license in hand, we walked over to the school to meet our new boss (Mike said he had strict orders to tell us to see her today). She wasn’t available, so Debra and I went to talk to Theresa until she got back while Evelyn went to get her keys. Then we went down and met Mary very briefly. She shook our hands and told us how glad she was to meet us.
That task completed, I went back to the room to find Josh. He showed up not too long after I got back and we got started on the schoolwork. He was on a roll, so we did the entire English assignment and then walked over to school to do the math (apparently he likes my whiteboards as much as I do!). Since he was doing such a good job, I took him to dinner and then he did his Civics. We were both excited – he was all caught up for the first time in several days. He got his wallet, CD player, CDs, and computer privileges back. Then he decided that he wanted to watch Hitch, so I popped that in and started to clean up our very messy hotel room. Josh decided to put all of his clothes into the dresser and clean up his junk too…I figure he must want something, but in the meantime, this is working for me! He made me turn off the movie until he finished cleaning up, and then we watched the movie together. All in all, a great day – I’d like a few more please!
August 16, 2005 – Tuesday
Having no specific plans for today, Josh and I decided to sleep in. The plan was foiled when Mike called to tell me that our Living Quarters Allowances had dropped. I already knew that because I had gotten the e-mail and done the math to check and see if I was still going to be okay. I was, but he didn’t know that. UGH! So we got up and went to breakfast. Since we were by Community Bank, I decided to open an account there so that I could get yen when I need it. I met Josh at the school so we could to Math. After the first lesson, while Josh was doing the practice problems, I ran down to talk to Jan and get some help on my forms. As we were talking, there was an earthquake. I couldn’t figure out what was happening at first, but Jan told me what it was. It lasted for about two minutes and basically felt like we were on a rocking boat. Jan said that all of the buildings on the base are earthquake safe (dunno if I believe that or not) so people don’t go outside. There seems to be some difference of opinion for safety in an earthquake. Some people say stay in and others say go out. I guess I’ll have to check into that. Josh was very excited when I got back to the room. He said he almost ran down to find me when the room started shaking, but then was afraid that people would think him a wimp. Here is a link to the story about the earthquake (it was really far north of here, so it wasn’t as strong here): Earthquake Story
After finishing the second Math lesson, Josh and I walked back to the room and he did his Civics before we both got hungry for lunch. Although we just missed the bus, John (the high school meter-greeter) gave us a ride over. People here are so nice! We had lunch at Subway and Josh and I came back to work on English. I HATE English! The short stories we are working on are way too long and boring. They also expect a lot of writing. Josh is being very good considering the fact that we have to do almost two English lessons a day and that means a ton of writing. He actually got into the story he had to write today. And that makes two days in a row that he did all of his work! Woohoo!!!
I went over to the Commissary for some groceries. The milk here is good for more than a month…I don’t get that at all! It doesn’t taste weird, so I guess it is a good thing. Also, they sell my Thin Crisp Triscuits!!! After those happy discoveries I went back to the school do look into cell phones and Direct TV (I can’t stand the military TV anymore – but I don’t know what the other options are here). I love being able to go to my classroom whenever I want! That will be so nice when I need to get in on a weekend, and right now it is nice to have someplace to go besides the Navy Lodge. After visiting the school, I came back to eat and watch a movie. It’s so nice when Josh gets his work done early. Hopefully he liked having the evening to himself enough to make it happen again. Well, I’m gonna sign off so I can send some other e-mails and make some calls back to the US when businesses will be open.
