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...
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Would you do me the honor...?
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!!!
Click here ---> MBTI!!!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
REALLY?!
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.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Emotional Dilemma(s)
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?
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
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...
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...
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
One Point Five Month Recap
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
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
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