What do YOU think?

Events of Late

2009-01-31T08:03:00.002+09:00

So, I recently left Okinawa, for a much colder, sandier place. I left on 13 Jan but didn't arrive until over 2 weeks later! Yeah, my itinerary was all messed up, but the important thing is that I arrived...finally. The best part was upon arrival, when I found out that I didn't have my luggage! That's right! They didn't pull my bags out of the pile that was continuing on to another location! Needless to say, my first day on station was NOT fun. If you'd asked me I would have sworn the universe was against me that day. Good news though, they found my bags yesterday, so I should get them sometime before the end of the month...or maybe two, knowing the military.

Anyway, I've been here for about 3 full days now, and I'm starting to get acclimated to things again. I am familiar with the base, which makes things really easy! The food is still the same, which isn't great news, but I wasn't expecting anything different. The best improvement has been to the Morale Center. They have computers that have web cams and instant messengers installed on them! SAnd I have access to all the sites I need for free now! Last time if I wanted to go to Facebook or whatever I had to pay to use contracted internet. So that's a nice surprise!

Oh, so today is now officially my one day off. I got off work 2 hours ago and am ready to fall asleep, but I'm blogging instead. It's really been the first opportunity I've had since I left. I hope to make a regular habit of it though, at least while I'm here. We'll see if I can keep it up!

Other than that, I'm just getting used to this life again. The 12hr shift, 6 days a week, life. The wake up, go to the gym, go to work, go to sleep, and repeat life. Actually, I haven't started going to the gym yet. I just haven't been enthused. I think I'm probably discouraged right now because I have a cold. Yeah. I like that reason.

Til next time...

Would you do me the honor...?

2008-11-15T00:50:00.004+09:00

So, for the past 3 weeks or so I've been pretty interested in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test...And I was wondering if people would be willing to take the test and post their 4 letter results! It would be extremely educational for me, and I would appreciate it on a very large scale! Below is the link. It should really only take about 5 minutes. Try and answer honestly, reflecting on the way you ARE, not the way you WISH you were. Thanks, and good luck!

Click here ---> MBTI!!!

REALLY?!

2008-06-28T13:06:00.006+09:00

REALLY.

I know, I know. But we saved more $ on our vacation than the total cost of the thing...so, why not?

I'll post more after we've had sufficient time to enjoy our new purchase...most likely tomorrow.

Emotional Dilemma(s)

2008-05-27T09:02:00.002+09:00

Two posts in one day?!?!?! I know, but I'm going to use this post in the way I originally intended this blog to work. Which means, this is the first post that I've put up that won't exclusively be an update (you can get this weekends below this one). I'm actually writing because I have a few things that I've been mulling over lately. They both can be characterized under "Moral Obligation?" Whether or not I have a moral obligation to the military, family/friends, coworkers, etc...

So, I'll just dive right in with the first thing. I've been thinking a lot lately, more as time passes, about how excited I am to go on vacation! And with Dave! We are going to be in the states for about 3 weeks total, and are planning on seeing as many people as possible, without turning our vacation into a stressful race. But, in order to minimize the stress and allow ourselves to enjoy our time, we have to cut out some people from the visit list. It needs to be known that the only reason we chose the month of June to go back is because I'm a bridesmaid in a friends' wedding. So we pretty much had to plan our trip around that date. And I mean really plan around the date. I think the agenda is full, up until the wedding, but then after is hazy. But then again, nothing is really set in stone because we don't even know if we'll get on the plane the day we've been basing our plans off. We know we must head to New Mexico to see Dave's sister, towards the end of the trip. And we know we have to be back in Washington by a certain day, but what we can do, who we can see, what we can afford, in between the wedding date and the NM trip date is all undecided. Which makes me anxious, and nervous, and stressed, because I know it will be too hectic and expensive to try and travel around Oregon for that open week. That means that this will also be the first vacation I've taken that I didn't see all my family members. And that's really hard for me to accept. It will have been a year since the last visit by the time we go back, and if I don't see everyone, then it will have been even longer before the next time. That list includes some grandparents that may not survive that length of time. I will try and contact as many able-bodied people as possible, to see if they can travel to see me this trip, but it I know there will only be a small fraction of folks that will do that, if there's any. So, I don't know what to do, because we want this trip to be relaxed...but, I can barely live with myself knowing that I won't be seeing all my family.

