The Okinawa Moving Process

Yes, I've started a blog.  I thought it might be a good idea since we're moving halfway across the world and we would like people to remember us when we get back.  A few housekeeping things because I know my mother  some people will be worried about me putting all our information "out there" so murderers and child predators can hunt us down and attack us in our sleep.  First of all, this won't be "out there" for all the world to see...if you are able to read this you are part of a select few who warrant access to the interesting and mundane details of our not-so-exciting life.  Congratulations...don't you feel special?  Second of all, we're moving across the Pacific.  If some crazy American psycho has a wild fetish for 4'11 ladies who don't necessarily get a daily shower, he’ll either have to be a very good swimmer, or he'll be very frustrated until 2014.  Finally, you may not want to get too attached to this blog.  I have a long history of incomplete projects. 

Ok, so a little background information in case you don't know what's been going on with us lately.  Back in February, Bill received orders for Okinawa, Japan.  This wasn't a surprise, as he had listed it on his "Wish List" of preferred duty stations.  However, wishing for it and getting orders elicit two very different emotions.   It's kind of like getting engaged.  At first, you're so excited and you're all dreamy-eyed, fantasizing about life in the beautiful, tropical paradise.  Then, reality sets in and you discover the mountains of paperwork and less-than-efficient government personnel that you will be forced to deal with.  Then comes the day when your husband gets home at 7pm to find four hungry children and a slightly intoxicated wife who was pushed over the edge when some guy at the Naval Hospital asked her to fill out one too many forms.  That’s when you hit rock bottom. 

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Just like a wedding, the devil is in the details and more than once you will find yourself wondering if all this is really worth it.  Here’s a very abridged version of what’s involved in preparing for this move. 

1.      Medical screening—every member of the family has to be in pretty good health in order to be allowed to move to Okinawa.  Don’t panic, there is a military hospital over there, but if someone were to need specialized care for an extended period of time they would probably need to stay in United States.  (I'm not sure what would happen in that case....they would either change the orders for another more suitable duty station, or they would send Bill alone for 1-2 years.  The Marine Corps is flexible like that.  Luckily we "passed.")  The medical screening is the most taxing part of the whole Okinawa Moving Process because they ask you to fill out very detailed forms regarding every possible health issue you might have had….in your whole life.  Bill and I used this time to reminisce about the good old days--like the time Michael threw a light saber at Emma which resulted in her needing stitches (or glue, in this case.)  Or the time Bill tried to recapture his youth and broke his wrist skim boarding in St. Augustine.  Good times.

Anyway, we filled out a small forest’s worth of paperwork and went to the appointment smugly thinking we’d done everything we had to do.  Oh, not so fast.  This experience of completing a task and mistakenly thinking you’ve done all that’s required will be repeated several times in the Okinawa Moving Process, but I won’t elaborate here because it’s still too fresh to talk about. I'll just say that I'll be surprised if anyone else actually lives on Okinawa because apparently we are the first people who have ever gone through this process and there are still a few kinks in the system.  When all was said and done, we all had to get flu shots (even though flu season is over) and I had to make three separate visits to the pediatrician's office to get different forms filled out.  (He’s probably more grateful than I am that this process is over!)

2.      Area Clearance—this is the Holy Grail of the Okinawa Moving Process.  You get this once your medical screening has been approved and all the powers that be have signed off and are 100% sure that they actually want you to go to Okinawa.  We finally received this TODAY!  Hallelujah!  

3.      Passports—we are required to have special passports as military dependants that allow us to stay in Japan for an extended period of time.  It is also recommended that we get regular passports in case we want to travel to other countries while we’re in that neighborhood.  Both passports are exactly the same except for a stamp in the back of one stating that you're a military dependant.   I personally think it's a big scam the Feds have cooked up so they didn't have to fire some unionized worker. ("Here....you can be in charge of the "special" passports.")   Many of you know about our passport saga so I won’t bore you (again) with details, but the good news is we all finally have both sets….and that’s all I want to say about that.  

Relax, people--the passport isn't really blacked out.
(Although it's probably something she would do.)

So, now I can pretty confidently say that in a couple of months we will be living in Japan.  At this point here is the Schedule of Events:

• May 25—packers start coming.  They will be packing our belongings over several days.  Throw in a holiday weekend and the result is a very long, drawn out pack-out.    I’ll probably know these guys so well by the end of it that they'll be invited to holiday dinners.
• June 3ish—finish cleaning our house for (hopefully!) new tenants; head down to Jacksonville.
• June 11—drive over to Pensacola Beach for a week with Bill's family. 
• June 18—back to Jacksonville.
• June 21-- leave Jacksonville for Seattle, but not before a legendary and likely tearful goodbye at the Jacksonville airport. I’ve given Bill permission to act like he doesn’t know us.  (Between the Luggage Mountain and the Cubans, we'll probably end up on the news.) 
• June 23, 8:50am Seattle time—leave for Okinawa on a very long flight.  (Have I mentioned my recently developed fear of flying?  I'm already scoping out pharmaceutical options.) 
• 10-11 hours later—arrive somewhere in Japan. Things start to get a little fuzzy here, and it won't necessarily be because I've taken advantage of the beverage service on the plane.  I don’t know if it will be morning or evening.
• June 24, evening, Okinawa time. –we arrive on Okinawa after a couple of stops on mainland Japan.  Don’t worry; I’ve packed our radiation suits.  Hopefully, our unmarried, 2nd Lieutenant sponsor has rounded up a couple of friends to help get us and our Luggage Mountain back to the base hotel. 

I think we’ve covered more than enough in this first blog entry.  Next time--WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO ALL OUR STUFF?