correction

For the record: in my haste, i failed to actually re-read my message. Katar is actually spelled Qatar, and is in the Middle East near Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Most likely Rich will be at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

one day at a time...

Hello all..I didn't realize how many people actually read my blog updates! I know it's been awhile, but i've been busy and really haven't felt like updating. Where do i begin?

I love Virginia! I really missed autumn last year when i was in Florida and i've loved being able to see the colors change here in VA. Rich and I were able to go hiking in the Shanendoah Valley one day at the beginning of October before the leaves really changed and had an amazing time hiking through the mountains. :)

I love the military! But i hate my job. This past week i went TDY to shepard AFB in texas for CASF (contingency aeromedical staging facility) where i did training for my upcoming deployment. Parts of it sucked, like the lack of sleep, but the week re-affirmed the reason i joined the military and gave me even more inspiration to put my package in for flight nursing (which i will be eligible for by the time i get back from my deployment). I am so not excited about going back to work again...knowing i will be bored out of my mind. Oh well...i have plenty of stuff going on besides work.

I started my Masters, and i hate it! It's really not that bad but i hate writing pointless paper after paper and doing tons of research. I am doing well so far though, and i know it's the right thing to do.

I'm Moving! I'm really sick of living paycheck to paycheck and never getting anywhere with my loans, etc, so one of my friends (another nurse) and i are moving into a two bedroom apartment here. Though i love my little apartment, i will be saving almost $ 800/month and i really can't pass that up. Also, it will be nice to have a roommate when Rich is deployed to Katar and I won't be able to talk to him as much as i do now. :) I move in on the 5th of November, and start saving money in january!

Well that's the quick and dirty..Rich and i are planning on going to AZ the 18th of November-24th and cannot wait to see everyone. Hope this finds everyone happy and health.

it's what time?

Life is winding down!

All of my time-consuming, spend 12 hrs at work on my off days are over! Thank goodness! :) Everything turned out great in the end, as always, and i managed to stress just enough, as always. I ended up getting a lot of one-on-one face time with my commanders and huge kudos from all the management of the hospital. Yay! I am learning more and more in the military and in life, that it is not what you know, It's WHO you know. Cheers to making contacts!

In other new my body is supremely confused at the moment. I am back to night shift and hating it, and have had to switch back to days this week for combat training (more on that later). I would wake up at 2 am, rarin to go and not be able to sleep, then try to go to bed early so i could get up for 5 am and lay there completely unable to get any shut-eye. I am learning to take some fabulous naps however!

This week i had to do combat training for my upcoming deployment, which is somewhat laughable considering i'm not ACTUALLY going anywhere! However, there is a lot of speculation about possible forward deployment to the sandbox. We'll see. Regardless, i had a blast with the training. I spent two days with the security forces, learning how to shoot/take apart and move with an M9 and an M4. In normal ABU/BDU's this is pretty do-able but our second day was field training in a Kevlar helmet, mask,Flak vest and gloves with an m4. I have no idea how our troops shoot accurately and move in all that gear (plus 50+ pounds of other gear)! It was raining and we had to crawl through the grass in fighting formations, and tromp through the mud and trees in the woods, attacking the enemy (paint-ballish bullets). It's crazy how quick you have to move to re-load a new magazine and charge your weapon while ducking fire behind a tree. I loved it, but i would shit my pants if i had to do it for real. The adrenaline just from the exercise is enough for me! Charlie flight, my team that i was the leader of, won every time, not one of us was killed. New calling for me?...lol

For those of you that don't check facebook...Rich and I are back together! We never stopped talking, and when Rich got back from his leave in Michigan he came to visit. We had an amazing time exploring the Luray Caverns in VA ( a must see!) and acting like kids in an English style garden maze. We also went out to dinner with a bunch of my friends here and just enjoyed being together. For some reason we can't get rid of each other! lol..in all honesty, there really isn't anyone else i want to be with, and we realized how great we really are together. :)

Did i mention i hate night shift? It is so incredibly boring here that i couldn't take it anymore and applied for my masters. I was originally going to do a dual masters degree in healthcare administration/mba, but the more i though about it the more it bored the heck out of me. my ultimate dream is to go on humanitarian missions and i'd love to work for the cdc or nih. Sooo...drumroll, i am getting my masters in public health with a concentration in emergency and disaster management. With this i could also potentially switch to the public health service ( i would keep my rank but my deployments would only be 2 weeks at a time,and not in combat zones...something to keep in mind for later in life). I am doing a completely online degree so we'll see how it all pans out...