The next topic has to do with work. See, I have this project I'm working on that I'm quite excited about. It's a very time consuming project. Unfortunately, I know it won't get finished while I'm gone, so I really want to get as much done on it as I can before we leave. But, each night at work I only seem to get a small portion completed. It's a very extensive project and requires one step be completed before the next can be started. So, since I can't finish it before we leave, like I'd hoped, I'll have to finish it after I return. Well, the other day I heard a little birdie talk about a job opening "[I] would be perfect for" that would start a month or so after I got back. This job would most likely be more satisfying than the one I have currently, but would require that I leave the shop. Now, first of all, there is no guarantee that I would get the job, but it's still a possibility. The problems with getting the job are vast. Our shop is low on people, everyone is unhappy and wants out of the shop, and my project is not finished yet. These are all big issues for me, because they all mean a lot to me. I feel as though I have a moral obligation to stay behind with my coworkers in the shop, and tough things out right along next to them. I also feel as though I have a moral obligation to not add to the manning deficit in the shop. And lastly, I know that my project will help improve the functionality of the shop and that it won't get done unless I'm pushing for its completion. On the other hand, I would be a lot happier doing this other job. There are many opportunities to make improvements with that position and it would allow me a consistency in work schedules that I never imagined would be a reality for me. This consistency would compliment my degree goals, as well.

So, as it stands right now, I haven't said that I want my name put in the hat for this job...but I'm leaning toward it. And vacation? Yeah, I don't know where to begin with that. Any suggestions on either subject?

Moussaka & Hummus

2008-05-27T08:09:00.001+09:00

Saturday night/morning Dave and I woke up really early and decided to make moussaka and then eventually hummus. It was delicious...all of it. The moussaka recipe came from the "Beans" cookbook by Aliza Green.

I first tasted this recipe (or a variation of it) last year when my mother made it. She made it with different beans (it calls for garbanzo) but I really loved it. So, eventually I bought the recipe book myself in order to make it for Dave and I. I had intentions to make it over a month ago, and actually had all the ingredients way back then. However, I never had the energy or time to go through the whole process. It takes quite a while to make...sauces must reduce and eggplant must bake twice, and the whole mixture must bake again. I'd say it took about 2-3 hours in all. But, it was totally worth it.

During the process of making the moussaka, Dave got a hankering for hummus. So he started making that, with our Cuisinart (thanks Ma!).

He added some sun-dried tomatoes (oh how we love those) this time, and it really made the spread awesome!

All in all our Memorial Day weekend (a 4 day, I might add) was really relaxing and just what we needed. A break like that was looong overdue! Yeah, I know we're going on vacation soon, but it's not the same. This break helped us settle down a bit, before the (possibly stressful) trip, which was necessary because Dave was still pretty stressed out from class. He's only got a couple days left and then he's done. I really can't wait because we're almost home...

One Point Five Month Recap

2008-05-20T15:40:00.001+09:00

There has been a lot that has occurred since March 30. And I mean A LOT. The biggest thing would have to be Dave starting ALS, which has basically dictated our life henceforth. He had to switch schedules from Midshift to Dayshift, while I stayed on Mids. It's been both hard and annoying to accommodate the schedules, and taught us a lot about patience and understanding. We definitely appreciate the times we are on the same shift a lot more now. Also, our friend Amber left, PCSed actually, to Louisiana late last month (April 24th). That was really sad but we had some awesome times before she left! So there's that...what else? Let's start from the beginning...(it's going to be a LONG one, so stick it out. I know you can do it!)

APRIL 2, 2008
I made my favorite cookie (well, one of them) this day, as well as a stuffed pork loin, which was really good. The stuffed pork loin idea came from my mom, just moments before we almost cooked it plain. And the recipe for the cookies also came from her (thanks Ma!). Anyway, the cookies, Lemon Zucchini to be exact, were both delicious and just how I remember them when my grandma used to make them. Speaking of my grandma, her desserts will always be the best around...there's nothing like grandma's home cooking! The pork loin had rosemary, black pepper, salt and chopped garlic on top, and sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella cheese in the middle...it was also delicious.

APRIL 5, 2008
First, we (me, Dave, Amber's boyfriend Nando, and Amber) went south (for about 45 minutes) to the Ryukyu Glass Factory in Naha! There we watched the artists make glass right in front of us! And I took a video of it for all of YOU to see. Throughout the building they are selling a whole bunch of different kinds of glass items, all hand made right there in the factory! In true tourist fashion, Dave and I got a picture taken in front of the store entrance. If you aren't sure what you're seeing behind us, let me make it clear...it's billions of 2x2 inch colored glass pieces fixed to the building in a design. Yeah, it was amazing! The entire building was covered in glass!

Here are all the glass things we got from the Factory. We bought the blue and red vases and we won the 2 little cups, by tossing a ping pong ball in them.

