This past Saturday Camp Casey hosted the Area 1 Holiday Bazaar. I volunteered a little during the bazaar to help out with the 4-7 CAV Family Readiness Group (FRG) bake sale. I also contributed cake bites decorated as turkeys. I made the turkeys last November and Joe took them into work. The guys loved them, though they cared more about the taste than the look, and I have wanted to make them again since. The bake sale was the perfect justification for making them. I wish I had a few more pictures of the turkeys, but this picture was the only one I took.
The bake sale was a huge success with the 4-7 CAV FRG raising over $380. What is even more impressive is that we weren't allowed to set any prices and could only ask for donations for the baked goods. One woman brought oreo cookie balls that were a huge hit, so much so that a Soldier ended up giving us $40 for the final 8 or so packages of them.
Last night the mechanic returned the car to Joe. I am so thankful that we live in Korea and not in the States when it comes to vehicle maintenance and repairs. The mechanic told us that our car was overheating for quite a while and took the following pictures for us:
I don't remember what Joe said exactly but in the United States we would be shelling out a lot more money for this repair. Here in Korea it only cost us $200 and our mechanic delivered the car back to our building in less than 24 hours from when he picked it up. We use and off-post mechanic because he is less expensive and has a quicker turn-around time than the on-post mechanic. Plus, he will pick-up and return the car to our location instead of us bringing the car to him. We are definitely a little spoiled here.
Yesterday ended on quite a different note than I had planned. I must have forgotten to tell the day what I planned and made sure that the day and I were on the same page when it came to the evening activities. Had the day had something fun for both Joe and I then I wouldn't have minded, but that was not what it had in mind.
What did transpire yesterday is that after Joe and I did our once-in-a-blue-moon evening workout session he realized that he needed to go to the medical clinic on post. I won't go into the details here of why, but I will say it wasn't life-threatening but was something he needed to talk to a doctor about right away. He had more tests done today and is now on antibiotics.
I of course went with him to the medical clinic and on the way home afterwards thought as we left the parking lot that it would be the perfect (sarcasm) way to end this evening if our car broke down on the way home. As I drove I thought I heard a strange rattling sound coming from under the hood, and asked Joe if he heard it, but he didn't think much of it. About 5 minutes later I thought I detected a burning smell, but figured that we were in South Korea and who knows what that smell could be at this time of year. A minute or two later I mentioned it to Joe and he was smart enough to look at the temperature gauge on the car. Needless to say, the needle was at the very top of the temperature gauge and the car was seriously overheating. I parked the car in the nearest parking lot while Joe called a taxi to pick us up and take us the rest of the way home.
Joe's Korean mechanic came about 1.5 hours later to pick up the car. This man is awesome. What mechanic in the states would come out at 10:30 pm to pick a car up? We are still waiting to hear back from the mechanic and find out what is wrong and how much it will cost to fix. Depending on the problem, it may be cheaper for us to buy a different car here. So much for my previous post saying that our car here is the perfect car for us.
It is a grey and dreary day here in South Korea - but I still love being here because Joe is here. Joe is currently off participating in the Warpath III exercise, but he is able to come home in the evenings. In fact, today he even made it home for a very quick bite to eat during lunch.
When I was stationed in Korea in 2009-2010 I never bothered to get a drivers license here let along get a car. Camp Red Cloud (CRC) was so small that I could basically walk anywhere I needed to be within 10 minutes. However, when Joe moved to his new camp last year he decided that it was time for him to get a license and a car because the new camp is a lot bigger than CRC. The "new" car that he acquired is better called a hoopty or a FOB car. Great for on post driving, but Joe is not too fond of driving it off post. The car is in the same category as our friend Micah's car that brought Joe and I closer together when that car broke down at Lotte World, or of John's car that stalled out a couple times on the freeway into Seoul.
