And there you have it.

Email from H/R person at 2nd Signal (where I interviewed)

Hello Heather, this afternoon we finally received a detailed response from the servicing CPAC Team supervisor on this issue. No, you should not contact the CPAC because they are responsible for working this action. It appears that the CPOC has indicated that you are no longer eligible for the Secretary position, based on your acceptance of job offer on 20 Feb 07. We were very sad to hear this information. My boss had me following up on this issue most of the afternoon. Originally when the list was issued back in January, you were MSP eligible, but the command group just began setting up interviews about 2 weeks ago.

I'm pretty irritated. One, because I SPECIFICALLY ASKED CPAC about this before I interviewed, whether or not I would be able to take it if offered. They said they were unable to advise me. I wouldn't have wasted my time and 2nd Signal's if they had told me this from the beginning. Two, why did 2nd wait so long to do the interviews? I'd have HAD it if they would have scheduled interviews sooner. Three, WHY did I get my hopes up? I knew better.

BUT...the important thing is that I have a job, and it isn't as demanding as the other one would have been. I'm not going to let this get me down. This must just be where I belong. And that's ok.

Odds and Ends

I'm trying to post more often...since I got busted out for posting "once a week"! :-P

So I was thinking...what is there to write about today? I decided this would just be a random collection of goings on.

I cannot believe it is practically May. It really does seem like New Years at Malibu Club in Burstadt was just a few weeks ago.

We had dinner last night at Rebecca and Jack's. Rebecca is the FRSA for 7th Signal Brigade, and she invited us over. It was a nice time. And dEElicious lasagna, bruchetta, salad, wine and pie! I have decided to not make any more friends while I'm here because the leaving is already hard! I'm mostly joking about the not making any more friends, but Rebecca leaves 6/10, Bernadette leaves 6/30. Then Marisa and Adrienne and I will be here another year, then Marisa leave 1/09, and we go (hopefully!) 8/09. Adrienne is here through the end of 09. Saying goodbye to our friends and family was so much harder, but this isn't easy either!

Next weekend is the Signal Ball!! I got a dress already, and I feel like we are going to Army Prom! The funny thing is that I thought if we went to a Ball it would be with Stephen's unit. But this is my people. :) Since I work for a Signal unit, I'm invited. Look for pics of that week after next.

We are really enjoying our on post church. We both kind of avoided it for a while for reasons I'm still not sure of. I guess we didn't really want the people we work with, shop with, etc to be all in our business. But it isn't like that. People are friendly, but not intrusive; caring, but not in your face; and no one said, "how long have you been here? and you are JUST NOW coming to church?" It is a great mixture of traditional hymns and elements as well as contemporary music and interactive worship. Next weekend (the day after the ball) we are going on a river cruise with the congregation! I think that will be really fun! Mostly, though, we just really enjoy Chaplain S and his preaching/teaching style.

I guess that's about it for today. Have a wonderful day!!

Random pic o the day! This is Stephen last weekend. He was sleepy and having allery issues.

GOOD MORNING!

We got up this morning and started opening windows. It is so beautiful outside, and as I opened the living room windows, I saw our first roses!!

Heard it through the grapevine...

I have not seen a rumor mill like this one in quite some time. Oh, of course, in a small office, or classroom or school setting, you would expect news (good or bad) to travel fast. But in a community of this size, (15,000 consisting of: Army active duty, 4,000; Air Force active duty, 200; Army family members, 6,484; Air Force family members, 197; civilian employees and family members, 3,266 and US military retirees, 727.--USAG Mannheim Garrison website) you would think it would take a while.
Nope. I went to the Days of Remembrance Observance Wednesday. As I walked up the stairs to the chapel, Stephen was walking out. "HEY, Have you heard from 2nd Signal?"
"um...hi...no." Remember 2nd Signal is where I interviewed for the secretary position. He hands me a crumpled sticky note with a phone number on it. "Call Ms. D*" She wants to know if you are going to accept the job offer."
WHAT?? I didn't get a job offer! Some of this conversation took place right then, some after the observance. To make a long story short...
Rebecca, from 7th Signal Brigade knew, Bernadette, from ACS heard, Marisa's kid's karate teacher knew...I mean, it was all over the place!

And I STILL don't actually have a job offer from Civilian Personnel. So...I don't have it yet...But it's LOOKING GOOD!! :)

Sunny, 99 point one!

