A great American director has died. Sydney Pollack succumbed to cancer on Monday and he will be sorely missed. He directed some of my favorite movies, Jeremiah Johnson and Out of Africa being the foremost.
I remember the first time I saw Jeremiah Johnson, it was a movie night at the gun shop and having Mike, John, and Dave there to tell me what I was missing by having never seen it made it all that much better.
I can't remember how many times I've sat with my mother and seen Out of Africa, and in discovering Sydney's death, I've learned my wife has not seen it so we'll be purchasing it soon.
I did finally get her to see The Usual Suspects, and as always she amazes me in her movie intuition. Do you know who Keyser Soze is?
I digress, my sympathies and thoughts go to his family, and I hope he suffered little in the end.
27 May 2008
26 May 2008
Our Apartment
We've moved into our new apartment, and it is awesome.
It is on the second floor of a very new building, built in 2005, but it has no stairs, as is a requirement to Emily and I, after having lived in the Jackson Park house. The apartment is all one level, three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a great kitchen and a good sized living room. Aside from all that, is the view. We live right on the Sasebo river, and its almost like having a backyard, but not having to maintain it.
I've set up the front bedroom as my office, and the back room will be Jackson's room. The main bedroom is where we put our queen bed and it is also where the coolest toilet in the world is attached. The master bath off our bedroom has an enormous shower, like one you'd see on MTV Cribs, and an awesome toilet. It has heated seats, and a dual-angle bidet built in.
Our washroom has a nice large sink and another bathroom attached to it. It has a regular toilet though, but a nice clawfoot style bathtub/shower. I have yet to soak in it, maybe tomorrow.
We also experimented with the train, which is very cool, and inexpensive. Only 240 yen from our apartment to the station which is a 10 minute walk from the base. This compared with a 2100 yen taxi ride to the base. My next challenge is to get a long-term train pass so we don't have to carry change with us each time. The schedule is nice, and no joke, you can set your watch to the stops.
That will be all for now. I'm glad to finally have my normal computer back and online. The internet provided by the landlord is excellent.
Signing off now, had a nice four day weekend, time to return to the normal schedule of mustering and PT.
21 May 2008
Driving in Japan
Well, I've driven in Japan. And frankly, its no big deal. Yeah, its on the left side of the road, the wheel's on the right side of the car, and the lanes are very narrow (I constantly feared I would scrape against the other cars).
Well, I'll start at the beginning.
The day started with me trying to get the money out I needed to sign the lease on my Cho (apartment). My advice, if you ever open a Bank of America account, open a worldwide account, because the Washington St. accounts have no capability to do external transfers, among other limitations that irk me to no end. But, I was able to get the money due to the diligence of the ladies at Navy Federal Credit Union. I had to make a lovely international call to BOA to up my debit card withdrawal limit. I then went to NFCU and got the 3000.00 out and converted it to 3,000,000 yen, which was cool, cause I was a millionaire, hehe.
Then, I went to the Navy Exchange and rented a vehicle so we could pick up some necessities and move our stuff to the cho once we got the keys. I then went and picked up my lovely bride and we went back to the NEX to get cleaning stuff and go to our lease appointment.
We met our landlord, who speaks no English, but its ok because our facilitator translated and there is a system in place for any future issues we may have. We signed and were on the way to our house. This would be the first time we drove off-base, and it was fun. The traffic wasnt bad at all, and we managed to find it just fine, having only been there once before, but its not too diffucult, its right off the main road. Also, there is a train station not 200 feet from our front door that drops you 10 minutes walking distance from the base, so that will be my commuter for a while till we save up car money.
We got to our house, which is on the 2nd level, and the apartment has great security. There is a locked automatic door that we just turn our key in and it slides open. We then ride up our cool elevator and our house is almost right in front of us. We purchased a lovely kitchen caddy, which I proceeded to fight up the stairs and half-assemble before we headed out for dinner.
