I spent my birthday in Hawaii this year. It was not a leisure trip...the stars aligned perfectly and I was able to catch trip via military air to work (and play) in Hawaii.
I spent some time with my friends Bryant and Marianne. We broke bread together and enjoyed a nice glass of wine at a local Italian restaurant. We were stationed in Italy together and it's always great to go to Hawaii and catch up with two of the best people in the world. They'll be moving this year to California...that really bums me out but hopefullyI'll be able to see them again before they depart Hawaii.
My birthday evening was spent with my other friend that lives in Hawaii. His name is Charles and we go all the way back to my days at Keesler. A great guy, a great friend. He's walked me thru many a career move and many personal crisis'. I owe him the world...he is a true friend. As I mentioned before, I was in Hawaii to work. I am upgrading a flight nurse student, Shanti. It just so happens that her birthday falls on 10 Feb so we decided to celebrate together. Charles took us to one of my favorite places in Hawaii. A place called "Brasiere di Vin". I think that's how you spell it...please forgive my guess if it's wrong. Anyway, it's a small place across the street from the Hawaii Theatre near China Town. This place is AMAZING...the food is delicious, the wine...well, always wonderful. I had a pork chop stuffed with gorgonzola cheese over a bed of spinach. Over the top was a glaze with roasted pecans. My mouth is watering as I think about it! Following dinner we were stopped by some folks advertising a Improv show that started in 5 minutes. "Why not?" we say. All of the comedians were amateurs that took a class in stand up comedy I suppose. There were 3 separate groups that performed and their show was based completely on suggestions from the audience. The first group's suggestion, an emotion..."horny". They go on for at least 15 minutes (until the lights go out). They have to keep going...all 8 of them...improvising and making it work. The next suggestion...something that makes you have to go to group therapy. One guy in the audience yelled out "sexually deprived tap dancing". Well, first of all I've never heard of such...neither did the poor group but they pulled it off. It was quite funny and I was amazed they were able to go on and on for 15 minutes about sexually deprived tap dancing!
All in all, my birthday was a good one. I enjoyed the sunshine and always perfect weather of Hawaii. Our trip home was long and although I love Hawaii...it's good to be home.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A facial for me...
I haven't taken the time for a facial in a long, long time. For some reason, I woke up the other day thinking I need one. I've had a couple since living in Okinawa and they are what I would define as a "fru fru facial". A lot of creams, a lot of fluff but no real clean out your pores goodness that are the best kind of facials to get. This time I decided to try out the base hair salon. When I called and asked if they do the good pore cleansing facials they told me "yes, vely good faciar" (spoken in Okinawan broken Engrish). So...they had time to get me in right then...sounded good to me so off I go.
As I was getting my facial today I couldn't help but go back to memories of living in Italy. In Italy there is an Estetica Salon on every corner. All promising youth and beauty. The services were a wide range of facials, waxing, skin treatments, tanning...the list goes on. The Estetica that myself and most of my friends was a place we all called "The House of Pain". I believe the first time I heard it called this was by my friend Amanda. The name caught on and I don't think anyone knew it's real name...just "The House of Pain". There was nothing "fru-fru" about The House of Pain. NOTHING at the House of Pain was peaceful, relaxing or painless!! The owner and primary estetician was "Graciella". I guess her parents were thankful for her so they named her after "Gracia" (thank you in Italian) and added an "ella" to make it feminine. Graciella was certainly a good business woman. I think she probably became a millionaire because of the nurses at Sacile Ospedale (Sacile Hospital where all the Americans worked). Graciella waxed, peeled, electrolysisized, mud packed, squeezed, slapped...the nurses of Sacile Ospedale were always there! I remember getting a facial there one day and I thought I was going to DIE! All that Graciella could say was "so many impurities"..."so many impurities". She was bound and determined to ensure that no pore was left untouched. I thought for sure I would have to have reconstructive surgery after my appointment! My appointment finally ended and after purchasing more creams and potions and making another appointment to rid me of my impurities I was back home red faced and tired. After years of being a Graciella follower...I don't think I was ever rid of my all of my impurities but I certainly knew what a "good" facial was!
So...I am here in Okinawa still in search of another Graciella and her House of Pain. I have yet to find it and I'm hoping that today is the day. I'm tucked away in a corner of the beauty salon...behind a curtain that looks much like a hospital room. Right next to the pedicure chair that is bubbling water and has 2 Okinawan girls chatting it up...nonstop. Ever listen to 2 Japanese people talking? It's not a relaxing event and I just can't seem to understand one single thing. In Italy...I was able to eventually figure it out. Although I couldn't decipher every word...I could understand the general gist of the conversation. So...strike one for the base beauty salon. The table I was placed on was definitely not designed for anyone over 5 ft tall and it was butted up to the wall so I had to prop my feet up on the wall...strike 2. The facial...very relaxing...I think I fell asleep to be honest. Strike 3...Graciella would be appalled my impurities have not been extracted to her liking. I'll continue my search...someday I will find another House of Pain!
As I was getting my facial today I couldn't help but go back to memories of living in Italy. In Italy there is an Estetica Salon on every corner. All promising youth and beauty. The services were a wide range of facials, waxing, skin treatments, tanning...the list goes on. The Estetica that myself and most of my friends was a place we all called "The House of Pain". I believe the first time I heard it called this was by my friend Amanda. The name caught on and I don't think anyone knew it's real name...just "The House of Pain". There was nothing "fru-fru" about The House of Pain. NOTHING at the House of Pain was peaceful, relaxing or painless!! The owner and primary estetician was "Graciella". I guess her parents were thankful for her so they named her after "Gracia" (thank you in Italian) and added an "ella" to make it feminine. Graciella was certainly a good business woman. I think she probably became a millionaire because of the nurses at Sacile Ospedale (Sacile Hospital where all the Americans worked). Graciella waxed, peeled, electrolysisized, mud packed, squeezed, slapped...the nurses of Sacile Ospedale were always there! I remember getting a facial there one day and I thought I was going to DIE! All that Graciella could say was "so many impurities"..."so many impurities". She was bound and determined to ensure that no pore was left untouched. I thought for sure I would have to have reconstructive surgery after my appointment! My appointment finally ended and after purchasing more creams and potions and making another appointment to rid me of my impurities I was back home red faced and tired. After years of being a Graciella follower...I don't think I was ever rid of my all of my impurities but I certainly knew what a "good" facial was!
So...I am here in Okinawa still in search of another Graciella and her House of Pain. I have yet to find it and I'm hoping that today is the day. I'm tucked away in a corner of the beauty salon...behind a curtain that looks much like a hospital room. Right next to the pedicure chair that is bubbling water and has 2 Okinawan girls chatting it up...nonstop. Ever listen to 2 Japanese people talking? It's not a relaxing event and I just can't seem to understand one single thing. In Italy...I was able to eventually figure it out. Although I couldn't decipher every word...I could understand the general gist of the conversation. So...strike one for the base beauty salon. The table I was placed on was definitely not designed for anyone over 5 ft tall and it was butted up to the wall so I had to prop my feet up on the wall...strike 2. The facial...very relaxing...I think I fell asleep to be honest. Strike 3...Graciella would be appalled my impurities have not been extracted to her liking. I'll continue my search...someday I will find another House of Pain!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
CocoK
I went for another pedicure today at CocoK. They've got new chairs...very nice big fluffy leather recliners. Sweet! I remembered why I don't like CocoK on Rt 23...today was bring your kids to the spa day. They restrict kids from coming on Sundays but Saturdays are CRAZY! Kids running everywhere. All in all it was OK. I got cherry blossoms painted on my toes this time in honor of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Okinawa at the end of January.
