...

Still alive.

Relevance

Been writing about anything else but New Zealand and I think I'll come back to it for a bit. I was hungry for some new tunes or something I hadn't listened to for awhile and I came across Brooke Fraser again. From what I know of her, I really respect her and her work- she's not only a musician for music but she really uses her influence and talent to help others. She's both prolific in sound and action, having gone to Africa to not just visit but to become changed as a person and to give a part of herself to those in need. I'm glad I haven't heard of her in gossip tabloids or anything like such. She's very humble.

It makes me think how stagnant I've been as a lay Catholic living in today's world. I wish to give to the world or somebody. Hopefully I will become a good medic or doctor and be able to attend humanitarian missions. That's my dream if I become an officer, to be able to use my influence and skills and distribute what are actions of God's love.

The final countdown

Cue intro.

Well, only exactly a week to ship-out and I'm workin' on waking early since the time-zone's going to be an hour's difference. Not a big deal, right? It never hurts to be prepared. But I've been a lazy ass with waking late and bumming around the house, only hitting the gym and eating food outside staying in my room. My ideal self will call me a total "knot-head", but my realistic self is just plain frickin pathetic.

I don't care about letting people know that the time is counting down. So why do I post this? Just for my own frivolous reason to mark history- kinda out of the way from the physical world so that not many will know that I'm counting down, though I'm sure they assume it anyway.

I should do a before-after thing.

Before: LAZY ASS. 118.6 lbs, 25% body fat. Little to no knowledge of physical therapy.

After: (TBA)



Random note: I like blogging/journaling because it's like talking to myself without anyone else thinking you're truly crazy in person.

One time, at MEPS...

(Military Entrance Processing Station) Do realise that if anyone reads this online, that means they have access to the search engines and are able to look up the meaning of the many military acronyms that are and will be mentioned in this blog.

0500. 4 January 2008. I'm up and ready to head out. I cleaned my ears with peroxide, I wore clean-clean-CLEAN clothes, and I have all my necessary paperwork in an organized, filed manner. I'm actually waiting on time for my recruiter to pick me up, but he's running a minute or two late. Don't worry. I'm not his drill sergeant.

After -0600-and-too-lazy-to-remember-details. Got to MEPS, signed in with 60+ applicants waiting for a full physical exam. For many of those folks, it was the first time experiencing "real" military life. No, it doesn't start with basic training/boot camp. It starts in MEPS. (No, it doesn't start with your recruiter's office either- you know it's nice and pretty to seduce you ;).

MEPS with females can be so...time consuming, at least in my experience. If it's cold and you're standing there in your underwear with 10 other females who like to joke because they're clearly uncomfortable, you will definitely be there waiting for someone to finish unchanging and laughing or doing weird versions of the "chicken dance/squat" and thereby standing by cold and annoyed because you do want to get this uncomfortable event over and done with even if you yourself aren't embarrassed about standing there in your underwear with 10 other females for a pre-enlistment physical exam to make sure all your fingers, toes, and limbs are working, that you're in your right mind, and that you aren't a druggy or some felon trying to take advantage of the System.

We checked our vision, hearing, got our blood drawn and did piss in cups. Man I feel weird writing that out- but it's the truth. As for me, I'm completely healthy and drug-free.

Then we went to pick our jobs. Well, I got mine guaranteed so I didn't have to pick mine, per se, but I did have to spend a lot of time making sure I got my incentives and my pay-grade accordingly.

I waited to see a "counselor" to discuss my benefits, my contracts, and sign more stuff.

Then I "finally waited" for an officer to schedule a swear-in.

Then I swore in.

So now I cut my hair above the shoulders, to symbolise the fact that I'm no longer just a civilian- and to make it easy on myself when I go to BCT.

The Initiation Cut

At least that's what I call the transition of a civilian's anything-goes hair-do to a male's high-and-tight or a female's tight-bun or above-the-shoulders-and-in-regs hairstyle.

I raised my right hand, swore to defend the Constitution of the USA, defend the US from enemies both foreign and domestic, etc. plus signed those papers. 6 years. I'll be about 28 when I have to decide to re-enlist...