We once again ate at Mike's (Japanese) which was once again awesome. I kind of feel like eating at a Mexican place in Japan is a bit like cheating. But, we'll hit up a yakiniku place again soon I'm sure. I'm going to get Emily to try takoyaki. It is really good, kinda strange, but good.
We then returned home and got a welcome basket (much like the one that greeted us when we arrived at midnight) ready for a buddy who is flying in tonight and will also be checking in to the Essex.
Well, I'll start at the beginning.
The day started with me trying to get the money out I needed to sign the lease on my Cho (apartment). My advice, if you ever open a Bank of America account, open a worldwide account, because the Washington St. accounts have no capability to do external transfers, among other limitations that irk me to no end. But, I was able to get the money due to the diligence of the ladies at Navy Federal Credit Union. I had to make a lovely international call to BOA to up my debit card withdrawal limit. I then went to NFCU and got the 3000.00 out and converted it to 3,000,000 yen, which was cool, cause I was a millionaire, hehe.
Then, I went to the Navy Exchange and rented a vehicle so we could pick up some necessities and move our stuff to the cho once we got the keys. I then went and picked up my lovely bride and we went back to the NEX to get cleaning stuff and go to our lease appointment.
We met our landlord, who speaks no English, but its ok because our facilitator translated and there is a system in place for any future issues we may have. We signed and were on the way to our house. This would be the first time we drove off-base, and it was fun. The traffic wasnt bad at all, and we managed to find it just fine, having only been there once before, but its not too diffucult, its right off the main road. Also, there is a train station not 200 feet from our front door that drops you 10 minutes walking distance from the base, so that will be my commuter for a while till we save up car money.
We got to our house, which is on the 2nd level, and the apartment has great security. There is a locked automatic door that we just turn our key in and it slides open. We then ride up our cool elevator and our house is almost right in front of us. We purchased a lovely kitchen caddy, which I proceeded to fight up the stairs and half-assemble before we headed out for dinner.
We once again ate at Mike's (Japanese) which was once again awesome. I kind of feel like eating at a Mexican place in Japan is a bit like cheating. But, we'll hit up a yakiniku place again soon I'm sure. I'm going to get Emily to try takoyaki. It is really good, kinda strange, but good.
We then returned home and got a welcome basket (much like the one that greeted us when we arrived at midnight) ready for a buddy who is flying in tonight and will also be checking in to the Essex.
19 May 2008
Weekend Fun
On Saturday we went into town and cruised the arcade, which is what they call the big shopping area. After getting some food, we took the plunge and got cellphones, and all I can say is wow.
The deals over here make Verizon look like an evil conglomerate.
The phones make the ones we left behind in the states look like cups with string.
I can watch live tv on my phone, it has an English/Japanese translator, word processor, GPS, internet, email, and who knows what else that I just haven't found. Now, getting past the Japanese menus takes a big, but once you get it switched over its ok. The manuals are only in Japanese so you kind of have to hit buttons and see what they do, hehe. The phone is amazing though, its a Sharp 922SH by Softbank. I'll be sending my odd number out to those who know who they are.
On Sunday, we went on our fishing trip, which was essentially, get dropped off at the reservoir while the rest of the people went on a hike up the mountain. We got a bit of sun, some of us too much (sorry Em.) and didn't catch any fish, but it was fun, we saw some beautiful country.
That evening we had yakiniku for dinner, which is like the Japanese barbecue I talked about a while ago. They bring plates of sliced raw meat, and you cook it on a grill. Lots of fun. Its a gas grill so it cooks quickly and like I said before, no restaurant in the states would allow unsupervised danger like that, way too much liability. The Japanese have enough honor to know if you are dumb and burn yourself, its your fault, not the restaurant's.
We are just relaxing today, I mustered this morning and will in the afternoon. Nothing else going on that I know of today, might catch a movie tonight or something.
The deals over here make Verizon look like an evil conglomerate.
The phones make the ones we left behind in the states look like cups with string.