After the Glass Factory we all took a quick group shot at a park on the way to our next stop. The following pictures are from the WWII Memorial center Peace Prayer Park, also in Naha. And let me tell you, it was crazy inside. You take a "guided" tour by a prerecorded lady speaking into your ear through headphones. She reads you a bridged version of the english signs throughout the tour, but it was still nice to have. The tour has videos, pictures and lots of artifacts, most of which are explained in Japanese. And to tell you the truth, I'm happy that I couldn't read most of it, because what I could read made me sick. If you know/remember anything about WWII in relation to Okinawa and Japan, then you'll know what I'm talking about. The Japanese were cruel and unusual to the Okinawans, sparing no one. And the Americans, caught in the middle, looked awful to the Okinawans as well, because a lot of the locals were killed in the Japanese-American crossfire. Then, just to ensure you left with a guilt-trip, the last exhibit is a room full of books upon books filled with pages upon pages of testimonies from survivors; horribly gruesome testimonies. So, understandably, I think, I was more than a little uncomfortable walking through there, alongside many of the island residents. The entire memorial was definitely made from the Okinawan perspective and did nothing to try and sugarcoat the traumatic depiction of genocide endured because of the Japanese and American soldiers...

Out back there were more artifacts displayed, as well as walls and walls of names, in similar fashion to the Vietnam War Memorial, of people that had perished throughout the war. The fountain in the middle of the open walkway was really classy, with the center cone representing Okinawa and a "map-like view" of mainland Japan in the bowl of the fountain. And the cliffs to the left of the memorial accompanied a spectacular view of the water, so Dave and I took a picture in front them. We kept following the walkway past the walls and discovered a long winding road that goes all the way to the bottom of the island, and is lined with family tombstones. At the start of that road though, if you turn around and look back at the memorial, you'll be witness to quite a site; the entire plot of land encompassing the memorial! Lastly, just to lighten the mood a little, we all took a goofy picture of us "eating" a giant gravestone apple.

APRIL 6, 2008
The next day we all went off looking for a waterfall that was supposedly located up North this time. The drive to the general area was fun; Amber speeding along at 135 kilometers per hour, Dave rocking out to music, me taking pictures and video of it all, and Nando...well, Nando was probably wondering what he'd gotten himself into!

After about 30 minutes we arrived in Nago, then got out the maps and started looking for signs to our waterfall. And boy was it an adventure! See, no one knew exactly where it was, only the general vicinity...We tried to look for it ourselves, at first, having discovered another map that was more detailed.

However, we couldn't figure it out...So, consequently we spent 2 or 3 hours driving up and down the same 2 mile stretch of highway, periodically attempting to ask a local for directions. Each local we asked sent us back the same direction we had just come from, which got old really fast! Finally, after the 3rd hour we asked our final resident for directions, receiving a hand drawn "map" (of sorts) back to our original stop. However, because of some weird whisper of instinct, Amber decided she would veer off the road a little early, and head down a tiny gravel road to the right. And what do you know, there it was, RIGHT in front of us! It was really pretty, too. We took a few pictures but couldn't get the right sensitivity to capture anything quality. Nonetheless, we took the "traditional" couple pictures for Amber and Nando, and had them take one for us. Then when we were getting our individual pictures taken I noticed that there were tons of biting bugs out there, both flying and crawling...So I began fighting them with my ninja skills. And Dave? Well, Dave is just goofy!

As we were leaving Amber and I took some fun pictures, like we do...

Then, on the ride back, I took about 20 pictures of Dave, and he surprisingly never got annoyed! And we saw a sign in town that had been graffitied a funny way...

APRIL 7, 2008
We found and ordered our bed. We got the delivery paperwork, having set the date for April 13. We were excited.

APRIL 8, 2008
Our first attempt at making bread was an interesting one, to say the least. Betty Crocker had tempted us into making Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Bread. It was a fun and eye-opening experience, teaching me NOT to take my mom and Kevin's bread for granted. It was hard, both the task as well as the bread! Ha! Yeah, we didn't fare so well, but hopefully we'll do better next time.

APRIL 11, 2008
We finally got to enjoy some ribs, albeit they were from Tony Roma's, and not my mom's house, but they satisfied me for the time being. While we were there I tried my hand at my "artsy" pictures with our digital. I don't like it, just like I have always thought. Manual/Film is really the way to go, I think. It got me in the mood though, to take pictures again with my camera. I just need to learn how to use it better and I'll be set!

APRIL 12, 2008
This day was a REALLY fun one! Me, Dave, Amber, Amber's friend Jason, and our friend Mike all went to a park! It had the coolest slide ever, too! It was sorta like a luge and it rocked! We all had a blast and went down several times. There's even a video I took while going down!

On the front side of this same park there is a big grass hill that they let you slide down on sleds...so we did that, too! I think the grass hill is made for kids, because we all tumbled, not slid, down the hill at least once! I think it's because we were too heavy.

Soooo, then I got stupid and decided to nix the sled and use a board...which led to worse consequences, as you'll see.