Taming the Beast
In today's high tech world e-mail has become as common as waking up in the morning. At work, at home...it's everywhere. I actually do remember the day where computers took up whole rooms (the one down the hall from my office at 3M Co). I also remember that tiny little Mac Computer my Mom got for us at home. The screen was 1/4 of my current screen. Black and white and I really don't recall doing much on it except play endless hours of Wolfenstein 3D. My friend Heather and I worked for hours to beat that game and I clearly remember that day. Heather, myself and my Mom surround the computer. I had gotten to the last level fully prepared with all my powerful weapons I had gained along the way. The trap door opened and I was greeted on the screen with this HUGE German man (pretty much the size of the screen). The only words out of his mouth was "gutentog!". I remember saying "well hello..." as I proceeded to pull out every weapon I had to destroy him!
Today, every household has multiple computers, gaming systems etc. Even the work place has gone to computers. No longer do we have "communication books" to get the word out. It's e-mail, e-mail, e-mail! I don't know what it's like in the civilian world with computers and e-mail at work but in the military it has completely gotten out of hand. I can go on temporary duty for 1 week and return to work to find 100 e-mails plugging up my inbox. 90 of them are useless pieces of information. While I was in Antarctica, I was having problems getting to my e-mail except when I was in New Zealand. I returned home to 800 give or take a few. Yesterday...I enjoyed a moment that I thought I'd never see. I was supposed to fly yesterday. Unfortunately, we ended up not flying so I returned to work at my desk. The Squadron was pretty bare because of MLK events across the base. When the Squadron is bare it's a dream come true. It's peaceful...work can get accomplished because there are few interuptions. So...I took advantage of this opportunity and decided it was time to tackle my inbox. Let me add that I've been home from Antarctica almost 8 weeks. I've been super busy between upgrading myself to Evaluator, upgrading students, doing checkrides, buddy rides etc etc. In this 8 weeks I've hardly been able to tackle my inbox so that 800 has grown. I've learned a valuable tool to tackle it. Outlook has a great little feature that lets you sort your e-mails. The first thing I do is sort by name. I can immediately delete most of the e-mails. All those forwarded "events around the base" type e-mails. All those "the system is up", "the system is down", "the system is back up", "now it's down". The "staff mtg in 5 minutes", "intel brief in 3 minutes". Yes...this is how crazy my inbox is. It's out of control...a BEAST!
Yesterday at 1645 I had accomplished something that I don't has happened in over 2 years. My inbox had NO unread messages in it. There were 20 e-mails in my inbox...all read...all waiting for a follow up (that's my reminder that I need to take care of something, it stays in my inbox until complete). What an amazing feeling!! From 800 to 20...nice neat e-mails in my inbox. The moment was so significant I had a moment of silence and even took a picture. What was even more shocking is that I sat there for at least 5 minutes staring at the screen and enjoyed the fact that the 20 e-mails remained and NO new messages popped up! Today is a day to mark in my major accomplishments of 2009. I've tamed the BEAST! Guess it's time to go read my e-mail...
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Eviction Notice
I received an eviction notice on Friday. I have until May to move out!! For some of you that read this you know that I've always called my little house on Okinawa "the crack house". I've made it a home on the inside. The outside leaves much to be desired. It's a typical base housing 4-plex for Company Grade Officers (CGO). When I moved to Okinawa 3 years ago. I had the biggest culture shock of my life. I moved from the most beautiful place on earth (Italy) where I lived in a beautiful 3 bedroom Italian home. Arriving in Okinawa was not a beautiful sight. Neon lights, concrete buildings, no grass hardly anywhere. Base housing was completely full so I was forced to look off base for a house. I remember the thousands of phone calls from Okinawan housing agencies calling me non-stop on my new cell phone. They had a "mansion" to show me or a "beautiful house". Well...I quickly learned that "mansion" Japanese style is definitely NOT what we American's call a "mansion". A Japanese mansion is an apartment complex!! So...I looked. I looked all over the place trying to find something that was acceptable. I cried, cried some more...I didn't like anything I saw and if I finally found a place I liked it was way over my housing cap. I finally settled on a small Japanese stand alone house that was just outside the Kadena gate. That house is what Cole and I refer to the "Japanese Mafia House". We called it that because there was a small closed circuit television in the living room that constantly flashed between 4 black and white cameras that were located outside at each corner of the house. It also had little trap doors and hiding places everywhere. It was a nice enough house...I liked it for it's character most of all. It had a huge tatami room downstairs, a tatami area in the dining room and another in my bedroom. It just wasn't convenient when traffic in Okinawa is so unpredictable. Cole was more restricted to home because I was working so much. We counted down the days until a house became available on base.
The day finally came that the housing office called. Cole and I ran into the housing office for our choices. Typically when you are offered base housing, the housing office will give you one set of keys. You take the keys and go find the house to look at it. If you like the house, you take it. If you don't like it, you get another set of keys. You take that set of keys and find the house. If you like it you take it, if you don't you can't go back to the first house. You are shit out of luck...you either take that house or wait for 6 months to get offered another house. Basically in a nut shell, it's a gamble. I guess the lady in the housing office was feeling generous that day, maybe I gave her a sad look and brought Cole along for a double set of big brown eyes. She handed me 2 sets of keys...told me to go look at the 2 and make my choice. That was like receiving a pint of peanut butter & chocolate ice cream!! For those of you who don't know me that well...ice cream makes EVERYTHING better and the above sentence means that life was GOOD. I'm going to get to make a decision in this military world of mine!
Off Cole and I go to view our 2 possible homes. The first one brought tears to my eyes (not in a happy way). It was the typical CGO 4-plex but OLD. The cabinets in the kitchen were like something out of the 50's. White, metal vents on the doors. This place was awful. I remember Cole running thru the house saying..."it'll be OK Mom...we can make it work. It's not THAT bad". Tears flowing down my face I couldn't help but think my goodness I hate this place! Cole grabbed the keys out of my hands and told me to drive to the next house. "Mom, it'll be OK". We pulled up to the same CGO 4-plex that I just left. I sat and looked at it and said a little prayer. "Dear Lord, PLEASE make this one better even if the outside is the same". The location was perfect...across the street from Cole's school. Cole's choice was made before hitting the door. The inside was the same except this one had a remodeled kitchen. It's amazing what a few cabinet doors will do for a place. The only difference besides the remodeled kitchen was that it didn't have central air/heat. This house has the old wall units like you'd find in a hotel and we are at the mercy of base CE to flip the switch on heating and air conditioning. Let's not forget that fact taht these very large wall units were the most awful shade of green contrasting against the typical white walls of base housing. As I write this, it is January (one of the colder months in Okinawa). I don't have heat!!! It's a bit chilly around here.
I digress...so I've told you that I've been evicted from the Crack house. No need to get worried. I haven't done anything wrong. I'm being evicted because they are going to completely gut the crack house and make it all new. Isn't that nice...I'm going to get moved to another old house while they remodel mine without the option to move back in. It's all good tho...you see I'm moving up in the world. I've been selected for a promotion. I get to move up to the "dealer's homes". No more CGO crack house...I'm damn near the drug lord! It's all a joke...I've gotta make light of the situation. Cole and I are actually thrilled. I just extended here so that Cole can graduate from Kadena High School. Moving across base will give us the feeling we are doing our every 3 year move. Not to mention, Field Grade Officer (FGO) houses are single homes. That's right...no more 4-plex. My very own house. Of course, the housing office may throw a wrench in my plan and tell me there are no FGO housing units available. That will certainly burst my bubble. I guess I'll take it in stride, hope and pray for the best. We'll move around March...it'll be OK.