Still loving the German Radio, and now I have a new favorite station! it is 99.1, and is a lot like Houston's Sunny 99.1. Don't laugh. I know that's like "easy listening". Here is today's musical selection thus far:
When we kiss (you know, this song)
You're riding in my car
I turn on the radio
I'm pulling you closer
But you keep tellin' me no
You say you don't like it
But I know you're a liar
'Cause when we kiss
Ooh...Fire

Time after Time (Cyndi Lauper)
Mandy! (that's right, Barry Manilow)
Drift Away (Dobie Gray - ALL time favorite)

and a few more. It is just so random. No idea what you might hear when you push that button! I LOVE THAT STATION!!!

Burstadt Fest

Well...the festival has come to Burstadt. We can't drive down mainstreet at all. It started Thursday afternoon (the not being able to drive there) and I assume will pack up tomorrow (Monday) morning. Rather than be all super irritated with all that is the bru-ha-ha, we grabbed some Euro and headed out to see what was out our front door. It was interesting. Rides like a carnival, food like a fair, and even some Renaissance activities like the festival in Plantersville, TX. Here are a few pics of that. and the last on is taken from our front door, just to show you the proximity to the beer stand!

Hail and Farewell

Most units have "Hail and Farewell" celebrations quarterly. This one (for the Garrison, Stephen's people) was Friday night, and really seemed more like MY people than his. Army Community Service falls under the Garrison, so there were many of ACS folks there to hail my friend, Marisa and farewell my friend Bernadette. You might remember that I met Marisa when I was volunteering as the Welcome Coordinator, and she was working at IACS,(Installation Access Control System) where you get your id scanned. The first day I went in to talk to Nancy about the position, and she said to me, "hey, can I ask you a fashion question?" I said sure, and we bonded over online shoe shopping! Now she is the Exceptional Family Member Program Coordinator at ACS.
I also met Bernadette when doing the Welcome Coordinating. She was acting Volunteer Coordinator, and I had to turn my paperwork in to her. I have taken Army Family Team Building (AFTB) I, II, and III from her, and will take the Instructor Training course just before she leaves. She was formerly the FRG Leader for 72nd Signal Battalion Charlie Company, and I have gotten to help her transition in the new leader there, Catherine (that is the battalion I work for now).
These are pics of Bernadette with her husband SGM White and their youngest daughter; Marisa and her husband, Kaeith; and me, Marisa and Bernadette.

Sunday April 15

What a beautiful day! We slept in, went to church, then to the PXtra (where they have furniture, sporting goods, outdoor stuff). I got a new bike! and Stephen checked out the BBQ grills. He's thinking about it...
Here we are before our first ride! It was fun, but I miss that cushy banana seat! My behind was in dire need of one of those gel seats! I'm checking the walmart tomorrow!

The other picture I took of flowers out of the yard. I LOVE SPRINGTIME!

The last of them...

1. Pregame show!
2. Team intro into stadium
3. PLAY!
4. "good game" to each other at the end of the game
5. Autographs after the game

The Fans

1. SUPERFAN! He was forever dancing, singing, pointing, shouting, doing the wave, he had a GREAT TIME at the game!
2. Young Fan!
3. This little girl LOVED her Frankie. She and her family are Americans.
4. Fans in a frenzy!
5. They are doing the YMCA! Just about everyone knew it and was participating.

A few more random pics

Us at the Pregame Power Party and then at the game, the third pic is people tailgating before the game! They're getting the idea!! Fourth picture is the band they had. I have no idea where they got them, but there were a couple of kids in there! The last one is the Frankfurt Galaxy dancers!

At the Power Party

Here some pics of the Pregame Power Party!
The Barney looking guy is Frankie, the Galaxy mascot, the candy you just grab some and pay a euro or whatever by the weight, the drink booth I thought was fun, they mix you up a drink right there, the gear tent had plenty of American pro football, and even college stuff, and the guy buying food, check out that steak sandwich!

Familiar Faces

You would NOT believe the number of jerseys. Tons of Frankfurt jerseys of course, but the NFL ones were everywhere. Here's what we can remember:
Wayne Chrebet (that pic's for you, E)
Troy Aikman
Brett Favre (Green Bay AND uh...Atlanta?!?)
Eli Manning (but no Peyton?!)
Steve Young
Julius Peppers
Matt Hasselbeck
Ricky Williams (BLECK!!)
Shaun Alexander
Vince Young (UT)
Eddie George
Jerry Rice (Okland and SanFrancisco)
Dan Marino :)
Jason Taylor :)
Zack Thomas :)
Derrick Thomas
Terry Glenn
Cory Dillon (PATS)
Walter Payton
Ray Lewis
Emmitt Smith
Tom Brady
Ty Law
Marcus Stroud
Donovan McNabb
Nathan Vasher
Joe Montana
Kurt Warner
Torry Holt
Reggie Bush
Michael Vick
and a man with a fuzzy tiger vest and fuzzy earrings ala the Cinncinati Bengals!

in other sports...Many, many Yankee caps. a Jeter baseball shirt, and an Odom Clippers jersey. Who knew??!?