I can watch live tv on my phone, it has an English/Japanese translator, word processor, GPS, internet, email, and who knows what else that I just haven't found. Now, getting past the Japanese menus takes a big, but once you get it switched over its ok. The manuals are only in Japanese so you kind of have to hit buttons and see what they do, hehe. The phone is amazing though, its a Sharp 922SH by Softbank. I'll be sending my odd number out to those who know who they are.
On Sunday, we went on our fishing trip, which was essentially, get dropped off at the reservoir while the rest of the people went on a hike up the mountain. We got a bit of sun, some of us too much (sorry Em.) and didn't catch any fish, but it was fun, we saw some beautiful country.
That evening we had yakiniku for dinner, which is like the Japanese barbecue I talked about a while ago. They bring plates of sliced raw meat, and you cook it on a grill. Lots of fun. Its a gas grill so it cooks quickly and like I said before, no restaurant in the states would allow unsupervised danger like that, way too much liability. The Japanese have enough honor to know if you are dumb and burn yourself, its your fault, not the restaurant's.
We are just relaxing today, I mustered this morning and will in the afternoon. Nothing else going on that I know of today, might catch a movie tonight or something.
16 May 2008
Driving Test and Mt Eboshi
We went to our driving class this morning, which was very interesting. The Safety Officer for the base is a retired Marine who has been in Sasebo for 38 years. He was very funny and taught us a lot of useful information about driving around. It was really cool because we had a special guest in the class. The Sasebo Police Chief and his Chief Criminal Investigator were there to observe the class. We then took the test which was 50 questions which Em and I both passed. After lunch we came back and took our driving test which we both also passed and we were issued our Armed Forces Japanese Driver's Licenses. All in all we spend about four hours in class. This is absolutely nothing compared to Japanese Driving School. Driver's Ed in Japan is highly controlled. It costs about $3000.00 to take the class, you don't' get a learners permit, so mom and dad are not allowed to teach you to drive, if they do its a big employees and their families, and only if they have a valid stateside license.
After class we got the paperwork going to get our household goods sent to our new apartment which will be next Thursday, the 22nd. We are very excited. I so want to get into my own place and start decorating.
On the way back from there we passed the Outdoor Adventure Center and I rememberd there was a hike leaving at 1600 for Mt. Eboshi, which I had wanted to do. I paid and got a spot reserved and took Em back to our room where she was looking forward to taking a nap. I changed and headed back for a nice hike. As I thought, the other guys on the hike were all the same sailors I'd been with all week checking in and taking classes so we had a good talk, as several of them are coming to the Essex also. Mt. Eboshi is about 900 meters tall, which is a little less than a mile. We probably hiked about half that. Not too far, except it was a fairly steep grade, and not what you'd call a "developed trail". The view though, amazing. Unfortunatly there was a lot of haze and fog, which messed up the pictures, but the eye could see through it well and I saw the whole town, the base, the LCAC base, the fuel depot, everything. It was amazing.
Also today, we ate at Mike's Tex Mex, which is tucked into what appears to be an alley, but isnt, just a simple one-way street between some buildings. The food was amazing, better than Mazatlan or Azteca, thats for sure. No free chips though, which was a bummer but its ok, you don't care when you get the awesome food.
Back at the Lodge now, getting ready for bed, gonna have fun tomorrow, might get a cellphone, we'll see.
After class we got the paperwork going to get our household goods sent to our new apartment which will be next Thursday, the 22nd. We are very excited. I so want to get into my own place and start decorating.
On the way back from there we passed the Outdoor Adventure Center and I rememberd there was a hike leaving at 1600 for Mt. Eboshi, which I had wanted to do. I paid and got a spot reserved and took Em back to our room where she was looking forward to taking a nap. I changed and headed back for a nice hike. As I thought, the other guys on the hike were all the same sailors I'd been with all week checking in and taking classes so we had a good talk, as several of them are coming to the Essex also. Mt. Eboshi is about 900 meters tall, which is a little less than a mile. We probably hiked about half that. Not too far, except it was a fairly steep grade, and not what you'd call a "developed trail". The view though, amazing. Unfortunatly there was a lot of haze and fog, which messed up the pictures, but the eye could see through it well and I saw the whole town, the base, the LCAC base, the fuel depot, everything. It was amazing.