The day finally came that the housing office called. Cole and I ran into the housing office for our choices. Typically when you are offered base housing, the housing office will give you one set of keys. You take the keys and go find the house to look at it. If you like the house, you take it. If you don't like it, you get another set of keys. You take that set of keys and find the house. If you like it you take it, if you don't you can't go back to the first house. You are shit out of luck...you either take that house or wait for 6 months to get offered another house. Basically in a nut shell, it's a gamble. I guess the lady in the housing office was feeling generous that day, maybe I gave her a sad look and brought Cole along for a double set of big brown eyes. She handed me 2 sets of keys...told me to go look at the 2 and make my choice. That was like receiving a pint of peanut butter & chocolate ice cream!! For those of you who don't know me that well...ice cream makes EVERYTHING better and the above sentence means that life was GOOD. I'm going to get to make a decision in this military world of mine!
Off Cole and I go to view our 2 possible homes. The first one brought tears to my eyes (not in a happy way). It was the typical CGO 4-plex but OLD. The cabinets in the kitchen were like something out of the 50's. White, metal vents on the doors. This place was awful. I remember Cole running thru the house saying..."it'll be OK Mom...we can make it work. It's not THAT bad". Tears flowing down my face I couldn't help but think my goodness I hate this place! Cole grabbed the keys out of my hands and told me to drive to the next house. "Mom, it'll be OK". We pulled up to the same CGO 4-plex that I just left. I sat and looked at it and said a little prayer. "Dear Lord, PLEASE make this one better even if the outside is the same". The location was perfect...across the street from Cole's school. Cole's choice was made before hitting the door. The inside was the same except this one had a remodeled kitchen. It's amazing what a few cabinet doors will do for a place. The only difference besides the remodeled kitchen was that it didn't have central air/heat. This house has the old wall units like you'd find in a hotel and we are at the mercy of base CE to flip the switch on heating and air conditioning. Let's not forget that fact taht these very large wall units were the most awful shade of green contrasting against the typical white walls of base housing. As I write this, it is January (one of the colder months in Okinawa). I don't have heat!!! It's a bit chilly around here.
I digress...so I've told you that I've been evicted from the Crack house. No need to get worried. I haven't done anything wrong. I'm being evicted because they are going to completely gut the crack house and make it all new. Isn't that nice...I'm going to get moved to another old house while they remodel mine without the option to move back in. It's all good tho...you see I'm moving up in the world. I've been selected for a promotion. I get to move up to the "dealer's homes". No more CGO crack house...I'm damn near the drug lord! It's all a joke...I've gotta make light of the situation. Cole and I are actually thrilled. I just extended here so that Cole can graduate from Kadena High School. Moving across base will give us the feeling we are doing our every 3 year move. Not to mention, Field Grade Officer (FGO) houses are single homes. That's right...no more 4-plex. My very own house. Of course, the housing office may throw a wrench in my plan and tell me there are no FGO housing units available. That will certainly burst my bubble. I guess I'll take it in stride, hope and pray for the best. We'll move around March...it'll be OK.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Cole's all night lock in
Cole went to a "Life Teen" all night lock in tonight. Life Teen is sponsored by the Wing Chapel and provides a Friday night hang out for teens on Kadena. Cole and his friends go there almost every Friday night. There is always a chaperone and the kids seem to enjoy it. Around 1900, Cole asked if I would drive him to Life Teen. He's dressed in his PJ's and has a pillow in hand. I drove him there to see that the building is still closed up with no lights on. He informs me that we are 30 minutes early! Geez...great...now I'm sitting here waiting. Around the building are a couple of his friends in a car. They are hilarious to watch...I try to just be the Mom a.k.a. Taxi Driver. Cole asks his friends why they aren't in PJs. Sean says "he didn't get the memo", TJ has a bag packed. Sean begins to search his trunk for something he can wear for PJs. His trunk is loaded with clothes...it looked a lot like the floor of Cole's room. These 3 boys are all getting phone calls on their cell phones in this 10 minute span of time. All the kids talking to different kids trying to get their plan together. By the end of the 10 minute span we have come to the realization that Cole was supposed to bring his X-Box 360, Sean was supposed to have PJs and can't find anything suitable and TJ is trying to figure out how they are going to get all of this together. TJ wants to know why Cole has a pillow...all I can think is "at least he doesn't have his blanket!". I finally become the voice of reason and tell them that I am going to leave. Sean is going to drive all 3 boys to Sean's house for PJs and on the way home he's going to stop at our house for the X-Box. The boys are a riot to watch...I should've paid more attention or written down some of the comments...they were blog-worthy. The next day, Cole rolled into the house at 07:00. He actually stayed awake to watch a movie and then came upstairs to chat with me. He told me he had a good time but he was tired...followed by a "they kept me up ALL NIGHT!". I said, "isn't that what lock ins are about". He said, "yea, but Mom, we had a hot dog eating contest at 0200!", "I just wanted to take a quick nap". By 09:30 he was crashed out on the couch...out for the count. This boy needs his sleep...always has.
I guess I should share the story of Cole's blanket. Cole has had a blanket since he was a toddler. This blanket started out as a twin size Mexican blanket that I picked up in Mexico when I was 15 years old! I don't really recall when or how Cole found it. I vaguely remember that it used to be in our living room as a throw. For some reason, Cole took a liking to it and soon it was not to be left behind. EVER! He called it "E" which by the way was also what he called his pacifier. In addition, to his blanket and pacifier...he also called his Godmother (Tracy) "E" which we still call her to this day. Blanket; however, has become known as "blanket" and the pacifier (thank goodness) is long gone! So this blanket has seen it all. It has traveled the world over and you'll be amazed to know that at age 15 he still has it. A few years back, when we lived in Italy I told him that I wasn't going to lug "that thing" around. I told him that if he wanted to take it on our travels that was fine but I wasn't going to be the one to carry it. He agreed and every since that day, it has been his sole responsibility to maintain accountability and lug it. Cole has traveled alone on many occasions...back and forth from Italy & Missouri and now back and forth from Japan & Missouri. Each time...even last summer he has brought his blanket along. Never once has he lost it, never once has he left it behind. Blanket has lost a lot of it's shape and is certainly not the blanket I brought home from Mexico.
I think what drew Cole to the blanket in the beginning was it's texture. He would find a place on the blanket and roll it between his index finger and thumb. He would roll it and roll it until eventually that particular piece would fall off or on several occasions until a hole would develop. I remember one particular hole that developed that he would absolutely have to have before he would fall asleep. I also remember him as a toddler when we lived in Missouri crying when "E" went into the washer. He would stand at the washer thru every wash cycle...crying and yelling "Eeeeee" until I opened the washer. No amount of consoling would help him thru...he just had to cry. I remember his look of joy, eyes all teared up, face red but an instant look of joy when the washer would open and blanket would come out. Only for it to begin again when blanket disappeared in the dryer. Once, I recall giving up and giving it to him wet. He was happy as can be...walking around with his wet wool blanket. He finally figured out that a toasty warm blanket straight out of the dryer was pure heaven and as he got older requested that his blanket be whipped around on the dryer for a little while.
Over the years, my Mom and I have used it to tease and threaten Cole. We don't threaten in a mean way...it's more of a teasing thing. We talked about cutting it into pieces so he can have parts of it at her house, parts at Pop's house, parts at home. The look on Cole's face tells us that this is NOT a good idea. I've talked about retiring blanket to storage...that doesn't go over well either.
Blanket today is definitely a different blanket. It is no longer something that would cover a twin size bed. It's warped and would barely cover one of the cushions on my couch. There is a hole in the middle of the blanket about the size of a soccer ball and in the center of this hole hanging on by about 20 strands of wool is the largest ball of messed up wool you'll ever see. This ball is Cole's favorite part of the blanket these days...he can't explain what about the texture he likes...he just likes it. It doesn't go on every travel destination anymore. Of course, we don't travel long distances by car like we did in Italy. It certainly doesn't go on all night adventures such as teen lock ins. It is one of the most loved blankets of all time...
