Last September, when we arrived to Yokota AB, we had just missed the Air Force Ball on base. However, it had me wondering if I would need to attend now that Doug was working on a base. So I made the mistake of asking and got the answer I had been dreading, "yes." Not just yes, but an unequivocal yes.
For the next 10 months I ignored it, thinking maybe Doug had misunderstood the question or would change his mind. Then when it got closer, I was hoping they'd sell out of tickets. No Dice. Doug, anticipating any excuse I might think of, volunteered to be the squadron's POC (Point of Contact) to purchase the tickets. This meant he was one of the first people to buy them.
Fast forward to August 2012. I had procrastinated buying a gown in hopes that by some divine intervention I wouldn't have to go. Yup, no luck. So I ordered a gown from some company in China. HaHaHaHa. Big Mistake. I am a newbie with formal gown purchases, so I figured any old cheap company would do. The stock photos of the dresses looked nice, so I placed my order. A month later and a week before the Hell... I mean the Bell... I mean the Ball... and my gown was MIA. Or maybe AWOL. I don't know if it wanted to ditch the event too. Luckily for me, or maybe it was fear that I would be wearing a potato sack with sequins, I had ordered a cheap dress from Macy's, got some accessories from Seiyu (Japanese Walmart), wore my wedding pearls and I was ready. The only thinking Doug had to do with his attire was to make sure his ribbons/medals were up to date. Hmph.
So, despite all my complaining we made it to the Ball. Abby was sleeping over our neighbor's house and could care less what time we got home (Thanks, Meredith!) I guess we looked okay.
By the way, I am NOT wearing a load of rings on my right hand like my dad thought. It was a badass clutch. A knock off Alexander McQueen, because I'm too cheap to spend $2000 on even the coolest purse. That's right, mess with me, and I might blind you with my knuckle duster!
So, I was a doofus for bellyaching about attending. It was actually pretty fun and interesting. I enjoyed seeing friends dressed to the nines. Here's me hobnobbing with the BigWig wives. Hahaha... just kidding, but not really. From the left is Brenda Marshall (wife of FSS Deputy Commander, Major Ken Marshall), Kat Brown (wife of MSG Commander, Colonel Ed Brown), and Dena Vineyard (wife of FSS Commander, Lt. Col. Grant Vineyard). By the way, I would just like to point out that Dena is NOT taller than me. She was lucky enough to be wearing 3 or 4 inch heels. On a serious note, these ladies are awesome! We have some awesome spouses in the squadron/group/wing/etc...
The food was pretty good too. It was a heavy appetizer menu with a carving station and sushi platters. Me being such a classy lady, I was chowing down on Corona's and jalapeno poppers. Winner! Now speaking of Corona's. Would you people stop buying me another Corona when I've barely drank half of my previous ones. No names will be mentioned. You know who you are. The photo below is the "booze buck" you could get to buy liquor at the event.
Don't worry, I didn't get sloshed, but I am a light weight and started getting sleepy. By 10:00, a lot of people had gone home, using the excuse of relieving their babysitter. Lucky Ducks! But not us, Abby was at a sleep over (thanks, Meredith.)
The last hour was spent watching the younguns' dancing and drinking and still having loads of energy. You just wait my pretties, one day you will be old and want to be home by 9:00 pm. Here's a few of them from Doug's squadron. Captain Kwon (2nd from the left) is the "Sustainment Services Flight Commander", her husband was prior Active Duty but now is a civilian working in CE (Civil Engineering). To the right is Lieutenant Benjamin (from Finance) and his date. You can tell from his "shaka" sign he's from Hawaii.
Here is Lieutenant Surita, the Officer in Charge of Readiness and Plans for FSS. His wife, Mary, works in the FSS Marketing Office.
Chief Sonya Mayo, FSS Superintendent, along with "Douggles".
Like I said, a bunch of great people work for FSS. So finally, the ball ended at 11:00 pm. Yup, Doug and I stayed to the bitter end. I was beat. We gathered ourselves and took the booze bus home to our side of the base. It was a an interesting night, made enjoyable by being able to share it with some great people. Until next year. Yeah, you heard me, I've already been ordered to attend next year. Anyone know a good place to order a cheap gown?