It's rather funny when I think about how Joe went from a very nice, new, and expensive 2008 BMW M3X that he bought in Korea to this car which cost him a grand total of $0. Some of my favorite aspects of our car are the left rear door that was always either unlocked or locked - until we recently had it serviced and now it actually locks and unlocks, but not with the rest of the doors; the check engine light that we ignore because it never turns off; and the transmission that we need to have rebuilt. Oh, and the fact that I have left the headlights on a couple of times by accident because there is no noise to indicate that I left them on. As I wrote that I became worried that I had left the headlights on again and had to go outside to check on the car - thankfully, the lights were not on this time.
It wasn't until after we were married that I bothered to get a license, because up until then I was only in Korea for less than 2 weeks at a time visiting him and there were plenty of taxis on post to take me where ever I wanted to go whenever I wanted to go there. I finally took the test in July this year because me being able to drive would save Joe and I a lot of money and make both of our lives easier.
I'm not sure what the purpose is of me writing about our car except to say that both Joe and I are grateful for our little hoopty car. It is old, worn out, and we would never consider bringing it back to the States with us, but is the perfect car for us here in Korea.
Last Sunday Joe and I participated in the 6th Annual Wangbang San International Mountain Bike Race. Joe got a team together with other Soldiers from 4-7 CAV and I came along on my very nice new mountain bike that Joe gave me as a wedding present (he's the best husband ever!). Neither Joe nor I trained for the race since he was out at Gunnery for 2 months and my bike didn't arrive until 2 weeks before the race. We knew we wouldn't win any prizes, but our goal was to go out, have fun, and finish the 34.7 km course.
The course was not technically challenging, but was extremely physically challenging. Both Joe and I walked a ton as we climbed the mountains on the course. Both of us experienced our quadriceps cramping up during the race. I had never experienced quad cramps so intense, but knew that I did not want to be the one who gave up and called it quits. Towards the end of the race there was a Korean man who passed me and laughed a little as I was walking up yet another hill and suffering from bad quad cramps. Shortly thereafter he got off his bike to walk and the cramps hit him. For him it was so bad that he sat down and I believe called it quits.
For both Joe and I the race was a test of mental and physical endurance. Both of us hope to train for the next race and I hope to beat my 3:13 hour time.
It has been a couple months since I last updated this blog and much has happened since August. The quick summary is that in mid-August I returned to the United States as Joe got ready to go Gunnery/out in the field for 2 months. After a couple weeks in MN visiting my parents and my sister Betsy and her family I packed up my car and started a road-trip to my new home in California. Along the way I stopped in South Dakota to see my Aunt Sue, Uncle Jeff, and my cousins Isaac and Anna, viewed portions of different pioneer trials, visited Utah for the first time in my life, drove along what has been called the loneliest road in America (Route 50 in Nevada), and saw Lake Tahoe.
My trip ended in California at the end of August when I moved into a condo with two absolutely wonderful roommates - both named Lisa. We bonded over a burglary experience when someone stole electronics, jewelry and other items from our place, and decided to celebrate Christmas in September later that weekend in order to boost our mood. Unfortunately our neighbors who live below us were not too thrilled with the fact that we put up Christmas decorations in September.
In mid-October Joe's Mom came out for a visit and to be there for my change-of-command when I took command of a Military Intelligence Company. The weekend was non-stop with work and I wasn't able to spend as much time with her as I would have liked, and we were not able to do any sight-seeing, but I guess that just means that she will have to eventually come back out for a visit.
Two days after I took command I boarded an airplane and flew back across the ocean too be reunited with the love of my life. Joe returned from Gunnery/Twin Bridges Training Area, the same day as I took command. During Gunnery, Joe and his Troop scooped up a ton of awards and bragging rights. While out in the field, he and his troopers made a video about Joe falling asleep and having a dream about his Troop.
It is so nice to be back with Joe. Even when he is supposed to have time off, work issues usually come up that he has to deal with immediately. Though I would love for us to be able to get away for a weekend, I am very happy for the time I do get to spend with him right now.
