Busted flat in Baton Rouge...

Ok, so maybe I am not in Baton Rouge exactly, but there aren't any songs that I am familiar with that have the name Bossier City in it.  So I put a little bit of Janice Joplin in there.  I left Sheppard yesterday morning.  We had our dining out (picture above)and graduation on Thursday night.  To be totally honest, I went into it thinking my Thursday evening could be spent much more productivly either packing, or getting ready to leave Sheppard, but going to the dining out, meeting my new commander, and seeing all of my HSA classmates looking and feeling happy as they were was surprisingly fulfilling.  When Maj. Cullison, our course director, called each of us up for the graduation 'ceremony', I found myself feeling very good about the whole thing.

My flight, Alpha flight (yes, i was in alpha flight this time too just like I was in COT), won the overall athletic award.  SWEET!  The next morning, Friday morning, we all met up at the schoolhouse again for some final briefings and farewells.  I was a little taken aback by my reaction.  I actually got teary.  I was surprised at how much I realized I was going to miss some of the people that I was leaving.  Some of these people I had gone through COT with as well, which pretty much meant that we were stuck together for the past 4 months in anything but a 'normal' environment, and we became close.  One person in particular I became very good friends with.  He restored my faith in people really.  He is someone who doesn't drink, enjoys discussing books we've both read, loves tea, is intellegent enough to discuss philosophy and social issues, and likes watching documentarys on the Discovery channel, just like me.  It was really nice to be able to share some down time with someone I had so much in common with, and wasn't interested in how much drinking we could get in and still do PT the next morning.  He cooked too.  Have mercy, that boy could cook a meal.  I will miss him especially. 

So now, I will start my life here in Louisiana.  I am in a hotel right now, which is not the nicest place on the planet but it's warm and clean, and a home of my own will soon follow!  Woo hoo!

The begining of the end

It's Sunday, and tomorrow begins my last week here at Sheppard.  I went out early this morning to Target for my last purchase of water for my room, some warmer waterproof gloves for an upcoming exercise and my Starbucks hot chocolate.  YUMMY!

Then I needed to go to Lowes an buy a water hose for my washing machine which broke before I left Florida.  Actually, the hard water in Florida simply made it impossible to unhook it from the wall so I just left it there and bought a new one.  So it will stay in my car until I get to my new home!  On my way to Lowes, I passed one of the restaurants that some of us in HSA frequented, The Texas Roadhouse.  I had never heard of it until I got here, but turns out it is a chain.  Very good food.  I found myself a little sad when I passed it.  I am going to miss going there with the gang. We had a lot of laughs there.  Good memories.

Louisiana is giong to be great.  I am going to be working in Logisitcs.  It was a one in 6 shot where I would be put to work, and logistics will probably be a challenge.  Not the most feminine of duties, but one that I would have had to learn eventually so it will be fine to get it out of the way in this first assignment.  I will be heading up a Mil Con project (military construction).  Hee hee.  It oughta be interesting.  I wonder if they make steel toe combat boots in a size 3 XW. 

Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving weekend.  It's been a long while since my last entry back in September.  HSA school is almost over, and even though graduation is only about a week away, I decided to fly home to Florida for Thanksgiving.  I paid way too much for a plane ticket, but I would have paid more to see my family as I got to do yesterday and today.   There are some things just more important than money. 

I have enjoyed HSA for the time that I have been here, and for sure it doesn't feel like it's been almost 3 months that I have been in Texas.  This is a good thing.   It sure helps to be having a good time where you are.  One of the best parts about HSA has been the PT in the morning (if you can believe that!).  But we did our normal running, pushups, and situps 3 mornings per week, but then we played volleyball in teams right afterwards.  I had such a blast playing volleyball.  I pretty much sucked at it, but it was an awful lot of fun.  Spurred some great, healthy competition between the flights.  We had our final PFT (Physical Fitness Test) on Wednesday (right before turkey day), and I did well.  At least as well, if not better than I had done in COT. 