But! I got some awesome pizza out of the deal because of my injuries. I took one for the team; Team Tummy, that is...my tummy. Anyway, I was pretty hurt from that fall, I won't lie. I could barely walk and felt faint from the pain several times. Not to mention that I was annoyed from the dirt in between my butt cheeks! Haha. Really though, I came pretty close to going to the doctor about it, but figured I would just "take some Ibuprofen and ice it", like my mother would tell me, and see if that helped first. And it did, after a week or so the paralyzing pain was gone. These days I will occasionally get a quick flare of throbbing pain after I've been running, but nothing that's detrimental to my mobilization. So it was a good time overall.

That night we went to a party, too and I still managed to rock out on the drums! Dave and I got to play 'Rock Band' for the first time, Dave on the guitar and me on drums, or the mic. It was pretty fun, but made my eyes burn from the intense concentration required! Those other guys in the picture were his "band mates."

APRIL 13, 2008
These pictures were taken to put on record the new arrangement of our apartment. We got the new bed put in our room and moved the old matti to the spare bedroom. The shelves we bought to prop up the kitchen counter for Dave were assembled and over 60% of the boxes I had left over from moving had their contents unpacked, sorted, and put away! Not to mention, a Good Will pile was started. It was quite the accomplishment! The events had to be documented!

APRIL 21, 2008
I made a quiche, for the first time, substituting the ingredients on the recipe. I do that often actually, substituting ingredients, and quite like it. The recipe called for zucchini, but it had gone bad by then, so I decided to use our butternut squash instead. I also subbed the cheese called for, for one we had on hand. Actually, I think the only thing in the recipe that we had were the spices and herbs. And we didn't use those because zucchini and butternut squash are from two completely different seasons! Needless to say, it was a fun change up and we were both excited to try it. It turned out nicely, thanks to Dave's "put in another egg" call as well as his suggestion to use rosemary. Man, do I love rosemary! It really made the quiche.

APRIL 23, 2008
This was the last day we had with Amber. She came over for some food (turkey tacos, potato crisps, stuffed baked tomatoes, and garlic spinach, all the things threatening to go bad). We all enjoyed ourselves and took some "last day" pictures. Amber and I are doing The Robot. That's right, I said The Robot. Then we are "glaring" at Dave.

MAY 17, 2008
Finally, we jump to May 17 (we were busy recovering from ALS all the days between April 23 and May 17). We had a Flight get together this last weekend, and Dave and I, along with the Lenna's attended. Jess did my hair beautifully (thanks!) for the event and everything. She got me a straight iron for my birthday a while back, but I am clueless as to how to use it, so she decided to show me. So yeah, my hair was straight! And it looked pretty cool. The ends had a slight curl to them, which is the only way I agreed to the whole thing. Haha. Actually though, it turned out better than I was expecting and Dave really liked it, too. But that means I'm really going to have to straighten my hair now...on my own...occasionally. Poo. Anyway, the weather was perfect and the food was tasty, so it was worth the 2 hours we were there. I captured some pictures of Adrie, passed out in her new Radio Flyer, in her swim gear, freshly changed after a dip in the ocean, and enjoying a bouncy castle with her dad. Jess has got an awesome new due, too. She permed and cut it last weekend! And yes, Dave has grown, exponentially, since Adrie's B-day party where he was last seen posing like that.

After we all had some time to wind down from the "party," us and the Lenna's went to an awesome Thai restaurant. And along the way both Dave and Kevin noticed a sign out in front of a bar off base. We think it's supposed to be "Loud Rock." Unfortunately, the Japanese tend to use Rs in place of Ls, in both their speech and their spelling. Then there's Adrie, who was popping her head above the table to get a glimpse and/or taste of the food that had arrived. She really never ceases to get cuter. If I have kids that are half as cute as Jess and Kevin's I'll be happy...

Okay, so that's it. A month and a half in one blog. My apologies, things have been hectic. Dave and I are now scrambling around trying to get ready to go on vacation in less than 2 weeks. I am trying to clean the apartment and take care of pending paperwork, and Dave is trying to graduate ALS. So yeah, if everything goes according to plan, we will be in the states soon! Hope we can see you all! <3

Events This Week

2008-03-30T14:55:00.000+09:00

So this last MONDAY after we woke up (around 4pm), Dave and I decided we were going to go shopping for a mattress...we tested out about 15 different types of beds, and we're stuck. We can't figure out if we want hard with a soft top, or so soft that we sink in to our ears. We are giving it a couple weeks before we decide though, because this is a big decision! Anyway, the two mattresses below are the subjects of debate right now. One is REALLY soft and the other is supportive with a little soft. Dave is testing out a bed with the Serta sheep...I think they liked it.

