Things I'm Looking Forward to in North Carolina

Having a life again.
I haven't worked, gone to school, or made any friends out here because I knew it was pointless with as little time as I was going to be around. I can't wait to feel like I have purpose and people that aren't my husband to hang out with once in a while. I love my husband, but he and I are both in agreement that we need more friends than just each other before we drive one another crazy. I need some girl time! Seriously, I foresee many attempts to drag Kesha's arse to North Carolina with temptations of beaches and shopping to make up for our lost time.

Access to all of my creative endeavors.
I want my luverly new guitar so I can learn how to play it and write more songs. I want access to my recently added scrapbooking hobby that I had hoped to bring here and ended up being unable to afford all the shipping costs. I want my good drawing paper and pencils. I want all of the random craft junk I've collected over the years to make nifty decorative things with. I find myself thinking, "Oh, I've got this piece of ribbon, button, or broken cell phone charm," just to remember it's rotting away in a storage building on the other side of the continent.

Kieran.
I want my dog back. I've missed him so! I need his company when Ryan is gone so I will be talking to a living, breathing being instead of myself all of the time. This is a real problem for me. Kieran is a great conversational companion. He never interrupts, and as long as there are belly rubs involved, he is quite attentive.

Ryan home on a daily basis without paying $9 a trip.
Because that's how much a taxi ride to or from base costs. One way. Hence the frequent usage of the $1-2 bus routes. And we're tired of feeling like we went back to dating. In terms of seeing each other and daily habits, we felt more married living in our apartment in Knoxville than we do now. And it sucks. It's better than not seeing each other at all, but we'd like to feel like we actually got married and didn't just dream the entire thing.

Groceries we can bring home in a car with which to make real food.
Eating out is great...when it's not every meal, and you only have about three restaurants to choose from. And when eating at home consists entirely of frozen vegetables and microwave dinner pasta or instant ramen, you start to feel a bit malnourished. Bring on the fresh ingredients and meals that actually require work! Here, having to walk several blocks to bring your groceries home puts a damper on your meal planning creativity. You live off of a handful of staples. Everything else you can live without if it means less to carry. Which brings us to the next item...

Having the car.
You mean I can go places that aren't on the bus route? In the middle of the night, even? I can make a 2AM run to feed my plain, cheeseless McDonald's double cheeseburger cravings if I so desire? And there's nothing to stop me? Holy bajeezus, that's amazing!

Finding a place to take a walk that won't involve being asked for money by a meth addict.
For heaven's sake, we just wanted to go to the 7-11 and get a soda! No we do not have money for you to pay for your supposed hotel room with. Why the devil would you get a hotel room that you couldn't pay for anyway? Even if your plight is real, that means you're a 'barracks ho', as they so nicely put it amongst the USMC students here, and we don't feel any pity for your moochingness. We'd almost rather you were a meth addict than someone who mooches the benefits off of new Marines who are too dense to know better than to marry some girl who looks like a possible meth addict and asks unknowing 7-11 customers for hotel room money in the parking lot. And don't get me started about the weird old guy at the bus stop that claimed he only smoked pot and didn't want to get involved with a friend of his who'd murdered his girlfriend the night before or something. I don't think I've ever been happier to get on a bus in my life.

Three more weeks...three more weeks...three more weeks...