Going to the Ball!

The day after my hubby came home, we packed up and headed to the Pacific Island Club for the Navy Ball. It's the 233rd birthday of the Navy and Guam knew how to throw a pretty great party! Chris and I were able to dress up and party with some couples from his boat and we had so much fun drinking, dancing and partying like only the Navy can do.

Dancing with my hubby!

Seriously...

Senior Chief Stackhouse getting crazy

Mr.Kinman grooving to the music

Suzie and Alan

Me and my man

My sailor can drink with the rest of them... haha!

Keeping up with the sailors!

I love my sailor!

All dressed up!

Jess and John Kinman

Me, Jess and Jamie

Me and Suzie

My handsome sailor

What?! Where's the map!?!

You all my find this very interesting... Guam does not have any kind of road map. Go ahead and Google it, or better yet, try doing a mapquest search. There is nothing. It doesn't exist.

So, I had my first job interview yesterday which was exciting since I feel I'm exhausting the job hunting avenues. I got an email on Thursday night requesting I come in for a 10:00am interview the following day. When I looked the office up, it gave me an address but with no indication of where the building actually is. I know that sounds strange to all of you who are probably used to addresses actually leading you to the right location but in Guam, there is only one map... a tourist map that indicates like 4 main roads. Not helpful.

I guess it's assumed that if you are a local you just know the island. So, when I asked the woman who contacted me to give directions, this is what she told me:
"We are located in Agana across the Cathedral and Academy of Our Lady of Guam high school. We are on the same block as Carmen's (Mexican restaurant)."
WTF?!?! I had to do some exploratory driving around the island the night before to find this place. I did find it but when I arrived for the interview the following day, I told the lady (her name was Edna) how difficult it is to navigate the island if it's unfamiliar territory to which she replied, "That's how it is here, many roads don't even have names. We all just find places by landmarks."

In retrospect, Christopher and I were looking for a hiking trail about a month ago and the only directions we were given to find this place was as follows:
"The path is a dirt road off of Route 4 at the top of the hill next to a concrete telephone poll" Did you know Route 4 runs across the entire island and that there are about 100 concrete telephone polls and dirt roads? We found it though, after driving past it 3 times and then having to stop and ask directions.

I never realized how precious a road map could be... until I moved to uncharted territory.

Random Ramblings

Just to update you all... I have officially become a beach bum. I think I'd prefer lying out in the sun to just about any other responsible activity I should be doing. I have been looking for a job, I just hope the job I find ends up being something that allows me to spend my days in the water or on the beach. I would be so happy.... No, I'm not delusional. I know nothing like that exists. At least nothing like that would ever look good on a resume, but a girl can dream. Can't she?

So to challenge my intellect, I've begun to read War and Peace by Tolstoy. If I'm gonna be beach bummin' around, I might as well keep my brain occupied. It seems the responsible thing to do.

I'm going out to look for ball gowns. The Navy ball is just around the corner!

I'm missing the harvest season!

I never thought I would spend so much time cleaning! I've always been obsessed with keeping things in their place but I find when there is absolutely nothing to do; my husband is out at sea, I'm unemployed and it's rained outside every single day that I've been here. Every. Single. Day.
So I've spent a lot of time stuck in the house watching dust settle. I certainly don't mean to sound that my life here has been boring, it really hasn't but when I actually have time to notice the dust acclimate, it's safe to say I have too much time on my hands.

I kid you not... In the middle of writing this blog, I just stopped and ran around the house with a dust-buster and a can of ant spray. Living with all tile floors, it's easy to see dust flying around and I'm beginning to think I'm loosing a lot of hair because it's all over this house. I just got on my hands and knees and vacuumed under the bed and around the bathroom, chasing ant trails with a can of poison. I've also discovered two little geckos have taken up residence on the bedside dresser, why reptiles choose my room as their place of residence is beyond me. They must sense my fear of them. Great, now I don't want to sleep in there...

I know the weather is cooling off back in Connecticut and colors are bursting everywhere yet here, it's the exact same temperature every day and with so few sunny days it's gray, muddy and rainy. I can't help but feel a bit nostalgic for what I've always taken for granted especially when the houses around me are hanging harvest pumpkins on their front door... there is nothing reminiscent of a harvest here. So to appease my senses, I went out and bought a pumpkin spice Yankee candle and have been burning it all night. Between that smell and the smell of the banana bread I just baked, I'd say this house is beginning to take on the aroma of the colder seasons. Now I just have to crank the A/C and put on a sweater.