And that's a sentence I never could've guessed I'd ever say. But I guess before moving to Iowa for grad school I felt the same way. It's all an adventure and I'm excited to see what and where I may be next. But that's another 2 years down the road.
Anyway, I've been in Oklahoma for about a week now, and so far so good! Before coming, I spent 10 days in San Antonio, Texas for an overall orientation to the program at headquarters. For me, this was a really cool opportunity to get to meet the people that oversee the MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation) programs on all Army posts around the world... quite a big deal! The orientation days were long, but very informative learning everything there is to know about the different divisions of MWR and how we'd work with them. I also got to meet 15 others that are participating in the same program as me, just at different Army posts & in different divisions. Out of the 16 of us, 4 are in CYSS (Child, Youth & School Services), 3 Chefs, 3 in Contracting, 4 in Sports & Fitness/Outdoor Recreation, 2 in Financial Management, most of us are placed CONUS (continental United States... I'm still getting used to all of these acronyms myself, so I'll do my best to explain them!) with just 1 going to Stuttgart, Germany for CYSS (lucky!) Overall it was a great group, I'm glad to have met them and hope to see them in some context throughout our careers. There is one trainee placed in Fort Sill with me, her name is Crystal and although we'll have different schedules starting in November, so far we get along great & have even had some fun :)
Here's a few pictures from my time in San Antonio. Our hotel was right on the river walk, which was so fun to explore!
This is the entire group of trainees at orientation (I'm in the 2nd row, to the right of the red suit)
Right after I got back from San Antonio, I spent a few days for a much needed vacation in Florida with family. We had a kick off to my dad's birthday month which was a lot of fun :) We also spent a day at the beach, took a river tour that reminded me of the bayou tour I took in New Orleans, we rented a boat for a morning and explored the area around Mt Dora. I even got to see my Grandpa for dinner one night, which is always a treat since I don't get to see him as often as I'd like. :)
The day after I got back from Florida, the movers came to my apartment in Colorado to pack & move all of my stuff... it was pretty rushed, and I'll be honest, it seemed like a good plan when I put it all together in early July, but it sure was stressful. No time was wasted though :) The movers worked pretty fast, I was impressed, and I even started my road trip to Oklahoma a day early thanks to them finishing quickly.
Anyways, now on to the good stuff! I started my new position here at Fort Sill last Thursday (the 9th) and have really been enjoying it! So far it's been a lot of meeting people, online trainings, getting tours around post, setting up my own cubicle & all that fun :) Everyone I've met is so nice & welcoming, and the town of Lawton isn't as small as everyone made it out to be. Yes, there is no Target, but there's a Starbucks, Ross and 2 Wal-marts so I will manage (and can always shop online!). I have yet to explore too much as it's just been too hot (but a cold front came through yesterday, highs only in the 90s!!) but I've been checking out different churches, haven't found one that I love yet, but I have 2 more to visit :) I'm hoping to visit Oklahoma City soon (or "the city" as they call it here) and see what all there is to do there. I've also been doing a little apartment hunting (I'm living in a hotel for now) and I think I've found a place that I really like. I have a few more weeks in the hotel so I'm going to take my time with the decision, but so far everything is off to a good start! I'm enjoying the down time a little to relax and get myself organized.
This is my cubicle, much bigger than I'd expected... now I just need to decorate!
Thanks for taking the time to update on my life :) Today's quote is from the movie "We Bought a Zoo" and I think it's just great advice for any situation you're in :)
"You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery and I promise you something great will come of it."