All in all, life is good, and always changing!

humble pie

My life has been crazy busy lately, as i've been involved with some HUGE events. Mainly functioning as head of multiple committees for the CGOC Combat Dining in, with the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. For those who don't know, he's a four star general and the HEAD of the Air Force. It was a pretty cool experience, and i felt very small and insignificant. :) I also am the project manager for a squadron event that has made me brief all of my commanders in multiple one and one, and group meetings. Intimidating, and a huge deal but i am up to the challenge! I am exhausted and happy to go to nights in September so i can workout, work on my masters, and keep my career on the up and up.

In other news, one of our TSgts came back from Afghanistan a few weeks ago, and finally started talking about his experience. He was embedded with an Army Ranger unit and was the "doc" for an entire battalion. His stories make me proud to be in the military as what he did, is why i joined. Though i'm sure none of you would like to hear it, i would gladly do what he did. I understand in all honesty, i would literally shit myself in the situations he was in, and i am incredible humbled to hear about it. WE do not appreciate the life we have until we experience or hear about the lives of others. Though my life is far from perfect, it's pretty darn phenomenal compared to what it could be. I also have such an incredible disgust and respect for the soldiers who are dying of dehydration while fighting for our lives because the hostile fire is so "hot" that we can't drop water to them. My prayers and thoughts go out to the many amazing men AND WOMEN that i know and love who are currently sacrificing more than people will ever know. I know longer lie to myself and say that joining the Air Force was just a career move, i joined for the experience of taking care of the wounded. I am proud to be a soldier, and i will gladly get deployed.

Optimism is a fleeting feeling

Life is full of dissapointments and let-downs but i feel like my life is more like a roller coaster with amazing highs and devastating lows. I like to think of myself as a hopeless optimist, but in all honestly, i'm struggling to find anything to smile about right now. Well, they do say bad news comes in threes....

1. I finished my application for the critical care fellowship, turned it in, and my commander approved it with a, "this looks great. You should have no problem getting it, you're an excellent candidate." Five minutes later i was told they are no longer waiving the TOS (time on station) requirement and i could no longer apply. Meaning, i will need to rot my brain for another two years at this "hospital" i.e. glorified clinic. Trying to find the motivation to go for my masters....

2. I went to Chicago this past weekend for a weekend with my girlfriends that i hadn't seen in a year. It was so amazing to be with them again, and to feel as if i never left! However, the dark cloud over the whole trip was that i found out i can't be in my best friends wedding anymore because she had to move the wedding due to circumstances beyond her control to when i will be deployed. Though this may not seem like a big deal, it was just hard to take when we've talked about that day for years, and hearing all the fun/amazing details about it was tough knowing i can't actually be there.

3. Rich and i are no longer together. I wish i had something bad to say about him, but in all honestly i still love him more than i thought i could ever love someone. I think i may be dehydrated from crying so much, and i really just want to crawl in bed and not wake up for months. i never thought it would come to this, even though everyone has their disagreements. It just goes to show you that sometimes love isn't enough, and distance can ruin even the strongest of relationships. I still hold out hope that there is some kind of miracle out there, and maybe we can move on from everything, but these also seem to be in short-supply. I know that he still loves me, but i don't know if that's enough to fix whats broken.

One of my friends asked me this weekend if i ever regretted joining the Air force. I like to think i don't. I'm trying to tell myself that life happens no matter what decisions you make, and in the end, i know i made the right choice. It is difficult at times dealing with the bullshit though, when the rest of your world seems to be crumbling around you. I know i tend to be a bit melodramatic at times, and in all honestly im okay, at least no one needs to worry that i'm going to go slit my wrists. Everything is just so fresh and happened at once. I just need some time to convince myself that my life is great. Minus Rich. I can honestly say that i don't think i'll get over that easily. Some of the best times of my life were spent with him and he honestly made me happier than i've ever been. I'm trying to be strong and accept that people need space and time and sometimes things just really might not be meant to be. Everything happens for a reason, whether we like that reason or not. I honestly thought i would marry him and spend the rest of my life happy. Strangely i still see myself with him, and i can't imagine it any other way. It's official, i'm crazy. Such is life.

