Saturday, February 16, 2008

Saturday morning odds and ends

I hate being sick. LW hates me being sick. She'll get the same bug and she'll have a managable cold for a couple of days and be over it. LW says I'm pathetic and I look like I'm on my death bed. For me, it always takes like two weeks of coughing and hacking my brains out. I really hate being up until 2 a.m. coughing and then being dead to the world when my alarm goes off at 5:30. LW also hates it when I sleep through my alarms. She doesn't fall asleep as easily as I do. I'm ready for this head cold to go away.

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In browsing the blogosphere last night and this morning, I found a couple of really good writers sharing stories of their parenting adventures. I found I could relate to both Dad Gone Mad and Sarah and the Goon Squad. They're both very talented writers and fun to read, although Dad Gone Mad is a little foul-mouthed. I found Dad Gone Mad because it was recommended to me by my Google Reader, and then I found Sarah and the Goon Squad off a link from Dad Gone Mad's t-shirt sales. Anyway, if you need a laugh or two, check them out.

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Chances are we'll be heading to the East Coast again in the fall. The detailer sent me a list of five jobs to consider.

First choice is in Norfolk:
Pros:
- Close to many navy friends who are also stationed there.
- Closer to family in New England.
- Closer to our favorite vacation spots in New Hampshire and Orlando.
- Great cost of living - we can afford a nice house with a basement and have SPACE to put all our STUFF.
- It's a very career-enhancing job, too, but as a result I'm one of four guys applying for the job.
- Good schools (MUCH better schools than Hawaii, and we won't have to pay thousands of dollars to send our kids to private school).
- Good church with friends of ours from church in San Diego.
- Shopping / not listening to LW complain about how she misses Target and all the other stores and restaurants we used to frequent on the mainland. :-)
- Four Seasons - autumn leaves, snow, spring flowers...

Cons:
- Long work hours and traffic.
- No Jamba Juice or Robeks.

Second choice is in DC:
Pros:
- Close to friends from our last shore duty there.
- Closer to family in New England.
- Closer to our favorite vacation spots in New Hampshire and Orlando.
- Manageable cost of living - size of house we can afford is dependent on how far outside the beltway we live.
- It's a very really cool job, too. The detailer said if I don't get selected for my first choice, then I'm his top candidate for this job.
- Good schools (MUCH better schools than Hawaii, and we won't have to pay thousands of dollars to send our kids to private school).
- Good church. "Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came..."
- Shopping / not listening to LW complain about how she misses Target and all the other stores and restaurants we used to frequent on the mainland. :-)
- Four Seasons - autumn leaves, snow, spring flowers...

Cons:
- DC traffic.


Third choice is in Groton:
Pros:
- Closer to friends in NY.
- MUCH closer to family in New England. LW says my MIL would kiss my feet if we went there. LW is from Boston and I was stationed in Groton when we first met. We haven't been back to Groton since then.
- Closer to our favorite vacation spots in New Hampshire and Orlando.
- Great cost of living - we can afford a nice house with a basement and have SPACE to put all our STUFF.
- The job would certainly help prepare me for my next sea tour if I go back to sea again.
- Good schools (MUCH better schools than Hawaii, and we won't have to pay thousands of dollars to send our kids to private school).
- Shopping / not listening to LW complain about how she misses Target and all the other stores and restaurants we used to frequent on the mainland. :-)
- Four Seasons - autumn leaves, snow, spring flowers...
- Non-existent traffic / easy commute.

Cons:
- This job would involve sea time, riding lots of other boats and spending time away from my family. Again - good for my professional development, but not so good for my family.

Fourth choice is here in Pearl Harbor: See previous post for pros and cons of staying in Pearl Harbor.

6 comments:

Sagey said...

You forgot a major pro for Norfolk and Groton... the potential to NOT move between the shore tour and your next sea tour. :-) I guess that goes for Hawaii too but I don't think I can stay here that long.

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah said...

Thanks for the love!

As a person who lives in the DC suburbs I will add some more pros and cons:

PROS: Tons of culture, great restaurants, good theatre, amazing museums.

CONS: Cost of living.

blunoz said...

Sarah, I couldn't agree more - except the cost of living part. Although the DC cost of living is higher than most places on the mainland, it's not as bad as Hawaii. Our last shore tour (before we moved here to Hawaii) was in the DC area, and we loved it. What side of DC are you on? We used to live in Ashburn out by Dulles airport. - Kevin

Sagey said...

Sarah, we have only lived in high cost of living areas so DC feels reasonable to use. We have lived in Monterey, CA BEFORE they raised BAH, San Diego, DC and now Hawaii. I am all for Norfolk and Groton for even more reasonable cost of living!!! DC also has the advantage of lower air plane fares to visit our family that is strewn about the country.

E.P. said...

I'm quite impressed by your analytical assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of follow on duties..

But

You haven't mentioned the most important one: you've probably finished off all the Oahu caches!

RM1(SS) (ret) said...

You forgot a major pro for Norfolk and Groton... the potential to NOT move between the shore tour and your next sea tour. :-)

Excellent point.

Norfolk has the lower cost of living of the two, but overall I prefer Groton. Come on back and see what they've done to the base since you left. 8)