Thursday, October 30, 2008

Mail Deadlines

I just saw the deadline for mailing packages to APO/FPO addresses. Here they are:

November 13 - Parcel Post

December 11 - First Class & Priority Mail

December 18 - Express Mail

The claim is that if you get your package in the mail by that date then we will get it by Chrismas.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Raw fish...so hard to get past the thought

So I decided to live life on the edge last night. We went out to Kitakaisen for dinner with a group from the critical care nursing conference. Kitakaisen is the first restaurant we went to on the island the night after we arrived. The people at the table ordered a bunch of sushi and soybeans to pass around. Jenna ate her weight in the soybeans. I don't think they're that special. The sushi's another thing...

Sushi is something that I've never tried in my life and really had no pressing reason to ever go there. There are several types of sushi connoisseurs. Okay, two. There are those that like it and those that don't. I fall into that last category. I tried two different kinds. One was salmon and the other was spicy tuna. I didn't know how it would go so I made sure I had two napkins in one hand in case I needed to expel any foul substance from my mouth. The first one wasn't too bad. Of course, I'm not going to run out to a sushi bar on Friday night, but it really wasn't the worst thing I've ever eaten. I thought to myself, "well, you've tried one so the other one's probably okay. Go ahead!" Well, the spicy tuna wasn't quite the same. There was a whole lotta raw tuna in that one huge bite. In the first one there was so much cream cheese and rice that you couldn't really taste the fish. That second piece almost caused psychological consequences. I didn't quite gag but I was toying with the idea. Naturally, right in the middle of the bite this little voice kept chanting in my head, "RAW fish! RAW fish!" Well, I had to listen. I had almost made it all the way. Half of it was gone and I thought I was home free until I realized the half that was left in my mouth was actually most of the tuna. The rice, avocado, wasabe and ginger were gone. So, there's the first experience. I know everyone's been wanting to know when I was going to try it. The one thing I found out about it is I can't eat it without making a face or closing my eyes. LOL

The company last night was great! I sat next to a guy that's a medic on a KC-135 Stratotanker. That's a plane, people. Keep up! It's an Air Force plane and, more specifically, a refueler. I see them fly over the house a lot with the refueling boom down. I could've had a tour of that plane with everyone else after the conference but I didn't make it.

One girl at our table graduated from NLU/ULM in 2000 and is from Bastrop! Can you believe it? Well, if you're not a close friend, not from Louisiana or not a member of my family then you probably can't. But it was something so cool to hear! We're halfway around the world and meet her. She's in the Air Force and was in San Antonio when we were. Jenna was born in Wilford Hall on September 04 and her son was born there on the 13th. We were just missing each other! Imagine that. Two people here from Bastrop. The other person is our Sunday School teacher!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Japanese car names and meanings

I found these on a website.

Toyota = Toyo means, East Orient.

Ta = Rice Field

Mitsubishi = Mitsubashi means Honeybee...close enough.

Subaru = means to slip and slide or to fail. LOL

Suzuki = suzu means either tin, or a small bed.

Nissan = nisan means two or three. Actually, ni = two and san = three. That's what they mean.

Tata = it is a sort of prefix for words like fight, battle, curse, things like that...tatataru tatari, tatakau etc.

So, now you know a little more worthless trivia. But, hey! You're learning from the best teacher. I love worthless trivia! There will be another fun blog about vehicles in the future. I'm collecting names of some of the cars. The ones you see here you won't find in the U.S.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Much ado about the zoo

On Thursday Jenna had her first school field trip. She was so excited! Not only did she get to ride the bus but Mommy & Daddy both got to go along! In one way the Okinawa Zoo is a lot like Lincoln Park. Lincoln Park is the free zoo that's right smack in the middle of Chicago. It's very impressive considering where it's located and the quality of the cages.

Fast forward to Okinawa zoo...

