[Turn it up...]

Ahh…yes, Alabama.

We’ll probably end up in Enterprise, AL – the closest town to base – where they celebrate the Boll Weevil.

No joke. They’ve even got a statue of one in their town square.

See?…There it is. And you thought I was kidding.

There’s actually a back-story to it – here cotton used to be king until that darned ol’ boll weevil moved to town & ravaged all the crops.

It forced the farmers to turn to peanuts…and thus began the ever-heralded boll weevil of Enterprise, Alabama.

[I think my IQ just dropped 80 points.]

But apparently somewhere outside of town there’s a “pick your own” farm. Kinda excited about that, actually & hoping it’s still in existence by the time we get there.

I’ll have to learn phrases like, “Roll Tide”….and listen to more Skynyrd.

Yep. Ala-freakin’-bama. Lord help me.

Moving 6 times in 7 years, I’ve come to pick up a thing or two. And every freakin’ time we have to move again I think, “there’s got to be an easier way”.

[This is where a good spiral notebook comes in handy - small & portable.]

The first step to figuring out just what that easier way is, is to break it down in chunks – think through every step of the journey. So for example, here’s how our move back to the States is gonna work:

1. Getting ready to move
2. Getting Maggie on a cargo plane
3. Our flight back home with Kitten (the howler)
4. Arriving at DFW & picking up Maggie
5. Staying in a hotel in DFW with pets
6. Fixing up Eric’s Jimmy that’s sat for 3 years
7. The road trip to our next base (wherever that is)
8. Staying in a hotel with pets while we hunt housing
9. Moving into our new place without a lick of our stuff

Fudge, that’s a lot of steps for this move.

But once you’ve got the steps listed – written down one step per page in your spiral notebook – start imaging yourself in the middle of that step.

What has to be done before this happens? What has to wait until the last minute? What could be done in advance? What would make this portion of the journey easier on me, on Eric, on Maggie & Kitten? How am I going to feel by this point – exhausted? Frustrated? Ready to scream? What am I going to be responsible for?…and if the PCS Fairy granted me one wish, what would I ask for?

So rather than go through each & every step…let me just give you an example using the “hotel in DFW” segment of our trip.

At this point everything is still high-level – you don’t have to get into the absolute details of everything – just a good overview.

So #5 – staying in a hotel in DFW with pets.

• We’ll need to find a hotel that takes pets close to my mom’s
• We’ll probably need it a minimum of 3 days – more likely a whole week while we fix up the Jimmy
• The room will need at the very least a mini fridge & microwave – this way we can save money on food
• We’re going to be really tired, so let’s spring for a room with a king size bed
• The earlier we book, the better deal we’ll get – especially considering we’re moving in December
• Kitten will need a litter box (w/ litter & scoop), food & bowls – on arrival
• Maggie will need food & bowls – on arrival
• Kitten will do better if she has her hidie-hole to sleep in (it will remind her of home)
• Maggie will do better if she has her pillow & blanket (to remind her of home)
• I will do better if I have my feather pillow, a good book & my sound machine : )
• We’ll need wireless internet
• Need to decide if Maggie stays in the hotel with us the whole time or if we find a kennel to put her in.
• We could do our laundry at mom’s
• We’ll need to set aside time to spend with friends & family before we hit the road
• We’ll both need prepaid cell phones until we get settled in our new base.

And that’s just step number 5!

By this point it can look really overwhelming – and that’s ok – because for me, I’ve figured out how to keep from feeling too stressed out. I make a wish.

[ahem]

Oh Great & Powerful PCS Fairy! If I could have one wish during this time it would be…

…to have an over-flowing gourmet gift basket of fruit & cheese & chocolate & bread and all other kinds of amazing you-can-only-get-this-in-America foods waiting for us in our hotel room as we check in

…with a travel candle & maybe a potted orchid to take to our new home

…with a litter box & food waiting for Kitten & food for Maggie, too

…and a pre-arranged appointment for a massage at a nearby spa the following day.

In U-Haul’s name I pray, amen.

Ok…so it’s a little more than one wish. But the thing is, by thinking of it I can now figure out a way to make it happen – especially this far in advance.

So what needs to get added to my list?

• Order a gift basket from Central Market to be delivered to the hotel
• See if they’ll throw in an orchid
• I can bring a small travel candle…add that to the packing list
• Order a complete set-up for Maggie & Kitten from Petsmart & have it delivered to the hotel the day before we arrive
• Find a nearby spa that offers a reasonably priced 30 minute massage & book an appointment

The massage trick is something I picked up in the move from Virginia to Oklahoma – courtesy of my sister. Well, that and the gourmet chocolates.

[pick a road trip, any road trip]

She got me a gift certificate to a local spa & I decided to use it the day before I hit the road to Oklahoma – with then 3 cats in the car.

Having that opportunity to relax after so much stress (I had sold our house by owner) – still knowing there would be more to face once I got to Oklahoma, made the whole process easier. It also didn’t hurt to hit the Williamsburg Chocolaterie on the way out of town. They made the best swirled mint liqueur chocolate truffles.

And just those two little steps in the midst of all that Army life chaos made the trip that much brighter.

So here me now all you Army wives!

Only you & I know how much work & stress & pain & turmoil it is to move time and time again & I don’t even have kids to drag around in the process!

Find your PCS Fairy, make your wish & then find a way to make it come true. Find someway to take care of yourself, to reward yourself – DURING THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL – to help keep your sanity intact.