Last night, I was laying on the couch and got a little chilly. Blanket was the closest cover I could find. I attempted to cover up with it...I wasn't too successful. I couldn't cover my feet and my shoulders at the same time. When I finally found a decent location for it I noticed that I was still cold where that huge hole existed. Duke enjoyed more coverage than I did and soon blanket was taken by it's owner because he needed to roll the ball in the center some more. When I suggest we cut that ball out and sew it closed I get a frantic look. I often wonder if blanket will make it to college with him. We'll see...
I guess I should share the story of Cole's blanket. Cole has had a blanket since he was a toddler. This blanket started out as a twin size Mexican blanket that I picked up in Mexico when I was 15 years old! I don't really recall when or how Cole found it. I vaguely remember that it used to be in our living room as a throw. For some reason, Cole took a liking to it and soon it was not to be left behind. EVER! He called it "E" which by the way was also what he called his pacifier. In addition, to his blanket and pacifier...he also called his Godmother (Tracy) "E" which we still call her to this day. Blanket; however, has become known as "blanket" and the pacifier (thank goodness) is long gone! So this blanket has seen it all. It has traveled the world over and you'll be amazed to know that at age 15 he still has it. A few years back, when we lived in Italy I told him that I wasn't going to lug "that thing" around. I told him that if he wanted to take it on our travels that was fine but I wasn't going to be the one to carry it. He agreed and every since that day, it has been his sole responsibility to maintain accountability and lug it. Cole has traveled alone on many occasions...back and forth from Italy & Missouri and now back and forth from Japan & Missouri. Each time...even last summer he has brought his blanket along. Never once has he lost it, never once has he left it behind. Blanket has lost a lot of it's shape and is certainly not the blanket I brought home from Mexico.
I think what drew Cole to the blanket in the beginning was it's texture. He would find a place on the blanket and roll it between his index finger and thumb. He would roll it and roll it until eventually that particular piece would fall off or on several occasions until a hole would develop. I remember one particular hole that developed that he would absolutely have to have before he would fall asleep. I also remember him as a toddler when we lived in Missouri crying when "E" went into the washer. He would stand at the washer thru every wash cycle...crying and yelling "Eeeeee" until I opened the washer. No amount of consoling would help him thru...he just had to cry. I remember his look of joy, eyes all teared up, face red but an instant look of joy when the washer would open and blanket would come out. Only for it to begin again when blanket disappeared in the dryer. Once, I recall giving up and giving it to him wet. He was happy as can be...walking around with his wet wool blanket. He finally figured out that a toasty warm blanket straight out of the dryer was pure heaven and as he got older requested that his blanket be whipped around on the dryer for a little while.
Over the years, my Mom and I have used it to tease and threaten Cole. We don't threaten in a mean way...it's more of a teasing thing. We talked about cutting it into pieces so he can have parts of it at her house, parts at Pop's house, parts at home. The look on Cole's face tells us that this is NOT a good idea. I've talked about retiring blanket to storage...that doesn't go over well either.
Blanket today is definitely a different blanket. It is no longer something that would cover a twin size bed. It's warped and would barely cover one of the cushions on my couch. There is a hole in the middle of the blanket about the size of a soccer ball and in the center of this hole hanging on by about 20 strands of wool is the largest ball of messed up wool you'll ever see. This ball is Cole's favorite part of the blanket these days...he can't explain what about the texture he likes...he just likes it. It doesn't go on every travel destination anymore. Of course, we don't travel long distances by car like we did in Italy. It certainly doesn't go on all night adventures such as teen lock ins. It is one of the most loved blankets of all time...
Last night, I was laying on the couch and got a little chilly. Blanket was the closest cover I could find. I attempted to cover up with it...I wasn't too successful. I couldn't cover my feet and my shoulders at the same time. When I finally found a decent location for it I noticed that I was still cold where that huge hole existed. Duke enjoyed more coverage than I did and soon blanket was taken by it's owner because he needed to roll the ball in the center some more. When I suggest we cut that ball out and sew it closed I get a frantic look. I often wonder if blanket will make it to college with him. We'll see...
Rock Band
Cole has been begging me for quite some time now to get Rock Band. I've put him off successfully with the excuse that "we don't have a Rock Band in our house, we only have 2 man band". Well...I finally gave in to the Rock Band craze and purchased the set for his new PS3. He's hooked, his friends are hooked, I'm hooked, MY friends are hooked. So...I invited some of the girls over for dinner and a little Rock Band. With Lou on drums, Emily on vocals and trade offs between myself, Tammy & Tiffany on lead guitar...we've made quite a name for ourselves. It's great fun...my only complaint is the horrible pain in my left shoulder after our 4 hour gig. I believe Lou was complaining of her shin pain from the drum pedal. I wonder what Flight Medicine would think if we came in with our complaints. Maybe we've encountered a new diagnosis code of the future...
I wish I could load the pictures but for some reason my little screen at the top that lets me load pictures has disappeared. I'll keep trying...
I wish I could load the pictures but for some reason my little screen at the top that lets me load pictures has disappeared. I'll keep trying...
Friday, January 2, 2009
Dive #4
Back to Kin Red for my 4th and final dive. The water temperature was a frigid 66 degrees today and visibility was only 10-15 Ft. Not a good day of diving but I did complete my PADI Open Water Scuba certification. Congratulations to me! Darlene and I forgot one small skill so she asked me to come by her house and stick my head into her bathtub. At first I thought, "no problem". Then I decided that I really didn't want to do that...what a pain in the butt! SO...I'm going to go diving with her next Sunday. I'll do my little skill then I'll check out the open water.
They had a sale at the Kadena Marina on 1 Jan. Everything in the store was 10% off, plus I was able to get an additional 10% for my club membership. I went ahead and bought a wet suit and fins. This is no cheap hobby!! I think I'll rent for awhile unless I can find some good used equipment. Tiffany came with me and bought snorkeling gear. I'm hoping she'll get SCUBA certified soon so we can explore the waters of Okinawa.
They had a sale at the Kadena Marina on 1 Jan. Everything in the store was 10% off, plus I was able to get an additional 10% for my club membership. I went ahead and bought a wet suit and fins. This is no cheap hobby!! I think I'll rent for awhile unless I can find some good used equipment. Tiffany came with me and bought snorkeling gear. I'm hoping she'll get SCUBA certified soon so we can explore the waters of Okinawa.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year 2009
I celebrated New Year's Eve at Jack's Place on Kadena. This celebration has become an Annual event for the Operation's Group Officers and their spouses. In the past it has always been a mix of married and dating couples so I usually stay away. It's not too exciting for me to go to New Year's celebrations minus another half. This year, the 18 Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron decided to crash the party and make our presence known. I returned from Antarctica to a completely different Squadron...the majority of which are single nurses, mostly of the female persuasion. We were 25 strong walking into the party not all single...but only 3 couples that I can recall.The evening began upstairs on the deck with cocktails. Everyone looked great, dressed in
"Holiday Casual" which was mainly party dresses, dressy pants and for the gentleman...slacks, shirts & ties. Dinner was buffet style and plenty! After dinner, as the nurses surrounded the bar we decided that this party needed a little more fun so as people walked in the room (people we knew) we started yelling out their name, clapping and celebrating their grand entrance. We sparked the interest of the Wing Commander (who is a Brigadier General) who came over and started chatting with us. The next thing we knew he was requesting a photo of him being surrounded by the nurses. Maybe we'll end up on a recruiting poster...I don't know but the party got much better when the nurses started having fun!!
The DJ was ok...but we were getting frustrated with the music selection. Dwayne, one of our Squadron jokers decided it was time to actually get a song we requested. So, he took it upon himself to drop a name he knew would get us what we wanted. You guessed it...the Wing Commander. I'm not sure how many times he used his little trick...but it worked and we had a lot of good songs to finish up the night!I rang in the New Year with a brand new group of friends. Only one was an "old friend" which was Becca who will be leaving this summer.
