the id, the ego, & the single misfiring brain cell

my life at the moment

My life has taken on a surreal quality. Almost everything is perfect, and the clock is ticking.

I officially finished the second master's several days ago, then spent a few days making sure the AF had proof I'd finished it on time. Then I scrambled a bit to get in touch with a sponsor for Izmir.

The sponsor is the person who meets you at the airport, drives you around, books you a room, takes you to work, gets you settled in. It's nice in the States, but in foreign countries, it's quite nice, as you might imagine. I didn't need much from my sponsor, but knowing that someone would be there to pick me up in a country where I don't speak the language after a 22-hour plane ride* seemed rather important. And having a hotel room waiting would be nice, too.

* B'cuz normally I would speak the language.

Turns out--as I suspected--my sponsor attempted to contact me as soon as my order were cut. He/she (Shannon?) failed, of course, because S. used the us.af.mil global account I have no access to (see earlier rants if you're interested, but it isn't that gripping). I finally found a phone number on militaryonesource.com to HQ Combined Command Izmir (where I'll be stationed) and called them. I was put through to the general's aide de camp, who assured me (after taking down my civilian email address) that someone would contact me shortly. And S. did. The next day, I think.

S. offered reservations at the Swissotel Grade Efes or the Hilton. Woah. Really?

I took the Swissotel. (Seriously...check it out.)

I then asked what I'll be doing there. Shannon wrote back that I would be Section Head of Future Operations and Exercise.

Really?!

Let's recap: I'm going to paradise. They're going to put me up in a five-star hotel until I can find something more personal. My job will be one of the few dream jobs the AF offers officers, in my opinion. My job will be playing war games, essentially. Le wow.

So here I am, finished with everything I had to accomplish, waiting for the door to open on the next chapter. I have five days left. I have my final acupuncture appointment on Thursday afternoon, then will spend the evening with Cheryl and Peachy (two great friends from my teaching days). The moving company will come by Friday morning to pick up the few things I'm taking. Mich will be there to meet them while I go to Buckley and do my final outprocessing. I go in for my final massage on Saturday afternoon. Monday morning, Michelle takes me to the airport.

With no segue whatsoever, we went to Cheyenne last weekend to see Rhonda and say goodbye. While there, I managed to lose my Kindle, on which I'd already carefully amassed a sizeable collection of books I want to read. Yesterday, on the way to Breckenridge, having exhausted all good possible locations* and having called Rhonda and found no joy, I signed onto Amazon and ordered a second Kindle, quite certain that this would insure an almost instant miraculous finding of the original lost item.

* B'cuz I checked them all a dozen times apiece under the superstitious assumption that the Kindle had just magicked itself there somehow or maybe there was a hidden pocket the bags I've had for years which I miraculously found over the weekend and into which I secreted my Kindle, then promptly forgot about again.

Aaaaaannnnnd...it worked. Rhonda called last night to tell me she'd found my Kindle and will send it to me. Now I'll have two: one for home, one for work.

Oh yeah. Breckenridge.*

* I would insert a more awkward transition here, but nothing springs to mind.

We have a timeshare up here at the Grand Lodge, so we came up for three days to pamper ourselves. And when I say "pamper," I mean sleep all we want, play in the sauna and Jacuzzi, laugh a lot, and eat good meals.

I know y'all have been wondering what's going on with me, so this post is for you. I'm doing well. Everything is great. I don't want to leave Colorado, and I don't want to leave Mich, but I'm about to enter a new chapter of my life and there's something intensely exciting and inspiring about that.

So you see...I'm a mess, but a good mess, for a change. ;)

Y'all be good.

d