Trust me – you’ll thank me later & you’ll never skip this step from here on out.

[the back alleys of Insadong]

I’ve been struggling to find things to blog about. It’s just not easy these days – especially when I’m so burned out. The bigger question is why am I so burned out…but that’s another subject for another day.

Today I’ve had a bit of a brainstorm…

my upcoming move.

There’s a lot involved with moving in the Army & so much more involved when you’re moving halfway around the world with a 135 lb dog & a cat that hates to travel. This isn’t the kind of move that you can put off till the last few days. Nope. Got to get organized. Now.

So I’m going to do a whole series of posts on my own tips & tricks for PCS’ing, along with soliciting your advice on things I hadn’t thought of and just in general try to get everything out of my head & down on internet paper. Did you know…

I have moved 6 times in 7 years.

[I'll let that sink in for you.]

6 times, 7 years.

And we’re not talking moves 10 minutes across town. Nope – out of state, out of country moves.

(And seeing as how I lived in the same town for 34 years before this Army life of mine, you can imagine it’s been quite an adjustment.)

So yes, I’ve learned a thing or two and I’m a firm believer that with every move you learn something new to add to your bag of tricks. So I’ll share what I’ve learned along the way & what I will learn with this latest move.

But this series needs a creative name…and I’m drawing a complete & utter blank.

“Operation Homeward-Bound” ?….sounds like a cheesy Lifetime movie.

“OCONUS No More” ?…(pronounced “oh-ko-nus”, OCONUS is Army for outside of the continental US.)

“Take Me Back to Texas” ?….crossing fingers on that one. Still no word on where we’ll go yet.

Hmm….c’mon. Surely someone out there has had more chocolate than me this morning & can come up with something clever.

In the meantime, here’s tip number one, my personal mantra & every Army wife’s goal in life:

1. You can never be too organized for a PCS move.

So I’ll end it there & hope to hear from all you creative types soon.

“Exiting Anjung-Ri” ?…hmm…”Exiting Incheon” has a better ring to it – Incheon’s the airport.

Behold the Korean electric bill!

Last June we burned over 800 kilowatts…or roughly $350 US dollars.

(And that was the smallest of our summer bills.)

At the height, we paid just under $700 – and don’t be confused, thinking we were living at a constant 68 degrees. Oh we were constant alright, constantly miserable.

Our bedroom at night would cool down to a chilly 83 degrees – just cool enough to toss & turn on night on top of the covers. And that was with running the room’s a/c unit non-stop.

With the move coming up in December, we’ve been trying to squirrel away money left & right – moving is costly enough, but having to move halfway around the world again…massively expensive…and the Army only covers so much.

So this year we went to extremes.

We moved our bedroom into the smaller upstairs bedroom and we converted the downstairs bedroom into our living room. Each has it’s own a/c unit – there’s no such thing as central heat & air in Korea.

I bought tension rods to hang in the door frames & put up black-out curtains to keep the cold air in, but still allow the dog & cat to come & go without us having to constantly get up to let them in or out.

So essentially we’ve been living in 200 square feet.

I don’t cook in the kitchen at all – unless it’s the microwave or the crock pot. Most dinners are made on the grill outside.

Yes, we look like hillbillies. Yes, we’ve been mocked by neighbors thinking we’re crazy. But at this point, I just don’t care – laugh all you want.

Our bill this month was only 104,000 won! That’s only $98 US!

[Dongdaemun in Seoul]

Dongdaemun means Great East Gate – this was the eastern gate of the wall that used to surround Seoul during the early 1400′s.  And it marks the start of the Lotus Lantern Parade that’s held every year in honor of Buddha’s birthday.

He turned 2,555…in case you’re wondering.

And to celebrate, they march 100,00 lanterns along the streets of Seoul.

While you wait for the parade to start, the ajumma band (little old lady band) will walk up & down the lines playing traditional Korean music – banging away on drums & gongs.

The gate guards line up & lead off the parade.

Next come the ceremonial cabbies.

And right at dusk, the parade will start.

Each of these lanterns are nothing but painted paper or silk, stretched over a wire frame.

The lanterns are used to symbolize the light, wisdom & compassion Buddhism brings to a dark world.

The large lanterns are pushed or pulled by the men from the temples who own them.

Instead of marching bands & girls twirling batons, the parade consists of the monks & nuns from temples all over the Korea…and those from other countries.

And behind the monks, march their parishioners – and each one carries their own lantern.

There are a few large ceremonial drums pushed along the route, too.

And there were a couple of traditional dance troops led by women floating in a lotus blossom.

I liked how different this one was…can you tell what it is? There are 4 dragons rising up out of a river around a water spout with a lotus blossom.

This picture was just so great…I’m going to see if I can photshop the speaker bar out of the shot.

This reclining figure was put on a cart that rocked up & down and spun all around.

There were a couple of lanterns that breathed fire or smoke. This dragon was phenomenal.

The parade lasts over two hours & runs from Dongdaemun to Jogyesa Temple. But because we caught the bus up to Yongsan and then the subway to Dongdaemun, we had to leave early to be sure we caught the last bus back home.

So a tip for those of you wanting to go…book a room at the Dragon Hill Lodge so you can see the whole parade. Because when they reach Jogyesa, there’s a huge celebration where you can write a wish or resolution, attach it to a lantern & let it float up into the night sky.