Well, um, I’m sure I did stuff this weekend, but I can’t exactly say what it was. Saturday morning I got up and went to the food court for breakfast and internet access. By the time I finished, it was time for lunch, so I grabbed a sandwich and headed back to the lodge to check on Josh. He was headed out to the pool, so I decided to go look at cars with the high school meeter-greeter and one of his new teachers. We went to an off-base car lot where the owner spoke English. Unfortunately, he only had about 10 cars and most of them were bigger than I want. He said that he could get a car from the auction, but that if he bought it and I don’t like it, I am stuck. That doesn’t sound like a good idea, so I guess I have to stick with the on-base car lot. I am thinking of looking for a Miata, but I also like the Toyota Rav 4. The used cars here are almost all older than 1995 because the Japanese have to pay huge taxes when their cars get to be 10 years old. We don’t have to pay the same amount because we are part of the military, so everyone buys the used cars. The mileage is usually pretty low (most have about 50,000 miles) and they are in good condition. The lot on the base seems to have a pretty good turn-over, so I’ll probably keep watching there. When we got back on base, we stopped by a furniture auction at the elementary school. Since I can’t get into the house for a while it didn’t make sense to buy anything so we left. I went back to the lodge and to read for a while and watch television. The TV on base is very annoying! There are about 10 channels and most of them are news. The other ones randomly show shows from ABC, NBC, and CBS. I’ve fallen asleep watching the Today show almost every night. I walked over to the NEX (Navy Exchange) furniture store to look at their selection. They have pretty good prices, so that will be an option when the time comes. I saw a pretty rug that I think would match my couch. I also went across to the regular NEX and bought a pre-paid cell phone. That way I can connect with Josh without walking back to the Lodge every time.
On Sunday morning Josh and I went to the Seaside for breakfast, but they had nasty food (not the regular buffet). I decided to go to the Fleet Gym for food and computer but Josh was supposed to go play paintball. The people he was going with ended up not going so we decided to meet back in the room to catch-up on schoolwork. When I arrived, the lobby was full of new teachers who had just gotten back from driving practice. Ooops! I’d missed my one chance to drive before taking my driving test on Monday morning. Oh well…Josh and I started the first English assignment and got pretty far before Josh refused to read one of the pages. Dunno what his deal was, but he opted to stop working and forfeit his food money for the day. I went over to the school to get work on the computer and try to decipher which medical plan is the best option. After a few hours, Josh called and asked if he could come do math with me. He met me at the school and we did four math lessons (we have to average two lessons a day in Math and English in order to not work on the weekends and still finish in 90 days) since he hadn’t done the Math on Friday and this was the one Saturday we had to do school. I’d like to know how his brain works and why it makes sense to him to do four lessons at once rather than two at a time. Whatever…we got caught up. By then it was too late to eat anywhere except the bowling alley. We grabbed some food and then came back to finish up the English assignment and Josh read the offending page. When English was finished he decided to go to sleep rather than do five multiple choice Civics questions in order to get back his food money, CD player, wallet, and computer privileges. Strange boy!
August 15, 2005 – Monday
Today was a big day! Debra, Evelyn and I were scheduled to take our driving tests at 09:00 and Mike was planning to pick us up in the lobby of the lodge at 08:00. By 08:35 we were starting to get nervous, so we decided to start walking (the driving instructor said that if we were late for our appointment, they would go on without us and we wouldn’t be able to schedule another test until the next week). On the way, Mike showed up and apologized for being late because he was watching golf. It’s a good thing he showed up because we would never have found the office in time. When we got there, the people ahead of us said that they were running behind. Finally we got called into the desks in the back office one at a time to enter our information. I went in last, but got called to go for the test first…with two other people! Evelyn and Debra were still getting checked in.
When we got to the car, the Japanese instructor held out the keys and we all took a step backwards, none of us wanting to go first. Stephanie, a new high school teacher gave in and said she would go first. We all hopped in and the instructor told her to go. He held up a blank clipboard, about three inches in front of his face, the entire time she drove. Her turn lasted a long time. Suddenly the instructor said, “Stop!” We couldn’t figure out what the problem was. We sat for a minute until he said, “Switch now. Fast.” So I hopped out and switched places with Stephanie. The guy kept the clipboard in front of his face and told me to go. Driving on the other side of the road messes with my brain! When I got to the end of the road, there was a bus stopped and waiting for me to turn left and get out of his way. I was really glad he was there so I didn’t accidentally turn into the wrong lane, but the instructor freaked out. “Don’t hit the bus!” I didn’t see the need for concern since I was stopped at a stop sign. As I turned the corner, carefully avoiding the bus, he pointed to the curb and said, “Don’t hit the curb.” To which I couldn’t help replying, “Picky, picky!” The guy actually smiled! I had to make two more left turns, and on the last one, it happened. I turned on my blinker and, to my great surprise, the windshield wipers went on! Ooops! That seemed to be the biggest mishap, so I passed. Now all I need is a car! We went back to the office and got our little plastic cards (no picture), but they have given me a middle name. I am now Jennell NMN Lambert. I think they just wanted me to have an acronym of my very own! I am thinking of getting monogrammed towels – JNMNL. :) Evelyn and Debra also passed and neither of them could figure out the reason the tester held the board in front of his face. I think I’m going to ask him if I see him around the base.
