Four

Wow, where did the time go? I didn't realize how long it's been since I updated my blog.

Part of the reason I haven't posted is because my blogs would've turned into a huge bitch fest. Things couldn't possibly be worse at MetLife, thanks to the upcoming training. My unit is being reviewed for outsourcing, and we will be teaching associates from India our jobs, starting in October. Everyone involved with the training has been complaining non-stop and miserable. I can't blame them, but we also have no control over what happens.

Whatever happens will be decided by the higher-up's in the company, who have their reasons for wanting to outsource in the first place. We may not agree with it, but it's not up to us.

Unfortunately, several of my co-workers have less than stellar home lives, so they are bringing stress into stress. Someone emailed my boss and said I talk to Mike on the phone all the time, and that I have permission to do it. Completely false- when he does call (I can't call him), it's on my lunch break. Noon for us is 6pm for him, and he's out of work by then.

I feel like people are so unhappy that they're doing whatever they can to make others unhappy. I didn't get in trouble with my boss- she was more annoyed that someone actually sent her an email about that.

Dealing with non-stop negativity during the week has left me pretty stressed. It's like all the good energy is completely sucked out of the room. I'm ready for this all to be over, so things can go back to normal.

Four months down, two to go. Deployment is flying by!

Euro Trip

I'm back! The trip was amazing, and seeing Mike was a positive boost that we both needed. I've got tons of pictures and stories from the trip, but I'll do my best to keep it blog-sized. First off, the plane ride wasn't half as bad as I thought. And how about the food? Lufthansa isn't just about a bag of pretzels:

The next picture is from a town in Germany called Heidelberg. It's about an hour away from base, and has tons of shopping and sight-seeing. Pretty much every city in Germany has a castle, and this is one that we actually hiked to the top of:

One of the many pictures I took from the top. Gorgeous!

We took the train into Paris- this is one of us goofing off, waiting:

One of my favorite pictures from Paris- love it!

Me, posing in front of the tower. As you can see, we had wonderful weather throughout the trip:

I also got to go where Mike works, and check out an outbound mission. "Outbound" means that injured troops are going to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C., and ultimately, home. I saw a variety of injuries, from the minor to the catastrophic. Out of respect for anyone reading this who knows someone in harm's way, I will not discuss the injuries in detail.

All I will say is that I have even more respect for Mike and his fellow soldiers. I truly don't know how they do what they do. One of them pulled me off to the side, after the last critical soldier had been put on the plane, and said this: "we love our job, but it's emotionally draining. Sometimes the only thing that keeps us going is support from home."

It was an extremely humbling experience. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to visit Mike, see parts of Europe, and get a first-hand look at why exactly he is deployed.

Oh, and no proposal, for any that were curious! He said he has a date in mind when he wants to ask me to marry him.

So, for now, I will keep on keepin' on. I love him more than ever, and I'm ready to finish up this deployment strong and with a positive attitude!

Ring Thing

All of the engagement rumblings are now a roar, thanks to an email I received yesterday. Quick background: before Mike left, we went to a travel agency to book a trip for after he comes home. The woman asked if this was a honeymoon trip . . . definitely a legit question, but we told her it was just a post-deployment getaway for the two of us.

Fast-forward to yesterday, where Nancy (our agent) sends me an email with some resort information in Cancun (we're doing an all-inclusive trip). She titles the email, "It's time to book the land portion of your honeymoon trip!"

Mike thought this was hysterical. He's been asking me every day if people still think I'm getting engaged in Germany . . . when I say yes, he says, "okay!"

Then the clincher. "Well, it won't be a honeymoon trip, but it'll be an engagement trip . . . maaaaybe!" Done. This girl is now ring-obsessed! Mike had asked me, about a month ago, to email him some ideas. Below are the ones I sent him:

One of my friends said that she had no input on her ring, and when her now-husband proposed, she hated it . . . and still does. Mike initially did not want any hints, but realized that he wants me to love whatever he picks out.