Summer in the city

I was looking at my blog and i realized that i haven't updated since April! Life is quite good here in muggy DC and i can't really complain.

Work/Deployments
I find my job incredibly easy compared to what i'm used to, but i guess there are positives to this as with any situation. My commander, who most people hate, and i just try to avoid because of my situation, apparently likes me. :) She nominated me for CGOC of the quarter (company grade officer) and put me in for a clinical excellence award! Pretty cool. Though i highly doubt that i will win the award (Lt's never do) it is nice to know that my commander herself nominated me! That will work in my favor someday. In other news, i am deploying in December. But don't worry, it will only be in the DC area. I'm sure none of you would be excited to hear this but i did request to go to Afghanistan but was denied as it was an OB mission (Weird!). Regardless, i will be working with transporting soldiers from the sandbox and Germany and will not be able to take leave for six months, hence "deployment."
Lastly, i am also applying for a critical care fellowship that will start when my deployment ends. Hopefully if i do get accepted and complete my one year of class, i will get my overseas assignment to Germany! :) I have a meeting with my chief nurse tomorrow morning to discuss my interests as i won't meet the Time on station requirement and will have to request a waiver. Cross your fingers!

Honor
Since joining the military, there have been times when i don't feel as if my life has changed at all. However, there are some times when i am undeniably proud to wear my uniform. On saturday, i sucked it up (was emptying my guts all day/night friday) and drove out to Dulles airport to be a part of welcoming 102 WWII veterans to the DC area. They were an honor flight from Wisconsin who had been waiting years to come and see THEIR memorial and many (about 60) were in wheelchairs and on oxygen. To see their faces when they got off the plane and saw us in our uniforms and dozens of people waving flags and cheering was priceless...As some cried, some grasped our hands and some saluted, i got goosebumps and was reminded of some of the reasons i donned this uniform in the first place.

Accident
There was a metro cash today! Two trains collided with 6 people dead and dozens injured. Thankfully i was at work, and the crash was on the red line which i rarely take. However, the news is devastating to a city that depends so heavily on this public transportation system. Crazy!

Summer travel
My little brother Steven is coming to visit and i am beyond ecstatic. I also get to go to Chicago to see some of my best friends at the end of July...it has been over a year since i've seen my girls! I miss you all.

I feel like there is so much more to update, but that is all i have for now! love you all!

The adventures of Rich and Kara

This weekend was so beautiful i couldn't help but think the world would be a happier place if there were more days like these. Saturday Rich and I met in Rocky Mt, NC to steal another 24 hrs together,and had so much fun. We just picked a town and met there, and then drove around and found this huge park along the tar river. It was so beautiful and made us feel like we were back in michigan again! We also had lunch at this cute little fifties style diner on the side of the road, and browsed the bookstore for an hour. It was nice to just hang out and pretend that we lived in the same town. :) The drive back however reminded me that i most definetely live in the city as i went about 10 miles in a 1/2 hour, but it was worth it. I had yet another PT test on thursday and passed as usual, but it inspired me to start running again. Rich and I are both very motivated to get in killer shape again (though he'll have to wait till his sprain heals) and i've been in a great mood. Life is fabulous and i miss you all very much.

DC volunteering

I had a volunteer weekend. :) On saturday i volunteered with some other Air force people to join in the 17,000 people on the annual potomac river cleanup. It was disgusting! Our site was on the maryland side, directly across from Mt.Vernon! Though it was sunny, the wind was extreme and i have never seen so much garbage and random disgustingness in my life. Growing up with the pristine waters of Lake superior sure spoiled me! All in all it was a great experience, and i got my hands (and feet) dirty for a good cause :)

Today i did something a little more exciting. I volunteered as a nurse/medical volunteer at the annual cherry blossom festival. It was so much fun! I only got a few hours of sleep because i had to take the metro at 5 a.m. to the washington monument. It was oddly peaceful and quiet to see the city sleep, and i was the only one on the yellow line train for a few stops! :) It was an incredibly gorgeous day, sunny and warm, and it was amazing to see thousands of people from all 50 states run the 10 mile course. Because i volunteered, i get a guaranteed spot next year (a bonus as the race fills up in the first two hours of sign-up every year). It was really interesting to see people of all shapes and sizes finish the race. There were some old men, and some big mamas hoofing their way through that course...wow..it made me feel lazy! :) It was also fun to use my basic nursing skills and triage people, clean up some weird wounds, etc. The best part of this whole experience was the course. i know i keep talking about the cherry blossoms but i really wish my camera hadn't died because the sight was stunning this morning. There are so many amazing running trails and soooooo many beautiful sights. I can't wait to start running more. I'm also really glad i volunteered this year because i may be deployed next year at this time! Here are a few pictures...though they really don't do justice at all.

the proof is in the picture :)

Here we are with the TV reporter.

jump jump!