Academically, HSA was not as intimidating as I had anticipated it to be, and I was quite pleasantly surprised to find such a large group of bright young (and some older) people all in one place.  Sure there are one or two that you find yourself wondering how they ever even made it past the 0-6 interview, but you get that in every group I suppose.  Then there are one or two that I have come to know, respect, and care an awful lot for as well in the time I have been here.  The past 4 months between COT and HSA have been anything but normal, and you just tend to get close to those who have shared similar experiences.  Generally speaking, the folks I have been here with are well above average.  Instructors too, which surprised me.  Very sharp individuals.  Some can be a bit hard-nosed, but nothing you don't get over a few minutes after your nerves have been tested.  Of course, as I have gotten older, I have chosen my battles more wisely.   

For now, I am going to get to bed.  I have the most pathetic flight schedule tomorrow for the trip back to Texas.  I will be in 5 different airports by the time I get home.  But the good news is that parking at the Airport in Wichita Falls is only $2.00.  How un-real is that???

 

 

Hi Y'all

I am here in Wichita Falls Texas.  Sheppard AFB.  HSA school.  I found the Starbucks.  Things are good.  I have been here for just over a week now, and the class is going well.  There are even a few other officers that were in COT with me that are now here and I am getting to know better.  We have a relativley small class (34 folks or so) compared to some of the other HAS classes, but I prefer that anyway. 

PT here (Physical Training) is better than it was at COT.  Instead of getting up at 0400 for it, we get up at 0500.  Amazing how relative time becomes, ain't it?  PT consists of a 30 minute run and 3 games of competitive volleyball.  I only played volleyball once in my life.  I was stationed in Germany at the time, and about 38 seconds into the game, someone served a ball and it hit me in the face and broke my nose.  And my glasses.  I haven't played since.  So, I was a little nervous about the whole volleyball thing, but I played and even scored a few points during serves. 

My Florida blood is not used to the cool nights and even cooler mornings here.  As the month rolls on and we get closer to winter, I am actually feeling cool most of the time.  I don't like cold.  Never have, not likely to ever will.  But, that is ok.  I have a coat.  And a sweater.  And socks.  So again, life is good. 

I am meeting some nice people in class, and since the entire MSC (Medical Service Corps) is pretty small, we will all likely run into each other again in the future.  We all eat together in the evenings and sometimes during lunch.  The days are a bit shorter, but the workload (and information for class) is more extensive.  But so far I have been doing well, and even enjoying myself.  After all, I found the local Starbucks. 

*whew*

COT is finally over!  Life is good!  And, I am down to 102 pounds, which by itself is reason enough to be happy.  However, I graduated from COT and things are really good.  I am on my way to Sheppard AFB in Texas, and after leaving Montgomery Alabama yesterday, (just in time as it turns out, they were SLAMMED by hurricaine Ivan mere hours after i got out of there) I am now in Shreveport Louisiana.  I figured i would stop by my new base, Barksdale, where I will be stationed come December and check things out.  I am encouraged.  There are a lot of growing areas, and some decent areas to live as well.  I found the Target and the Starbucks so I could be very happy with that.  

Sleeping in a real bed, in a real room felt very good last night.  And the pedicure I had today felt even better.  My muscles are still sore from the events of the past weeks to include our field exercise and Confidence Course (obstacle course), but I shant let myself go!  I will do more pushups and situps this evening so I don't loose my stride.  I will take off from here tomorrow morning for my drive to Wichita Falls, Texas.  Which is only about 6 hours from where I am now. 

Graduation day was really spectacular.  The only unfortunate thing was that because of the storm, they were closing the airports and the interstates, and many of my classmates family memebers were not able to make it to graduation.  Either way, we graduated that afternoon in a fairly simple ceremony, during which I found out that my flight was HONOR FLIGHT (because Alpha flight RULES), and that evening we had our formal Dining Out.  It was great to see everyone in their Mess Dress uniforms.  Even the FTO's (Flight Training Officers) were there and looking good.

I am only one day post graduation and already the memories are fading.  But I know that overall, I had a good time, I got a lot out of it, and I came in contact with some really great people, that I know I will miss, and hope to see again eventually during my Air Force career. 

Here I am

I have been here at COT for two weeks now and I have survived.   I don't want to say it's been hell, really, but it has been a process of acclimating.  A very UN-pleasant proceess of acclimating.  But what can you do.  You take the good with the bad.  To me, bad is getting up at 0415 to do PC (workout).  I enjoy working out, but I feel somewhat less than enthusiastic about doing it at that time of day.  And I use the term "Day" very loosely.  To me 0415 is still "the night before". 

