Medical Screening

     Part of the process to be allowed to move overseas is an medical overseas suitability screening. Depending upon whether your the sailor or the spouse the accumulated time for your process can differ drastically. Either way be as proactive as you can before you get hard orders and as soon as you get those orders act quick!
     The actual screening you can't do until you have hard orders but you can get some things done before. For one locate your complete, up to date immunization record. Anything you're missing see if you can convince your primary care doctor to do them ahead of time to save you work down the road. I was able to get my tDAP done early but they had me wait on my PPD test due to a national shortage.  Also make sure if there's any medical appointments you are due for get them done! This includes dental, gyno, etc. There's actually a specific form that must be filled out by a dentist that says you're good to go.
     Once those orders come in your sailor jsut has to go to the ship. They literally do all of their screening, paperwork and filling. Needless to say Danny was done in a day. Mine however took a bit longer. You do NOT need physical hard copies of your records if they were completed at a navy medical location because they are in the computer records system, however any outside records or immunization charts bring the hard copy. Before you even get your screening you have a pre-screening where they look to make sure you're paperwork is in check and set you up with an appointment. Make sure you have your official orders with you otherwise they won't do anything. When they looked at my things they noticed my immunization records had not been updated in a while and I also needed the PPD test. So that very day they did the PPD test and my blood was drawn to find out exactly what I had immunity to. Since this began the process I was able to set up my appointment. Make sure to know your timeline. Most people get 30 days to work with on their ship; we got 15. Even though they may assure you, know you're timeline because they won't be anywhere in sight if weeks down the road they were wrong and it's somehow negatively effecting you then.  For the PPD test the only way to really get it is if you're required. After the initial injection you come back in 48-72 hours to check the results, at which time I found my blood draw results. I had zero immunities! So basically I got 3 more shots that day, in a month I will get 2 more and my last one will be while we are in Japan.  People can actually loose their immunities, ( I never knew) which I had. However I must say, had I just had up to date records from the pediatrics of Lima, I wouldn't be getting poked so much.
     For the actual screening arrive early, sign in, have all your paperwork ready to go and wait. The doctor will literally look over everything you have, your electronic file and ask a few questions. The screening itself is maybe 20 minutes. Once they sign off the main medical desk copies everything for their records. All the signed paperwork gets taken into the ship so they can verify and file away that information. If they want to keep any documents ask to have copies made. All of this is for our approval of entrance.
     Next we are on our way to sorting out flights, HHG and lodging. Dogs are basically done just need to send some minor paperwork. There's a lot to do in all of this but it can very easily be segmented down into manageable portion sizes. The thing that irritates me the most it waiting on others across the world to move in a quicker manner when I'm waiting to move to the next step upon their response. Luckily I'm a  very squeaky wheel.

No- Fee Passports

     So as I said there are many things we must do in order to go to Japan. Thing is they just drop it on you along with a plethora of booklets(often VERY outdated or vague) and assume you know the direction to go and the order or which to do things.Right. I have had a descent amount of help from a friend but just the same each base and port is different so I'd like to lay it out as clearly as possible to help anyone who may be going through an OCONUS move as well because the Navy is not going to give you a step by step as they should.
     In the olden days of hard work civilians hired form Uncle Sam provided much aide. All the forms, photos, etc we done at the office. A one stop shop if you will. Those days are dead. Now you and your ship need to have everything before hand otherwise they just don't have the time to bundle your stuff and put a stamp on it. So you need the following:

    
1) Orders: official paper, original from the ship
  

Yea, I know it looks like "Hipster Mugshots"

 2)Memorandum Endorsement for Dependents: Essentially this is saying" Why yes you do need one              of these" even though every spouse needs them just the same. This form can be found in potentially 2 places. We were told it can be found on your ship BUT it must be on official PSD command letterhead. Ours did not have that letterhead which brings me to option 2 which is the PSD office itself. Simply go in an explain. Ours was easy but I'd have the Page 2 ready just in case. A side note apparently not all sailors are required a No-Fee passport or sometimes their orders will not say so. If their orders do not say so the the sailor needs a Memorandum Endorsement as well. If the orders do say so be ready to point it out and show; maybe put a post-it tab next to it because they will want to be shown.

3)DD Form 1056: Must be typed and signed in BLUE ink. The admin or personnel office must sign within 30 days of submission of NAVPTO (where you get the No-Fee passports). Make sure all the info is correct.

4)Passport Application Form: You go to www.travel.state.gov . From here you can either complete the form online  and print it or print it and fill it in. You will claim to have never had a passport as civilian travel ones do not count. Don't worry about the fee that is says there will be because it's assuming you will pay this at an office but there is in reality no fee.

5) Photographs: As I said before they will not take your photo but CVS, Walgreens, Kinkos etc will. Make sure the sailor is not in khakis or any other type of uniform. Ladies your shoulders must be covered as well as everything from the neckline down. Dress must be "conservative". It must be taken within 6 months and cannot have been used for other passports.

6)Proof of citizenship & ID: Proof of citizenship can be an original birth certificate, original naturalization certificate or a US Passport. Remember though you will part with this item for 4-6 weeks so think about what else you need to do if you have the luxury of choosing your submission. ID can be a military ID, Drivers license or passport. This they just take a copy of.

     It was a long and tedious process as we are finding out that many of the aspects of this process are but its been completed so I must say hazah for that! They say it takes 4-6 weeks but we've heard of others getting their in 2 weeks. So much of it depends on how busy the season is and how well staffed they are. Hope this was of some help or at the very least dauntingly amusing.