Leaving 28 May, shippin' out 6 June; don't graduate from all sorts of training until a whole year later...making that around June-ish '09. I will be an Army Reservist with the 5501st US Army Hospital. (Yes, yes...Weekend Warrior. hooah.)

I'm going to try and keep this blog updated on the goings-on with my Basic Combat Training (BCT), Advanced Individual Training (AIT) and special training for physical therapist technicians. And by a month or two down the road, at least 5% of my compositions will be in acronyms without explanations.

And if you wonder "why the Army?": Air Force didn't guarantee me the job i wanted; Marines don't have medics; I don't want to test my swimming abilities nor go on a Navy/Coast Guard ship; and the Army National Guard didn't attract my attention fast enough. Plus, I did get my $20k cash bonus, my $20k student loan repayment program, my Select Reserve GI Bill and GI Bill Kicker (aka more free money, if you're in the Reserves), a guaranteed foot in the door to a weekday job, and I did actually read all 6 signed contracts of all aforementioned incentives and I have a good reason to join the military besides get an education (and to "shoot guns" as a job).

The expectancy of a Baby Medic

I got it: 68W/N9 contract, with the Army Reserves. Estimated ship out date: 28 May. Hah, my birthday.

Reception should take about 10 days for me. Then it's off to Basic Combat Training (BCT) for about 9 weeks - or 10, with all these new programs for basic coming out. Advanced Individual Training (AIT) is 20ish weeks, and my specialty school for physical therapy specialists/technicians is a whoppin' 22 weeks and 6 days. Altogether, I'll be in training for a good year before I graduate and officially start working as a Weekend Warrior with the 5501st- hooah! Yes, I do lack the pride of active duty personnel.

Physical therapy. I'm happy about this move in my career plan so far. It's guaranteed, it's structured. I'm not new to the military. I should be good to go. Finally, I can get on with my life and stop being in career limbo.

If all goes well, I go in as an E-3, Private First Class (PFC). I visit MEPS this Friday and may sign 6 years of my life away to seal the deal. God willing, things will work out smoothly for the better.

I had hopes of making this blog a travel journal for myself and I think I can carry on with that intention.

However, there won't be stories of exotic places, far-off lands and extraordinary cultures.

Well, maybe the military should be considered a separate culture. Yes, I'll be doing some traveling- but first to Army basic combat training. Happiness and friggin joy.

(No, I haven't signed the contract yet, but I did take the ASVAB, got a decent score of 95, and am pursing an Army Reserves contract of 68W/ N9 (Health Care Specialist with the Physical Therapy Technician- a/k/a PT Assistant- specialty track. And yeah, I will become a Weekend Warrior- but whatever.)

So, more news to come. Someday I'll change the whole "Remey goes to New Zealand" thing, though maybe not. I'll probably keep the kiwi theme going just because I like how it is and even if New Zealand's patriotic colours and logo have nothing to do with the US Army.

Heh.

It's almost a year (sort of ) since I got back from NZ, and I'm wanting to update this blog...for some reason. Closure? Why do I need closure? Because I need to conclude the story of my trip? Because it will give me the feeling of satisfaction? Whatever it is, I'm meaning to do it. Life hasn't been very encouraging for me to go back and write about the past but it will sometime, eventually, soon perhaps who knows. I'll have to break out my written journal and post some of the stuff there. Blah, I'm rambling and making it obvious that I'm rambling and going to now publish this fact...

Visual indulgence

Kiwi Holiday

Finally found time to edit and caption the photos so here they are. Whether or not this is necessary, I'd like to request that you excuse the lack of interesting photos. There was so much to see and shoot, but being a first-timer to NZ, I had to take the chance to gawk around first. (I still haven't gotten round to Part II of Cultural Immersion yet; that'll come...eventually.)

Cultural immersion, part 1

Kia ora. Currently in NZ now. The weather's being too wintery for a summer (50ish currently). I hope it picks up soon for swimming; I want to break in my new boardies. Praying that this sun at the moment will last us until Marlborough Sounds.

This is a part 1 because 1, I need to leave soon for grocery shopping and 2, I don't want to sit here blogging in a small hostel office with Blogger's unrestrained glory displayed on a 19" monitor. Yes, I'm conscious like that. Did write a few entries in my paper journal, so I'll probably digitise it in the coming weeks.