So...as you all are well aware, i am the queen of making people jump for pictures 'action shot.' Tonight i went down to the jefferson memorial and my friend Robyn was taking yet another jumping picture of my friend felecia and I, and i noticed this reporter in the background filming us. Then he interviewed us for the DC news because we looked like we were having so much fun! lol...i knew i had a good idea going :) I did end up watching the new too..and lo and behold..there's Kara jumping with the cherry blossoms. :) love you and miss you all..but i really do live in a fabulous city which i explore more and more every chance i get!

Eat, Sleep, Work...

I never realized how many people read my blog until people started sending me messages saying, "are you alive? you haven't updated, and you don't answer your phone!"
Yes people..i am alive! I just work night shift, so i pretty much eat, sleep, and work. blah.

Work is interesting..dealing with the military bullshit that i could do without gets old, but the actual nursing job is getting busier..yay! ;) Had my first feedback session with my rater, and she thinks i'm fabulous. lol..i guess i'll need all the praise i can get....

Rich and i are fabulous and are well on our way to spending happily ever after together..if the airforce doesn't have a say in it. I heard a story about a girl on my unit that got 'caught' and was going to get kicked out, and not promoted past LT. Luckily she had a good commander who didn't let that happen. She did get an article 15 (in trouble) but she's now a capt. Needless to say, my commander is not that great..she wouldn't let one of the civilians go on emergency leave because the paperwork wasn't done...and the civilian's mom died! I hardly think that someone who isn't sympathetic to that, is going to be sympathetic to my situation. I am trying to remain optimistic however...i do have a JAG on my side..and honestly i would rather my career suffer for six years than not be with my babycakes. I guess i'll deal...trying not to think about it,.

In another news...the cherry blossoms are beautiful!!!!!!!!!! even though i'm usually asleep during the day.

Lastly...I cannot wait to see you all for Teri's wedding. I am hoping my leave gets approved! cross the fingers..Rich's is also up in the air, but i am praying that he can come as well to meet the rest of you! love you all...i am alive and well, just sleeping when everyone else is up.

-me

I've finally discovered how much traffic sucks. My normally ten minute commute to and from work took me an 1 1/2 the other day because of a barricade on base..don't know what was going on, but the M16's were out, and the barricades were up. Then got on the beltway and sat in gridlock traffic for another hour due to a huge accident. Ahhhh i love the city!

I've very comfortable here. The last week or two i realized how acclimated to the area i've already become. I find myself getting annoyed when tourists go the speed limit on the beltway and not the 75-80 i've become accustomed to. I know every spot where people freak out and swerve when they realize the road splits into multiple freeways, and i help people on the metro when they stand there looking lost or can't figure out how to enter! :) I'm also so comfortable at my job (even though i'm technically on orientation) that i've found myself telling nurses that have been there for years who a certain doc is and what their pager number is. I've had my definite share of frustration (i.e...stupid, lazy techs, and people that would rather sit on their ass then do their job) but i've had great moments as well. I worked the whole weekend and even though my patients weren't critical critical, it was extremely satisfying.

I've always been under the impression that a patients attitude is a direct reflection of how you treat them, and i was right in a surprising and heartbreaking way today. I've had a pt who we were going to put on hospice and were basically keeping to babysit her coumadin levels and dvt. She'd become increasingly disoriented, and unresponsive, a total turn/clean/care. My biggest pet peeve is when people don't talk to the pt as if they can hear when they're not responding as much. Even though she wasn't necessarily a challenge or exciting, I had her all weekend, talked to her, combed and braided her hair, and treated her like a human being. I was joking around and telling her that she got to leave on monday and i bet she was sick of seeing my face, when she looked at me and said. "actually you're very sweet Kara." I almost crapped my pants! She barely talked at all, except to see little girls or call for her husband, and i told her my name every day but had no idea if she actually comprehended. Her affect improved ten fold and she improved dramatically. It taught more than me a lesson!