Farmer's Markets & Updates!

     So first off let me provide you with some updates. We officially have a date if you didn't already know for those who didn't see our sushi facebook photo. He must report to work by December 1st, but since that's a Sunday basically it's December 2nd. Due to the amount of leave he is permitted to take between commands we will fly out around November 20th. I hoping to get a last art show in through RAW November 7th at Stingaree. He will attend a school in San Diego from October 21st-November 1st. Then from October 9th- 17th we will be in Lima, OH. I Say Lima simply because we are making a point to see the family before we travel across the world so we will eb very very busy and everyone's going to be absorbing our time. In the meantime we must get all of our medial screening, no-fee passports, announcement of entry(for the dogs), flights, movers, etc. OY! As each thing gets completed I'll write a little somethin somethin simply because I feel like the information out there is seriously lacking from both the websites and the humans who work there.

      For now though I wanted to touch on my artwork. Yesterday I did the Ocean Beach Farmer's Market(Weds 4-8pm) and it was a lot of fun. A bit slow but I guess that was REALLY unusual. I was working with a girl who is a regular. This was my way to test it out and it also works great with our wonky schedule. I think I will do it next week again as soon as I secure it with her.

     Some artsy side notes: I was contacted by a group called Sugar Girls and they loved my work on etsy. In fact they wanted me to participate in LA Fashion week. As exhilarating and honorable as this is due to the hanging fee for minimal work I turned it down. Awesome, just not profitable. My work was accepted on consignment at a little shop here in San Diego called Sew Loka. It's located at 1821 5th Ave and their number is (619) 870-9420. They just have a sampling of my work but it's something. Stope by and see my work along with lots of other amazing work from other artists. The final side note was in reference to my Etsy shop ArdentPrints. I will continue to make artwork and sell it while I am in Japan. Really nothing will change only potentially the shipping. I'm hoping I can still use flat rate mail or something through the base but I'm not sure yet. 

     I'm sure there will be many more updates to come as time goes on. Stay posted to stay in the loop. 

Big News!

     SO ...Danny and I have some big news! And no- we're NOT pregnant. We have found out that good ole Uncle Sam will be sending us to Yokosuka, Japan! I'm sure you all have lots of questions and this is our bullet pointed way of attempting to answer most of those.

     First off is the big one-when? Well, we don't know really. Originally we weren't supposed to leave his current ship until around January but that could always be extended until March and this notice said as early as October....so sometime between October and March. We are supposed to get 60 days notice but we shall see and as soon as we have a confirmed date with official orders we will let y'all know. Secondly, YES the dogs are going with us. They are family and we treat them like kids so this was a topic of no discussion and no  hesitation. They have already began their process for vaccinations, blood drawl and quarantine. Thirdly we are not sure whether we will be living on or off base. Much of it depends on availability so we will just have to wait and see when we get there.

     A big thing is Paul Mitchell. So if it was March I could cram and possibly get really close to finishing but anytime prior is completely unrealistic. So that leaves us with what we consider to be the most logical, least stressful and completely family orientated decision- the pause button. Put school on "PAUSE" and resume when I return to the states. I'd prefer to finish at a Paul Mitchell or Aveda. The credits DO NOT expire and they ARE transferable...so it literally is a "PAUSE". Now when do I put it on pause.... we have 2  options. First is at 450 hours( September 5th-last day) and second is between 800-900 hours, (mid November-late November). These are schedule hours not actual hours and the reason for these hours is because this is when financial installments come from the government. If you withdraw between 451-799 the school can't keep that installment and you owe the school the thousands of $ difference. So it will be one or the other and as we patiently wait for orders we will soon be deciding and I will let you know. If you still want something done hair/nails/makeup- just sent me a text or Facebook message and we can work something out.

     Communication is a huge thing too. We are not sure what type of phones we will use or have but we know a few great forms of communication.  Of course there is Facebook, (Ashley Peters / Danny Peters), email, (areneek@yahoo.com & danny.n.peters@gmail.com), Twitter (Ardent Prints) and Instagram, (Ardent Prints). There's also Facetime (Ashley Peters / Danny Peters) & Google Chat . My friend in Japan currently uses an app called "TANGO" so you can send texts at no additional charge to whatever phone we have. Our current numbers will be put on military suspension. We will have a physical mailing address as well.

     A side note that seems silly but is still drastically important. When it comes to gifts, trinkets, etc that you may send us please check with us first as many things can not be used there or cannot be brought with us due to military shipping policies and limited space. So no liquids(ie wine, nail polish, etc), nothing perishable, nothing large. Honestly we'd prefer gift cards and the such just so we can have what we need and what is culturally appropriate without wasting anything.

     We are very very excited to go to Japan. It's an adventure! And we've always wanted to live abroad. We will be located about 40 minutes south of Tokyo which is the worlds most populous city and also the most expensive. Our sushi addiction will only be fed more with things such as "sushi-go-rounds" which are even open for breakfast. We will have the ability to buy square watermelon. Japan has festivals for practically everything which we plan to see many of. We will get to see snow again and experience some of the best powder in the world. Mt. Fuji is just south of us soy es we will be hiking that at one point. Japan is home of the original woodcut printmaking so as this being my field as an artist I'm exited to receive some cultural wisdom and inspiration. We will have an opportunity to see the world's largest Buddha statue. Since karaoke is so popular , yes we plan to do it at least once there.There are so many incredible and amazing new things we will get to experience. We will surely keep you posted as time goes on with all of the adventures and antics. Check back as we continue to post updates.