Semper Gumby

The Coast Guard motto is Semper Paratus, or Always Prepared.

The motto for the Coastie wives (as told to me by a fellow wife) is Semper Gumby.  Always Flexible.  I'm starting to learn just how true a motto it is.

Let me give you an example:

Mike was told a few weeks ago that he would get underway on Friday, August 19, and be gone for a week.  About a week later, the trip was called off.

Then, last Monday, the trip was back on.  Mid-week, the trip got pushed back to Sunday, the 21st.  A day later, he was leaving Saturday morning at 11:30.  A few hours after that, it was 12:15.  The changes were coming so fast we could hardly keep up.

I dropped Mike off at 12:15 on Saturday.

About 3 hours later, Mike was knocking on the door.  The Powers That Be had decided that because of the impending storm, the trip should wait.  Mike could, however, be recalled at any moment.

That moment came on Sunday at 6:26 am.

I dropped Mike off at around 7:15 that morning.

He was home by around 3:30, ready to ride out the storm with me.  He was to report back at at 6 am Monday morning in case he was needed for search and rescue after the storm.

At about 7 pm, Mike got recalled again.

I dropped Mike off at around 7:30 Sunday evening.  It was the third time in a day and a half that I had dropped Mike off at work, not knowing when I'd see him again.

Meanwhile, it's Thursday evening and Mike *should* be home tomorrow.

I really hope he'll be back tomorrow, but I'll be Semper Gumby . . . just in case.

Hallelujah!

June 27 - Movers arrive to pack up our household goods in New York City.

July 13 - The Millers arrive in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

August 1 - The Millers move into our new apartment.

August 16 - Initial estimate for arrival of household goods.  Household goods do not arrive.

August 21 - Receive updated estimate for arrival of household goods for August 23.

August 22 - Hurricane Irene.

August 23 - Household goods do not arrive.

August 25 - Receive phone call from delivery company.  Household goods on island.  Delivery scheduled for September 2.

September 2 - . . .

Please, sweet Lord, let our household goods be delivered on September 2!

I love what you've done with the place!

Mike and I moved into our new place on August 1.  For us, that meant packing up our suitcases and what little food we had in our little kitchen at La Concha, and driving around the corner to our new building.  In our apartment, we would wait for our new mattress and box spring to be delivered.  We would also await the cable guy who would install our phone, internet and cable DVR service.  But first we'd have to go buy a new TV.  You see, we shipped our furniture, electronics, kitchen supplies, and most of our clothing from NYC at the end of June, and none of it was expected to arrive until August 16.  Why did we move in to an empty apartment on August 1, then?  We didn't want to lose out on the apartment we loved.

This is our apartment as we moved in.  The mirrored walls were not our favorite feature, but they definitely give the allusion of a much larger apartment, and we're getting used to them.

Our guest room and master are pretty basic, but we were none too thrilled with the scuffed-up blue walls:

Mike has been going off to work every day, so I've been doing some home improving to keep me busy.  My job while he was in Baltimore this week was to paint the master bedroom and the living room.  I didn't love the idea of painting over the wallpaper in the living room, and I couldn't get the paint tub open.  I was bored, and Mike wasn't going to be home for another 3 days.  So, I started tearing down the wallpaper.  I was immediately really glad that I did.  We had a serious mildew problem.

I needed to tell Mike, but I knew he was working so I texted him instead.

L:  Don't be mad at me.

M:  What'd you do?

L:  <Insert picture in text here>

M:  . . .  <Calls Lila>

L:  I couldn't get the paint tub open, and I was bored, and . . . and . . . WE HAVE MILDEW!

M:  Alright, we'll take care of it.  Good thing you took down the wallpaper.

L:  <Sigh of relief>

Umm, yea.  We're gonna need to get this situation taken care of STAT.  Mike is now home to help, and we've started bleaching out the mildew.  

Before ripping down the wallpaper and creating a huge mess, I did get the bedroom painted.  I let Mike pick the colors and he opted for 2 shades of grey.  I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but it's definitely grown on me.   

You know you're jealous of that mirrored wall!   Seriously though, my friend, Tammy, told us that after 5 years of living in an apartment with mirrored walls, she really missed having the full-length mirror.  She's right--it's actually a really nice feature!

And, yes, that is a cardboard box being used as a bedside table for Mike.  It's a work in progress, people!

Speaking of works in progress and cardboard boxes . . . Honey, dinner's ready.  

This is where we sit down to eat when we manage to cook up a meal with our 1 pot and 1 pan.  We call it 'hobo chic.'

While we wait for our household goods to arrive, we're making do with what we've got.  But, man, we miss our stuff!