Also today, we ate at Mike's Tex Mex, which is tucked into what appears to be an alley, but isnt, just a simple one-way street between some buildings. The food was amazing, better than Mazatlan or Azteca, thats for sure. No free chips though, which was a bummer but its ok, you don't care when you get the awesome food.
Back at the Lodge now, getting ready for bed, gonna have fun tomorrow, might get a cellphone, we'll see.
15 May 2008
Class Field Trip
We went on the promised field trip today with our Indoc class. It was very fun, and I was extremely happy to get a chance at eating some octopus balls.
Now, I know what your thinking, and no, they arent Japan's version of the rocky mountain oyster. They are ball shaped only. The best description of Tako Yaki I can think of is a chunk of octopus, some cheese, and pancake batter, cooked into a sphere about two inches in diameter. It is then seasoned, covered with either japanese barbeque sauce or japanese mustard, and then sprinkled with green onions or bonita flakes, which are thin shavings of meat from the bonita fish. You eat them while they are steaming hot, and they are quite good. Tough task with chopsticks, as they can be slippery, but they flex when you squeeze them, so they arent impossible to handle. Those of you who are rabid Anthony Bourdain fans saw him eat these on the Osaka Episode. An excellent episode to watch if you are curious about japan.
We got to see Kashimai Pier, which is where the ferry to Kujuku-shima is. Kujuku-shima means "99 Islands". There are actuallyl 208 islands, but the fishermen got tired of counting at 99 and stuck with that name, somewhere around 600 years ago. The islands are extremely beautiful and can be seen at http://www.sasebo99.com which is also the main Sasebo tourism website with links to many other attractions in this area.
We then went to Huis Ten Bosch, which is promounced all together, and sounds something like "hostenbosh" when said properly. It is a replica Dutch village near the large housing area south of Sasebo. There are links from the above website to check it out. For those of you back home in Washington, its much like Leavenworth, although its a large park like attraction, with admission. No rides though. Hundreds of years ago, when Japan was closed off to world trade, the only contact they had was with the Dutch, who left many cultural impressions on this area.
We also saw the Sasebo Train station, which is how I'll be getting to work hopefully, as there is a rail line near our apartment in Nonaka-Cho. Cho means neighborhood.
By the way, we set the appointment to sign the lease and move into our new apartment today, and we are very excited. Our first day there will be a week from today.
I managed to coordinate our move-in date with our shipment so our stuff will get delivered very quickly and we'll spend the first night sleeping on a real bed, our bed. Very excited.
Gotta get off here though, need to study for my driving test, I get my Japanese Driver's Licence tomorrow, so there will be one more Baka Gaijin on the road. (That means "stupid foreigner".)
Now, I know what your thinking, and no, they arent Japan's version of the rocky mountain oyster. They are ball shaped only. The best description of Tako Yaki I can think of is a chunk of octopus, some cheese, and pancake batter, cooked into a sphere about two inches in diameter. It is then seasoned, covered with either japanese barbeque sauce or japanese mustard, and then sprinkled with green onions or bonita flakes, which are thin shavings of meat from the bonita fish. You eat them while they are steaming hot, and they are quite good. Tough task with chopsticks, as they can be slippery, but they flex when you squeeze them, so they arent impossible to handle. Those of you who are rabid Anthony Bourdain fans saw him eat these on the Osaka Episode. An excellent episode to watch if you are curious about japan.
We got to see Kashimai Pier, which is where the ferry to Kujuku-shima is. Kujuku-shima means "99 Islands". There are actuallyl 208 islands, but the fishermen got tired of counting at 99 and stuck with that name, somewhere around 600 years ago. The islands are extremely beautiful and can be seen at http://www.sasebo99.com which is also the main Sasebo tourism website with links to many other attractions in this area.