I was home soon after midnight. Cole celebrated New Year's with his friend Nathan playing on
his PS3. I brought them hats from the OG Party which they thought were really cool. They called spent the next 15 minutes calling all their friends and I think wishing they had gone with them.I'm looking forward 2009...I'm going to make the most of this assignment. I'm going to enjoy my life, my family, my friends and my job. Happy New Year to all who read this. I wish you happiness and prosperity in 2009.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Dive #2 & #3
Dive #2 and #3 brought me to "Kin Red". A shore entry dive site on the Pacific side of Okinawa located near Camp Hanson. Our goal was to get more of our skill sets accomplished so this was the perfect place. Sea conditions on the other side of the Island were not good enough for diving today so the Pacific side was our best option. Two short dives at about 30 Ft lasting about an hour was enough to get our skills accomplished. The visibility wasn't as good as our first dive, about 15-20 Ft but enough to see a lot of interesting things. It must be mating season for Lion Fish, we saw many! We also saw Shrimp Fish. These were really cool because they would swim horizontal in schools of 50 or so, then they would stop and all go vertical and just hang out in that spot until something made them go horizontal again and swim another 10 Ft to their next vertical resting spot. We also saw a lot of Sea Urchins, so many I was worried I might mess up my buoancy and land on one! That wouldn't have been so good...I've heard they'll go right thru your wet suit! The other interesting thing we saw was a dead octopus...he didn't look dead when we first saw him but Darlene (Dive Master) was able to grab one of his tenticles and give it a yank...he was dead.
This area was not as pretty as Mizugama Sea Wall. There was a lot more junk around. We saw a couple of old cars, a cash register and a lot of pilings that made it feel like we were diving around a ship wreck. It was good practice on buoancy control as we swam in and out of the pilings. I even saw an umbrella that was open and sitting with the handle pointed upward. It was very stylish I might add with leopard print. I tried to pick it up and couldn't help but think it would've been a funny photo under water holding the umbrella up.
We arrived at Kin Red at about 0800. Darlene was in a big hurry to get going, she said that the Japanese would be swarming the area soon. She wasn't kidding! Within the hour...before we had gotten all our gear together the Japanese arrived!! My goodness, they came in droves! I'm sure most are familiar with the ever present Japanese tourists. I'm always amazed...no matter where I am in the world...the Japanese are always there. Lights, cameras, tripods...always snapping pics. This was no different and as I swam around underwater I couldn't help but laugh at the endless flashes as the Japanese swam around snapping pictures all over the place. These weren't your average cameras either...these were the heavy duty SLR cameras with separate flashes! I was expecting to see a tripod drop down at any moment.
Dive #2 and #3 were good dives. I was able to complete several skills and enjoyed the dive. I prefer the beauty of the Mizugama Sea Wall but this was a nice calm location for us to go. Like I said, the water was calm and much warmer (70 degrees) than the frigid pool! I think I'll like diving!
This area was not as pretty as Mizugama Sea Wall. There was a lot more junk around. We saw a couple of old cars, a cash register and a lot of pilings that made it feel like we were diving around a ship wreck. It was good practice on buoancy control as we swam in and out of the pilings. I even saw an umbrella that was open and sitting with the handle pointed upward. It was very stylish I might add with leopard print. I tried to pick it up and couldn't help but think it would've been a funny photo under water holding the umbrella up.
We arrived at Kin Red at about 0800. Darlene was in a big hurry to get going, she said that the Japanese would be swarming the area soon. She wasn't kidding! Within the hour...before we had gotten all our gear together the Japanese arrived!! My goodness, they came in droves! I'm sure most are familiar with the ever present Japanese tourists. I'm always amazed...no matter where I am in the world...the Japanese are always there. Lights, cameras, tripods...always snapping pics. This was no different and as I swam around underwater I couldn't help but laugh at the endless flashes as the Japanese swam around snapping pictures all over the place. These weren't your average cameras either...these were the heavy duty SLR cameras with separate flashes! I was expecting to see a tripod drop down at any moment.
Dive #2 and #3 were good dives. I was able to complete several skills and enjoyed the dive. I prefer the beauty of the Mizugama Sea Wall but this was a nice calm location for us to go. Like I said, the water was calm and much warmer (70 degrees) than the frigid pool! I think I'll like diving!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Dive #1
I went for my first open water dive today. We went to the Misugama A.K.A. Kadena Steps. My experience was MUCH better than my pool dives. The water much warmer, visibility about 25-30 feet. Something to see every which way you turned. I had to focus on my skills today but did get a moment to enjoy the scenery. It was beautiful! I'm gonna like this new hobby!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
SCUBA
SCUBA...Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. I have finally decided after three years on Okinawa that I 'should' learn how to SCUBA. I've always had the thought in the back of my mind...I have just not acted on it as our schedule at work just doesn't give much for such activities. At least not the training process. Most classes are over 1 week and end with a PADI Open Water Dive certification. I've heard that Okinawa is one of the most beautiful places on Earth to dive. I guess it's time that I see for myself.
Class started on a Sunday afternoon. It was an orientation class where the instructor talked to us about what to expect. Monday and Tuesday were classroom days. Wednesday and Thursday were pool days. I made it thru the classroom days and have taken/passed my written exam. I don't know what I was thinking when I took SCUBA lessons in December!!! It's a tropical island but the water is a bit chilly!! Especially the pool water...60 degrees Fahrenheit which doesn't exactly seem cold but it certainly is cold even with 2 wetsuits!! I made it thru my 2 days in the pool...frozen and ended up with a head cold. My open water dives are postponed until I'm feeling better. As I write this, I have plans for this weekend to dive...one more step towards my open water certification.
I'll keep you posted...
Class started on a Sunday afternoon. It was an orientation class where the instructor talked to us about what to expect. Monday and Tuesday were classroom days. Wednesday and Thursday were pool days. I made it thru the classroom days and have taken/passed my written exam. I don't know what I was thinking when I took SCUBA lessons in December!!! It's a tropical island but the water is a bit chilly!! Especially the pool water...60 degrees Fahrenheit which doesn't exactly seem cold but it certainly is cold even with 2 wetsuits!! I made it thru my 2 days in the pool...frozen and ended up with a head cold. My open water dives are postponed until I'm feeling better. As I write this, I have plans for this weekend to dive...one more step towards my open water certification.
I'll keep you posted...
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
CocoK
I went to CocoK Sunabe today. Coco's is the pedicure place...not to be mistaken with Coco's A.K.A. "CocoIchibana" which is the curry place or Coco's "A.K.A. "Coco!" the quikmart.
I love CocoK...you sit in large fluffy recliners while they give you a pedicure, massage your feet and the best part of all is the art they put on your nails. When you plop down in the chair you are greeted with a smile, a small glass of sweet Japanese tea and a book that is full of designs. The designs are amazing! Please allow me to clarify...these are not designs that are stickers or just glitter. These are designs that are handpainted and intricate. Designs that would surprise you! 
I usually get designs that celebrate whichever Holiday is near or Season. Sometimes I just try to pick the hardest design to see if they can do it! I've even gone in on a couple of occasions and made specific requests. Such as the time before I was deploying to the desert. I brought in my desert camo and asked them to paint it on my toes. They did! Never hurts to have desert camo toes when you are heading to war. Before my Antarctic deployment I had snowflakes painted on them. Never fails...they always make my toes perfect. I'm always amazed!
