PCS = Pain, Cry, Sad

Ryan and I are leaving for Okinawa tomorrow. Though we enjoyed ourselves over Christmas and New Year's, our holiday was plagued by the move. Buying a new television and some furniture was fun (Thanks for your help, Mic and Nan!), but packing up my apartment was not. When I took down my first picture frame, I started to bawl. I love love love my apartment! Though it was tiny, it was filled with so many wonderful memories, and it was distinctly me. It was the first place I lived in on my own and had free reign to decorate as I pleased. My pictures and stuffed animals were everywhere. The only books on my shelves were mine.


I lived there for 4 1/2 wonderful years and cherish my memories of studying for exams, cooking for Ryan, entertaining dinner guests, hosting family overnight, carving pumpkins, setting up the Christmas shrub, watching television with Ryan, getting engaged, crying, laughing and so much more. I will miss the fat lady upstairs who stomped around at 2 am, Jose the Super who would have endless conversations with me, and the man down the hall who seemed to have a million girlfriends. I will miss the comfort of my bed, my tiny kitchen, my bathroom with the beautiful sink, and the view from my window. I will miss the restaurants in my neighborhood, fresh direct, my UPS lady, and my neighborhood deli. I will miss my gym, my nail salon, the Black Sheep pub, my starbucks, and the ability to walk anywhere I please (even if it is uphill from the grocery store). Most of all, I will miss my friends and the comfort of living in the greatest city in the world.

After (almost) everything was packed away...



I know it is completely impractical for two people to live in a studio apartment, but part of me thought we would. I was so sad to leave my home - it truly had become my home - but I am excited for our adventure. I just wish I could have my cake and eat it too :(

"Start spreading the news... I'm leaving today... I want to be a part of it... NEW YORK, NEW YORK!"

PCSing on the Brain

So, it's 4:15 am and I'm still awake. Why? Because I have our pending overseas move on my brain. I have spent the last 18 hours making an extensive inventory of my belongings and what I can remember of Ryan's belongings in an excel spreadsheet. I have it organized into categories such as, "take on the plane," "express shipment," "bigger shipment," and "things to move to Buffalo," since my parents have generously allowed us to store some stuff in their basement. I also have a list of items to buy before we move and things I have to accomplish before the move (and preferably in the next 2 weeks). Everytime I go to lay my head on the pillow, I remember something new to put on one of many many lists, so I jump up and run to my laptop. Either that or I have dreams of my belongings dancing in my sleep.

So, here I am, wide awake. This is what PCSing does to you. For our friends and family not in the military, PCS stands for "permanent change of station." It's what you do when you switch duty stations, or in our case, move to your first duty station. In just about a month now, Ryan and I are heading to Okinawa, Japan where Ryan will be a Judge Advocate for the United States Marine Corps. I have no idea what I am going to do there yet, but I have faith that I will learn and experience a lot there. Until then, I am a PCS-organizing guru with the side job of planning our big fat Catholic-Indian wedding extravaganza.

This blog will be our place to document and share our new life as a married couple living in the tropical land of Okinawa with our family and friends CONUS (for you non-military folk, that means in the CONtinental US). Why name it Kobe Burgers in Paradise? Well, if you know Ryan, you know that he loves cheeseburgers...actually, love might be an understatement! He also enjoys listening to Jimmy Buffet (he has been bugging me to put a $400 Jimmy Buffet margarita maker on our registry, but considering it's basically just a ginormous blender, I had to veto that). One of Jimmy Buffet's famous songs is entitled "cheeseburger in paradise." Ryan took me to a concert a few years ago and we had fun dancing around like "cheeseburgerheads." Since Japan is the land of Kobe beef, which is quite the delicacy, and Okinawa is known as "the Hawaii of Japan," we are going to be two "Kobe burgers in paradise!"

Don't believe me that Okinawa is like paradise? Does this change your mind?

How about this?

Even though we'll miss our family, friends, and the change of seasons (English and driving on the right side of the road), we're very excited about this new adventure and about starting our life as a married couple. I'll try to update this blog as often as possible. For now, I think I'll give the lists a rest and dream about scuba diving with the love of my life!