Andrews AFB

So, after all the deliberation we had gone to over Travis AFB vs. McGuire AFB, the military did what the military does and switched everything on us.  We are now departing from JBER on March 15th to Andrews AFB.  Andrews is just outside of Washington, DC on the Maryland side, and just across town from the boy's sisters, which is nice, but the job at McGuire was Shaun's dream job and I applied to two Jersey medical schools just because he was going to be there.  Oh, well, it is what it is.

We're also rethinking our wedding plans.  We never wanted to be one of those couples who get married just for the benefits, but we were planning on getting married in June anyways.  If we keep with that plan, I will have to stay on the lease and keep paying for our current apartment after we move, because I will not be on the orders.  And that's just in addition to how complicated the whole process of moving and everything else will be.  Right now, we're considering keeping our 'wedding' in June, but going ahead and getting the paperwork and everything done while we're still here.  It seems to be the best of both worlds, but we're not sure how everyone will take it.  Thoughts?

Fingers crossed!

As of about an hour ago, I have officially applied to medical school.  I've applied to Morehouse, SUNY - Buffalo, Marshall, both UMDNJ campuses, Florida State, Northeastern Ohio and Wright State.

The entire application process was really daunting - you write one application (courtesy of AMCAS) for all of your schools.  And that's really great, except it's hard to tailor your essays and work experience to each individual school.  They allow you to send certain letters of recommendation to certain schools (which I guess makes sense if you have lots of connections), but the material that's really in your hands is just what it is.  For example, Marshall only accepts residents of West Virginia, or people with "strong ties" to the state.  Well, my dad, his dad, his mom, and both of my great grandmothers were born and raised in the same town as Marshall.  But is that listed anywhere on my application? Nope. Instead, my grandmother's sister (an instructor at the non-medical side of Marshall) is going to let them know I'm from "good Huntington stock".  It just seems so bizarre that they can have these hand-wavy requirements, and then give you no way to justify them.  The school system is seriously broken.

But regardless, I have applied.  Aside from keeping up on my letter-writers and making sure my transcript gets in, it's out of my hands.  Wish me luck!

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood..."

Yesterday, the boy and I were given something I'm sure most military couples would kill for - a choice of duty station for our next PCS.  The options right now are Travis AFB (California) and McGuire AFB (New Jersey).

It's tough, because his brother is currently stationed at Miramar NAS, which is not particularly close to Travis, but it's a heck of a lot closer than they've been for the past three years (Alaska vs. Italy, yikes!).  Meanwhile, McGuire is relatively close to both of his sisters (and nieces and nephews) in Maryland, on top of the fact that we were initially aiming for the east coast.  We had initially thought that, since the east coast has a lot of medical schools and air force bases, our odds would be better, but now I'm not sure if I'll get into medical school this year.  If this is the case, it might be smarter to move to California for a year, gain residency, and have a better chance of being accepted into one of their eight MD schools.

It seems that the pros and cons for each are about the same.  Any thoughts?

In which my cat is alarmingly tolerant...

The story begins last Tuesday, when we were retrieving Amy from the vet after her spay.  I knew they would have to shave some of her belly (it is a surgery), but I was completely unaware of the hilarity that goes along with that.  In actuality, they shaved most of her tummy, leaving her in what appeared to be a little furry bikini.

My first thought upon seeing this was, of course, "But what if she gets cold?!"  Cue my knitting prowess!  I jumped on Ravelry, and found this wonderful pattern by Christine Landry.  This pattern was awesome because instead of giving a gauge, specific weight of yarn and some vague sizes that may not be what you were looking for, it gives you the opportunity to choose your yarn, needle size and gauge, and configure the pattern to your cat's exact size.  Of course, I made mine a tiny bit big since Amy did just get spayed and there's a good chance she'll put on a little weight now.

The result is fabulous.  I've yet to put on sleeves, but that's okay for now.  I have no idea how I'd get it on her then!  She got surprisingly used to it in the four hours we had it on her.  I think this project was a success.

Of wedding rings and forget-me-not's...

So, today my boy took me to the local wedding expo.  It's unlikely that we'll be able to get married here in Alaska, since we don't even have the money for a ring as of yet, let alone a wedding, and we're leaving in March for (probably) the east coast.  But it was an opportunity for us to do some pricing and start deciding what we want.  It's insane how expensive weddings are ($22,000 on average?!), but we really want to have a 'real' wedding of sorts.  A friend of mine had a courthouse wedding with a party afterward, and that's sort of the direction we want to go, but to have a (short, simple) formal ceremony and a (small) traditional reception.  We're thinking a guest list of about 50, but the budget is still looking to be around $5000.  I do plan to make most of my centerpieces and decorations myself, but we're still looking at ways to cut costs.  Any ideas?

Hello world

The world really is an amazing place.  Just look at this picture I snapped when overlooking the Harding Icefield, just outside Seward, AK.  Just four hours of hiking each way, through lush Alaskan rainforest, desert plateaus and snow-covered switchbacks, we saw a mama bear and her cubs, a couple of posing marmots, and possibly the most beautiful scene in the whole world - three hundred square miles of ice, feeding as many as forty glaciers.

I have no idea who will read this blog, if anyone ever will.  But whoever you are, I hope you find the world as beautiful as I do.