We then went to Huis Ten Bosch, which is promounced all together, and sounds something like "hostenbosh" when said properly. It is a replica Dutch village near the large housing area south of Sasebo. There are links from the above website to check it out. For those of you back home in Washington, its much like Leavenworth, although its a large park like attraction, with admission. No rides though. Hundreds of years ago, when Japan was closed off to world trade, the only contact they had was with the Dutch, who left many cultural impressions on this area.
We also saw the Sasebo Train station, which is how I'll be getting to work hopefully, as there is a rail line near our apartment in Nonaka-Cho. Cho means neighborhood.
By the way, we set the appointment to sign the lease and move into our new apartment today, and we are very excited. Our first day there will be a week from today.
I managed to coordinate our move-in date with our shipment so our stuff will get delivered very quickly and we'll spend the first night sleeping on a real bed, our bed. Very excited.
Gotta get off here though, need to study for my driving test, I get my Japanese Driver's Licence tomorrow, so there will be one more Baka Gaijin on the road. (That means "stupid foreigner".)
14 May 2008
Cultural Relations
We finished the classroom portion of our Inter-Cultural relations course here. It is part of the mandatory Indoctrination class that everyone, sailors, dependants, and civilian workers, must attend when arriving in Japan.
Tomorrow we go on our field trip and see the surrounding area. We are excited to see things in the area, such as tourist attractions, shopping malls, train stations, and similar things. Its only a small snippet of the things that are available to us, most of which we have found already in our off-base travels, but its something to do and we arent trapped in a classroom all day.
We went to dinner tonight with an officer and her family who met me and another sailor who is checking into the Essex. We got a good tour of the area from her husband, who is a veteran also, and went to dinner at a japanese barbeque restaurant. It was awesome. They bring you a big tray of raw meat, beef, pork, and I'm not talking just sirloin bits either. I had heart, stomach, innards (unknown inside parts?), squid, cabbage, eggplant, and other various things. The really cool part is, you cook each item yourself, a task no American restaurant would allow due to liability. There is a big gas grill built into the table and you lay your meats and veggies on it and cook and eat and cook and eat. The pieces are small so they cook fast, you place them on your rice bowl and then chow down.
We will take lots of pictures tomorrow, and maybe I'll figure out how to post some on here, hehe.
Tomorrow we go on our field trip and see the surrounding area. We are excited to see things in the area, such as tourist attractions, shopping malls, train stations, and similar things. Its only a small snippet of the things that are available to us, most of which we have found already in our off-base travels, but its something to do and we arent trapped in a classroom all day.
We went to dinner tonight with an officer and her family who met me and another sailor who is checking into the Essex. We got a good tour of the area from her husband, who is a veteran also, and went to dinner at a japanese barbeque restaurant. It was awesome. They bring you a big tray of raw meat, beef, pork, and I'm not talking just sirloin bits either. I had heart, stomach, innards (unknown inside parts?), squid, cabbage, eggplant, and other various things. The really cool part is, you cook each item yourself, a task no American restaurant would allow due to liability. There is a big gas grill built into the table and you lay your meats and veggies on it and cook and eat and cook and eat. The pieces are small so they cook fast, you place them on your rice bowl and then chow down.
We will take lots of pictures tomorrow, and maybe I'll figure out how to post some on here, hehe.
12 May 2008
The Housing Search
We had our housing brief today, at which time we were informed of our rent ceiling, our utilities allowance, COLA, and all the other information we need to live either on or off base.
At first we were fairly dead set on living on base. On base housing gives you two locations, one of which is right near the base, but is only 20% of the total base housing. One is about 30 minutes away, and is the other 80%. Guess which one is offered first every time. I had no desire to live 30 minutes away, so I started thinking about off base options.
Without getting into the grimy details, there are a few options off base, regular rent setup, or a setup that is much like base housing, but yet off base in the community. We looked at an awesome apartment that is about 15 minutes from the base through the city, and it was amazing. The rent is 165,000 yen, which is about $1,650 a month, but we get $1,600 a month in housing allowance so I'm more than willing to kick in 50 bucks for how great it is.
