…as to why I hate the military. Has your husband’s approved leave ever been taken away? Joe’s was taken away this week, partly due to him not keep track of his shit and we have now forfeited $600 that we shelled out to go here:
We were suppose to spend our three day weekend in Istanbul. Instead, I will be spending it with these monsters:
Joe just had a three week TDY to Africa – mostly Burkina Faso. He was able to fly a lot and buy interesting things. He came back this weekend with a sunburn and smile on his face. His first request was McDonalds and some sleep. Needless to say, the boy was happy to be home.
Every now and again Joe has to drive four hours to work one hour a day for a week. He stands out in a field with a walkie talkie telling the airplanes when they can drop stuff to the ground. This place is effectively called “the drop zone”. After several TDYs where I complained about having to watch the dog while he was gone, he decided to take the beast with him. Lucy was living the high life – running out in an open field, chasing balls and picking up large sticks. While they were there, they ventured off to Nuremberg, the place famous for the Nuremberg trials where Nazis were convicted of their crimes.
Nuremberg:
The beast and her kingdom:
Joe’s buddy from Pilot training was in town for two weeks and wanted to see some of Europe. The first weekend they decided to go to Luxembourg. The highlights included Patton’s grave and eating at Chi Chi’s. Here are some pictures of Joe and Todd’s trip.
It finally happened! After a year of applying, I finally landed a GS job here. Which means NO MORE BANK! And most importantly no more working Saturdays! I start this Monday as a Budgetary Analyst, meaning I work with Joe’s squadron and we will more than likely be working in the same building. We may get sick of each other…
Besides getting a good job, the best part about a GS job is once you’re in the system and work for them for a year, they are suppose to give you a job at your next base if you want one. Meaning, if we end up in good ol’ Abilene, Texas (please for the love of god, DO NOT SEND US THERE) I should be able to get a job at the same pay level. I basically have Joe to thank for this job, as he heard from the guy who was hiring that it was available and he basically harassed the guy for four months until the job was posted. I was almost to the point of giving up on this job and started applying for other finance jobs on base and wouldn’t you know I had two interviews on the same day, only to be offered both jobs. While I am extremely thankful for Joe helping me get this job, I was happy to know I was able to get one on my own without any help. When word spread around the bank people wanted some tips on how to get an interview. I actually heard this from another wife who was successful, so I thought I would pass it along.
First and most importantly, your resume needs to be extremely detailed. Forget everything they taught you in school. A one page, concise resume is not going to work. List every single little thing you did at your previous jobs. Even if it was ordering office supplies, put it in there! In the end, my resume ended up being four pages.
Second, use key words. Find key words in the job posting and use them in your resume. Since all of the resumes are key word searched this is crucial.
Third, make sure you apply correctly. For several months I was not applying correctly and had no idea. Make sure you attach all of the documents they require. Then follow up on the site and make sure it says “completed” or you are basically wasting your time.
Fourth, try as hard as you can to find out who is doing the hiring. If you find them, politely introduce yourself to them and let them know you are interested in the job. You never know, it may lead to the job.
Last but not least, do not give up! There were several times I wanted to give up and Joe kept pushing me to keep trying. It will take a while, so be patient.
Also known as the drop zone, where Joe will vanish for a week at a time. Joe’s job at the drop zone is signaling the pilots when to drop their cargo to the ground. Exciting, I know. I wanted to share some of the pictures he took that I found on our camera.
And a tank?
Moving to Germany has been difficult at times. It can be hard not to compare here to the States but sometimes it can’t be helped. Some things we miss about the states:
* Buying EVERYTHING in dollars – the euro rate is .65 right now, which is the worst it’s been since we got here. The only thing more annoying than the euro rate is the inability to use our credit cards.
* Target – recently a new BX/PX opened up on base and it is massive and yet, it still sucks. Don’t get me wrong, it is much better than the old BX (base exchange) but it doesn’t hold a candle to Target.
* Food – any kind of food you can get in America you can’t get here. A lot of the restaurants we have found are a lot of the same things – pizza, pasta, french fries, sausage and schnitzel. I plan on loading up on delicious Mexican food when I go back next month.
* TV – yes, there is the Armed Forces Network but it still doesn’t give you all the shows you crave – like True Blood or Project Runway.
* Grocery Stores – specifically grocery stores not on base that are inundated with people at all times. It is so worth paying taxes on your groceries to not have to watch out for screaming kids and slow Germans taking up the whole aisle.
* Jobs – while the job market isn’t exactly hot in the states right now, the ability to find a decent job on post has been incredibly stressful. I am thankful I have a job right now, even if it means working almost every single Saturday.
Knowing what we know now about Germany, I honestly believe we would have chosen differently. Instead of being upset about it, we realize we have only 2.5 years left and we’re going to travel and enjoy ourselves as much as possible and pray the time flies by.
In America you have Craigslist. In Germany, Americans have Heidelberg/Bamburg/Ramstein/Mannheim/Stuttgart Yardsales.
This is the place to buy other people’s crap and get rid of your own. We’ve purchased everything from a treadmill to my car on yardsales.com. When we needed to get rid of a box spring we had over 12 people email us within an hour of posting. The boxspring was gone less than a couple of hours later. People I work with have talked about being addicted to searching for the most random stuff on the website. It’s a great place to find a deal or to waste some time.
This weekend Joe took part in the 65th anniversary of Operation Market Garden. Operation Market Garden took place during WWII and is considered the largest airborne operation of all time. Joe was a drop zone controlling officer, which means he told planes when to drop the soldiers. There were approximately 100,000 people who came to see the show.
My view of the airdrop:
Joe’s better view:
The crowd:
The famous bridge allies were not able to secure from Germany:
A great thing about living overseas is we are able to receive packages via the United States Post Office or via APO (Army Post Office). If I want my Gnu fiber bars, which they don’t have at the Commissary, I am able to order them online and have them in Germany within about a week. There is a size and weight limit to what we can send. Furniture and what not obviously is not going to be shipped over here via the post office but I was able to ship my 32″ flat panel TV, which my husband plays video games on non-stop.
APO shipping was not something I was familiar with before moving here and apparently a guy in customer service SHIPPING DIVISION for Restoration Hardware hadn’t either.
“Hi, I’m trying to order a lamp shade on your site but it told me to call. I need the …My address is PSC # Box ### APO AE.”
“What is APO. What state is that?”
“It’s not a state, it’s for the military. I live in Germany.”
“Oh, I’m sorry ma’am but we don’t ship internationally.”
“I know. I’m not asking you to ship internationally.”
“Ok, so where do you want to ship it?”
“APO AE.”
“I’m sorry ma’am, but where is that?”
“Germany but it’s a military address.”
It went on like that for ten minutes. I explained to him that Restoration Hardware only ships their item to New York and the military takes care of the rest. You would think someone who works in the shipping section of customer service would know what APO is but I guess that is asking too much. Eventually, he asked his manager after saying “I’m pretty sure we don’t ship there but I’ll ask my manager.” After being on hold for a while he came back, apologized for being a moron and my lamp shade arrived less than a month later.
I honestly do not know what I would do without APO shipping.