Aside from the day to day at work..i'll be switching to night shift soon, and Rich, Faren and Mona are all coming to visit me in March! I'm so excited.

I had the fabulous opportunity to explore restaurant week in DC...it's when a handful of the ritzy upscale restaurants offer a 4 course meal for 35.50 for a week. I had an amazing night out with two of my girlfriends here and loved trying food that i could never afford otherwise!

Life is really good, i've been SLOWLY setting up my apartment and enjoying life in general. My job isn't that challenging but i've met some amazing people already and have had the opportunity to give fabulous care all while surprising doctors when i actually know way beyond what they expect of their nurses. lol. I also have a new flight commander whom i love and who is very focused on career advancement. She got me into a critical care class at WAlter Reed for two days next week and gave me the days off of work. It feels good to have someone on my side! :)

love and miss you all,

me

sooo THAT's an entourage...

When i decided to become a nurse, and then decided to join the Air Force, i imagined my career to be one of excitement and trauma..blood, guts, and everything in between. I never pictured myself dealing with secret service, and waiting hand and foot on VIP's! My job is a whole lot more political than i could have dreamed, but in all honesty i find it a lot of fun. I had two VIP patients yesterday, One so high that he came with 4 black sedans, and his whole entourage of secret service. Obviously i can't divulge who he was but lets just say he was so important that two star generals, and more colonels than i've ever seen came to visit throughout the day. I should have just stayed standing with all the brass and rank that came on the floor (We don't stand at attention, but we get up to acknowledge respect)! It was nice to see however to see how lax the customs and courtesies truly are while in the hospital. I was on the phone with one of my docs, taking some orders and the head of our entire hospital (and wing..which is above flight and squadron) came to see one of the patients..i didn't even realize he was there until everyone else stood up (even the civilians) so i attempted to stand while still talking and he just waved me down, and said to continue my job. Good to know..:)

In other words..my job is pretty easy nursing wise, and challenging in completely different ways. Who knows where the Air Force is going to take me..but i'm liking it so far!

Life in the city

I'm slowly getting adjusted to living alone. Some things have come so easy for me and i feel as if i fit in and belong, yet there's still times when i think i'm completely fine, and then have a meltdown (sorry mom :)) It's so odd to feel completely alone. When i'm busy and doing things, i don't really notice it, but it's those nights when i really just want to talk to someone and nobody answers their phone that i really feel the emptiness. Thank God those days are few and far between!

Military Nursing
I finally started actually working this weekend and it's a far cry from the craziness of the ICU and trauma that i thrive on, but it's decent. Because of all the plans to actually close the hospital i'm at, and merge as a super hospital with the army and navy, we don't actually get many patients, and in my opinion the inpatient rooms are quite ghetto and primitive. Ironically if you go to the basement and the fifth floor you would think you were in a five star resort! This is because Andrews deals a lot with the troops coming back from overseas and so senators, dignitaries, and the Washington Post are frequently in these areas. It is very political and showy at times. I'm learning all of the amazing opportunities available to me, but also learning how competitive it is in this small Air Force. Good thing i like a challenge! :) I met with the chief nurse the other day and she likes my "bubbly personality and motivation," which is good because i told her everything i want to do, and she can help me get there. We'll see where this job takes me....

Inauguration Excitement
It's impossible not to get caught up in the excitement of the upcoming inauguration as it's all around me. I went into DC the other day and marveled at the millions of port a potties and all the extra gates and security. Even the smithsonians were closed! Today i also took the metro into pentagon city, and started to experience the extra 2 million people that have come to the city to witness the event. There were people EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! It was insane. It was kind of odd to feel like a minority! I felt like people were staring at me because i was white! lol..seriously it's amazing how many african americans are in the area. DC is in itself an extremely diverse area, demographically almost the opposite of much of the country, but i don't think i noticed it until now! As a person who's never really seen color, it took me a moment to realize that i was the only white girl working the last two nights....very interesting. I do find the tv coverage of the inauguration quite racist though in the fact they are focusing so much on color, and are really only showing black people who are calling Obama "their president." There are plenty of other races at these events as well...he's just as my president even though i'm white. Whatever...I do wish i had gotten here earlier though. As a military member i could have attended a ton of the events and balls if i would have known earlier! There was a free concert with Aretha Franklin tonight and one yesterday with Beyonce, etc etc..It's really quite cool to have all of this so close to me. However, i am strictly forbidden to go to inauguration..commanders order, we are on call in case of a mass casualty or terrorist event. Cross our fingers nothing happens. 2 million people in the mall area is kind of a scary target.

