Happy New Year!

This is the first post in the new year, decade, fiscal quarter. Pictured above is the view from my balcony. Fireworks go off every night from this hotel/touristy area, but not like this. (Obviously) Japanese people really do not celebrate Christmas since it's a Christian holiday. They do however take New Year's very seriously. Lots of parties, but also a type of holiday to have a family dinner together. Americans just use New Year to get lit up, but here it's a little different.

So there I was, planning on going to Fukuoka for the holiday, right? No, it didn't happen. John's girlfriend's mom called him personally and asked him to celebrate with their family (which here is a big deal), and Matt's girlfriend wanted to go with us (but Matt didn't want to take her). Moral of this story? Women ruin plans. Because the two guys I was going to go with bailed, I had to engage plan B. What did I do? I stood duty. This time it wasn't out of charity how Christmas was. Maybe there was a monetary trade-off, and he agreed to take one of my duties later this month. I still had a problem, before I agreed to take a friend's duty, I agreed to invite some other friends over to my place for New Year's Eve. So there I was with 7 bottles of wine, butI had to be a good little boy because walking into work at 0630 smelling like a distillery is always discouraged. Luckily my friends present (pictured above) were thirsty and drank most of the wine and they acted like it. The guy, Nick, threw up all over my bathroom but he was a good sport and cleaned up his mess before I made him do it. The long-haired girl, Christina, broke not just one, but 2 wine glasses. The second glass wasn't even hers, it was mine, and it's because of this I thought it was safe, but no. I left it for 20 seconds to get some food and I'm not sure how she did it but there is shattered across the floor. She was really upset/embarrassed so all I could do was laugh it off. Next year I'm going all plastic.

Maybe because I was the most sober one at the little party I was the most irritated. I live 30 minutes from base/downtown. There is a train that can be taken which is about a 20 minute walk from my house. I have a spare bedroom with a futon and blankets and a couch. There should have been no reason for Christina's parents to insist that she come home that night. She was the drunkest of them all! Shawana, the other girl, had her Dad pick her up that night too! Maybe I have some sort of disease or funky smell on me I don't know about. My point is, they assumed unnecessary risks when they didn't have to. It was dumb. Okay I think I'm done venting on this one.

Watching the fireworks go boom and bang made me think though. I got a little nostalgic with some goosebumps and my eyes got a little wet. Here I was in Japan celebrating 2010. A decade ago was Y2K, I was in 8th grade. Never would I have guessed I would be celebrating this holiday here. I look back, even 5 years ago and I see where my life has taken me, and for the most part I'm happy with it. Some speedbumps here and there, but which road doesn't have those? Looking back was almost as exciting as looking forward to this ensuing year. You better believe I'm motivated and ready to go. There is so much to do, and I feel like I'm putting myself in a position to accept and take-on these challenges. I will never say it is easy, but I will say it will be worth it. I'm proud of myself I guess is what I'm trying to say.

Last night I went out to finally celebrate New Year's the way it ought to be. I started the night with $100 and woke up with $6. Had a really good time though. The stars aligned just right,

strangley enough I was sitting next to the EOD locker's senior chief at the resteraunt/bar we were at. Pictured above is the record holder for woman's largest chin. Thing was massive, and I dubbed her Ms. Jay Leno Chin. Since it was cooler I had to rock the Slapshot jersey, and it never is short in getting some good comments.

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new era. I'm not just talking about the 2 month long mustache brigade marathon. This paragraph is talking about something different. My Stew Smith PT program officially kicks off. I'm pretty excited for it. Who is Stew Smith? He is the guy who invented the perfect push-up we all see on TV. He is a former navy SEAL naval academy alumni. Dr. Margraf highly recommended his program. For 12 weeks it's $200 and I'm given personalized workouts weekly. I'm given a diet to follow, his personal cellphone number (though I don't call), and he emails are usually returned within an hour. After this 12 weeks I plan to do my PRT for the EOD package, but still keep up with the program until I hear back from them. Time will tell on this one, and looking at his 1st week workout, I'm in for a beatdown.

The advancement exam is in 8 weeks. I have yet to study, but that is normal. I will have to put that on my to-do list. I've volunteered to help teach advancement classes too which start this week. My tuition assistance headache is starting to go away. It's actually kinda easy, but just takes time to register for everything and gain permission, etc.

Bought new running shoes and are in the mail. My new work shoes came in the mail, and they look really sharp. I'm hesitant to wear them though because they are chloroframs. My current work shoe is leather, and there is nothing sexier on a uniform than nicely shined leather shoes. I'm still waiting for a CD to come in the mail I ordered on my way back from Singapore. All my barstools came in though. Finally got around to picking up a kerosene heater at the housing office. It was free, and kerosene isn't that expensive compared to the electric heater I would be using. Oh, I also bought light module's for the rooms in the place. I no longer have to walk around my bedroom at night with a flashlight.

Things are looking good. Morale is high. No incidents, ship moored as before.