Introducing the Perez Family: On the road again...or not...

Alright, so a couple days ago, Ray lets me know that his higher up (heck if I remember if it was a SGT or something else) states that anyone scheduled to leave in April, May or June needs to fill out a form stating their intentions to either stay in Hawaii or go to the next duty station. Well we are scheduled to leave in April, so we have to fill out the form. Originally we had intended to fill out a FSTC which is Foreign Seas Tour Curtailment. In civilian speak, that's the form to go to the next duty station. Well it was suggested to Ray that he call his Branch Manager (the person who decides where soldiers are going and when) to find out what stations are open in the time period that we were told to give (late January/early February) and low and behold the only station open is...KOREA.

Now Korea is still considered a war zone, so if we did go to Korea, I'd be stuck on the base. Sort of defeats the purpose of seeing a foreign country. Also, it'd be hard to leave and get back to if I wanted to visit people, and I sure as heck am not going to say "Ray you can go there on your own and I'll keep Emi with me." Yeah right. So that's pretty much out. We could wait and see if there is another station that might open up next month, but there's a chance that while we wait, they may just randomly decide that Ray's going to Korea no matter what.

So now our hand has been forced and we have to fill out the form to STAY in Hawaii. It will end up with us staying until August 2011. Ray will end up deploying in August 2009. The good bits about this is that I can finish my Associate's Degree at the same college by the end of 2009 and begin working towards a Bachelors. I also have a job that I can start up again, once Emi gets accepted into Day Care (Right now she's on the waitlist), and keep for a couple years. This will be nice because due to moving, having Emi, and the whole deployment bit, I haven't held the same job for longer than 8 months. And I LIKED working at the Kako'o 'Ike Office. Also Ray will be deployed around the time that he can reenlist (which he's already decided he will be doing) and so the reenlistment bonus (which tends to be a large chunk of change) will be non taxable since he's in a combat zone and so we'll get it all. And also, I have a friend here in Hawaii that has a son only a month and a half older than Emi that Emi has known since she was three weeks old (I put pictures up of them in a previous post). So at least she'll get to have a pal to play with till she's a little over three years old. I'm sure she'll like that.

The bad thing about staying in Hawaii...Hard as Heck to see friends and family on the Mainland. We'll be going to Colorado in November, and probably hit the West Coast in December 2009 when Ray gets two weeks break from deployment, but that's not nearly enough time with family and friends. So bleh. And for us, that's a major negative, but we really don't have any other choice. With the choices being Korea or Hawaii...Hawaii wins.

So that's the news. Sorry that we won't be on the Mainland for a while longer.

Here's some pictures of Emilee to cheer everyone up. =)