WADADM*

V arrived safely in N Dakota. Her first text from the place? "It's flat"

She was met by her sponsor, Msgt. L. Most incoming Airmen have other A1C's or SrA's as sponsors. My kid? Nothing of the sort for her. She has a Master Sergeant! Not only that, this guy is an MMT Team Chief! On the one hand that's way cool and on the other it's not.

Great to have high rank who knows you and can show you the ropes. Not so great that it's hard to get to know someone when you have to maintain distance for fear of forgetting the rank difference when it matters. V was a little sketchy on how she should behave around her sponsor, but it sounds like it's working out just fine. She says he's cool. Heck, he met her at the airport and took her to lunch at Hardee's/Carl's Jr. How bad can he be?!

First thing he did on base was to take her to the MMT workshop where she got to wander around and meet people. When they asked Msgt. L. who that was he replied, "This is Thomas, our new MMT." The response? "Sir. She's a GIRL." Well duh, you noticed. LoL V is the only female MMT at Minot and only the second it's ever had. It'll take them some time but they'll get used to it. V handles herself well regardless of the 'parts' with which you were born.

While in the workshop she noticed two things. 1. Her name tag on a board all ready for her! and 2. Right next to it says: 'hazing week'... which was immediately followed by nearly getting hit in the head by a football. Got to love good peripheral vision and wicked reflexes! LOL She was amused; especially by the thought that the team may well have to revise their hazing plan to accomodate the fact that she's a female!

After the workshop came the huge let-down of the day...
The Dorm

Dorms at Minot are assigned by your job. She should be in the MMT dorm. There's no suite (two females) open there now, so she's in a Special Forces dorm (Cops). This does NOT make her happy. She wants to get to know her fellow MMTers and learn everything they have to share. That's gonna be difficult if she's not living there.

None of the dorms at Minot have been updated [read: demolished and new ones built - as is the AF plan] since the dawn of time. The place is a mix of beige and bad wood tones that don't match each other. The sink runs hot and hotter (no cold), the bathroom is missing floor tiles, the mirrors are dirty and one is not hung, the window didn't open, there was no lightbulb in the lamp, no charger for the cordless vacuum, no shelf pegs for the shelves that were stacked on the floor on the cabinet... and the list went on.

She said it's like a mix of an old run down motel and a prison. In her words, "I am so unimpressed."

Add to that the fact that she'd been travelling all day (3 flights), had a headache, was dehydrated and meeting new people in a new place for the past few hours and this was one stressed out kid. I'm happy that the one thing that calmed her was calling me and sharing her day. It was our own little decompression chat.

I gave her marching orders to either nap for an hour or go walk around and meet people or both. I think she unpacked and unwound and did a little bit of exploring. Either way she finally slept.

This morning's phone call was much more cheerful. She'd looked around and found a night stand shelf that pulled out of the side of her bed. Her books and a few special items were on display on her headboard shelf. Her red sheets were neatly on her bed. Another light switch was discovered and there was even a bulb in the ceiling fixture... and she managed to get the (screenless) window open for some fresh air! As we spoke she was sitting on her desk half out the window saying "It's kinda pretty here".

Ok, I can breathe now. She'll be ok.

On another front... Joshua is unrecognizable from his prior ghostly, ghastly, sick-face. He's turned the corner, the fever broke and he's hungry again. (Heaven help me!)

He slept last night in his sister's room... because her bed is "unbelievably comfy!" Is it un-Manly or something to admit that he misses her?! Sheesh. Guys.

I'm just thankful that my kids are both ok.

*what a difference a day makes