Update: Better late than never ;)

Believe it or not, this update took such a long time not because I procrastinated, but because we haven't been doing much.

Surprisingly, there is not a lot to do in little Jacksonville, North Carolina; if you're willing to drive there is quite a bit to do 1 - 2 hours away. It has been very cold the last 2 weeks, too cold to do much outside, and we've had a lot of rain, too. Although we were very lucky with temps in the 70's this past Sunday! I am told that in about a month, it will be perfect weather and I can't wait!

With the beach out of the picture the last couple of weekends, we have been struggling to come up with stuff to do. Wilmington is only about an hour away, and we're told that's where everything good is, but again we are kind of waiting for the weather to cooperate just a little better.

Last weekend, we went to a small town about 50 minutes away to go to a chocolate festival. It was indoors right on the water and just had a lot of chocolate vendors! Everything was very, very good despite the crowd (think Iowa State fair opening day ;) ). We came across some chocolate bacon and started talking about the bacon festival that was in Iowa the week before, and quickly made friends with a nice guy ahead of us who has family in Waterloo.

Work has been a slow start. I have been there three weeks now, and am just now getting out of training.  I wasn't prepared for that because most jobs I have had pretty much just throw me in - it's nice to be fully trained before getting thrown into everything. I really enjoy  my coworkers, and I know that I will love the job as well. I am so excited to get started (for real, not the training ;) ) and I still feel so incredibly lucky to have this job - it is a dream come true (sorry for being so cheesy).

Work hasn't gone quite as smoothly for Mitchell. We were pretty surprised to find that there aren't quite so many opportunities for him here (again - we thought Jacksonville was going to be quite a bit bigger than it truly is). But he has an interview next week for a job that would be so perfect for him - something technology related. If all goes well, I think that it will have been worth the wait :) And I think he'll get the job. I mean, I'd hire him ;)

Our apartment isn't so cozy and sweet anymore - someone moved in upstairs and I didn't know that walls could be made so thin. I swear that one of these days, the dog or the guy who lives up there is going to fall right through. Luckily we only signed a 6 month lease. And in the meantime, it's extremely convenient to live within 3 miles of the front gate (although some days it still takes 30 minutes to get in the gate!)

I am working on getting licensed as a therapist in the state of North Carolina, and they require me to take my boards (a really expensive test) before they will give me a temporary license. Iowa is different - they will give you a temporary license, you just have to take your boards before you get your independent, permanent license. (If that's confusing, this might help: after you graduate with your masters, you apply for a temporary license with the state. They then give you a temporary license for 2 years. In that time, you have to see a certain number of clients, and receive a certain number of hours of supervision - by a supervisor who has to also be approved through the state. After you complete those things, you may then receive a full license..  I am about 1/4 of the way through my temporary license). So anyways, I am probably going to study my little butt off so that I can get my temporary license here in North Carolina ASAP. Now that football is over, Mitchell is going to be watching the All-Star games ;)

Just like Iowa!

Learning new things

Now that we have lived here almost two weeks, and I have a full work week (+2 days) under my belt, I thought I'd write about a few things that I have learned since moving here.

- I think that I will always get butterflies every time I go onto base. I have always loved working on base, and every time I arrive at the gate, I get a little wave of excitement… I hope this feeling never goes away.

- It is absolutely unheard of that, at the age of 26 and 23, Mitchell and I are not married yet. Regardless of me never wearing a ring, and no matter how many time I remind people that Mitchell is my boyfriend, he is still referred to as my husband pretty much 100% of the time. Mostly because military families marry very young.

- Anyone who knows me knows that I have been trying to get a job with the military for about 5 years now. I was always turned down, even when I had interviews for jobs that I was overqualified for. This is likely because preference is given to veterans, military spouses, ect.  The case is the same here – meaning I’m constantly being asked if my “husband” (see last bullet ;) )is active duty, or if I used to be active duty. Almost everyone I work with is associated with the military somehow and I can’t begin to tell you how many strange looks I have gotten when people ask me why I came here. I use that as a daily reminder of how lucky I am to have gotten the job of my dreams.