On WEDNESDAY I learned that my Japanese Car Inspection was due by Friday. I don't know why I thought it wasn't due until May, but I did. So I was pretty surprised to learn that it was actually due 2 months sooner. The JCI is a car inspection that is required by Japan every 2 to 3 years. It's similar to a DEQ inspection that some states have in the U.S. It checks your car for functionability and usually costs between $500-$900 depending on the make and model of your car, as well as the quality. Needless to say, my car had many things wrong with it and required LOTS of repairs. I ended up dishing out $730 bucks for this thing on Friday. The only good thing about the whole circumstance is that the next one isn't due until after I'm done with the military. So I only had to pay for it once the whole time I was here. But yeah, that was a bit of a surprise that Dave and I had to work around. We carpooled the whole next couple of days.

THURSDAY and FRIDAY we both had volunteered for an elementary school event called Space Day. We were assigned to the Egg Drop event, which was really fun, and sometimes messy. The first day we saw kindergardeners and first graders, 6 classes total, throughout the day. The object of the event was to use their supplies (an 8x14" piece of cardboard, 1' sq. piece of bubble wrap, 2 pcs. of string, a plastic bag, 2 pcs. of newspaper, and 2 meters of tape) to make a "space craft" that would safely transport their Eggstranaut into space and onto another planet, ie. would prevent their egg from breaking after having been dropped off the second story. So yeah, we broke everyone up into groups both days and let them work with each other (sometimes), to make these shuttles. It was really cool to watch what they all came up with because they ALL did really well. The younger kids didn't have as wide of a variety of shuttles as the older kids did, but they're success rate was equal, if not better! Dave and I were talking about why that might have been, and we think it's because the younger kids, while they had a little more help from us than the older kids, were thinking in a more simple manner than the bigger kids, and were less likely to complicate things. But again, everyone did really well, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

Lastly, yesterday (SATURDAY) we went to Adrienne's 1st birthday party. We took rice crispy treats, which were delicious and we got Jess (Adrienne's mom) a necklace, because we figured the baby's first birthday is really more about the mom than it is for the kid...right? Anyway, so yeah, we went there early so we could help Jess with last minute type things. And boy was she happy to see us! We got there and she looked frazzled, and stressed out. She put us to work right away, too! We blew up balloons, set the table, finished goodie bags, and taste-tested her cake (bummer, right?). It was an awesome cake, too! She made everything herself, including all the frosting and icing. She really went all out, and the whole day turned out really well. We had a lot of fun. Dave cooked the burgers and hot dogs and we both got our fill!

And that's about it! Our week was SUPER busy and flew by, and we enjoyed it, but are really tired today. This next week isn't as packed though, so we should be able to get our routine going (hopefully). So on that note, see ya soon!

The Longest Blog EVER!

2008-03-20T13:21:00.013+09:00

Okay, so I don't have TOO much time right now, but I want to put up all the rest of the pictures anyway, regardless of how long it takes...

NAHA CHERRY FESTIVAL (cont.)

DAVE AND I (some of these have been edited)

GARDEN IN NAHA

So some verbage on some of the above pictures? Well, the pictures of Dave and I are from a day that we had Chinese food at an authentic Chinese Restaurant! It was this last Saturday actually...and it was delicious! We ordered WAY too much food and had to have 5 To-Go boxes! But we ate well the next day for lunch! Anyway, in the parking lot of the apartment I saw him walking to the stairs and had a sudden urge to take pictures of him. I thought he looked really good, sorta like a rock star and couldn't resist capturing the moment! He thought I went a little overboard, but I don't think there is such a thing when it comes to pictures period, and especially pictures of HIM!

The pictures of the garden are from when Amber and a couple other people visited in Naha. There is more to it, and I have pictures of the rest of the garden but I don't think they turned out as well as the pictures I did put up. So yeah, I will put up a few more pictures and captions...

These are couple of my favorite pictures...Dave with his mohawk, that you can't see, and the two of us in a smooch!

Next, there are some pictures we took during our night with Mike, enjoying some wonderful Baskin Robbins dessert:

Next is a picture that Dave and I took at the BX with the Mac on display there. This was part of the interviewing process, and it got the pick, pretty much because of this picture!

The pictures below are of me, the first is the blue top that Dave bought me, and I love it! It's retro, ha! And then the other picture is of my new hair cut, with a dye job! I got it darker brown with a hint of red in it, as well as red streaks throughout the top layer of hair. I like it a lot...

The next series of pictures is of the collection bank for our new mattress! It's been long steady progression of hard work and self control, but we have managed to save over $800 in 500 yen coins. Each coin is worth approximately $5. So yeah, the following pictures illustrate our current status...

Then we have some pictures from the massage session that Dave and I got together on Monday. We didn't get a picture of him though, unfortunately. This was a first for both of us, getting professional massages. Neither of us have ever had one before, so that was a cool experience. I'm pretty sure they sold us on them, too, and it won't be that long before we get another one!

These were taken on the way, and at dinner at Arin Krin with Amber...Yes, Dave walked out of the apartment with his slippers on, so we had to document it! Then there is Dave inside the restaurant and then the outside of the restaurant. Arin Krin is also known as The Garlic House...

