I successfully used a military acronym

We've been looking for a fence for quite awhile now. We thought it would be nice to put one up in the backyard and get some real grass growing in it. The grass here is just horrible. Actually, it isn't grass. It's a culmination of weeds and stickers that you wouldn't even think of walking barefoot through. We went to a block party the other night at one of the colonel's houses (if you just pronounced that col-on-el you have a lot to learn. It's Kernel folks. Like the popcorn!) Their grass was so wonderful. I guess that's what happens when you are the base commander. You get nice grass.

Military bases are a strange thing. You are assigned a house. You are supposed to be shown at least two houses. When JB came onto base, he was only shown one. The woman showing them was what many people here on base call "the housing Nazi". She is just not a nice lady. And she didn't feel like allowing JB to see more than one house despite the fact that our ENTIRE BLOCK IS VACANT! We could have easily chosen a house next door that has a fence. It is just as free as the one we are in now.

The other thing that is strange about military housing is that once someone leaves, the house remains vacant. No one waters the plants. No one tends the yard. Some people stop by to mow just so that it doesn't look horrific around here. But that's about it. So here sit these empty houses with fences. Can we take one? (Not the house. The fence.) I mean, who owns the fence? There are roses next door. No one is taking care of them. They will soon die. So can we take them? How does it work? We don't believe in stealing, but we just aren't sure the "rules" of the "base".

JB and I decided that we didn't want to take a fence. So we decided we would wait until we saw someone moving and then move in on them ourselves. That's exactly what I did tonight. I was out for a run, and I saw a moving truck. I waited patiently. I watched carefully. Yes, sure enough. The furniture was being loaded on to the truck. I seized my moment despite the fact that I didn't have glasses on or contacts in and wasn't sure if the woman I was approaching was an adult or a child. I got close. It was a grown woman. I politely asked her, "Are you PCS'ing?"

She replied in the affirmative. I was thrilled. Could we buy your fence? Another affirmative answer! I was thrilled. Not only that we had obtained a fence for only $75 but that I had successfully said PCS'ing like an old pro. (Permanent change of station or status or something like that! I'm not sure what it stands for, but I am sure of what it means.) YAY! So, no need to "steal" a vacant house's fence. Instead, we will buy a fence form this nice lady and put it up and put in some nice grass. Everybody's happy!

My run was cut a bit short. I have trouble starting up again after a long stop to inspect a fence. I had to run tonight. If you think of it, say an extra prayer for me this week. No matter how many times I do it, grant deadlines completely wear me out. I hate them. Hate is a strong word, but it is the only accurate word. They completely wear me down.

Okay off to take a shower.