I feel my age here as well.  I never felt 34 till I got here.  Now I do.  I am very glad I have been working out on my own for the past year and a half.  I would have been in some serious trouble if I hadn't done that. 

Meanwhile, I have about 3 more weeks till graduation, and while I have moments where it feels like a prison sentence, there are other moments when I look back on the previous two weeks and say "where did it go?".  I hope these next three weeks just fly by.  That would be sweet. 

Time is limited here at COT and I will write more as time allows. 

Sitting in the Hotel

So here I sit in Dothan Alabama.  The Marriott here is decent, thank goodness.  I had my doubts driving here, I must admit.  This town is not South Florida.  But it has it's charm, I am sure.

I have just started feeling a bit nervous about the start of COT tomorrow. I called my girlfriend Laura and spoke to both her and her husband, both of whom have already been through COT recently.   They both did thier best to put my mind at ease.  I suppose I shouldn't be surprise at my nerves.   But I at least it only started now, and not weeks ago.  I would be in serious trouble. 

On the drive up here from West Palm I saw a sight I was not completely prepared for.  Hurricaine Charley paid a nasty visit to Florida (just missing us in Palm Beach, thankfully).  But while driving up north on the Turnpike, there was a about a 60 mile stretch from just south of Orlando to about South of Ocala which was just torn up.  There was a diagnal path of trees down, houses with their roof's ripped off, and turnpike road signs and power towers just shattered like they were toothpicks.  It was mind boggeling.     With the stress of COT weighing on my mind right now, I knew if I didn't jot this memory down, I would likely forget.  I didn't want to forget.

It's about 6pm and my body clock says 7pm because I am now in Central Time.  I am almost ready for this whole thing to just start already so I can just get ON with it, you know?  Hopefully I will be able to find time to post entries after tomorrow!

Six days to go

I can't believe it's down to the final week already.   Seems like only yesterday I received my assignment and class start date.   At this point, I am eager to just get going with this already. 

On Friday night, I had dinner with a few friends from my old office.  I can't believe that even though I have been gone for almost 5 weeks, that everyone who was told about it (with the exception of one) was able to come.   I guess I kind of thought that after 5 weeks, most folks wouldn't even remember my name, let alone come to a dinner to say "ciao". A dutch dinner at that!  So I was humbled to say the least.  We went to PF Chang's in Boca and all was plesant.  One of my friends stopped a person outside the restaurant and asked him to take a picture of the group of us and he did.  I will likely get that picture emailed to me today or tomorrow and I can post it up here.

Right now, I am having a craving for Starbucks, so I must answer the demand!

homeless

So here I am.  It's 7:30am on Saturday morning and I am sitting on the couch with my laptop at my fathers house.  The movers came yesterday and took all of my things.  I hated to leave my house.  I loved my home.  I didn't expect to feel quite so melencholy.   I kept thinking how hard I worked to be abe to afford that house, and how wide open and roomy it was.  I did reasonably well on the sale of the house, and I am quite satisfied with that part, however, I still feel displaced.  Uncomfortable.  It is difficult to not have a space all your own.

It is a really good thing that my father and I get along as well as we do.  Two peas in a pod really.  I leave for Alabama and COT in 14 more days.  I am still VERY excited about it!

ahhh...the joys of moving

No one ever said that moving was easy...but when you are in the military, moving can require an entirely different set of organizational skills.  In my case, I am going on two consecutive temporary duty assignments prior to heading off to my permanent duty station in Louisiana.  Because of that, the movers are coming to pick up my household goods in 10 days, and I wont see my things again until I get to Louisiana...six months from now.  What that means is that I have to figure out what of my belongings I need to take with me that I can't go without for six months.  Which is actually more challenging than it sounds (or does it sound as challenging as it actually is?  Hmmm...)

To my advantage, I have a car, and I will be able to take more things with me than, say, someone who is going to be flying to thier destination.  But, having more room could lend itself to more problems too.  Taking that which I really don't need just because I have the room and whatnot.    Although, now that I have been working on it for about three days, things are starting to flow nicely.  I am feeling less stressed.  And, a great benefit of the military is that THEY will pack all of my things up for me (minus the items I am taking with me in my car).