Okay, and the last pictures that I'm adding are all random. The first is a picture of our new computer. Dave and I bought it together, we went halfsies on it, and we're pretty happy with it so far. The second picture is Dave in the quilt my mom made for me a long time ago. I guess he was cold, or maybe he was dreaming of flying? And the last picture is of Dave, showing off his masterful balancing skills. He called it his "very precarious stack of dishes" and proceeded to pile on MORE dishes, just to show off. So, before he was forced to dismantle the tower I took a picture of it, for the record book!

Alright, well that's it! You have seen every picture we've taken in the past month now, and have been updated on things at the same time. Hopefully you will enjoy them as much as we enjoyed taking them!

One last reminder, check out Dave's blog here! Bye!

It's Been A Long Time...

2008-03-17T09:08:00.008+09:00

Sooo, I said I would type again "in 2 weeks" about, oh, 5 weeks ago. I apologize for the delay...It's been really hectic. I graduated ALS, Dave returned, we practiced war, I finished my math class, and we were tested on our war fighting skills. And that about updates you on everything "official" that has been happening.

On the fun side, I have TONS of pictures to share!!! So, I will do that now:

NAHA CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL

Okay, well I ran out of time now. I have to go get a detoxifying massage right now. I will post the rest later!

Currently Under Instruction!

2008-01-28T02:00:00.001+09:00

So I finally had some free time this weekend...see, I'm in ALS right now, so for the past 3 weeks, and for the next 2, I have been REALLY busy. I have been averaging 2-3 hours of sleep each day during the work week, all because of homework for this class. I've come to appreciate a lot of things so far though, so despite being sleep deprived, I don't regret attending. "What are some of these things you've come to appreciate?" you ask? Well, first off, I now believe that even though I don't plan on staying in the AF, I should do my best to know my job as fully as possible until I separate. I should be the best supervisor that I can be and learn as much as I can about the AF and my job, etc. Another thing that has developed since ALS is a STRONG desire to learn! Learn everything! I am the least knowledgable in my ALS class about so many things that I should have more of a clue about, that it's motivating me to research a lot of those things. It's also given me an idea of the next college class(s) to take; history, geography, or religion! So that's pretty much it for positive things I've taken from ALS so far...

On to the stuff I did with this free time I mentioned in the beginning of this blog...I went to the Nago Cherry Blossom Festival with my friend Amber! It was a good time, and quite the workout. I'd say we probably ended up walking about 9 miles total, throughout the time we were there. And my calves are definitely thanking me for it all today, ha! But yeah, we had a pretty good time. Just a heads up, you can click on all the pictures to see them bigger. Anway, before we got to the actual festival, we looked at a whole bunch of flowers being sold near the parking lot we parked in:

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Then we walked to the area where the festival was taking place. After we walked through the streets that were littered with booths selling food or impossible chances to win prizes, we finally arrived below the steps of the pathway along the cherry blossom trees:

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Then we climbed all 700 or so steps to the top!

The next few pictures are from various locations up and beyond the central location of the festival:

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The last thing we saw was the end of the parade on the streets down at the bottom of the steps and the road. This type of dance is specific to Okinawa and it's always shown at every festival. I can't remember the name of it right this second though. Anyway, this is the tiniest dancer I've ever seen included in the group. He was so cute!

Okay, well that's all I have. I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I know both Amber and I enjoyed taking them!

Talk again in 2 weeks!

Major who? Minor major!

2008-01-03T22:03:00.000+09:00

I've been doing a different, temporary, job for the past 3 weeks that entails answering phones, and tracking paperwork. Sooo, basically I'm a faux secretary. But, I'm not complaining because, as you can probably guess, I have quite a bit of down time. And despite what I may have done in the past, I am NOT abusing this little gem of an opportunity. Yeah, no, I'm actually spending the time looking on University of Washington's website, checking out all the different majors they offer. They have 140 different majors, and that doesn't include all the submajors of the majors. That probably wasn't proper terminology, but you get the idea. I'm starting with the Social Science degrees because it only seems right. Everything I'm interested in falls under a social science major; psychology, sociology, anthropology, communication, etc. Anyway, so far I have looked into Anthropology, and I am now even more excited to take a pertaining class. See, each major has it's own separate site that goes into detail about the submajors, which is really cool! Because I discovered that I like the sound of environmental anthropology and biocultural anthropology, but not necessarily archaeology, or medical and sociocultural anthropology. I will copy and paste the descriptions from the site:

LIKE:

environmental anthropology, the analysis of human-environment interactions across the full range of sociocultural variation, from the earliest societies to the present
biocultural anthropology, the study of the evolution and adaptation of the human species, the nonhuman primates, and the modern human populations

DO NOT LIKE:

archaeology, the exploration of human prehistory through evidence of past human activities
medical anthropology, the study of health, illness, healing and medicine as part of social and cultural life
sociocultural anthropology, the study of cultural diversity of the human species, including recurrent global flux in languages, practices, and identities.

