HUBBALICIOUS' BEST DAY

Okay, not really – but he’s pretty happy. Right now, as I type he is working on putting the apartment together. There is a light to be installed in the bathroom. The shelves in the pantry need to be customized a bit and then secured to the wall. There are pictures to be hung. However, none of these tasks are the focus of his cheerful labor right now. Right now, he is setting up his new 47” flat screen in our living room.

We had discussed, at length, the fact that we were going to be buying a tv here in Europe. Our old one was ...well…old! And Hubbalicious has had his eye on a new one since he got back from his last cruise. I agreed that it was time to replace ours, so we agreed that we’d wait until we got to Germany, where perhaps one with dual voltage could be found. If dual voltage was not an option, we figured we’d buy something at 220v from our local Craigslist to use for the next three years, and then sell it when we moved on. Soon after we arrived here, Hubbz started sniffing around the tvs he’d see in other people’s houses and ask questions about the make and model of their set. Dual voltage was indeed an option here – and this fueled the fire of his yearning. He was very good about it – but I could see the wheels turning in his head, and I knew it was just a matter of time.

Well, this weekend we decided to start shopping around a little. Our friends, Jack and Jane, moved here when we did but they had moved into an apartment sooner.  They are nicely settled in already and are the proud owners of a nice tv set: 36”, dual voltage, etc. they bought at the local MediaMarkt store.  It cost what we figured was appropriate. We looked there yesterday, but without the specific information about the set we wanted, Hubbz was reluctant to ask for help (partially because he doesn’t want to waste the time of a salesperson when he knows he’s not buying…and partially because he doesn’t like asking anyone anything…especially in German). Everything except restaurants are closed on Sundays here – so there was no shopping to be done today in Stuttgart. But – the base exchange (Target like store) was open.

We were going to base anyways (to drop off a load of cardboard in the dumpster) and when I suggested we swing by the Exchange to comparison shop (where descriptions are in English) Hubbz perked right up! An hour later, we were loading a much bigger tv (47”) with much better graphics, and a much higher pricetag into the car. And Hubbz was grinning widely. How can you put a price on a happy husband!!

A DAY IN THE LIFE....

Hubbalicious started “regular work” while I was working in Las Vegas last week. It was a good time for a transition, since decisions were made during my meeting that resulted in my work picking up as well. That and the fact that our car is here (and therefore I can drive it) has resulted in a little “routine” of sorts around here.
Usually, I drive Hubbz to work and then I get to keep the car for any errands I need to run. Then I go back to the room and work until it’s time to retrieve him. We meet at the post office on base, since it’s close to his office and parking at his office is sparse. The first one there gets the mail – then we head to dinner someplace (either driving there directly, or parking at the hotel and walking to a neighborhood spot.

I usually don’t have too many errands – because living in the hotel makes the need for groceries and cleaning items obsolete. We buy bottles of water and toiletries, but that’s pretty much it! Sometimes I pick up dry cleaning or take our hotel bill to be verified for reimbursement. There aren’t any projects for me work on or household goods to purchase. All in all, any errands I have take less than an hour to execute….in theory.

In reality, I’m still doing most of these actions on a military base…actually two bases. This fact adds some wrinkles to the efficiency of my planning. The base exchange (our target-like store) is on a separate base from the commissary (our grocery store). Both establishments are relatively small, although between them, they supply us with just about everything we need. But, for example, yesterday the commissary had everything on my list except hand soap. So that created an extra errand to the exchange. No biggie – but the other big wrinkle is that these places have varied and confusing hours of operation! This is best described in an example:

My list of errands is as follows:
-Mail box to US
-Pick up 6 toiletry type items (contact lens stuff, shower soap, hand soap)
-Drop Hubbz off at work.
Easy, right?

Hubbz has to be at work by 730, so I drop him off and then park the car at the commissary and read my book in the car until it opens at 8:00. By 8:20, I have everything on my list except the soap. So I now know I need to get to the other base to pick it up from the exchange. The only other thing on my list is the post office. There are post offices on each base, and the opening time is 9:00. So the options are to wait until 9:00 in the commissary parking lot, OR drive 10 mins to the other base where the Exchange is and do the post office there, while waiting for the exchange to open at 10:00am. I decide to drive to the other base, because the drive will soak up time and get me closer to the 9:00 opening time. Plus, the exchange has a food court with a place to get a coffee – so I can soak up any extra time between post office and exchange there, while reading and enjoying a tasty beverage. So – I get onto the other base, park and discover that the post office on that base DOESN’T OPEN UNTIL 1100!! So – I now double back to the Post Office on the original base, which is open since it’s now after 9:00, and mail my items. I then drive to the other base for a second time, read in the food court for only about 15 minutes and finally purchase the hand soap. I get back to the hotel at 10:30. It has taken me 3 hours to mail a package and pick up 6 items at the store. :)


It’s silly on paper, but it actually isn’t so bad in terms of making the day go by quickly – and MAN am I reading a lot of books these days!!