The phone is ringing....More later! 

No turning back now!

My last day at Bank of America was today. How completely surreal and exciting!  I shed no tears.  Not because I was bitter or anything, I am just content and confident in my decision.  Today a door closed on a chapter of my life where I learned a tremendous amount.  No doubt I will carry those lessons through the open door that stands in front of me, and I will be a more successful person as I take this journey.

It was really a great 'last day'.  Other than the typical cleaning out of the desk that I was obligated to do (and, quite honestly, had started working on weeks before), myself, my boss, and 6 other co-workers took me out to lunch at Hooters.  It's a long story.  Hooters has just been sort of a tradition among those of us at the site, even though I am female.  Gotta tell ya though, lots of good looking men go to Hooters during lunch, and there are many more men to look at than large-breasted women (ladies, are you listening?).  After we got back to the office, the rest of the folks had a going away party for me and gave me an ice-cream cake from Carvel (my favorite!  LOVE those chocolate crunchies in the middle layer!), and a Sworvski crystal as a good-bye present.  It was all really very nice, and I walked out with my head held high while three of my co-workers stood outside and saluted me as I drove away.  It was a hoot.

So today was my first day of freedom and what better way to spend it than in Jury Duty.  LOL. I swear that is how I spent the first half of my day.  I didn't get picked, but it was my first time ever being called to jury duty and I found the whole thing very exiting.  Especially with the law school thing.  I felt sad that I wasn't still in law school.  But that feeling didn't put a damper on the exictement that I found in the whole process.

Tomorrow, my second day o' freedom will be spent much more productively.  I will be driving up to Patrick AFB to pick up my newly altered uniforms, and from there I will be driving to NY!  WOO HOO! 

 

 

Excitement, anticipation, nerves...

Today is July 3rd.  Which means tomorrow is July 4th.  I love July 4th.   I live in South Florida, and I happen to be in a very small town that has one of the best fireworks displays I have ever seen.  And what's even better is that I can see them right from my father's patio, so no crowds, mosquito's or annoying drunk people to ruin eveyone's fun.   I love the 4th of July.   

Of course, I have in my mind that this is going to be my LAST fourth of July here in south Floirda.  It's rather bittersweet.  I find that I am so excited about starting my new life in the Air Force that I don't quite know what to do with myself.  I go from being giddy, to being hesitant, to being confused, to being simply content.  My last day of work will be this coming Tuesday, and I am really looking forward to that.   But realistically, I have been going through the same routine of getting up at 5am, commuting an hour to work each morning, working all day, and commuting an hour back each night for the past six years.  Not doing that anymore will also take some getting used to.  But I have so much I have to do, like figuring out what I need to have for the next six months until I am settled into my new home.  Packing, the closing on my house, the list is endless actually.

I am going to take a road trip next week after my last day of work.  I am going to make my way up the coast and drive to NY.  Going to see a girlfriend from my childhood, and then on my way back down, I am going to stop in Charlotte and hopefully, see a friend from the company I work for now.  It will be nice to see him one last time, and to thank him for all the guidance he has provided to me over the time I have worked for the company.

Well, back to seperating out my belongings into piles of "take with" or "pack". 

I'm a-movin on up....

Today I recieved a call from my TMO office, and my household goods are officially slated for pick up and RIGHT ON SCHEDULE!  My last day of work is exactly one week from today and I am going to pick up my altered uniforms sometime next week.  Yippee!!

I love it when a plan comes together.  I am really looking forward to starting this new adventure and phase in my life.   I am really looking forward to my uniforms actually FITTING.  Go figure.  Uniforms that fit. Who'da thunk it?

Ladies and gentlemen....I QUIT!

My o' my.  Handing in my resignation was a lot more difficult than i thought it would be.  But, once it was over, I felt amazing relief.  I was practically falling asleep on the way home from the office.

