It's a MONNNNNNNSTERRRRRRR..

I have opened Pandora's box. I shouldn't be, and really am not, surprised that it is so writhing with strange things unknown, but am a bit taken aback in coming to realize that my future life will be made in learning to play nicely with such writhing strange creatures. I refer in this case to the military. That complex beast that will so wonderfully provide things like health care in the coming years but requires multiple glossaries to keep the acronyms straight.

My dear love has made a smart career for himself in choosing to pay for a fantastic undergrad education through the generosity of the military and now, finishing law school is training to be a military-lawyer-type on the East Coast while I finish up school and work in Seattle in readiness for our move to Korea.

While he has been out of the military mindset for the 3 years of law school, he's rapidly getting back in with things like "survivor physical training" in which while competing for a spot in airborne, the crew of trainees heads out twice a week at 5:30 am and goes until someone quits and then resumes the next time with one person less. Which, maybe doesn't sound so terrible until I realize that Ben trained for a marathon less than 3 months ago, and still sounds beaten down most times when we talk. I also got the insight from a peer in my master's program (a military spouse herself) that she's often seen that the quitee has to walk to the front of the group, ring a bell and apologize for quitting. I realize it's part of the breaking down/building up bit the Army does, and my personal trainer was practically salivating on hearing this, but it blows my mind just a bit.

This same classmate, Liz, walked up to me tonight at a school event and asked, "Do you have your copy of 'Married to the Military' or should I lend you mine?" While I've been relieved to find some books at the local library that claim to explain the acronyms, foreign culture and mysteries of how to keep your life together while moving all the time, it's also a little unnerving. I find the experience somewhat analogous to my senior year of college when I had accepted my Teach For America assignment in Memphis, but was just waiting nervously for the few months between it and me. I can read up on the general literature, ponder and possibly scrounge Facebook for people who might be there with me, but in the end I just have to sit around knowing everything is going to change completely and soon, without really being able to prepare for it. Luckily then as now there are intermediary tasks to like graduating to keep the brain occupied until nearer that time.

I also know that part of the quandry is that I'm again leaving everyone I know (ok, sans Ben and my sister) and this time moving to an entirely new continent (I've traveled abroad a good bit but never lived there) and attempting to make a new life, friend circle, career, etc. I am incredibly lucky to be moving somewhere awesome like Seoul with a fantastic spouse, getting to hang with my sister for a few months after a 2 year hiatus and to be in a structure so formalized as the Army for many needs abroad. However, when logging into "the leading" website for military others, seeing most chatroom discussions revolving around babies and husband's ranks... I just hope there are other people like me. And that I get a really amazing job doing something of value. Ok, so I guess I'm putting a lot of hopes on Korea.

I think I might start a Korean-word-of-the-day/Military-jargon-of-the-day in my posts.

Last sunny thought of the day: Officially 10 days to the wedding. Are you kidding me?