- There are people here from every single state. This means you can be in a room full of people and hear about 5 different accents within a 5 minute conversation. It also means that some people are very welcoming, while others are not. The first day I met my boss, the first thing she asked me was what I knew about the military. I explained that while I had never been active duty, that I was involved with Camp Adventure, where I'd had the opportunity to live on several different military bases and engage with a lot of active duty personnel. She laughed at me and told me I knew nothing. I asked another co-worker a question about the schedule, and after answering my question, she asked me if I had “any other pressing questions?” I don’t think that these people were trying to be mean – they just don’t sugar coat anything, and it has been quite an adjustment! Others aren’t quite so harsh, thankfully!

- Having people from every different state means that you have drivers from every different state. Our 5th night here, we were in a drive through and someone literally backed right up and hit us. While we were waiting for the police officer to show up, we witnessed an accident at the intersection. I can about guarantee that the car I drove here won't be the one that I'll be driving back home when we decide to move back. 

- When you are more tied to the military, you find yourself a lot more attached to issues that face this country. After only one week, I already find myself reading more news articles, paying more attention to politics, and just paying more attention. Especially when American Sniper is such a big movie right now.

- One of the managers asked me what brought me here. When I explained that I've always wanted to work with the military, he asked me why. The military is entirely a world of its own - from the first time I set foot on base in Key West, I knew I loved it. When I explained this to him, he told me that his son has a way of describing it. It's kind of like college where you are parallel to the real world. Sometimes you enter the real world, but all in all, you aren't really a part of it. It really is hard to describe, and that statement might not make any sense, but it is so true.

I still feel so lucky for the opportunity to be here, in North Carolina, working a job that I have always wanted. One that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remind me it’s real :)

I really wanted to start this blog about a week ago, but of course I am just now getting around to it. I am sure that this will be a recurring theme ;)

It is hard to believe that at this time last week, I was playing pool and drinking Moscow Mules with 2 of my best friends and parents. It is crazy how much has changed in  just a week! Last Tuesday, we left our comfort zone and moved across the country with only a car full of our belongings (and, of course, our cats). We left Iowa at noon and arrived in North Carolina at noon the following day (there is a 1- hour time difference). Mitchell drove the entire way by himself, and didn't complain once. The cats didn't complain once, either ;)

We hit some freezing rain in the mountains of Virginia at about 4:00 in the morning. It was pretty scary, but obviously not a problem, and we made it.

We spent the first days catching up on sleep and trying to find a place to live. We were here only a day and a half before I started my job, and we really wanted to find a place to live before I started. We are settled in a cozy little 1-bedroom apartment that feels very much like home to us. It also has a pool for when the weather starts to get a little nicer (it has been in the upper 50's since we got here).

We quickly learned that because we live in a military town where people are constantly coming and going, furniture is always needed. This is a nice way of saying it's very expensive. Trying to furnish our apartment took a lot longer than we thought- turns out finding a place to live is only half the battle. But it is furnished and we are settled for the most part.

My first day of work was very overwhelming. I got sick the day we left Iowa, and it's been difficult to talk (I know, probably a good thing for me), which made the day a little more difficult than usual. The base is enormous and there were so many people to meet. I was thankful to start on a Friday, then have a 3 day weekend. Tomorrow, I'm starting with training, and it sounds like I'll be at my job location on Tuesday. I'm hoping to know more about my job and get started soon. It feels really good to be back on a base again. I love it!

We went to the beach today (Topsail Beach) which is about 45 minutes from where we live. This is a big touristy area during the summer months, but today we were happy to be some of the only ones on the beach today. There were hundreds of seashells everywhere - I don't think I've ever seen so many perfect seashells on a beach before, and we saw about 4-5 dolphins jumping in the water. I have heard there is also a beach on base. I don't have access yet, but I'm sure that will be something we'll be checking out very soon!

Here are some pics from Topsail Beach today!