Aaaand, that's pretty much how far I've gotten with my research. Though I'm excited to eventually look into sociology and communication, as well as psychology. Their psychology school used to be in the top 20 in the nation, but I can't get free access to the current listing, so who knows where they rank now. That's not the important part though; it's a really good school and it's in WA, so it's cheaper for me. And that last part, yeah that's the important part. *wink*

That stuff is all for the future though. Right now I'm in Math107, which is College Algebra. Okay, well I guess I'm not technically "in" it, since the term doesn't start until Jan 21, but I'm enrolled. I'm actually going to start ALS (Airmen Leadership School) on Monday, so that should successfully fill the college holiday break gap I would have had otherwise (thanks AF!). Yeah, ALS is required before I can sew on my next stripe. And more stripes = more $$$! And more $$$ is always good. So instead of a SrA (Senior Airman), I will be a SSgt (Staff Seargent). There's not a big difference really, except that SSgt's have to evaluate/rate people. Anyway, the AF gives you college credit for ALS, so that puts me only 1 or 2 classes away from a CCAF (Community College of the Air Force) degree. It's not that special really, in the civilian world anyway, but it looks good on your EPRs (Enlisted Performance Reports) or your evaluation. Besides that, it's a good short term goal for while I'm here on Okinawa. My slightly longer short term goal is to get my AA, which will happen before I leave. Ultimately though, I really want to be no more than 1 year away from a BS when I leave, but that requires more research on my end first. Either way, I'll be better equipped for college life if I have a nice big chunk of credits under my belt. So I'm just going to keep pluggin' away at the req'd classes, and hope I can adequately keep up with everything else in the meantime...wish me luck?

Happy Effin' New Years

2008-01-01T04:45:00.000+09:00

About 4 3/4 hours ago we had the countdown to 2008 here in Okinawa. So it's officially January 1, 2008 here. It's still December 31, 2007 for most everyone else reading this. I hope everyone has a good one. Mine went down something like this...

I woke up at 3:30pm with a splitting headache. I made some breadfast fully intending on going to the store afterwards, but that didn't happen. Instead I watched a movie, The Break-Up. I don't really know why I chose that movie to watch, but it was hard to do it. For one, I don't like Vince Vaughn because I DO NOT find his rambling endearing like the rest of the country does. And for two, I hated that Jennifer Aniston's character stayed around for as long as she did, continually putting up with his stubborn, immature, irresponsible, childish behavior! I would have dumped him WAAAAY earlier. No, actually I wouldn't have found his persistance charming enough to start dating him in the first place! Anyway, I was happy with the ending, so that's all that matters. Then there's a big chunk of time that I can't account for...Eventually I started to watch My Name Is Earl, Season 2. Then around 8: 20pm I received a phone call from Amber asking about my plans for New Year's, which I replied, "I don't know if I'm going out or not yet. I don't really feel up to it." She said she felt the same way but told me that I would be better off not being alone. So I agreed that I would leave the apartment around 10pm and head to our ex-shop chief's house. I managed to finish the first disc of My Name Is Earl before I got ready. I didn't dress fancy, I didn't feel like it. I actually wore one of Dave's shirts and his beenie. Oh, and a sweater because it's freezing here! Amber decided she was going to stay in, so I went to the party by myself.

Upon my arrival, I was bombarded my a range of mildly drunk to completely wasted people from work. They either had comments to make about my tardiness or they had jell-o shots for me to take. So I took about 4 shots before I was left alone, at which time I heard P. Diddy's song "Last Night" playing. For those of you that don't know of it, the chorus is sung by Keisha Cole, and she sings "If you could only see, your heart belongs to me, I love you so much, I'm yearning for your touch, come and set me free, forever your's I'll be, come and take this pain away...I need you, and you need me, this is so plain to see, and I will never let you go, and I will always love you so, I will." Anyway, it hit home, despite how cheesy, and I started to think about Dave and how he wasn't here... Soooo, of course I started to cry, haha. Luckily Jess came over shortly after that and put her baby Adrienne in my arms, which helped. She said that she would tell people I was crying because she was so cute, hehe. Jess is awesome. The rest of the night went well. Although, we almost missed the change over! I just happened to look at my watch, for the first time all night, at 11:55pm! So we just barely were able to get everyone gathered to do a countdown. And it was over pretty quick. I think 2 couples kissed and everyone else just sorta hugged. Bobby went and peed immediately afterwards, sans hug...he's so sentimental! I really wish Dave was there. It would have been our first New Year's together. Stupid AF and your mission. So yeah, Happy Effin' New Year! Whoo hoo, 2008!

