Jumping Through Housing Hoops

Zack was able to go the housing brief this morning...he came home and said that it was only the off base housing brief and he would have to go back in the afternoon for the on base housing brief.  The Navy gives us TLA-Temporary Living Allowance for 10 day periods.  After 10 days we must pay the Lodge and then turn in our receipts to get money from the Navy.  However we are only given TLA if we are "aggressively searching".  We learned today that this means that in the first 10 days we must look at 2 off base housing options...for every 10 days after that we must look at 5 off base options.  The housing office wants everyone out of the Lodge as soon as possible.  I called and set up 2 viewings from the list of English speaking realtors for Wednesday afternoon.  Zack will have duty that day and his classes should be beginning soon...so he may or may not be able to attend with us.  The realtor is meeting me here at the Lodge and will then take us to view 2 listings.  I have to get her to fill out some paperwork and then turn it back into the office for proof.  Talk about jumping through hoops...so this week that leaves Friday as the only day I'm not busy or jumping through some office's hoops.  Hopefully Kat is free on Friday...as I told Zack this afternoon...we are in Operation Find A Friend!  We want to stay in Yokosuka so if we don't get on base housing here then we want to go off base.  The other on base housing options are between 25-45 minutes away.  Zack would have to get up super early to get on the base shuttle at the base.  Also...the hospital is here along with all the major Navy "stuff".  We are approved for a 3 bedroom home on base because of baby bean(also part of pregnancy plan...if we hadn't come here pregnant we would have gotten a 2 bedroom home).  We have been told that we should be given an housing option within the next 15 days.  However we are free to decline if we don't want it and take the next offer.  It can take up to a year to get into the townhouses so we will most likely just take an apartment so that we can get in and settled before bean arrives.  I am pretty sure that we can rent or borrow some furniture if we get into housing before August 1st..as this is when our belongings are due to arrive here in Japan.  It should be an interesting Wednesday afternoon seeing off base options!  I want to take pictures to show Zack and then I'll post some as well.  Zack got off after lunch and was able to pick up new running shoes (his old pair was Navy issued at boot camp and were full of holes), then he bought himself a bicycle and all the necessary safety equipment...you must have a reflective vest, a light, and a bell or horn.  He has to go next door and register it...this is mostly if it is stolen and to make people think twice about bike theft.  They almost all have handle bar baskets so they can take stuff to and from work.  It is an interesting sight seeing all of these grown macho men in their uniforms riding bikes with baskets in the front...there arn't too many ways to man that up!  It's so humid here that Zack comes home dripping head to toe...even the towels and dish cloths in the room don't dry out all day long.  If we leave papers out in the room and not in the closets...they actually get damp.  But this is all in the name of energy conservation...I'd rather deal with this than have rolling blackouts.  Zack comes in from work and cranks up the fan...him and Noah are then in their respective underwear attire...Noah's hair is completely wet at the end of the day..especially if he's playing hard around the room.  On a side note Noah has been sleeping better at night...last night he woke up because he lost his bink in the bed covers(he sleeps in the other queen bed with pillows around him)...and the night before that he slept the entire night.  Because of the time difference I have hardly an fb updates on my homepage and so I pretty much stalk my own blog!  A bit on the "Oh, My" side I know.  However I am happy to report that one of you closet readers has become a follower!  Hoot, Hoot for you!  I am up to a whopping 5 and I am super excited! LOL..Also to report I have readers in the following countries: U.S., Japan, Germany, Netherlands, and Indonesia!  Zack likes to burst my bubble saying that some of these people might have typed something into Google and it came up and they clicked and then hit the exit button right away...however my spirit will not be dampened!  I appreciate everyone reading my rambelings and I report to Zack each night how people people visited the blog that day!  And to ramble...those family members that I have given our room number to...it will only be good until the 18th(Japan's 18th).  The room we are currently in is going to be remodeled and we will be moved to a room on the otherside of the Lodge.  We arn't too excited about having to move all of our "wonderful things" but just maybe this room will be bigger...but hopefully the same amount of storage.  I said "wonderful things" b/c there are two things that will send me to have steam come out of my ears in 2.0 seconds..1. pointing your finger at me while saying "you did..."...2. Calling my things crap or shit...both are just not cool...not cool at all.  Also today to knock off one of the last to do items...we have to go to PSD(personal support detachment) and get our passports stamped.  They were stamped at the AF base and no idea why they have to be stamped again but the list has spoken.  This list sure has a lot of power even though it's becoming a damp wrinkled piece of paper hanging on the fridge!