I knew that I would have to wait until at least 11am EST because my boss was in Phoenix at the time, and that would make it 8am there.  Made for one heck of a long morning, i'll tell ya.  I was actually shaky.  I am still not sure why.   I am more than confident in my decision, but still.  There must have been something about having worked and succeded for the past 6 years in the same company that made this more stressful than say, giving notice after less than a year or something.    Anyway,  I sent my boss an email telling her to give me a call as soon as she was both near a phone and hooked up to the company's network.  I wanted to make sure that I sent her the email while we were on the phone together.  I didn't want her to read it without my actually being on the line with her.  It just seemed more appropriate.    So when I got a call from her at almost 11am, I figured she got my email.  Turns out, however, that she did not get my email.  She was calling from the airport in California on her way to Phoenix, but she was delayed, and needed some phone numbers from me.  UGH!  So i couldn't say anything.  This went on 4 more times between 11am and about 3:30 pm my time.  Each time the phone rang I was certain she was hooked up to the network, but she wasn't.   She finally arrived in Phoenix, got to the facility and hooked up to the network and called me.  I was actually shaking when I hit the 'send' button on my Outlook.  She told me she got it and to wait a second while she opened it up.  She began to read it out loud.  She got past the first several words..."it is with deep regret that I submit to you this letter of resignation..." before saying  "NO NO NO!!" really loudly.  I felt awful.  Once she regained control, she continued, occasionally stopping to add some sort of editoral comment like "Why couldn't you just be pregnant or something simple like that??". 

When she began the next paragraph about my reason for leaving and my acceptance into Commissioned Officer Training for the Air Force, the tone of the entire conversation changed.   She became proud of me. She said she understood and that she still loved me and that I could come back any time.  Sweet relief.  Of course, when she told our business executive, her initial reaction was "Why couldn't it have been one of my F---ing loosers who quit??"  Actually, a very sweet sentiment from a powerful executive if you think about it.   And she too, left the door open for me if I ever choose to return to the company. 

So my clock is officially ticking, and I am down to my final two weeks.  I am spending my time attempting to transition my projects to my colleagues, and with each successful transition, I become more and more excited about my final day.  Bittersweet as it may be.

Yee ha!

I finally got notice that my waiver was approved!  I am as good as on my way to Commissioned Officer Training in Alabama.

I am going to be turning in my resignation to work tomorrow.  THAT is pretty exciting.  A bit nerve-wracking too, but exciting nonetheless.  My boss is currently on the west coast, and being on the east coast, I wont be able to tell her until after 11am EST, but that's ok.  It will give me more time to hone my speech.  

Then, of course, comes the inevitible conversation with the managers of the facility where I am now.  I will ask my boss to keep the news to herself for at least an hour while I meet with them, and the project teams I am currently on.  Be interesting to see how this is going to go.  Tomorrow ought to be a very different kind of day.   Six years.  I can't believe I am leaving my company after six years.  On the other hand, I can't believe it's taken me six years to leave my company.

And so I wait...and wait...and wait...

I just loathe waiting.  I am supposed to give my notice TOMORROW, but I am at the mercy of waiting for an answer to my dreaded waiver question by my acessions officer.  Lovely.  I really wanted more than anything to be able to give my boss a face to face resignation.  Tomorrow is the only day she was planning on coming into the office for the next month.  Even worse, she will be traveling on the West coast for the next couple of weeks, and my last day of work needs to be June 18th.  If I don't give her my letter of resignation tomorrow, I wont be able to give it to her in person.  And I simply don't think that's right.  They deserve to get a resignation from me in person. 

So now the question of the day becomes, do I give my notice and risk getting a call from my accessions officer saying "sorry, things didn't work out" or do I give my notice knowing that he told me that 3 of the 4 approval channels have already been met and the likleyhood of the 4th approval coming through is very high?  OR...do I wait, and NOT give my notice so that I end up giving my notice over the phone?  Or via email?  None of the choices seem good to me.  But once again, I find my destiny lying in the hands of someone else, and a system that is not nearly as efficent as I am. 

Some good news...?

After speaking with my recruiter on Thursday of last week, I am feeling a bit more confident about getting my orders.  He assured me that the approval channels have all been cleared with the exception of the final one, which has only been delayed because the approval authority has been on leave.  He told me that I should have final approval tomorrow.    Which is slightly ironic considering that my promotion to Assistant Vice President with my company becomes effective tomorrow as well.   If my final approval for the Air Force comes through tomorrow, then I will be turning in my resignation letter sometime this week.   It's a nerve wracking thought. 

