C.O.M.A.

electric boating around lake union


at the gorge during o.a.r. i'm topless.


partying at the gorge campground prior to the dave matthews band/o.a.r. concert (pictured from left to right-josh l., mike, marcelle w., katie f., tom w., aron l., matt l., sarah l., sage l., not pictured will l., nate l.)


we rented a furnished, claustrophobic camper for a night at the rv park on naval station whidbey island...perhaps that'll be our next duty station


us on the walla walla ferry b/tw edmonds and kingston


leslie preparing to hit a pinata at her welcome home party. also pictured--friends aron linn and tim hobbs


mustache contest at leslie's welcome home party. who won? (pictured are leslie's dad gary, aron, and mike)


sunset at the edmonds summer house

it's been a while. gordon and i were back in the states for 5 months while leslie was deployed, and frankly i didn't have much to bitch about.

we've all been back in guam for a week now. gordy had to spend a few days in quarantine just until the vet could examine him. he's now back at home but unfortunately suffered a deep gash on his hind footpad while playing at the beach. so we're back to playing vet once again, bandaging his wound, and babying him.

fortunately we seemed to have returned during the muggiest part of the year. as an added bonus, the DOD (dept of defense) just passed a visionary bill whereby the local navy and air force exchanges have to "buy" the alcohol they sell from local distributors (they really just give them a cut of the money--i don't think the distributors actually do anything--the military buys/transports/etc the alcohol just like before). so now a 6pack of shitty domestic beer that previously cost <$5 now costs ~$9. i'm not sure if this bill applies stateside, but it wouldn't be a big deal stateside b/c alcohol really isn't any cheaper on base than off.

we receive C.O.L.A. (cost of living allowance) here. however, COLA really doesn't make up for what we have to deal with. i propose the military also provide for a C.O.M.A. (cost of misery allowance). this need not be money. it could be free trips back home to see friends and family. or my favorite bottle of wine (that hasn't been irrevocably ruined in the transport process). or not having to ask someone to do their job.

leslie returned from kuwait on august 8th and flew immediately to seattle to meet gordy and me. leslie's parents and sister candice came the following week for visits which coincided with a welcome back party i threw for leslie. leslie also got to spend some time with my brother tom and his wife marcelle who live in the area. her sister-in-law katie also made it out to seattle while leslie was home. leslie enjoyed the respite from work, and spent many days (and much of her tax-free money she earned during deployment) shopping. i know, you're thinking "why not wait till you get back to guam and it's plethora of shopping opportunities?" i guess she couldn't help herself. she starts back working full time at the hospital next friday.

mike worked at a clinic in edmonds, washington over the summer and loved it--~30hrs/wk, no call, and only 2 saturdays--pretty posh. he and gordy rented a furnished house in edmonds with views of the sound, the olympics, and whidbey island--it was known to his friends as the "summer" or "beach" house, as they invariably vacationed there every weekend. sunsets were spectacular. he is back working at his clinic in guam, albeit only in the mornings, until leslie goes back to work.

gordon also enjoyed his short visit back home to the states. as the climate was more to his liking, he was more active and trimmed down to a lean 70 lbs (he weighed 88 lbs when he left guam). he's still readjusting to the oppressive heat here, but i suspect his weight loss will reap longer ball fetching benefits.

we are trying to keep in closer touch with our friends and family so look us up on skype to talk free over the internet.