Finally an update on our crazy life

It’s been almost 2 weeks since I was last able to post an update about life here in Japan. It’s weird to think we’ve been here as long as we have (almost 4 weeks!) because some days we feel like we don’t know what we’re doing or how we got here….other days it feels like we’ve been here much longer than we actually have been. I’m going to do a really straight forward sectioned entry about the good, the bad, and the humid here in Okinawa.

Our ‘great’ car-

A few days after buying the car and getting the title we noticed the car was acting up. Shaking and lurching after driving for longer periods of time than just to and from the store. We took it by the auto body shop here on base and the most they could tell us without an actual appointment (which we didn’t have at the time) was that it could be a really easy fix or the death of the car. Yay. I asked how that’s possible when we had driven the car around the second gate of base and had no problems why was it suddenly acting up…and according to the tech it’s probably a problem they’ve been dealing with for a few weeks or months with the RVR. They claimed to have been using the vehicle daily without concern for 3 years so they were clearly bs’ing or willingly omitting vital information RE: the condition of the car. Instead of getting upset and pissed off about it we have decided to look at it as a lesson in trusting people. Obviously we understand not everyone is untrustworthy…but we will be more cautious about believing what others say and claim in the future. It is an expensive lesson - $2500 – but a lesson nevertheless. We’re going to take the RVR in soon to get checked out to make sure Christian is in no danger driving the car to and from work. Christian is already talking about selling the RVR in a few months (he has to have the car in his name for 4 months before selling it) to get another compact car similar to the Nissan.

Our car that is actually great-

After all that crap surfaced about the RVR we asked around Christian’s job for places people went to buy cars for reasonable costs. We heard about a place called B.C. Motors that is within walking distance from the hotel here on base. We walked over and looked at the car lot - which is FULL of all types of cars in great to excellent condition ranging between $4000 and $6000 – and found one that we loved almost immediately. It was a 2001 Nissan Primera, silver, automatic, with minimal wear & tear. We got to turn on the car, but they don’t allow test drives for Japanese auto sales due to insurance restrictions according to what we’ve been told. The air conditioning works perfectly, the back seat has plenty of room for two car seats, and it has good trunk space. We checked out the rest of the lot and saw a few cars that looked nice but they were more expensive, or were lacking in the back seat or the trunk space. After discussing the purchase agreement we bought the Nissan. It cost us $5050 total with a year of insurance, road taxes for a year, JCI for 2 years, and the car registration. We put $500 down cash and now have an 18 month lease – 0% interest – for the remaining $4550 balance which puts us at $250 a month for the car payment. This car is “mine” for the time being, at least until we get the RVR cleared because we don’t feel safe having Leah in there until we know for sure and hear for sure that the SUV isn’t going to randomly break down or explode. I love it, and I think it’s really cute. Makes me want to buy a Nissan when we’re back in the states!

Kairi-

She is now in the kennel on base. The short story (because I get really emotional about my dog, yes I am one of those weird people) is we were in a pet friendly Temporary Living Facility that they booked for another in-coming family 2 weeks after we arrived so they would have somewhere to stay with *their* dog. We were unable to rebook another pet friendly TLF so we had to put her in the boarding kennel temporarily. I can’t visit her too often because I get *really* upset seeing her behind a fenced door, just wanting to be given attention and love. She can’t come out so our only choice is to take turns going in to the kennel to pet her. I can’t go alone because Kairi gets so excited I can’t take Leah in with me. I have had Kairi since she was 7 weeks old and the longest I have ever been without her she was with my parents so I could call any time to know what she was doing and how she was. She was 8 months old when Leah was born so she was my first baby and I feel responsible for her beyond vaccinations and feeding her regularly. She’s part of our family, that’s why she is here in the first place…leaving her anywhere but with us doesn’t feel right.

Our new maison-

Housing finally got back to us the other day and we were given housing options. We ended up in a quadroplex (is that even a word?) by default because they are one of the only places pets are allowed in housing. We didn’t even bother looking at the tower apartments or the house – just called and said we’d take the pet friendly location. They said our tentative move-in date is around 20 August but we’ll get a call in the next week or so with a more accurate timeline. Our small shipment of items is already here and as soon as we have the house keys it’ll be delivered to us. The large shipment including the rest of our house basically is scheduled to arrive 19 September. We were able to find the house the other day and it looks alright overall…there are a few things that made us say “well that sucks” out loud but nothing worth complaining about. The house is definitely smaller than the one in California but we’ll make it work. It’s a 2 story 3 bedroom 2 bath by the 0900-2200 Video Rental, 24-hour shoppette, 24-hour Chili’s, and the Flight Line. Win-win overall!

Baby Z-

I’m going on 23 weeks pregnant right now and I’ve had a lot of discomfort lately. Falling asleep is rough, staying asleep is even more difficult, and I have times when I can’t even breathe because I feel like someone is stabbing me in my abdomen.  We walk every day for at least 30 minutes but remaining active isn’t getting easier with time. My knees are very sore and my back is constantly killing me. But I know it’s best for me and the baby so I push through it anyway. I have my first check-up in 5 weeks tomorrow so I guess we'll see what they have to say about the baby’s development and my discomfort. I feel him kicking and wiggling around nonstop so I know he is okay in there overall. I might have an ultrasound tomorrow according to a friend who had a baby here (she said she had one at every appointment) which I would happily welcome…I wonder if they’ll tell us Baby Z isn’t a “him” after all. :P

For now I have to get going again. Christian works late tomorrow but he will be coming with me to my appointment so I can actually be seen not just chase Leah around. I will have to come back tomorrow to post a photo entry so be on the look out!