* Persistence has paid off, and the last form has been received by Lajes personnel. Now I'm "just" waiting for orders, the official documents I have to have before I can schedule the movers and shipping my car.
* I'm keeping a running to-do list in my iPhone, and as soon as I delete one of task, I think of three to add. Last weekend I accomplished an important one: I drove to Baltimore and bought an humongous carrier (48" x 34" x 30") for Emma. Thank you, CraigsList! It gave me the chance to meet the Stevens, a lovely couple who are now on my list of "people to stay in touch with." Gayle had wanted to meet Emma, so she made the 1-1/2-hour trek with me. I had forgotten to take her leash, so they brought out a loaner for her as we chatted on the wrap-around porch of their 1890's home. Of course, she was very taken with my Velcro dog. A friend of Gayle's had worked with the Air Force at Lajes, and she liked it so much she decided to move there! To my dismay, Gayle predicted that I'd meet an M-A-N. Just what I don't need!!!
* Emma has become even more Velcro-esque with all my packing, which indicates I'm getting ready to leave her. See photos below.
* I am SO leading a charmed life these days! Friday I talked with my sponsor, Trish, to ask about the best place to stay till I find a house to rent, and if she might know of anyone who'd be willing to keep Emma so I can take her on the flight with me. She invited the two of us to stay with her! In her house with a 180-degree view of the ocean. Her house that already has all the basics - kitchen stuff, linen, a few lamps, an air mattress - I'd need before the arrival of the huge, slow-boat-to-Lajes, shipment of all my worldly possessions. I was dreading the task of finding enough space in my tiny house to allow me to segregate the two groups of stuff so the two teams of movers don't get them mixed up. AND, Trish has a car, which means we can share the 25-minute scenic commute (sans road rage). As if this weren't enough, she's going to get a PO box for me at the base post office, so I can mail boxes of clothes to myself and have a mailing address for my Just Moved and change-of-address cards.* And the "charmed" continues: I found out that my housing allowance will be enough to rent a veritable Terceira Island mansion, with plenty of space for all my friends who visit. Yesterday, after Trish told me that she thinks she got special treatment from the housing people because she knows them from her three previous tours at Lajes, it dawned on me: the housing people work for ME! That should mean something in the matter of the old red carpet treatment, eh?
* So that's all for now...next post will be after the orders are in my hot little hands (next week, I hope!).
