Wednesday 28 March 2012

Generation Whine


You know you are getting old when you find yourself saying things like “back when I first became an army wife there was no Facebook so I had to make friends at new postings the old fashioned way” or “back in my day…blah blah blah”. I wonder if once you reach a certain age, there is a part of your brain that suddenly springs to life, giving you an instant disdain for the younger generation.  When I used to listen to older people complain “young people today have it so good blah blah...” I used to think it was an angry and bitter trait to have. But now, as I have (sometimes) started to think in a similar way, I think of it as more of a super power :-P  Or sort of like a sixth sense – making you able to point out everything that is wrong with this latest generation.

I can’t really say that I have a problem with all of Generation Y. I was born in the early 80’s so I am actually a part of it! My issues are mainly with the younger Gen Y’ers. One of the things that annoys me the most is that they seem to have really high expectations. With everything. I see this most often in complaints from fresh army wives complaining about the standards of DHA housing. So I know that there are still a few of the old houses around and everyone has had their turn at living in at least one shoebox sized house, but some of the complaints I see and hear astound me. Like complaining about the colour of the kitchen, or that the main bedroom is too far away from the other bedrooms, and my personal favourite – the lack of airconditioning. I have heard every excuse in the book for why someone thinks they need to have airconditioning installed. The most commonly used excuse – “oh but we have a baby and he/she can’t sleep without aircon”. I’m sorry lady, but babies around the world have been surviving just fine without aircon for thousands of years!

It concerns me that some of these Gen Y’ers think that they are above the ‘rules’. Either that or some of them are just plain stupid. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realise that there is certain information about our partner’s jobs that cannot be shared with the public i.e. on Facebook. Unfortunately there are some people who will still post countdowns til their partner is home from deployment and post pictures of parcels they are sending overseas with the serving member’s PMKeys number etc all clearly visible (yes, that really did happen!!). No matter how many times they are warned, they still do it. A lot of these women are the same people who threaten to ‘go to the police’ or ‘report you to Defence’ for something they’ve deemed offensive to them on Facebook. Do they seriously believe that the police, Defence or a lawyer is going to be able to do anything about ‘someone being mean to me on Facebook’??? What is wrong with these women????

Not only are these Gen Y’ers overly whiney, but they are also overly sensitive and are always wanting someone to pat them on the back and say “there, there, everything will be ok” when really someone should be telling them to just harden the f*** up!

Well that is enough dribble for one evening. I’ve got to get my old wrinkly butt to bed. It’s way past my bedtime :-P

Until next time,
 
C.

Wednesday 14 March 2012

**REVISED EDITION** Things Facebook has taught me about Army Wives

Hopefully if you are a regular reader of my blog (hi Mum!) you will have seen one of my first posts which was about the types of army wives on Facebook. Due to popular demand Because I have been procrastinating when i should have been doing more important things, I have decided to do a 'revised edition' of my types of army wives on Facebook list. I have included the original list for those of you who are like me and have bad memories and also for those newbies who also like me, are too lazy to scroll back through my old posts to find it.


The Debater
This wife is never far from an argument and will debate any topic.

The Overly Sensitive
Take offense to even the most tame of comments. Their Messages folder most likely is full of complaints they have sent to group administrators.

The 5 Second Army Wife

This wife has been living this lifestyle for less than 12 months and love to tell anyone who will listen that they are an Army Wife. Whether their partner has just joined up, or they have just hooked up with an already serving member, the 5 Second Army Wife can fall into 1 of 2 sub-categories:

The Totally Clueless - has trouble comprehending simple army processes and their ignorance often leads them to spout pearls of wisdom like "the army sucks" and "they are being unfair with our defacto application".

The 5 second going on 5 year wife -  they think they already know everything about being an Army Wife and are often known to dish out advice to others on topics they know nothing about.

The Passive Aggressive
This wife won't participate in debates by commenting but rather just by 'liking' other people's comments.

The Power Tripping Admin
Known for their fondness for the delete button. Views their role to be of the highest importance most likely because they are lacking same in real life.

The Look at Me
This wife is always posting about some sort of drama in her life, usually just to get some attention.

The TMI (too much information)
Guilty of giving out too much information on a range of topics from their sex life / relationships to their health issues.

The Jackpot
This is a wife who falls into 3 or more of the above categories. You know you should just ignore her but she is like a car crash - you can't help but watch!

The Golden Oldie
Like the name suggests, this wife belongs to the older generation of army wives. She usually likes to precede any post with something like "back in my day" or I'm an army bride of 25 years so..."

The Army Brat Turned Army Wife
Pretty self-explanatory. Sometimes a bit similar to the Golden Oldie in that they like to precede any post or comment with a declaration of how long they were an army brat.

The Block-a-holic
This wife will Block anyone who offends her or disagrees with her. If you don't think you know any Block-a-holics, it is probably because they have already blocked you!

The Opsec Nazi
See this blog post by a friend of mine. She explains it all brilliantly!

The Housing Hater
Recognisable by their constant complaints about their issues with DHA and the 'awful' house they are 'forced' live in. (Get excited readers, I am dedicating a whole blog post to this type of wife in the near future.)

The Negative Nancy
This type of wife often asks for advice but always shoots down any response given to her. If anyone shares a problem, you can guarantee that a Negative Nancy will argue that her problem is worse.

Comment below or on my Facebook page if you think there is any other types missing from my list!

Until next time,

C.


Tuesday 6 March 2012

Where did we come from?


I was having coffee with a friend today and we got to talking about the label of “army wife”. We both agreed that while there have always been women married / partnered to men in the army, the label of army wife has really only become a common part of our vocabulary in the last few years.
It wasn’t until the 2nd posting with my husband that I first heard the term army wife. It was the first day of a new job and as I was chatting with my new colleagues I was asked if I had made any “army wife” friends. I remember needing to take a few seconds to comprehend the question (yes, I am blonde ;-p) because I had never heard anyone called that. Nowadays, there are people who introduce themselves as an army wife before they even say their own name!! And don’t get me started on the women who call themselves an army wife before their husbands have even finished Kapooka! LOL

In all serious, I am interested to know how, when and why it became so popular. Is it another thing we can blame on the Gen Y generation? Or is it society in general that likes labels? Or is it simply because we are all addicted to the TV show ‘Army Wives’? (And before I get any hate mail from the Gen Y’ers – I’m still in my 20’s and as much as I sometimes hate to admit it, I’m apart of Generation Y too!)

So please let me know your thoughts either by commenting below or by clicking here to leave a comment on my Facebook page. I’m really interested to hear what you all think!!

Until next time,
C.

Friday 2 March 2012

You've got a friend in me

Well it has been a while since my last post. I have been busy having somewhat of a social life which is a nice change from just being busy with housework!

We are now pretty much settled into our new location and I am making some great friends. I love finally getting to meet people that I have previously only been 'Facebook friends' with. It has got me thinking about how we choose the people to form friendships with. I have a few army wife friends that I love to pieces but to be quite honest, if our husbands had different jobs and we had met in different circumstances, I doubt whether we would have become friends. It's amazing how 2 people can have nothing in common except for the fact that their husbands are both in the army and yet can form such a close friendship! This also makes me feel a little guilty. Have I missed out on some great friendships because I have been shallow or because I have judged someone without getting to know them?

So I know it is a bit late for New Years Resolutions but I'm going to make one any way. I am going to try my best to be less judgmental and be open to making friends outside my usual 'type'.

So look out ladies, I'm coming for your friendship!! And to my current army wife friends - love ya guts bitches!

Until next time,

C.