She's baaa-aack . . . or, Big Sis Comes A-Callin' and Justin Takes a Dive

So I've been out of the blogging loop for a while.  I've been home-improving, and I've been lazing.  I've been doing anything but blogging.  Well, I'm back.  This post should've been written about 10 days ago. Better late than never, I suppose.

My sister, Lillie, came to visit me in Puerto Rico the last weekend in July.  The timing couldn't have worked out better.  My birthday was that Friday, and Mike was going to miss it because he was underway on the US Coast Guard Cutter Reef Shark until Saturday morning.  His trip was last minute, and I was incredibly thankful that Lillie had already planned the trip so I wouldn't end up spending my birthday sola.

Lillie arrived Friday afternoon after a long day of travel.  We immediately headed to the pool for some frosty beverages.  It was a gorgeous day and we sat and caught up while getting a little sun and planning our weekend.  Mike was due to arrive Saturday morning, but there was still the possibility that some sort of emergency would cause the boat to stay out longer than planned.  "We're scheduled for 4 days, but pack for 6," the CO had told him.

Mike arrived on Saturday morning as scheduled.  Yay!  We hadn't seen each other since Monday morning, and we were both ready for our reunion.  Mike got settled and showered, and we headed to Old San Juan to walk around and check out the sights.  Lillie was also hoping to find a birthday present for our dad (we call him Papi).  I won't go into details on our shopping until after Papi's birthday, but we think the trip was a total success!

Saturday night was birthday dinner, compliments of Lulu and Papi.  (Thanks, L & P!)  We ate at BLT Steak in the Ritz Carlton hotel, and had a really nice meal.  After dinner, everyone was super tired, so we called it an early night, headed back to the hotel, and went to bed early.  We had planned a trip to El Yunque rain forest the next morning, and we all wanted to be well rested.

After a few mis-cues with the directions to El Yunque (hey Justin, the Navigator ideally should read the directions), we found our way to El Yunque.  We intended to take a zip-line tour of the forest, but the hotel concierge had neglected to tell us that a) reservations were required; and b) it was $100 per person.  Even though the company could fit us in for that afternoon, we weren't really prepared to drop that kind of cash, so we decided to drive through the rain forest, stopping and checking out the sights along the way.

Our first stop was La Coca Falls.  (Hi Random Guy in my picture!)  We stopped here to eat our Cubanos from Kasalta.  Kasalta Cubanos are told to be the best on the island, and Mike and I have gone at least once a weekend.  Even President Obama made a stop at Kasalta when he was here earlier this year!  Ok, enough about Kasalta, back to El Yunque . . .

We continued to drive up and into the rain forest until we found a nice hiking path that would eventually lead us to La Mina waterfalls.  The intrepid hikers set off.  I'm not sure if you know this about a rain forest, but it's hot.  And it's humid.  And we were sweaty.  That's not to say we weren't having fun; we were just having hot fun.  Lillie and I quickly realized that we were hiking downhill and would have to hike back uphill to get back to our car.  Good times.

You may be wondering about the title of this blog.  Justin was all about finding the waterfalls and diving . . . or so he said.  Thankfully, he realized that he'd be diving to certain death and opted for life.

Hey, Justin!  Look over here, let me get a picture of you!  No?  Ok, I'll take a picture of you taking a picture.

Hi, boys!  Cute pose!

I don't think those vines are gonna hold you up, Tarzan . . .

Back from our hike (I was totally drenched) we decided to head back down the mountain and enjoy the (dry) air conditioning in the car.  By the way, we never did reach La Mina Falls - we were either on the completely wrong path, or stopped just short of reaching the falls.  Note to self for next time: park at the Falls and take your hike from there, rather than set off on an unknown path and hope to reach the Falls.  

On our way down the mountain, we passed this scenic overlook and stopped to take some pictures.  Absolutely gorgeous views - too bad the iPhone camera didn't quite do it justice.

And now for the real fun - we totally had to stop at 2 little tourist shops to take pictures.  It was the absolute highlight of the day!

Ole!

Ummm, what exactly does this have to do with Puerto Rico?  Yea, I'm not sure either.

I can hardly decide which is my favorite.  Lillie and Justin posing as the opposite sex?  Mike and his cleavage?  Or the creepy alien in the corner?

We loved having our first visitor in Puerto Rico, and I was doubly grateful for my sis to be here on my birthday!

Post Script:  Justin took that dive after all!  While trying to allow some ladies to pass during our hike on the narrow and muddy trail, Justin lost his footing and flew forward.  Lucky for him, a tree broke his fall and he didn't go careening into the river.  Not so lucky for his ribs.  (I can't believe I missed the photo-op of Justin curled around that tree, but damn! homeboy moves fast when he's embarrassed!)