Blessed
Despite the occasional loneliness and being so far away from loved ones...i am truly lucky to be here. There is so much to do. I went to mt. vernon the other day and got chills to be in the same place where so much history was created..and a bit creepily stood in the room where George Washington died. I am learning more and more amazing and fun things to do..can't wait till people visit! Tonight Candace, Sara (two other nurses) and I went to this restaurant that has been around for hundreds of years on the potomac, and then went to barnes and noble and got coffee and books. :) it's so nice to have all these amazing things within 3 miles of my apartment.

Finding what matters
It's hard not to get caught up in the materialism and snobbiness of the east coast. There is so much money, history and intellectualism here that you start to question everything in your life. I was having a rough time remembering what really mattered to me and what i really want out of life. I felt like i was starting to get sucked into it all. Thank goodness Rich came to visit just in time. It felt so good to have him here to help me set up my apartment and to just hang out with. It was a nice reality check that all i really want in life is at the end of the day someone who's there and knows me and will just listen to me and be there for me. If i had someone exactly like me who analyzed the hell out of life, they'd drive me nuts! I love my take life as it comes boyfriend! :)

well..i think that's enough random thoughts for one night. I am really happy here, and excited to have so much to do. It will feel nice to actually have my bed soon ( i shall have all of my stuff by the end of the week..bye bye air mattress!) Hope this finds you all happy! love always,
Kara

p.s. if you want my address email me...i don't want to post it here.

home sweet home

it's been awhile since i've written! Life has been a whirlwind as usual, and i've barely had time to catch my breath let alone update my blog. :) I left Florida on the 17th and drove to North Carolina for some much needed time with Rich. I then drove to D.C, parked my car and went to the Airport to spend christmas with everyone in Arizona! Since then, i've been apartment searching, and getting used to this crazy city that i will now call home.

I never realized how much went into apartment searching. Though i've lived in my fair share of apartments and houses throughout the years, this is the first time that i'll have a place all of my very own! It is also the first time i've truly had to worry about commuting, safety, and all those grown-up things that really weren't an issue in good old marquette! After viewing many many apartments i narrowed it down to 2 that i truly was stuck on. Luckily Deanna flew into town the same day and i told both places that i would come back the next day to show her. I ended up picking the smaller of the two apartments (the other one was a huge with a fireplace, and a loft) and i'm so glad i chose like i did! I live in a place called carlyle mill...it's really upscale and expensive, but i got a great military deal on it...it's approximately 750 feet from the metro, right of 495 (the beltway), two metro stops from the airport, or a short 5-10 minute drive (with traffic behaving :)), across the street is a movie theater, starbucks, multiple restaurants, a whole foods, etc...It's very cozy, very city (i know those two contradict..but this place just has a good feel), and i've already met some other airforce people who showed Deanna and I around some sights (one of the guys is an airforce agent at the Pentagon). I feel very safe and happy here. I have a controlled access parking garage, a pool, movie theater, business center and 24 hour fitness center..it's all very nice.

Deanna and I had a lot of fun picking out stuff to decorate my new home with, and i don't know what i would have done without her! She's been a godsend with all of her knowledge and enthusiasm..as well as a sounding board for my indecisiveness. This is the first time we've ever really had an opportunity to really hang out just the two of us, and it's been such fun to realize how alike we really are. :) I still don't have any furniture in my apartment (waiting for it to be delivered as well as my storage stuff), but i have a fabulous kitchen, fabulous air mattress, and a fabulous red wall courtesy of Deanna's painters inc. :)

I am loving it here, thought it is VERY cold for my wardrobe (winter coats are in storage!), I am in love with the History of Alexandria, of DC, and with the amount of things to do. I cannot wait until my job is settled, but i can already tell that living here will be a truly great experience. Love and miss you all...with email with my new address ( so nice to feel remotely settled!)