Interrupted
My Life Thus Far
Bah Humbug
As much as I tried to convince myself that Christmas is a
joyous occasion worth celebrating, the day just wouldn't
allow me to feel such feelings....
We all got up early this morning, got everyone dressed,
fed and out the door by 9am (a personal best for my
family). We drove the 30 miles to Bangor (Submarine base)
to get our ID cards renewed only to find out that PSD
(Personnel Services Department) moved the Saturday hours
to the Bremerton PSD (the base Snookie is stationed on).
So, we piled back in the car and drove to Bremerton PSD.
When we got there, the little bitch on duty told us that
we couldn't get our ID cards done today, because they
changed their policy and Saturday's are only open to
reservists. Since when has a reservist been more important
than active duty? That's when I found out my husband
leaves on Monday, and today was my only opportunity to get
an ID. Without an ID, I can't get on base. Therefore, I
can't go grocery shopping, I can't get to the hospital,
I'm non-existant, basically. She ended up doing the
paperwork for us, so I can get it, even though he'll be
gone. But I have to go back on Monday to get the actual
card. That was a good compromise, though. My current card
doesn't expire until the 11th. I'm definitely getting a
general power of attorney when he gets back. Then I'll be
able to sign his name and do anything he's able to do,
even when he's gone. Now, back to the part where I found
out my husband leaves on Monday:
I was PISSED! Snookums has been telling me for weeks now
that he's leaving on the 12th for a week. I've known that.
He didn't, however, tell me that next week (the week of
the 5th) he'll be held captive on the ship like he's out
to sea, but not really. They're only pretending their out
to sea. The bottom line is...He ISN'T going to be home.
So, what difference does it make whether he's sitting by
the dock pretending, or actually in the middle of the
Pacific? NO DIFFERENCE. Gone is gone. So, in all
actuality, he's going to be gone for 2 weeks, not 1. I
just found this out today. If we hadn't had issues at PSD,
I wouldn't have known until he said good-bye to me Monday
morning. How tragic would that have been when he didn't
come home that evening? I'm glad I found out about it
today, but it still put me in a sour mood for the rest of
the day.
After the PSD mess, we went to brunch, then to the tree
farm to pick out our tree. Snookums was still being a
little piss-pants, because I'd gotten mad at him, so he
sat in the car and let me traipse through the rows of
trees. Finally, the perfect tree jumped out at me like it
was chosen by God. A 7 year old Douglas Fir I named Doug
(original, I know). He stands crooked in his stand and
he's a little bald on top, but none the less, I've got
this irrational attachment to this tree. I'm really going
off the deep end. Since my husband was pouting like a
little bitch, I cut it down myself and dragged it back to
the car myself. Snookums eventually took pity on me and
hoisted it up onto the car, but the Boy Scouts had to bale
it and tie it down, because apparent the Navy doesn't
teach people how to secure trees to car roofs.
After tree hunting I had to stop at Wal-mart to get a few
accessories for it (a skirt, stand and topper). This is
where my distain for the holidays was cemented. That place
was complete CHAOS! Hundreds of people acting like they
were the only ones in the store, getting in my way,
bumping into me. I couldn't find what I was looking for,
because everything was picked over and damaged. The lines
were 10-15 people long. I'm going shopping at 4am, when no
ones there (our Wal-mart is open 24 hours). I knew what I
was there for, where it was and everything, but it still
took me over an hour to get in and out. I HATE the
holidays. Bah humbug.
By the time we got home and Gen came over I was about one
bad joke away from breaking into tears. I know my day
doesn't sound like it was so bad, but between the
lingering PMS emotionalness, the disagreement with
Snookie, the pressure of an expiring ID, the bad childhood
memories tree-hunting dredged up and braving the holiday
shopping season nightmare, I was teetering on the edge of
an emotional meltdown. Thankfully, Gen put me in a good
mood. She helped me trim the tree, unwrap all the stupid
ornaments Helena and Sue have bombarded me with and put
pictures in frames that need to be burned, not displayed.
It turned out to be not so bad.
Snookie made a peace offering by washing my car (he
doesn't decorate)and getting Kentucky Fried Chicken for
dinner. He started a fire (a pathetic firelog, but it gave
good ambiance), we had a glass of wine (left over from
Thanksgiving) and talked a little. I started to feel
better at that point. Gen had to leave eventually, but
Snookie and I made up (when he bought me a chocolate
marble cheesecake) and now we're on our way back to our
boudoir to do some hardcore CUDDLING (no sex while the
periods on. BAD experience, you don't want to know).
Oh, I almost forgot. Snookums didn't make first class. He
passed the test, they just didn't promote very many
people. Now the ones he's in charge of are the same rank
as him (a lot of the third classes he's responsible for
made it to second, like him). He's still superior though,
because he's got more years in, but I could sense his
disappointment when he saw the results. He'll be eligible
to try again in March and I'll see to it he makes it then.
They can't pass him up if he's got a perfect score (or
near perfect, at least). Well, ciao.
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