Those of you who work overseas, perhaps particularly with State Department/USAID, will understand and perhaps share the somewhat fatalistic attitude many of us expats take towards a smooth transition between countries. You find yourself utterly shocked if something does indeed run with perfect precision. What? My tickets were all correct? My UAB went where it was supposed to go? My HHE wasn't filled with water? My house is *ready*? WHERE ON EARTH IS MY PASSPORT?!? It's an exciting game of roulette. What will go wrong on this trip and will this be the time we finally crack and end up in a mental institution?
You reach the point at which some of this stuff just doesn't phase you anymore. It's expected. You just deal with it. I've come to label these inconveniences as "blips." Just one more blip on the radar screen of our pack out/move/R&R/home leave. Most of the blips we've faced thus far have been extremely minor, usually nothing more than dealing with us being seated on the other side of the airplane from the kids or airlines refusing to acknowledge that our whole itinerary is international and this include one bag free of charge. Yesterday's blip was a little bigger. While Skyping with my mom I got a rather distressing phone call from the moving company that was supposed to pack up our UAB today. Turns out they would not be coming because USAID HR had just contacted them for the first time on Friday evening (as in 2 days before) to tell them that they needed to do the job today (8/20). So the company was completely unprepared and hadn't even received the shipping supplies they needed from USAID. We would have to reschedule.
Part of me feels like I should have been more panicked, but, like I said, it's a blip. John got it all sorted out and they'll be coming tomorrow morning instead and our plans to leave for Colorado late tomorrow morning should still work out. Another blip eliminated!
So instead of pack out today we went to the fish hatchery in Story, WY and fed trout.
We also played on the nearby playground.
Grandpa caught a 10 lb. walleye!! I know what we're having for dinner tonight!
You reach the point at which some of this stuff just doesn't phase you anymore. It's expected. You just deal with it. I've come to label these inconveniences as "blips." Just one more blip on the radar screen of our pack out/move/R&R/home leave. Most of the blips we've faced thus far have been extremely minor, usually nothing more than dealing with us being seated on the other side of the airplane from the kids or airlines refusing to acknowledge that our whole itinerary is international and this include one bag free of charge. Yesterday's blip was a little bigger. While Skyping with my mom I got a rather distressing phone call from the moving company that was supposed to pack up our UAB today. Turns out they would not be coming because USAID HR had just contacted them for the first time on Friday evening (as in 2 days before) to tell them that they needed to do the job today (8/20). So the company was completely unprepared and hadn't even received the shipping supplies they needed from USAID. We would have to reschedule.
Part of me feels like I should have been more panicked, but, like I said, it's a blip. John got it all sorted out and they'll be coming tomorrow morning instead and our plans to leave for Colorado late tomorrow morning should still work out. Another blip eliminated!
So instead of pack out today we went to the fish hatchery in Story, WY and fed trout.
We also played on the nearby playground.
Grandpa caught a 10 lb. walleye!! I know what we're having for dinner tonight!
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