Is it better to...

Is it better to plan and possibly be disappointed or wing-it and be unequipped?

Word of the Day: "frustrated" from the word frustrate. pronounced "\ˈfrəs-ˌtrāt\ which means 1 a : to balk or defeat in an endeavor b : to induce feelings of discouragement in (cited below)." She became deeply frustrated as more information was unveiled and her plans consistently needed to change.

I'm a planner. Some call it OCD. I call it being smart.

For example, when Ben enlisted we were told 9 bases he'd most likely be stationed at. Since he's an Airman they were able to narrow it down a lot since he'd be working on/with planes/helicopters that would only be on carriers. 5 of these bases are CONUS (in the CONtinental U.S.), and 4 are OCONUS (Outside of the CONUS). Assuming we'd live on the base for the OCONUS stations, I focused on the ones in the states. Using various internet sites, I gathered research on each of the states and the cost of living there. Then I found out our BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) for each location. That gave me a decent approximation of what we should be spending in rent for that area. I was then ready to search apartments.

Another thing you should know about me: I heart spreadsheets! I typically make one any chance I get! I have them for financial decisions and budgeting, what church we should go to, my textbook and class choices for college (as well as the actual classes, but hey, I'm a math major, its useful for turning the data into graphs among other things), and so on. Sure it takes a little time to fill in and format the cells, but once you've done that you are golden! If Microsoft Excel was to disappear in the night, I'd be traumatized!

So I created tabs in my Apartments spreadsheet for each location and compiled my information so that I would have at least 10 places listed for each location. This helped us as Ben needed to fill out his "dream sheet." There was a chance that Ben would go right from boot camp to his duty station, and we were prepared with places to live at any of the places he might be stationed.

Once we learned it was Virginia, I was able to focus on the VA spreadsheet alone. I expanded the list as we received welcome packets with more information. Pretty soon I had 21 places that met our criteria. From there I put each complex on a map so I could visually rule some out. I even eliminated some of my favorite places since Ben would need to travel by bridge/tunnel each day from the peninsula to work (what if there's an accident?). This process narrowed it down to 6  places. I've even talked with rep's from each to get an understanding of our future landlords. One of which is a clear winner on paper and map, but I still haven't seen it so it's too soon to sign on any dotted lines. (Will you think I'm psychotic if I said that I even used a program where I uploaded the floor plan and drew in my furniture to scale to make sure things fit and that I'd be prepared on moving-in day?)

Well if you're not thinking that, you might be thinking [my preference] 'wow, that's gotta make things so stress-free, right?' Wrong.

Because you never know when you might get hit with the there's-a-chance-we-might-be-stationed-in-Jacksonville,FL-after-all brick. Or the we-might-get-paid-half-of-what-we-were-told-from-the-beginning brick. Or the no-you-can't-plan-a-surprise-stay-at-a-hotel-in-Boston-for-the-night-he-flies-in-from-A-School-beacuse-the-date-keeps-changing brick. Or my favorite, the I-need-you-to-overnight-some-things-they-told-me-I-need-ASAP-even-though-you-don't-have-a-car-since-a-semi-drove-into-you-on-your-way-to-my-graduation-and-it's-in-the-shop-and-since-it-was-a-hit'n'run-you-have-to-pay-the-deductible-which-has-to-come-out-of-your-moving-fund-and-you-can't-make-sense-of-the-LES-since-it's-locked-out-and-the-IT-guys'-computers-keep-crashing-and-you-probably-won't-find-out-for-awhile-anyway-since-it's-difficult-to-communicate-while-we're-apart-on-top-of-other-frustrations-like-the-term-papers-you're-writing-and-have-to-hand-in-bc-the-term's-almost-over-and-you're-scared-might-lower-your-GPA brick. 

Frustrating. I hate the feeling of helplessness. I know it's the military and there will be plenty of "bricks" in our time. Many others that we're dealing with aren't even listed in the above paragraph. 

Ben and I complement each other so well. He's strong in so many areas I'm weak in and vice versa. If I'm the planner, you can imagine what he's like in that area though (this isn't news, he'd be the first to admit that). So it's tough being disconnected from him and everything going on. I like being part of these decisions, not the last to know.

frustrated. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.

Retrieved April 27, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frustrated