Its in the Nonaka area and has a grocery store, a bus stop, and a major highway all within a block. A great covered parking space, a nice balcony, and a beautiful view of the Sasebo River. We are very excited.
At first we were fairly dead set on living on base. On base housing gives you two locations, one of which is right near the base, but is only 20% of the total base housing. One is about 30 minutes away, and is the other 80%. Guess which one is offered first every time. I had no desire to live 30 minutes away, so I started thinking about off base options.
Without getting into the grimy details, there are a few options off base, regular rent setup, or a setup that is much like base housing, but yet off base in the community. We looked at an awesome apartment that is about 15 minutes from the base through the city, and it was amazing. The rent is 165,000 yen, which is about $1,650 a month, but we get $1,600 a month in housing allowance so I'm more than willing to kick in 50 bucks for how great it is.
Its in the Nonaka area and has a grocery store, a bus stop, and a major highway all within a block. A great covered parking space, a nice balcony, and a beautiful view of the Sasebo River. We are very excited.
11 May 2008
The Ginza Experience
Well, if I wasn't sure I was in a foreign country, I know it now. We have been spoiled on base because the majority of the Japanese folks we see speak English pretty well and getting what you need is fairly easy.
As I said in the quick post this morning, we were planning on taking a taxi to the Ginza. We did this in the early afternoon and discovered the Ginza is similar to a giant, and I mean GIANT strip mall, but much nicer.
The Ginza, or as its known officially, the Sasebo Yonka-cho Shopping Mall(Yonka-cho means "Four Cities", as it has four distinct sections) is almost a full kilometer in length. There is so much to see, we must have walked it three or four full times, giving us near three miles of walking today.
There are so many shops, as they range from the size of a small room, to a large McDonald's. They coincidentally had a McDonald's, and a Starbucks.
I did find a computer store, but surprisingly, there was only one, and I look forward to getting back to look at it when I have more time. Also, I plan to methodically go into each and every store to look at everything.
There are also 100-yen stores, which are equivalent to a Dollar Store, but the stuff is way better quality than Dollar Store stuff. Its closer to Wal-Mart quality I would say.
There are several watch and jewelery shops also. I am in the market for a watch, but I'm not up to spending 33,000 yen ($3300.00) on a Tag Heuer that will only get scratched up on the ship. Most of the shops had fairly high quality (and high priced) stuff in them, and I would go shopping there again.
The customer service trend of Japan was continued with the vendors, they were all friendly and helpful. Its not that I expect this to change, but I'm still getting used to everyone being this way. With the service being so good here, and tipping considered as rude, when we get back to the states, nobody is getting a tip, because I've never gotten this level of service in America, and I'm expected to tip, no way. They are proud of their jobs here, and don't need any extra to make themselves feel good. We need to get the American service industry into this, because when tips are expected, but the service doesn't reflect it, whats the point?
Anyway, our trip today was fun, the Ginza is cool, and I can't wait to get back. Tomorrow we go to our housing brief and get put on the list for a home, and I'm really hoping we get a house near Main Base, which would be walking distance to the Ginza and the base itself. We'll see how that goes. Also, starting Tuesday, we have our Indoctrination class, which teaches us about Japan and the base, we'll go on tours, and get started on our Japanese Driver's Licenses.
That will be all for today, we are beat, will post more later.
As I said in the quick post this morning, we were planning on taking a taxi to the Ginza. We did this in the early afternoon and discovered the Ginza is similar to a giant, and I mean GIANT strip mall, but much nicer.
The Ginza, or as its known officially, the Sasebo Yonka-cho Shopping Mall(Yonka-cho means "Four Cities", as it has four distinct sections) is almost a full kilometer in length. There is so much to see, we must have walked it three or four full times, giving us near three miles of walking today.
There are so many shops, as they range from the size of a small room, to a large McDonald's. They coincidentally had a McDonald's, and a Starbucks.