We left so depressed that we decided if we do go back it will only be to take pictures of the condition of the whole place. The cages were so...concrete. The poor little chimpanzee had nothing but concrete in his cage. Give the poor little guy a tree! The Bengal tiger, lionness and lion were directly next to each other in comparably concrete cages. The only exciting thing is that you could lean forward, stick your hand through the bars and touch the lion. I mean if you really want to do that and pull back a nub then this is the place for you! The anteaters were pretty neat to see. The hippos enclosure was different. Whether or not the over-sized trough the keeper was cleaning out is actually their pool we don't know. I've never seen hippos out of the water. I don't see how you could fit one hippo at a time in that little pool. Poor things.


The only thing we didn't get to see was the Hokkaido brown bear. That happened to be the one thing that I did want to see. There were tons of snakes in the reptile house. We did see a variation of the Habu. It's the Himehabu. Still a viper! Honestly, the reptile house was one of the better ones I've seen. Maybe that's because the snakes here are quite impressive.

Before we got to the zoo I saw that the season pass was only 2,000 yen which is 20 USD. That's a great price for a season pass but...we won't be going back.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

In pursuit of perfection

Have you ever had that moment you felt as if everything was right in the world? That it was all perfect? That's how I felt yesterday afternoon on the way to the BX. Again, with the camera safely tucked away in a drawer at home, I looked up at just the right moment as an E-3C Sentry broke over the trees in front of me followed by 2 F-15's. What made this so perfect was the sky. It was as blue as I've ever seen it against the thickest, whitest clouds. It would have made the perfect picture. Yeah...it all would've been so perfect. Too bad I don't have the perfect camera. Do you know what the perfect camera is? It's the one you have with you! I'm going to learn. It stands to reason though that when I actually have camera in hand that the jets will be grounded. That's just the way it works with me. Some people call it Murphy's Law. I call it...McAlister's Law.

On the way off of Kadena there's a hill that just as you crest it you can see the East China Sea. There was almost no haze and the sea was this amazing navy blue color. Off in the distance you could see one of islands that is almost invisible any other time unless visibility is almost clear. Again, the scenery was magnificent and there was even a commercial jet flying over the sea that would've completed the picture...perfectly. If only I had that camera... You know, it's not that I don't have a camera with me 100% of the time. Our cell phones have great cameras! The problem is getting them off of the phone and onto the computer. Sure we have a general idea of the way it works but there are those pesky little things we need to know. It's those little things we could find out and do...if only the instructions were written in English!


So, now in the pursuit of perfection I have learned my lesson. The camera bag will be with me EVERY time I go onto Kadena. There's someone I'm dying to one-up where that perfect picture is concerned but, I'm not sure I can do it. My jealous streak is showing but I give... This is your best picture ever!
Happy Birthday, Daniel! :) Now, I need a favor...

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Combat Parking & Reflective Reinforcement


Combat parking. You've all seen it. Some of you do it.

Combat parking. Women have trouble doing it. Men can't control the urge.

Combat parking. Few know the correct term. How else can one explain the burning desire to BACK into a parking space instead of pulling straight into it thereby causing the gnashing of teeth of the driver behind you?

I live in the land of 90% combat parkers. Even the women do it! They can skillfully whip that Toyota Voxy into the smallest of parking spaces. And boy, are they small! The spaces are small. The vehicles are small. Even so, can you believe most vehicles have side mirrors that you can just flip a switch and the mirrors retract? If you have to do that then you're parked too close! Honestly, I have enough trouble trying to park with the nose in. I don't know if it's being on the other side of the car or what, but I CANNOT stay off of the lines! I don't pull in far enough. I pull in too far. I park too close to the left line. I park too close to the right line.

There's one new thing I've learned about driving here. Okay, there's about 3 dozen new things I've learned about driving here but this one sticks out the most. There are a lot of blind spots on the island and some of them are at intersections, around curves and in alleys. In order to lessen collisions (or else to contribute to the vanity of drivers) there are mirrors placed at strategic points along the way. These mirrors are about 2 feet in diameter. At one particular intersection on the way to Jenna's school there is a 2-way stop. I stop at the stop sign but have to watch the mirrors to see if any cars are coming. You quickly learn that if you see the ends of cars in the opposite mirror you're good to go. It's not too bad. Twice a day it goes a lot like this...

1. Come to a complete stop at stop sign.
2. Look at mirror on the left and right to determine where traffic is.
3. Say a prayer.
4. Close eyes.
5. Floor it.