I have been with this company for over 6 years.  I realize that in the professional world (in this day and age), that pretty much amounts to overstaying your welcome.  Shows a fear of change.  I also know that no matter what happened with the Air Force, I would have had to look elsewhere eventually for the opportunites to move up in the world.  It's not that I am UN-happy with my company or my job, really.   It's just time to go.  It's the nature of the beast.  I look at all the executives who I know personally, and only ONE of them came from the ground up within the company.  All the rest came over from other fortune 100's and 500's.  And we, in turn, have lost some to other companies.   That's just the way it goes.  It's not a bad thing, I suppose.  And if it gets me where I want to go, so be it. 

The prospect of starting life anew is very exciting.  I am in a good place, and fortunete to have made the right choices previously that have enabled me to be able to make these kinds of choices now. 

I don't suspect the resignation conversation will go all that well.  I think my current boss is going to be saddened at the prospect of my leaving.  Quite frankly, that makes two of us.

And our next event...HURDDLE JUMPING!

And so it goes with the military... things can never go completely smooth.  What would the road of life be without a few bumps?  EASIER, THAT'S WHAT!  I have been working on this Officer Training deal since last August.  I have explained the detail of it all in previous entries so there is no need to go and explain it all again.  However, now there seems to be a 'snag' in some of my paperwork.  And the dreaded term, 'waiver' has been uttered.  *shudder* *shake*

While my accessions officer seems to think everything 'should' be ok, I can't help but worry a bit.  The reason for needing the waiver not being of grave importance to this entry, the stress of suddenly not knowing what the future holds IS the point.  I have been selected, I have been commissioned, I have sold my house, my stock options, and purchased over a thousand dollars in uniforms that have been altered already and can't be returned.  Now, like we are discussing the weather, I am informed of this 'snag'.  A 'snag' that could very well put the ki-bosh on my enchalada. This, my friends, is stress.   

Perhaps you will pardon me for a moment while I go meditate my blood pressure back into a safe range....  ooooohmmm   oooooohmmm. 

Thank you.

One thing is certain,  when I was told of the 'snag' I realized just how much I want this.  I have altered my mindset completely.  I have changed career directions.  Going full speed ahead...into a brick wall.  Sans airbags.

Now, I must do the hurry-up-and-wait-dance again for at least a week for some answers, and hopefully, providing the granting of the dreaded waiver, my orders.

 

Back and forth....back and forth

As mentioned in my last entry, I picked up some uniforms the last time I went up to Patrick AFB.  I get to go back up there this coming Wednesday and have those same uniforms altered, and have certain things sewn on as well (name tags and whatnot).  Some of the other items  I ordered have come in as well so I will be able to pick them up and get them altered too. 

I took vacation from work this week.  I figured, why not?  I get three weeks vacation a year, I have earned over a week already so I may as well take it, right? 

Time ticks on and I am at just over the three month away point.  And my run time/pushup's/sit ups are exactly where I need to be.  Even with a little room to spare.  If nothing else good came of this, it sure is nice being able to fit into all my old clothes again!

I am going to attempt to do some daytime runs this week since I am on vacation.   I figure, if I have to do it in Alabama in the summer, I may as well acclimate myself to doing it here in South Florida first.   Maybe even get come sun in the process!   Nothing like being prepared. 

That's LIEUTENANT Stillman to you!

So as of yesterday, April14th, I am officailly Lt. Stillman, USAF.  Hoo ya.  I had my commissioning ceremony up at Patrick AFB, in Melbourne Florida.  It was pretty cool.  A fast, simple cermony with a tremendous amount of meaning.  I was feeling pretty darn special when it was over.  After the commissioning, myself and the acessions Sgt. went into another office to finish up the signing of the necessay paperwork and once that was finished, he shook my hand and congratulated me.  Then, much to my surprise, he saluted me.  Pretty cool considering I was not even in uniform.  MY FIRST SALUTE!  So I saluted him back.  And there we stood.  Saluting each other.  We stood there for about 3 or 4 seconds or so, and then he says to me, "Uh...Lt. Stillman, you have to drop your salute before I can drop mine."  I started to crack up.  The rat!  I said to him, "you live for that, don't you?  You just wait for new officers to forget they are supposed to drop the salute first just so you can say that to them, don't you?"  "Yes, ma'am", he says.  Amazing.  My very first duty as an officer and I fail miserably.  I can garun-darn-tee you that it was a mistake I will only make once.  HOO YA!