FIRST POST!

2007-12-31T03:54:00.000+09:00

So this is my first post...and I'm excited. I haven't updated my other site in quite a while. But, it wasn't suiting me anymore anyway. Needless to say, it was time for a change.

This is going to be used to update family and friends on my life and to get feedback on those things. I love feedback, in fact I thrive on it. And blogger.com offers a much easier way for people to give me feedback versus Tripod. You don't have to be registered or anything! So there should be NO EXCUSES! Haha. Just kidding. But really though, there shouldn't.

Now, I honestly don't know how long I'll be able to keep this up...but I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be consistant with this. Unless blogger.com suddenly starts advertizing a ton and bombarding the pages with ads, then I hope to maintain this blog for a long time.

Eventually I will get a new, faster, computer that won't repulse me, which should help keep me motivated to update. In the meantime though I know I will be diligent because it's going to be my main way of keeping my boyfriend updated with my life.

So the first order of business: who do I address my blogs to? I mean, is everyone I mention in the 3rd person? Or maybe I should pick someone I'm always talking to? Or maybe I'll address the blog, like "Dear Blog..." I haven't decided yet...For now I'll stick with the 3rd person idea until something better comes along. So, what do YOU think? (and we're off!)

Today is December 31, New Years Eve. And it's possibly the saddest NYE I've ever experienced, and we're only 4 hours in! See, I'm missing my b/f a lot right now. I mean A LOT, A LOT! Like I've never missed anyone before (excluding you Ma). I can't bring myself to eat hardly anything...I stay up really late so I am sure to fall asleep at night...I sleep on the couch...I stare at his picture constantly...I check the answering machine light practically every hour, to be SURE I didn't miss his call...but what I find strange is that, despite all of those aformentioned things, I can still manage to remain in denial about how long it's going to be before I see him again. I don't think I would be able to get through my day(s) if I allowed myself to focus on any of that. So, as far as I'm concerned he's coming back in a day or so. I tell ya, I definitely didn't expect to be THIS affected by his absence, not anywhere close. The ONLY good thing from this situation is the that it has forced/allowed me to evaluate our relationship, and how deeply I feel for him. I'm pretty shocked with the results so far, if you couldn't tell...

Okay, onto the days events (well, technically yesterday now; Sunday 30 Dec)...I woke up at 9:30am to a phone call from my friend Amber, asking if I wanted to go eat brunch. I said sure, but I would need more time to sleep first. So we changed the meeting time from 10 to 11. I got about an extra 45 minutes to snooze. Believe me, it was necessary. The alarm went off at 10:20 and I was in the shower by 10:40. Now, you might be thinking, "10:40? And she's supposed to meet Amber at 11? She'll never make it on time!" Well, you'd be correct in that assumption if you were thinking that. I showed up at 11:13am. But, Amber showed 5 minutes before I did, so I wasn't TOO worried about it. Anyway, for the next hour I proceeded to battle with my stomach over which foods were going to get passed the gateguards. Items on the list included: 1/2 waffle, 1/2 slice of french toast, a biscuit, some penne pasta w/ pesto and broccoli, and egg nog. It could have all easily fit on one plate, too, but I don't like my pasta to taste like syrup, or vice versa. So the Butler O Club definitely made out like a bandit off me today.

After brunch I went to the Foster BX and bought my own exacto knife so I could return the one I borrowed from Jess yesterday. I saw them there coincidentally, so we made plans for later in the day. I was to go over there to get ideas/help on the Christmas cards I'm preparing for the fam(s). In the meantime I worked and finished the card I had started for the "in-law" parents. The Hours was playing while I was making it which got me distracted quite a few times. So, I finished the card then finished the movie and immediately called my mom. I had to discuss the movie with her because I couldn't remember doing it before. She initially said that she remembered the movie as depressing, but I said it didn't make me depressed. I believe it's actually meant to be comforting. After about 20 minutes of explaining why, I think I turned her over to my side. Everyone should watch that movie. It's great.

Anyway, so then I went to Jess's house and worked on the MY parents' card while she cooked stuff. Then she helped with a couple small cut-outs of holiday-y things until I finished. To top it all off we watched 2 episodes of CSI: Las Vegas (the ONLY one worth a poo). Then we said our goodbyes and I trecked off to my car, which I was startled to see had received a new partial paint job. The color: Bird Poo! Yeah, a lots of it. I'd say I had no less than 13 craps on my car, of all consistancies. I was pretty mortified. Needless to say, I'm hoping we get rain in the next day or so!

Alright, well that was WAY too long of a post. I sorta just rambled on. In the future I don't believe they'll be that long. Here's hoping! *crosses fingers*

With that, I'll leave you with

this --->

Yeah, laugh it up. :)