Up to speed

Welp, let's see...we (my son and I) arrived on the beautiful, tiny island of Guam February 10, 2009. We were absolutely mesmerized by the view from the airplane as we circled the airport. White sandy beaches, water three beautiful shades of blue, and palm trees to boot, our own paradise. I must say, the initial shock of how gorgeous this place is has yet to wear off.

Did I mention we are from the Great Pacific Northwest? When we left Seattle, it was 35 degrees in the sun. When we landed in Guam it was about 89 degrees. Needless to say the jeans and sweatshirts we were wearing came off as soon as possible.

If you are scratching your head wondering exactly where Guam is, our latitude is 13 degrees North and longitude is 144 degrees East. Look for the Marianas Trench...only 7 miles deep! Guam itself is less than 40 miles long.

I came here with so many high expectations, hopes and plans. They have all since changed. Change is good, it all depends on the attitude you have about it. I know what Jimmy Buffet meant now.

"It's these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes,
Nothing remains quite the same,
With all of our running and all of our cunning,
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane,
If we weren't all crazy we would go insane".

A newlywed of only 11 months, I arrived here very happily married to the man of my dreams (or so I thought). I was excited about the prospect of having a baby and heard Guam is a great family place. My husband never made it here. I am now in the middle of what I hope to be a quick divorce, being that it was such a quick marriage. Along with that I lost a woman (I use that term veeeery loosely) I thought to be a valued friend and confidant, although she was a bit obsessive. I no longer intend to have any more children (always subject to change) and getting married again is certainly not on my to do list for at least another 10 years, if ever. I haven't spoken that that "woman" in three months.


I have the greatest dog in the world. The Guam Department of Agriculture liked him so much they held him captive for four months because I didn't have the proper paperwork. It may have been easier for me to have said paperwork prepared and processed were the requirements updated and posted somewhere on the internet for personnel inbound to Guam. Lucky for me, my dog is one of the sweetest and loving animals I have had the pleasure of knowing. Let it be known that I was NOT a dog person. Until he came along that is. I love this mutt. His face is so cute and sweet and soulful. He'll make you love him, you don't have a choice. You won't know what hit you.

I also came here with a couple of flat screen TVs, a PS3 with blue ray, a digital camera, a laptop, two purses I liked a lot, my B&B Works collection of lotion (about 20 bottles, no I'm not kidding), and some jewelry. I have since been relieved of those burdensome material possessions. Some people I don't know broke into my house one day while I was at work and decided they needed them more than I did, most likely for drugs. I hope they OD. Eh, I was looking to simplify my life anyway, they just made it easier for me. Less trips to the Salvation Army for drop off I guess.

On a happy note of loss, I am down 20 el bees and counting. I started exercising a lot soon after I got here and now have more motivation than ever. What is more motivating than being single on a tropical island?!? There are hordes of shirtless, fit men that run every morning. If only I knew they could speak...

My son and I have started Taekwondo (henceforth known as TKD) and love it. We were recently promoted to Yellow belt. While that may not seem like a big deal to most, it is to me, especially because I am one of the oldest people in my class. There is only one person older then me and it's by mere months. He's a Blue belt.

The TKD dojong we belong to is wonderful. Our Chief Instructor is a 5th degree black belt and his entire family is involved. All three of his children are black belts and they are the most well behaved, intelligent and caring kids I've come across in a long time. Of course they are, they get to kick the dickens out of each other and call it sparring. The rest of the class is great too. Everyone gets along and treats each other like family. Maybe even better than family, because there is a mutual respect that you just can't get at Thanksgiving dinner at your grandmoms house. I also know that respect is one of the tenets of TKD. It is well practiced there.

My job is pretty agreeable, I don't have a lot to keep me gainfully employed. This is a good thing, it has enabled me to start school again. I only have two more classes to complete and I will have my associates degree in business administration by Christmas. I recently finished two classes, got an "A" in one and a "B" in the other, I'd say my GPA is pretty good.

To date I have no actual friends. Where I work we had two interns relatively close to my age, they were on 2 - 3 month orders and are both gone now. I liked both of them and would have gladly welcomed them staying longer. There is a woman that works at one of the commands across from mine I met at the pool. She and her husband are very nice, we've met up at a few social events on base. She and I went to the movies once, it was nice not to have to go alone. I'd like to do more with her, but it's not easy finding someone to kid sit when you only know 3 people, and two of them you work for.

It's not that I'm an unlikeable person, I am very like able, just ask my mom. It's that I don't work with many people my age and/or single. I don't get the exposure I used to and don't meet many people outside my office. I try to get out and do things, hence the TKD and we go snorkeling and to the beach all the time, but it doesn't seem to be working. Maybe I'm just too impatient. Is it too much to expect to make some friends after being somewhere for six months? I didn't think so, but apparently it is.

Oh well, maybe if I stop looking for friends, they'll fall into my lap.

Good gawd, my life sounds like a bad country song...but its in Chamorro.

So, there, now you are now up to speed.