O jambalya and the crawfish pie...

I finally recieved my official letter of congratulations on being accepted into the Air Force Medical Service as well as my first assignment base.   I am heading off to the bayou.   That's right folks, I am off to Barksdale AFB in Shreveport Louisiana.  I will be stationed there immediately following MSC school in December.   So it's Alabama for COT in August, Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, Tx for MSC school, the off to Barksdale for the remaining 2.5 years of my service commitment.   I have done some looking into the local area and the base itself, and i am encourged.  It looks promising.   The only thing so far that I have found a bit disheartening is that there is no NY and Co. in the area.   :(  At my size, when you find a clothing company that makes clothes that fit you, you tend to stick by them.   I guess I will have to drive to Dallas in order to buy my civilian clothes for awhile.  That's ok, Barksdale is only 3 hours from Dallas!  Sorry to all my friends who thought they'd be able to come stay with me during Mardi Gras, New Orleans is a good 6 hours from Shreveport.  That would be a hell of a drive each night.  :)

Where Am I Going??

So here we are.  Present day, January 18th, 2004.  I have been given a COT start date of August 17th, 2004.  COT (Commissioned Officer Training) takes place at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery Alabama.  It is a 5 week journey that takes you from being a civilian to being an officer in the US Air Force.  I have heard from two people who have been though it already, Laura and her husband Scott, and both say while it is not easy, that it is not as difficult as enlisted basic training was, and that it is very rewarding when it's over.  I have been doing what  I can to prepare physically for COT.  I run every day, (yes folks, that does mean 7 days a week), for 2 miles.  I come home, and do sit ups and push ups as well.   I have also been doing what I can to prepare mentally for COT.  That is always a challenge.  I thought I had done a fairly good job preping myself mentally for basic training 14 years ago.  But I got off the bus and didn't know what hit me, or what KEPT hitting me for that matter, for the next 2 months.   After COT, I will head off to Sheppard AFB, Texas, for HSA (Health Services Administration) school.  I will spend 4 months there learning the tricks of the trade.  After Texas, I have no idea where  I will be going.  I am hoping to find out my assignment this week.  Once I find out my assignment, I will be having my commissioning ceremony as well. 

I have not told the company that I am leaving yet.  Being that I am not going until August, I felt it would be a wasted effort.  It's just too soon.   I have decided to give them a month notice.  I will tell them on May 30th that my last day will be on June 30th.   I will then take the next month and a half to sell my home and prepare myself for COT. 

My next entry will hopefully be letting you know where my assignment will be!  I am hoping for somewhere in the Southeast of the US.  Somewhere warm!

My Decision

November 1, 2003.  Today I was told I was chosen as one of the lucky few to be given a commission in the Air Force.   Being selected was a beautiful thing.  However, in the several months it took for the military to finally make their decision, my career had started to take a very postive turn at my company.  I had develped a very good rapport with some of the influencial higher-ups, and they had taken a liking to me.  My line of business executive, was making it quite clear to me that she felt I was a worthwhile associate, and she saw great things for me.  Promotions and titles were being discussed, and timeframes were even being given.  I had also acquired a sort of mentor in another line of business executive who was very generous with his advice to me on how to move up and what I needed to do.   So now, here I was, strategically placed within the company, and being offered a position with the Air Force.   The Air Force offerred me more money and stability, but I had been with my company for five and a half years.  I had an established reputation, and what looked to me like the possibility of great things in an upper management position. 

There were worse postions to be in in life, I am sure.  And there are those out there who would love to be offered a shot at ONE great thing, let alone two.  But be that as it may, I was still torn.  Maybe it's the female in me, but I crave security and comfort.  I have never been a fan of change and have never taken too many chances.   But after hashing and rehashing with everyone who would listen to my plight, I finally spoke to my sister in law, Michelle (in the above picture with my brother Chuck).  Michelle is probably the most well rounded, intelligent, sophisticated woman I have ever met.  Her opinion means a tremendous amount to me.  While she didn't tell me which decision to make, she made me see things for what they were, and help clear away the cobwebs that were clouding my judgement.  I made the decision to go back into the Air Force as an Officer.  Hooo Ya.

