Things I Forgot

So I forgot a few things yesterday. I had so many things to try to remember. At least it kept my post "short and sweet". :) Roger got a promotion at work two weeks ago. We are very happy about that. It's nice to know you are appreciated and to be compensated for it. His work is also starting a 10,000 steps a day program. They all received their pedometers yesterday. We went for a walk last night after dinner to see how many steps my typical cool down from race walking might be and it was sad. Roger is going to have to walk a lot, all day long to get 10,000 steps. I'll walk with him in the evenings to help. At least he's getting some exercise. He starts physical therapy again soon so that will add a little more exercise. And I made a new friend at the pool last Friday morning. He's a biology teacher and curriculum developer at Texas School for the Deaf. Yes, he's Deaf, but reads lips very well. Which is good because I think I used the wrong, but close, sign for "interesting". But he could read my lips and knew what I was saying instead of signing. And he was super excited to know I knew a lot of sign language plus I swim regularly because he tried talking me into swimming with him and his wife and three other teammates in a 12 mile open water swim relay this Saturday at Lake Travis. I had to decline because of previous engagements but it sounded really interesting. Remember we're not adding anything new to October so we have time to get the house ready for the market. He asked me if I might be interested in doing it next year and I am. So that will be three athletic events next year I already have planned. And this one I'll have to join the American Swimming Association. I had to join USA Triathlon to participate in triathlons. I don't think I'll be adding any more other athletic associations after this.

I got promoted!!!

I'm going to make this quick... I got promoted today to Sergeant First Class (E-7). Tamra came this morning to take pictures for me (thanks again Tamra). The company commander pinned me (or velcro'd me.) Anyway, this was three years in the making. Thank God!!

Sign of things to come?

I showed up at WRAMC for my 0900 appointment with my Social Worker and guess what? My SW has been out all week. I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come… When I went back to the building where all the Case Managers were, they were all gone to some ceremony. Seems to me that at least one should stay behind – they all just up and left. I checked in to see if my orders assigning me to WRAMC came in yet and they hadn’t. And my promotion orders didn’t come in either. I poked my head in the housing office to see if I could at least get my room, but that person was out too. My day was really beginning to feel like a downer. I checked into my platoon’s office and checked my email and such. I decided to look in the housing office one more time and success! I got a room assigned and went off to check it out. It is in what appears to be a recently renovated building because it sure didn’t look old. My room is on the third floor and will do nicely for a few months. I’ll have more details on the room when I move in after Friday. The only issue I have is that the last person didn’t do a very good job of cleaning it. So, before I move in I’ll be giving it a good scrub down to make it meet my standards.

When I was checking out my room, my Case Manager called me to see if I was still in the area. I was and went by the office to drop off some paperwork and found out that I have an appointment with my new Primary Care Manager (PCM) tomorrow at 1530. So, I’m going to go to my work in the morning to turn in my pager and badge, finally sign my NCOER and if the orders come in, get my E-7 pinned on (or velcro’d on) and grab some lunch. Then I’ll make my way to WRAMC for my appointment. Tomorrow night I have to gather everything up again to prepare to relocate. If you’re free and want to hang, give me a shout – I might be able to use a little help and it’d be nice to not be alone.

Allison picked me up tonight and we had dinner with a bunch of friends who live together from the church. They really did a great job of cooking! They do it every Wednesday night, so I might make this a regular thing. Thanks to all of you at the community house for dinner! And thanks to Kezia for the ride home. Another long day tomorrow – off to bed with me. BTW: I am feeling much better on my meds. I think the extra rest I’ve gotten over the past few days has helped, but my tummy is still a little uncomfortable. That should pass in time though… I hope!

Easy Day Today, Unknown In Store Tomorrow

Not a whole lot to report today. I had a hard time going to sleep again last night. This morning I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out where my evaluation was. Even though my NCOER was reportedly signed by everyone except for me, there must have been some kind of change or it got lost, because the completed NCOER is apparently now on somebody’s desk to be reviewed... again. Soooo…. when the powers that be finish reviewing it, everyone will sign it - and someone is supposed to call or page me to let me know that I can come by to sign it.

With that all figured out, I was finally able to call Tamra to pick me up and we made our way back down to Fort Belvoir. I made it through every step of the medical checklist except for the review with the doctor. They only do these out-processing reviews Mon thru Wed and Fri from 1300-1400 and Thu from 0700-0830. Well, tomorrow is Thu – so guess what that means? By bootie has to get up extra early because Tamra will be here at 0700 to pick me up. Tamra has to be at WRAMC in the afternoon, so we are hoping that we can finish up at Fort Belvoir pretty early and then make our way to WRAMC where I expect I’ll need to go next to continue the process. I really don’t know what’s going to happen when I talk to the doctor. I know that they’re going to see that I need to be put on medical hold, but I have no idea how they’re going to do it. I’ll have all the details on how that goes tomorrow. And hopefully my work calls to say that my NCOER is ready to be signed, so that we can stop there on the way to WRAMC and finally cross that off the list.

After getting back to the apartment, I had to tend to some more emails and also worked on a paperwork issue related to my pending promotion. I’m hoping that I’ll be promoted soon! I went to a farewell this evening for dear friend Erika, who is going to San Antonio for a few months for some military training. She’s a good friend of mine and Holly’s, so she and Holly might get together since she’ll only be about 80 miles away. In fact, she’s going to a school at a location that I’ve been to – so I know for sure it is a quick drive.

Okay – I’m heading off to bed now. I need to get up around 0530. Goodnight.

Good News All Around

Well, we have lots of good news from all around. As you know, my dad went home from the hospital Tuesday afternoon. My mom says he cat naps all day, but he needs a lot of rest. I talked to him yesterday and he says he and his legs get tired very easy. I'm a tad confused with this, but they sent him home with no medications. I asked my mom many questions regarding this but she didn't ask upon his release about meds. Just seems strange to me that a person who just had the serious surgeries and close to death experience that my dad did would be released from the hospital without medications. Anyway, my sister Heather and niece Elizabeth are there today and tomorrow to harass my dad and ensure he's doing what he's supposed to do.

We spoke with our friends John & Tamra Rich this afternoon and Tamra's mom Cheri is doing much better. She is awake and alert and talking some what. She is still heavily sedated and needs lots of rest. Please continue to pray for her.

Roger found out from his First Sergeant this afternoon that he has been added to the promotion selection list for Sergeant First Class. Which means it's pretty much a done deal that he will be promoted. Perfect timing. He was very excited to hear this news. He was waiting for this information for a while. He submitted his packet at the end of January and hadn't heard anything until today.

Okay, I'm getting the look from Roger. I need to get off this computer. We have a few more errands to run before the rain hits. Tonight we will finish finalizing the packing and hopefully mock the trailer load in the dining room. Please pray we get everything done and it all goes smoothly!