I usually get designs that celebrate whichever Holiday is near or Season. Sometimes I just try to pick the hardest design to see if they can do it! I've even gone in on a couple of occasions and made specific requests. Such as the time before I was deploying to the desert. I brought in my desert camo and asked them to paint it on my toes. They did! Never hurts to have desert camo toes when you are heading to war. Before my Antarctic deployment I had snowflakes painted on them. Never fails...they always make my toes perfect. I'm always amazed!Today I shared this experience with my friends Leslie & Mila. They have just returned from the ice. We enjoyed our afternoon of pampering and chatting about memories from the ice. We finished our afternoon with lunch at Transit Cafe. A trendy little restaurant that sits on the Sunabe Seawall. It's one of my favorite places on Okinawa. The Camembert cheese fondue is to die for but I really haven't had anything I didn't like at Transit Cafe. What makes it the perfect place is the location. It's on the 2nd floor so it directly across the street is a beautiful view of the East China Sea.
Please excuse the up close and personal pics of my toes! They are not perfect but they sure are cute painted!
Please excuse the up close and personal pics of my toes! They are not perfect but they sure are cute painted!An afternoon at Jusco with 4 TEENS
I spent the afternoon with Cole and 3 of this friends in the local Japanese mall called Jusco. The short 10 minute car ride over proved to be interesting as 2 teenage girls tried over talk the other. The 2 teenage boys played along but were not over talked by the girls. I've forgotten what it was like being a teen...I'll say that they definitely had fun which was worth the ride.
Jusco was an interesting place today. Okinawan people are interesting to watch. The girls all wearing their stilettos, with their tiny little legs and pigeon toed walk. The boys all dressed like a cross between American gangster and Dolce & Gabbana out of Italy. Let's not forget the fur coats and fur lined boots! Need I remind you that I live on a tropical island!!
The kids had fun and I was able to buy a gift for my Christmas celebration at my house. I'm having a White Elephant gift exchange...silly Japanese items is the theme.
Jusco was an interesting place today. Okinawan people are interesting to watch. The girls all wearing their stilettos, with their tiny little legs and pigeon toed walk. The boys all dressed like a cross between American gangster and Dolce & Gabbana out of Italy. Let's not forget the fur coats and fur lined boots! Need I remind you that I live on a tropical island!!
The kids had fun and I was able to buy a gift for my Christmas celebration at my house. I'm having a White Elephant gift exchange...silly Japanese items is the theme.
Commissary Baggers
I thought I'd share a quick bit of military life that most are not aware of. That is the presence of Commissary Baggers. For those of you who don't know, the Commissary is the Grocery store and they are located on every military installation. No matter where in the world you are, the Commissary is ALWAYS a busy place. It's a place that is very neat and orderly and in true military fashion even has a single line that leads to all the check out counters. At the end of this line is usually a Commissary worker that directs you to the check out counter of her choosing. It's a very orderly system that keeps all the checkers busy but not overwhelming one.
I must talk a minute about my first Commissary experience. It was at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS. Keesler is a popular retirement location due to it's climate and full service hospital. Keesler's Commissary was small when I first arrived. It was so small that the aisles were not as wide as most normal aisles. For this reason, the aisles at the Keesler Commissary were "ONE WAY" aisles. So here I was, a brand new LT on my first trip to the Commissary and I didn't notice the very LARGE signs that hung above the aisles directing people in a ONE WAY fashion up and down the aisles. I didn't notice but I was quickly told (quite sternly I might add) by several 'blue haired' retirees that I was going down the aisle the wrong way!!
I digress...the reason I am writing this is to talk about the baggers. You certainly don't see baggers anymore in your local grocery stores unless you want to count the dual checking/bagging action that happens at your local Walmart store. Baggers at military Commissaries are usually military dependents, mainly teens and the occasional retiree. Baggers work for tips, they don't get paid an hourly salary and they all wear big blue smocks that tell you that they work for tips only! The baggers are 'professional' they know how to bag your groceries so you don't make it home with smashed bread, broken eggs. Some are so good they have the pantry items, separated from the canned goods and the cold items. Once the baggers complete their job at the checkout their service continues to your car where they load it all up, shut the trunk or door and wish you a good day. As I mentioned before, the baggers work for tips only. I've tipped them with loose change and I've tipped them with bills but never more than $5. They never give you a look of "are you kidding?", they are grateful for whatever you give them and always have a smile on their face. The bagger that gets stuck with the express line even gets tipped (mostly loose change) that is thrown into whatever receptacle that is placed there...an old Folder's can or a tupperware bowl. I've always wondered how much these guys take home. If you saw the constant flow of people that go in and out of the Commissary on any given day...they probably make more than I do!
Most of the baggers at Kadena's Commissary are Okinawan or Korean. There are a few teens but not as many as the other bases I've been to. This brings me back to the size of the Okinawan people...they are so tiny! Last week my bagger was a very small petite Okinawan woman barely tall enough to push her little cart! When we arrived at my SURF (Okinawa's version of a Toyota 4-Runner) she was barely tall enough to get the bags into the back...not to mention she put too many cans in a couple of the bags where she couldn't hardly lift them! I helped her out (of course) tipped her with a combination of Yen and US change and off she went back to the next load of groceries.
I must talk a minute about my first Commissary experience. It was at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS. Keesler is a popular retirement location due to it's climate and full service hospital. Keesler's Commissary was small when I first arrived. It was so small that the aisles were not as wide as most normal aisles. For this reason, the aisles at the Keesler Commissary were "ONE WAY" aisles. So here I was, a brand new LT on my first trip to the Commissary and I didn't notice the very LARGE signs that hung above the aisles directing people in a ONE WAY fashion up and down the aisles. I didn't notice but I was quickly told (quite sternly I might add) by several 'blue haired' retirees that I was going down the aisle the wrong way!!
I digress...the reason I am writing this is to talk about the baggers. You certainly don't see baggers anymore in your local grocery stores unless you want to count the dual checking/bagging action that happens at your local Walmart store. Baggers at military Commissaries are usually military dependents, mainly teens and the occasional retiree. Baggers work for tips, they don't get paid an hourly salary and they all wear big blue smocks that tell you that they work for tips only! The baggers are 'professional' they know how to bag your groceries so you don't make it home with smashed bread, broken eggs. Some are so good they have the pantry items, separated from the canned goods and the cold items. Once the baggers complete their job at the checkout their service continues to your car where they load it all up, shut the trunk or door and wish you a good day. As I mentioned before, the baggers work for tips only. I've tipped them with loose change and I've tipped them with bills but never more than $5. They never give you a look of "are you kidding?", they are grateful for whatever you give them and always have a smile on their face. The bagger that gets stuck with the express line even gets tipped (mostly loose change) that is thrown into whatever receptacle that is placed there...an old Folder's can or a tupperware bowl. I've always wondered how much these guys take home. If you saw the constant flow of people that go in and out of the Commissary on any given day...they probably make more than I do!
Most of the baggers at Kadena's Commissary are Okinawan or Korean. There are a few teens but not as many as the other bases I've been to. This brings me back to the size of the Okinawan people...they are so tiny! Last week my bagger was a very small petite Okinawan woman barely tall enough to push her little cart! When we arrived at my SURF (Okinawa's version of a Toyota 4-Runner) she was barely tall enough to get the bags into the back...not to mention she put too many cans in a couple of the bags where she couldn't hardly lift them! I helped her out (of course) tipped her with a combination of Yen and US change and off she went back to the next load of groceries.
Japanese Grocery Store
I went on a quest last week. I wanted to find a soda-type drink that Cole likes. We were first introduced to it when we ate at a little burger joint on the Seawall called "Gordies". We've always called them "ball sodas" but with the help of one of the Commissary checkers I have found out that it is called "Lamune". The commissary checker was kind enough to write it down for me in English and in Japanese Kanji so hopefully I can find it a little easier. I've searched all over the place thinking I will run into it eventually. No luck so now I'm calling in the big guns by going with an actual name! Lamune is a white soda that is in a glass bottle. In order to drink it you have to pop this little ball down into a small chamber that is just below the bottle opening. The ball floats around inside this little chamber as you drink the soda. I'm not sure what the story is behind it...as a matter of fact I just logged on to Wikipedia and found it. THIS makes the story that much better because it's not really called "Lamune"!! The commissary checker wrote it in ENGRISH! It's really "Ramune"!! (you can click on the word to get more on Ramune)
So, I finally found it at a local store call Sun Sea. Now, after driving around all over the Island and NOT finding it...I now see it everywhere! Figures...