All in all, I am well. I've survived Britishy food (quite missing my Japanese gourmet, oy) and I'm honestly missing people back home. It's probably homesickness; it is. But I should appreciate both (or all) worlds. At least there isn't a language barrier...um, sort of. :P Will explain that later.

Part 2 to come. Pictures later as well.

ADD

So many things rush through the brain. Scattered mental notes peeping out of half-opened mental file cabinets. All organised as neatly as a tornado could put them. Speaking of weather, I hope I can plan my wardrobe accordingly. Transitioning from winter to summer is going to be interesting. Either I risk a heavy load or suffer the cold. But how cold does it get in Taipei? I've heard a 'very cold' from some sources. Does it compare to Okinawa? Only 11 days until I leave. So busy. Hair appointment, testing, Christmas Day, work, clean, pack, clean, Christmas tree, clean. My room's a distraction; organised folders of unorganised thoughts. What to do on the airplane; in the airport. I hope I can shower in Sydney; I hope it won't be hard to find a place for privacy, and I hope I don't get mugged or cheated. What else, what else...Got my Japanese gift snacks. Check. Need to bring a number of books to peruse through though. I hope I don't go through over the baggage weight limit. What a 10-hour layover. What to do. Such long waits. I wish I could bring a friend. I think God wants to prepare me with 24 straight hours of travelling.

Tempus fugit, et cetera

So far, I've managed to avoid counting down the days. It's already December. The more I think about this trip, the more I get used to the idea- and I don't want to. It's much less fun to not anticapte the excitment because you've become bored of it.

Shopping for a travel laptop bag is frustrating. I think it's because I'm packing too much. Yes, I've decided to bring my laptop for my long layovers and to upload my pics after I've stuffed my memory card. I expect to make a few videos if possible. I won't have it during the retreat though; at least I plan not to use it during it. I expect to be busy enough that I won't even think about it. I pre-packed my new bag to see how things would fit, and it made me look like a turtle. A longer bag might be good, but I'm a bit impatient to take the time to shop around all over the island.

I've over $1,700 gone from my bank account. That's just airfare alone. Okay, think good thoughts now...

So, life's okay right now. It's a bit of a limbo for me, but I am not disatisfied with it.

Going, going...

I bought my SYD-AKL tickets. Definitely going now.

However, I'm waiting on a better flight departure time before I buy my OKA-SYD tickets. I did make a reservation to depart, but if I buy that now, I'll have a layover of 10 hours. What am I going to do for 10 straight hours in the wee airport of Taipei? Sure, go out and explore, but I don't have the extra money to do that and I can't quite risk getting into some sort of predicament. I thought about reading several books, pouring over Sudoku puzzles, maybe napping somewhere safe, but let's just pray that the better flight out opens up for me. I'd really like to go to Mass in the afternoon before my flight out, or at least attend an early morning Mass, if possible.

EDIT: Unfortunately, something bugged me to buy the early flight out, so I will have that 10 hour layover in Taipei. No worries; God provides.

It must sound almost plain silly to be writing about every, little detail or thought that comes up concerning this trip, but I do have to ease and remind myself that this is a rather big thing for me no matter what others might think of the situation. I need to let these bottled thoughts out in the most comfortable way I can.

I'd been ringing travel agents for two months already, and that thought of "what if the prices go down? Should I wait to buy the tickets then?" keeps popping up everytime I hear $1500 to $1600 quoted. It's November now. I gave a call yesterday and they quoted me a good fare- but then said that the seats were full for the flight crucial for my arriving in NZ on time. I'm praying God will allow a seat to open up for me, provide some way, or lead me in another direction (i.e. maybe skip the pre-Hearts roadtrip to Christchurch and just fly into Christchurch the day of HA). So this has been the worrisome anticipation of late. With over a year and a half of looking forward to this trip, plus a lot of planning and booking for post-arrival activities, it's going to hurt big time if I don't get to go this year. Please, God, provide a way for me. Thank you, Lord. (see above post)

Budget plan, thus far

The goal is to still keep under US$2,500.