My best friend is ring-obsessed, and she makes it well-known to her boyfriend of 5 years. Her boyfriend is a good friend of mine, also (I met him before her), and he told me that the more she pushes, the less he wants to do it. I make it a point not to do that with Mike, and he's told me point-blank that it makes him want to propose more.

I blame deployment for these kind of talks. Being apart from each other has made us really realize how happy we make each other, and how great our relationship is. I was never the popular kid in school, and I didn't date much . . . I went through years of feeling insecure, but it was all worth it to feel the way I feel now.

11 days to go!

Walkin' on Sunshine

I've never been so happy to see the first of August! 1 more week of my summer class, and two weeks until I travel across the pond to see Mike in Germany.

Anyone reading this who knows me in real life knows I'm a very positive person. I have my moments, because I'm human, but I try to avoid being a Debbie Downer. A funny incident happened at work, that I thought I'd share.

A few weeks ago, I walk into work on a Friday morning around 8. I did my usual . . . smile, and say "good morning" to whoever is already there. Not like, "good morning, Patty," and "good morning, Sue," but just a collective greeting for the few fellow early birds like myself. I get to my seat, start up the computer, and walk to the fridge to put my lunch away.

As I'm heading towards the fridge, I hear the woman next to me say, "she's always like this in the morning. She ruins my day by coming in so cheerful. When I was her age, I was happy all the time, too."

Say it with me . . . really?! You were serious? Okay, just checking.

I take what this woman says with a grain of salt. My unit is under review for possible outsourcing, so at the age of 65, she is basically training people in India to take her job. She also lost her husband in May, so I understand that life isn't fantastic for her right now.

However . . . big however . . . we all have things in our life that aren't perfect. No one's life is perfect. Don't take it out on me. She's the kind of person that will, throughout the course of the entire day, huff and puff, moan and groan, until someone asks her what the problem is. Then she complains about whatever task she has at the moment. D-r-a-m-a.

One of my co-workers calls her the "topper"- whatever story you have, she's got one to match it. Like when my sister's baby passed away? Well, she was supposed to have an older sister, but she also died . . . 67 years ago. This is what I'm working with . . . see what I mean now?

She tried coming up to my desk a few minutes later, to talk about some random work project, but I didn't even look at her. I'm not fake . . . if I don't like someone, I just avoid them. Hasn't happened since, thank goodness.

Time to focus on the positives. Germany in 16 days!

Texas

Texas was amazing! I didn't want to leave. It was amazing to see my sister, and we had a great couple of days. We drove down to Austin to do some shopping and sight-seeing:

One world for driving in Texas: INSANE. See below.

Someone at the airport gave me wrong directions to my sister's street (who knew there would be two Cunningham Roads, each on one end of town?), but I managed to get back to the airport with no problems. The driving took a little getting used to!

Everything is bigger in Texas . . . except Ikea. Seriously. We were in and out in about half an hour . . . pretty much unheard of.

She insisted on taking me to local places to eat, so I had the priviledge of enjoying Sonic and Whataburger. Unfortunately, there are no Waffle Houses in Texas.

3 weeks until the next trip! Germany, here I come.

The Fence

This picture was taken by Mike in a nearby town to Ramstein . . . I would probably butcher the name and how to pronounce it, so we'll leave it as a pretty fence in Germany! He said the heart made him think of me, so I'm now on a mission to get to this fence when I see him next month.

When I started this blog, I made it less of a personal thing, and more of a fun, general, random thing. I think I may go back to my old roots of writing personal blogs, just because I like it.

If you follow me on Facebook, you'll notice I have a number before each status. I've been questioned on why it's there, so I'll just 'splain it here for you. The number represents how many days Mike has been deployed. Why count up, you ask? For starters, counting down from 179 days is ridiculous. Maybe his deployment is "only" six months, but it's still hard. Second, as that number gets higher, I feel encouraged. Mike and I have already been apart for 52 days, and that is definitely something to be proud of! We have both been working hard to maintain a positive attitude.