Why did I call this blog entry "Japanese Grocery Store" you ask? Because my mind went off on a tangent and I forgot to talk about what I started to talk about. I am a 5'9 American girl. Everything in Okinawa is built and caters around the very small, short Okinawan people. I walked into a grocery store the other day and I had to laugh. I am a GIANT in this world. The people are short, the aisles are short, the goods are even proportioned. The bottles of oil, alcohol, spices are smaller. Even the flour and sugar is packaged in small containers. As I'm wandering thru the grocery store I noticed that I could see over the aisles while the Okinawans could barely see the top shelf! I thought for a moment that it would be great for my Mom's friend Bev (she's a dwarf) to live here! Everything is just her size!! I also think I should shop more at the local grocery...especially when I come across a recipe that needs a small amount of something that I know I probably won't use again. The only problem with this plan is that everything is in Japanes Kanji...no English...not even Engrish.
So, I finally found it at a local store call Sun Sea. Now, after driving around all over the Island and NOT finding it...I now see it everywhere! Figures...
Why did I call this blog entry "Japanese Grocery Store" you ask? Because my mind went off on a tangent and I forgot to talk about what I started to talk about. I am a 5'9 American girl. Everything in Okinawa is built and caters around the very small, short Okinawan people. I walked into a grocery store the other day and I had to laugh. I am a GIANT in this world. The people are short, the aisles are short, the goods are even proportioned. The bottles of oil, alcohol, spices are smaller. Even the flour and sugar is packaged in small containers. As I'm wandering thru the grocery store I noticed that I could see over the aisles while the Okinawans could barely see the top shelf! I thought for a moment that it would be great for my Mom's friend Bev (she's a dwarf) to live here! Everything is just her size!! I also think I should shop more at the local grocery...especially when I come across a recipe that needs a small amount of something that I know I probably won't use again. The only problem with this plan is that everything is in Japanes Kanji...no English...not even Engrish.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
A night at the Roxbury
I've decided to write about a night at the O'Club that I experienced last Friday. The O'Club has never been my favorite place to go. I go in solidarity to my co-workers for the occasional "nurses meeting". I call this blog entry "A night at the Roxbury" because of the horrible commercial that is on AFN. The Enlisted Club has this great commercial with club music and a crowded dance floor with everyone enjoying a nightclub kind of night of fun, carefree, happiness. The O'Club has this horrible commerical of 4 dorky individuals standing at the bar inside the O'Club. By the way, they are the ONLY 4 individuals in the whole bar. They are all doing the ridiculous "Night at the Roxbury" head bob and the camera pans in and out as they do this at different locations in the empty bar. It's quite embarrasing...goes to show that the "Os" don't have as much fun as the "Es". I will admit, I have had good nights at the O'Club...it's not ALWAYS a horrible experience. Tonight was a familiar experience that I'm used to so I'll share and open myself up to a day in the life of a 30-something single mother in a world of 20-something single men...pilots...with egos that expand way beyond the walls of the O'Club.
I entered the O'Club tonight and saw the funniest thing. It was Santa Claus!!! Seriously...this guy looked like Santa! Big round belly, long white hair, long white beard, rosy cheeks...dressed in Island attire. Santa Claus had dipped into the Eggnog a bit much tonight and his 2 Elves (friends) were attempting to get him out of the club. Thank God for the couch that sits just outside the O'Club...Santa was bigger than his 2 Elves and they needed a break!! He was like rolling a bowl full of jelly down a lopsided hill.
Inside the club was something you don't see very often. It was packed full! Tonight it was mainly Marines...all of them having a great time. Many of them were ending their temporary duty on Okinawa and were headed back home to mainland Japan on Saturday. What makes this night a typical night in my life here on Okinawa is going to the Club with my single friends. As we stand in the midst of a million men...with a ratio of 10 men to every 1 woman. They all flock to my single friends...chatting them up, picking up on conversations from the weekend before. I typically get lost in the crowd as if I'm not even standing there. Tonight a young pilot comes up to me and wants me to dance. I oblige and we go dance...on numerous occasions...he finds me and we dance. Whatever...good fun and it gets me away from the conversations that are not happening. Well, later in the evening this same guy starts talking about my friend...how he is in love with her and wants to get to know her. So...I say "then why aren't you talking to her??", "why don't you ask her to dance?", "go...get over there...get her number". His response?? "I'm afraid she'll turn me down". So I say..."you asked me? you can surely ask her". His response? "Well, it didn't bother me if you turned me down". WTF??? WOW...great for a girl's ego!! I'm too chicken to ask her because she may turn me down...but this one?? Who cares...if she turns me down I can handle that?! Such a typical story in my life...why do I do this to myself?
OK...so on to better things. As we stand and talk another guy comes up and starts talking to us. He's dressed in civilian clothes (I say that because most of the pilots show up in their flight suits). Anyway, so he is dressed in civilian clothes which usually means he's not a pilot. I should correct myself. This usually means he's not a FIGHTER pilot. The fighter pilots tend to show up in their flight suits and Friday fun patches. All other officers..."heavy pilots" (cargo aircraft type pilots), comm officers, intel officers etc etc come to the club in their civilian clothes. So...this guy is in civilian clothes and he is claiming to be a "Cardiothoracic Surgeon". We aren't buying it...first of all he says he's not stationed here. He claims that he is here on temporary duty with the Navy. Anyone who knows the hospital knows that there is no reason for a Cardiothoracic Surgeon to be studying here. It's not a huge hospital...definitely not a teaching hospital. As a Flight Nurse here...I know that we usually are flying these type patients out of here and if they are bad enough they are coming from the Japanese hospital. So...this guy starts throwing out names of Physicians that he's studied with, done surgery with and the medical school he attended. He continues on trying his darndest to get us to believe that he is a surgeon. We are all just listening...allowing him to keep going. He comes and goes out of our conversation, always coming back to his status as a Cardiothoracic surgeon and attempting to make us believe him. Knowing that we are not buying it, he then starts to talk about doing an appendectomy with some famous Physician. As he is talking about it, he takes his finger and makes a slicing motion down the left side of my abdomen...starting from about the middle of my rib cage down to about belly button range. Hmmm...funny that a Cardiothoracic Surgeon...one that has studied with all these great surgeons doesn't seem to know the location of the appendix. So...he tries so hard to come out of this one. Oh...you were facing me and I got messed up...I've been drinking etc etc. SO...OK, you say you are a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. A simple question..."how many chambers are in the heart?" and "what are they?". A blank stare...a "hold on a minute" and The GREAT Cardiothoracic Surgeon has to go "phone a friend"!!! He returns with his answer...the correct answer and adds the circulation for good measure! STILL, he continues to try so hard to get us to believe this story. Too bad...it just doesn't fly and he has to fess up that he is just a pilot...an F-18 pilot. I'll have to admit...he was good entertainment for my evening at the Roxbury and later on he proved to be quite useful as I was approached while waiting for a cab. A very strange guy that I had noticed inside the bar approached me as I was waiting for a cab. This guy walked up behind me and told me he "had a room next door" and "wanted me to go next door with him". I, of course, told him to bug off but he stood there right behind me, staring at me and not giving up on his quest. I don't usually get weirded out by this stuff but this guy really gave me the creeps!! The great cardiothoracic surgeon just so happened to have heard this guy and quickly came to my rescue. Looping his arm around mine and saying a few words that made it sound like we were together. The guy still stood there...still staring...still requesting my presence next door. Even the cardiothoracic surgeon was spooked by him and stood with me until I was inside a cab and driving off. I looked back to see the guy finally walking away.
