Blogs from Springfield, Virginia, United States, North America - page 2

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North America » United States » Virginia » Springfield June 23rd 2007

I thought that I would add my first entry on the actual first day of travel, but I realized that the preparation is part of the journey as well. We have been preparing for several months now, but considering the enormity of our task it isn't nearly enough time. We have saved as much money as possible, and planned things as we thought appropriate, but in reality this journey will be about enjoying ourselves and the road less traveled so we have tried to remain fluid and relaxed as much as possible. Who knew trying to remain relaxed would be so much work! Today is my first day of being unemployed, and I was never so busy! We hired a couple of marines to come and take care of our jungle of a yard, the buyer ... read more

North America » United States » Virginia » Springfield July 11th 1975

Moving back to the States this time we experienced the worst culture shock ever; nothing like going from the States to Thailand. For one, when I came home from work the first evening and asked Linda “Hi, honey, what’s for supper?” she answered “Nothing, YOU fired the cook.” Secondly, although I was soon promoted to GS-12 my paycheck was effectively reduced by 40% or more as I no longer received a housing allowance that paid for rent and utilities, a 25% cost of living allowance that reflected the extra cost of living at U.S. standards in Thailand, and hardship pay for working in a remote dangerous place. Meanwhile, the cost of living in the Washington, DC metropolitan area was much higher than Thailand. So we even had to budget for the laundromat. We rented a one ... read more
Our young people's group at Ocean City, MD
Young people crabbing in Maryland
Crowd at Reflecting Pool waiting for the Bicentennial Fireworks




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