Anybody There?

Why does no one update the phone directories? Why is every official "let us help you" handout rife with incorrect information? Why do essential phone numbers of essential institutions published in essential and allegedly current lists turn out to be disconnected? Probably the same reason government offices disappear overnight. It's the freakin' Twilight Zone.

I appreciate everything the military does for us, but the insignificant and mundane disorganization is really starting to get under my skin. I'm trying to work with these people, I really am, but I feel like a hamster in a maze. Welcome to the real world, right?

And why is there little to no cell signal out here, in this bustling suburban metropolis of military families? My pathetic phone has a hard enough time connecting as it is. I was prepared to drive into town every time I wanted to use the internet, but not every time I want to make a phone call, particularly if that phone number turns out to be disconnected.

That is my rant for the day.

The Positive Post

David is apparently dismayed that I never post anything positive. For the record, in spite of the ubiquitous frustration, stress, and general isolation, we are still very happily married. I didn't expect to have to clarify the point after just seven weeks. I am glad to be here, believe it or not. Maybe I'll be more convincing in a month or two.

'Round & 'Round

Unbelievable. Fleet and Family stood us up again. The first time was mildly amusing, and even canceling on us the second time was understandable, but the third time we were shuffled into the middle of a seminar we didn't need to attend, and the person we actually did need to see was once again out sick without notice. This has been going on for a week. If we weren't on a deadline ourselves, I wouldn't mind so much. It should hopefully be worked out by Monday.

Whatever

I tried calling the DMV again, this time by a different number, actually got hold of a real person after holding for a half hour (a half hour of Tracfone minutes) and got the same trained monkey answer about how they can't help me unless I hop on a plane and visit them in person. I was just about ready to give up on the whole thing, but David's chain of command is baffled by the problem and determined to look into it themselves. I would dearly love to know what they turn up.

We were also supposed to obtain the last bit of official paperwork for his BAH yesterday, but when we turned up for our appointment at Fleet and Family, the guy we were supposed to see had already gone home sick some time ago. Nobody thought to call us. Apparently they're going to try working us into the schedule today. We shall see.

We're debating whether or not to bother moving our stuff at all. We're so tired of arranging things that it just seems easier to extend our domestic survival camp for the next eight months. It would certainly save us the trouble of moving away from here. It shouldn't be too bad, but I don't feel like much of a homemaker.

Crisis Recovery

Okay. Apparently the powers to which we had recourse failed to accurately inform the husband of the proper protocols by which to "move ashore." Apparently we'd been doing everything out of order, and there were several other errands and documents to be taken care of. Belatedly, a checklist was provided, a deadline was established, and the mad scramble began.

Fortunately, the majority of it has been taken care of, courtesy of overnight mail. I love overnight mail. Everything that remains to be done should be done within the week.

That just leaves my crisis of identity. No one will tell me what to do with my driver's license. This is of course all tied up with my state of residence and all those bothersome details. I wanted to get a new one in Georgia, but there wasn't time. I need to renew mine in Virginia before it expires this year (when we're supposed to be moving), but I can't change my name on it unless I come in person. The Virginia DMV hung up on me twice rather than let me talk to a real person. They couldn't give my mother a straight answer when she went to ask on my behalf, except that I should have done it "within thirty days" and that it's already too late. We're going to ask the ID card people on base when we go to get that changed (if we can get it changed), and if they don't know, we'll take a trip down to the legal office. I really don't want to bother getting licensed in California just to ditch it nine months from now, but there may be no better option.

Give me a paper-pusher. I need to strangle one. I beat a fly to death this afternoon, but that wasn't quite good enough.

Madness

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!


Details to follow, if they are decent enough to print.

Bureaucrats

The drama continues! Sometimes I wonder whether we'll ever be officially ironed out properly. Progress is being made, but there always seems to be more paperwork than time. :P

In Brief

Long story short, we have a house, it's almost a real home despite being all but entirely empty, and its great to finally have a place to live together.

Most of the rest of the mundane details I'd prefer not to remember.

The paperwork remains a huge nightmare. We're working it out slowly, but apparently not soon enough. I finally did get my name changed today. When I tried doing that Friday, it turned out that the office no longer existed at that particular location. I know I'll probably have to drive to Salinas again at some point, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Now that it has been dealt with, we can focus on the housing allowance mess, the insurance mess, the driver's license mess, the car registration mess, and the moving mess.

Yeah, apparently the military won't move our stuff to this particular location, especially since we're Navy types. But if we ask the right person, they might give us some money to arrange it ourselves. In any case, that's not a huge priority right now. We'll get to it eventually.