So...the cardiothoracic surgeon is long gone...he has returned to mainland. Thank you for the evening's entertainment and saving me in the end. Young pilot...I hope that you get the nerve to call my friend and so ends another night at the Roxbury. I'll probably return again...but I'll need a break for awhile!!
I entered the O'Club tonight and saw the funniest thing. It was Santa Claus!!! Seriously...this guy looked like Santa! Big round belly, long white hair, long white beard, rosy cheeks...dressed in Island attire. Santa Claus had dipped into the Eggnog a bit much tonight and his 2 Elves (friends) were attempting to get him out of the club. Thank God for the couch that sits just outside the O'Club...Santa was bigger than his 2 Elves and they needed a break!! He was like rolling a bowl full of jelly down a lopsided hill.
Inside the club was something you don't see very often. It was packed full! Tonight it was mainly Marines...all of them having a great time. Many of them were ending their temporary duty on Okinawa and were headed back home to mainland Japan on Saturday. What makes this night a typical night in my life here on Okinawa is going to the Club with my single friends. As we stand in the midst of a million men...with a ratio of 10 men to every 1 woman. They all flock to my single friends...chatting them up, picking up on conversations from the weekend before. I typically get lost in the crowd as if I'm not even standing there. Tonight a young pilot comes up to me and wants me to dance. I oblige and we go dance...on numerous occasions...he finds me and we dance. Whatever...good fun and it gets me away from the conversations that are not happening. Well, later in the evening this same guy starts talking about my friend...how he is in love with her and wants to get to know her. So...I say "then why aren't you talking to her??", "why don't you ask her to dance?", "go...get over there...get her number". His response?? "I'm afraid she'll turn me down". So I say..."you asked me? you can surely ask her". His response? "Well, it didn't bother me if you turned me down". WTF??? WOW...great for a girl's ego!! I'm too chicken to ask her because she may turn me down...but this one?? Who cares...if she turns me down I can handle that?! Such a typical story in my life...why do I do this to myself?
OK...so on to better things. As we stand and talk another guy comes up and starts talking to us. He's dressed in civilian clothes (I say that because most of the pilots show up in their flight suits). Anyway, so he is dressed in civilian clothes which usually means he's not a pilot. I should correct myself. This usually means he's not a FIGHTER pilot. The fighter pilots tend to show up in their flight suits and Friday fun patches. All other officers..."heavy pilots" (cargo aircraft type pilots), comm officers, intel officers etc etc come to the club in their civilian clothes. So...this guy is in civilian clothes and he is claiming to be a "Cardiothoracic Surgeon". We aren't buying it...first of all he says he's not stationed here. He claims that he is here on temporary duty with the Navy. Anyone who knows the hospital knows that there is no reason for a Cardiothoracic Surgeon to be studying here. It's not a huge hospital...definitely not a teaching hospital. As a Flight Nurse here...I know that we usually are flying these type patients out of here and if they are bad enough they are coming from the Japanese hospital. So...this guy starts throwing out names of Physicians that he's studied with, done surgery with and the medical school he attended. He continues on trying his darndest to get us to believe that he is a surgeon. We are all just listening...allowing him to keep going. He comes and goes out of our conversation, always coming back to his status as a Cardiothoracic surgeon and attempting to make us believe him. Knowing that we are not buying it, he then starts to talk about doing an appendectomy with some famous Physician. As he is talking about it, he takes his finger and makes a slicing motion down the left side of my abdomen...starting from about the middle of my rib cage down to about belly button range. Hmmm...funny that a Cardiothoracic Surgeon...one that has studied with all these great surgeons doesn't seem to know the location of the appendix. So...he tries so hard to come out of this one. Oh...you were facing me and I got messed up...I've been drinking etc etc. SO...OK, you say you are a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. A simple question..."how many chambers are in the heart?" and "what are they?". A blank stare...a "hold on a minute" and The GREAT Cardiothoracic Surgeon has to go "phone a friend"!!! He returns with his answer...the correct answer and adds the circulation for good measure! STILL, he continues to try so hard to get us to believe this story. Too bad...it just doesn't fly and he has to fess up that he is just a pilot...an F-18 pilot. I'll have to admit...he was good entertainment for my evening at the Roxbury and later on he proved to be quite useful as I was approached while waiting for a cab. A very strange guy that I had noticed inside the bar approached me as I was waiting for a cab. This guy walked up behind me and told me he "had a room next door" and "wanted me to go next door with him". I, of course, told him to bug off but he stood there right behind me, staring at me and not giving up on his quest. I don't usually get weirded out by this stuff but this guy really gave me the creeps!! The great cardiothoracic surgeon just so happened to have heard this guy and quickly came to my rescue. Looping his arm around mine and saying a few words that made it sound like we were together. The guy still stood there...still staring...still requesting my presence next door. Even the cardiothoracic surgeon was spooked by him and stood with me until I was inside a cab and driving off. I looked back to see the guy finally walking away.
So...the cardiothoracic surgeon is long gone...he has returned to mainland. Thank you for the evening's entertainment and saving me in the end. Young pilot...I hope that you get the nerve to call my friend and so ends another night at the Roxbury. I'll probably return again...but I'll need a break for awhile!!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Miss Belle 1994-2008
My Mom just send me a message today telling me that her dog "Miss Belle" passed away early this morning. Miss Belle joined our family in 1994 when Cole was just 1 year old. Miss Belle (a Boston Terrier) lived, loved and made us laugh often. In 1999 she moved to Nahna's house (Mom) because she had bilateral cataracts and was going blind. Although she could barely see she lived a full life and was able to maneuver even the most challenging obstacles in the house. When she went outside...she knew how many steps to go off the porch, how many to get to the tree, the driveway, the lamp post. I was amazed when I watched her walk outside and at certain points take exact 90 degree turns to get to where she wanted to be.Miss Belle's health has declined over the past couple of months. Last night, as Miss Belle frantically searched for a place of comfort. Mom layed down on the floor with her and held her tight assuring her that everything was OK. Miss Belle finally found enough peace and comfort to sleep for a couple of hours. The following day as Mom ran some errands she prayed that God would take her peacefully. As Mom returned from the her errands she entered a quite house with Izzie (Mom's English Bulldog) patiently awaiting her arrival. She was led into her bedroom and there was Miss Belle...she had peacefully passed on to Puppy Dog Heaven.
As with all our pets, Miss Belle was laid to rest in our backyard near her best friend Beau (one of my English Bulldogs). She was wrapped in a blanket with some food for her travels and her "Miss Belle" collar loosely around her neck. We will never forget her...she held her own amongst years of dogs and cats that preceeded her. Miss Belle's best friend was Beau who loved her and protected her during her younger years. He preceeded her death in 1995. We'll never forget how she would snore while sleeping. How she would grab your arm with her paw repeatedly until you gave her attention, only to keep doing it again and again AND AGAIN until you were forced to move away from her. How she would follow at your heels throughout the house only to run into you when you stopped. How she would stand outside the shower to lick your ankles dry whether you liked it our not!
Miss Belle wasn't a dog of abounding energy, she was a lazy dog that just liked to hang out and chill. She was slapped by many cats for her curiousity but didn't really care. She got along with other dogs that would come and go into her life...always trying to make friends even if they didn't reciprocate...she would try again. The next e-mail after my Mom's news was the one below. How appropriate...
Rest in peace Miss Augusta Belle...you will remain in our hearts and minds forever.
There is a God in the Post Office. I have no way to know who sent it, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.
Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:
Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith.
We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.
Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith, 'in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:
Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven.
Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.
Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.
I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.
By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.
Love, God
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