Really?

So a blog is a lot like writing in your diary. You get excited about it for a few days, and then maybe keep it up for a few weeks, and then it just withers away like the plant you so futilely tried to keep alive. I'd like to think that I can use the excuse of being too busy to actively blog, but wasn't that the whole point of reviving this thing? Posting about all my crazy world travels and even crazier military move? But here's the real reason (and call it a cop-out if you want): when every single family member you travel with has a camera that's infinitely better than yours, and you suddenly come home with no pictures because you figured everyone else was taking much better pictures than you anyway, and you counted on being able to get pictures from said family members but haven't yet, it's hard to post blogs about your traveling adventures with no pictures.

So, we'll just skip straight over Africa and Italy (I'll post about them when I get pictures) and talk about the ultimate patience tester called IPAC and TMO (aka: offices on base you try very hard not to yell at when you're trying to move to Japan). So, to make a very long story not so long, they told us when Chase finished training that we were going to Japan, then the squadron in Japan said they didn't know when they wanted us so to just wait until we heard from them again, then the squadron in San Diego said they didn't know if they wanted to send us to Japan anymore, then they said that they wanted to keep us in San Diego but maybe they couldn't change our orders. So at this point I left for Italy not knowing if I was even going to move to Japan when I got back. On my second day in Rome, I got an email from Chase saying yes, we definitely were moving to Japan and that we could take our time because they didn't need us right away. About a week into Italy, they came back and said, um, no, we actually need you here in three and a half weeks. So poor Chase is running around trying to arrange everything while I'm fretting around in Italy. Chase scheduled our express shipment to be picked up the day after I got home, our long shipment three days after I got home, and our storage pickup the day after that. Then he went back home to Utah for three days to see his family since he had no other time to see them. I came home, we pretty much didn't sleep for a week while we frantically sorted and fixed the rest of our house, we had awesome neighbors and friends that kept us fed for a week, we found out the cat was not going to be able to come with us unless I took a commercial flight out later, and then Chase got on a plane last Wednesday and flew into Japan. I came to Utah to visit friends and family while I wait to get issued a ticket, which I just got yesterday. The cat now has her confirmed seat on my commercial flight, and I'm driving back to San Diego this Sunday and flying out next Wednesday.

I once told someone, I am no longer an excellent event planner. I am now an excellent contingency planner. Because when you have to deal with changing information and and shifting situations and your plans keep changing every 12 hours, you can't plan anything in advance.

So, please forgive me for not posting anything about Italy yet, since some days I'm lucky to have showered and eaten by the end of the day.

I'm alive!!

This is the first time been able to access the internet since arriving in Africa. To say that the last few days have been incredibly exhausting and exhaustingly incredible would be an understatement. This post will be quick since we're meeting for dinner in a little bit. I spent the first couple of days in Johannesburg and nearby Soweto, touring Nelson Mandela's house and seeing very, very poor squatter towns juxtaposed next to upscale shopping malls. Very interesting combination. Then we took a flight and traveled to the Chobe Safari Lodge along the Chobe River for the next couple of days and got to see some incredible sights. Two boat cruises and one safari ride later, I've seen herds of elephant and water buffalo, been within five feet of a giant Nile crocodile, seen impala, kudu, sable, giraffes, a beautiful leopard, lions, and had our tiny motorboat charged at by a huge hippo. My dad went on a morning safari and saw a pack of lions kill a baby elephant not too far from their truck. Needless to say, it's been an incredible trip so far. Hopefully pictures will come later as soon as I can figure out exactly how much our limited internet can handle. Right now I'm writing this from the Victoria Falls Hotel, so hopefully a post can come later tonight or tomorrow on the magnificent falls. Tomorrow we're going on a helicopter ride over the falls, so hopefully I can get some good video footage of it. Maybe most miraculously of all is the fact that I don't have a single mosquito bite yet. More to come!

Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

So since this is mainly to blog about my upcoming adventures to two (maybe three!) different continents, let me give you a brief rundown of my itinerary in Africa. We're landing in Johannesburg first for a couple of days, then on to Victoria Falls and Chobe National park for a few days, followed by Kruger National Park for a few more days for 'game viewing drive' (I prefer 'see cool animals in their natural habitat. Interestingly enough, my itinerary never once mentions the word 'safari'). Then Cape Town for a few more days and then on back to the US! Did I mention that my flight from DC to Johannesburg is 17 hours each way? I have dug up every electronic device I own to keep me entertained for at least a portion of that 17 hours. Maybe I'll bring some non-non-drowsy Dramamine pills to keep me unconscious for the rest of the 17 hours. Either way, it's going to be a loooong flight. This may be my last post for a while since I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning! As an added farewell bonus, here's an imbedded youtube video of Victoria Falls, one of my top three places to see in the world (the other two being Petra and Machu Picchu). Mind you, I made this top three list when I was about 16, so actually getting to see one of them (and the one I originally thought least likely too) is pretty exciting for me.

Haircuttery!

Last week in a strange combination of procrastination (because I had planned on this for a while) and spontaneity (because I woke up that morning and decided today was the day) I cut most of my hair off. You can see the picture below:

Yes, that's me holding the majority of my ponytail in my hand. The sad thing is the thickness is only about 1/3 of how thick my hair really is. I asked the hairdresser, since I was cutting off the majority of my length, if we could donate my hair to Locks of Love. Since I had lots and lots of layers, only the back third was actually long enough to donate. She swept the forward two thirds in front and cut those later. My first reaction when she gave me that chunk to hold was, Man, I feel you just amputated a part of me, followed swiftly by, Ewwww, I feel like I'm holding a dead animal. But, if you ever get the chance to do it, I'd strongly consider donating your hair if it's long enough. It was kind of a neat cause to support. My hair is still barely long enough to pull back into a nub of a ponytail, but it's definitely weird to have most of it gone. How long do you think it'll take to grow back again? Several more years?

Is this really my blog?

So, instead of cleaning up the house that definitely needs some urgent attention, I've decided instead to update my sadly neglected (well, never really started) blog. So, when I went to log in and see what I had posted in the past (if anything), I was very surprised to find....nothing. Except a tester post. And a very, very outdated picture. So, laugh at the picture if you want (that's my sister and me in Taiwan when I was 19 or so), and let me share with you one of my favorite movie clips from my childhood (you only have to watch the first minute):



In the same voice as the cat, "Is that my blog? Is that...MY blog?" Yes, Melinda, it is. You never got it started before, so let's post something on it!

Ok, so this is mainly being used right now as a travel blog for all the (hopefully) amazing trips I'll be taking shortly. So even though I'm no longer working full-time, there's still a lot of things to keep me busy before I leave for South Africa next week! Things like: buy travel clothes, dig out my camera from my still packed boxes, buy memory cards for the video camera my dad is lending me, feel guilty for being a continent away from my husband for our 3 year wedding anniversary, not feeling guilty enough to not leave anyway, and try to learn as much about South Africa before I go. I think Wikipedia is going to be my new best friend this week.

Hi! This is a tester blog. Blah blah blah blah.