After we all had license in hand, we walked over to the school to meet our new boss (Mike said he had strict orders to tell us to see her today). She wasn’t available, so Debra and I went to talk to Theresa until she got back while Evelyn went to get her keys. Then we went down and met Mary very briefly. She shook our hands and told us how glad she was to meet us.
That task completed, I went back to the room to find Josh. He showed up not too long after I got back and we got started on the schoolwork. He was on a roll, so we did the entire English assignment and then walked over to school to do the math (apparently he likes my whiteboards as much as I do!). Since he was doing such a good job, I took him to dinner and then he did his Civics. We were both excited – he was all caught up for the first time in several days. He got his wallet, CD player, CDs, and computer privileges back. Then he decided that he wanted to watch Hitch, so I popped that in and started to clean up our very messy hotel room. Josh decided to put all of his clothes into the dresser and clean up his junk too…I figure he must want something, but in the meantime, this is working for me! He made me turn off the movie until he finished cleaning up, and then we watched the movie together. All in all, a great day – I’d like a few more please!
August 16, 2005 – Tuesday
Having no specific plans for today, Josh and I decided to sleep in. The plan was foiled when Mike called to tell me that our Living Quarters Allowances had dropped. I already knew that because I had gotten the e-mail and done the math to check and see if I was still going to be okay. I was, but he didn’t know that. UGH! So we got up and went to breakfast. Since we were by Community Bank, I decided to open an account there so that I could get yen when I need it. I met Josh at the school so we could to Math. After the first lesson, while Josh was doing the practice problems, I ran down to talk to Jan and get some help on my forms. As we were talking, there was an earthquake. I couldn’t figure out what was happening at first, but Jan told me what it was. It lasted for about two minutes and basically felt like we were on a rocking boat. Jan said that all of the buildings on the base are earthquake safe (dunno if I believe that or not) so people don’t go outside. There seems to be some difference of opinion for safety in an earthquake. Some people say stay in and others say go out. I guess I’ll have to check into that. Josh was very excited when I got back to the room. He said he almost ran down to find me when the room started shaking, but then was afraid that people would think him a wimp. Here is a link to the story about the earthquake (it was really far north of here, so it wasn’t as strong here): Earthquake Story
After finishing the second Math lesson, Josh and I walked back to the room and he did his Civics before we both got hungry for lunch. Although we just missed the bus, John (the high school meter-greeter) gave us a ride over. People here are so nice! We had lunch at Subway and Josh and I came back to work on English. I HATE English! The short stories we are working on are way too long and boring. They also expect a lot of writing. Josh is being very good considering the fact that we have to do almost two English lessons a day and that means a ton of writing. He actually got into the story he had to write today. And that makes two days in a row that he did all of his work! Woohoo!!!
I went over to the Commissary for some groceries. The milk here is good for more than a month…I don’t get that at all! It doesn’t taste weird, so I guess it is a good thing. Also, they sell my Thin Crisp Triscuits!!! After those happy discoveries I went back to the school do look into cell phones and Direct TV (I can’t stand the military TV anymore – but I don’t know what the other options are here). I love being able to go to my classroom whenever I want! That will be so nice when I need to get in on a weekend, and right now it is nice to have someplace to go besides the Navy Lodge. After visiting the school, I came back to eat and watch a movie. It’s so nice when Josh gets his work done early. Hopefully he liked having the evening to himself enough to make it happen again. Well, I’m gonna sign off so I can send some other e-mails and make some calls back to the US when businesses will be open.
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