 

Hurry Up and Wait.

Unlike when a person decideds to join the military as an enlisted member, as an officer, one must jump through hoops.  There were applications, letters of recommendation, tests, GMAT's physicals, multiple interviews, a board review, it just went on and on.  Then you learn that the competition is fierce.  There was something like 400 applicants for 40 slots and I was competing against those with masters degrees already, people younger than me, and those who were currently enlisted.   This part of the process took a full 4 months.  I truly didn't have a clue as to my real chances of being accepted into the military again, but just in case  I was, I kept up with my walking.  The walking turned to running.  The running led to more push-ups and sit ups, and for the first time in many years, I was able to move the clothes I had kept in the 'thin side' of my closet over to the clothes on the 'fat side' of my closet.  Heck, even if I didn't get chosen, this was turning out to be a pretty darn positive experience already.   Truth be told though, I was feeling pretty hopeful about getting accepted.   I think that if I was not selected,  I would acutally be dissapointed. 

My options

Here it was, Summer of 2003, and it was obvious to me that I wanted to further my education.  I don't wish to leave this world with anything less than a Masters degree.  But what would I study?  I wasn't thrilled with business (which was my undergrad course of study), because I found it boring.  And being that I was already thousands of dollars in debt from college, I knew that if I was going to continue further into debt, that it was going to be in a different major than business.  Maybe Communications, or Psychology.  Maybe even a science like Biology or Physics.  I found all of these areas anything but boring, even enjoyable.

My mind slowly went back to that conversation with Laura earlier in the year about going back into the military.  I would have to be out of my mind.  Although, I though to myself, the military has great education benefits.  And, I would be going in as an officer instead of enlisted, which is an entirely different world altogether.   But there was much trepidation in my thoughts.  I am not 19 any more.  I am 32. I haven't run in 9 years.  If I did a single pushup, I would probably have a coronary.   After laughing at that thought, and slowly realizing that, even if I wasn't in the military, that was pretty darn pathetic, I went home from work, and decided to go for a casual 2 mile walk.   After my walk, I felt pretty darn good about myself, and decided to do a push-up.  I was sore for the next 2 days.   On day three, I did 2 push-ups and decided to call Laura. 

  

The Law Degree that Never Was

Turns out, working full time and going to Law School full time didn't look good on paper, and it didn't work out in reality either.  It was a shame too, because I really loved law school for the semester that I went.  However, it was too much and I decided not to return in the fall.  Things were status quo at the Bank and I decided to just kick back and take a long hard look at my options.

A short background

That's me in the picture. First, a little background...In September of 1990, when I was 19 years old, and with a life that was going nowhere,  I decided to fly off 'into the wild blue yonder' and join the United States Air Force.  I went through basic training in San Antonio Texas, tech school in Wichita Falls, TX for medical administration, and ended up as a security police officer augmentee for the first two years of my enlistment due to my bases extended deployment to the desert.  Which, given the events of today, I now lovingly refer to as: Desert Storm, Act I.   Just to make sure I clear up any misconceptions here, I personally was not deployed to Iraq, although at the time I did volunteer to go (feeling invincible, perhaps?).  Instead I was filling a hole that was left by those who DID go to the desert.  In the military this is known as being used 'in support of' any given conflict that might be going on at the time.   I married soon after my enlistment, and in May of 1992, I left Texas and was stationed in Germany until I got out of the Air force in 1995.  I was divorced soon thereafter, and began my life/career journey that has ultimately taken me on a winding road through a couple of jobs, college, and even a short stint in Law School until I ended up where I am today.  In a junior level management position with a major corporation. 

Early in the year of 2003, while speaking to a friend, Laura, who is actually one of only 2 people I have kept in touch with from my time in the Air Force, we were discussing my recent acceptance to Law School, and her newly commissioned status in the Air Force, and she planted the seed in my head about the possibility of going back into the military now that I had a degree under my belt.   To be honest, I  had law school on the brain and my entire focus was on that, and the challenge that was sure to be great of working full time and going to law school full time.  After all, the mortgage doesn't pay itself.  Nonetheless, the seed had been planted and I began to consider the possiblity of the JAG corps upon my graduation from Law School.