And yes, that is a mechanical bull that man is riding! There was a "Power Party" that started at 330, game at 7pm. It was like a little fair. Beer and snack tents, games, music, people throwing footballs (not very well, I might add!) laying on the grass, eating "american ice cream" and brats and pretzels. It was a good time! and BEAUTIFUL weather!

Football season is here...in Europe!

We had THE BEST TIME at the NFL Europe Frankfurt Galaxy vs Amsterdam Admirals! It didn't hurt that we (WE=Frankfurt)won! 30 to 14, woohoo! But regardless of the score, it was an experience to remember. I'm going to make several posts so I don't get all frustrated with the pictures matching their captions! Here is the stadium...

Next Wednesday

I have an interview. You might be saying: "whaaaat? Didn't she just start that job?" Yes, yes I did. But now, the brigade with whom I applied for a position before this one (made the interview list JANUARY 19) has called me for an interview.

It is true I am thankful to have this job. So if the new possibility does not pan out, that's not a problem. But I would truly LOVE to have it. It is a higher paying job, for one. Secondly, I don't DO a whole heckuva lot over here. Our unit will not deploy for many months, so their need for me is pretty low. No one is interested in participating in a Readiness group because they are not getting ready right now. Lastly, the brigade position would be full time and permanent. This one is term, not to exceed Sept 2008. That's almost a full year before we are scheduled to leave here, so I would be looking again when it ended if it were not to be extended.

So...we'll see what we see next Wednesday...

Not too sure...

I've been wrestling with this for a couple of days. I don't want this to be a gossip column, but it is how I/we share what is happening in our lives with our families and friends, so this morning, I decided to share a bit of bad news.
Here is the article in Stars and Stripes:

Soldier found dead in Mannheim barracks
Stars and StripesEuropean edition, Thursday, April 12, 2007
A soldier with the 72nd Signal Battalion, 7th Signal Brigade died in his barracks room Tuesday night in Mannheim, Germany, an Army spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Officials didn’t release the name of the soldier, but said the soldier was found unconscious around midnight and later pronounced dead by the responding authorities.
Both German and U.S. authorities are investigating the cause of death, said 5th Signal Command spokeswoman LeAnne MacAllister.
The Mannheim-based 72nd Signal Battalion returned earlier this year from a yearlong deployment to the Middle East, but MacAllister could not confirm if the soldier was one of about 300 people deployed with the unit to fight in war on terrorism.
More information would be released after the family was notified, she said.

I didn't know this soldier. He was a single soldier with no family here in Germany. But he had friends, fellow soldiers, and brothers in arms. There has been a somber feel in the battalion for the past couple of days, but the mission continues. I was a little offended/weirded out/confused by the attitude at first. It was more of a "the Army continues, the battalion will get past this" type mentality and I didn't like it. What about his family? What about his friends? He had a girlfriend, they broke up a couple of weeks ago. What must she be going through? There will be a memorial service sometime next week. And I am starting to understand a bit. These men and women don't get bogged down in what has past. There were some tears, I saw some people struggling with this tragedy. But they are trained, professional soldiers, and they move on with their duties, knowing that they cannot change the past, they can only go forward from here.

I was very impressed with the Chaplain. When the soldiers were gathered in formation to be briefed on what happend (what has been verified, not what has been speculated) to be told to keep it quiet, and don't add fuel to the rumor wildfire, the Chaplain spent a few minutes giving them some spiritual guidance. He also asked them to honor their friend and fellow soldier by listening to their commander, not whispering about it at the DFAC, not answering people's questions with speculations. He said that those in the company he was from (they were not at this formation, they were separate) needed to see some support right now. He said, "don't avoid them because you don't have the words. No one does. Just give a hug, a kind word, an are you doing ok? Let them see that you know they are grieving and maybe you are too, but we are in this together."

Please pray for this soldier's family in California, and his friends here.

Kimberly Jo

Happy Birthday Kimberly Jo!

Our Yard

These are in our flowerbeds. Our yard is beginning to come alive! Those little blue grape-looking flowers are our version of bluebonnets. I planted them in November!

And the little pink flowers, they are shaped like hearts. Too cute!

My office

Here is my fancypants office. :)

And that open window? My air conditioning!

Spring in Burstadt

We walked around town Sunday and found no bluebonnets, but some other beautiful flowers. Christy, those tulips are for you. My favorite is the yellow tree, it is so bright it almost hurts my eyes.