I hear often that this deployment is "easy." That may be so- he is in a safe location, doing a safe job. However . . . doing a long-distance relationship is not easy in the slightest. Granted, I was used to being alone at night due to his overnight work shift, and on drill weekends, I'd only be with him twice during a week. Honestly, the first two weeks of deployment were a breeze, because I felt like he was just working, so it felt normal. I really didn't feel any emotions until just after the first month had gone by.

But you don't realize how many little things you take for granted. Skype has now replaced date night, and emails have replaced texts. The thing I miss the most is cooking dinner together, before he'd go to work and I'd go to class.

Our biggest rule during this deployment is not to end a conversation on a bad note. We each have our bad days, but taking things out on each other is not going to help the situation. Some people say I have it worse . . . I beg to differ. I won't say exactly what kinds of things he's seen at work, but he's a critical care nurse working on injured troops from both war zones . . . use your imagination. Then picture it 100 times worse. He's been opening up to me much more than I thought he would about what he's seen, which is a big relief.

The only aggravation I've experienced with deployment has come up fairly recently, with the news that I will be visiting him next month. I'm not kidding when I say that all of my family, his family, and our co-workers are expecting a proposal . . . if it doesn't happen, I may be the only one who is not disappointed. Even my Nana said, "Katie better come home with a ring!" I would be lying if I said I wouldn't be thrilled if it happened, but I also don't want to get my hopes up. The last thing I want to feel is disappointment when I leave, because I know an engagement is on its way at some point in the near future.

We're planning an overnight stay in Paris while I'm there, and I told him not to pull a Tom Cruise. He laughed nervously, then asked me what I meant. When I told him that Tom proposed to Katie Holmes on top of the Eiffel Tower, he said (without missing a beat): "Oh, I can't do that. My friend Chris that you met proposed to his wife Deanna there. I'm going to be original." That's amore!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

The summer of 2010 is now becoming the summer of travel! After taking a brief hiatus, I'm back to blogging, and I'm hitting the road (or, the sky).

My first trip is on July 19th, and will bring me to central Texas to visit my sister! She left about a week after Mike deployed. My brother-in-law is stationed at Fort Hood, and they live just outside base. She has been doing well, and I can't wait to see her.

My next trip will bring me a little further away . . . Germany! You heard right. Words can't express how excited I am to see Mike! I leave on August 17th, and return the 22nd. We will spend most of our time near base, but are planning an overnight trip down to Paris.

I love to travel, and I love them, so I couldn't be happier. For those of you who follow me on Facebook, there will be many pictures to come!

The End

It's officially wedding season, so I figured the picture was perfect! I know two people who got married just yesterday. Wedding bells are not in my immediate future . . . soon, though!

I titled this blog "The End" meaning the end of May, and the end of the worst month in my entire life. This month will go down in history as nothing short of complete turmoil. Ironically, deployment has been the least of my problems.

Saying goodbye to Mike was hard- I didn't realize how many little things I take for granted every day, such as calling him on my way home from work, sharing a quick meal before work (him) and school (me), etc. I miss him the most at night time- we've had some of our best conversations just moments before falling asleep.

Fortunately, we have been able to talk every day since he left. He is doing well in Germany, and each morning I wake up is another day closer to him coming home. I can feel our relationship growing stronger every day, and just thinking about him makes me feel good. I see a bright future ahead!

I felt more emotional saying goodbye to my sister the night before she left for Texas (her husband is now stationed at Fort Hood). She's been through so much, and although I miss seeing her, I honestly feel that this change is what she needs right now. We've been texting often since she left, and I am planning on visiting in the first week of August.

Besides the sudden death of my sister's unborn baby, the woman who sits next to me at work lost her husband suddenly, right before the long holiday weekend. He was ill, and had suffered multiple strokes over the years, but to hear that he had passed was shocking. Even though he was in tough shape, he was still hanging in there.

The wake for him is today. After an unexpected and dramatic fight with family members (I won't go into detail), I'm too drained to deal with more death. May has pushed me to my emotional limit, and I couldn't be happier that tomorrow marks the beginning of a new month.