Airfare, roundtrip: ~$1500
Travel insurance: $100
Visa processing: $20
Hotel in transit: ~$60
Airport fees: ~$90
NZ departure fee: $30
--------------------
$1800


Hearts Aflame fee: NZ$390
--------------------
~$270


Cook Strait ferry: NZ$195
Petrol: ~NZ$100
Accommodation: ~NZ$110
Food, misc.: ~NZ$60
Horseback riding: ~NZ$50
--------------------
NZ$515 (~US$335)


Total: ~$2405

$2500
-2405
====
$95

I was hoping to have over $100 left over for extra miscellaneous money and gifts to send home but hopefully some of my over-estimation would contribute to that.

Recent shopping excursion, update

I cringed at the $57 reciept; I know, silly of me, but I did get some good stuff and things I needed.

Bought myself a cool, hard-back, hemp string-bound journal and more ink gel pens (^_^). Believe it or not, it took me 15 minutes to decide which journal to get as there were a few others that caught my eye. I finally settled on a hand-sized one with a replica of Chinese scroll art called "Listening to the Bamboo," by Wen Cheng-ming (you're wondering how I knew that; it conveniently said so on the back cover page). I liked the Chinese concept of "virtues" of the bamboo: "resilience, humility, and uprightness; a spirit that can be bent by circumstance but never broken". So it was this one over a hand-sized, scarlet imitation leather bound one with a magnetic clip or a standard-sized one with a replication of medevial art conveying the four Gospels. I decided on something more simple-looking but I was still really attracted to the others. I should think this will be put to good use.

Oh, and I'm reading Gulliver's Travels again. It's probably that cosmopolitan spirit influencing me to pick up such a book, but it's nice to have another read through something you read when you were younger. However, it's this time round that I finally picked up on some of the insanely strange things Swift wrote about...of which I won't go into detail.

I never told anyone this, but I finally fixed my favourite rosary with hemp string. A good thing to have on a 24+ hour trip.

Update: Still haven't heard back from those off-base agents. Maybe they're still finding some deals for me, I'm hoping in good faith. I was told to still check out the American travel agent on base (one that I had a relatively negative experience with), but I fortunately know someone who is good friends with someone that works there who might be compassionate towards this poor working student and not make me feel like a total idiot. Going to check them out tomorrow.

Also, I asked Dad about my going to NZ, and he conveyed the following message without clearly saying "yes": he wasn't going to object but as long as I'm footing the bill 100%, he is inclining toward the okay zone. Cue sigh of knowing that that's how my father is.

(tentative) NZ travel itinerary

I need more interesting titles. Watch, later on, I'll be in the middle of my journey with the light-bulb effect and change it.

Made more plans. It's quite exciting to discuss a roadtrip with friends, especially during holidays and when your destination is a Catholic retreat. But let's not get carried away yet- premature joy in moderation.

We've considered flying to Christchurch from Hamilton but the costs with Air NZ is at least $100 more than driving. Although I could do more research into better fares with other airlines, I prefer hitting the road; it's more of an adventure, in that rough sort of way. Plus, we'll have a chance to budget on the go and hopefully save ourselves some money.

We'll originate from the Hamilton area then take a ferry across the Cook Strait from Wellington to Picton. A stop at a youth hostel before or right after landing might be possible- rest before the retreat was said to be most wise. From Picton we'll then head straight to Christchurch, hopefully not too late for registration.

Coming back should be less of a rush. With no time crunch to beat, we might mosey our way back up to the North Island, and being tourists of the South Island, soak up some Southern Hemisphere summer sun provided the weather allows such. I have no idea what we'll do exactly (yet) but that's the beauty of real touring. We'll somewhat retrace our steps and enjoy the views.

The cost of driving, we've estimated, is nearly as much as more than the Hearts Aflame rego fee. Luckily, with three people travelling together, expenses will be split in thirds. The following is a break-down of one's share of travel expenses in NZ$:

195 - Ferry
100 - Petrol
110 - Hostel
60 - Food, misc. funds
====
$465 ~ US$

Shameless vanity

To further spruce this already visually appealing blog, I've added a travel map to the bottom of this blog. You can see where I've already been and have lived. I've managed to mark all the places I've touched ground on, save for a few preliminary markers (the "places I want to visit" ones) whose status will change to "have visited" after actually visiting them. A dotted trail leading to the South Pacific will be added very soon. Much happiness, thank God.