I did find a computer store, but surprisingly, there was only one, and I look forward to getting back to look at it when I have more time. Also, I plan to methodically go into each and every store to look at everything.
There are also 100-yen stores, which are equivalent to a Dollar Store, but the stuff is way better quality than Dollar Store stuff. Its closer to Wal-Mart quality I would say.
There are several watch and jewelery shops also. I am in the market for a watch, but I'm not up to spending 33,000 yen ($3300.00) on a Tag Heuer that will only get scratched up on the ship. Most of the shops had fairly high quality (and high priced) stuff in them, and I would go shopping there again.
The customer service trend of Japan was continued with the vendors, they were all friendly and helpful. Its not that I expect this to change, but I'm still getting used to everyone being this way. With the service being so good here, and tipping considered as rude, when we get back to the states, nobody is getting a tip, because I've never gotten this level of service in America, and I'm expected to tip, no way. They are proud of their jobs here, and don't need any extra to make themselves feel good. We need to get the American service industry into this, because when tips are expected, but the service doesn't reflect it, whats the point?
Anyway, our trip today was fun, the Ginza is cool, and I can't wait to get back. Tomorrow we go to our housing brief and get put on the list for a home, and I'm really hoping we get a house near Main Base, which would be walking distance to the Ginza and the base itself. We'll see how that goes. Also, starting Tuesday, we have our Indoctrination class, which teaches us about Japan and the base, we'll go on tours, and get started on our Japanese Driver's Licenses.
That will be all for today, we are beat, will post more later.
Quick Mother's Day Morning Post
We are getting ready to got to Mother's Day Brunch at the Harbor View Cafe, which is somewhere between Denny's and Bridges. Probably closer to Bridges, and of course, with the excellent customer service.
Afterward, we are going to get a Taxi to the Ginza, which is a large shopping area near the base.
This is a quick one, but I'll post more in the afternoon when we get home.
Afterward, we are going to get a Taxi to the Ginza, which is a large shopping area near the base.
This is a quick one, but I'll post more in the afternoon when we get home.
09 May 2008
Attachment
Well, I felt my first real loyalty to this place and its people today.
I was having breakfast, and I observed some civilians, I imagine they were contractors or GS's, in the restaurant, and in my opinion, they were incredibly rude to the Japanese waiter. They didn't do anything purposeful, they were just uninformed and ignorant.
They came into the Harbor View Club with a large group and informed a waiter they had a group of nine coming. He of course immediately proceeded to go set up an area for them so they could sit together, as they are awesome, as I've mentioned before. The group however, disregarded his efforts completely and just sat at two tables near my wife and I.
I had a hard time not standing up and approaching the civilian I observed to be in charge and informing him of their error. As I have not been here long, I am not about to make waves of this size quite yet, but if I saw something like this six months to a year from now, stand by.
I can definitely am feeling attached here, and I like it, but don't worry mom, I still plan to come home after this tour.
I was having breakfast, and I observed some civilians, I imagine they were contractors or GS's, in the restaurant, and in my opinion, they were incredibly rude to the Japanese waiter. They didn't do anything purposeful, they were just uninformed and ignorant.
They came into the Harbor View Club with a large group and informed a waiter they had a group of nine coming. He of course immediately proceeded to go set up an area for them so they could sit together, as they are awesome, as I've mentioned before. The group however, disregarded his efforts completely and just sat at two tables near my wife and I.
I had a hard time not standing up and approaching the civilian I observed to be in charge and informing him of their error. As I have not been here long, I am not about to make waves of this size quite yet, but if I saw something like this six months to a year from now, stand by.
I can definitely am feeling attached here, and I like it, but don't worry mom, I still plan to come home after this tour.
07 May 2008
First Day
Well, we walked around a bit this morning and realized that we really like it here. Again, I have to mention the awesome customer service. I had been told about it, but you never really know something until you've seen it first hand, and its something.
The weather here is nice, good walking around weather, warm, but not too hot, and not much wind. I plan to venture further away tomorrow morning, maybe walk to the NEX, not sure.