Yeah. It's worked so far. I'm about to try it again in 20 minutes.

If some of you are puzzled by the Toyota Voxy I mentioned earlier then keep a watch for a blog I'll be writing about vehicle names.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Wild dogs on rampage costing Okinawa City

Every day I look at Japan Update to see what the latest news is. This one was pretty interesting. My solution...if you could get the wild dogs to kill the Habu then we'd be in business! Hmm...I wonder what the rabies stats are here...

Wild dogs on rampage costing Okinawa City

Date Posted: 2008-10-16

The toll is high; dozens of pigs and goats mauled and killed by wild dogs, and no chance of compensation by farmers for their losses.

Okinawa City is experiencing a rash attacks on farm animals by wild dogs, with 95 pigs and 13 goats killed since the incidents began in April. On a single day, one farmer says, 25 pigs were killed by the wild dogs. The dogs are running as a pack, attacking during nighttime hours between midnight and sunrise. One farmer says he’s lost 50 pigs to the intruders.

Farmers say they’ve tried to protect their animals, setting up fence around the farmyards and barns, but note the dogs burrow beneath the fences to attack. Frustrated farmers are asking the government for protection and the capture of the wild dogs, and for some form of compensation for their losses. They say the wild dogs are depleting their stocks and costing them a lot of money. The government, for its part, is encouraging pet owners to keep their dogs at home, under control, so they don’t wander off and become part of the packs running wild.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Look before you leap & say a prayer before you sleep

Well, it's come to my attention this evening that there appears to be at least one snake in the neighborhood. Several houses down from us a woman was coming out of her house and there was a snake at the doorstep. While it was not a Habu it was still a poisonous snake. We have two front doors and one back door. The one front door leads from the utility room to the space where we keep the trash can and recycling bins outside. I've never been too excited to have to take the trash out after dark so...I don't. It's just too creepy. Then there's the banyan tree in the backyard. I don't even like to be under it at all. I've never been under it enough to touch the trunk. All I can think about is that Habus like trees and they tend to come out after it rains. Yikes! Every day I look before I leap!

Other than a couple of geckos that have gotten in and dropped their tails when Lonnie caught them, there has only been one other creepy-crawlie in the house. It was some ugly spider and that thing was aggressive! Nightlights are in every room in the house and they're not for Jenna. They're more for me. That started when I lived in Louisiana and didn't want to step on roaches. Now we need them to avoid those geckos (I would DIE if I squished one) and those aggressive spiders. One of my prayers before I go to bed...

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the critters outside you'll keep.
The spiders, the shrews, the geckos too,
And especially things that belong in the zoo.
If I should die before I wake,
It'll probably be from a Habu snake!
So please, dear Lord, have mercy on me,
Keep those nightlights burnin' so I can see!
For if my feet step on something... No! They couldn't!
I don't want to say something I shouldn't!

Simple...yet effective.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

The next Yogi Berra...

This morning Jenna said, "Hey. If you don't win the game...you lose." Hmm...

Thursday, October 2, 2008

I'm gonna BUY a sister!

Today Jenna was sitting in the rocking chair and said...

"There's Mommy in a picture with my little sister."

She wasn't even looking at a picture...ANY picture, so I said...

"You don't have a little sister."

Jenna said, "I'm gonna BUY a little sister! Let's look for a sister!

Had I known you could've gotten one that way it would've saved me a lot of time, not to mention the fact that it would've been pain-free! I know this is a different country and everything but I don't remember walking down any aisles in the stores here and seeing any kids for sale. I'm surprised she didn't say they have them at the AX-change or Wal-Mart.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

My baby in braids...


Yesterday I went to pick Jenna up at school and almost didn't recognize her. She had braids!



What in the world! She doesn't let me put anything in her hair. It may last 5 minutes if I'm lucky. Ms. Sabrina, the teacher's assistant braided the girls' hair...and some of the boys. Yeah, there are some boys in Jenna's class that have hair longer than hers!



My sweet little girl is loving school. She goes to East-West Montessori School and has learned so much in just a few weeks. At the open house last week she showed us she can use chopsticks!