I'm a tough cookie . . . but right now, I've just plain had enough. I'm looking forward to a clean slate next month, and I will continue to hold my head up. "That which does not kill you, makes you stronger."

Inspiration

I came across a website with quotes for couples in long-distance relationships.

I found out today that deployment is happening a week and a half sooner than expected, so I thought it would be nice to share some of the quotes that will help put a smile on my face over the next six months. Enjoy!

"Missing someone gets easier every day, because even though you are one day further from the last time you saw them, you are one day closer to the next time you will."

"Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It's for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It's for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don't see it nearly enough."

"Distance means so little when someone means so much."

"We are the perfect couple, we're just not in the perfect situation."

"Distance never separates two hears that really care, for our memories span the miles and in seconds we are there. But whenever I start feeling sad because I miss you, I remind myself how lucky I am to have someone so special to miss."

"True love doesn't mean being inseparable; it means being separated, and nothing changes."

"Distance is to love like wind to fire . . . it extinguishes the small, and kindles the great!"

"The longest period of time is waiting for something or someone you truly want."

"Nothing in this world worth having comes easy."

"Behind every strong soldier, there is an even stronger woman who stands behind him, supports him, and loves him with all her heart."

The Tough Stuff

Up until last week, I thought deployment was my biggest problem. That changed very quickly when I received the worst news to date- my sister's unborn baby passed away at 35 weeks old. Out of respect for my sister, I will not discuss the details on this blog.

Even after having the services, I think part of me is still in shock today. We just had her shower a few weeks ago, and her due date was the 26th. It's one of those things that is so devastating that you just can't believe it.

I've felt every emotion under the sun. My sister is the closest person to me, so I felt like I was going through it myself. People say everything happens for a reason, but I've struggled to come to terms with why exactly this did happen.

Needless to say, my feelings towards deployment have changed drastically. I feel like nothing worse can get thrown at me right now, and all the little things that were bothering me are now things to not be concerned with at all.

It's one of those situations where no one can say or do anything to make this better, but the amount of support we've received has been amazing. Just knowing how many people have been behind us does help to ease the pain.

It's also one of those situations that makes you truly understand how short life is. If anyone takes anything away from this blog, I would want it to be that you try your best to not have regrets, and understand how precious life really is.

Deployment

The Details
Mike will be deploying to Ramstein AFB in Germany at the end of next month. According to his last email, he has to report to base on May 27th, but he has not received his official itinerary yet. What we do know is that his orders are for 179 days, which is about 6 months.

He has been in the Air Force for 6 years, and his current rank is Captain. His job in the military is as a critical care nurse, so during deployment, he will be taking care of the injured soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan. Once they are stable for transport, they either go back to war, or are transported to Washington, D.C.

How We Met
I've been friends with Mike's sister Lauren for a few years, from working together at MetLife. One Friday morning, 4 of us decided to have a girls' night out, and get some drinks at Nylo.

An hour before we left, Mike called Lauren, and wanted to meet up with her at the very spot where we planned our girls' night. When she asked us if he could tag along, we said yes.

Once inside, Mike and I were watching the Celtics game that was on, and ended up talking all night. With Lauren's permission, he friended me on Facebook the next day, and our first date was the following Thursday- June 4, 2009.

Staying Busy
As far as staying busy during deployment, I'm not concerned at all. Between my two jobs, I work 6 days a week, plus I'm a part-time student. I moved into Mike's house in December, and while I did live on my own for 3 years before we met, I had a very small apartment. Taking care of a house with a decent-sized yard is more than enough to keep me occupied. He is concerned about how I will do, which is valid- I will have my good nights and my bad nights.

We Are Family
I'm very lucky to have a close relationship with Mike's family, as well as my own. I feel comforted knowing I can call any one of his relatives, or mine, and get help or company whenever I need it. From Day 1, Mike's family has treated me as one of their own, and I am grateful beyond words for it.

