I was cleaning out my email, and I found this one from 2005! It is when we first moved to Nebraska! What a blast from the past. We have really changed so much since then.


Hello Everyone!
Well we survived the drive out here, it was not fun....but we did it! We left on Tuesday morning really early and got to nebraska Thursday afternoon. We were able to find our new apartment complex with no trouble. Our apartment is fully furnished-rather nicely too, but it is on the third floor. Joe nearly killed himself carrying all of our stuff up three flights of stairs!

Within ten minutes of being here I got bitten by a mosquito. We went to the super Target to go grocery shopping and I got bit while loading up the car. It swelled up to the size of a grapefruit! Well not really, more like a raisin, but damn does that thing itch! Since then I have been covered in bug spray and clutching my citronella candle at all times.

The people here are different. They are all so polite and friendly. Joe was walking the shopping cart back to the front of the store when a lady offerred to take it for him, we were floored! Then when we couldn't find a place on base, one of the employees who was on his lunch walked us all the way across the parking lot two buildings over to show us where it was. People sure are nice here, except for the people who live in our apartment comlex. They are probably the biggest bunch of jerks I have ever run into! One lady nearly had a coronary because we parked in a parking spot that was not ours while we were unloading our stuff. It wasn't even here space, I don't know if she is the parking lot monitor but it was completely uncalled for! Our immediate next door neighbor would rather die than say hello to us, I make a point of saying hello to her everytime I see her. Yesteerday I nearly broke my arm trying to flag the unfriendly old biddy down, just to say hi!

The weather is also different. Yesterday there was a warning on the television to look out for "golf ball sized hail". Now we didn't see any, but were glad no one in our building received a subdural hematoma from direct trauma to the head from said golf ball sized hail, because it sure would be a crying shame if those kind people were hurt.....

In an attempt to make this place feel more like home, we joined the gym. We got the super duper package that includes five sessions with a personal trainer. Joe had his first session today. While I was relaxing in the pool, Joe apparently hit the deck. I was lazily doing laps when I saw Rodney, Joe's trainer, coming in to the pool area to report that "Joe had to lay down". I got out of the pool and came around to the free weight room to see Joe, pale and sweaty with the "emergency towel" around his neck. He kept muttering "I don't know what happened....what happened...happened...." A few minutes later he recovered from his strenuous workout of playing patty cake...no just kidding he was actually lifting weights :) We came back to our apartment and I made him some lunch. He seems back to normal now.

We had hoped that our house would be ready soon, but one drive by our place and all of our dreams were stomped all over. I think that Jennifer said it best, "It looks like a bomb shelter". And it does. we have a big hole in the ground where the basement will, and walls around it, and that's it!!!! Allegedly once the basement is done things will go very fast, at least that is the crap the sales lady is telling us! So we may be in our apartment for a while, I know the parking monitor will be pleased!

I start work tomorrow. I am really glad that I did a rotation here back in September so I know my way around and know some of the attending doctors already, otherwise I would be really nervous. As it is I am only at mild panic. I am the only female resident the Air Force has this year, and that sucks. I got a copy of the schedule for the first month and they have something extremely shocking at the end of the it.....so shocking I am not sure if I can write it.....okay I will...a fitness test!!!! I have to be ready to run 1.5 miles, do push ups, and sit ups!!! I don't know if I will make it in my current state of flabbiness. I better get back to the gym!!

Surviving in Nebraska,
Katrina & Joe