AC school and BIG news....

Well I completed Little Rock's AC school portion and made it home just in time for thanksgiving. Amy and I had a HUGE gathering and squeezed 24 people into our house for the big meal. It was excellent. I found out in December that I got a school slot for Kirtland AFB starting January 8th for the second half of AC school. I was extremely happy because that meant I didn't have to upgrade in house, which can take as long as a year or more. So right now I'm dragging along in AC school flying about once a week trying to get done. In theory I still only have two more flights and a checkride, but when you only fly once per week, and half the time you don't get completed due to weather or maintenance, those two flights can be an eternity. I am hoping to be home by April fools day. I'll keep holding on to that glimmer of a hope for another week or so. Then I will be a full blown Aircraft Commander and able to lead my own crew into battle (sounds exciting doesn't it?).
In other news, all of my hard work has paid off, and I fooled the squadron into giving me the honors of being the Company Grade Officer (CGO) of the year. A pretty big deal in itself. After that I competed at the group level, and won the same award for the group. I don't really think I deserve it, but it will give a HUGE boost to my career. Just call me General....okay maybe not :)
In BIG BIG news I received my next assignment from my commander. After turning down the opportunity to extend and stay in England for another year, they awarded me with an even better opportunity to live in Japan for the next three years. After reseraching realestate in Florida for the last year and a half, you can image my surprise when I heard. Amy and I talked it over, and we are both now very excited to be going. Adventure, here we come! We will be living in Okinawa and stationed at Kadena AB. SO all of you that are reading, come on out and VISIT! Okinawa is supposed to have a subtropical climate and the pictures I have seen look AMAZING. Downsides will be anther small house (possible smaller) more importantly, another small kitchen, and Amy will have to go another three years without a full time job. An idea I think she is starting to get used to. Upsides will be the amazing experience, the incredible travel opportunities, I'll still be getting Cost of Living Allowance (an extra $1000 per month) and the great TDY's (for me at least). We will be heading out that way this August. As the time gets closer, we'll have to see if I wil be able to makea stop in the US along the way to visit with some folks before we go. Getting back from Japan will be more challenging than getting back from England. Most importantly of all, Amy found the pet rescue website in Okinawa so we can get a dog (maybe two) when we arrive. Crazy Times!