Lets just say I am not too happy with the Army right now, and have experienced some major cons to the military life this week. Drew and I have been having a major financial crisis due to various things, but this month I had a mis-communication with our bank and the car payment for Drew's jeep was withdrawn the same day our rent was also supposed to be deducted. Well, the rent check bounced, so on Tuesday we were frantically trying to get the whole situation worked out, but anything that could go wrong did go wrong. Unfortunately, our Columbus bank account will not automatically deposit out-of-state checks. They put a five day hold on them to clear, which is very inconvenient when you need the money immediately. And, come to find out, absolutely NO store in Columbus will cash personal checks. Drew was allowed to come home for a couple hours to help me, but by the end of the day we gave up hope and realized we would have to pay the fine for the late rent check.
A friend of ours told us about an Emergency Relief Loan the Army provides for soldiers, which gives a certain amount of money at no interest. When it is ready to be paid back, it can start to be withdrawn from a paycheck. We were told it would be no big deal to apply for, so we decided that that would be the way to go. Of course, though, it did turn into a big deal. Drew applied for it Wednesday morning, and by Wednesday afternoon his first sergeant called him in. The chain of command came to the conclusion that we are "living beyond our means", and we were "ordered" to move to a house on-post. As soon as Drew told me this, I obviously was furious and had plenty of concerns... I don't see how living on-post will help us, when it is going to take all of our BAH? Right now, our apartment is about $100 less than our BAH so how can that be considered living beyond our means? And if they are going to order us to move, they BETTER move all of our stuff for free, and get us out of our lease without any penalties. We also owe the apartment complex a $500 pet fee for having a large dog upon our lease expiration, so are they going to pay that as well? On Thursday, we went to post and got to walk-through the only house that was available for immediate move in (they wanted us to move by this weekend). It was an old, two-story duplex with three bedrooms, and two and a half bathrooms. Our two bedroom, one and a half bath apartment is too big for us right now. Also, the new house had absolutely no carpet anywhere, and it shared a yard with the neighbors. My biggest concern was that Brody does NOT like little kids, and the first thing we saw when we drove up were the neighbors' three young kids playing in the yard. Fantastic. I expressed these concerns to the housing agent, and she told us of another on-post community that consists of smaller houses with their own fenced yard. We drove through that area, and loved the looks of them. They all were brick, southern-style houses with screened front porches. Of course, none are currently available and we would have to be on a waiting list (anywhere from one week to two months wait). Our plan was to put our name on the list, and hope that Drew's chain of command would be okay with the fact that we are at least trying for on-post housing.
The next step was to talk to our apartment complex and see what the process would be to break our lease. On Friday, Drew called the finance manager, and was told that the military clause (which protects soldiers from penalty of needing to break a lease due to official orders, such as deployment or PCS) does not cover orders to move on-post, since they are not considered "official". Consequently, we would have to give sixty days notice to vacant the unit, and if we moved out before then, we would still owe two months rent. Also, we would lose our deposit and any money that we have put towards the apartment thus far.
That pretty much puts the moving plan to a halt. Drew has a four day weekend, so on Tuesday he is going to have to tell his sergeant that there is no possible way moving would help us. Please pray that they understand, because they have the ability to make our lives hell if they choose to do so.
On a happier note, Drew has a FOUR DAY WEEKEND!! I have been hanging out with Amanda a lot this week, also. Wednesday we went shopping for a birthday present for our friend Jessica's son, who had his first birthday on Friday. Then on Thursday we took her dogs to Flat Rock Park and walked one of the trails. Friday, I went with her to take her dogs to the veterinary clinic on-post, which was an experience in itself. The entire hospital was unorganized and chaotic, and neither of us felt comfortable. There were way too many dogs crammed into one small lobby. Fortunately, both her dogs were excellent. I think they were more relaxed than we were.
Yesterday, Drew and I went to Danny's first birthday party and had an awesome time. Danny is SO adorable, and he was very worn out at the end of the party. Everyone stayed long after he fell asleep, and we didn't get home until after midnight. When we got home, I set the alarm clock wrong and it didn't go off to wake us up for church. Last Sunday we were in Nashville, so this is the second time in a row we have missed it. We feel horrible, so have agreed to do extra devotionals and bible studies tonight.
Today has been a lazy day. Right now we are watching Mr. Brooks... one of my favorite movies ever. Later we are going to go to Winn-Dixie, because we finally have some money to get groceries. Drew and I have made a pact to start eating healthier and get in better shape.
Which reminds me that I forgot to write about the Fitness Boot Camp I have enrolled myself in. I'll write much more about that in the next post!
Love,
Katelyn
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