Commissary - Friend or Foe?

I have this ongoing battle with my spouse regarding the commissary.  Okay, it's not so much a battle as it is a lack of understanding.  I love the commissary, even though I have to tip the baggers (most of whom are old and shouldn't be carrying my groceries) and the stores are less than modern.  My spouse, not so much.   He is not a fan of stores that are feeling their age and he is convinced that prices are the same at stores out in town.  Don't get me wrong, shopping sales, I can get stuff way cheaper than at the commissary, but not every day and not all of the stuff we use.  Last night we ventured to a store out in town and I was shocked at some of the prices.  I seriously was wondering how anyone affords to eat!

My biggest gripe about the commissary (besides the rather aggressive 90 year-old baggers who work only for tips) is the lack of generic products.  I fully recognize that I am paying generic prices for name brand products for the most part, but not always.  And I really appreciate the generic products that the commissary does carry.  

I know the quality of commissaries vary greatly from post to post.  I have been in some on large posts, that are nicer than any store out in town, but we have mostly been stationed at smaller posts with older, smaller facilities.

Do you use the commissary?  Does it save you money?  Does your commissary have very aggressive elderly baggers?  Or are the hassles involved more than you can handle?

Register to Vote!

For those of you who happen to be in California, this is extra-especially important this election.  Believe me, I know it is hard to get motivated to vote in an area where you may only be for a couple of years, you don't know the local politics, and if you are like me, you don't really care who wins for city counsel.  This year those who live in California have the chance to vote on Proposition 8 which is a constitutional amendment that will define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.  Regardless of how adamantly you feel on the topic, our church leaders have stressed the importance of the outcome of this vote.  We can't pretend to understand the potential ramifications if this measure fails, but I believe our leaders do.  For that reason I am encouraging everyone who can vote in California to do so.  Educate yourself on this issue, get registered, and have your voice heard.  For those who don't live in California, register anyway!  This is one of the many freedoms our spouses fight for, it would be tragic to not let our voices be heard.  Remember, there is not enough darkness in all the world, to put out the light of one small candle!

On base...or off?

What have been your housing experiences?  Has anyone in the housing office looked at you like you were crazy when you showed up with four kids?  Do you like living on base or out in town better?  I know for me, I have liked both.  It was nice when we were just married and could share a tiny apartment and pocket some BAH.  But I have also enjoyed the convenience of living on base and the chance to be in a ward with other military members of the church.  For me that is huge.  Having people who can really relate to the situation you are in, both with your spouse's career and spirituality, means a lot to me.  Not that I haven't loved the wards we have lived in where we were it as far as active duty, but there are times, when it is nice to not have to explain acronyms.  Granted, military housing isn't all its cracked up to be a lot of the time.  Some of them aren't well maintained and even though the military has privatized most housing and most private contractors are working to improve things, in some areas they still have a long ways to go.  But out in town places aren't always any better.  In one of our places we had major plumbing issues 2 weeks after my other half deployed.  So it is me, by myself, trying to move furniture out of the water, deal with the landlord and then deal with another two weeks in a hotel (it was okay, but Motel 6 quality, not the Hilton) while they re-plumbed our entire apartment.  Of course I had to clean up after the contractors were finished.  Then I spent the next few months being sure that I was dying from mold growing somewhere in the house.  But I didn't die, and that was the end of the plumbing problems, and for that apartment we were able to save a little money.  So let's hear about it.  I want the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Which do you like better?  Do you like being in a ward that has other military folks in it? Or do you like to do your own thing and go to ward where you aren't just one of the military people who will be gone in a few years?