Officially Sworn In

So Friday was graduation day, at least for the 161st A-100 class it was. I'm excited and a little sad to see it all end, although I have to admit I was ready to be done with the 8hr lecture days! Most of my classmates had their entire families come out for the big day to see them get sworn in, it very much reminded me of the excitement surrounding my commissioning day as an AF officer* I wish I could have been more enthused, but I generally hate these types of events (I even skipped my own college graduation!). It does feel really good to be an official FSO, though. Now I just need to get my paws on that little black passport and I'll be on my way to ruling the world, mwah hah hah hah...er, I mean I'll be on my way to Manila. Same thing.

Anyway, since I enjoy imposing some type of order on this incredibly eclectic and nonsensical blog, I've decided to try and use this forum to actually provide some useful information in addition to my bits of random and useless info. Thus I bring you:

Useful Bits

This whole experience of joining the FS with a special needs kid has been quite the adventure. It is not as simple as having just a Class 2 Med EFM (eligible family member), which you can get cleared through Med itself. For a special needs kid you have to get substantiating info from the schools at Post that they have the appropriate curriculum for whatever it is your particular child needs (in our case A needs speech and occupational therapists and has an IEP that lays out specific goals in each of these areas). You also have to get verification from Post that they have the specialists needed to support the child’s IEP. Originally I had not planned to contact Post until I was much closer to my ETA since my TM1 (the travel message that lets Post know I’m coming) hasn’t even been issued yet, and I hadn’t even begun to think about choosing a school for the kids yet since I still have to enroll them for this school year here in VA! Ah, well, this long-term planning is generally right up my alley. I have sent the CLO (Community Liaison Officer) an e-mail to see if they can help me out since I don’t even know where to start to gather all this info! There is also yet another yahoo group dedicated to FS parents with special needs kids that I am hoping will be another good resource of information for us as we try to figure all this out. Oh, and State does have a lot of guidance out there both on the internet and the intranet, but every situation with a special needs child is unique so each case must be handled individually. Will keep you posted on how this progresses regardless of interest, lol.

Random Shit

On the way home from mandatory fun last week, some friends and I were discussing the blogosphere, and they were stymied by the fact that they couldn’t come up with a clever name for their blogs. First I had to explain that my blog name is actually sort of clever, or at least not insulting (Pu is my Chinese name – pronounced Pooh, not Pee Yew as so many people seem to think. My blog name is a play on Pooh’s Corner, not a reference to my BO). So, anyway, my girlfriend from A-100, M, came up with the awesome idea for a blog named, “I Would Rub My Face All Over That.” She was referring to the rotating gold statue of ex-president of Turkmenistan

but she was also open to the idea of rubbing her face all over the Neutrality Arch

Personally, I think this is a fucking fantastic idea for a blog. Imagine all the things you’d like to rub your face all over like:

Giant Pandas

Pilipino Rice Terraces

Giant piles of pink feathers

Hugh Jackman

A big bowl of pho

Okay that last one might not be such a good idea depending on how hot the soup was, but, still, that’s a lot of shit to rub your face all over. The possibilities are endless!

*Fun Fact - The FS oath of office and the military officer oath of office are exactly the same! :)