The Road Ahead
At this point in our relationship, Mike and I are rock-solid. Yes, he will be gone for 6 months, but it's not like we met a few weeks ago. I truly feel like he is the one I am going to spend the rest of my life with, so in the grand scheme of things, 6 months isn't a long time. It will be difficult at times . . . I think people would be concerned if I seemed fine every day! I tell Mike every day how much I love him, but standing by him during deployment gives me the chance to really show him how commited I am to him. Without a doubt, this will be the toughest challenge for us as a couple.

Terrific Technology
Between phone calls, email, and Skype, I will get to communicate with Mike almost every day. During his time off, he will get to explore Germany and surrounding countries, so he also plans on posting his adventures on Facebook. Thank goodness for technology!

Snapple

Anyone who reads my Facebook from time to time knows that I love Snapple, and I love their "Real Facts." I'm not a Facebooker who gives a play-by-play of their daily activities . . . I prefer to fill up your news feed with random tidbits of information.

There's many, but I decided to share some of the ones that I found a little more interesting. Enjoy!

#908: In Athens Greece, a driver's license can be taken away by law if the driver is deemed either "unbathed" or "poorly dressed."

#833: Children have more taste buds than adults.

#831: Six year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.

#701: It takes more water to fill a bathtub than it does to enjoy an average-length shower.

#705: Every ton of recycled paper saves about 17 trees.

#719: A strawberry is not an actual berry, but a banana is.

#823: Sailors once thought wearing gold earrings improved eyesight.

#760: Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

#853: Hawaii has its own time zone.

#682: The giant panda can eat up to 83 lbs of bamboo a day.

#890: The number "1" or the word "one" appears on the dollar bill 16 times.

#839: A cucumber consists of 96% water.

#880: The Venus fly trap can eat a whole cheeseburger.

Get Carried Away

SATC 2: May 28, 2010

I own all six seasons of SATC and the first movie, so to say I'm excited for the sequel would be an understatement! There isn't much out yet, but I did find the following on the official SATC site:

"British beauty Alice Eve is one of the many new faces joining the "Sex and the City 2" fold, when the sequel hits theaters on May 28.

As Charlotte York's (Kristin Davis) gorgeous foreign nanny Erin in the series, Alice will reportedly be part of a story line that spices things up for the Fab Four.

While she couldn't say much about the script, Alice did reveal that watching life on set for her castmates was an experience.

"It was mayhem for them," Alice said, referring to Kristin, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon. "Everywhere they went, everybody knew."

Her own scenes, however, were much more low key.

"My stuff was -- I didn't have that," she laughed. "I just kind of turned up and smiled, and was glad to be in the room."

While Alice didn't get the full "SATC 2" mania, she did actually pick up some tips from her co-stars.

"They were all there bouncing around in their heels all day, which was insane," Alice said. "I now wear heels, which I didn't do before, because I saw how they actually do it, for real. You know they wear them all day, so that was incredible."

Phone Call Can

One of my good friends and her boyfriend came up with an idea that is pure genius. Every time they . . . (use your imagination), they each put $1 in what they call a "Romance Can." Once it adds up, then they go out to a nice dinner.

With Mike spending more time in Germany this year than Rhode Island, I decided to make my own jar: the "Phone Call Can." Every time Mike calls from Germany (during his two weeks, and also deployment), I will put $1 in the can.

Once he comes home, I'll treat him with that money to a nice night out. When I told him this, his response was, "I'm calling you every hour, on the hour!"

First Blog's a Charm

I decided to catch up with 2010, and start a blog. Hopefully I get the hang of this fast, and don't bore anyone.

Currently in a good mood, despite the fact that my favorite person in the world is 3,260 miles away (the approximate distance from Warwick to Ramstein AFB in Germany . . . yes, I looked it up and yes, I'm a dork!). Mike is doing his two-week duty, and will be home on March 20th.

He will be deploying this year, but I'm fortunate in several ways. a) He's going to Germany, not Iraq like half his unit. b) He will be able to call and email every day. c) I can visit him! The thought of spending a week in Europe is beyond exciting. First thing on my to-do list: get a passport.

Highlight of the week: My accounting professor declaring his love of rap music. He says he plans to bring his iPod in to prove it.