I did find the bowling alley, which makes a mean burger, and we had lunch there. Short walk from the Lodge.
Right now we are relaxing and watching Seinfeld DVD's (Thanks mom-in-law, really).
Will update tomorrow after we handle housing, medical, pay update, indoc, etc. Might take a nap.
The weather here is nice, good walking around weather, warm, but not too hot, and not much wind. I plan to venture further away tomorrow morning, maybe walk to the NEX, not sure.
I did find the bowling alley, which makes a mean burger, and we had lunch there. Short walk from the Lodge.
Right now we are relaxing and watching Seinfeld DVD's (Thanks mom-in-law, really).
Will update tomorrow after we handle housing, medical, pay update, indoc, etc. Might take a nap.
In Japan
Well, we made it.
First, there's a nine and a half hour plane ride, which isn't too bad until you realize you've been on a plane for about six hours, and it hits you, and all the suffering and swelling kicks in, making up for the time you didn't notice.
The first sign we weren't in Kansas anymore (although, I don't think I've ever really been in Kansas), was the obvious lack of English, anywhere. I realize its arrogant to just expect to see English everywhere, but its something you get used to seeing, and you miss it. The Japanese are great about pictures though, and there is some English to guide you along the way.
Then, figuring out how to go through customs, which required us to pick up all of our bags, go through, then re-check all of our bags, during which time no one looked in them, although they were scanned, and we had nothing to declare (which I wasn't able to say, as I was told by the movies everyone says when they go through customs).
I exchanged some money for yen, which gave me two paper bills and several small plastic-like coins. I used them to buy some water. We thought about getting food but nothing looked good enough to experiment with. We found the correct bus and even got off on the right spot. We then found the correct gate, figured out when to board, and got on the correct flight.
Its very hard to mess up, they are sooooooo awesome with customer service here, like no one has ever imagined. I'm afraid I lightly offended the nice man on the bus when I started unloading my bags from the bus (this is before we re-checked them in) and didn't let him get them all. You can literally ask anyone for help. Imagine asking someone working at a T-mobile booth how to get to the Verizon booth and them not only helping you, but smiling, joking, and then walking you all the way there. Thats how cool it is.
And then we flew from Tokyo to Fukuoka and that was only an hour and a half, which is nothing now. The Navy bus was waiting and we drove for two more hours to the base which is where I am now, about to go to sleep.
First, there's a nine and a half hour plane ride, which isn't too bad until you realize you've been on a plane for about six hours, and it hits you, and all the suffering and swelling kicks in, making up for the time you didn't notice.
The first sign we weren't in Kansas anymore (although, I don't think I've ever really been in Kansas), was the obvious lack of English, anywhere. I realize its arrogant to just expect to see English everywhere, but its something you get used to seeing, and you miss it. The Japanese are great about pictures though, and there is some English to guide you along the way.
Then, figuring out how to go through customs, which required us to pick up all of our bags, go through, then re-check all of our bags, during which time no one looked in them, although they were scanned, and we had nothing to declare (which I wasn't able to say, as I was told by the movies everyone says when they go through customs).
I exchanged some money for yen, which gave me two paper bills and several small plastic-like coins. I used them to buy some water. We thought about getting food but nothing looked good enough to experiment with. We found the correct bus and even got off on the right spot. We then found the correct gate, figured out when to board, and got on the correct flight.
Its very hard to mess up, they are sooooooo awesome with customer service here, like no one has ever imagined. I'm afraid I lightly offended the nice man on the bus when I started unloading my bags from the bus (this is before we re-checked them in) and didn't let him get them all. You can literally ask anyone for help. Imagine asking someone working at a T-mobile booth how to get to the Verizon booth and them not only helping you, but smiling, joking, and then walking you all the way there. Thats how cool it is.
And then we flew from Tokyo to Fukuoka and that was only an hour and a half, which is nothing now. The Navy bus was waiting and we drove for two more hours to the base which is where I am now, about to go to sleep.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