This is the first time I've used this online map so I'm giving it a chance. It may look cool now but time will test its usefulness. I wish it'd show alt text on mouse-overs. ('Course, with Internet Explorer being a pain in the confounded posterior, the map causes my layout to go screwy for IE users. That means the map is probably at the bottom of this page instead of at the right where it's supposed to be. That is why you use Firefox, people. /shakes a stern finger.) Although IE 7.0 came out, and improved enough to display my page properly, I still favour FireFox. Cue sagely nod.

The lovely people called travel agents

Allow me to reiterate these soothing words of advice: no question is a stupid question (insofar as the questioner is one who is of humble ignorance). The only stupid thing to do is not ask questions when you're not completely sure, especially for things that involve a lot of money.

Now that I've reminded you of such advice, do remember that if you're a first-time solo traveller and you're talking to travel agents who live off the commission of getting you to pay for a trip, do try not to be bothered by some of their condescending tones of annoyance and impatience to get you off the phone if you ask a lot of "basic" questions and don't sound like you're fully ready to buy from them. Eventually, you will learn how to sound like you will, even if you don't readily mean to, that way they might sound a bit more helpful with your questions. If you're not in a rush and you have sufficient amount of time to plan ahead, call their office before making a personal visit- it will save you time, gas, and it won't give them an idea of how you look. Of course, jotting down questions and anything else that causes concern is a good idea. However, if you're like me, your quickly-written notes can sometimes resemble things worse than chicken scratch that by the time you need to quickly reference them, they've been completely translated into an alien language. Take the time to clarify them, and even if you look a bit rattled while talking to an annoyed agent in person, be sure to make yourself understand situations. Do not let their snotty looks of amusement from your conversational blunders get to you. If you do come across such, do not feel sorry for yourself but regret their lack of Christian charity and give them a smile and thanks, for those who lack such virtue really don't know what they're missing and an opportunity for you to be humilitated gives you twice as much glory.

Consider yourself blessed if you come across a very understanding agent that knows what it feels like to be a nervous "first-timer" and renders you the dignity you deserve when you have to deal with one of the most complicated and merciless industries known as the airlines.

With anything else in life, never forget how it feels to be a vulnerable newbie.

Flight Itinerary

I gave one travel agent (OWT) a call and made a tentative reservation. I also phoned a local travel agency off-base (HIT) but they quoted a fare of about US$1,700. I was hoping HIT would find a better fare for me since they did indeed do that last year, but I'm hoping they will soon before I bite the bullet and confirm with the American OWT. (In all honestly, I'd rather support HIT because OWT can sound pretty snobby, like a lot of American agents.)

I still need to give my friend a ring before I can confirm any flights, though. Unfortunately, the time I need to fly is during the peak season (December-January) so it's going to be something short of Divine providence to get a reasonable fare since they're fluctuating in all sorts of directions.

So far, according to OWT, it seems that the most inexpensive way to head to the southern hemisphere is with China Air and Air New Zealand. I'll be departing from Okinawa, Japan; transiting through Taipei, Taiwan and Sydney, Australia; and arriving in Auckland, New Zealand.

Departure:
December 26, 2006
China Air (round trip, approx. $800)

• OKA - TAI (1.5 hour)
• TAI - SYD (9.5 hours)

December 27
Air New Zealand (round trip, around $600)

• SYD - AKL (3.5 hours)

Return:
January 15, 2007
Air New Zealand

• AKL - SYD

China Air

• SYD - TAI
• Overnight stop-over, tentatively at the Miramar hotel (and as grand as that sounds, I might later opt and confirm in favour of the Holiday Inn, which is closer to the airport- yeah, I know. Why not indulge? Because of the reason that Holiday Inn is closer to the airport in case anything happens, and I'm not sure what the exact price is to stay overnight at either hotel since the agent wasn't being very sure about it. Plus, if anything does goes wrong, I might not care which hotel I'm staying at. We shall see, though).

January 16

• TAI - OKA
  

Total airtime: 14.5 hours per direction


HIT presented very similar flights, with the exception of the SYD-AKL leg, in which Qantas will be the hosting airline instead of Air NZ.

Of course, all fares are subject to change, but the itinerary will be very much the same with either agent.