And So It Begins...

I keep thinking it's Friday.  It is not, Friday, but Thursday in fact.  This is repeatedly disappointing to me.  I have no idea what I'm going to write about today, this is one of those new fangled "stream of consciousness" blogs where I just write what comes to mind in an effort to get myself back into the blogging habit.  You should be excited, because I am pretty sure there is going to be some stellar writing up in here.

A crazy thing happened a couple of days ago.  Colby got an email from his squadron saying that we could expect to get our next assignment some time in June and then have a report no later than date between October and January.

!!!

On the one hand, YAY!!!  On the other hand, SHIT!!!

Let us deal with the YAY!!! first.  Even if we don't move until January, that means that I will never again have to endure the most soul crushing months of the year in Washington--February and March.  In January, it is still expected that when you go outside you will need a heavy coat, galoshes, and an umbrella made of reinforced steel.  By April, there are generally enough gorgeous, sunny days sprinkled throughout the month to keep you from throwing yourself off of the nearest overpass.  But February and March are just an endless progression of cold, rainy, grey days with no light at the end of the tunnel.  I hate them.  I will not miss them.

Hm, now that I'm spending some time really thinking about this, that's really the only YAY!!! I can come up with...

Now for the SHIT!!!  There's a lot more here, surprisingly enough. First, the practical.  According to Zillow, our house has depreciated in value approximately 21% since the day we bought it.  HAHAHAHA.  Fuuuuuuuck.  We are working on refinancing right now for somewhere between 4.75 and 5.185%, which is lovely and will bring out mortgage down to a level that we could feasibly charge renters, but that means we'll be renting it instead of selling.  There are a lot of ways that I would love to spend our nest egg.  Funding a short sale is not one of those ways.

Second, the neurotic.  There are a number of things I don't love about Washington.  Namely the weather, but also the obsession with outdoor winter sports, camping and sporting good supply stores, and the criminally insane politics, but what if our next location is worse?  I've heard from a fairly reputable source (i.e. some guy at dinner the other night) that Alaska is off the table for the next round of assignments.  HALLELUJAH!  But you know what is still on the table?  Middle of nowhere Oklahoma and middle of nowhere Nevada.  Do I actually think we will get one of those assignments?  No.  Do they still haunt my dreams and every waking moment?  Yes.

Third, the emotional.  I have made some seriously fantastic friends here, and I really don't want to leave them behind.  I know this is just part of military life, but much like going through a breakup, it's so awful to imagine having to start all over again with a new pool of potential friends.  Of course everyone says they'll stay in touch, and between the Facebook and email, generally people do, but we all know it's just not the same anymore when you move across the country.  There's a chance that some of us will end up in the same place, particularly since there aren't that many options given Colby's careerfield, but there's a greater chance that most of us won't.  So that's sad.

Plus, of course this just means that the hassle of loading up our belongings, finding a place to live, and hauling ourselves to the next house begins again, and honestly, we just did that.

Anyway, that has been the peakiest peak of excitement around here lately.  That and the endless cycle of work, eat, sleep, 30 Day Shred, television.  So, if you can spare a minute, I wouldn't be mad at you if you'd send a little bit of a Charleston or San Francisco vibe my way, and hopefully sometime in June I'll be getting the good news that one of those charming locales will be my residence for the next 3ish years of my life.  (This is me making an attempt at optimism.)

P.S. This turned out way less stream of conscious than I was expecting.  My apologies if you were waiting for something Joycian to evolve out of this.

Comments

[katelin]

oh man that's crazy about moving. i think i'd be a bit neurotic over that too. oy. but good luck! i have a feeling it'll all work out fabulously!

[shani]

San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco

[Fraulein N]

Okay, that's weird, because I was gonna do EXACTLY what shani did. But let me chime in, since it can't hurt: San Francisco! San Francisco! San Francisco!

[Old Warrior]

Part of the military life is that time goes by very quickly and it's time to move again before you know it. That means that you wouldn't be in Oklahoma very long - Good News - or you wouldn't be in Charleston very long - bad news.

So, bad news becomes good news or good news becomes bad news pretty quickly.

On the home ownership front, just be thankful you don't live in California NOW. A home you bought a couple of years ago would now be worth 50% less.

[Becky]

I'd vote for Charleston b/c I think you're still fairly far out of SF, aren't you? Hvae you been to charleston before? My mom lives close to it now and it's such a cute, historical city. We're actually going to San Fran tomorrow for three days.

Leaving friends was always so hard as a military brat, but in this day and age, I think it's even easier to keep in touch and you're right in that you will most likely cross paths again.

[sara.jane]

I'm hoping for San Fran for you! I've always wanted to visit there. So you guys will be moving ever 3ish years for his entire career?! How in the world?! Why don't you guys just rent a condo or something if you are going to be moving so much?

[sue]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya. ;)

[Jass]

Those are good interest rates for refinance. I wish you luck with renting it out. We rent from a private owner through a property management. They can be pain to reach or get things done, but it works for us for at least another year.

If you can wait another 5-10 years your home value should go up. So if you can rent it, you should. From what I've seen at work, short sales are a nightmare.

And, I am sending San Francisco vibes your way!

[A Super Girl]

Thinking about you and praying you don't get stuck with the middle of nowhere. I've been to that place in Oklahoma and it's no fun. Though, they did have a Sonic....

[Kate P]

Really, really thinking good thoughts & prayers for your "somewhere" choices (and no "middle-of-nowheres")! Hope all that cereal and shredding will give you positive endorphins.

[Caro]

I'm kind of hoping you end up in Charleston, because ya know, it's at least on my coast and for a couple other reasons, which I have yet to disclose yet, haha.

Huge hugs!!

[Melissa]

woah. i'm glad to hear that OK is out of the question, but if it ends up being Tinker, or somewhere around there, let me know. Both my brother AND sister are out there. Not to mention my folks have a house (but they live in FL) and know the market really well. So we would be happy to lend a helping hand. Bonus is, I could see all of you at the same time! Also, like someone said above, OKC is the birthplace of Sonic. And honestly, it's not that bad dude and the base is awesome.

BUT, for the record, I wish for CA. You would so shine in CA.

[E.P.]

Oh! San Francisco or Charleston would be so much fun for y'all!

I'm crossing my fingers for you.