Saturday, November 21, 2009

Frustration!!!

Okay, so we are in the process of trying to get moved. It has been a freakin' nightmare!!! Dave, of course, decided to exercise his return rights back to Hill AFB, UT, six months ago. They actually did away with his job or consolidated it with another wing or group or something and didn't tell him. Then said that the lady that has his position isn't going to give it up or something like that.....the job was guaranteed to him by contract and condition of return rights. So Hill had to scramble to find him a position, found him one or created one for him. Between Hill and Aviano, they couldn't decide who was gonna write the orders, so Dave had to write them himself and submit them. Orders were approved and we began the process of getting everything set up.

Dave started the outprocessing by decideing when we were going to leave Aviano and getting our airline tickets. Then he had to schedule the movers, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving so any time was good for us, the sooner the better. They will be here on Monday and Tuesday to pack us out and load it into the crates. What are we going to sleep on? Well, Dave tried to make reservations at TLF (Temporary Living Facility) but they were completely booked for the time that we wanted a room, so he made reservations in town at a hotel. Come to find out, he had to call EVERY day to see if there were any cancellations at TLF or we would have to pay out of pocket for our hotel. LAST night we finally got TLF for the whole time we need it. Thank you!!! I really wasn't looking forward to having to eat out EVERY meal for 3 weeks.

Dave has been telling his bosses that he was leaving in December and that they needed to find someone for him to train on the programs that he uses so that the transition would be smooth. WELL, in all their wisdom they waited until FRIDAY to send someone over. Never mind the fact that he wasn't going to be in the office next week and his last day of work is the 4th of December. Oh yeah, and by the way, he had to move over to a new building on Thursday!!! BY HIMSELF!! He is so frustrated! People are thinking that what they need him to do has to be done YESTERDAY, never mind the fact that they have had six months to get their crap done before the deadline. Now that their deadline is here they want him to drop everything and get it done especially if there is a problem that should have been taken care of six months ago. UGH!! Stupid people!!!

One of Dave's co-workers tells him not to worry about it, do what he needs to do to get the heck out of here and not worry about all this other crap. The bosses knew six months ago he was leaving and if they waited until the last minute to find a replacement then it's their problem. But the only problem with all of that is Dave was raised to have good work ethics.....he can't leave his bosses hangin' out to dry.

Dave went to turn in the reading on our electricity and try to get a final bill. They told him that they couldn't give him a final bill until we actually turn in the keys, get the meter reading on that day, turn it in....they will give us a estimate of what it will cost, but not an actual final bill until 4 to 6 months from now. Yes, I typed that right..... FOUR TO SIX MONTHS FROM NOW. We will be in the states and they could jack up the final bill and we could end up owing thousands of dollars MORE than what we have already paid. UGH!!!

The Medical bill is the same way pretty much.....that is a long story in and of itself. One I don't want to have to think about this morning.

Oh the stuff we have to get done this week. Laundry today, prepareing talks to be given tomorrow in church, packing the suitcases, seperating and gathering stuff to be given away, seperating and gathering stuff that needs to be shipped ahead of us so it's there when we get there, move ourselves into TLF, clean the house, clean the FMO furniture, find and turn in the keys to the house, turn off the phone and internet, pick up medical records, turn in all the library books, sell the car, pay off the medical bill, finish out-processing, pick up a rental car, get to the airport, and fly out of Italy!! Holy cow, I guess I better get busy!!

Needless, to say we feel like we have been taken advantage of by the Italian government and our own because they allow the Italian government to do this to American citizens. Sure this is actually their base, but we put all the money into the buildings and the landscaping. The Italians get all the good civilian jobs on base, get paid much better wages, and get the better schedules. The Americans get whatever is leftover.

Don't get me wrong, we have LOVED being in Italy. We have fallen in love with the culture, art, people, and the country. We have had experiences here that we could NEVER have had any where else. Our family truly needed this experience. We have all grown closer together as a family, we have grown spiritually, and stronger as individals and as a family. We have learned to rely on each other and help each other. We have watched to church grow and members become active again. We kind of like to look at our living here as a three year mission. We know that we were sent here for a purpose, I pray we have accomplished that purpose. We have created memories that will last us all a lifetime. Now it is time to return to the states, Utah in particular and continue on our life's journey.

4 comments:

Emily Loose said...

Again the military system is proving the oxymoron of the term Military Intelligence. I am ex army and I think I spent at least half of the ten months I was in Germany trying to figure out how to get home and how I got there anyhow.... LOL

The Christensen Family said...

I am sorry you have had a hard time with trying to move. Moving no matter where your at can be a headache. I can't wait to see you all this next summer. love ya

Heather said...

Unfortuntely your story doesn't shock me! It is ridiculous how difficult it is to get out of there! We lived off base for like 9 months when we first got there and then lived in grhp for 2 years. We went to get our final bill before we left and after 2 yrs it still wasn't ready!! Then, in January we got a bill for a ticket we got when we were in Pisa-over a year earlier. I can understand your frustration and can only offer the consolation of all the fun things you will get home in time for-CHristmas, Wal-Mart, Target, Denny's, Olive Garden(my favorite Italian food!!)! Hang in there girl! IF you wanna come to Vegas let me know!!

Kari said...

What a mess! Randy totally understands Dave's frustration and he sends his condolences. Italy is a beautiful country, but still quite backwards and not up to speed. Take care and we'll hopefully see you in a few weeks!!